Dumpshock.com

The forums are, as I type this, being upgraded to the newest version of the board software. This release is requiring us to change skins since our old skin is not compatible. .. but ‘Hey!’ we decided it was time for a face lift anyway.

There will be some reorganization of the forums and some new functionality, but all in all it will be a good thing. Be patient with the virtual dust and construction agents. Keep your exploit toolkits on your home system and we’ll make it as smooth a transition as possible.

–Redjack

Could it be? Are there Martians? Is it a rock? What’s next… A troll skeleton?

British newspapers went crazy Wednesday morning about an image from Mars that appears to show a humanoid figure descending a shallow hillside.

Fox News

Thought your subvocal mic was keeping your communications private? Think again….

Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK are developing a computerized lip-reading system, which they say may be used to fight crime.

Link to The Future of Things

Prototypes that will eventually lead to contact lenses with image link and vision enhancement upgrades are in the lab today. Another step towards augmented reality? You decide….

Engineers at the UW have for the first time used manufacturing techniques at microscopic scales to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights

University of Washington Article

It appears the Native American Nations may be starting to form, starting with the Sioux Nation.

A delegation of Lakota leaders has delivered a message to the State Department, and said they were unilaterally withdrawing from treaties they signed with the federal government of the US, some of them more than 150 years old.

Lakota country includes parts of the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.
Article at Fox News, Article at news.com.au

I’m on the look out for AIM and the Great Ghost Dance myself….

Dumpshocker User McUser (we’re sure it’s his real name, it’s a Shadowrun board *grin*) let us in on this story coming out of the Allied German States.  Thanks, omae.

German scientists have found a way of transforming body heat into electricity using circuitry.

The discovery means that we may be able to operate our mobile phones using nothing but the warmth of our hands in the future.

You can bet that there’s a Johnson out there right now that wants their greasy mitts on this paydata.  Keep an ear out, and don’t forget to check your comm once in a while.

How to generate electricity from body heat

You read that correctly. Apparently, batteries and motors aren’t cutting it. So researchers did what any self-respecting geek would do: they strapped rockets to it. Sorta.

Rockets can help power robotic arms, which could help lead to “better, stronger, faster” bionic limbs, research now reveals.

A new prototype rocket-powered mechanical arm can lift about 20 to 25 pounds—three to four times more than current commercial prosthetic arms—and can do so three to four times faster.

See a diagram of sorts after the cut, and read the full article here: Bionic Arm Powered By Rockets

Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, so my little title might be a bit of a stretch (*grin*), but this article does give us the rundown on some fascinating advances in synthetic muscle tissue, and it’s it looks like some of the first applications of this R&D will be things that our shared game world has had since day one.

Thin sheets of polymer coated with living muscle could be used to test new drugs, repair damaged body parts, or even create life-like bio-machines, researchers say.

This is just the most recent reminder that science fiction is always making itself science fact. Read the full article for more.

‘Muscular films’ promise bodyparts and biomachines

Every good shadowrun team has a hacker to run a muck through their target’s system. Today’s predecessors to shadowrunners have already begun to realize the Internet’s potential.

The FBI is investigating fifteen store robberies in eleven states, committed via phone and internet. The perpetrators hack the store’s security system so they can observe their victims. They then make customers take their clothes off and get the store to wire money.
Source: http://slashdot.org/articles/07/08/30/0321232.shtml

Good description can keep even the most trivial bits of your Shadowrun game fresh and interesting. Take cybereyes for example. Sure, tons of people have them. There are even a few different brands and models sprinkled through the books. Some wiz girls and guys sport eye covers, a lot don’t. But what do your character’s cybereyes look like? Are they run-of-the-mill brown, or a little bit more exciting? Were they custom made? Did your character get that style for a reason? Maybe its not the character’s actual eyes that sport the look, but their custom vision-mod enhanced contact lenses?

Maybe you just need a bit of inspiration to get you going? Then check these out.