Google has kicked off a project to create an authoritative store of information about any and every topic.

The search giant has already started inviting people to write about the subject on which they are known to be an expert.

Google said it would not act as editor for the project but will provide the tools and infrastructure for the pages.

Many experts see the initiative as an attack on the widely used Wikipedia communal encyclopaedia.

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Source: tigrulcampion | 1 Comment »

Giving each other space may not work in every relationship, but it’s what keeps the magic alive for the very fertile giant panda pair at the San Diego Zoo.

Since 2003, Bai Yun and her consort, Gao Gao, have produced three cubs, making them one of the most reproductively successful panda couples ever in captivity.

Their youngest offspring, a chubby female, will be named Monday when she reaches 100 days old, following Chinese tradition.

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You wouldn’t want to use it to carve a Thanksgiving turkey, but if you need to push a cuticle, measure a tire tread, clean a golf club or adjust a bicycle spoke, this is the knife for you.

A Swiss Army knife that weighs nearly three pounds has been inducted into the 2008 edition of Guinness World Records for “most functions on a penknife.” At the time, the knife had 85 tools; the latest version has 87 tools and at least 115 uses, according to Wenger North America, the Orangeburg-based American distributor that announced the induction Tuesday.

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It’s never a good sign when your boss apologizes in advance for assigning you a review so when Dan handed me a copy of Empire Earth III and said “I’m sorry,” I was a little nervous to crack it open. I mean, I really, really liked the original Empire Earth, and I was even a fan of Mad Doc’s first sequel. What could they possibly have done to depart so radically from the success of the previous game? In short, a lot.

Fans of the series will be disappointed that the sequel removes much of the complexity and variety that separated Empire Earth from the other RTS games. Where the previous games had over a dozen distinct eras and tons of historical civs with unique bonuses, Empire Earth III reduces it down to bare essentials. You can play as the tech-heavy West, the population heavy East, or the unconventional Middle East. Beginning in the Ancient era, you’ll have the chance to progress through to Medieval, Colonial, Modern and Future as the game progresses.

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If you don’t count Super Mario Sunshine - and a lot of people don’t - it’s taken more than 10 years for a proper follow-up to Super Mario 64 to arrive. But Super Mario Galaxy wastes little time in establishing itself as both a worthy successor and also as one of the more immediately gratifying games in recent memory. Get past that umpteenth Princess Peach kidnapping sequence, and you’re immediately thrown into a colorful, pop-up book of a world where every surface is part of the playing field.

Although the title Super Mario Galaxy suggests a bit of hyperbole, the game does live up to its name by putting Mario in space and having him work his way through planetoids and other floating objects. Because each planetoid is so small and has its own gravitational pull, almost every available surface can be utilized to get Mario from point A to B.

Jump over the edge of a floating island and you might find yourself being pulled over to the “bottom” side. To reach a platform directly overhead you’d have to jump high enough to escape the pull of where you’re standing and end up flipping upside-down. It sounds like a lot to handle, but none of this ever interferes with how beautifully the game plays.

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Most Americans think they’re helping the earth when they recycle their old computers, televisions and cell phones. But chances are they’re contributing to a global trade in electronic trash that endangers workers and pollutes the environment overseas.

While there are no precise figures, activists estimate that 50 to 80 percent of the 300,000 to 400,000 tons of electronics collected for recycling in the U.S. each year ends up overseas. Workers in countries such as China, India and Nigeria then use hammers, gas burners and their bare hands to extract metals, glass and other recyclables, exposing themselves and the environment to a cocktail of toxic chemicals.

The gear most likely to be shipped abroad is collected at free recycling drives, often held each April around Earth Day, recycling industry officials say. The sponsors — chiefly companies, schools, cities and counties — often hire the cheapest firms and do not ask enough questions about what becomes of the discarded equipment, the officials say.

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