20110228

Fujitsu Semiconductor pick up ARM chips: Cortex A15, Mali GPUs, more

http://feeds.slashgear.com/~r/slashgear/~3/AZYrw8qKerI/
Another license deal for ARM, another step towards the conquest of the world :p

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Geekiest video game ever called PewPewPewPewPewPewPewPewPew

pew pew pew :P

 
 

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via SlashGear by Shane McGlaun on 2/28/11

If you were around in the early days of the video game, you will remember classics like Asteroids and others with blocky graphics and the iconic pewpew sound of lasers being fired. There are still a lot of video games that are made for fans of that old school style fare and a new one has turned up with the name PewPewPewPewPewPewPewPewPew.

The name of the game might not roll off the tongue, but the game is interesting. You don't get a controller as you expect to control the game play; you get a pair of microphones. One player has the mic that controls the thrust of the jetpack by blowing into the mic.

The other player controls the firing of the laser weapon by… wait for it… saying pewpewpew. The game is a left to right scrolling type in a 2D world with vectorized obstacles you have to shoot and fly over or under.

[vimeo 19687592]

Via Geekosystem


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20110227

Rack construction 1/3 complete

Hi!
I'm constructing a metal rack for the storage room in the basement of my home and I've just finished the first of the three subracks :D
Here it is:


Ta ta,
elias a.k.a. diluted

After Froyo and Gingerbread, the return of the Eclair

Hi!

In the previous post, I mentioned that I will install a newer Android release on my phone.

So, I upgraded my phone to a froyo and a gingerbread. They are cool and packed with nice features. But they are not so cool as the Sense powered Eclair I had installed on my phone. So, I restored my old version until I'll create a Sense powered gingerbread.

Ta ta,
elias a.k.a. diluted

20110226

Hero's root

Hi!

I decided to tinker with my HTC hero in order to have some fun. For starters, I used this guide to gain root access on my phone, installed the SSHDroid and bound it to the port 22.

Tomorrow I'll probably install a Froyo or a Gingerbread or whatever.

Ta ta,
elias a.k.a. diluted

20110223

Boost Brain Activity By Chatting On Cellphones?

that's nice :P so, if we use the same reasoning that is being commonly used when devising conspiracy theories, they* want to make humans smarter.

* they can be pro-capitalistic technology obsessed corporate pigs or the US government or the "others" from Lost or generic government officials or the aliens

 
 

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via SlashGear by Rue Liu on 2/22/11

A new study has found that radiation from a cellphone can cause increased brain activity. Areas of the brain close to where the device is held are most affected. However, it is not certain yet whether this increased activity is good or bad. So that smartphone of yours is either making you smarter or increasing your risk of brain cancer.

Ultra-high-frequency radio waves are emitted during calls and data transfers. Some researchers suspect but cannot conclude that this could contribute to health risks such as brain cancer. The new study to be published tomorrow in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that areas of the brain close to the cellphone use up to 7 percent more energy.

Unlike previous approaches, this new study employed 47 test subjects monitored over a longer time for more significant data. "We have no idea what this means yet or how it works," said neuroscientist Nora Volkow of the National Institutes of Health. "But this is the first reliable study showing the brain is activated by exposure to cellphone radio frequencies."

Although the study cannot conclude whether the increased brain activity is safe or harmful, for the time being Volkow recommends using wired headsets or the speakerphone function to further reduce risk.

[via Wired]


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20110220

DARPA-funded Nano Hummingbird spybot takes flight (video)

 
 

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via Engadget by Donald Melanson on 2/18/11

We were plenty impressed when we saw the initial tests of AeroVironment's robo-hummingbird -- now officially dubbed the Nano Hummingbird -- but we can't say they quite prepared us for the final product that the DARPA-funded company is now showing off. Not only does the bot look and fly like a real hummingbird (at least if you don't look too closely), but it packs a built-in camera and a downlink of some sort that's capable of transmitting live video. According to the company, the hummingbird's also able to hover for up to eight minutes, reach speeds of eleven miles per hour in forward flight, and remain stable in wind gusts of five miles per hour -- not to mention make a perfect landing. Head on past the break to check it out in action -- it may well be one of the few chances you're actually able to see one in the wild.

Continue reading DARPA-funded Nano Hummingbird spybot takes flight (video)

DARPA-funded Nano Hummingbird spybot takes flight (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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20110217

Watson wins it all, humans still can do some other cool things

another win for the machine. the judgment day is nearing :P

 
 

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via Engadget by Paul Miller on 2/16/11

In case you missed it, Watson won again tonight. He even got the Final Jeopardy question correct this time, a multi-layered reference to Bram Stroker that he bet $10k on. His final score over the two rounds ended up at $77,147 (Watson has this thing for betting strange amounts that usually end in a 7), while Ken Jennings got $24,000 and Brad Rutter did $21,600 -- both humans saving a bit of face after last round's stunning defeat. Watson will be giving his $1,000,000 winnings to charity.

So, a few things:
  1. We're totally surprised, in a larger theoretical sense, that a computer could win at Jeopardy.
  2. We're totally not surprised that Watson, the system built by IBM over the past few years at the expense of millions of dollars, actually succeeded at winning at Jeopardy.
  3. Computers have better reflexes than humans, as it turns out.
  4. Deal with it.
If you can't tell, we're having a little trouble processing all the emotions brought on by a Jeopardy win from IBM's Watson supercomputer. It's obvious that IBM's DeepQA research program has developed some of the most sophisticated natural language AI known to man. At the same time, Jeopardy questions aren't really that hard. As evidenced by watching these Watson-dominated matches, all three contestants knew the answer most of the time, but Watson was just quicker on the draw. Of course, it's no surprise that computers have quicker reflexes (even with the "handicap" of having to mechanically press the same style of clicker as Meatbag 001 and Meatbag 002), so why shouldn't Watson get to use his inbuilt advantage to the utmost? It seems like a fair fight to us.

The question of "who is better at Jeopardy" aside (trust us, it's Watson), the larger implications for the human race and our computer sidekicks are still unclear. Watson can currently answer simple trivia questions, sometimes couched in puns or minor riddles, with a decent level of accuracy. The answers themselves are no more than a high school student with Wikipedia access could pull off, and Watson has no way of knowing for sure when he's right. He lacks a solid, computer-readable database of "facts" like a Wolfram Alpha, or the incredible reasoning abilities of a human, instead relying on statistical analysis of vast amounts of text. When it comes to Jeopardy, it turns out to be Good Enough, which is actually a pretty incredible achievement in the world of AI, and we're sure we'll be finding out soon what other applications IBM thinks Watson is Good Enough at -- they're thinking everything from healthcare to the financial industry. Still, we're sure some of us clicker-speed-nit-pickers will remain unimpressed. Make sure to check out the Engadget Show tomorrow, where we'll be chatting up the creators of Watson about all this, but for now... 01000011 01101111 01101110 01100111 01110010 01100001 01110100 01110011 00100001

Watson wins it all, humans still can do some other cool things originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 22:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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20110215

The man with a tank in his garden

we all want tanks in our gardens. it's awesome. :D

 
 

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via BBC News - Home on 2/14/11

Some ex-MoD equipment gets a second life in the hands of enthusiasts like Shaun Mitchell, who restores old vehicles in his garden and drives them around the streets of Norfolk.

 
 

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20110213

HTC Tattoo in the butter :P

According to this article (http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utrolige-historier/artikkel.php?artid=10038092):

20110211

Robot Jet Fighter Takes First Flight

The judgment day is fast arriving. pray for your souls. :P

 
 

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via Slashdot: Hardware by Roblimo on 2/8/11

lysdexia writes "The X-47B is a Tailless Flying Robotic Overlord, which requires neither puny human pilot nor extraneous remote control. First flight was 29 minutes, climbing to a height of 5000 ft. Next step: landing on aircraft carrier."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


 
 

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Hormone 'interferes with empathy'

A small indication that men are self centered, ego maniac, autistic pigs :P

 
 

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via BBC News - Home on 2/9/11

Giving women a small dose of the male sex hormone testosterone makes them less able to empathise with others, say researchers.

 
 

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20110210

7-year-old boy wins eBay auction for Harrier jet, dad not happy

bouhouhouuuuu i want a harrieeeeeeeeeeeeeeer, get me one pleeeeeeeeease :'(

 
 

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via SlashGear by Shane McGlaun on 2/10/11

When I was a kid the coolest jet to me was the Harrier. It wasn't the fastest jet or the best looking, but the thing was able to take off and land vertically so I could have one in my back yard. Apparently a 7-year-old boy from London though the same thing.

The kid happened on a Harrier up for auction on eBay that lacks weapon systems or the ability to fly. Those little details didn't keep the kid from bidding and winning the auction for the fighter jet. The kid bid about $113,000 on the aircraft at a fixed price.

The kid's dad notified the seller that his son had hit the buy now button and lacked the money in his piggy bank to cover the jet. The sellers weren't mad and removed the bid and say the boy did them a favor with the press the attempted purchase received more interest was generated when the jet was relisted. The jet would apparently cost millions of pounds to return to the air and is one of six left in the world.

Via MyFoxChicago


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20110208

iTunes salvation: Roman Catholic Church approves Confession app

first a robot army and then this......................................................................................................

 
 

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via Engadget by Tim Stevens on 2/8/11

Roman Catholic Church approves Confession app, salvation now available on iTunes
Are you a sinner? Don't worry, there's an app for that. The Roman Catholic Church has approved a recent iTunes addition called Confession, a $1.99 app that bills itself as "the perfect aid for every penitent." As you can see above, it lets you pick a commandment and tick off all your sins, keeping a running tally to bring into the confessional with you -- a sort of anti-tasklist, if you will. Can't find your particular misstep? No problem! You're able to add your own, custom dastardly deeds, filling in those gaps the app's authors didn't think anyone would fill. Now all it needs is a random sin selector: shake the phone to instantly get a wicked suggestion. That certainly could make boring Thursday nights at the dormitory a little more exciting.

iTunes salvation: Roman Catholic Church approves Confession app originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 07:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Park at the Superbowl

 
 

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Did you watch this weekend's Superbowl in Dallas, and if so, did you catch the little South Park clip?If not, have no fear -- you can see it here.

 
 

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20110207

2% of Soldiers in Afghanistan are Robots

The judgment day is near. \m/

 
 

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via SlashGear by Robert Evans on 2/7/11

Today, in 2011, one out of every fifty soldiers in Afghanistan has battery acid and lubricant instead of blood, sweat and tears. This means that, based on total army enlistment, "robot" is roughly as large a demographic as "asian". At least among the troops stationed in that theater.

It's worth noting that most of these droids are very simple, in terms of their higher-functioning capabilities. They work to disable (or set off) explosive devices and inspect vehicles and blaze trails and other dangerous tasks that are best handled by something that doesn't mind bullets. As it stands, our "AI" programming is too limited to allow any of these robots very much autonomy.

There are plenty of armed robots "over there", though, and there is a great deal of debate over how they should be used. The Conflict Monitoring Centre reported that the last five years saw as many as 2043 people killed in US drone attacks in North-East Pakistan. The majority were civilians- although identification either way is made difficult by the fact that robots can't tell the difference between civilian farmers with rifles and dangerous bandits with rifles.

So yeah…maybe those unmanned stealth bombers aren't the best idea ever.

[Via Wired]


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20110206

No more “big black blot” with a Transparent TV

this i want

 
 

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via SlashGear by Samia Perkins on 2/3/11

With a new design from Michael Friebe, TVs may start looking a lot cooler. The Loewe Invisio television is completely transparent, allowing it to blend in with the existing design in the home. As Yanko Design stated:  "This magnificent TV is not a big black blot in standby mode…It's a clear, frameless glass surface that keeps the room in its "visually unaltered" state."

According to Friebe, "As the first of its kind, the Loewe Invisio introduces technical innovation, combining conventional LCD and the latest TOLED display technology. This allows to create non-transparent / solid moving pictures with rich color reproduction and full contrast range from solid black to pristine white."

The Leowe Invisio has been entered for a 2011 IF Concept Design award, an international competition for professionals in the areas of design, architecture, marketing and engineering.
No word yet on how much one of these will cost, but this may just be the future of TV.

[via Yanko Design]


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iPad Radiology App for Mobile Diagnosis Approved by FDA

an application for the despicable iPad (software-wise) that is actually pretty interesting. This, along with this kinect mri hack, pave the way to a better world :P

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via SlashGear by Chris Burns on 2/5/11

Incase you are from outer space and do not know, FDA stands for US Food and Drug Administration, and they've just approved an app that'll work on both iPad and iPhone (and we assume iPod Touch too, since that's generally what happens,) that last surfaced when it won the Apple Design Award for "Best iPhone Healthcare & Fitness Application" in 2008. This app, the FDA notes, "is not intended to replace full workstations and is indicated for use only when there is no access to a workstation."

The app is called "Mobile MIM" an essentially displays on a screen what you'd normally see printed on film and hung up on a light wall. When you get a broken bone, or for example when police officers want to see how many bullets you've swallowed by looking at an x-ray – this is the sort of thing you'll be able to see now on your iPad, doctors. Much quicker than the alternative and apparently just as accurate.
The images that'll be able to be viewed in this app are what William Maisel, MD, MPH, the chief scientist and deputy director for science in the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health says are "based on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and nuclear medicine technology, such as positron emission tomography (PET)."
The FDA evaluated this app based on measured luminance, resolution, and noise according to international guidelines and standards. After reviewing results from qualified radiologists conducting demo studies under all manner of conditions of light, all participants agreed that the app was sufficient for diagnostic image interpretation under the recommended lighting conditions."
This app, now approved, will be available sometime next week in the Apple App store in 14 languages in 34 countries. Take a peek at some of the screenshots provided by Apple Insider below —
[Via Apple Insider]

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20110205

Piracy Increases Anime DVD Sales, Study Concludes

Piracy can be considered as advertisement of a product, since pirated media help to spread the word about them.

This would be negative for the industry only if the distribution networks were far too conspicuous and the content pricing too expensive.

So, for the content industry to achieve the maximum gain, the status quo should remain as it is. The industry should maintain a reasonable pricing for the content and keep fending off piracy, so that it will not become pervasive, but not eradicate it, since would also annihilate a really effective advertisement system.

 
 

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via OSNews by donotreply@osnews.com (Thom Holwerda) on 2/4/11

Piracy hurts the content industry. This has been the common line of thought in the piracy and copyright debate for years now, and even though study after study highlight that this is simply not the case - or at least, not as clear-cut a case - the content industry and its avid fans continue to spread this party line. Well, yet another study, this time from the Japanese government, has concluded that piracy actually increases anime DVD sales.

 
 

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20110204

Hotmail announces disposable e-mail addresses, those with disposable persona...

That is a rather interesting idea. As a matter of fact it might prove entirely useful and I must confess I didn't know that yahoo and gmail have implemented similar features :)

 
 

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via Engadget by Tim Stevens on 2/4/11

Hotmail announces disposable e-mail addresses, trolls with disposable personas rejoyce
It's 3:27am and something is wrong on the internet. You just have to rip that hipster blogger a new one but don't want all the hateful responses from the Kool-Aid drinkers going to your precious Hotmail account that contains just your first name and year of birth -- plus your zip and area codes too. What do you do? You try out Hotmail Aliases, which let you create multiple, "disposable" e-mail accounts that all filter back to your primary one. This is something that you can do on Yahoo, but there you have to pay extra for Plus service and, while Gmail will let you create unique addresses too, there you can only add an extension to your existing handle. Here you're home free to create anything you want. Might we suggest GasPoweredLoverEVsSuck3915@hotmail.com?

Hotmail announces disposable e-mail addresses, those with disposable personas rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last net addresses get handed out

While I was reading this, I remembered the nu metal anthem "Everything Ends" by Slipknot from the Iowa album

I think I'm gonna be sick and it's your fault
This is the end of everything
You are the end of everything

\m/

 
 

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via BBC News - Home on 2/4/11

The last five blocks of net addresses have been handed out to regional agencies that distribute them to ISPs

 
 

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PSP-playing boy falls onto train tracks, saved by a real life hero (video)

nicely done :)

 
 

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via Engadget by Vlad Savov on 2/3/11

Not the best news for Sony execs to be waking up to this morning, as the company's PSP has played a starring role in an unfortunate, though thankfully innocuous, incident. A 10-year old Milanese boy was recently so absorbed by his portable's make.believe world that he forgot the real one around him had boundaries with bright lines painted around them. A moment later the young gamer found himself next to the train tracks a few feet below the platform designed for human occupation, though he wasn't there long as an off-duty policeman by the name of Alessandro Micalizzi quickly leapt down and lifted him to safety. See it on video below and feel free to draw your own conclusions about your gaming habits.

Continue reading PSP-playing boy falls onto train tracks, saved by a real life hero (video)

PSP-playing boy falls onto train tracks, saved by a real life hero (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 02:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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20110201

Interesting lecture from R. D. Wolff

Hi!

Today a friend sent me the link to a video recording of a lecture by Richard Wolff, which explains in layman's terms how the economic system works and how Greece entered the turmoil it's in (that is characterized by disappointed citizens, continuous strikes and so on).

Ta ta,elias a.k.a. diluted