Toluu

Gizmodo

Gizmodo, the gadget guide. So much in love with shiny new toys, it's unnatural.

Boeing Airborne Laser Weapon Fires for the First Time [Military]December 1

Boeing and the US Air Force keep advancing in their airborne high-energy laser weapon, the modified 747-400F that is designed to shoot down missiles as they fly to their targets. Last week they fired the entire laser system for the first time ever at the Edwards Air Force Base in California.

While the laser has been tested before, this was the first time they actually operated the whole thing as if they were shooting down a real target. This test fired the laser from the back-mounted generator thought the beam control system, exiting the aircraft through the nose-mounted turret and hitting a simulated ballistic missile target.

The next test—to be executed next year—will be firing and shooting down a real airborne ballistic missile.

Boeing Airborne Laser Team Fires High-Energy Laser Through Beam Control System

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Dec. 01, 2008 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA], industry teammates and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency last week fired a high-energy laser through the Airborne Laser's (ABL) beam control/fire control system, completing the first ground test of the entire weapon syste

Papercraft Retro Game Consoles Will Adorn Your Cubicle With Geekery on the Cheap [Retromodo]December 1

If your co-workers don't already know about the soft morsel of love for late-70s gaming consoles deep in your heart, why not load up the company's color printer with some heavy-bond and fold up an Atari 2600 to stand proudly by your enterprise Dell (and your HAL 9000). These patterns by Marshall Alexander feature cool 3D pop-outs and nice old-school-appropriate graphics and typography. Better than the limited edition in-box Spawn action figures you have now, and cheaper (ie: free). [Foldskool Heroes via TOYSREVIL]

LHC Might Not Be Back Online Until 2010 or Later [Large Hadron Collider]December 1

When the LHC first went down, it was believed that repairs could get the system up and running by April 2009. Then we saw repairs pushing the timeline back to summer 2009. But now, CERN has arrived at a fork in the road regarding LHC repairs.

According to spokesperson James Gillies, the complicated repairs can be simplified into modest Plan A and Plan B approach.

Plan A is a quick and dirty fix, getting the particle accelerator online as quickly as possible (late summer 2009) at the cost of operating at lower power. In this scenario, 3 of 8 pressure relief-system segments are replaced (only the broken ones) with the other 5 getting upgraded at unsaid maintenance dates in the future.

Plan B is the more extensive but also more delayed approach, requiring the complete redesign and replacement of the LHC's entire pressure-relief system. Under this scenario, the LHC wouldn't go online until 2010 at the earliest, though at that time the system could operate at full power.

As of right now, the team is moving ahead with Plan A in the interest o

A Chainsaw Bayonet Strapped to an AR-15 Rifle is the Ultimate Zombie Killing Weapon [Weapons]December 1

Xbox 360 Logo Spotted in 1697 UFO Sighting Sketch [Conspiracy Theorist]December 1

I'd say that I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I'll be honest, I spotted this 1697 sketch while looking through a UFO conspiracy site. And as far as I'm concerned, it's clearly an ink rendition of two Xbox 360 logos floating in the sky.

This supposedly historical shot was pulled from the 1997 documentary Area 51: Alien Interview. According to the film, on November 4, 1697, the citizens of Hamburg, Germany spotted "two glowing wheels" in the air. To some, it was just further proof of another civilization visiting Earth.
But to modern historians (that would be me, browsing UFO sites when I was bored one Sunday afternoon), these glowing wheels are proof not of future alien technology but of current Microsoft technology. Clearly the company has some sort of time travel machine that resembles a giant Xbox 360 logo. Wait, scratch that. According to this sketch, they have two such machines. And they're probably running some sort of advanced NXE with really fantastic avatars and Netflix streaming in 4K.

Well, that, or the pundits were right