spiders

Spiders and snakes in war--oh my!

Warfare is scary enough, but now some scientists want to throw some spiders and snakes into the action, but with the intention of making it less scary for soldiers.

BAE Systems is developing electronic spiders, insects, and snakes to help soldiers gather information without exposing them to dangerous situations on the battlefield, according an announcement the defense giant released this week. The effort is being funded by a $38 million agreement with the U.S. Army.

The Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance aims to create miniature robots that will act as the eyes and ears of … Read more

Yahoo moving to new Web-crawler software

Yahoo has begun indexing the World Wide Web with its third-generation software, Slurp 3.0, the company said Monday.

"With everything now in place, the rollout has officially begun," Sharad Verma and Yoram Arnon said in a posting to Yahoo's search blog on Monday.

Unlike top search rival Google, which on Friday revealed its indexing software now is trying to uncover previously hidden pages by filling in Web pages' forms, Yahoo didn't detail what's new with its indexing software.

The company did advise those who watch for indexing software (sometimes called bots, crawlers, and spiders) … Read more

Video: Alfa Romeo 8C Spider

Alfa Romeo is set to return to the U.S. soon. While you wait, Brian Cooley thought you'd like to see the car you can't get in the U.S. right now, but probably should. Take a look at the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider, as well as a few other offerings from the Italian automaker.

Click here for our coverage of the 2008 Geneva Auto Show.

The Spider-Man of the sci-fi writing world

I was a big Spider-Man fan when I was a kid. I could never understand why poor Spidey was persecuted by J. Jonah Jameson, editor of the Daily Bugle. I was especially mystified by how easily Jameson could get the police to pursue Spider-Man despite all the obvious good he was doing.

I'd like to think that anyone familiar with the Spider-Man stories--and who isn't, considering that the three recent movies brought in $2.5 billion at the box office plus untold additional revenue from the DVD releases--would appreciate the irony of Peter Parker's position. He does … Read more

AMD vs. Intel vs. buying a gaming PC this holiday season

You may have seen news today that AMD announced its new Spider platform this morning, consisting of two quad core Phenom CPUs, a new 700-series of motherboard chipsets, and its already announced Radeon HD 3000-series of graphics cards. At 2.2GHz and 2.3GHz for the Phenom 9500 and 9600, respectively, AMD's new chips will need to rely on price, rather than performance, to entice buyers to choose those chips, or systems based on them, over Intel's 2.4GHz Core 2 Quad Q6600. Pricing will shake out as the various retailers get their inventories and can gauge demand, … Read more

AMD hopes for desktop PC boost with Spider

The first major fruits of Advanced Micro Devices' acquisition of ATI Technologies are ready for the public just as the market for those products is going through some profound changes.

Spider will be AMD's first "platform" product when it makes its expected debut Monday. It is designed for desktop PCs, and the entire Spider package comes with a new processor, AMD's quad-core Phenom chip, the new 7-series chipsets, and new graphics chips.

The two Phenom processors launching Monday are essentially desktop versions of AMD's Barcelona quad-core processors. They're designed for the upper half of … Read more

Sony cuts price on PS3--is it enough?

Way back on September 12, we reported on rumors that Sony would be releasing a $400 40GB PS3/Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray bundle for the holidays. The not-so-secret new system has now been officially announced by Sony, with a November 2nd launch date in the North America. At the same time--effective immediately--the current 80GB model will be available in North America for $500.

In Sony's press release, CEO Jack Tretton is quoted as saying, "We're pleased to offer the consumer a lower price point without sacrificing the core technology components that make PS3 the most advanced high-definition entertainment … Read more

Face to face with Spidey

You young'uns out there can have your Transformers and such. We oldsters, and our creaky animated icons, are making a comeback.

Soon we'll be roaring to life in Speed Racer's "Mach 5," but first we must pay respect once again to another of our childhood favorites, Spider-Man. The latest tribute to the Webbed One comes in the form of a "Spider-Man Speaker Pillow," which Uber-Review says can play tunes from an MP3 player or anything else that can take a 3.5-millimeter headphone plug.

Actually, the real reason for posting this item was … Read more

Your friendly neighborhood cell phone

As Spider-Man fans eagerly await the next movie (please don't make Venom lame), we hear Sony Ericsson will sling out some Spidey-enhanced handsets soon.

The K800i, the K750i, K550i, and the K610i will be getting new suits. And don't worry about scratching your phone when you're web-slinging because these special-edition phones come with a carrying case and a wrist strap. Reportedly, there will also be exclusive Spider-Man wallpapers and screensavers preloaded on the phones.

No word on when these are expected to be available, but it shouldn't be too far as the movie's only a … Read more