News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
Nerf toys have come a very long way since I was a kid. The Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS is a fully-automatic Nerf gun that shoots Nerf darts. It comes with three 18-dart magazines and another that holds 6, for a total of 60 darts (included). It also has a riot shield and bipod. See the Hasbro website for a demonstration video showing it in action.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
For those who value their online privacy, the linked article has tips on how to delete your online presence.
Link: http://www.wikihow.com/…
(via The Consumerist)
We’ve all seen the pictures where the splash from a drop of water is caught on high-speed film. Photographer Alexander Augusteijn goes one step further and adds a bullet to the mix. Check out his gallery of high-speed photos, with water drops and more.
Link: http://www.petapixel.com/…
(via Neatorama)
One of the things I dislike about Google Reader is that it takes up a lot of space with nonessential items. Until recently, I used the “minimalistic” skin in the Better GReader Firefox extension to make the most use of my screen space. But now Google has built in a similar feature. I’ve been using it for about a month or so, and the verdict’s still out on which version I prefer.
Link: http://googlereader.blogspot.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, decided to build an environmentally friendly house. What he didn’t realize was just how difficult that would be. In the linked article, he discusses the problems he encountered as well as some of the lessons he learned.
Link: http://online.wsj.com/…
(via Slashdot)
Microsoft released a record-breaking number of security updates on Tuesday, and it sounds like it’s a good idea to run Windows Update if you haven’t already done so.
Link #1: http://www.google.com/…
(via Kim Komando)
Link #2: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/…
UNIX and Linux users have long been familiar with file system links, both symbolic and hard, which act for most purposes as if they were the files they point to. Windows came late to the game with shortcuts, that are akin to symbolic links but only really work in Windows Explorer. Microsoft, however, has seen the error of its ways and added true links to Windows starting with Vista. The linked article explains how to create them via the mklink tool.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, a thief or group of thieves stole $10 million in fraudulent credit card charges over four years by keeping the thefts small (less than $10), spreading them among more than a million cardholders, and never charging the same person more than once. Many cardholders didn’t even notice the charges, but there were enough complaints that the FTC finally took action and filed suit—although they don’t actually know who’s responsible for the thefts.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/…
(via The Consumerist)
Google Chrome is blazingly fast, but I find it annoying that the browser exits when the last tab is closed. Now there’s an extension, named Last Tab Standing, to prevent that from happening.
Link: https://chrome.google.com/…
(via Lifehacker)
The linked article explains what’s different in USB 3.0 (also known as SuperSpeed USB). The theoretical maximum speed has increased by about a factor of 10, to 5 Gbits/sec, and some power-saving protocols have been implemented to prevent devices from unnecessarily draining a laptop’s battery. Probably the most important item, however, is that USB 3.0 requires a different cable—the connectors are the same size and shape but have a different number of pins. You won’t be able to use older USB devices with the newer cables, and you must use 3.0 cables for 3.0 devices. Fortunately the 3.0 devices themselves are backwards compatible. They can be plugged into 2.0 ports and will run at the lower speeds. The plastic inside the tips of USB 3.0 connectors is colored blue to help differentiate between the new and old.
Link: http://itexpertvoice.com/…
(via Slashdot)
A recent survey shows that 40% of eReader users are reading more than they did with printed books, and only 2% are reading less. The linked article has that and other interesting trends in eReading.
Link: http://online.wsj.com/…
(via Kim Komando)
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