Man, oh man, is this interesting: smart paint that can detect problems in structures painted with it. Something I constantly tell the people in my life is this: “Technology will save the world.” I really believe that’s the truth. Yes, there are drawbacks we discover while learning to manufacture various technologies. Yes, we run into unforeseen problems. But at the end of the day, technology enables more people to enjoy a greater degree of safety, comfort, freedom and health. These things improve our odds of living happily, and that’s worth our effort. Read on after the jump for more!

Researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland have developed a new kind of paint–smart paint–with some interesting properties. The paint, made with Carbon Nanotubes, conducts electricity differently depending on whether the tubes are stressed or bent. Monitoring systems, wired into the paint itself, detect structural defects or fatigue. This in turn makes it easier to detect problems that often end in tragedy, saving lives, money and time. Oh, but there’s more!

Mohamed Saafi, Chair of the Civil Engineering Department at the university, explained, “There are no limitations as to where it could be used, and the low-cost nature gives it a significant advantage over the current options available in the industry.” Did I mention that smart paint gets even better?

He went on to say that “The process of producing and applying the paint also gives it an advantage, as no expertise is required and monitoring itself is straightforward.” So, they have a new kind of paint. It’s capable of monitoring the structural integrity of anything paintable. Existing painters, with existing painting skills and techniques can apply the paint with no additional training. Pretty slick!

Let’s make sure we give credit where it’s due, though. There’s a simple truth about any kind of  breakthrough: without visionary minds who create these innovations, none of the applications, jobs created, lives and money saved and so on, would be possible. Smart Paint is under development by Dr. Saafi and PhD candidate David McGahon, who expect to continue testing over the next few months in their native Glasgow. If all goes well, it may just be a few short years before buildings, bridges and other structures can tell us they need some attention. And I don’t know about you, but I desperately need to hear from bridges and buildings–SOON.

Source: CNet

There’s a new Windows Home Server device in town (by the way, WHS is a PHENOMENAL product!), but this one’s a bit different from the devices on offer from HP and Acer. Aside from the fact that it’s a bit less capable and expandable (due to lack of space for hard drives), this is a product that blends two things I would never have thought to blend: A Humidor and a Server.

That’s right, the new Home Servidor (seriously!) offers you the ability to serve up stinky death via a top mounted humidor, thermally isolated from the server guts below it, while simultaneously ensuring that your computer’s data, pictures, documents, etc are handily backed up. When you die a choking, coughing, gasping-for-air death…your data remains safe and secure. It’s brilliant! This, my friends, is the fucking key to immortality.

If you’re one of those few elite who truly must have the finest in craftsmanship, this lovely little box of safety and doom is hand crafted at the time you place your order, by the King of Irony himself. If you’re in the market for a Home Server for Home Server purposes, you can get a lot more oomph for a lot less money, but friend let me tell you, you’re gonna have a helluva time finding anything more ironic to decorate your house with.

I…almost want one!

So, beyond the obvious shiny, what does the new iPhone 3G-S bring to all those patient consumers who decided to tough it out? Here’s a quick and dirty chart to show you the difference and what you can expect to pay for that difference. Note also that the chart reflects todays price drop of the existing 8GB model iPhone 3G to 99 effing dollars.

Nevertheless, even the iPhone 3G remains an amazing device that can offer you the ability to be much more productive in your daily doings, so if the price has been what’s holding you back you no longer have any excuse. Unless I’m horribly mistaken (a distinct possibility, I haven’t done the research), this officially makes iPhone 3G the cheapest non-refurb Smartphone on the market.

So what does this sucker do? Well for starters it detects your entire body and the motion of 48 of your joints. It also detects your face–and will automatically log you into your profile when it sees you. It can detect your voice–and distinguish it from those of your friends, your family and even the game or movie characters you’re watching or playing. It can rapidly scan real world objects and convert them to real-time objects in a game as you can see in both the above video and in Lionhead’s demonstration of its advanced AI character Milo. But the most impressive thing shown with regards to Natal so far is that it enables the game software to do something that no game software has ever done before–it can recognize your emotional states by reading your facial and vocal patterns. No other system on the market or announced for a home console has this capability, and what it can mean for games where characterization is of great significance (RPG lovers take note) is simply off the charts.

Sadly, Microsoft has yet to announce a release date for this impressive new device, but given that they’re now in a race against time to beat Sony’s new Wiimote to market, to say nothing of Nintendo’s Wii Motion Plus, which is already on the market, it’s likely that this device has already been placed onto a priority track in Redmond. I wouldn’t be surprised in the coming months to hear of a massive internal push by Microsoft to get developers up to speed with this technology, retrofit high profile existing games for which it will make sense, and get the device into the hands of consumers as soon as possible. If they’re smart, they’ll also bundle it with consoles moving forward to ensure a reasonable amount of developer support, but we’ll just have to keep our eyes peeled.

What do you think of Natal? Next-Gen or gimmick (or both?) Let us know what you think in the comments!

Just a quick blurb to let you know, that Acer Netbook deal from TigerDirect is back! $199 is a killer deal!

It takes a great deal of effort to get more cool than this. And at just under 3 grand for the scanner, it’s not actually a horribly expensive piece of gear if you’re running a business that could make use of these high detail models!