The Ouranos Blog

“Silicon may represent one of Earth’s more common elements, but it transformed Silicon Valley into a high-tech corridor and helped usher the world into the Information Age.

Now rare earth elements with exotic names such as europium and tantalum hold the key to hybrid cars, wind turbines and crystal-clear TV displays – that is, if a looming supply shortage doesn’t stop innovation in its tracks.” – http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100216/sc_livescience/shortageofrareearthelementscouldthwartinnovation

In other words, China’s being greedy. And we’re letting them! Yet again our country is allowing other country’s to control world-wide supply of a precious resource we could find on our own soil if we were just willing to produce it. Same with oil, we have enough oil between the Dakotas and Alaska to put the Middle East outta business, but do we drill it? Nah, the caribou might be affected. Right.

“The Pentagon’s mad science arm may have come up with its most radical project yet. Darpa is looking to re-write the laws of evolution to the military’s advantage, creating “synthetic organisms” that can live forever — or can be killed with the flick of a molecular switch.

…The plan would assemble the latest bio-tech knowledge to come up with living, breathing creatures that are genetically engineered to “produce the intended biological effect.” Darpa wants the organisms to be fortified with molecules that bolster cell resistance to death, so that the lab-monsters can “ultimately be programmed to live indefinitely.”

Darpa’s got to prevent the super-species from being swayed to do enemy work — so they’ll encode loyalty right into DNA, by developing genetically programmed locks to create “tamper proof” cells. Plus, the synthetic organism will be traceable, using some kind of DNA manipulation, “similar to a serial number on a handgun.” And if that doesn’t work, don’t worry. In case Darpa’s plan somehow goes horribly awry, they’re also tossing in a last-resort, genetically-coded kill switch:” – http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/pentagon-looks-to-breed-immortal-synthetic-organisms-molecular-kill-switch-included/

Dude. Genetic uberness, with a power off switch. Why? Watch the newer of the two modern Hulk movies. Abomination? Uh oh, crazy green dude, press the button, bam, he’s down.

“Windows 7, which hit the shelves on October 22, 2009, boosted the level of consumer satisfaction for the software giant to on less than 67% for the entire week after launch. The increase was substantial, no less than 3% in a single day. Certainly, it was more substantial than the jump that Mac OS X Snow Leopard delivered to Apple, just 1%, bumping the consumer satisfaction level to 65%.

At the same time, Windows 7 managed to keep its momentum throughout the end of 2009. No less than 73% of respondents declared that they were satisfied with Microsoft on December 31, namely a 14% growth. By comparison, Apple customer satisfaction only grew by 6.9% by the end of the past year.” – http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-Bests-Mac-OS-X-Snow-Leopard-in-Satisfaction-Measuring-Contest-134018.shtml

So. Checking the scoreboard, we have Apple 0, Windows…. alot. Look, Apple, you have your place. It ain’t mainstream. And Windows 7 is proving it. Windows 7 is growing, and growing, and growing, while Apple is…. yeah.

“Spray-on liquid glass is transparent, non-toxic, and can protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. The coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array of products.

The liquid glass spray (technically termed “SiO2 ultra-thin layering”) consists of almost pure silicon dioxide (silica, the normal compound in glass) extracted from quartz sand. Water or ethanol is added, depending on the type of surface to be coated. There are no additives, and the nano-scale glass coating bonds to the surface because of the quantum forces involved. According to the manufacturers, liquid glass has a long-lasting antibacterial effect because microbes landing on the surface cannot divide or replicate easily.” – http://www.physorg.com/news184310039.html

Saw this, thought it was awesome. Want somethin thiny, but tough? Liquid friggin glass man. Laptops that are tougher without getting heavier, phones that don’t break as easy, and paintjobs that last longer. Sexy ideas eh.