How To Bypass The Zune's WiFi Sharing DRM

We knew it would be done sooner or later, and with the mod to use your Zune as a portable hard drive, DRM cracking finally here.

First, you need to enable hard drive mode using the instructions we posted before. Then, rename whatever files—MP3s, movies, programs—to have the extension ".jpg" in order to fool the Zune into thinking its an image. This hack works because Zune doesn't apply DRM to images!

Then what?

Now, take your Zune and send the folder containing these files to your buddy along with a real photo. If you only send a fake photo, an error is thrown. The last step is to have your friend sync the Zune with their computer, open the "containing folder" where the files were downloaded, and rename the files back to their correct extension.

We tried doing this before with just the Zune software, without the storage hack, and Zune threw an error because it resizes the images down in order to conserve space, and our file wasn't a real image. – Jason Chen

Rugged Wheelchair Lets Disabled Go Off-road

It may look like some oversized BattleBot, but the Tank Chair is a rugged, off-road wheelchair that lets anybody with leg injuries "get back to nature." Each chair is custom built and can take on any type of terrain. There's no word on pricing, but any wheelchair that looks this cool has got to be worth the splurge.

Ghost in a real car accident

Video: Anti-Everything Gun

It's called the Phalanx CIWS (Close-in Weapons System)Look for the product data sheet link on that page for geek info. All info is Public Released.

There's also a variant called the SeaRAM, it's a standard RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) launcher hooked up to that big tracking dome thing in the video (white "head" looking thing) used to take down incoming aircraft, boats, etc. It also works against missiles.

Video: New Nissan Skyline GT-R

VIDEO: R33 GT-R, 0-200 MPH in 24 seconds

Video: Mini Cooper Works GP vs Andy Moore HPI brushless touring R/C car

Video: Toyota Prius Target Practice

Video: Mini UAVs tracking R/C cars

The purpose of this quad rotor, multi-vehicle flight test was to demonstrate the platform's capability to implement multi-vehicle missions ... all » using the task advisor to run the entire mission. In this video we demonstrate the tasking system's capability to command two autonomous UAVs (Note: the quadrotors are Draganflyer V Ti Pros controlled by a ground computer) to search different areas of the room and track multiple objects - both stationary and moving. In this test, we have three R/C vehicles on the floor, and the two air vehicles search for them. Note that the system does not know where the ground vehicles are going to be a-priori. The videos are from a test flight which took place on August 8th. This is the shortened version of the original video clip. This is the full clip
From ZDnet:

As recent events have shown, military forces around the world are more and more relying on small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance missions. But these UAVs usually need many skilled operators to control them. Now, the Boston Globe reports that a new MIT 'air force' is ready for help. MIT researchers have developed a multiple-UAV test platform which can be operated by anyone with a high-speed Internet connection. And these small and inexpensive helicopters could soon stay in the air for a week, automatically coming back to their base and landing to recharge their batteries. But read more…

This multiple-UAV test platform has been developed by Jonathan How, an associate professor at MIT in charge of the Aerospace Controls Laboratory, and his graduate systems. Here is what he says to the Boston Globe about his lab and the drones developed there.

Brain Interface Allows Users to Control Model Trains

From DailyTech:

Hitachi has reportedly created and successfully tested an interface that allows users to turn a power switch on and off by using their brain only (English). Optical topography, a neuroimaging technique which measures the changes in blood hemoglobin concentration in parts of the brain responsible for mental activity, is utilized with Hitachi's brain-controlled interface. Any significant changes monitored in the brain blood flow is then translated into voltage signals that are used for activating the model train's power switch.

OCZ's 1150 MHz memory integrates liquid cooling

From Tomshardware:

Sunnyvale (CA) - If you enjoy squeezing every bit of performance out of your computer, then you are used to dealing with large and potent cooling systems already. One of the more recent cooling trends has hit memory devices - for example Corsair's pricey 1066 MHz XMS2 Dominator devices, which are currently selling for around $400 in 2 GB kits. OCZ tops Corsair with a series of DDR2 memory modules called " PC2-9200 FlexXLC".

The modules are clocked at 1150 MHz and carry a water cooling system that is about the size of the modules themselves. Built out of a copper/aluminum structure, the dissipates heat via routing water through a pipe that runs alongside the heatsink as well as a fin array that OCZ claims can dissipate heat more efficiently than previous designs. OCZ said that users have the option to run the modules passively or water cooled via the integrated "liquid injection system."

Unmanned A160 Hummingbird Helicopter resumes flight testing

The A160 Hummingbird Unmanned Aerial System¸ 6-cylinder gasoline engine variant returned to flight this month as work continues in parallel towards the first flight of the turbine powered A160T next Spring. [Boeing photo]

The A160 Hummingbird Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) resumed flight testing at an airfield near Victorville, Calif. on Nov. 8. The successful 45-minute test included both hovering and forward flight. “The success of this flight is indicative of the hard work put in by the Boeing/ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency A160 team” said Jim Martin, A160 program manager. “This innovative unmanned aerial system continues to prove its versatility through a rigorous flight test program."

Engineers are currently analyzing the flight data to determine objectives for the next series of test flights. This current series of test flights are being conducted using the 6-cylinder gasoline engine variant as work continues in parallel towards the first flight of the turbine powered A160T next Spring.

The A160 Hummingbird has accumulated more than 1000 ground test hours, and 58.5 flight hours during 32 flights. The autonomous UAS is 35 feet long with a 36-foot rotor diameter, and will fly up to140 knots with a ceiling in the range of 25-30,000 ft. (high hover capability up to 15,000 ft) for up to 20 hrs. Operational A160s will be capable of performing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; target acquisition; communication relay and precision re-supply missions.

First AMD 4x4 Mobo Spotted

From Engadget:

Intel may be getting all the attention with its quad core and Core 2 Duo blitzkrieg, but AMD's not one to rest on its laurels. Its forthcoming 4x4 platform will place two dual-core CPUs on one mobo for a total of four cores. Asus' L1N64-SLI WS will be the first mobo to support the 4x4 architecture and this here is an overview of what you can expect. It'll have 4 memory slots (2 memory sticks dedicated for each processor), 12 SATA ports, and 4 PCI Express x16 slots. The two CPUs will be connected via AMD's Direct Connect architecture. Spec-wise, the board is fully loaded. Our only concern will be pricing, as something with this many features can't possibly be cheap and could potentially be more expensive than the Intel alternative.