By Scott Roberts

Case Moding has become very popular among the LAN Party faithful. Clear sides with an array of cord decorating options and lights galore are often favorites for any Moder. However, when you have your case as pimp as you can financially handle, do not forget the components!

One component in particular is the Optimus Maximus. The Optimus Maximus is a keyboard with screens in each of the keys. Already some of you are salivating with the possibilities that already flutter into your mind. According to the website this keyboard will fulfill all of your keyboarding fantasies.

Currently only supporting Win XP or higher and OS 10.4.8 or higher this keyboard comes with the software you need to program any key to display any image and do a whole host of functions. It stores your layouts on an SD Card (32 MB but you can replace it with whatever size your budget allows). What all languages does it support? It will support any language your software happens to support. It also has brightness control so it is brighter during the day than at night.

Downsides are few, but notable. The cost, its biggest downside, is $462.30; which is not cheap. The next potential downside, minor downside in my opinion, is it has a separate power supply; it just cannot be powered through USB 2.0. Finally the last downside I see is that it is not currently being developed for Linux and there are not any plans yet; it will work on Linux but to my knowledge as only a standard keyboard. What other downfalls does it have? I do not know, our office does not have the finances to provide me with this toy and I am not ready to invest yet.

For more information or to purchase go to:
http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/

Review by John Wolsky

A few weeks back, Sony released a demo for their game called “Patapon” on the PSP. On a whim, I decided to try the strange sounding little game, and I’ll tell you that I sure was surprised by what I picked up. In concept, Patapon is a rhythm based game. You control a small horde of minions with a war drum. Yes, you are a drummer and all you do is drum to a beat and your army moves. Reading this, you may think about how incredibly boring this is. Like I said, in concept Patapon sounds like a terrible game. In actuality, it is probably the most incredibly addictive game I’ve played in years. After playing it consistently for a few weeks now, I can tell you that it is probably the best game in my PSP collection. The actual story mode of the game probably only take about 5-10 hours to beat, but the replayability of the missions and your desire to further enhance your army will keep you playing for much longer. Aside from the simple missions and challenges you face, the game also includes 5 distinct mini-games to unlock and master. If you’re looking for a great game to pick up and play, Patapon is a great addition to any PSP owner’s library, and at half the price of a normal PSP game it is well worth the purchase.

By Chris Adams

Ever wanted to create fantastic digital imagery with amazing effects and lighting? It’s a lot easier than you think. With a box of Photoshop, a few extra layers, some filters, new brushes, and a splash of creative vision you’ll have almost everything you need to start pumping out dazzling images that will fascinate everyone.

A great place to start is with a good, in-depth tutorial that will take you step-by-step through the process. While fore-knowledge of the program (Adobe Photoshop) will speed things up it isn’t a requirement. I recommend Psdtuts.com. It’s a great place for professionals and amateurs alike to explore new ideas about image effects and learn how to achieve them with their own work. These tutorials are extra helpful since pictures accompany the textual explanation. As a test and quick demonstration I chose to attempt Dynamic Lighting in the Photo Effects section. This tutorial goes through the process of adding dynamic lighting to a flat photograph.

I’ll skim the surface of the process since you can read it in full from the link above. Basically you have your stock photos with a little directional light added to emphasize the sun and cast light on the subject. Next add a few layers that are at different modes (i.e., overlay, screen, color burn). These additional layers provide the contrast and saturation for a believable environment. After some selecting of particular areas, a little Gaussian blur, for blending, and some sharpening you’re ready to combine the photos together. The last step is to Color Burn the shadowed areas and Color Dodge the light areas. This creates the high-dynamic range effect (Dark darks and bright brights.) we are trying to achieve.

That’s pretty much all the tools and skills you’ll need to start creating some cool images with amazing effects and lighting. Psdtuts.com also has many tips and tricks available that will help even the most experienced Photoshop guru.

by Anthony Pinson

You know, there is a very big difference between using a technology and actually understanding it. The idea of knowing exactly how it works is known as technological literacy, and actually, most people in the U.S. are rather illiterate when it comes to technology.

So you’ve got your cell phones, televisions, cars, laptops, and so on, and you know how to make each of them function precisely how you want them to. This is a good thing about technology: it doesn’t take studying or research to discover how to use it. But overall, it is a good thing to know how these things work. In studies performed to look into this issue, it was found that 60% of students and adults thought that science, technology, and engineering were the same thing, when in reality they are different, but interrelated. Also, 87% thought that the definition of technology was simply “computers and the internet,” while the other 33% thought it meant “changing the world for human need.”

The actual definition of technology states that it is: “the creation of physical tools or artifacts that are used to help satisfy human needs and wants.” So while most people don’t seem to know a world of information on how things work, it also seems that many would like to. When polled, 97% of students want technology to be taught to them in school. In many cases however, they don’t get the opportunity. At this point, it would appear that we are simply uninformed. But with the growing complexity of things, it is quite a daunting task to sit and learn exactly how something functions. After all, the average person just wants to use their cell phone, not know how it actually does its job.

With technological literacy, there is a paradox; while the U.S. is adopting new technology at a very quick pace, less and less people understand it. For some reason, technological literacy is promoted in other countries, but is still a small priority in the U.S. Maybe we should just research the technology ourselves?

by Christian Snodgrass

Microsoft Internet Explorer has been the most popular Internet browser nearly since Internet browsers first came into existence, primarily due to the fact that it comes installed on Microsoft Windows. However, Internet Explorer has always been the bane of those that create websites and try to maintain cross-compatibility (the ability for their website to look the same on all Internet browsers). This has been largely due to the fact that Internet Explorer has not, up to this point, fully supported the Web Standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Due to this, web developers have always had to modify and hack their code specifically to fit with Internet Explorer. That may shortly change with the release of Internet Explorer 8, who's beta release came a mere eighteen months after the initial release of Internet Explorer 7.

Web Standards are just like any other standards; it is a set of methods and applications that must be adhered by to be considered "Standards-compliant". Many of the other major Internet browsers support at least 85% of the standards, much more than Internet Explorer can boast. It's latest incarnation, Internet Explorer 7 is close, but still not close enough, and still implements many proprietary components.

In record time Microsoft has come out with the first beta version of the next incarnation, Internet Explorer 8. This version, at long last is going to give developers the standards-support they have longed for, meeting the stringent requirements of a test know as Acid 2.

That's all well and good, but if you aren't a web developer why should you care? When Internet Explorer 8 first comes out, there are going to be massive amounts of broken websites. The reason these websites will be broken is because they didn't follow Web Standards when they created their site; relying on the broken versions of Internet Explorer to hold their website together.

If you visit a website and it appears broken, you can alert the administration of the website and let them know that their website doesn't display in Internet Explorer 8. They will then have to take the appropriate methods actions to make it work properly. However, those websites designed by developers that don't cut corners and actually adhere to Web Standards have nothing to fear as their websites will see minimal, if any, changes and will continue to work appropriately.

Links:
Official Internet Explorer 8 Page: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/produc ... fault.mspx

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Home Page: http://www.w3.org/

Official Internet Explorer 8 Blog - Acid 2 Test:
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2007/1 ... stone.aspx

By Tony Morrow

There is an interesting trend happening in the world of mobile laptops. Computer manufactures are starting to produce sub-$500 laptops. I don’t mean the Dell laptops you can get on discount, but specialized machines that are small and cheap. The most successful product in this market is the Eee PC from Asus. So now I bet you’re asking “how much” and “what do I get?” Well, for $299 the base line Eee PC comes with at 7” screen, Intel Celeron 630 MHz processor, 512MB RAM, 2GB of storage space, 2.8 hours of battery life, wireless, Linux, and more. If you to want splurge and buy the $499 model, the RAM is expanded to 1 GB, storage to 8GB, and battery life to 3.5 hours.

What, that’s it? That is all you get? In simple terms, yes. When you compare that to the $500 Dell laptops on the market the Eee PC does not sound that great. The processor is slow and the storage space is tiny. But a majority of the appeal of the Eee PC comes from the size (8.86" x 6.30"). To give you an idea of how small the system is, take a white sheet of paper and fold it in half. The Eee PC about a 1/4 inch wider then that. Yeah, the Eee PC is that small. Imagine carrying a laptop that small as you travelled. The system only weighs 2 pounds. Most people carry text books heavier then that every day. In contrast, the $500 Dell laptop is 14.05” x 10.08” and weighs 5.9 pounds. If you had to carry one of these two computers everyday, which would you choose?

OK, this is probably your next question, “what can I do with such a small, slow laptop?” In reality, a lot. The Eee PC ships with a custom version of Linux designed to run on the slow hardware, but not feel slow (confusing I know). For those who don’t know what Linux is, it’s a free alternative to Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Ask one of your geeky, computer friends about it. They will tell you more then you ever need to know. Along with Linux the Eee PC also comes with a large number of free applications to make the system functional. What use is a computer if you can’t do anything with it? Mozilla’s Firefox and Thunderbird give you Internet and e-mail access, Pidgin is the Aim/Yahoo/MSN IM client, and OpenOffice.org is a free office suite made to compete against Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. For any person on the go those applications are the where most of the work gets done. The system is designed to use as little power as possible and, really, you don’t need the fastest computer on the market to type a document or surf the internet. If Linux isn’t for you and you must have Windows, don’t worry. The system is a fully functional computer and supports Windows XP.

If there is still doubt about the Eee PC, know this: in Q1 of the fiscal year Asus sold 350,000 units. That beat the projected target by 50,000 units. Asus has already announced they will be producing a 9” version of the Eee PC starting at $499. Other companies are also starting to get into the sub-$500 laptop market. Computer manufacturer, Everex, has started shipping the Cloudbook. For $400 it includes a 1.2GHz Via processor, 512 MB of RAM, 30GB hard drive, wireless, 7” display, and more. Like the Eee PC the Everex Cloudbook ships with Linux and many of the same applications. HP is rumored to be producing a small, compact laptop, but priced at $630.

Asus Eee PC:
http://eeepc.asus.com/us/product.htm

eeeuser.com (complete hardware and software specifications):
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/eee_pc_701

Everex:
http://www.everex.com/

Engadget.com:
http://www.engadget.com/tag/eeepc/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/22/asus ... e-quarter/

Dell:
http://www.dell.com

by Chelsea Reilly

As if it is not enough to play golf and tennis from the convenience of your own home Nintendo has yet done it again. Nintendo recently came out with Wii TV channel, TV No Tomo. The channel is essentially a tv guide channel through your Wii. The channel is a free download from the Wii shopping channel. The remote also doubles as a universal remote for your tv. The channel will give you the freedom to view what channels will be broadcast up to a week before hand and also the ability to bookmark shows that you want to watch using Mii’s. Automatic text messages also can be sent to remind you of when a bookmarked show is coming on. On addition to all of the great things included with this, are also the bad. There is no option to pause a live broadcast while there is no capability to bookmark a future show and record it. Lastly, Nintendo has no intentions on expanding the channel to the U.S. or any other place but Japan for that matter. Many bloggers have voiced their opinions about the service and most have related to the saying, “TiVo anyone?”


http://www.gamespot.com/news/6187113.html

By: Scott Roberts

Even though we are all entranced with the images, plans and hopes of warmer spring days let us take a quick look back at an old friend who we often prayed would relive us of the shackles of education. You either Love or Hate snow, it is either the liberator freeing you from some obligation you really did not want to do in the first place or your jailer locking you in your respective domiciles keeping you from whatever fun you had planned for this day. I know what you might be thinking “Snow Flakes are not alive.” As this may be true, what makes them are.

For a long time I believed that snow, and rain, were formed from moisture attracted to dust particles in the air. This however is not true. A recent article in Science suggests that the moisture in snow has a hard time attracting to dust in claimants greater than -40°F. However, airborne bacteria can act as a great nucleus for snow to latch onto. Studies show that this is the case, in places where the temperature is not cold enough the majority of the freshly fallen snow did indeed contain high amounts of bacteria compared to the freshly fallen snow collected in places of extreme cold.

As interesting as this is, what does it mean? Well, no one knows, the research just has not been done yet to make any definite predictions. However, it has been suggested through overgrazing the amount of bacteria is decreased (I have no idea where they pulled this information from) and therefore could be a contributing factor to droughts. So the next time you are inspired by the joy and excitement the first good snow of winter brings and you open your mouth wide to taste the first snow of the season remember the “Flesh Eating Bacteria” is very rare, so do not eat too many.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20 ... ation.html
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/a ... /5867/1214
http://www.eku.edu/weather/inclementweather.php [EKU Inclement Weather Plan]

by Brady Begley

With game play being pushed to its limits the way you “control” the game is naturally the next step in the evolution. Guitar Hero guitars are being modified and personalized to get the most out of your play time. Here are my three favorite mods out on the Internet.

1. Paul and Matt from over at Hak.5 took two Guitar Hero guitars and made one with ten frets. You can check out the video how-to at:

www.hak5.org

2. Instructables.com has a mod that adds lights under the frets to “liven up the virtual shredding”. Check it out:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Guitar-Hero-LED-Mod/

3. David Randolph over at Revision3 was so bad at the game he automated it. Check it out at:

http://revision3.com/systm/ghbox/

There are many more mods out but these are the ones that I like the best. Remember, you can do this to your guitar. Modding is a great way to spend your free time. Give it a try!

by Seth Johnson

Marvel comics might be the forerunner of mainstream digital comics today with its extensive collection of over 10,000 comics. But that’s not to say that its rival, DC and other comic publishers haven’t given Marvel a run for their money. DC has already given fans previews to upcoming comics and graphic novels by making half of the comic be viewed as a web comic. DC has also released podcasts and video interviews with creators and publishers to keep you updated on what’s happening in the wonderful world of comics. Darkhorse comics is also following in DC’s footsteps by releasing previews to comics in the form of digital comics and posting podcasts and interviews much like Image comics with its content.
For more comics information try these sites:
www.marvelcomics.com
www.dccomics.com
www.darkhorsecomics.com
www.imagecomics.com