Friday, May 30, 2008

Logitech G25 Racing Wheel Long-term Review

Is the Logitech G25 Racing Wheel worth $300?

If you're a serious sim-racing enthusiast, the answer is yes.

 Read my long-term review.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Follow the Phoenix Mars Lander Mission

I just watched the thrilling live coverage of the Phoenix Lander's successful touchdown on Mars (delayed 15 minutes by the signal traveling from Mars to Earth and by the 9 hours it took me to have time to watch the Science Channel HD live coverage on our DVR - but it was still exciting).

The Phoenix has deployed its solar panels, stereoscopic camera and some of its instrument packages. Now those teams of scientists who have been planning the mission for nearly a decade will attempt to make the most of the next 90 days to analyze the contents of the ice under the surface of the soil in the polar region which Phoenix now calls home. Phoenix will attempt to look for signs of organic life and analyze atmospheric properties. After about three months, the Phoenix mission will end as the lander is encased in one meter of frozen carbon dioxide during the Martian winter.

Follow Phoenix' progress on NASA Jet Propulsion Lab's Phoenix site and the University of Arizona's Phoenix site (the U of A is the first public university to lead a Mars mission).

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Geotagging Photo with GPS Location Information on a Macintosh

I've written and article of my experience with geotagging digital photos using a tiny and relatively inexpensive GPS logging device, any digital camera and a Macintosh. With these components, the location of each photograph can be embedded into the image file. A cool application: images can be displayed on maps in their relative locations.