Story 2014-03-24

Pipedot Status Update

by
in pipedot on (#3GW)
Thank you for all of your comments and constructive criticisms from last week's poll. Input like this helps me prioritize the implementation of features that are the most important to you. Seems I underestimated some, like search, and will adjust my schedule accordingly.

Updates for this week:
  • Search Page - Still a bit raw, but have to start somewhere, right?
  • More Editors - We now have three volunteer editors. If you are interested in helping in this department, feel free to contact me. Or you can always submit more stories to help us out.
  • Mailing List - Mainly for staff discussions, but anyone is free to participate. Click the checkbox on your settings page to subscribe to the list. A pretty HTML archive interface will be added soon.
  • Titles - The HTML title on most pages should now be meaningful
  • Forgot Password - You can now reset a forgotten password by answering a standard email challenge

Tesla's Lithium-Ion batteries causing a ruckus in the USA and China

by
in science on (#3GV)
story imageLithium Ion batteries are a big deal: they are used in smartphones, laptops, and many other electronic gadgets, as well has electric and hybrid vehicles. But they're a bigger deal when hybrid vehicle producer Tesla gets involved. The sheer size of electric vehicle batteries makes Tesla potentially one of the largest consumers of the world's natural graphite production; some analysts estimate that the opening of the Tesla gigafactory will double the world's demand for graphite.

But that graphite might soon be in short supply. Bloomberg recently reported that the material commonly used for the anode of those batteries - graphite - will soon be in short supply because of environmental issues. Graphite mining and processing has produced substantial air and water pollution in China, leading authorities to close dozens of mines and processing plants in Shandong province. (China currently produces the vast majority of the world's supply of natural graphite; other countries, including Australia and Canada, could potentially ramp up to take up a portion of the slack).

But building Li-Ion batteries for Tesla is causing the politicians to sit up and take notice. At present, four southwestern American states vie to be selected as the site of Tesla Motor's announced 'Gigafactory' , a 1000-acre factory for lithium-ion batteries projected to cost $5 billion and support 6500 local jobs.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk quickly tweeted that the Bloomberg story was 'beyond ridiculous' and promised to post an environmental impact blog. After a week, the proposed statement has still not been posted.

Diablo 3 Expansion Reaper of Souls

by
in games on (#3GT)
The first expansion pack of the popular Blizzard game Diablo 3 will soon go live. The expansion introduces a new character class, the Crusader, adds new areas to explore in Act V, and raises the level cap to 70.

Release schedule for the Americas:
  • 9:00 p.m. PDT on March 24
  • 10:00 p.m. MDT on March 24
  • 11:00 p.m. CDT on March 24
  • 12:00 a.m. EDT on March 25
Release times for other areas are listed here.