Stringwalker

Stringwalker created by Hiroo Iwata and probably most known for his work Floating Eye was premiered for the first time outside of Japan at SIGGRAPH this year.

The controller consists of a pad and a pair of shoes attached to a circular system of eight motor-pulley mechanisms with sensors mounted on a turntable:

There’s not a whole lot online about it, but it appears that when you move a foot around - for instance in a step motion - the distance and trajectory of that movement is calculated based upon the direction and length of string that has passed over the pullies. This is then used to scroll the world accordingly. It also appears that by using motors attached to these pullies the system, they might even be able to simulate the exertion experienced when walking up a hill, for instance.

While not completely related to research on networks I find the idea of networks being to date largely reliable on cabling infrastructures (this is of course changing) and the extension of this cabling through a physical haptic interface which uses strings attached to the user, a sort of reverse puppet scenario, quite appealing.

Related interfaces are the slightly over the top Virtusphere and the more practical but possibly not as similar to walking Powered Shoes (from the same research lab).

Technology gamming

By Darren Waters Technology editor, BBC News website

Grand Theft Auto IV is released at the end of April

Rockstar and its franchise Grand Theft Auto is the "primary interest" of EA's attempted purchase of Take Two games, said chief executive John Riccitiello.

Mr Riccitiello said: "I believe the company is fully justified in calling themselves Rockstar because that's what they are in this industry."

Take Two turned down EA's first approach and so the games giant is now targeting shareholders directly.

Take Two boss Strauss Zelnick said the EA offer undervalued the firm.

Mr Zelnick has said EA should wait until after the release of Grand Theft Auto IV on 29 April. Analysts predict it will be the biggest release of the year, with sales upwards of 10 million copies.

Mr Riccitiello told BBC News: "If we don't conclude this transaction, if we walk because of whatever level of inability to get this done, the scary thing is what the stock trades at after we leave, not after 29 April."

He said Take Two had four of the best studios in the industry: Rockstar, makers of Grand Theft Auto; Irrational, makers of Bioshock; Firaxis, home to Sid Meir and Civilization and Visual Concepts, makers of sport titles.

"What we are attracted to is what we value in our own studios: great developers and great intellectual property."

Pre-orders of Grand Theft Auto IV have been better-than-expected

Mr Riccitiello said he had great respect for the producers behind Grand Theft Auto, Sam and Dan Houser and Leslie Benzies.

"The big headline here is that our primary interest is in Rockstar and the intellectual properties around Rockstar."

He said the bid was not an attempt to remove a competitor in the field of sport titles.

"Sports games are secondary consideration here," he said.

He said he had no fear that the value EA placed on Take Two could be damaged if the trio of Rockstar creators decided not to pursue further Grand Theft Auto titles after the latest release.

He said: "There is no doubt that EA is several times larger than Take Two - everyday somebody walks in and somebody walks out.

What we have got right now is a corporate issue that has nothing to do with the people who build these games John Riccitello, EA

"If the wrong guy walks out, we have an issue to deal with. But we don't stop making games."

He added: "In case of Rockstar I would point out that the leaders are young, vibrant, they're talented and committed.

"And what we have got right now is a corporate issue that has nothing to do with the people who build these games."

He said concerns that EA's buyout would stifle innovation were unfounded and pointed to franchises and games that had improved after the firm had bought the original development talent.

"We worked collectively with Will Wright to create The Sims. When we bought Maxis, Sim City was selling 7 to 800,000 copies.

"The Sims is a level of performance to Sim City that the Empire State Building is to a very nice house."

He said games like Battlefield, Burnout, Need for Speed and Madden were franchises which were stronger following EA's purchase of the original development firms.

The World's Smallest Countries

How Big do you think the World's Smallest Country Is? Better yet, What do you Think the World's Smallest Country is? You may be surprised by the Answers. Here is a list of the world's ten smallest countries (by land area). To give a little bit or prospective, if you were to combine all ten countries, their size would still be less than that of Rhode Island. 1.Vatican City - 0.2 square miles - Also called the State of the Vatican City, this country is the smallest independent country in the world. Vatican City is an enclave within the city of Rome in the country of Italy. Often thought of as the governmental capital of the Catholic Church, the tiny nation is home of the Pope. Vatican City has a population of 770. However, the majority of the population are not considered permanent residents. In total, Vatican City is 0.2 square miles which is barely one-hundred acres. 2. Monaco- 0.7 square miles- Also called the Principality of Monaco, this nation is located on the Mediterranean Sea and borders France. The country is a constitutional monarchy. Monaco has a total land area of 0.7 square miles. For prospective, that is less than 500 acres. It is also home to more than 32,000 residents, making it the most densely populated country in the world. 3. Nauru- 8.5 square miles - Officially called the Republic of Nauru, this nation is a group of islands in Micronesia and is located in the western Pacific Ocean. Oddly enough, the country has no capital. Nauru consists of 8.5 square miles, making it the world's smallest island nation. The country is also home to 13,000 people. 4. Tuvalu- 9 square miles - This nation used to be called the Ellice Islands. A Polynesian island nation, Tuvalu consists of only nine reef islands and atols. The country is home to approximately 12,000 people, making it the second least populated country in the world. Tuvalu has a total land area of 9 square miles. 5. San Marino- 24 square miles - This nation is often referred to as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino. An enclave and completely surrounded by Italy, San Marino is located in the Apennine Mountains. The country is said to be the oldest in Europe and perhaps the oldest constitutional republic in the world. In all, San Marino has a population of nearly 30,000 and a land area of 24 square miles. 6. Liechtenstein- 24 square miles - Also called the Principality of Liechtenstein, this country is a landlocked nation located on the Rhine and in the European Alps of Western Europe. It is bordered by Switzerland and Austria. Liechtenstein consists of 62 square miles and 34,000 residents. 7. Marshall Islands-70 square miles - Officially called the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), this group of islands is part of Micronesia and is located in the western Pacific Ocean. The nation consists of reefs, atols, and more than thirty islands. In all, the country has a land area of 70 square miles and a population of 58,000 people. 8. Saint Kitts and Nevis- 104 square miles - This nation is sometimes called the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis as well as Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis. It is located in the West Indies. Together, the two islands have a population of 39,00 and a land area of 104 square miles. 9. Seychelles- 107 square miles Officially called the Republic of Seychelles, this nation consists of a cluster of 155 islands in the Indian Ocean just north of Madagascar. In total, Seychelles is 104 square miles and is home to approximately 81,000 people. 10. Maldives-115 square miles - Located in the Indian Ocean, Maldives is comprised of approximately two-thousand atols and islands. Of these, only about two-hundred are inhabitable. Maldives has a population of more than 300,000 and a land area of 115 square miles.

Life clock

The Life clock, by Bertrand Planes runs on a "clock mechanism slowed down 61320 times" so that each number represents years. - Link

Marco writes in asking - "How does one make one of these?" Well, besides having highly reliable components - I'd imagine the clock hands could be animated by stepper motors which in turn are driven by a microcontroller/realtime clock . . . hmm, any readers care to step in here?

This might come in handy, for starters:

Relatime clock module with calendar accurate up to year 2100 - Link

Related: Clock of the long now from Bay Area Maker Faire '07 - Link

From the Maker store: LED Clock kit - Link

Milestones: Barack Obama

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/12/29/us/politics/20071229_OBAMA_TIMELINE.html HERE IS THE HISTORY OF OBAMA TILL JANUARY 2003.

Want to Trade? An Obama Will Cost You

While Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton duke it out in Texas and Ohio on Tuesday, Mr. Obama has trounced his Democratic rival in another arena: trading cards.

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A Senator Barack Obama trading card sold for $3,122 online.

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Presidential trading cards, released by the Topps Company on Feb. 6 and featuring the candidates’ likenesses and autographs, are fetching high prices on eBay this week. An Obama card, one of 15 made by Topps, sold for $3,122, and a Clinton card, one of 18, sold for $1,325.

Bids for a card featuring an embedded autograph by Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, were holding steady at $1,200 in an auction on Monday evening.

The cards are a bonus tucked into packs of Topps Baseball Series 1 for 2008, which retail for $1.99, said Clay Luraschi, the company’s baseball brand manager.

The cards are not actually signed by the candidates. Instead, they display signatures cut from items already autographed by the candidates, like baseballs by Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain, or books by Mrs. Clinton.

Unsigned cards, which are drawing bids of $1 to $13 on eBay, can be found in one out of every nine packs, Mr. Luraschi said.

Topps was surprised at the prices the signed cards had garnered, Mr. Luraschi said. “A lot of times when you have a card that’s the only one in existence, they don’t even get that high,” he said.

The campaigns did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Luraschi said the price on Mr. Obama’s card was particularly startling. “That’s like Babe Ruth,” he said. CATE DOTY