Boeing has shot down an incoming unmanned aerial vehicle using their new Laser Avenger system, which you can see in the picture. According to Boeing’s VP for Directed Energy Systems, this is crucial:

Small UAVs armed with explosives or equipped with surveillance sensors are a growing threat on the battlefield. Laser Avenger, unlike a conventional weapon, can fire its laser beam without creating missile exhaust or gun flashes that would reveal its position. As a result, Laser Avenger can neutralize these UAV threats while keeping our troops safe.

The Laser Avenger is mounted on the kinetic-based Avenger air defense system. However, no kinetic weapons were used in taking down the UAV. Tested at the White Sands Missile Range— a 3,200-square-mile rocket range in New Mexico, the largest military installation in the US—the Laser Avenger tracked three UAVs flying “against a complex background of mountains and desert”, shooting down one of the UAVs.

The test success comes after the company doubled the laser power and added acquisition and tracking capabilities to the original design. Star Wars, here we go. [Via Press Release]

source pc.qj.net

While I like Pac Man running across Addy’s boobs, this has to be one of the most hilarious and disturbing tattoos I’ve ever seen. Discover where it’s located after the jump. If you dare.

For obvious reasons, “Insert Coin” comes to mind. While this is certainly not the first gaming tattoo I’ve ever seen, it’s certainly the one I’ll always remember. In fact, each time I glance at it, I feel a BSOD coming. [Carino via Walyou]

source pc.qj.net

Option’s cool little 3G router makes a WiFi hotspot out of a 3G signal, providing pretty good download/upload speeds in the process. It’ll also let you plug in networked devices like hard drives and printers.

The GlobeSurfer features a built-in screen that’ll let you control its various options, and impressive speeds: download is 7.2 Mbps and upload is 5.76 Mbps. It’s got a USB port for networked peripherals as well. Unfortunately, it does require a power supply, so it might not be great for camping trips, but it’s a nice proof of concept. Pricing and release date haven’t been released, but it shouldn’t be far off. [Electronista]

source pc.qj.net

Palm’s Matt Crowley explained the Pre’s unfortunate lack of a MicroSD(HC) slot as a choice based on the confines of the Pre’s hardware. This omission might be a deal-breaker for the media-centric crowd.

Crowley is currently holding an open chat on Facebook to answer any questions people might have, although it’s heavily selective. Among the questions Crowley won’t answer: how intrusive is the multi-platform personal information program Synergy going to be? What about the lack of desktop synchronization, or cloud storage? But he does take a crack at a question on MicroSD expandability.

‘Design’ was the highest goal on the Palm Pre project. The phone has to look and function great in the hand and up against the face on a call. The decision to include or not include expandable storage is an easy one when design is the highest priority. The physical size of the device would have been compromised if we added another physical component to Pre. Just a millimeter can seriously impact the curvature of the design in a way that minimizes the design intent. We wanted to maintain a slick curved slider design without building out too much thickness. When you look at the two parts of the product and see how thin they really are, you may be amazed that we were able to fit everything in. And yes, all the stuff does fit.

The other advantage of embedded memory is that you have a large amount of storage out of the box for media and files. Including 8GBs of storage on the phone is a large amount of storage for many people, but not all. Yes, not all. We know that not everyone will be happy, but that is one of many decisions that needs to be made.

We really like the Pre, but 8GB is just not enough these days and given the Pre is thicker than certain competitors, it seems there could have been a way to fit in a slot for expandability or at least double the embedded storage. Crowley’s excuse seems kind of lame, but the Pre was never presented as a multimedia-focused phone. What do you guys think? Is only including 8GB a mistake on Palm’s part, or will the mass public not care? [Palm Info Center]

source pc.qj.net

This oddball vertical airship is designed to stay in the air for a whopping two weeks without landing. It’s powered by a crew of 2-4 people pedaling, presumably in an ironic nod to The Flintstones.

The helium airship, named for the Greek god of the wind, is only in the concept stage for now. But it looks like something out of Dinotopia, and the goofy vertical design is surprisingly cool.

[Treehugger]

source pc.qj.net

Even though the Windows Team said they were removing the download cap on Windows 7 until Jan. 24, they didn’t mean downloads would end on Jan. 24. Windows 7 will be available through Feb. 10.

You have to start downloading Windows 7 before Feb. 10, but you have until Feb. 12 to finish it, and product keys will be available after Feb. 12, though they don’t say for how long after. Which essentially means you now have all the time in the world to install Windows 7. You can download it from Microsoft now and get a key way later, or, from the way it sounds, you could even grab a torrent after Microsoft stops offering downloads and then still get a key from them.

So yeah, it really is kind of like a free upgrade, at least until it self-destructs on Aug. 1. [Windows Team]

source pc.qj.net

One of the minor, more handy features of Windows 7 is a new way to resize windows by just dragging them to the edge of the screen in a gesture-based action.

If you drag your window to the top of the screen, it will maximize and fill the space completely. If you drag it to the left or right edge, it will dock it to that side and take up roughly 60% of the horizontal space (notice the silhouettes of the larger windows). Drag it back down or over in the other direction and it returns to its previous size.

It’s especially helpful when you’re working on computers with small screens and trackpads, where it can be a hassle to get your cursor over that tiny button to maximize or restore to normal size. Instead of a small space to aim for, you at least have the whole upper bar to work with.

source pc.qj.net

When you’re stressed at work, you might find yourself “goofing off” to ease your frustrations. But when a coworker waltzes in looking for you, what do you do? Swift, hit the Hulk Smash USB button!

Using three different interactive Hulk-themed screen and sound effects, this button will allow you to unleash your anger and immediately hide whatever is currently on your personal screen. And if you’re having a superhero identity crisis, you can Power Up with the Iron Man button, or activate your Spidey-Senses with the Spiderman one, which contain the same features. Pricing is available upon request. [Product Page via Nerd Approved]

source pc.qj.net

Some Halo player imagines what it would look like if Microsoft ever purchased Target. Hah. [Halolz - Thanks Marco!]

Note: Don’t take it seriously. It’s just a funny image I thought I’d pass along.

source pc.qj.net

Call me old-timey, but I prefer my lunar rovers on the moon or—barring that—on some sort of rocky facsimile, not rolling up Pennsylvania Avenue. Only thing worse? Dudes wearing spacesuits on earth. [More at Jalopnik]

source pc.qj.net