News

Our next R-SPEC meeting is Tuesday, June 2, at 7pm, at the Pittsford Barnes and Noble. The topic is differences between books and movies based upon them, particularly in the horror genre, but also addressing "weird fiction" and other genre and sub-genre.

Our next R-SPEC meeting is Tuesday, May 5, at 7pm, at the Pittsford Barnes and Noble. IP Attorney Katherine McGuire, Leader of Woods Oviatt Gilman's IP Practice, Licensing, & Technology Group, will speak to the group on the topic of copyright. She will cover the basics and address aspects of online publishing, DRM, and the Google book scanning project. Please spread the word to anyone you know who is interested in these topics and have them come along.

Engadget relays a BBC News story about Russia's ideas for capsule landings. It's just like all those old science fiction movies where the rocket decends on its tail with engines blazing. Click the title for links, etc.

Bacterium transforms sand into sandstone in proposal to stop the Sahara's growth. Could the cat be put back in the bag if used? Could this be used to terraform sandy planets? The bacterium in question is all around us and has been the subject of other proposals. Click the title for more.

Kindle 2 and iPod Shuffle do a scene from Bladerunner. Video included. :-) Click the title of the story to view and hear how these devices actually perform.

Click the title for information about a cool way to reuse those old machines in your basement.

Click the title for links to sites with wild mythological and otherwise imagined animal art.

J.G. Ballard died yesterday, 19 April 2009, at a bit over 78. Particularly known for dystopian fiction, it is unlikely that he will be forgotten any time soon. Click the title for more information, including links to his web site, an obituary/memory/farewell page, and the Wikipedia entry about him.

Click the title for more info.

Wicked cool Star Trek the Next Generation style desktop theme for OSX. Click the title for more information.