Sunday, 20 May 2012 01:38

This is but a model of a giant robot, but it surely conveys the idea of fighting future forest fires without putting man in harm's way. Known as the Forest Fire Clear Cut Robot, the model consists of 600 parts and took half a year to complete. It features all the necessary tools to slice trees down as and where necessary in order to prevent the flames from spreading any further in a wilderness setting. I wonder whether such a robot, should it actually be developed in the future, will be smart or kind enough not to chop down trees that contain nests/homes of endangered animals. Chances are its feet might end up squashing a wayward skunk or human, too.

Sunday, 20 May 2012 01:38

Sony refuses to call its latest 8-inch mini note — the Vaio P Series Lifestyle PC — a netbook. Why? It’s a far more capable device than most netbooks, which justifies its price (twice that of most netbooks), Sony officials say. And boy, are they wrong.

If by "capable" they mean "stuff you can get done with it," then you’re going to need to learn a lot of hot keys. Because the worst part of this netbook (yes, I called it that) is its mouse. It’s a pointing stick. A device this puny is hard enough to use in the first place, and poking a piece of rubber to make selections is just God-awful annoying. And for clicking, there are two wide, silver buttons beneath the space bar; they’re positioned so awkwardly you’re going to pray you never have to right-click.