For everything from family to computers…
We’ve known DNA could be a viable solution for data storage for a while now, but Harvard researchers have just discovered how wildly efficient it could really be by fitting 5.5 petabits, or 700 terabytes, of data into just one gram of DNA. More »
from Gizmodo
Say, “Hello†to Ubi. Ubi is short for ubiquitous computer because Ubi is always on and always listening. It is a truly hands-free device for your home that plugs right into an outlet on the wall, then connects straight to your home’s WiFi network. So, what can you do with Ubi? Ubi can do voice-based searches on the Internet, act as a personal assistant, control a home’s climate, be a baby monitor, and also act as a notifier for when receiving emails and other notifications.
The team is hoping to have Ubi ready and shipped out by January of 2013, but needs your help to make it happen. Check it out on Kickstarter and let us know if Ubi is something that  interests you. It definitely has our attention as long as it doesn’t go all HAL on us and telling humans what we can and cannot do.
Via: Kickstarter
Cheers Leor and Dominick!
from Droid Life
This is the perfect intersection of two of my interests, photography and embedded Linux: Limerick, Ireland-based photographer David Hunt recently posted progress photos of his Raspberry Pi-enhanced DSLR battery grip, which he made for his Canon 5D Mark II. The hacked-together DSLR accessory attaches to the bottom of his camera and will eventually let him shoot and transmit photos over WiFi, remote control the camera via tablet or phone, and shoot in a custom time lapse mode. David says he still needs to sort out the power supply, but he’s confident that he’ll be able to figure it out. [via DIYPhotography Flickr Pool]
from MAKE
Samsung may have convinced Judge Koh to toss a few international handsets out of Apple’s lawsuit, but the Korean firm still has Cupertino’s patent licensing accusations to contend with. Their tactic? Convince the court that Apple’s claim to the inventions are invalid, and that the technology was developed prior to the disputed patent’s filing. It’s called showing “prior art,” and Sammy’s done it before — famously showing a scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey in an attempt to put Apple’s iPad design claims to rest. Today’s examples were more grounded in reality, focusing on debunking Cupertino’s claim to the “bounce back” effect that happens when a user reaches the end of a page and common multitouch zoom / navigation gestures.
Samsung pitted the famous “bounce back” feature against an old PocketPC interface called LaunchTile, which allowed users to navigate through 36 applications by zooming in and out and a panning across a grid-like “world view” of said apps. Movement between grids snap to each zone, marking the end of a page. Apple shot back, noting that LiveTile’s snapping navigation didn’t work on diagonals, and cited other differences as well. Samsung wasn’t deterred, however, and brought out DiamondTouch, a projector based multitouch table that utilized both one touch scrolling and pinch-based zoom gestures. The table even takes aim at the aforementioned bounce-back patent with a technology called TableCloth, which bounces back images that are pulled off screen. DiamondTouch’s creator, Adam Bogue, told the court that he had demoed the technology to Apple privately back in 2003, noting that it was also available to anyone who visited the Mitsubishi Electronic Research Laboratories’ lobby.
If the jury takes to Samsung’s claims of prior art, it could severely cut Apple’s claims against it. Even so, Cupertino’s lawyers aren’t going down without a fight, and still have a number of navigation and design claims that Samsung hasn’t addressed. The two parties are expected to keep up the fight for about a week, we’ll keep you posted on the inevitable revelations as they come.
from Engadget
The latest revelation from the never-ending Apple vs. Samsung patent spat: Apple offered to license the contentious patents to Samsung and they declined, but Microsoft was offered the same deal—and took it. More »
from Gizmodo
NVIDIA’s fiscal performance in its second quarter shows the rewards of patience in the mobile sphere. It just saw its profit double versus a glum first quarter to $119 million, even though the company only slightly edged ahead in revenue to $1.04 billion. In explaining the success, the company is quick to point to a confluence of events that all worked in favor of its bank account: a slew of Tegra 3 phones and tablets like the Transformer Pad TF300 made NVIDIA’s quarter the brightest, but it could also point to a much-expanded GeForce 600 line on the PC side and the shipments of the first phones with NVIDIA-badged Icera chips. The graphics guru expects its revenue to climb more sharply in the heat of the third quarter as well — between the cult hit Nexus 7 tablet and a role as a major partner for Windows RT, NVIDIA has at least a temporary license to print money.
from Engadget
An Android based games console has destroyed its targets to become the second best-funded project ever on Kickstarter. The makers of the OUYA console had bid for $950,000 of funding from the public but wound up with just short of $8.6 million.
The idea of the console is to combine the creativity and independent spirit of today’s smartphone and tablet games with the wow factor of playing on a TV screen. It’s designed to be an alternative to the major consoles where games often have high budgets and thus low creative risks.
Developers will be able to release games for OUYA without any restrictions, other than at least some of the gameplay must be free of charge, even if it’s just a demo. The developers are then open to charge a subscription fee, a one-off upgrade fee for the full game, or offer in-game purchases. As with most mobile game platforms, the developers take 70 percent of any revenue, with the other 30 percent kept by the console makers.
It’s already confirmed that Final Fantasy III and a prequel to Human Element will be available on the console, while Minecraft is also set to appear at some point.
Any existing Android apps can be ported to OUYA and can make use of a touchpad built into the controller. Users can root the console if they choose, as well as creating new peripherals for USB or Bluetooth connection. The software development toolkit for creating games will be available directly on the console itself.
The developers of OUYA haven’t explained the name, though it’s pronounced “ooh-yah†in the style of a Randy Savage impersonator from the deep south. The console might be a bit tricky to market in parts of Africa as the name reportedly sounds similar to the Swahili version of a particularly vulgar insult beginning with c.
The console is scheduled to be shipping next spring and will sell for $99 with one controller and $30 for an extra controller. Between the various Kickstarter options, 58,000 consoles have already been pre-ordered.