News Archive

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New software will help the US Navy detect pirates and smugglers

By
kduffy
– May 15, 2012Posted in: News

In order to fight off maritime piracy—so no, not the pirates of the Internet, real pirates—The Department of Defense will pair up with The US Navy to build apps aimed at targeting pirates and drug smugglers who travel the seas.

Developers in Chile, along with researchers at the Technical University of Federico Santa Maria in Chile, will collaborate with people in Africa to build the software that features specific detectors of potential maritime threats; sailors will have analytics to data that ties in with these threats, and can subsequently track down illegal traffickers, fishers, etc.

Once the application software is completed, they just need to figure out a way to make them compatible to all naval systems across the world, so everyone is aware of all that’s happening in and around the waters and to not be too alarmed if they end up coming across a black flag.

John Stansy, one of the engineers working on the project, said “We’ll take those tools and integrate them into a widget framework that can be part of a coalition-accessible web portal,” making the process sound like it won’t take too much trouble in the IT department.

Arrr!

(via The Verge; photo via Graham Owen)

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Would you ride around in your own personalized Segway?

By
kduffy
– May 15, 2012Posted in: News

We always get a kick out of seeing tourists on Segways while traveling various cities around the United States, but now Honda wants to bring the concept of these portable motorized scooter-like machines to everyday life with their UNI-CUB.

Call us overachievers, but while the idea of riding UNI-CUBS around sounds cool, these robotic “stools,” if you will, just seem like they are meant for extremely lazy people (I mean, going from one end of the office to the other? These are times where we’d almost prefer to be standing up).

In the press release Honda went over the goals of the UNI-CUB, saying how “[it] represent[s] the evolution of the U3-X personal mobility device that Honda announced in 2009, UNI-CUB features Honda’s proprietary balance control technology and the world’s first omni-directional driving wheel system. [...] Moreover, UNI-CUB’s compact saddle-style packaging makes it easy for the rider’s legs to reach the ground and maintains eye-level height with other pedestrians.”

By shifting your weight you can control the movement of the UNI-CUB, and you are able to reach speeds of 6 kilometers an hour (not bad!) and the range extends to about four miles. The bots are expected to hit the National Museum of Engineering in Japan this coming June.

Would you be caught on one of these things moseying around? Or does walking seem like a better alternative?

(via Engadget)

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Space Travel for the Cost of a Poster

By
khoward
– May 15, 2012Posted in: News, Tech

While private companies are taking the lead in space exploration and travel developments, the cost to book a future commercial flight remains well out of reach for most space enthusiasts.  New startup company “I Dream of Space” is looking to make suborbital tours more affordable with its Space Poster Sales Promotion.

The basic premise is this: buy a $10 poster (image above) and be entered into a drawing for a ticket to space.  Commercial flights are still in the future, but I Dream of Space co-founder Reuben Metcalfe is “already discussing options with suborbital spaceflight companies” and believes these flights are inevitable given the level of interest in parabolic launches.

To enter the drawing for a quick there-and-back space adventure, check out the I Dream of Space website – you can even buy multiple posters to better your odds out of the 25,000 entries.

(Via Wired, Image via I Dream of Space)

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Have no fear, Diablo III is here

By
kduffy
– May 15, 2012Posted in: News

The wait is over, and Diablo III is finally out. Those PC gaming nerds who appreciate an all-night gaming marathon—headsets and all—will be happy to know they can now indulge in the fancy-looking game that people have been talking about since last year (if you see anyone at work with extra dark circles under their eyes, you know why).

Back in March on Gamingunion.net the developers gave a few words regarding the making of the game, and Blizzard’s CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime said, “[a]fter many years of hard work by our development team and months of beta testing by hundreds of thousands of dedicated players around the world, [...] we look forwards to putting the final polish on Diablo III over the next two months and delivering the ultimate action-RPG experience to gamers worldwide on May 15.”

And alas, the day is here. Gamers can look forward to a seemingly endless dungeon full of slaying and other kinds of mayhem in the world of Diablo’s dungeon sieges, with virtual transactions via third-party companies—a very Vegas-style technique that makes us wonder about the evolving gamification turning a new direction— and enhanced visual graphics thanks to what Blizzard does best.

(via ubergizmo; photo via The International Business Times)

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Nextdoor members: “I think we should not allow advertising notices”

By
kduffy
– May 14, 2012Posted in: News

With all the new social networks out there, it’s hard to keep up. Which is why when we first heard about Nextdoor, the social network for your neighborhood, it didn’t seem like it was favored to really make any sort of impact up against Facebook and Twitter. But we were shocked this morning to read in the New York Times that Nextdoor has made a comeback in the news, and that people actually did utilize the Nexdoor network.

CEO of Nextdoor, Nirav Tolia, explained his reasoning behind building a neighborhood-exclusive social network, “[a]s you get older, the community that is most valuable to you is the one in which you live [.] [...] The neighborhood is where you buy a home, where your kids go to school, where you spend the majority of your physical life.” Which is true, and if anyone knows the feeling of not really ever talking to your neighbors, it can be somewhat awkward; with the Nextdoor network you can at least have a good idea of who your neighbors actually are, instead of avoiding them like the plague.

When Nextdoor first came out it was ad-free, but as the company evolves and more organizations like Shasta Ventures and Benchmark Capital start to invest, the website will start to feature paid advertisements.

Ever since this announcement was made public, fellow Nextdoor users have been in somewhat of a backlash over the move, complaining that “it can feel out of place to see advertisements alongside pictures of your vacation or the announcement of your marriage,” and “we should not allow advertising notices,” because who wants more ads, especially considering the homier feel of Nextdoor, compared to the renowned use of Facebook.

Regardless, it’s likely that Tolia’s next move is obvious. Will Nextdoor users abandon the service fully if they start to include advertisements?

(via The New York Times; photo via Cool Mom Tech)

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Yahoo is back to the drawing board

By
kduffy
– May 14, 2012Posted in: News

Yahoo has been undergoing changes for what feels like forever now—firing Carol Bartz last year to head a new direction—and even though they were #2 in search engine rankings at the end of 2011, the brand is still dealing with struggles in a highly competitive market where it’s harder to stand out than ever before.

And now, the company must regroup yet again, as CEO Scott Thompson—after failing to correct some “discrepancies” on his resume—has been pressured to step down. Thompson claimed he held a degree in computer science from Stone College, and a former EBay executive, he earned a degree in accounting, except the degree didn’t show up the same in Yahoo’s April 27 10-K filing.

An analyst at Macquarie Capital said in an interview that “[Yahoo] is starting from scratch yet again [.] Scott put them in a very difficult position, and something had to happen. [...] This is a damaged company and a company competing in a space that’s moving incredibly fast [.]”

This puts the brand in a bit of a chaotic situation, but the good news is this gives them another fresh start, adding a new board slate to focus on the future of Yahoo in the industry.

(via The Washington Post; photo via Computer Active)

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NASA’s Elektro-L 121-megapixel image of Earth

By
kduffy
– May 14, 2012Posted in: News

We depend a lot on space photography to give us essential information about planet Earth, like the Earth Observing program tracking weather changes and patterns, or maybe even just witnessing Felix Baumgartner make a record skydive all the way up in space as he falls 23 miles onto the lands of Roswell, New Mexico. And this time NASA has really outdone itself with the 121-megapixel image of Earth. This image is special since it uses the wavelengths of both visible and infrared light—commonly used to see plants—and gives off a unique color scheme compared to images of Earth in the past.

To really put things into perspective, there’s an image that’s zoomable and moveable for an interactive experience (you know, so you can pretend like you’re in space too).

What would be really interesting to see is a reenactment of Bishop Union High School’s rubber chicken launch into space in ultimate HD—using the same camera technology as the Elektro-L, but we have a feeling anything like that is a little ways down the road.

(via Mashable)

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Anything you say or do can and will be used for a Facebook advertisement

By
kduffy
– May 11, 2012Posted in: News

Remember when we had privacy? When our web history was our own, and not Facebook or Google’s? Those were the days… but as we move further into the information age, the sad reality is that privacy is virtually gone. Well, online privacy, that is.

Going with this, Facebook is redoing its privacy policy, and two things are about to change:

  1. Instead of only being able to keep your data for 180 days, Facebook is now saying they will keep data received about you as long as they are providing you with a service. So for example, let’s say you are an avid Words With Friends player, and you happened to be a top scorer: you are now subject to being targeted with ads regarding that information.
  2. The Second has to do with information outside of the platform, which is a very interesting move. Previously Facebook had posted clearly that the company could post ads pertaining to social context outside of Facebook, but now the policy says they can serve ads pertaining to anything they choose.

So basically, unless you’re operating Facebook in a separate browser than the one Facebook is open, or are a top secret Facebook ninja warrior, your browsing information is subject to Facebook advertising even when you’re not logged in.

This change is similar to Google’s privacy measures that went into effect today, and are likely being conveyed clearly this time to avoid any issues  they had in the past like the 18-month long settlement with The Federal Trade Commission.

(via Forbes; photo via Techzek)

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Spotify for Mac, Windows, and Linux gets a crucial update

By
kduffy
– May 11, 2012Posted in: News

Previously it was a bit difficult (and by difficult we mean it took an extra few seconds of clicks) to create a Spotify playlist and share those songs with friends. But with this recent update it should be easier than ever to share and create playlists with your favorite artists.

Instant Search: When you type something into the Spotify search bar, results for Playlists, Artists, and Tracks appear altogether, across all cateogories, instead of just the search specifics.

Embed Codes: By just right-clicking a track, you can get the embed code for that song and post it on your website or blog, taking sharing music to a whole new level. In addition, Spotify has partnered with Tumblr, so you will also be seeing a “Share to Tumblr” button within the app.

Create Radio Stations from Albums: Similar to Pandora and last.fm, the Playlist and Album Radio feature allows you to seek new music that’s similar to what you’re already listening to—opening doors for new music (and who isn’t always looking for some great new tunes?).

If you haven’t noticed the update yet, just close and reopen Spotify; the update should automatically sync once it reboots.

(via Cult of Mac; photo via Pocket Lint)

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The epic Skyrim cake by Baking Obsession

By
kduffy
– May 11, 2012Posted in: News

If your company is called Baking Obsession, it’s expected that there would be motivation to try and bake a cake as insane as the Skyrim cake that has us geeked out over its intricate design (if you thought the Skyrim hype was over, you were wrong, because this cake has us just as excited as the initial release back in November).

It’s sort of unreal, actually. The cake looks more like a metal sculpture, but we can definitely appreciate the hard work that was put into this. Five pounds of chocolate lie within this cake, and our stomach already hurts at thinking about how much of it we’d actually eat.

The cake was designed initially for the bakers’ son’s birthday; he made a wish for an Alduin cake and with the extraordinary baking powers of Baking Obsession, his wish became very much a reality. The Skyrim cake is based off of a design from a set of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collector’s Edition. Needless to say, he loved it, and the look on his face had to have been a real Kodak moment.

However this won’t be the first time a Skyrim cake has been made; Charm City Cakes (aka the Ace of Cakes) have also created their own epic cake creation.

(via ripten)

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