[H]ardNews 9th Edition - Blair's Tech Ed.

Technology + Beer = The Win!

How about a special beer mat / coaster that contains a pressure sensor and radio transmitter to let the bartender know when you need a refill. The inventors names are Butz and Schmitz, imagine the fun you could have with that on an advertising campaign.

A beer mat that knows when a glass is nearly empty and automatically asks for a refill has been created by thirsty researchers in Germany. Andreas Butz at the University of Munich and Michael Schmitz from Saarland University came up with the idea while out drinking with their students.

Google + NASA = GASA?

O.K., I’m reading this one but I still don’t get it. What is Google doing with NASA and why? You know you are getting too big when you go from search engines to Google lunar landings.

Researchers will collaborate in areas including new materials, "bio-info-nano convergence, supercomputing, data mining, and bringing entrepreneurs into the space program," Hubbard said. "Google and NASA share a common desire to bring a universe of information to people around the world," said Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt.

Electrodes + Hat = Virtual Adventure!

I am wearing one of these as we speak. Naked.

The team tested their creation by asking participants to navigate a virtual-reality studio called the Virtual Cave. Test subjects sit in a square studio wearing three-dimensional goggles, which project a scene such as a street, complete with pedestrians and buildings.