simul

Some people will go to great lengths to conceal their gaming activities, even going so far as to purchase an elaborate workstation that's obviously meant to facilitate their addiction. But for those who aren't ashamed to flaunt their virtual prowess, especially on the digital raceway, something like this is more in order.

The "Virtual GT Personal Racing Simulator" takes its genre to the extreme, securing you behind the wheel with a high-performance gaming computer, built-in speakers, MasterCraft racing seat, force-feedback steering wheel, and four "vibration transducers" that, if working properly, could make you sick … Read more

DUBLIN, Ireland--There isn't quite an inch of dust on top of Institutione Catholica, a two-volume theological set of books dating back a few centuries. But it looks close.

The entire top of the volumes is coated in a thick, brown mass. Some of the dust has formed into balls about the size of beetles. When a graduate student picks up one of the volumes, part of the frayed binding falls off. It will be glued back on later.

The Long Room in the Old Library at Dublin's Trinity College houses one of the most extensive collections of antique … Read more

Astronomers are using the world's largest supercomputers to transform theories and formulas into animated 3D simulations of black holes colliding, stars being born, and gamma-ray bursts blowing everything else away.

Check out the story and image gallery at Popsci.com: "Cutting edge visions of cosmic extremes"

It must be tough for the Nex-sys salespeople to keep a straight face while pitching their products as "workstations." Clearly, whoever ends up using the company's line of "V1" desks and chairs won't be getting much work done because they'll be too busy honing their skills on Halo 3.

While initially touting their workstations' ergonomic and space-saving designs, Nex-sys immediately adds that they can also be used as a "gaming chair, flight simulator, and racing simulator," as well as a "personal movie theater." In addition to its height-adjustable monitor … Read more

These days, "lightweight" and "compact" aren't adjectives commonly used to describe game simulators, especially if you're shopping for one at FAO Schwarz with a budget in the neighborhood of $300,000. But those are ostensibly among the selling points for the "Dreamflyer," which is being marketed as a relatively uncomplicated system--a characteristic that certainly bucks current trends.

The simulator is supposedly more sensitive to player controls than other systems, responding to "pilot-induced roll and pitch oscillation" captured by sensors under the chair and displayed on the screen, according to Pocket-Lint. … Read more

The buying experience of cell phones has always been frustratingly full of unknowns: you don't have a good idea of what the service coverage will be like before switching plans, you don't know what reception your specific phone will get, and you are usually stuck with a dummy non-operative phone to look at in the store that gives you little idea how it will actually work.

A new Web site has come into beta that aims to plug that last hole. TryPhone provides onscreen simulations of handsets and shows how different button presses let you navigate through the … Read more

The last time we saw a "HotSeat" game simulator, it was a relatively bare-bones setup, at least compared with some others on the market back then. But with competition getting increasingly insane, it clearly needed to upgrade its offerings--lest it be named HotSeat for reasons other than intended.

BornRich says the "HotSeat 275 " is a two-seater that features a "Sony Slim PS 2 with controller, 8MB memory card, two Dolby 5.1 surround-sound speakers with a remote control and subwoofer unit, a copy of Grand Turismo 4 and two Logitech Driving Force Pro force-feedback wheels … Read more

If your fair-weather friends are getting bored with your in-home theater, bowling alley, and bevy of indentured pedicurists, you may want to step up to a VirTra Systems' mobile live-fire training simulation trailer.

The trailer is based on the Houston company's IVR (immersive virtual training) simulation technology and offers a three-lane marksmanship simulator and "full-featured judgmental-use-of-force scenario" with both laser-based and live-fire training, including full auto in anything up to .50 caliber. Depending on your preferred quarry, it's available in either a police or military version.

"We remain committed to offering the training community innovative, … Read more

This is so cool: Google Earth (download) has a slightly hidden flight simulator. Press Ctrl-Alt-A (on a PC) to bring it up the first time. After that, Ctrl-A or a selection from the "Tools" menu activates it.

It's no Microsoft Flight Simulator in terms of controls, flyability, or features (no sound, no weather, no autopilot, only two aircraft choices... I could go on), but since the Google flight simulator has access to Google Earth's streaming database, the visuals are awesome. In most areas, it looks fantastic when your plane is more than about 2,000 feet above ground level. Get down low and it becomes a lot less believable, except in cities with good 3D building coverage.

… Read more