Gadget Venue

Using a mixture of a Wifi Mesh on top of Google Earth can help give a birds eye view of how a wireless network mesh is running. As seen in the picture above the SkyControl software collects node data with GPS coordinates and link states. This then creates a satellite based image in Google showing the status of the mesh.

Skycontrol is used in a NOC (Network Operations Centre) and allows you to manage and see a whole network based on a map system. This eliminates the need for manual mapping techniques and can give a real time status to the engineers.

Overall this could be a valuable took for those running a wifi mesh and help track problems and provide accurate maps to find and solve problems with in a short period of time.

Via: SkyPilot

Folding@Home statistics have been released to show how the PS3 is helping out with its good causes. The power of the PS3 can be clearly seen in the statistics. Currently it shows that there are 9499 active CPUs helping out and those are processing 233 TFLOPS. Compare it to Windows I currently see 158917 CPUs being used processing 151 TFLOPS. That is a significant difference.

If you want to follow along and see live updates then check out Folding@Home.

The task of blowing up a virtual star has not been easy. It has taken years for developers to create the code to do this. Finally it has been done and a 3D simulation has been made which shows the step by step process in quite a bit of detail.

The movie unveiled a complex, yet orderly, series of events that concluded with a bang. Split seconds before the stellar finality, a virtual flame bubble spanning about 10 miles in diameter formed near the center of the white dwarf. Immediately the giant bubble jetted the roughly 1,200 miles to the star’s surface. One second later, at the opposite end of the star, this flame crashed into itself and triggered the detonation.

Check out the videos over on Space to see how a star would explode.

Over the years I have collected a huge amount of CDs for audio, MP3 and data. Storing them is a pain with them often put in boxes or stuffed in drawers. The Divita Storage Tower can hold 100 CDs and DVDs but you will need to bin the cases they come in. If you can live with that then all will work well for you.

The tower has a screen built in at 1.8 inches. This allows you to program what discs are where so that finding them is an easier task. It is a shame it cannot read data on the CD to index its self, but maybe that will be an option for a later model. It stands at 22 inches tall and can be purchased from BlueDot for $489.

Via: UberGizmo

If you were one of the first to get your hands on a PS3 early hours of this morning then you might have wished you would have gone to the London Launch Event. If you purchased your PS3 at this event early this morning then you would have received a free 46 inch HDTV and a free taxi home to save you carting it home on the underground. Doing the maths there were over 250k UK pounds of tellys given away for free last night to over 100 more then happy gamers.

The launch actually went very smooth as well with no crime reported and no drivebys.

Via: Engadget

The touch screen smart mirror was developed by students in Waterloo university. It is named a smart mirror due to being able to put widgets on to the mirror and display what ever you like from the local time, weather and latest news. You can even run your RSS feeds on to the mirror and if you see a story you wish to read then just tap on it to load it up. It is a great idea which could be used for many more things like advertisements in a public block of toilets and when the user sees something they like, they could order it up right there and then.

As well as displaying text, news, weather etc… it can be used for music and video. Possibilities for a smart mirror are endless and only restricted by your own imagination.

Via: Gizmodo

TechRestore have taken appart one of the new Apple TVs. As far as I know, this is a first for the Apple TV. Getting inside the device appeared to look fairly simple which once opened, revealed the harddrive, wifi, GPU, Intel Processor and circuit boards. It seems to be put together well.

Higher resolution pics are available over on TechRestore.