towers
Computers
6:40AM Mark Wilson | I stopped by BFG yesterday, makers of the Phobos—a mega performance/home theatre PC aimed at the rich and the lazy. Their touchscreen-wielding Phobos is an understated best of a PC, but I’m more interested in what they’re planning next. More »
The BFG Phobos Is A Hefty HTPC, But Its Sequels Sound Even Better
6:40AM Mark Wilson | I stopped by BFG yesterday, makers of the Phobos—a mega performance/home theatre PC aimed at the rich and the lazy. Their touchscreen-wielding Phobos is an understated best of a PC, but I’m more interested in what they’re planning next. More » 
Gadgets
12:30PM Nick Broughall | Back in the 70s, amateur radio enthusiasts around the world began hearing a sharp, repetitive tapping noise at the 10Hz frequency, which disrupted communications and could occasionally be heard over telephone circuits. It was dubbed the “woodpecker” signal, and this was the cause of it: a Russian over-the-horizon anti-ballistic missile system called Duga-3, which could give early warning of missile launches. More »
Abandoned Duga-3 ‘Woodpecker’ Radio Antenna Looks Menacing
12:30PM Nick Broughall | Back in the 70s, amateur radio enthusiasts around the world began hearing a sharp, repetitive tapping noise at the 10Hz frequency, which disrupted communications and could occasionally be heard over telephone circuits. It was dubbed the “woodpecker” signal, and this was the cause of it: a Russian over-the-horizon anti-ballistic missile system called Duga-3, which could give early warning of missile launches. More »
Software
Cat Stacking iPhone Game is Cute Cruelty
5:10AM Jason Chen | This must-be-from-Japan iPhone game is called Tsumineko Mew Mew Tower, and even from the Engrish name, you can pretty much deduce what it’s going to be about. Yeah, you build a tower of cats. More »
Design
Nakagin Capsule Tower Looks to be From the Future, But Probably Won’t Make it There
4:30PM Elaine Chow | The unique Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo is a futuristic-looking architectural marvel. But without local support for maintenance and preservation, it may not survive long enough for the future to see it. More »
Design
632-Meter Shanghai Tower Will Oscillate Towards The Sky
4:30PM Elaine Chow | Financial apocalypse be damned! The Shanghai Tower, set to reach a whopping 632 meters by the time it’s completed, broke ground over the weekend. With its zenith a full 140 metres higher than the Mori Building (currently the world’s highest observatory), it’ll grab the honours of the tallest building in China. More »
Random Stuff
Two Guys Jumped Off the Burj Dubai and Lived to Tell About It
5:00AM Adam Frucci | Oh, wow. Apparently, in May, a Brit and a Frenchman snuck on to the under-construction Burj Dubai and BASE jumped from it at 650 metres up. Now, there’s video available of their infiltration, jump and subsequent escape. The footage from up top and the jump is just incredible stuff. I wish I had the cajones to do something like this. Although my favourite part of the video may be the footnote at the end; wait for it, it’s worth it. [Current via Neatorama] More »
Design
Sky Village ‘Pixel Tower’ is Sustainable, Adaptable and Really Weird Looking
3:45AM Sean Fallon | Today’s crazy building comes to us via the architects at design firms MVRDV and ADEPT. And no, “Sky Village” is not headed for Dubai. Instead, the 380-foot “pixelated” structure will rise above the city of Roskildevej—just east of Copenhagen, Denmark. The building will include apartments, a hotel, retail shops and offices as well as sky gardens for residents. The most interesting aspect of the design however involves the adaptability of the pixel living spaces. galleryPost('pixeltower', 3, ''); More »
Design
Captial Gate Tower is Four Times as Crooked as the Leaning Tower of Pisa
3:15AM Sean Fallon | If you thought the Leaning Tower of Pisa was messed up, get a load of the Capital Gate tower currently being constructed in Abu Dhabi. Actually, saying it is “messed up” is incorrect given that the 18 degree westward incline was completely intentional. In fact, the project’s architects have submitted a joint application to the Guinness Book of Records to recognise the tower as the ‘most inclined in the world.’ In order to support the awkward angle of the 35-story structure, the design called for a foundation of extremely dense reinforced steel mesh and 490 piles sunk nearly 30 metres into the ground. Hmmm…I hope Abu Dhabi doesn’t get a lot of earthquakes. [World Architecture News via The Design Blog] galleryPost('capitalgate', 3, ''); More »
Networks
The Atlantic: Verizon Did Give John McCain Special Treatment With Cell Towers
12:00AM Matt Buchanan | After the Washington Post ran a story about how both Verizon and AT&T tripped over themselves to put up cell towers at John McCain’s Arizona ranch to patch up his crappy reception, Verizon came out huffing with remarkable speed that it “was wrong,” and they just put those towers up because the Secret Service said so and they had to, not because it was John McCain and he’s more specialerer than you. However, the Atlantic’s Joshua Green lays out why Verizon’s denial doesn’t quite add up.
Toys
