Geek Tested:

Daily News Brief: Iron Man's Suit Debunked

Posted 04/25/08 at 04:56:10 PM by One4yu2c

Iron Man's a Fraud!?

Turns out that Iron Man's suit defies physics and slaps in the face of realism. From the super hero's jet propulsion boots to his repulsor rays, the dispiriting truth is that such technological wonders simply aren't feasible just yet. Buzz kill! Back to our mind control exercises and other Jedi training...

CompUSA Resurrected

Sort of. After restructuring firm Gordon Brothers Group LLC bought the chain for an undisclosed sum last December, CompUSA appeared destined to push up brick-and-morar colored daisies, but it now appears the chain may be on life support. Systemax, who gobbled up several CompUSA locations along with the chain's trademarks and website, announced that it's re-opening 15 stores and building a new one.

Nintendo's Wii Continues to Sell Out

Gamers are still finding it difficult to find a Wii in stock a year and half after the console launched, even though Nintendo allocates 40 percents of the 1.8 million Wiis manufactured every month to the North American market. According to Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's president, Wii consoles on average sit on store shelves for just an hour before they are purchased, a stat that makes him "passionately upset."

Microsoft Earnings Up, Piracy Too

Microsoft on Thursday reported quarterly earnings of 47 cents per share on revenue of $14.45 billion, slightly above analysts' estimates of 44 cents per share on revenue of $14.5 billion. The company also increased its staff 13 percent over the past year, while at the same time boosting salaries for existing users. But one number that has Microsoft concerned is the increased rate of piracy, which had previously been declining.

One for the Mod Shop

What happens when you take a table saw to an LCD monitor? Disaster for most, but for Steampunk Workshop's Jake von Slatt, the end result is a Victorian All-in- One PC, a stunningly gorgeous mod. View the worklog (with video) here, then be sure to stop by Maximum PC's Mod Shop and vote on other mods, or submit your own for a chance to win a share of the $2000 monthly prize pool!

Bill Seeks to Ban Genetic Discrimination

Being turned down for employment or denied health insurance because of genetic impositions may not be at the forefront of political debates, but could such scenarios be far off? The US Senate yesterday voted unanimously to pass the Genetic Information Nondiscriminitaion Act of 2007 (GINA). The bill leaves the door open for states to set more exacting standards than those laid out in GINA, but overrides any local legislation that's less strict. Next on the agenda is translating the bill into law. More here.

COMMENTS:11

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COMMENTS

You just killed my
Submitted by StormEffect on Tue, 05/06/2008 - 7:02am

You just killed my childhood, you bastard.

The essay is total crap. Everyone is focusing on the aspects that require all the energy. But the energy is provided by the 'arc reactor' Stark builds.

So yeah, they could haveve saved me a whole 1 minute of my life by writing simply about the impossble 'arc reactor' instead of all the crap is powers.

LOGIC CHAINS PEOPLE! LOGIC CHAINS!

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Geez people...
Submitted by mikeart03a on Mon, 04/28/2008 - 11:46am

Geez, grow up kids. Everyone knows that his suit is CG and that it's a movie, thus the laws of physics don't apply to a fictional character. As for Wiis, great little system. Not too hard to find here in the great white North.

- mike_art03a
IT Technician
Gov't of Canada

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Ding Ding Ding!
Submitted by One4yu2c on Mon, 04/28/2008 - 12:42pm

"Everyone knows that his suit is CG and that it's a movie..."
Which is precisely what makes the write-up unintentionally amusing. I experienced a similar feeling when reading an essay debunking King Kong based on his proportions.

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I was just pointing out that
Submitted by mikeart03a on Sat, 05/03/2008 - 7:31am

I was just pointing out that people need to relax about the whole Ironman thing...

- mike_art03a
IT Technician
Gov't of Canada

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wii
Submitted by Queenof1 on Sun, 04/27/2008 - 12:05pm

I was fortunate enough to have someone get one for me from Target not too long after they came out. Now playing Mario Kart Wii...

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Congrats to Captain Obvious
Submitted by cap737 on Sat, 04/26/2008 - 10:37pm

Congrats to Captain Obvious (Mr. James Kakalios) for pointing out that it is impossible for mankind to fly around with jet boots that can have enough energy and propulsion to fly faster than an F-22 and break the sound barrier, or that it is impossible to store and maintain enough engergy in a suit, such as Iron Man's, to fire so many fictional "repulsor rays". Didn't think it took a PhD to figure this out. Guess the Force and Jedi Mind tricks aren't real either....are they??

Anywho, I'm deployed in Southwest Asia and our Base Exchange receives a shipment of Wiis every week! One other airman was looking out for his fellow gamers and posted in our online bulletin board that a shipment came in one day and they still had some left. Fortunately, my buddy and I were able to make it to the BX to buy our own Wiis and enjoy some wiimote-n-nunchuk action in the desert. I knew at that point that I had a better chance at buying one here than back in the states, especially when people buy them in multiple quantities and make a profit on ebay.

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Say it Ain't So!
Submitted by One4yu2c on Sun, 04/27/2008 - 9:03am

"Guess the Force and Jedi Mind tricks aren't real either....are they??"
What!?!? Please, if anyone has a link to an article debunking Jedi powers, DON'T post it. I'm just now coming to grips that, in light of James Kakalios' Iron Man essay, I bought a welder for nothing.

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Ironman
Submitted by teh 1337 haxxor on Sat, 04/26/2008 - 7:05pm

How muche energy does it take to power his suit? 1.21 jigawatts.
Whats it made out of? Unobtainium, what else?

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Ironman and The Wii
Submitted by thinknoffcenter on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 3:09pm

OH NO!!!! Ironmans suit defies the laws of physics...who cares!!!! It's based on a comic book! DUH!!! comic books are a work of comedic and dramatic fantasy. What a surprise, here I thought all this time all the characters were real and that I could someday visit the Marvel Universe and hang out with the X-Men and The Avengers. Jesus.

As far as the Wii goes, the only reason this thing sells out so fast is because of these inconsiderate s**t sniffers that go out and buy up 3 or 4 at a time and hock them off on e-bay for $100 more than thier worth. There is a way to stop this from happening. It's called in store registration. You show ID, your information is recorded, and uploaded to a central computer. Then when the same a-hole hocks his off on e-bay for more than it's worth he can't go buy another and do the same thing over again. And yeah I know this would be costly, and they could just go get a buddy to buy another one so they can hock it off, but it would keep people from making profit off of Nintendo's intelectual property, and that way when little Johnny and Susie wake up Christmas morning they don't have to hear the upsetting story that thier parents couldn't afford to pay $400 to buy it off e-bay cause someone else is a greedy prick.

can you tell i'm bitter....I too had to buy my Wii off of e-bay for $100 more than retail, just to have it stolen from my house 3 months later.

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Ironman
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 5:55pm

Yes but how did they make the movie then? That suit sure does look real. And how else did he get in the air if they didn't make a real suit? Perhaps with modern day CG they can do alot but not all.

I'm just using the same logic that believers of UFO's use. Sound silly? It should. It's exactly the way UFO hunters and witnesses sound when they put fourth their arguments.
Awsome for CompUSA. They were a good chain.

And the President of Nintendo US is pissed because his products are crazy successful?

I'm sure that the oil companies are really pissed because of all their profits too. Man it's just terrible.

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Gean Discrimination!? It's
Submitted by R3bel on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 5:31pm

Gean Discrimination!? It's just like Gattaca! Never let your geans hold you back. Splice them and get super powers. Incinerate! It's the new thing!

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