Online Gamers To Help Create Vaccines And Cures

Being an online gamer doesn’t hold quite the same social stigma it once did. It’s now perfectly acceptable to admit to others, even in polite and mixed company, that you play World of Warcraft until four in the morning. Games like Second Life and WoW have brought a pastime once associated with spotty, socially inept, teenagers to the masses.

It seems that thanks to the online game called FoldIt that this evolution of sorts is being taken to a whole new extreme. An extreme that, even after continued assessment and reassessment seems… odd.

Without getting too heavily involved in the baffling science behind Protein folding, FoldIt enables players to help shape the advance of medical science by simulating the protein folding process. Players compete to fold the best protein, and the software predicts just how effectively they have solved the problem. The end result could well be used to help create vaccines and make medical discoveries.

While it hints of a million monkeys with a million typewriters game developers claim that FoldIt uses humans’ inherent problem solving capabilities, thus removing the need to rely on expensive and largely time consuming computer analytical methods of discovering protein folding methods.

So if, God forbid, you’re ever diagnosed with a life threatening disease and the doctor tells you that they have a breakthrough vaccine they’d like to try, don’t be too surprised if you learn that it was developed by somebody called **FoldItN00b1972**.

Portable Cinema Screen For Your Back Yard

Have you ever dreamed about having your own cinema in your house? Well it can now become a reality with this portable cinema screen.

This backyard cinema portable projection system and all of this can be yours for around £500. The screen is easily constructed using an aluminium tubed frame so you can be watching your favourite movies on this large screen in no time at all.

The large screen measures 10.5 by 6 feet and there is also a massive screen that measures an amazing 13.5 by 9 feet. You can pick up one of these beauties from back yard drive ins website. Happy viewing.

Is Blu-Ray Really The Future?

With HD-DVD being the Betamax of the 21^st century, Blu-Ray players are, apparently, the future. Of course, the PS3 offers one of the most affordable all-round solutions to owning a Blu-Ray player, but we don’t all want to use a games console that bears a striking resemblance to a George Foreman grill to watch films.

Unfortunately, try though I might, it’s a real struggle to find any Blu-Ray players or recorders that stand out. News that Blu-Ray sales tumbled (from an already unimpressive figure) last month does little to make us believe that things are likely to improve in the near future.

Sony, presumably not wanting to compete with the PS3, are equally responsible (if not more so) than any other company. Their own efforts appear over-priced and under-featured compared to the PS3.

It is possible to get a Blu-Ray player for marginally less than the price of a PS3 but the hardware definitely seems to suffer as a result. Sharp have released a couple of decent efforts, in terms of price, but the sensible money still rests with the PS3 – for now, at least.

For those of us that are always on the look out for a new avenue of gadget dreams, the future does not look Blu. We are on the look out for Blu-Ray equipment to review, but if you see anything first, let us know.

The Ultimate Bang & Olufsen Beoliving Home Theatre System

Bang & Olufsen has long been a name synonymous with high end goods with equally high end price tags. The equipment is virtually unsurpassed but you do need a large bank balance in order to be able to afford even the cheaper end of the remote control spectrum. But, hey, we can dream – and, in this particular dream, we live in a house that has the most exquisite home theatre system.

Beoliving systems don’t have to stop at the TV and DVD player either. For a little extra you can also have them integrated fully and seamlessly into your automated home system. This means that with a single click of your reassuringly expensive remote control you can dim the lights, close the curtains, turn the kettle on, start playing a DVD, and have the volume adjusted to just the perfect setting.

Add to that, the fact that B&O still produces some of the finest sounding speakers and greatest looking visual equipment on the market, and you’ve got a recluse’s dream. If you are interested, then pop along to the Beoliving website and you can arrange for a group of technicians to come and assess your house – presumably they check whether it looks high quality enough to house the equipment before you buy anything.

The Archos Content Portal

The Archos Content Portal (ACP) is a content marketplace that enables to download music, TV content, and video content directly to their portable devices. Partnerships with a number of content providers means that ACP users have quick and easy access to a varied range of media.

If you use a WiFi enabled Archos portable media player you can download content directly to your portable device without having to go through a PC or other device. The ACP website is designed especially for use by Archos WiFi owners and has been optimised to offer the best mobile experience.

New additions are being made to the service, which have recently included video games that can be downloaded and played either directly on the Archos portable device or on a Television using the PMP as a sort of mobile games console. According to one report, there are some huge names also being lined up to be a part of the Content Portal.

According to the Archosfans website several high profile names including Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon, AOL, YouTube, and more are listed in a provider.xml file in the system folder of the Archos. These are obviously major content providers that would represent a huge amount of content to ACP users.

Itunes Offers Movies For Sale Or Rent

Apple has announced that it will now offer UK users the opportunity to rent or buy movies from the iTunes online service. The service will initially include 700 films, 100 of which will be in high definition, and many more will be added. Apple boasts that films from some of the major producers like 20th Century Fox, Disney, and Paramount will be made available.

Movie rental gives users 30 days to start viewing once a title has been downloaded and 48 hours from when they first view it. Over a broadband connection the download will take just a few minutes and can be downloaded either to iTunes or to Apple TV so it can be watched on your widescreen HDTV at home.

Pricing looks fairly reasonable with rentals costing £2.49 (£3.49 HD) for a library rental and £3.49 (£4.49 HD) for a new release. Buying an older movie will cost £6.99 with new releases weighing in at £10.99.

An Apple TV box connects directly to your TV and wirelessly to your computer or home network. You can then download music, TV shows, and movies so that you can watch them on your home TV.

Sky HD - Is It Worth It?

The SKY HD Box is actually a combination of an HD subscription package and the Sky+ service that acts like PVR, or Personal Video Recorder. With a 160GB hard drive as standard it enables you to record up to 80 hours of standard definition programs or 30 hours of high definition entertainment.

Of course, another advantage of the Sky HD box is that it allows you to access an excellent range of HD channels. There are currently more than a dozen channels broadcasting HD programs, including movie and sports channels as well as general interest and documentaries. While some of these channels will only transmit the occasional HD program some are dedicated entirely to the provision of high definition.

The difference in picture quality, as well as sound clarity, is quite stunning and definitely noticeable. As well as a Sky HD box, with Sky HD subscription, you will also need an HD ready TV. Many new televisions are manufactured as HD ready but if you are looking for a new set and you want to take advantage of this emerging technology then you must ensure that your TV is HD capable. Fortunately, those that are boast about it so look for the big-headed sets with HD Ready emblazoned all over them.

Sky has long been a leading light in the provision of satellite and digital TV. While the HD subscription may seem pricey at first glance, the quality difference is truly astonishing and, in our opinion, worth every extra penny and more