Hasta La Gadget!

The New York Public Library recently discovered a treasure trove of video games in its archives created by psychedelic evangelist Timothy Leary. Over 375 floppies (talk about flashbacks) containing a “dozen or so” games developed by the LSD-advocate in the ’80s — some are playable via emulation — are now on display in the library’s rare books and manuscripts division, according to The New York Times. The good doctor’s digital works had a self-help bend to them, advocating self-improvement by interactive means as opposed to pharmaceuticals, and apparently recreational drugs as well. If you fancy yourself a cyberpunk, Leary also had an in-progress project based on William Gibson’s Neuromancer, replete with writing by William S. Burroughs and a soundtrack by Devo. He had more than just prototypes, too: His Mind Mirror was commercially released in 1985 and sold 65,000 copies for publisher Electronic Arts. If you can’t make it to the NYPL, a version has been adapted to Facebook so you can glean your personality profile from your… profile.

[Image credit: Jaycobs / Flickr]

Filed under: Gaming, Alt

Comments

Via: Kotaku

Source: The New York TImes

While most of the news about SpaceX has surrounded the Grasshopper lately, the firm has been plugging away at its Falcon rocket, too. This just-launched Falcon 9 (dubbed version 1.1) boasts 60 percent more powerful engines, longer fuel tanks and according to the Global Post, other new features that were designed to boost lift capacity and “simplify operations for commercial service.” To that end, the spacecraft was carrying a science and communications satellite for Canada’s MDA Corp. when it left Earth’s atmosphere. The take-off comes just over five years after the first Falcon’s departure, and its itinerary will take it around both poles. Just remember, for a cool $56.5 million you too can send a Falcon 9 into space.

Filed under: Transportation, Science

Comments

Via: YouTube

Source: SpaceX (YouTube), SpaceX (Twitter)

Kicking off this week’s CEATEC show in Japan, Sharp has played to its strengths with its new Windows 8 tablet, the Mebius Pad, factoring in a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution display. That puts it pretty far ahead of the current crowd of 1080p Windows 8 tablets, including Microsoft’s incoming Surface 2, although we admit, we’d have loved to have seen another incredible 4K tablet. Regardless, that’s the highest resolution Windows 8 tablet we’ve seen yet. Alongside the company’s 10.1-inch IGZO panel (known for their low-power credentials), the Mebius Pad runs on a slightly less-exciting Intel quad-core Atom processor (the Z3370), which we’ve had mixed feelings on when it comes to the Windows tablets its powered in the past. The basic Windows 8.1 model will arrive with Office for free, although you’ll have to pay extra if you want it for the Pro edition. Also, following Japanese trends for practically any device, the slab is both water and dust-proof (it’s in the midst of being certified for IPX5, IPX7, IP5X), while you’ll be able to buy it with LTE radios on board, at least for Nippon, as the device is unlikely to leave Japanese shores once it launches in early 2014.

Unsurprisingly, in the flesh the screen looked good — Sharp even provided a magnifying glass so we could get up close to those pixels. The 10.1-inch display is also satisfyingly bright — if we’re honest, it’s unusual to see such a capable screen powered by an Atom processor. The tablet is headed towards business use (which explains the optional stylus) and the extra resolution found on Sharp’s first Windows 8 tablet means there’s more space for your spreadsheets and documents. The hardware itself is suitably thin and light, with the rear of the device bearing a passing resemblance to recent Sony hardware — possibly due to the understated camera lens in the corner. We’ll let you know if Sharp has plans to offer the tablet to global business types. %Gallery-slideshow99502%

Filed under: Tablets

Comments

Vice President Joe Biden made a big push for Obamacare this weekend, in a move that could fuel even more 2016 speculation.

In an op-ed featured in the Des Moines (Iowa) Register, Biden touted the debut of “the most significant part of Obamacare,” and explained Tuesday’s online health care exchange introduction.

Biden defended President Barack Obama’s push for universal health care, applauding him for committing to address “American’s broken health care system” despite taking office “in the middle of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression” and facing the disproval of countless skeptics:

Read More…
More on Joe Biden

By Mary Jo Rapini for YourTango.com

Current television programs, magazine articles, movies and music don’t represent marriage very well. The area they do the worst job covering is married sex. In many ways, even though most of the single people I know want to get married, the marriage rate has gone down. Couples who believed that cohabitating would keep their sex hot have been disillusioned and disappointed when they find out that what keeps sex hot is the security of a committed relationship.

Moving in together without a commitment to one another may have made the sex better at first, but once the couple began leaning more on one another and having expectations of one another, the sex dwindled just as it does in a marriage that isn’t working. No matter how perfect you are for one another or how great your marriage is, you will get bored with one another from time to time. It is fascinating to talk with a couple that has been married for twenty years while you try to imagine what they still see in each other.

Read More…
More on Health