Racing

Race to Zero aims to stump antivirus scanners

A new contest to be held at this year's DefCon in Las Vegas in August hopes to prove that signature-based antivirus is dead, a move that one leading antivirus researcher says is "not a good idea."

The goal of the Race to Zero is simple: obfuscate a malicious code so that it evades well-known antivirus engines.

Contestants will be given a sample set of viruses and malicious code that they must modify and then upload through the contest portal. Once accepted, the sample will be sent through a number of leading antivirus engines (perhaps using VirusTotal.com … Read more

Driving on Singapore's F1 night track

Earlier today, we had a go on SingTel's F1 simulator. Designed by U.K.-based BallRacing Developments, this machine is not your usual arcade fare. The Singapore operator commissioned it to simulate just one track, the one that F1 drivers will actually use in Singapore come September.

Not only does it look like an F1 car, but it feels real, too. You're almost fully reclined while an assistant adjusts the foot pedals to the reach of your legs. The steering wheel is then snapped on, just like the real thing.

Once you start the engine, the entire machine vibrates. Though you are controlling what happens on the screen, the "car" moves according to your driving. Granted, it won't spin you around like a theme park ride, but it does add to the sensation that you are really in an F1 racer.… Read more

Rocket Racing League announces August takeoff

NEW YORK--Top Gun and Ender's Game fans take note: Rocket Racing is here.

It'll be like Formula One or Nascar in the sky, or at least that's what the leadership of Rocket Racing said at a press conference at the Yale Club here on Monday morning. The aeronautics entertainment start-up announced the debut of its long-awaited Rocket Racing League, which will have its first exhibition race on August 1-2 at the EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wis.

The science fiction-like Rocket Racing pits aircraft called Rocket Racers against one another in a high-speed dash around the … Read more

Simulators for gamers who want to flaunt it

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

Got a non-petroleum powered car? Race it to Vegas

Update July 19, 2008: Escape from Berkeley is now scheduled for Oct. 10-13, 2008.

If you're a regular reader of Geek Gestalt, but not of its sister blog, Green Tech, I thought I'd point you to an entry I just posted there about what sounds like one heck of a cool event scheduled for this summer.

The so-called Escape from Berkeley race will task contestants with getting their non-petroleum-based fuel vehicles from the famously liberal Bay Area city to the famously outrageous Sin City, Las Vegas, over the July 4 weekend.

Part Burning Man, part Power Tool Drag Races, … Read more

Escape From Berkeley: An alternative-powered fuels race to Vegas

Update July 19, 2008: Escape from Berkeley is now scheduled for Oct. 10-13, 2008.

Now this is something that I wish I could see.

Over the coming Fourth of July weekend, the folks who organize the Power Tool Drag Races will be putting on an entirely new kind of competition: Escape from Berkeley (by any non-petroleum means necessary), a race of alternatively powered vehicles from the liberal Bay Area town to Sin City.

"This 4th of July weekend, NASA scientists and junkyard fabricators once again square off in the perennial battle of engineering prowess and creative excess, this time … Read more

U.S. to shoot down falling satellite

The classified satellite that is expecting to come crashing to Earth in the next few weeks will now be used for target practice. The National Security Council said Thursday that President Bush has asked the Pentagon to come up with a plan to destroy the satellite while it's still aloft. Many observers say a shoot-down is unnecessary because such objects falling to Earth typically burn up when re-entering the atmosphere or, if they make it through, would miss any habitation by a wide margin. Speculation holds that the spacecraft must be part of a new generation of spy satellite.… Read more

Mitt Romney talks tech

Techcrunch had the chance to interview Governor Mitt Romney, US presidential candidate on the Republican ticket. The good news is that his views on taxation of venture capital and the Internet seem reasonable. The bad news? He's a PC user (though a few of his sons run the blessed Mac).

Of particular note to the tech industry is his view on H1B visas, which allow qualified candidates to come to the US to work:

I like H1B visas. I like the idea of the best and brightest in the world coming here. I'd rather have them come here permanently rather than come and go, but I believe our visa program is designed to help us solve gaps in our employment pool.… Read more

Arms race heats up with 80-card reader

OK, this is the last time we post an item on a multi-card reader. Not because we don't appreciate them, mind you, but because they're just too hard to keep up with. Just last week we pointed to model that can handle 62 formats, and already it's been eclipsed by one that can read 80 of them, with what appears to be a much smaller device. And as if to add insult to injury, Gizmodo says Brando's "iMono" has a smaller price tag as well--just $17, less than half that of its recent rival.… Read more