lasers

Link It asks players to use mirrors and rotating pearls to maneuver a chain of laser light around each brain-teasing level. It only sounds complicated because it is--at first.

Each level is littered with different configurations of pearls, one of which is your starting point--the green pearl--which fires off the initial laser. Your job is to rotate the pearls so that they reflect the laser around obstacles and eventually back to the green pearl. Oh, and every pearl must be linked in the resulting chain of light.

As you've probably guessed, Link It is not the simplest game in … Read more

We've seen mouse sensors based on one laser, two lasers, BlueTracks, and Darkfields. What about a mouse with both a laser and an optical sensor, you ask? Enter Razer's newly announced 4G Dual Sensor System.

According to the Razer press release, the 4G Dual Sensor System "lets you determine the cutoff height for tracking to stop when the mouse is lifted from the surface. This is especially important for gamers who pick up their mice to accommodate wide swiping motions." In addition to height detection, Razer also attributes to its sensor design a new 6,400dpi … Read more

"Fire the laser!" may sound like something straight out of "Star Wars," but that phrase could one day be common on U.S. Navy ships.

Northrop Grumman and the Office of Naval Research recently concluded a series of successful solid-state laser defense firing tests aboard the decommissioned Spruance-class destroyer USS Paul F. Foster (a remotely driven self-defense test ship). The Maritime Laser Demonstrator zapped away at an assortment of objectives at the Pacific Ocean Test Range off the central California coast, including land-based targets and remotely driven small boats that traveled at various speeds.

It was the first time a laser of such strength had been fired from a moving ship at sea. This is also the first system to be integrated with a Navy ship's radar and navigation system, ensuring a much higher level of accuracy. The U.S. Navy collaborated with the Office of the Secretary of Defense's High Energy Joint Technology Office and the Army's Joint High Powered Solid State Laser program to bring this once-imagined weapon to life. … Read more

The U.S. Navy demonstrates how it can set a boat on fire remotely using a laser. Which is super awesome as a video, and slightly terrifying as a demonstration of future military capabilities. Also, Steve Jobs finally agrees to an authorized biography, Sony blinks in the George Hotz PS3 jailbreaking lawsuit, smart phone users are wasting hundreds of dollars a year, and Facebook is working on its latest venture: the Socialist Network. --Molly

SAN FRANCISCO--There will be quite the land grab ahead as mobile trends continue to make their way into the e-commerce world. Or at least that's what it seems based on two short talks at this week's Web 2.0 Expo about the future of commerce, one yesterday afternoon from Google vice president of payments Osama Bedier, and one this morning from eBay vice president of global product management Dane Glasgow.

"Shoppers don't distinguish between online and mobile. They think of mobile as an extension of their everyday activities," Glasgow said. "Mobile's clearly having … Read more

What to do with all the space junk now in orbit around Earth? Each year, that question grabs a headline or two before disappearing. But that doesn't mean the problem is getting any closer to resolution.

In fact, just the opposite: scientists warn that the risk of a collision between debris objects in low-Earth orbit and a space craft remains a real risk. In 2009, Hugh Lewis, a lecturer in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Southampton, predicted that the threat posed by space debris would climb by 50 percent in this decade. Perhaps the most high-profile incident occurred … Read more

The last time I featured a $50 laser printer, it was a bare-bones, no-frills, entry-level-as-they-come model.

Today, that same $50 will buy you something better: OfficeMax has the Samsung ML-2525 laser printer for $49.99 (plus sales tax in some states). Toss something else in your cart (like these 99-cent binder clips) and you'll score free shipping.

The ML-2525 is your basic personal laser printer, one that comes with a 250-sheet paper tray, an 80-sheet output tray, a 1,500-page toner cartridge, and a USB interface. (If you want the wireless version, the ML-2525W is on sale for $89.99.)… Read more

iPhone users can now rely on Google for a helping hand the next time they go shopping.

The search giant yesterday launched a version of its free Google Shopper app for the iPhone. The app, which has been available for Android users the past year, is essentially a mobile search engine for products, letting you compare prices and read reviews before you open your wallet.

The app offers several ways to search for products. You can type the name of the item in the search field. You can snap a photo of a book, CD, DVD, or video game or … Read more

Sorry for the "outage" yesterday. Didn't mean to leave you hanging without your daily deal!

In the market for a printer? I've always preferred lasers to inkjets, especially when it comes to printing color documents (not photos, mind you, but documents).

TigerDirect has the HP Color LaserJet CP1215 printer for $99.99, plus around $21 for shipping. That's a whopping $200 off the list price. The printer is new, not refurbished.

The CP1215 is an entry-level, Windows-only office model, able to churn out 12 black/8 color pages per minute. It has a 600-dpi output … Read more