geekosystem

The "God-particle" has been getting all the attention lately, but nevermind that for a moment. We've got an up-and-coming God-material on our hands. Graphene -- already proven to have the strength steel in sheets as thin as paper, uses in super-powerful, flexible capacitors, applications in improving the efficiency of desalination by a factor of 100, and the ability to generate electricity when struck by light -- has just demonstrated a new miraculous quality: Sheets of graphene can patch their own holes. It seems that the question of "is there anything graphene can't do?" is becoming less and less rhetorical with each passing day.

At this point, you must know that the Higgs Boson has been found, and you might even know what that means, but do you know what the Higgs Boson sounds like? Well now you can, thanks to Domenico Vicinanza, who immediately set to sonifying the ATLAS data on the new particle. The tune is surprisingly catchy and listenable, although it's immediately obvious it was not generated by any sort of being with an ear for melody. Think of it as an ode to science.

Love it or hate it, the Windows 8 Metro interface sure is something, and it's something Microsoft seems pretty willing to bet the whole company on. If you're in the "love it" camp like I am, I've got good news: You can get the Windows 8 Metro interface on your iPhone. Yes, you read that right. Obviously, it's unofficial, and a bit stripped down, but it's still pretty striking, and it's bound to perplex your friends.

Possibly terrifying, possibly exciting news is coming this way. The exciting part is that there's an Assassin's Creed movie coming down the pipe, and it's starring everyone's favorite creepy android, Michael Fassbender. The terrifying part is that, as with all video game movies, anything that sounds particularly good from the start has the potential to be an even bigger letdown. Maybe this time, finally, someone will be able to buck the bad-movie-about-a-video-game trend. Maybe.

More and more, you hear about companies that are making an effort to "go green." Apple, however, is bucking the trend. They went green, but apparently it wasn't working out for them because they aren't going to be doing it anymore. By withdrawing all of their future products from EPEAT registration, Apple is positioning itself to abandon green standards that stress qualities like recyclability and ease of repair by ceasing to have any of its devices certified.

The Samsung Galaxy tab, under serious patent-assault from Apple, just dodged a bullet when a U.K. judge ruled that the Android tablet does not infringe on Apple's characteristic iPad design. The downside? Well, it's only because the judge decided the Samsung Galaxy Tab just isn't "as cool" as its competitor. Winning is still winning, but winning like that must not be very much fun.

Always be sure to log out when you're done using a public computer, but especially if you're using a public computer in New Jersey. Why? A New Jersey court recently ruled that if you do leave yourself logged into a computer, you are giving "tacit authorization" to anyone who'd like to have a look around; according to the court, taking a peek is totally okay.

As smartphones have become more and more prominent, the practice of recording police officers -- especially when they're dealing with you -- has become more and more common, and more and more of an issue. Several federal courts have ruled that filming police is perfectly legal, but the ACLU of New Jersey is taking things a step further; they want to help you do it. That's why they've released the "Police Tape" app, tailor made for covertly recording officers of the law.