Friday, December 08, 2006

Some Interesting Links

Silly String vs. Tripwires:  This article is about how a woman is sending silly string (or similar products from other manufacturers) to the soldiers in Iraq.  Apparently they spray the stuff into rooms before they charge in.  It’s got a long enough range to cover most of the room from the door and it’s light enough that it catches on any nearly invisible tripwires that might exist in the room.  Great way to avoid setting off boobytraps, isn’t it?  Whoever thought up this one was brilliant, and I’m glad it works.

Major Record Lables releasing MP3s:  It’s just a pilot program, and it’s hardly full albums, but some of the major record lables are experimenting with selling DRM-free MP3 files.  The idea is that they might generate enough buzz off a few songs that people will buy the whole thing on CD.  And people, like me, who won’t buy iTunes partly because of the DRM (and the fact that Apple’s format pretty much only works on iPods), are much more likely to buy albums based on a few tracks.  Good move on the label’s part.  Now to move EVERYTHING to that model, and then drop the price a LOT.

Nanotube Cheese Knife:  NIST in Boulder, Colorado release this press release about making a nanotube knife that was connected in the same way as a wire cheese knife.  They tested it and found that the welds between the carbon nanotube and the knife’s “handle” was the weak point, not the nanotube itself.  Seriously neat stuff, and just imagine the applications - ultra-sharp scalpels, cutting VERY fine and accurate features, etc.