Month: December 2006

Microsoft released free developer tools on Monday that will allow amateurs to make their own video games.
XNA Game Studio Express 1.0 is a framework for creating games with the C# programming language, a content pipeline for incorporating 3D-rich content, and includes libraries of 2D and 3D content that can be applied to games. XNA games can be played on the Xbox 360 itself or a Windows PC. The development tool package is free to download, though a subscription service is required for developers to share the games they create with anyone else.

Read more from CNET

5. Todd Agnew – My Jesus
4. Audio Adrenaline – Big House
3. Between Theives – Two Pennies
2. U2 – City of Blinding Lights
1. Dave Barnes – I Have and Always Will

Via ONR

An Australian National University researcher claims to have invented a technology that could cut the cost of producing solar panels by more than 60 percent. According to Professor Andrew Blakers, director of the Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems at the Australian National University system works by taking a standard solar cell about one millimeter thick and cutting it into tiny slices that are just 120 micrometers wide. “Imagine a standard solar cell is a loaf of bread. When you put it out in the sun it generates energy based on its surface area. Now imagine you cut that loaf up into slices and lay them horizontally. You get a lot more surface area,” he said. According to him, the technique also allows researchers to use much smaller amounts of expensive silicon to generate the same amount of electricity.

Read more at Treehugger

Fiscal-responsibility site Feed the Pig offers a wealth of tools, tips and articles to help you keep your finances under control.
Start with its two calculators. The first shows you how much money you can save over time by brown-bagging your lunch. The second helps you pay off your credit card over a set period. Feed the Pig also has articles on establishing a budget; a worksheet for determining your personal cash-flow; tips for buying a home; and much more.
Via: Lifehacker

DIY Happy has info on a Mac nut who’s installed a touch screen computer in his car with touch-screen media control, war-driving tools, mobile internet and coming soon – GPS.
There’s no limit to what a man with a passion can do.

A friend called me yesterday right after church and let me know that JB Hunt is dead. Hunt was the owner and founder of JB Hunt trucking and a huge financial backer of the recent purchase of the Superconducting Super Collider from Ellis County. I wonder what impact that will have on the plans at the defunct physics experiment.