Every operating system comes with a calculator that provides access to basic arithmetic functions and probably some additional ones like base conversions and some functions of a scientific calculator. They usually do lack some features like a history function in combination with an option to use results from history for new calculations.

The Online Calculator eCalc comes in two shapes. A basic and a scientific calculator. The basic one misses a lot of features like the history, conversions and scientific functions that are available in the scientific calculator. Both look colorful and can be used with the mouse only. Some chars can also be added with the keyboard.

The calculator offers additional functions that cannot be found in the ones that ship with the operating system. It contains an impressive list of units that can be converted easily. If you ever wanted to convert carat into grain this feature is for you.

continue reading "Online Calculator eCalc"

While this is a sort of biology tech online app, I think it’s one of the most awesome things ever! I wasn’t really fond of biology, but that was really due to the taxonomy part of it, the human body is a great thing to learn about.

Visible Body is a free, fully 3D system, that shows you detailed models of some of the human body’s most important parts. You need Internet Explorer (boooo!) with a plugin they supply and your off. The skeletal system downloads automatically, which lets you explore all bones in the body, panning about, zooming in and so on. Other interesting models like the circulatory system, nervous system and muscular system and a few others are also available, adding them is a simple click matter and they will download in a jiffy.

The coolest thing is though that it shows all this element by element. You don’t just get a heap of bones to look around in. All bones are labeled in the sidebar so you can easily find and identify them. Even arteries, muscles and so on are labeled, a job well done by the developers.

continue reading "Visible Body - Visualise your body"

I love articles that list educational stuff like classes, videos or podcasts. 200 Free Online Classes to Learn Anything is one of the resources that I really like. It is basically a link list with 200 links and short descriptions of free online classes. The classes are divided into categories like Natural Science, Math and Business & Finance and mainly lead to Universities and schools that are offering those classes on their website.

All classes are in American or British English depending on the University or school that hosts the course. Most courses do not simply display textual contents but also multimedia like audio recordings, videos and flash presentations. The list has some links to even more courses at the end including a link to 1800 Open Courseware courses at the MIT for instance.

I guess this is an excellent opportunity to take courses that you are interested in without having to actually attend University or pay a fee. No signups are required either to access the courses.

Yes, this article is a little out of the box but I’m pretty sure that most of tech geeks (and sci-fi fans would be interested in this matter, that’s why I wanted to share the info. Additionally, IF true, this project would in my honest opinion become a revolution easily comparable to the birth of the internet. Some time ago I’ve read about a brand new concept of a microwave engine designed especially for spacecraft propulsion. A bunch of smart heads from the UK lead by R.Shawyer invented a simply looking yet very complicated (from the view of mathematical and physical theories) prototype of a propeller that uses microwaves to generate thrust and by doing so compensate the power of gravity…

Does it sound like a crazy sci-fi stuff to you? It did to me until I found out that the SPR Ltd. company standing behind the project gained a fund of L125.000 from the UK government for further development and improvement. I seriously doubt British government would invest such a pile of bucks into some kind of trickery. Moreover, despite all criticism and disbelief at the beginning, the scientists have proven their prototype worked exactly as presumed by mathematical calculations supplied by Dr. Richard Paris, prof. of math on the University of Abertay, Dundee. Their project is also supported by a large theory explaining the idea in the language far beyond my comprehension (I didn’t really even try to understand that stuff :).

continue reading "Off-Topic: Antigravity engines becoming reality?"