64121773
submission
skade88 writes:
Unveiling technology that generates touchable 3-D imagery, developers said Monday objects that only exist in the virtual world could be manipulated as if they were real.
Officials of Miraisens, a high-tech firm based outside Tokyo, said the technology, which can be used to improve the gaming experience or allow someone to physically shape objects that exist only on a computer, will soon be available for purchase.
“Touching is an important part of human communication, but until now virtual reality has lacked it,” Chief Executive Natsuo Koda said.
“This technology will give you a sense that you can touch objects in the 3-D world,” said Koda, a former virtual reality researcher for Sony Corp.
It works by fooling the brain, blending what the eye sees with different patterns of vibration created by a small fingertip device, said Norio Nakamura, the inventor of so-called 3D-Haptics Technology and chief technical officer at the firm.
In one demonstration of a prototype head-mounted display, the company showed how the wearer can feel resistance by pushing virtual buttons.
51537531
submission
skade88 writes:
The United States Capital has been put on lock down after shots were fired. Reports indicate a policeman was injured.
45181425
submission
skade88 writes:
Google Fiber will roll out in Austin with the first homes hooked up in mid 2014. The delay is due to the fact that a whole new fiber network will be deployed for the service. This will only be deployed in the Austin City limits. Google says in early 2014 they will allow people in Austin register their address for service. Google will deploy to neighborhoods with the most interest. Google Fiber will also start hiring employees soon. Wanna be the most popular guy in town? Become the GF man!
44639701
submission
skade88 writes:
The New York Times is reporting that the United States of America has started flying B-2 Stealth Bomber runs over South Korea as a show of force to North Korea during raised tensions in the region. The bombers flew 6,500 miles to bomb a South Korean island with mock explosives. Earlier this month the US Military ran mock B-52 bombing runs over the same South Korean island. The US Military says it shows that it can execute precision bombing runs at will with little notice needed. The US also reaffirmed their commitment to protecting it's allies in the region.
The North Koreans have been making threats to turn South Korea into a sea of fire. North Korea has also made threats claiming they will nuke the United States' main land.
44365255
submission
skade88 writes:
Ars is reporting that, GoPro, the company that makes cameras used in extreme sports such as sky diving and swimming with dolphins has issued a DMCA take down notice on a review At DigitalRev that they do not like. See DMCA notice here
From the article: "DigitalRev has a blog post up about the takedown, suggesting that most DMCA takedowns are "abusive" in nature. "We hope GoPro is not suggesting, with this DMCA notice, that camera reviews should be done only when they are authorized by the manufacturers," writes DigitalRev. "GoPro (or should we call you Go*ro instead?), we'd be interested to hear what you have to say" about the infringement notice."
44364443
submission
skade88 writes:
Wow! Color me green on this one! I am normally very critical of Apple's business practices, but this one is just perfect all around! Apple now owns and runs enough renewable energy power plants that 75% of their world wide power needs come from renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and hydro.
From the Apple Blog Post: 'Our investments are paying off. We’ve already achieved 100 percent renewable energy at all of our data centers, at our facilities in Austin, Elk Grove, Cork, and Munich, and at our Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino. And for all of Apple’s corporate facilities worldwide, we’re at 75 percent, and we expect that number to grow as the amount of renewable energy available to us increases. We won’t stop working until we achieve 100 percent throughout Apple.'
Any other big power hungry data centers want to step up and join Apple on this one? Im looking at you Google and Rackspace!
44363919
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skade88 writes:
Reuters is reporting that scientists now say the universe is 100 million years older than previously thought after they took a closer look at leftover radiation from the Big Bang. This puts the age of the Universe at 13.8 billion years. The new findings are the direct results from analyzing data provided by the European Space Agency's Planck spacecraft. The spacecraft is providing the most detailed look to date at the remnant microwave radiation that permeates the universe.
"It's as if we've gone from a standard television to a high-definition television. New and important details have become crystal clear," Paul Hertz, NASA's director of astrophysics, told reporters on a conference call.
44325409
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skade88 writes:
So Jeff Bezos has been spending his time lately fishing up old parts of the Apollo 11 rockets. Neat stuff! I will let y'all read his words, I do not think I could be so elegant.
From his blog "What an incredible adventure. We are right now onboard the Seabed Worker headed back to Cape Canaveral after finishing three weeks at sea, working almost 3 miles below the surface. We found so much. We’ve seen an underwater wonderland – an incredible sculpture garden of twisted F-1 engines that tells the story of a fiery and violent end, one that serves testament to the Apollo program. We photographed many beautiful objects in situ and have now recovered many prime pieces. Each piece we bring on deck conjures for me the thousands of engineers who worked together back then to do what for all time had been thought surely impossible."
44324443
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skade88 writes:
If you are one of the lucky 125,000 people who live in Olathe, Kansas, the rest of us congratulate you on your new amazing $70.00/month, 1 GB Google fiber service. Google also announced they will be letting us know about further cities that will be wired up with Google Fiber service soon. This shows that Google Fiber is not just a sandbox they are going to keep in Kansas City, Google Fiber is a real business they will keep expanding. In other exciting news, the FCC wants to see at least one community in each state with 1 Gigabit home service by 2015.
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skade88 writes:
Wired has a good article that covers the origins of the white dwarf super nova Johannes Kepler observed in 1604.
'Up until now, it was unclear what lead to the star's explosion. New Chandra data suggests that, at least in the case of Kepler’s remnant, the white dwarf grabbed material from its companion star. The disk-shaped structure seen near the center suggests that the supernova explosion hit a ring of gas and dust that would have formed, like water circling a drain, as the white dwarf sucked material away from its neighbor. In addition, magnesium is not an element formed in great abundances during Type 1a supernovas, suggesting it came from the companion star. Whether or not Kepler’s supernova is a typical case remains to be seen. '
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skade88 writes:
Neoseeker and the Verge are reporting that the Oculus Rift launch will no longer have Doom 3 BFG support. But in some good news to off set the bad, Valve will be releasing an Oculus ready version of TF2 when the Dev kits ship.
For those backers who are upset about not having Doom 3 BFG edition support on launch of the Oculus Rift, they are offering the following options:
$20 Steam Wallet credit, perfect for buying your next game on Steam (including DOOM 3 BFG Edition without Rift developer kit support if you still want it).
$25 Oculus Store credit, which can be applied to future purchases at the Oculus Store including Oculus Latency Testers, new Oculus t-shirts, and more Rift development kits.
A full refund for your pledge. If you’re unhappy with the options above, we completely understand. Email us at support@oculusvr.com, and we’ll be happy to discuss your specific order or refund your pledge in full.
43673809
submission
skade88 writes:
Ars is reporting that Blizzard will announce a new game on March 22, 2013 at PAX East. They say the new game is not a sequel or expansion. Blizzard is also saying the new game is not the long rumored MMO named Titan. Considering that every game Blizzard released since 1998 has had the name Starcraft, Warcraft or Diablo in it, this is big news. Ars speculates in the article that the new game could be Blizzard's version of a DOTA game. They showed off Blizzard All-Stars at BlizCon 2010 as a SC2 custom map. It could be ready for launch as its own stand alone game. I guess we will have to wait and see!
43585249
submission
skade88 writes:
As I get older, I find the little details of my life slip away from my memory after years and decades pass. I find myself wishing I had a way to record at least sound and video of my entire life. It would be nice to be able to go back and see what I was like when I was younger without the fog of memory clouding my view of the past. It would be cool to share with my boy friend and future kids how I was when I was younger by just showing them video from my life. Do y'all know of any good way to do this? I would settle for recording what I see from a first person point of view. There is also concerns that range beyond the technical. If I were to record my entire life, that would mean also recording other people, when they are interacting with me on a daily basis. What sort of privacy laws pertain to this? Even without laws, would others act differently around me because they were being recorded with my life record? How would it make you feel if your friend or family member did this?
43116929
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skade88 writes:
Pepsi will release on Feb 28th a new Breakfast Mnt Dew. The new drink called Kick Start is Mnt Dew mixed with fruit juice. It will come in two flavors, Citrus and Fruit Punch. "Our consumers told us they are looking for an alternative to traditional morning beverages – one that tastes great, includes real fruit juice and has just the right amount of kick to help them start their days," said Greg Lyons, Mountain Dew's vice president of marketing.
Maybe this is the drink the Pope needs to keep going. New marketing campaign maybe? :D
42488693
submission
skade88 writes:
NPR is reporting on a study in which the author claims to have found the formula to predict the average life span of members of a species. It does not apply to specific individuals of that species, only to the average life span of members of the species as a whole.
