TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2014 technology Better batteries are key to climate change: Kemp LONDON: Finding a better way to store and ships. “Compared to gasoline and the high cost and weight. Department of Energy, the world’s focuses on nuclear and solar thermal electrical energy is the single biggest diesel, other options may have more For grid applications, some truly biggest funder of science research. energy, all these programmes concen- breakthrough needed to tackle climate energy per unit weight, but none have enormous batteries have been built. The Most of the department’s research trate on developing better batteries. change. But the goal of developing bat- more energy per unit volume,” the U.S. city of Fairbanks in Alaska has installed a focuses on more mature technologies. Since 2010, ARPA-E has allocated well teries that are lighter, as well as more Energy Information Administration battery system weighing 1,300 tonnes Its Advanced Research Projects Agency- over $100 million of funding to 47 bat- compact, powerful and affordable explained in a recent note (“Few trans- and taking up 2,000 square metres Energy (ARPA-E), however, is a spe- tery-related projects, according to the remains frustratingly elusive. portation fuels surpass the energy densi- (21,000 square feet) in a warehouse cialised unit that aims to catalyse the agency’s website. Virtually all usable energy on Earth ties of gasoline and diesel”, Jan. 3, 2014). capable of providing 40 megawatts of development of less advanced technolo- BEEST is funding research that explic- originates from the sun: wind, solar, Liquefied natural gas contains more power for up to seven minutes in the gies with transformational potential by itly aims to make batteries comparable wood, even fossil fuels. Oil, gas and coal energy per unit of weight but takes up event of a power failure (Daily Telegraph, providing early-stage funding, technical to gasoline and diesel. “To offer perform- are simply the fossilised remains of much more space. Ethanol is inferior in “World’s biggest battery switched on in assistance and commercial expertise. ance comparable to gasoline-powered organisms that lived in ancient forests, weight and volume terms. Batteries are Alaska” 2003). Established in 2007, ARPA-E was cars, electric vehicles must be able to lakes and seas, which relied on photo- generally heavier and need more space Given Fairbanks’ isolated location and modelled on the Pentagon’s Defense deliver the kind of power that will make synthesis to harness the sun’s energy. than gasoline or diesel. Most are also winter temperatures as much as 50 Advanced Research Projects Agency, electric cars fast, responsive and exciting The amount of solar energy reaching much more expensive. degrees Celsius below zero (minus 58 credited with helping develop the glob- to drive,” ARPA-E emphasises. Earth’s surface every year is many orders Burning those fossil fuels, however, Fahrenheit), a secure supply of electricity al positioning system, the stealth fighter “They also must be able to travel at of magnitude greater than that needed contributes to global warming. The chal- is vital. The battery is intended to keep and computer networking. least 300 miles (480 km) on a single to meet all the needs of the planet’s lenge is to develop more effective ener- the lights on long enough to start up According to the US National charge - the approximate driving range growing population. gy storage that can compete with gaso- auxiliary diesel generators. Academy of Science, ARPA-E was per tank of gas - for a comparable cost. Solar radiation reaching the planet’s line and diesel. Better batteries are likely Even bigger batteries have been designed to support “creative out-of- This would require batteries with double surface is equivalent to more than 150 to prove the only realistic option. built. In 2011, China’s State Grid the-box transformational generic energy the energy density and one-third the watts per square metre on average, Corporation commissioned a giant bat- research that industry by itself cannot or cost of today’s state-of-the-art lithium- according to Roger Barry at the Grid scale, vehicles tery array that can supply 20-36 will not support and in which the risk ion battery packs.” University of Colorado (“Atmosphere, Improved storage is needed at two megawatt-hours of electricity. The may be high but success would provide ARPA-E is funding research to re-eval- weather and climate”, 2010). very different levels: grid scale (for exam- Zhangbei National Energy Storage and dramatic benefits to the nation”. uate each component of a battery (posi- The problem is how to store that ple to store solar electricity for use at Transmission Demonstration Project, in The agency has an annual budget of tive and negative electrodes as well as energy in a usable form available when night) where it can be stationary, and on Hebei province, is coupled with a wind $275 million. Most of the funding is allo- the electrolyte) and the materials used and where needed. Solar panels are not a smaller, more mobile scale (to replace farm and solar power plant, and claims cated to 18 focus areas. Five of them to make them. useful at night, or in the winter at high gasoline and diesel with electricity as to be the largest battery array in the concern energy storage - more than any “BEEST projects are exploring a vari- latitudes, or when the sun is temporarily the source of power in cars, trucks and world. Crucially, Zhangbei was intended other area of energy technology. ety of potential solutions including radi- obscured by clouds. Solar energy ulti- ships). Various options have been devel- to prove that wind and solar can provide The storage-related programmes are: cal improvement of today’s lithium-ion mately drives the wind too. But wind tur- oped for stationary grid-scale storage - a reliable source of power on demand. Advanced Management and Protection technologies, designs using other met- bines are useless on a still day. including pump hydro, flywheels and But in most cases, batteries are still too Energy Storage Devices (AMPED); als such as magnesium, sodium and zinc, The ideal storage medium has a high compressed air systems. Better batteries heavy, too large and too expensive to Batteries for Electrical Energy Storage in and new ways of using lithium in lithi- energy content but is light, compact and are the most promising technology for offer an effective solution to grid-scale Transportation (BEEST); Grid-Scale um-sulfur and lithium-air batteries,” the affordable. Liquid fuels refined from grid-scale applications, however, and and vehicle storage needs. Rampable Intermittent Dispatchable agency explains. petroleum, especially gasoline and probably the only one for small-scale Storage (GRIDS); High-Energy Advanced At a much bigger scale, GRIDS is diesel, have the best combination of mobile applications. Advanced research Thermal Storage (HEATS); and Robust funding research into technology that energy content, density and weight, Small-scale batteries are already used Developing smaller, lighter and more Affordable Next Generation Energy could be used to back up intermittent which makes them especially desirable in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid powerful batteries is now one of the top Storage Systems (RANGE). wind and solar generation with storage in mobile applications like cars, trucks electric vehicles. The main problem is research priorities for the US With the exception of HEATS, which anywhere. — AP Mouse Interface, for Grim Fandango

y now you’ve heard some clever mod- der has added mouse controls to the BLucasArts classic adventure Grim Fandango, allowing you to play the game without having to awkwardly steer Manny Calavera around like a friggin’ cargo barge. I’ve actually tried it out, and I can answer all of your questions. Is the mod hard to install? Not really! Does it work? Almost entirely! Can I squeeze an entire column out of telling you how to get it running? Most definitely. Read on to learn how you can point - finally point - in Grim Fandango. Just like Manny’s doing! Essentially, you’re looking at a four step process to get both Grim Fandango and the mod running on current PCs. The example below is from my machine, using Windows 7, though it appears you can get it running on Mac and other versions of Windows as well. SINGAPORE: This photograph taken on February 10, 2014 shows Singapore Airlines Except possibly Windows 8. Sorry. Also, you passenger aircraft taxis along tarmac for take-off at Changi International Airport in will need to find your old Grim Fandango Singapore. Wi-Fi services in aircraft, hobbled in the past by slow speeds, could soon discs, which brings us to Step One. take off after new technology enables passengers to surf the web as if they were in a coffee shop offering Internet access, Internet executives say. — AFP Step One: Find Your Old ahead and copy/replace. It’s fine. sponsive tank through screen after screen, hit- Grim Fandango Discs While you’re dragging stuff into that folder, ting the brakes as he passed an item that They’re in a box in your closet, most likely you’ll also need download the official Grim made him briefly glance in its direction, Cisco cleared in rights case the bottom box under a tower of other, heav- Fandango patch. It’s on this page, labeled throwing him into reverse to rewind him to ier boxes, so pull all those boxes out and stack gfupd.exe. Don’t run it, just download it and the precise spot, missing, and shoving him WASHINGTON: A US court has cleared against Cisco,” company general counsel them against a wall where you’ll leave them stick it into the same folder you put the .LAB forward again. And lets not talk about the Cisco Systems over liability for human rights Mark Chandler said in a statement. for a good three weeks until you’re sick of files into. Okay? endless cycling through his inventory, the abuses in China, in a case closely watched “As the court noted, Congress and the your cats using them as a jungle gym. You close-up of his chest as he pulled the items by the global technology sector and Commerce Department expressly permit don’t have time to put them back now — Step Three: Install ResidualVM out of his pockets, one by one. Deck of Cards. activists. the sale of this networking technology. This you’ve got a game to install! and Put Grim Fandango Into It Work Order. Cat Balloon. Loaf of Bread. Loaf of The Maryland judge dismissed the case, is no surprise given that it has helped bil- ResidualVM is the doohickey that will let Bread. Loaf of Bread. LOAF. OF. BREAD. Vexing! saying Cisco-one of the biggest makers of lions of people in nearly every nation Now that you’ve got the box, start rooting you play Grim Fandango (and tons of other computer networking equipment-was not around the world to access information pre- around in it like a desperate raccoon. Dig at fault for abuses carried out by Beijing viously unavailable or inaccessible.” deeper! Under the board game that has LucasArts games) on your modern PC. Here is Step Four: The Easiest Step! using the “Golden Shield” censorship and The ruling could be significant in a similar spilled dice and cards and game pieces all the download page for the various versions Glottis is waiting. But this won’t take long. surveillance project to find, arrest and tor- case filed in California by members of the over the place. Past the box of tax software (remember, I’m using Windows 7 in this exam- The modder’s instructions seem a little ture political opponents. Falungong religious group, which has been from 2007 that you’re holding onto for some ple) and I used the auto-installer to save a few vague and daunting at first. He drops a few It was the latest test of a 1789 US law branded by China an “evil cult” and banned. reason. Under your old high school yearbook, steps. Download it, install it, and run it. links and casually dispenses worlds like clone, which may be used by foreign nationals to The decision also suggests the US courts though quickly flip through it because you Reading about it couldn’t hurt, either. It’s a build, and binaries, and there’s a Readme file seek redress in American courts over human are reining in the use of the Alien Tort just heard on Facebook that Tommy Hillman useful tool for older games. that doesn’t actually have instructions on rights abuses. Statute, which was little used for 200 years died but there were TWO Tommy Hillmans in When it runs, you’ll see a window with a what to do but tells you to read another Judge Peter Messitte, in a February 24 until the 1980s, when rights activists began your school and you’re not sure if it was button that says “Add Game...” Click it, and Readme. Frankly... I just took a wild guess. I opinion, sidestepped some of the key legal suing on that basis. Tommy “Waffles” Hillman or Tommy “Didn’t navigate to the desktop GRIM folder you’ve dragged the files from his download folder questions in ruling that the court lacked The US Supreme Court in recent months Have A Nickname” Hillman and you need to been adding files to — OR — you may want into my GIRM folder, and then double-clicked jurisdiction over the US tech giant’s activi- has struck down lawsuits seeking redress check their old pictures to be sure. (It was to preemptively move the GRIM folder to an the .exe file I’d just dragged over, and you ties, but added that he “harbors doubt that against German carmaker Daimler for abus- Tommy Waffles. RIP.) easier spot to navigate to, because it’s one of know what? It worked. it worked great. corporations are immune” from the Alien es in Argentina’s “dirty war,” and against those kinda archaic file browser things that So. Just visit this page. Where the post links Tort law. Messitte wrote that “from all that Royal Dutch Shell for its role in Nigeria’s Games on discs? Movies on tape? makes it hard to browse to your desktop. Like, two current binaries, download the Windows appears, Cisco technology remains a neutral political crackdowns. it thinks C:/ is the end-all-be-all of file loca- version. Grab the files within (mouse.lab and product that can be used in innumerable “The courts have substantially narrowed What’s next: phones attached to walls? tions. Know what I mean? Anyway, however residualvm.exe), drag them to the folder you non-controversial ways” and that the the interpretation” of the tort law, says Gary Hey, you’ve found it! Your original Grim Chinese plaintiffs “failed to indicate with any Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Fandango discs! Also, you’ve found a bunch of you want to do it, find your GRIM folder and put everything else in earlier. Double-click logic what it means to customize technolo- Institute for International Economics and co- other old games you suddenly, desperately select it. residualvm.exe. When the window opens, gy that would permit the sort of human author or a 2001 book on the law. want to play, and will keep out on your desk click Start. Remember that Alt-Enter changes rights violations alleged here, such as tor- Hufbauer said that if the courts had acted for the next six months with every intention Click Start. The game will start your screen size and F1 brings up your game ture.” differently, it could have opened the flood- of playing them, but you never will get in that little window, like magic! options. gates to litigation, clogging up US dockets around to it and eventually you’ll just shove Even if you called your folder GIRM, it A clickable inventory. All is right in the Activists disappointed and “it would be a big deterrent factor for US them back in the box that will wind up back at knows it’s Grim Fandango. What an age we world. Activists hoping to use the US courts to companies doing business overseas.” the bottom of the closet again until you’re live in. And hey! You can now point and mouse- hold corporations accountable for complici- gripped by a sudden bout of nostalgia in Guess what? You can now play Grim click where you want Manny to go! You can ty in rights abuses expressed disappoint- Public pressure about three years. Fandango! That was easy and probably didn’t click on the things you want him to look at! ment over the decision. “While a tech com- While the US courts have been unrecep- Note: You also found VHS copies of the require any of my blather about closets and You can double-click to make him hurry up. pany could not (and should not) be held tive to lawsuits, multinational companies are original Star Wars trilogy, pristine, from before boxes and dead classmates! You can even hold the space bar and see all accountable when governments misuse facing pressure on other fronts to step up George Lucas got his stupid hands all over When you start the game, it may be in a the places you can walk to or things you can general-use products for nefarious purpos- efforts on human rights. Public campaigns them! Well, technically, he got his hands on teeny tiny window, but pressing Alt-Enter will interact with! Middle-mouse brings up your es, early evidence indicates that Cisco did in recent years have focused on Google and (or should) pop it up to fill your screen. If it inventory and puts things away, and you can much more,” say Cindy Cohn and Rainey Yahoo activities in China. them back when he made them the first time. doesn’t, I don’t know what to tell you. If you click on items instead of cycling through Reitman of the Electronic Frontier “There is a broad movement that has But this is from after then but before he got Foundation (EFF) in a blog post. been holding companies accountable on his older, stupider hands all over them a sec- want it in a size between small and full, I also them! It’s like the second greatest crime of “This included actively customizing, mar- human rights for a long time,” says Rebecca ond time. Also, it doesn’t matter because you don’t know what to do. Also, hitting F1 will LucasArts has been undone! (The first being keting and providing support for its moni- MacKinnon, a New America Foundation fel- don’t have a VHS player anymore. Let’s contin- bring up the Grim Fandango menu. I can tell Force Commander.) toring and censorship technologies even as low who heads a “Ranking Digital Rights” ue! you that. Putting breadcrumbs on a Robert No more steering. Just click it and he’ll get it knew that they would be used to identify, project assessing the conduct of major tech- Time to cram a folder with files, just like a Frost balloon to scare away dead pigeons. Of there. locate, and surveil Chinese democracy and nology firms. vacuum tube full of chemicals. course! It’s so simple! I haven’t played through the entire game religious freedom activists.” Some firms including Facebook, Yahoo Of course, this is the old Grim Fandango, yet, but I got to the bridge with the fire- The EFF filed a brief supporting the plain- and Google have adopted principles for pri- Step Two: Drag A Bunch the one where LucasArts attempted to take beavers. You know, that bridge. To that point, tiff, dissident writer Du Daobin, and has vacy and human rights under the aegis of of Stuff Into A Folder the “point” out of “point-and-click.” Why did everything worked fine, though for the puzzle been documenting other cases in which the non-government Global Network This is a snap. Create a folder on your desk- they do it? What were they thinking? Well, I in the woods with the wheelbarrow and the technology supplied by Western companies Initiative, “but unfortunately Cisco has not top named GRIM. Or, if you’re careless, as I think this quote from Jurassic Park might sum pumps, I had to use the traditional Numpad is being used by repressive governments taken that step,” MacKinnon said. was, GIRM. Pop in Grim Fandango Disc A. Your it up: “I’ve been present for the birth of every keys to make Manny push the wheelbarrow around the world. MacKinnon told AFP she hopes her proj- computer will probably be all “What am I sup- single creature on this island!” Wait, wrong back and forth. Also, when it was time to stick “Technologies are being created and cus- ect will get companies to carry out “human posed to do with this old thing?” Just open quote. That’s the quote that makes me want a badge in my mouth, I had to use the Enter tomized with the explicit purpose of helping rights assessments” and other measures to the disc like a folder, find the GRIMDATA folder to punch Richard Attenborough in the belly key to do it. Everything else worked great repressive regimes track down, detain, tor- ensure their products and services are not so hard his glasses fall off. The quote I’m look- with the mouse. Keep in mind, this mod is still ture and murder people,” the EFF activists used for repression. on it, and select every file that ends with .LAB. ing for is: “Your scientists were so preoccupied being worked on and bug-checked, and even said. “It’s time for Western companies and The rankings, which are due in 2015, can Drag those .LAB files into your GRIM (or American officials to stop pretending this add pressure from shareholders, govern- GIRM!) desktop folder. with whether or not they could that they ResidualVM doesn’t always work 100%. isn’t true.” ments and the general public. Repeat with the second (B) Grim disc. As didn’t stop to think if they should!” — For the moment, though, this is a great Cisco welcomed the court decision. “As “We think a low score will shine a spot- you’re moving those files, your computer will I have many fond memories of Grim solution, and fantastic work by modder Tobias we stated when the lawsuit was originally light on the laggards and help improve their ask if it should copy/replace a couple things, Fandango, yet they are tarnished by the frus- Pfaff. Thank you, Tobias! Finally, you can drive filed, there is no basis for the allegations conduct,” MacKinnon said.— AFP or if it should not. Tell it that it should. Go tration of trying to drive Manny like an unre- Manny around properly.