Why You Should Never Pay More Than $10 For HDMI Cables

Why You Should Never Pay More Than $10 For HDMI Cables

Mint lays out the case against the gold-plated, gas-pressurized, terribly overpriced cables you'll find lining the shelves at electronics retailers. Monster is a main culprit of preying on those who haven't learned what Mint's very clever infographic illustrates: there is no difference that you can see with your eyes between at $6 HDMI cable and a $250 HDMI cable. Follow the link for their full take:

Why You Should Never Pay More Than $10 For HDMI Cables @ Lifehacker

FINALLY: The Difference between Nerd, Dork, and Geek Explained by a Venn Diagram

FINALLY: The Difference between Nerd, Dork, and Geek Explained by a Venn Diagram

"To all of you nerds and geeks who–like me–have been unfairly and inaccurately labeled “dorks,” only to then exhaustively explain the differences among the three to a more-than-skeptical offender, I say:

You’re welcome. This nerd/dork/geek/dweeb Venn diagram should save you a lot of time and frustration in the future."

Aspiral Clocks

Aspiral Clocks

"Here comes the revolutionary concept Aspiral Clocks designed by Will Aspinall and Neil Lambeth. How does it work? The clock face ever so slowly spirals over the course of twelve hours, moving a rolling ball precisely around, telling the time as it goes. Brilliant!"

This Is the Future of the Fight Against Cancer - Nanobots - Gizmodo

This Is the Future of the Fight Against Cancer - Nanobots - Gizmodo

Look close. You may be staring at the end of cancer. Those tiny black dots are nanobots delivering a lethal blow to a cancerous cell, effectively killing it. The first trial on humans has been a success, with no side-effects:

It sneaks in, evades the immune system, delivers the siRNA, and the disassembled components exit out.

Those are the words of Mark Davis, head of the research team that created the nanobot anti-cancer army at the California Institute of Technology. According to a study to be published in Nature, Davis' team has discovered a clean, safe way to deliver RNAi sequences to cancerous cells. RNAi (Ribonucleic acid interference) is a technique that attacks specific genes in malign cells, disabling functions inside and killing them.

More @ Gizmodo

i3D's glasses-free prototype screen aims to take on all of 3D's problem areas [video]

i3D's glasses-free prototype screen aims to take on all of 3D's problem areas -- Engadget

Uncomfortable, expensive glasses and a lack of 3D content -- that'd be the short list of stuff we dislike about current 3D TVs, but coincidentally it also happens to be the exact issues i3D is determined to wipe out with its glasses-free technology. We stopped by to meet with the young, Los Angeles-based company last week, and though it obviously isn't the first to develop spec-less displays, its proprietary hardware and software combo was really impressive. The demo of a 7-inch prototype really tells the whole story -- and we encourage you all to see it for yourself in the video after the break, though obviously you won't be able to experience all three dimensions from your standard LCD. Our time screen-gazing was pretty breathtaking, even though the smaller display was far from immersive. As for the viewing angle issue that's the Achilles' heel of the others, i3D claims its technology allows for three-dimensional viewing at close to 90 degrees, though it was hard for us to really evaluate that on such a small screen.

The coolest thing by far is the software's ability to convert 2D to 3D content on the fly. One second we were watching a two-dimensional clip of Cars and then with the tap of the 3D button the car was driving off the screen.

More @ Engadget [video]

Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions | Video on TED.com

Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions | Video on TED.com

Tartan Ribbon - The first color photograph

"Tartan Ribbon, photograph taken by James Clerk Maxwell in 1861. Considered the first colour photograph. Maxwell had the photographer Thomas Sutton photograph a tartan ribbon three times, each time with a different colour filter over the lens. The three images were developed and then projected onto a screen with three different projectors, each equipped with the same colour filter used to take its image. When brought into focus, the three images formed a full colour image. The three photographic plates now reside in a small museum at 14 India Street, Edinburgh, the house where Maxwell was born."

Tartan Ribbon.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain

Princeton University - A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain

A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

More @ Princeton University

MIT Student Invention Deployed in Haiti to Save Lives | Popular Science

MIT Student Invention Deployed in Haiti to Save Lives

PhD candidate Danielle Zurovcik has designed a $3 pump to drastically speed up the healing of countless patients in the aftermath of Haiti's recent earthquake.

Negative-Pressure Pump: viaTechnology Review

The device simplifies and lightens a common piece of medical equipment called a negative-pressure pump. Used to accelerate wound healing and reduce the frequency that bandages need to be changed, even the most portable of these pumps costs $100 a day to rent, and weighs 10 pounds with batteries. The pump Zurovcik invented costs $3 total, weighs less than half a pound, uses only 14 microwatts of power, and can be charged with a hand pump.

More @ Popular Science

Good Concept: Infinite USB plug is a big idea for small conveniences

Infinite USB plug is a big idea for small conveniences

In a classic case of "why didn't we think of this first," Chinese design student Gonglue Jiang has shown us a new way for overcoming the limitations imposed by the scarcity of USB ports onsome computers. Instead of forcing you to constantly hot swap devices into that one port, Gonglue's Infinite USB plugs keep all your cables connected, thereby facilitating those smartphone syncs, spy camera recharges, and -- for the ultimate irony -- maybe even a USB hub. If you're thinking this would be brought down by a bout of bandwidth starvation once you start some USB multitasking, you're probably right, but power shortages shouldn't be an issue as the author has also come up with an external power connector that joins into his Infinite chain of connectivity. If only this wasn't just a concept.

More @ Engadget