I’m already seeing a game where you fly around releasing toast mines and have to flap and dodge yours and your friends’. And each toaster is a different color so you can get up to four players in on the craziness. It’s a novel and ridiculous drinking game.

I’m already sold. I think I’m going to have to beg/borrow/steal/buy a Kinect to try this out tonight. I’ll update this later with some more information. It’s only available in source code on the GitHUB right now, so it needs to be compiled.

All you have to do is browse on over to JBL’s webstore here. There you’ll find the product numbers you need, just use the promo code BRACKET and you’ll be able to get a new bracket shipped to you at no cost. Thanks JBL! It’s always nice when a company actually goes out of their way to support a product like this. I snapped a quick screenshot confirming that the code actually works. Here you go.

You should also know that if you’re shopping around for docking stations, JBL is already shipping all new purchases with this bracket. So don’t let this deter you, you’re already covered. We wrote a bit more about it and have an image gallery posted here.

Fring released this promo video showing you the way this will allow you to connect with groups of friends to create unique personal moments of joy and beauty. It’s a fun little advertising spot and really does showcase the possibilities with this kind of technology. I especially enjoyed the short scene that implies you should take your friends with you when you’re peeing in public. It reminds me of a friend who would tweet their toilet shenanigans with alarming regularity, pun intended.

One thing I noticed…

Fringing? Really? It always bothers me when marketers jump forward like that and try mutate their own memes. It always looks and feels hokey and artificial. Listen up, let the meme pools do their work, that’s what they’re for. Google never wanted “google” to be an English verb (publicly anyway), that just evolved naturally out of the language.

Linguistic foibles and tangents aside, this app seems to be a similar tool to Cloudtalk, except Cloudtalk is more focused on asynchronous messaging, where there can be a significant time delay in response. Fring is more about synchronous messaging, where all parties are streaming the video data up and downstream at the same time. This is a good sign for the app ecosystems. These are similar, but slightly different applications that might be competing to fill a similar, but distinctly different, niche. Which do you prefer?

From Verizon’s twitter:

We’re aware of an issue with #4G #LTE connections & our network engineers are working to resolve quickly. Will update here.

The workaround was posted up on xda-developers:

-Go to the ThunderBolt’s phone dialer. Enter ##778# and hit Send.
-You’ll get a pop-up labeled EPST, with the choice to “View Mode” or “Edit Mode.” –You want “Edit Mode.”
-You’ll be asked for a password. It’s 000000.
-Now flip down to “Modem Settings,” and then choose “Rev. A.”
-Change the setting from eHRPD to “Enable,” hit OK, then press the Menu button on the phone and tap “Commit Modifications.”

This gave me 3G back, hopefully works for others.

This issue also affects the MiFi 4510l LTE Mobile Hotspots. There isn’t a workaround for this device that we currently know of, but Verizon will have everything up and running as fast as possible. For the rest of you who are drooling over LTE’s ridiculous throughput, we reviewed the DROID Charge yesterday. If you missed it you should check it out.

[via GottaBeMobile]

They have versions of the software available on iOS, Android, and through a web browser interface. The browser interface is currently in a beta stage. I’ve tested it in Firefox 4 as well as Chrome and it seems to work swimmingly in both. They need to add some functionality for the web interface to be truly useful, specifically an ability to take and post webcam videos on-the-fly. And currently the upload feature seems to be broken. I am only able to sign up for the service and check it out through the PC interface because my iPhone is busted.

Anyway, from what I can tell. They have everything right. The interface is comfortable and intuitive and the software ran quickly. They might be onto something here. It’ll depend on if they can get this to catch on through the gauntlet of Facebooking and tweet-API craziness out there in the market. PCMag has a more detailed look at it, so if you think this app might have some promise for you and your circle, check it out.

Or just jump right in, it’s a free download.

[via PCMag]

First off, who thought it would be a good idea to program a robot to literally gouge needles into someone’s scalp, ripping out their hair one strand at a time? I know that’s not something I would ever think about, ever. This idea is terrifying to me. But, it is an impressive technical feat, so… There’s that.

Restoration Robots is based in Mountain View CA. They hope to streamline the hair transplant process, of which there were more than 100,000 in 2009. They claim that the ARTAS robot will shave (pun intended) hours off of the procedure.

[via Forbes]

The clever duders over at pocketnow came to this conclusion starting with this piece of unexpected information. On the list of phones was one known to be an up and coming Verizon Windows 7 phone (the 7 Trophy, or MWP6985), but there was another yet unknown model number, MWP6885. They did a little more digging and found that the MWP6885 was linked with an file labeled PC93-1.0.xml Then they remembered that the PC93100 is a designation for the HTC 7 Pro when it passed through the FCC last year. So if A=B and B=C then A=C right? Right.

Verizon picking up a WP7 device is good news for Microsoft, as they are seriously behind the game in the smartphone OS market. The quick shift in the way we interact with technology as a society has turned a lot of the technical world on it’s head. The market for traditional computers is flattening while an entire new style of computer is growing. I for one am enjoying the ride. I can’t wait.

[via IntoMobile]

PCWorld spoke with spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment in Tokyo, but Sony isn’t really saying much except that this was an “external intrusion” into their network. They’re working to figure out if any of the personal information such as credit card numbers were compromised. If you use the PSN, keep an eye on your accounts. I personally doubt that the people responsible for this attack are looking to target the customers, but that data might have been too juicy of a target not to grab if they had the opportunity.

Though Google recently pulled Anon’s videos from April citing ToS violations, there are still conduits of their voice postin’ videos. If you missed their threats vs Sony the first time around like I did, check it.

Sony has no official word on when they will be able to reinstate their service. Some sources point to tomorrow, but Sony’s official word is that they don’t know. This is a quote from the EU PSN blog:

I know you are waiting for additional information on when PlayStation Network and Qriocity services will be online. Unfortunately, I don’t have an update or timeframe to share at this point in time. As we previously noted, this is a time intensive process and we’re working to get them back online quickly. Will keep you updated with information as it becomes available. We once again thank you for your patience.

I’ll say it again. Sony got pwnd.

UPDATE: Yeah, they still don’t have a clue as to when they’ll get everything back online. As far as cyberattacks go… props duders, whoever you are.

[via ars technica]

There are a multitude of streaming services that provide music in almost any format you can imagine. The most popular is a site that wasn’t even really designed with music in mind, YouTube. Google made the right choice to snap them up when they had the chance. There’s also Pandora, Soundcloud, and Grooveshark, which are just the ones that I regularly use.

After Amazon released it’s cloud service last month, the other giants are scrambling to keep up. Apple is looking to introduce cloud functionality to their iTunes service. This is exciting as it removes one of the reasons why many rarely purchase albums these days. I mean, apart from the fact that you can listen to just about anything you want using the multitude of online services that are available for free.

This cloud functionality is going to remove one of iTunes most complained about issues. But that’s mainly because many people don’t consistently back up their data. These changes signify a major shift in the way we need to start thinking about our devices. Our devices, be they smartphones, tablets, or even a traditional keyboard-mouse computer sitting on your desk, are the endpoint to the greater network instead of objects in themselves. Tune in, Turn on, Jack in.

[via CNET]

“I developed DON-8r as a device to get people more personally involved with raising funds for charities. I was inspired by the increasingly negative attitude that many people have towards on-the-street charity workers. Rather than approaching them and supporting their charity, people will often go out of their way to avoid them. DON-8r is my response to this, an engaging and approachable robot that raises money for charities through encouraging playful and empathetic support from strangers and passers-by.”

DON-8r is constructed from smooth plastic panels, it glides along the ground for a set length and then stops to ask passers by for donations. The coinage deposited into the slot on his back helps to power the bot, and he won’t roll on without the continued support from passers by. This little robotic panhandler is designed to be branded with any chairty of choice.

Tim Pryde is a student of the University of Dundee in Scotland in his final year. He teamed up with the Dundee Science Centre and produced this cute little bot to raise awareness for the center and to collect DON-8tions. He will be exhibiting his bot at the following shows:

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design Degree Show, Dundee 21 – 29 May 2011
New Designers, London 6th – 9th July 2011

And just for fun, here’s an early video he posted of the GUTS! We love robot guts, and robots in general. If you want to read more about the design process, Tim’s chronicled the whole process in his blog.

Honestly, there wasn’t all that much surprising going on in the EULA. I found this point was a little strange. For some reason RIM’s lawyers thought they specifically needed to condemn obscene and profane uses of their tablet. I wonder what qualifies as profane?

I wonder what RIM holds as sacred…

We chatted a little bit about his first impressions as well. I threatened to quote him and he threw a couple of sentences my direction. They’re the bold headers.

“RIM is actually pretty good at tablets”

Our own Vincent Ngyuen reviewed the tablet earlier this week. And, RIM has seen some criticism for firmware issues during the release. But, those are being addressed.

“Why can’t they make a decent smartphone?”

He went on to say that if the Playbook was a 4″ device, he would switch to a RIM smartphone in an instant. That’s a pretty glowing recommendation from someone who has been using Android since the G1. The Playbook sold 50,000 units on it’s first day, outclassing the launch of both Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Motorola’s Xoom. RIM might be able to turn things around if they’re able to solve the firmware issues and possibly work around the somewhat annoying Blackberry Bridge issues that looks like a good idea for existing enterprise customers’ security concerns, but will be a hassle for regular consumers.

[via i4u News]

To operate the Slow Photography camera, simply slip your phone into the slot for it and then select your lens by rotating the selection wheel. David included three lenses, a fixed focal length, macro, and fisheye. Then you look through the viewfinder on top to frame your shot and release the shutter.

Here’s a collection of images showcasing the action of David’s prototype. Can you tell which pictures come from which lens? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m not really a photographer.

[via Yanko Design]

“This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and without absorption to produce charge separation,” Rand said. “In solar cells, the light goes into a material, gets absorbed and creates heat. Here, we expect to have a very low heat load. Instead of the light being absorbed, energy is stored in the magnetic moment. Intense magnetization can be induced by intense light and then it is ultimately capable of providing a capacitive power source.”

Right now solar power cells are expensive and somewhat dirty to produce as they are made from semiconducting wafers. This will allow solar collection apparatus to be constructed from much more common materials. This could be the breakthrough that makes solar power cheap enough for widespread adoption.

“To manufacture modern solar cells, you have to do extensive semiconductor processing,” Fisher, a PhD student involved in the research, said. “All we would need are lenses to focus the light and a fiber to guide it. Glass works for both. It’s already made in bulk, and it doesn’t require as much processing. Transparent ceramics might be even better.”

This could be a major breakthrough, focusing the light into a usable beam and creating voltage potential with cheaper materials is going to be the ticket to ending the world’s dependence on fossil fuels once and for all. There isn’t going to be a magic bullet that’ll solve all of these problems, solar power is a major component. Efficient energy storage solutions like flywheel energy storage systems are also going to be an important part in leveling out the grid.

[via Earth Techling]

In a global economy, the phone you have in your hand was sourced from all over the world. From the mining of the raw materials in the Congo that has coined the term “blood phones”, to the production of silicon chips throughout South East Asia, to the final assembly by factory workers in China, finally through your hands for an average of 18 months, and then most likely to a landfill somewhere in the States.

A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except faults, so he loses touch with reality and lives in a world of illusions.

By thought I mean the chattering inside the skull; perpetual and compulsive repetition of words, of calculations, and symbols going on inside the head.

For as a result of confusing the real world of nature with mere signs, such as money, stocks and bonds, title deeds, and so forth. This is a disaster. Time to wake up. – Alan Watts

Now here’s the part that makes me sick and angry. Apple will recycle all of their products for free. Yes, for free. Actually, it’s even better, if you bring some devices in to Apple retail stores, you can get a discount on a new one. And still only 10% of us are even bothering to do anything but chuck it in the trash. That’s ridiculous, wasteful, and just plain stupid, especially in these hard economic times. Many computer companies are offering free recycling programs. There are national coalitions like the Electronics TakeBack Coalition that are pushing for extended producer responsibility to be made law. It already has been made law in a lot of places.

Alright, surf on over to geekaphone to check out the rest of these facts and figures. I would have grabbed more shots to highlight for you, but it’s really worth taking a look at the image in it’s entirely. Really, it’s awesome.

[via Cult of Mac]

Anonymous has been picking up operations in the wake of WikiLeaks. They are known for spreading their doctrinal messages through YouTube. Today, the folks over at YouTube said, “enough is enough” and pulled the three videos for Operation Sony, Operation Sony Update and Operation Black Out citing Terms of Service violations. Operation Black Out is the most recent video posted by the international hacktivist collective. They voiced their position regarding New Zealand’s new copyright legislation, the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill. Does this have anything to do with Anon finally turning their Low Orbit Ion Cannons aka LOIC toward a national entity?

Michael Stone over at the Examiner saved a text transcript of the message, you can check out his article on Operation Black Out, here. And I’m also attaching the text transcript here.

We are Anonymous.

We have been watching the actions taken by you and your legislation. The passing of the Infringing File Sharing bill is both a form of censorship and invasion of privacy.
Anonymous will not let this go by unnoticed. Your beliefs that one is guilty until proven innocent is an unlawful and unjust policy.
We do not believe that one, when accused of copyright infringement, should be questioned by their Internet Support Provider and eligible to pay a fifteen thousand dollar fine, unless proven innocent.
We do not believe that one, when accused of copyright infringement, should be sentenced to six months suspension of Internet usage, unless proven innocent.
We do not believe that one, when accused of copyright infringement, shall be called a criminal in the eyes of the government for the simple act of accessing information, unless proven innocent.

Those opposing the copyright law via online protest, we are with you,

New Zealand, You now have the full attention of Anonymous.

We are Anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us

Mr. Stone mentions that the legislation was slipped through in legislation dealing with the Christchurch earthquake, a phenomenon many of us are used to in places where executive branches don’t have line-item veto powers. There are May day marches in protest planned in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.

[via TorrentFreak]

Michael posted a series of images describing the process used to arrive at the final prototype of the Engrain on his portfolio here. The idea is to create a keyboard where every key has a distinct texture as well as position. Touch typists now rely on finding the home row with nubbins on the F and J keys. This will allow for typists to have an intuitive knowledge of their finger position regardless of where their fingers happen to be. It’ll also just feel really great under the fingers don’t you think?

After experimenting with a number of different surfaces he settled on a design produced from a piece of sandblasted wood that preserved the natural grain. This gives every key a unique texture, as well as giving every keyboard an unique texture across the entire board.

The only problems with designs like this is that often they never come to mass production so they end up costing more than your first born child to acquire, if you can find one at all. Cross your fingers. I’m crossing mine.

[via Colossal Art & Design]

There are a few different principles that faux-3D imagery uses to trick your brain into believing that the images are popping out of the screen in an oh-so-shocking manner. The one that these glasses block use a strange property of photons called polarization. The physics is cool, though that’s honestly a given whenever you’re discussing anything to do with photons. Tricksy buggers. This is also the most common one that you’re going to run into as it’s the technology that’s already deployed in cinemas nationwide. RealD is one company responsible for many of these systems.

A polarizing filter takes the light wave, which normally vibrates all which ways (denoted by the circular model), and channels the photons so that they are vibrating in a certian linear direction. The 3D glasses are set up so that the left eye would get the photons vibrating horizontally and the right eye would get the ones vibrating vertically. The 3D movies are projected similarly, with separate images projected through polarized filters like so.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the supremely helpful images.

This phenomenon can be played with if you tilt your head side to side while viewing this kind of 3D image. The illusion breaks down and it’s quite cool looking. Now, these 2D glasses play off of this same principle except both of the polarizing filters are aligned in the same direction. They completely block one of the projected images. Until now, if you are one of the people who dislikes 3D, either because of headaches and eye-strain issues, or just because you think it’s lame, you would just have to skip out on the film your friends were going out to see. Now you can go to see Captain America 3D and act all pretentious and oh-so-much cooler than everyone else because you can block the 3D part without sitting in another room.

We put a lot of miles on our vehicles here in the US. Many of our cities are designed so that we don’t really have much of a choice otherwise. Luckily, the technologies are finally starting to come to fruition that will mean that gridlock doesn’t mean millions of people burning gasoline while stuck in traffic.

These driving tips were put together as a bit of a marketing ploy by telenav and Ford for their MyFord Touch automotive systems. The navigation software has the option to pick between the fastest, shortest, or most eco-friendly route. If you want to take a look at a quick product demo at Ford’s MyFord Touch website, click that link there and then click on the “Navigation” tab in the sidebar. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says “Find the most fuel-efficient route.” and they have this interactive demo.

[via telenav]

Both of these projects have videos demonstrating their articulated operation. We’ll start by looking at a short clip demoing bad pixel’s smartphone stand.

You see, it’s a relatively simple project. The levers and gears come together to make something workable so bad pixel could get his Wiimote-driven GameBoy emulation on in peace. It’s a decent solution to a specific problem using stuff he already had laying around. But here, check this out. He used this really awesome piece of software to design the whole thing. It’s called SR 3D Builder. Here’s a quick screenshot.

This piece of software lets you design LEGO projects in a slick little 3D interface. SR 3D Builder was designed by Sergio Reano out of Italy, and you can pick it up here. It’s free. Knock yourself out. It’s still under active development. Sergio released version 0.5.6.9 on the 8th of April. Oh yeah, bad pixel’s instructable.

Next, we have this bad boy. Watch this video of Shepherd’s Lego NXT robotic factory demonstration.

Shepherd here created this project because he has been fascinated with this style of Delta Robot for quite some time.

They are known for moving small objects very quickly, usually at two hundred or more moves per minute. Parallel robots (another name for Delta Robots) are often used in many industries such as the food industry where the payload is small and light and the production rates are very high. Many times a series of parallel robots are used to do things like assemble cookies, package small items, stack pancakes and much, much more.

The positions of the robotic arms are controlled by independent servo motors and the actuation of the gripping hands are controlled by a pneumatic system. There isn’t really much I can say about this with any air of authority. He explains the whole process on his blog, Tinkernology. He goes into significant detail on the design aspects of each aspect of this robotic system. It’s a good read.

[via Singularity Hub]
[via xda-developers]

Consumer Reports had these interesting numbers about the TV’s announced for next year. The vast majority of the new sets coming out are going to feature some kind of 3D. And most of it is going to be this active shutter style stuff. Though LG is working on the polarized glasses style of display. And there are going to be a few that feature auto-stereoscopic displays.

Based on an unofficial assessment of the new-product announcements we’ve so far seen this year, anywhere from 60 to almost 75 percent of a manufacturer’s TV lineup will include 3D capability. For example, 23 of LG Electronics’ 31 announced TVs this year will include 3D (74 percent), and 23 of the 37 TVs Sony has so far unveiled this year will have 3D (62 percent of its lineup). Panasonic (70 percent) and Samsung (60 percent) also follow this trend.

I’ve been unimpressed with 3D for about as long as I can remember and I am somewhat irked that this idea seems to be taking hold. Don’t get me wrong, a full-on holographic display would be super keen, but these faux 3D trick of the eye things usually just give me a headache. This even happened with the latest 3D movies I’ve gone to see, Coraline comes to mind. Call me a cynic, but it looks like the industry is grabbing hold of this as the latest-and-greatest feature that they can slap into a TV to charge you another couple of bucks. Until we have a Holodeck, I’ll stick to going outside for my three dimensional fix.

[via Consumer Reports]

HTC and Apple have been duking it out over this for a while. Apple levied this suit in the beginning of March, last year. At this point, there are more than a dozen cases up in front of the ITC involving smartphones. Apple is fighting hard to protect it’s patents. Some of them were applied for as many as 17 years ago, which means they’re due to expire in a couple of years anyway. As of 1995, patents last twenty years.

“Advances in technology have made the patent moot,” Pat Flinn of Alston & Bird of Atlanta said of the Apple patent for signal processing (#5848105). “The Apple iPhone doesn’t practice the patent.” The patent number there is also a link to the patent document on Google’s patent website. It’s all legalesed techno-greek to me. The ITC complaint is In the Matter Of Certain Personal Data and Mobile Communications Devices and Related Software, 337-710, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington).

[via Bloomberg]

DigInfo News captured this video at Finetech Japan. Bridgestone is demoing the AeroBee eReader using QR-LPD technology. If you haven’t heard about this stuff before it uses a black and white electrified powder suspended between two electrified plates of glass or plastic. Because they can also put it in plastic these displays can be made to be flexible or placed on curved surfaces.

The tablet shown in this video is running an ARM 11 processer @533MHz with 128Mbyte of RAM. It also has 4GB of iNAND for storage. They slapped a Linux 2.6.24 kernel in there and a few different demonstration programs, and I’m impressed. The response time of this display looks to be completely flawless the paint-by-numbers style application. When can I get one?

[via CrunchGear]

The packbots had the important job of taking radiation and temperature readings from inside the rooms that had been sealed since the disaster. TEPco has not released these finding to the public just yet. Rest assured, you don’t want to go in there. The bots also feature a video camera with a live-feed to operators at a safe location. The iRobot packbots are notable for their use in US Military operations in Iraq and Afganistan as bomb defusal bots.

There are a number of remote controlled robots in use for the repair operations in the Fukushima Daiichi reactor. TEPco started with remote controlled helicopter drones to get sustained closer looks at the damage throughout the reactor complex. They’ve also been using remotely controlled excavators and transporters. Much of the debris and rubble left from the disaster is too radioactive to safely deal with directly.

[via Technology Review]

Rovio is a Finnish gaming company. They incorporated in 2003 to begin making games specifically for mobile platforms. Angry Birds is their latest smash hit. People just seem to love this game. The first Angry Birds dropped on us two years back and they’ve continued releasing new versions with topical art assets and new puzzles.

They had this note on their company’s blog post announcing the release.

Furthermore, we will soon launch the biggest alternate reality game with Angry Birds ever – be prepared to seek for clues around the world to discover the secrets hidden in Angry Birds Seasons! [via Rovio]

That’s interesting, we’ll keep you posted on what this might mean, because honestly we have no idea.

Rovio released a game-play trailer that shows some of the new stuff going on in this latest version. And I know I love both destruction and movies! Check it!

This first one is a homebrew bot built from an old Tomy Omnibot. If you weren’t around in the 80s, good for you, it was a terrible time. Lots of people were attempting to make things that they called robots or what-have-you. Instead we ended up with stuff that ended up being a hacked together hunks of plastic that were as infuriating as they were disappointing. DJ Sures is a crazy hacker weirdo, and I use the term with more affection than you can even begin to understand. He took apart one of these twenty year old robots and rebuilt it from the inside, making it stronger by adding servos to the arms, making it smarter by loading in all kinds of programming he swiped from his other ‘bot projects, adding a camera to give it vision, a microphone for voice response capability and it has an ultrasonic sensor for navigation. It can see and hear better than your new puppy.

In this video the Omnibot++ watches some TV for a little while and then seems to just… get bored… and wander away of his on volition. This video is particulary cool because it gives you a look from the ‘bot’s POV.

[via RetroThing]

Next we have a begger bot. Dubbed the DONA by designer Min Su Kim, this dimunitive ‘droid is designed to do a task usually taken by volunteers. It solicits donations. There aren’t many details of the the specifics on how this thing works, but it seems to respond well to the people. It looks down whenever someone throws in a donation and blinks cutely. Is it just me or is this some kind of robotic cross between Red Riding Hood and a shyguy?

[via Yanko Design]

One time I watched Ace of Cakes or whatever. I didn’t really pay much attention, there was a lot of yelling and then they put this big cake in the back of a car and almost crashed it and stuff. I guess those shows have created an explosion of creative cakery nationwide! Liz jumped on this tidal wave of awesome sweetness and started making all sorts of confectionary delights. I really could go on for way too long about all of the different things she makes. She makes cakes like car engines, cakes with Mario, Domo-kun, or Banjo-monstar as I first knew him. She makes cakes that are tall and cakes that are short. She makes a lot of cakes. You should just go look at her company’s page here.

Now this is the neat part, she recently had some requests to make some cake toppers out of the visage of those rage filled avians. She’ll let you know exactly how she did it on this Instructable. Or if you break down into tears at anything resembling modeling clay because of terrible childhood memories, you can browse on over to her etsy where you will find a terrifying array of wrathful fowl available for sale. Don’t worry, they ship well.

[via Instructables]

These systems are slated to be used for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Police will begin testing them at concerts and football matches soon. Standardly, the system is set to scan faces in crowds up to 50 meters away, but has the capability to recognize faces as far as twelve miles away. Wow. Systems like this will leave it up to the computer to identify perpetrators instead of the officers needing to ask for or call in documentation. This makes it more discreet for law-abiding folks to just enjoy whatever event needs such protection.

What consistently freaks me out about stuff like this is that this is the completely unclassified technology that is being talked about openly in the news. How much more is possible, or already happening? Creepy.

[via The Telegraph]

“Considering the ongoing demand for IP addresses, this date effectively represents IPv4 exhaustion for many of the current operators in the Asia Pacific region,” Wilson, the director of APNIC, said. “From this day onwards, IPv6 is mandatory for building new Internet networks and services.” This might to slow internet based economic development for a short time in Asia while companies deploy IPv6 solutions. But it’s not even a roadblock, barely a speedbump. Don’t panic.

For most people, this isn’t really going to matter. All of these issues are taken care of on the backend. IPv6 is pretty cool though, instead of a boring IP address like 45.87.256.19 you’ll have all of the style and grace of hexadecimal notation, 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.

[via ZDNet]

First off, this isn’t a design that’s going to include touchscreens, buttons, or any of that fancy kind of stuff. Right now it’s just something that can work as an oldschool telephone handset, but it’s in a piece of cardboard. All you have to do to turn this flat thing into an ergonomic handset is squeeze the sides together gently. The breaks in the cardboard will bend and it’ll transform.

This isn’t going to change your life or anything, but it does demonstrate how far we’ve really come in making the things we need smaller and more convenient. Cool.

[via Yanko Design]

There isn’t really much information about this phone except for these shots. It looks like it’s about iPhone sized. So it’s going to have the standard 3.7″ screen instead of the larger 4.3″ we’re seeing on many smartphones. You can see a camera and what looks to be a single LED flash and/or flash-light with a single LED. Their source mentioned that it might be loaded with DDR2, double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory interface. Faster RAM? Sweet!

egzthunder1 of xda-developers mentioned that there is a IMEI number on the device itself. Which means standard GSM service for worldwide cellular connectivity. You should see this phone dropping through Sprint sometime in the next six months.

[via xda-developers]

The duders over at cookinghacks put together an Arduino based geiger counter. It’s set up to click a speaker at every pulse for an immediate indication of radioactivity. And what’s a geiger counter without ominous clicking? The Arduino microcontroller counts the pulses per minute. Using this measurement the microcontroller calculates Sieverts per hour. This is the standard measurement for the energy that the body absorbs from radiation sources.

They put together a kit that contains everything you need to put one of these babies together You can get it over this-a-way, at their store. They are marketing the device as a cheaper homebrew alternative to commercial radiation sensors. Oh yeah, it’s all open source, they released everything onto the web to make sure that our friends in Japan can check themselves before they wreck themselves on stray radioactivity. But for you, do you want your kid to win the next science fair? This’ll beat a paper mache volcano any day of the week.

[via Dangerous Prototypes]

As part of a promotion for Portal 2′s release, Valve packaged some games that they’re calling the Potato Sack. It’s a collection of thirteen indie games. They’re selling these for 75% off of the normal price. The whole package is going for $38.72.

1….2….3…. KICK IT! (Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby)
AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
AudioSurf
BIT.TRIP BEAT
Cogs
Defense Grid: The Awakening
Killing Floor
RUSH
Super Meat Boy
The Ball
The Wonderful End of the World
Toki Tori

This happens relatively often on Steam these days. Valve will go ahead and package a number of games together and sell them to you at a reduced rate. So that’s cool. But the really fun part? Play any of the games in the Potato Sack and Valve will expedite the release of Portal 2. They will be tracking all of this over at the Aperture Science website.

[via Steam]

This bike can boost you to 20mph using the electric motor alone. Just twist the right handle and it’ll power up and release the stored energy into the bike’s drivetrain. If that’s not fast enough you can supplement with pedal-power to achieve even greater speeds.

Most electric bikes are going to cost you a pretty penny. This Hammacher Schlemmer bike is going to run you $2,800 or so from their website. Get one here if you are so inclined.

[via Earth Techling]

This service automatically checks websites you browse against Google’s blacklist. It’s integrated into Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. What this feature aims to do is add another layer of defense against malware installations. Google keeps a database of known malware URLs. Every time you click a link, Google checks it out and lets you know if everything’s okay. If it’s bad, you’ll see something like this.

If you use one of these browsers, every page you browse to is checked against Google’s database, and if it finds a match it’ll throw you an error. If you want to turn this service off or on, here’s the way to do it in Chrome or Firefox.

Chrome – browse to chrome://settings/browser

Firefox – Edit > Preferences

[via Chromium Blog]

Many people think of Linux as if it’s an operating system in competition with Windows. This isn’t really the case. There are some vocal users among the community that live to fight against the corporate machine, but most of us, we just like choices. Linux itself isn’t an operating system in the strictest sense of the word. Linux is just an idea about how an operating system works. The easiest way to think about it is as if every individual installation of Linux is it’s own operating system. That’s the principal difference between Windows and Linux. With Microsoft in your corner, you are playing their game. You’re in their Twilight Zone. Linux on the other hand… it’s all you baby.

With a little bit of effort the user can customise anything. Enterprising and generous hackers package their customized systems into distributions, each with a distinctive flavor. In fact, we love to call the various distributions different flavors of Linux. That’s a key term. There won’t be a quiz. Linux comes in as many flavors as there are programmers with a desire for something different from what’s out there. That’s it’s strength. Look up any of these to see some of the different possibilities; Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Crunchbang, E-Live, Debian, Red Hat, SUSE.

GNOME isn’t a distribution. It isn’t a flavor. So what is it?

GNOME is a lot of things really. It’s an expansive project that aims to provide a wide array of software tools. It’s meant to be an all-in-one automagic software package that you can install on any Linux system to get a functional and diverse desktop environment. The 3.0 Release changed a lot of the look and feel of the GNOME system. GNOME The new release is designed with the cloud in mind. It took them five years, and here it is.

Right now the new version of GNOME is supported by the openSUSE and Fedora projects. Those are Linux distributions, or distros for the cool kids. You can browse to here to try it out on a USB stick or a LiveCD.

[via Linux Journal]

I don’t really remember the original score to the original Tron, and I still haven’t seen the 2.0. I am no Tron expert or Tron fanatic telling you to watch this and enjoy because I love everything Tron. Really, I don’t like Tron much at all. Just between you and me, I hate Tron.

I like this in spite of it being Tron. j/k I’m ambivalent.

It’s cold up there in Ann Arbor where Mr Grumbles is a French / Disco House DJ. Keeping dancefloors stocked with sweaty gyrating bodies is his cap and trade. I really hope he has a Mr. Grumbles cap. Just so I could know for sure when I saw him that he was in-fact the man in fact. If you are so inclined to find more of his music after enjoying this he also has a Myspace page with some tracks up there for a listen.

Now here’s the really cool part. This dude is just giving this thing away for donations. This video below is the entire recut and rescore, and it’s just up there on Vimeo waiting for you to enjoy. And hey! Mogi has a donation link posted up on moodgadget. Browse on over and throw him a bone!

End of Line is an original re-score of the movie Tron (1981), created by Ann Arbor native French / Disco House antihero Mogi Grumbles. End of Line is a 100% independent composition that lives wholly outside the original film score by Wendy Carlos and Annemarie Franklin.

The result of a live collaboration between Alex Taam and video editor Christian Silbereis, a re-cut of the film featuring the Mogi Grumbles re-score has been released as a companion piece for your viewing pleasure. End of Line is being released digitally as a name-your-price offering, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to the artist.

[via iso50]

These cool black boxes can do a whiz-bang job at piping all kinds of sound nicely to your home theater system. They all have front panel USB that can interface with the iPod/iPhone as well as standard USB mass-storage devices. All but the lowest priced offering offer ethernet capabilities so that you can stream all manner of online radio through your home’s internet connection. Everything from Pandora, Rhapsody, Napster, SiriusXM Internet Radio, Slacker, Mediafly and more. The Home Theater in a Box systems come with receiver and speakers packaged in a single box, while the TX-NR709 is just the Receiver, but it also has an impressive eight HDMI ports. They developed an iPhone app that works as a remote for any of these. It’s free.

The Blu Ray player also supports all of the internet content on-demand services available with the HTiB’s and receiver. It can play media off of a variety of storage devices like any of these. Two USB ports provide the connectivity. Read more about blu-ray here. I’d focus on the Slashgear 101 article about what’s going on with 3D TV. It’ll give you the digs.

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ (4/11/11) — Onkyo, a brand renowned worldwide for quality home entertainment technology, has announced four new packaged home theater systems, including its first with networking capabilities, a new home theater speaker system, upgraded mid-line AV receiver, and an affordably-priced 3D Blu-Ray player.

Home Theater Systems: Onkyo has increased its premium home theater line-up from three models to four, consisting of the HT-S6400, HT-S7400, HT-S8400, and HT-S9400THX. All four have a front-panel USB port that offers a direct digital connection for an iPod or iPhone, along with support for audio playback from USB mass-storage devices. The top three models include Ethernet networking capabilities to support streaming PC audio and Internet radio from the likes of Pandora, Rhapsody, Napster, SiriusXM Internet Radio, Slacker, Mediafly, Last fm, and vTuner and provide compatibility with Windows® 7 and DLNA. The Internet connection greatly simplifies the process of providing future updates to the receiver’s firmware. These same three models also include the new Marvell Qdeo 4K video upscaling processor for use with upcoming higher resolution video display.

These networking models can also take advantage of Onkyo’s free Remote App for iPod, iPhone, or iPad to control the A/V receiver. All these models are also compatible with the recently announced UWF-1 Wireless USB Adapter that provides an IEEE 802.11b/g/n connection to access music on a home network.

As with previous HTiB lineups, the top-of-the-line 7.1-channel HT-S9400THX is THX Certified and includes THX approved speakers–the reference standard for excellence in home theater sound. The HT-S8400 includes a distinctive 7.1-channel slim floor standing speaker package with high-performance 41-inch high front speakers, while the HT-S7400 uses a more-compact 5.1 speaker package. All of these systems include powered subwoofers.

The HT-S6400 uses brand new 5.1-channel speaker set that includes a powered subwoofer and matching gloss-finished front, center, and surround speakers. These compact—yet reassuringly solid—speakers are made from a new, high- density resin designed for maximum rigidity and minimum vibration. The elegantly curved shape of the speaker cabinets does more than just add a touch of class; it also helps to counteract standing waves, ensuring sound output with greater fidelity. This speaker system will also be sold separately as the SKS-HT690.

The Onkyo HT-S7400, HT-S8400, and HT-S9400THX will be available in May with Suggested retail prices of $799, $899, and $1099 respectively. The HT-S6400 and SKS-HT690 will follow in July with MSRPs of $699 and $449 respectively.

Onkyo TX-NR709 AV Receiver: Onkyo has also announced late April deliveries of its 7.2-channel TX-NR709 Network home theater receiver. Like it’s predecessor, the TX-NR708, it has full networking capabilities to support streaming PC audio and Internet radio, adding Last.fm to its roster of Pandora, Rhapsody, Napster, SiriusXM Internet Radio, Slacker, Mediafly, and vTuner. It is also has compatibility with Windows® 7 and DLNA, front panel USB, powerful WRAT amplifiers, and a broad suite of audio processing from Dolby, DTS, and Audyssey. The TX-NR709 has been upgraded with the new Marvell Qdeo 4k video upscaling processor, Audyssey MultEQ XT advanced room correction technology, dual subwoofer outputs, dual HDMI outputs and one additional HDMI inputs for a total of eight front and rear. It can also take advantage of Onkyo’s free Remote App for iPod, iPhone, or iPad to control the A/V receiver and it is compatible with the recently announced UWF-1 Wireless USB Adapter. The Onkyo TX-NR709 will have a suggested retail price of $899.

Onkyo BD-SP309: Onkyo has also introduced its first 3D Blu-Ray Player, the BD-SP309. The BD-SP309 also supports internet radio and video on demand via Pandora, Netflix and VUDU, so you can explore a cornucopia of great audio and video content whenever the mood strikes. With the BD-SP309, standard DVD sources at various resolutions—480p, 720p, or 1080i—can be upscaled to 1080p for playback on a compatible high-definition display. Its HDMI interface supports lossless studio sound quality of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential for Blu-ray Disc. Connectivity on the BD-SP309 is rounded out by two USB ports that let you play media from a variety of storage devices. The Onkyo BD-SP309 will be available in May with a suggested retail price of $249.

Since 1946 Onkyo has been passionately committed to developing audio products that deliver uncommon performance, quality and value. Bundling proprietary technologies and innovations with other sound-enhancing exclusives, Onkyo continues to created award winning products that are lauded by many of the industry leading audio publications. The company’s philosophy is to deliver products that are superbly designed and built to a consistently outstanding standard of excellence. Today, Onkyo is at the forefront of the home theater and digital revolutions. For more information about this and other fine Onkyo products, visit www.onkyousa.com or call 800-229-1687.

Note here, neither I nor Fr. Spadero are using the term to mean computer crime or internet vandalism or whatever else the plebian media are deciding to use the word hacker for today. I stand by the original definition of hacker and hacking. I even like the neologism, hacktivist.

I must link to this as well, just in case one person hasn’t read The Mentor’s famous manifesto. It brings a nostalgic tear to my eye just scanning through it again. There’s a scene in Hackers where two cops read through this manifesto, which is why it’s such a famous piece.

Hacker philosophy is playful but committed, encourages creativity and sharing, and opposes models of control, competition and private property, Spadaro observed approvingly.

The Jesuit priest, a literary critic and technology expert, also cited Tom Pittman, a member of California’s Homebrew Computer Club, as an example of someone seeking a creative fusion of Christianity and technology.

“I as a Christian thought I could feel something of the satisfaction that God must have felt when He created the world,” Pittman wrote of his work. Christian hackers, Spadaro said, viewed their work as “a form of participation in the ‘work’ of God in creation.”- TechWorld

Most importantly, this opens a lot of important theological questions. Is St. Peter’s book at the Pearly Gates now an iPad? Can Angels speak Perl? When Jesus returns, is he going to use Linux? I just hope this means I can to hack my way into Heaven.

[via WSJ]

The success of nVidia’s Tegra platform was based on it’s ability to run graphics and CPU functions on the same chip. This gives the device designers the leeway to shrink the board down to the sizes needed in the smaller and lighter computers that consumers are clamoring for. Thus far, there haven’t been any real competitors to the Tegra system.

You can find the Z670 into their EeePad Slider, Lenovo’s Ideapad Slate, the Evolve III, and in other offerings from Fujitsu and Motion. So, this ship is sailing with a full contingent of partners already lined up for release. Intel is also marketing this chipset for use in low power embedded systems for medical and industrial use. It looks like they finally have something that can stand up and play in this market with ARM.

[via Intel Newsroom]

Intel announced that its Intel® Atom™ processor Z670 based platform, formerly codenamed “Oak Trail,” is now available and will be in end user devices beginning next month. Over 35 innovative designs from companies including Evolve III*, Fujitsu Limited*, Lenovo*, Motion Computing*, Razer*, and Viliv* are based on the new technology and running a variety of operating systems. Purpose built for tablets, the platform offers increased battery life, enhanced performance especially around video, and several other new features. The series is also suited for a range of portable embedded designs such as mobile clinical assistants, ruggedized industrial tablets and portable point-of-sale systems.

The specifics of the rooting process are still up in the air. The image here is the first bit of bragging that @PaulOBrien decided to post. There should be more details on the process forthcoming as Paul gets everything together. I’m looking forward to it already. We’ll keep you posted.

In other news, Chris Davies is the lucky jerk who got to play with our Transformer. He also wrote about it, took some pictures, and made a video. It’s posted here. Lucky. Also, we have commendations for the quick work by @PaulOBrien and his buddy @BumbleDroid.

[via AC]