Showing posts with label Future Technologies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Future Technologies. Show all posts
Friday, 16 November 2012
Oak Ridge's Titan Named World's Fastest Supercomputer
The U.S. once again has the world's top supercomputer.The Titan, a Cray XK7 system installed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, has been named the fastest supercomputer in the world in the 40th edition of the twice-annual Top500 List.
According to a Top500 news release, the Titan achieved 17.59 Petaflop/s (quadrillions of calculations per second) on the Linpack benchmark. The computer runs 560,640 processors, including 261,632 Nvidia K20x accelerator cores.
Titan replaced Oak Ridge's XT5 Jaguar, which ranked as the world's fastest computer in November 2009 and June 2010 before it was bested by the Chinese Tianhe-1A system at the National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin two years ago.
This summer, however, the U.S. reclaimed the top spot among the world's supercomputers when an American computer topped the list. The Sequoia, an IBM BlueGene/Q system located in the Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, won the race in June, but has since been knocked to No. 2.
"The new Top500 list clearly demonstrates the U.S. commitment to applying high-performance computer to breakthrough science, and that's our focus at Oak Ridge," director Thom Mason said in a statement. "We'll deliver science from Day One with Titan, and I look forward to the advancements the Titan team will make in areas such as materials research, nuclear energy, combustion and climate science," he said.
The hybrid machine combines the traditional central processing units (CPUs) with graphic processing units (GPUs) — one of the first steps toward the goal of exascale computing, ORNL reported. The new format would generate 1,000 quadrillion calculations per second using 20 megawatts or less of electricity.
Filling out the top five spots, in order, are Fujitsu's K computer at the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS) in Kobe, Japan; a BlueGene/Q system called Mira at Argonne National Laboratory; and a BlueGene/Q system named JUQEEN at the Forschungszentrum Juelich in Germany, which has been upgraded and is now considered the most powerful system in Europe, according to Top500.
America also contributed a new system to the Top 10, a Dell PowerEdge C8220 system dubbed Stampede, installed at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas in Austin. Using new Intel Xeon Phi processors, it reaches 2.6 Petaflop/s.
The U.S. has plenty of supercomputer competition, mainly in Asia, where China and Japan dominated the list, with 72 systems (up from 68) and 31 systems (down from 35), respectively.
Meanwhile, computers with multi-core processors dominate the November list. More than 84 percent of the systems use processors with six or more cores, and 46 percent with eight or more, Top500 reported. The majority of those processors are provided by Intel (76 percent), while AMD Opteron produced 12 percent — the same as six months ago, and IBM Power rounded out the bunch with 10 percent.
For more from Stephanie, follow her on Twitter @smlotPCMag.
Thursday, 15 November 2012
Trampoline Bridge in Paris Would Make Crossing the River Fun Again
I’ve always had a fascination with bridges ever since I was a kid, all thanks to the rhyme that went ‘London bridge is falling down…’ Now that I think of it, it’s a sad rhyme and what does it have to do with the fair lady?
Anyway, that fascination wore off when I realized that bridges were just, you know, bridges. But I think this concept for a trampoline bridge in Paris (called ‘A Bridge in Paris’ – stating the obvious, I know) might have just brought the joy back to bridges!
Basically, the picture says it all. To let everyone experience the ‘joyful release from gravity’, the AZC Architecture Studio designed the bridge using three gigantic trampolines that would be connected with massive inflatable tubes.
Now that’s one bridge that I’d like to keep crossing all day long.
Of course, they don’t quite explain how they’d keep people from flying off the thing and landing in the River Seine.
Anyway, that fascination wore off when I realized that bridges were just, you know, bridges. But I think this concept for a trampoline bridge in Paris (called ‘A Bridge in Paris’ – stating the obvious, I know) might have just brought the joy back to bridges!
Basically, the picture says it all. To let everyone experience the ‘joyful release from gravity’, the AZC Architecture Studio designed the bridge using three gigantic trampolines that would be connected with massive inflatable tubes.
Now that’s one bridge that I’d like to keep crossing all day long.
Of course, they don’t quite explain how they’d keep people from flying off the thing and landing in the River Seine.
Lumen Color Changing LED Light Bulb Goes with Bluetooth, Not Wi-Fi
A couple of months ago, the LIFX LED lightbulb debuted on Kickstarter, and it was only a couple of weeks ago when electronics giant Philips unveiled its Hue color changing LED light bulb. These light bulbs not only allow you to choose whatever color you want using a smartphone application, they also allow you to turn the light on or off at pre-set times, making for built-in home automation. These bulbs require an in-home Wi-Fi connection and come with a special bridge you have to connect to your network. Now, a competing product has turned up on Indiegogo called the Lumen Bluetooth LED bulb.
Like the LIFX and the Hue, the Lumen bulb will use an app that controls the light brightness, color, and can turn the lights on or off. Inside the bulb, its RGBW LED array lets you create any color you desire, including pure white. However, the Lumen operates on Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi. This lets you use the bulbs without an existing wireless network, but limits its range to 30 feet. This might be okay for apartment-dwellers, but it’s not so great if you live in a larger dwelling.
The bulb also has four special operating modes. The modes include Party Mode that flashes the light bulb and changes color to the music. Sleep Mode is designed to simulate moonlight. Lake mode helps you get out of bed in the mornings by waking you to gradually brightening light rather than the alarm. The Ambient Mode creates romantic soft and dim lighting.
An early-bird special will get you one Lumen bulb for $49(USD). Two bulbs will cost $99, 10 sell for $450, 25 cost $1000, and 100 of the bulbs will cost $3500. The project still has 30 days to raise the funding needed, and is seeking $110,000 in funding, and has so far scored only about $1300. If you prefer Bluetooth to Wi-Fi, head on over to Indiegogo and reserve yours now.
Like the LIFX and the Hue, the Lumen bulb will use an app that controls the light brightness, color, and can turn the lights on or off. Inside the bulb, its RGBW LED array lets you create any color you desire, including pure white. However, the Lumen operates on Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi. This lets you use the bulbs without an existing wireless network, but limits its range to 30 feet. This might be okay for apartment-dwellers, but it’s not so great if you live in a larger dwelling.
The bulb also has four special operating modes. The modes include Party Mode that flashes the light bulb and changes color to the music. Sleep Mode is designed to simulate moonlight. Lake mode helps you get out of bed in the mornings by waking you to gradually brightening light rather than the alarm. The Ambient Mode creates romantic soft and dim lighting.
An early-bird special will get you one Lumen bulb for $49(USD). Two bulbs will cost $99, 10 sell for $450, 25 cost $1000, and 100 of the bulbs will cost $3500. The project still has 30 days to raise the funding needed, and is seeking $110,000 in funding, and has so far scored only about $1300. If you prefer Bluetooth to Wi-Fi, head on over to Indiegogo and reserve yours now.
LaCie PetiteKey: Get Ready to Lose It
USB flash drives are becoming smaller and smaller, and thus easier to misplace. I’ve lost a couple, and that’s one of the reasons why I don’t buy any new ones, because they’d probably end up lost as well. At least the tiny LaCie PetiteKey will fit onto your keyring, so unless you lose your whole set of keys you won’t lose it too. It also won’t look out of place on your keychain, since it’s not too large and looks like a key.
The PetiteKey is not the first LaCie USB flash drive that looks like a key, but this one is much smaller. It’s waterproof, scratch-resistant and completely covered in metal. It also has encryption software, but what I like best is that it blends well with the other keys on most keychains.
It’s available right now at LaCie’s website. Prices range from $14.99(USD) for the 8GB model to $39.99 for the 32GB model.
The PetiteKey is not the first LaCie USB flash drive that looks like a key, but this one is much smaller. It’s waterproof, scratch-resistant and completely covered in metal. It also has encryption software, but what I like best is that it blends well with the other keys on most keychains.
It’s available right now at LaCie’s website. Prices range from $14.99(USD) for the 8GB model to $39.99 for the 32GB model.
Freehands Soft Shell Skiglove: Don’t Let the Cold Dissuade You from Texting
While I’ve kind of been able use my iPhone while wearing my motorcycle gloves, it’s never been a perfect way to use any touch-based device. That’s why Freehands has come up with a waterproof glove that will allow you to use your smartphone and media players to your heart’s content. Unlike other gloves with capacitive tips, the Freehands lets you use your actual fingertips to interact with your gadgets in the wintertime.
Freehands’ Soft Shell Glove is perfect for hitting the slopes this winter. This glove is fully insulated for ski and snowboard maniacs, and is made out of a movement-friendly material with a suede thumb, grippy palm and fold back fingertips so that you can access all of your device’s functions. The back has a small pocket for a hand warmer and an adjustable web strap as well as a cord lock to keep everything in place.
These gloves also won’t break the bank since you’ll have to pay $45(USD) to get yours directly from Freehands.
Freehands’ Soft Shell Glove is perfect for hitting the slopes this winter. This glove is fully insulated for ski and snowboard maniacs, and is made out of a movement-friendly material with a suede thumb, grippy palm and fold back fingertips so that you can access all of your device’s functions. The back has a small pocket for a hand warmer and an adjustable web strap as well as a cord lock to keep everything in place.
These gloves also won’t break the bank since you’ll have to pay $45(USD) to get yours directly from Freehands.
Minecraft 3D Prints Bring Your Creations to Life
So you’ve created all kinds of masterpieces in Minecraft, but it’s a shame that you can’t enjoy them off your screen – and that makes you sad. Well, cheer up nerd-boy. Now you can take your Minecraft creations from the screen and enjoy them in 3D thanks to the Minecraft World Exporter tool.
You can use this tool to download the data, then you can upload it to FigurePrints, a 3D printing company who will make your fake world real. If that isn’t enough they also do World of Warcraft models and Xbox Live avatars too. Prices vary for the models depending on size and complexity, so you’ll need to install the app and upload your design to get an cost estimate.
Pretty soon you will be able to bring your entire gaming life into the real world. But at least for now, you will still have to go back into the virtual world to play with them.
You can use this tool to download the data, then you can upload it to FigurePrints, a 3D printing company who will make your fake world real. If that isn’t enough they also do World of Warcraft models and Xbox Live avatars too. Prices vary for the models depending on size and complexity, so you’ll need to install the app and upload your design to get an cost estimate.
Pretty soon you will be able to bring your entire gaming life into the real world. But at least for now, you will still have to go back into the virtual world to play with them.
Lazerwood MacBook Pro Keycaps Will Give You Wood
I’ve always rather liked the keys that Apple has been using on their keyboards over the last several years. While they’re not as thick and clicky as an old school IBM keyboard, I still find myself typing very quickly and comfortably on Apple’s keyboards. While the keys themselves are very practical and minimal, I wouldn’t mind if they were even more stylish and tactile. That’s why I’m excited by the design of these wooden key covers for MacBook keyboards.
They’re made by Lazerwood Industries, and laser-cut from actual walnut or cherry wood. The keys even have laser-engraved letters on them, so you can feel them with your fingertips. Each key has a thin layer of adhesive on back that’s strong enough to hold them in place, but removeable if you choose to take them off down the road. You’ll need to be very patient installing them, but the end result is clearly worth the effort.
The wooden covers are still thin enough to not interfere with closing the lid of the MacBook Pro, and they just look awesome when in place. You can pick up a set of Lazerwood keys for $40(USD).
For those of you with the Apple Wireless Keyboard, there’s also a version available for you guys.
[via HiConsumption]
They’re made by Lazerwood Industries, and laser-cut from actual walnut or cherry wood. The keys even have laser-engraved letters on them, so you can feel them with your fingertips. Each key has a thin layer of adhesive on back that’s strong enough to hold them in place, but removeable if you choose to take them off down the road. You’ll need to be very patient installing them, but the end result is clearly worth the effort.
The wooden covers are still thin enough to not interfere with closing the lid of the MacBook Pro, and they just look awesome when in place. You can pick up a set of Lazerwood keys for $40(USD).
For those of you with the Apple Wireless Keyboard, there’s also a version available for you guys.
[via HiConsumption]
LarkLife Activity Band Motivates Exercise with Technology
Activity bracelets and other fitness gadgets are a great way to get motivated to get into shape. Instead of relying on paltry humans, your love for gadgets will keep you running when the lactic acid starts to settle into your legs! Well, that might still be a pipe dream, but check out Lark’s latest release. It’s kind of like a minimal version of the Nike+ FuelBand.
The LarkLife will track your activity, from sleep patterns to food intake using a bracelet and a mobile app. For now, this will work only with iOS devices. It’s not waterproof, but splash-resistant, and has a pedometer inside to count your steps. It will be able to measure how long you sleep and how long it takes you to go to sleep. There’s a vibrating alarm built-into this band as well.
Just like other bracelets, you have to manually enter your food intake, which is a bit of a downer in my book, but the band uses Bluetooth Smart to automatically sync with your iPhone. It can also tell whether you’re running or walking, meaning that the app will log workouts even if you forget to enter them. The device will dish out advice during the day and reward “good behavior” with badges. It’s available for pre-order from Lark for $150(USD) and will be available before the holidays.
The LarkLife will track your activity, from sleep patterns to food intake using a bracelet and a mobile app. For now, this will work only with iOS devices. It’s not waterproof, but splash-resistant, and has a pedometer inside to count your steps. It will be able to measure how long you sleep and how long it takes you to go to sleep. There’s a vibrating alarm built-into this band as well.
Just like other bracelets, you have to manually enter your food intake, which is a bit of a downer in my book, but the band uses Bluetooth Smart to automatically sync with your iPhone. It can also tell whether you’re running or walking, meaning that the app will log workouts even if you forget to enter them. The device will dish out advice during the day and reward “good behavior” with badges. It’s available for pre-order from Lark for $150(USD) and will be available before the holidays.
Virtual Mobile Keyboard Reads Vibrations, Tests Your Touch Typing
It’s impossible to truly master typing on a tiny touch screen, hence the existence of peripherals like laser keyboards or this iPhone case. But what if your smartphone could use any surface as a keyboard without the help of additional devices? That’s the idea behind the Vibrative Virtual Keyboard.
The software was invented by Florian Kräutli, a Cognitive Computing student at the Goldsmiths University of London. It uses the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer along with a program written by Kräutli to detect which letter has been pressed based on the vibrations made when the user “types” on a flat surface.
Presumably, the app needs to be trained each time it’s used on a different surface or by a different user. I think that even Kräutli himself would admit that the app is unusable as it is. Even without the lag I think it would be far more useful when there are fewer keys involved, perhaps while playing a mobile game. I’d rather have this technology on my phone. Still, the demo does show us just how smart our mobile devices have become.
[via NOTCOT & CNN]
The software was invented by Florian Kräutli, a Cognitive Computing student at the Goldsmiths University of London. It uses the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer along with a program written by Kräutli to detect which letter has been pressed based on the vibrations made when the user “types” on a flat surface.
Presumably, the app needs to be trained each time it’s used on a different surface or by a different user. I think that even Kräutli himself would admit that the app is unusable as it is. Even without the lag I think it would be far more useful when there are fewer keys involved, perhaps while playing a mobile game. I’d rather have this technology on my phone. Still, the demo does show us just how smart our mobile devices have become.
[via NOTCOT & CNN]
Sunday, 4 November 2012
The Home Of Future Technology # Part 1
New Iphone 5G Coming Soon....
Experiance Future Technology With Six Senses
Future Technology To Pamper Bath Digital Bathroom
Future Technology Device Edge Mediaspace
The Future Technology For Cars
TV-Watch
Future Technologies
Future Technologies Collection
uture Space Technology
Green Future Technology
Robotics Future Inventions
11 Modern Technologies That Are Way Older Than You Think
For a long time, we've been able to pride ourselves on the fact that we're smarter than our primitive ancestors. Sure, they made fire and the wheel and invented language, or whatever, but we brought technology.
Turns out a lot of our most technologically sophisticated inventions were already invented, which does nothing but remind us how useless we are.
Believed to have been invented in...
In 2001, if you are a die hard Mac fan. Or 1997, if you are aware cheaper MP3 players existed before Steve Jobs figured out people would pay twice as much to hear their pirated songs on the bus if the MP3 player looked like the bastard son of Eve from Wall-E and a pocket calculator. Actually Invented in...
In 1979, Kane Kramer and his friend, James Campbell, came up with the idea of a portable music player the size of a cigarette box. The music player baptized as the IXI System stored music digitally in a chip and had a display screen and buttons to navigate it.
They even built five prototypes they showed potential investors. Wow! That sounds amazing! So they sold it, became gazillionaires and everybody listened to ABBA songs they downloaded with their Ataris, right? Well, no, obviously not.
The IXI had one big problem: It only had enough memory for three and a half minutes of music, which does screw you up if you had your heart set on carrying "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" anywhere you went. And how were you supposed to get your music files back in the decades before Napster?
Since almost nobody had computers in those days, Kramer suggested putting terminals in music stores, connected via telephone with a central music server so users could buy and download their music at the store. Keep in mind we're talking about 1979 phone modems, which means Kramer's idea also involved people bringing their own tent and enough food for camping for two months while they downloaded "Funky Town."
Believed to have been invented in...
Late 19th century or early 20th century, or whatever the hell that World of Motion ride at EPCOT said.
Actually Invented in...
A French inventor named Nicolas Joseph Cugnot built one, back before the American Revolution.
Back when most people were blaming their diseases on fairies and the evil eye, Cugnot had one great idea: a horse carriage minus the stupid, smelly horse. In 1769, he finally finished his horseless carriage; a steam-engine-powered automobile that looked like a steampunk Big Wheel.
It could carry four tons while traveling at the break-neck speed of two and a half miles per hour (people had really weak necks in those days).
Why did we never read about Napoleon's mechanized, steam-powered army trampling England under their godless robotic wheels? Well, the inventions had problems. While testing his vehicle in 1771, Cugnot lost control and discovered the unique sensation we've come to know as "crashing into a brick wall." You might think that you could laugh off such a crash at five miles an hour, but try it while sitting in one of these bastards.
Despite being an undeniably revolutionary invention, it was still slow, heavy and horrible to drive. Cugnot ran out of money to improve his invention, and while the French government was interested in continuing with the idea, a little uprising of the people called the French Revolution put an end to that.
Cugnot escaped to Belgium where he lived in poverty. Fun fact: There were about 600-700 million people on earth when Cugnot was born. That's also how many cars there are now.
Believed to have been invented in...
In 2007, headlines blared that the US military had unveiled an unstoppable weapon in the war against comfortable temperatures. The Active Denial System looks like a car that can catch scrambled porn channel signals, but its purpose is far more sinister and less useful: It shoots a beam that heats people's skin to an uncomfortable 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
That sounds low, but remember the idea is to disperse crowds, not turn people into ash, War of the Worlds-style.
Actually Invented in...
"Dammit! The naked guy walked into the picture again!"Well you could go all the way back to before 400 BC, when polished surfaces could be used to focus sunlight to ignite fires or cauterize wounds. But heat rays only got interesting in 212 BC when Archimedes supposedly built a heat ray to burn down enemy ships to defend the city of Syracuse.
As our commenters will be glad to point out, many scientists consider Archimedes' heat ray a myth, including the guys from Mythbusters. But some equally smart people disagree.
Doctor Ioannis Sakkas, a Greek engineer with the name of a Star Trek villain, conducted experiments in 1973 to prove that Archimedes crazy ass death ray was possible. Instead of using one giant mirror like others who tried and failed, Sakkas used 50 human sized bronze mirrors that, when reflecting light unto the same small wooden boat, managed to ignite it in a short time.
And as any scientist can tell you, when confronted with two possible theories, the scientific method dictates that we must go with the one that is awesome.
Believed to have been invented in...
Some time around World War II, by Alan Turing or by Konrad Zuse, depending on whether you ask Alan Turing or Konrad Zuse.
Actually Invented in...
Some time around 1833. Charles Babbage was a man who hated errors. Mistakes and mathematical untidiness burned his ass so much he decided to build a ludicrously complex machine just to stop idiots from not doing math right.
In 1822, Babbage proposed the idea of building a mechanical calculator to tabulate polynomial functions. The British government, or those officials who didn't fall asleep while Babbage explained the idea, gave him a huge bag of money with a pound sign painted on it and sent him to work on it. 10 years later they finally figured out Babbage was never going to finish the machine because he was an insufferable ass who pissed off everyone who tried to help him.
By that time Charles had already moved on to bigger things. He looked at his awesome polynomial functions tabulator and thought "You know what's more rad than polynomial functions? A machine you could program to do all different kinds of math!" And so he conceived the Analytical Engine. And he built it and then laid back and played Grand Theft Horse Carriage: Manchester happily ever after, or he would have if he had ever managed to finish a damn thing in his life.
He asked the British Association for the Advancement of Science for funds, and was promptly denied, since all of their money was presumably tied up with a guy who said he could cure the evil eye with some leeches or something.
The last version of the machine read programs and data from punch cards and had a memory capable of storing 1,000 numbers with 50 decimal digits each, which roughly translates to 20.7 Kb. Only a partial model was finished, when Babbage died in 1878 while still trying to perfect the design.
As a side note, Babbage's invention lead to the invention of a new career. Augusta Ada King, countess of Lovelace, created the first program for the never finished machine (a program to calculate Bernoulli numbers) becoming the world's first programmer.
Programmers should still be required to wear this.
Believed to have been invented in...
Most people will either tell you World War I or 1870, the year Jules Verne predicted the invention in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Actually Invented in...
The first description of a submersible ship that did not involve magic, witches or copious amounts of booze actually came in 1580 from William Bourne, an English inn keeper who designed a way for ships to decrease and increase volume to change density. Since Bourne was an inn keeper and preferred to breathe air, the world had to wait until 1623 for the first submarine to actually be built. Dutchman Cornelius Drebbel's submarine was propelled by 12 oarsmen and could sink to a depth of 15 feet.
Since people like to beat the crap out of each other so much, the world only had to wait another 30 years for the first war submarine. Tired of Van Damme being its only weapon, Belgium built a submarine for war.
The good old US of A then got in on the action, trying to use submarines in the revolutionary war. In 1776 Ezra Lee piloted the Turtle, a submarine built by 16-year-old Yale alumni, David Bushnell. The Turtle's weapon was a drill to make holes in enemy ships and put time bombs into the holes. We can only guess patriot general Wile. E. Coyote came up with that one.
You apparently had to operate the drill with your dick.
Believed to have been invented in...
1972, the year Pong and the Magnavox Odyssey came out.
Actually Invented in...
1948, when Thomas Goldsmith Jr., a professor of physics at Furman University, patented his horrendously badly named idea, the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device.
The Amusement Device was based off old military radar displays, which were just dots on a screen. They figured you could put some kind of overlay on the screen with pictures of aliens on it or whatever, and you'd have a rudimentary game where you could shoot projectiles at the bad guys. Despite being only kinda crappy, it was still too expensive to be marketable and only a few prototypes were ever built.
The second video game came out three years later. British electronics company Ferranti built the NIMROD, a computer designed to play one game and one game only, the classic game of NIM.
Go on, play NIM online so you can relive the forgotten golden age of video games: we'll wait.
Back? Yeah, that sucked; especially because the bastard computer keeps winning (obviously, it cheats!). Like all computers from those days, it was the size of Adam West's Bat-computer, and simulated a game that's played with 16 match sticks. So the first computer game was only useful if you were the world's greatest NIM player, or just extremely short on matchsticks.
Turns out a lot of our most technologically sophisticated inventions were already invented, which does nothing but remind us how useless we are.
#11.
iPod
In 2001, if you are a die hard Mac fan. Or 1997, if you are aware cheaper MP3 players existed before Steve Jobs figured out people would pay twice as much to hear their pirated songs on the bus if the MP3 player looked like the bastard son of Eve from Wall-E and a pocket calculator. Actually Invented in...
In 1979, Kane Kramer and his friend, James Campbell, came up with the idea of a portable music player the size of a cigarette box. The music player baptized as the IXI System stored music digitally in a chip and had a display screen and buttons to navigate it.
The IXI had one big problem: It only had enough memory for three and a half minutes of music, which does screw you up if you had your heart set on carrying "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" anywhere you went. And how were you supposed to get your music files back in the decades before Napster?
#10.
The Automobile
Late 19th century or early 20th century, or whatever the hell that World of Motion ride at EPCOT said.
Actually Invented in...
A French inventor named Nicolas Joseph Cugnot built one, back before the American Revolution.
Back when most people were blaming their diseases on fairies and the evil eye, Cugnot had one great idea: a horse carriage minus the stupid, smelly horse. In 1769, he finally finished his horseless carriage; a steam-engine-powered automobile that looked like a steampunk Big Wheel.
Why did we never read about Napoleon's mechanized, steam-powered army trampling England under their godless robotic wheels? Well, the inventions had problems. While testing his vehicle in 1771, Cugnot lost control and discovered the unique sensation we've come to know as "crashing into a brick wall." You might think that you could laugh off such a crash at five miles an hour, but try it while sitting in one of these bastards.
Cugnot escaped to Belgium where he lived in poverty. Fun fact: There were about 600-700 million people on earth when Cugnot was born. That's also how many cars there are now.
#9.
Heat Rays
In 2007, headlines blared that the US military had unveiled an unstoppable weapon in the war against comfortable temperatures. The Active Denial System looks like a car that can catch scrambled porn channel signals, but its purpose is far more sinister and less useful: It shoots a beam that heats people's skin to an uncomfortable 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
That sounds low, but remember the idea is to disperse crowds, not turn people into ash, War of the Worlds-style.
Actually Invented in...
"Dammit! The naked guy walked into the picture again!"
As our commenters will be glad to point out, many scientists consider Archimedes' heat ray a myth, including the guys from Mythbusters. But some equally smart people disagree.
#8.
The Computer
Some time around World War II, by Alan Turing or by Konrad Zuse, depending on whether you ask Alan Turing or Konrad Zuse.
Actually Invented in...
Some time around 1833. Charles Babbage was a man who hated errors. Mistakes and mathematical untidiness burned his ass so much he decided to build a ludicrously complex machine just to stop idiots from not doing math right.
By that time Charles had already moved on to bigger things. He looked at his awesome polynomial functions tabulator and thought "You know what's more rad than polynomial functions? A machine you could program to do all different kinds of math!" And so he conceived the Analytical Engine. And he built it and then laid back and played Grand Theft Horse Carriage: Manchester happily ever after, or he would have if he had ever managed to finish a damn thing in his life.
The last version of the machine read programs and data from punch cards and had a memory capable of storing 1,000 numbers with 50 decimal digits each, which roughly translates to 20.7 Kb. Only a partial model was finished, when Babbage died in 1878 while still trying to perfect the design.
As a side note, Babbage's invention lead to the invention of a new career. Augusta Ada King, countess of Lovelace, created the first program for the never finished machine (a program to calculate Bernoulli numbers) becoming the world's first programmer.
Programmers should still be required to wear this.
#7.
Submarines
Most people will either tell you World War I or 1870, the year Jules Verne predicted the invention in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Actually Invented in...
The first description of a submersible ship that did not involve magic, witches or copious amounts of booze actually came in 1580 from William Bourne, an English inn keeper who designed a way for ships to decrease and increase volume to change density. Since Bourne was an inn keeper and preferred to breathe air, the world had to wait until 1623 for the first submarine to actually be built. Dutchman Cornelius Drebbel's submarine was propelled by 12 oarsmen and could sink to a depth of 15 feet.
You apparently had to operate the drill with your dick.
#6.
Video Games
1972, the year Pong and the Magnavox Odyssey came out.
Actually Invented in...
1948, when Thomas Goldsmith Jr., a professor of physics at Furman University, patented his horrendously badly named idea, the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device.
The second video game came out three years later. British electronics company Ferranti built the NIMROD, a computer designed to play one game and one game only, the classic game of NIM.
Back? Yeah, that sucked; especially because the bastard computer keeps winning (obviously, it cheats!). Like all computers from those days, it was the size of Adam West's Bat-computer, and simulated a game that's played with 16 match sticks. So the first computer game was only useful if you were the world's greatest NIM player, or just extremely short on matchsticks.
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