Straight from Korea, we have a story that seems to meld all the most awful components of video game stories that hit the mainstream media: Gaming addiction, an Internet cafe, a neglectful mother, and a dead baby in a dumpster. More »
Toray’s advanced film department has finished its new self-cure coating and is set to start using it as a decorative layer on a series of as-yet unannounced notebooks. Fortunately, the company is already chasing down more pervasive uses on smartphones and touch-panels. The science involves a wet coating method that adds a special recovering layer to PET film. Alongside that mutant healing factor, the layer responsible also throws in some elastic and cushioning properties. During Toray‘s demonstration (what, no video?) scratches made with a metal brush apparently repaired themselves, resulting in the rehabilitated glossy surface you see above. According to the Japanese manufacturer, the ability to heal improves at lower temperatures, but room temperature is apparently enough to make scratches disappear in 10 seconds or less — more than fast enough to differentiate Toray’s offering from existing solutions. The film can repair itself around 20,000 times in succession, although if pierced beyond the layer, it’s — unsurprisingly — unable to recover any damage done. The screen is also softer than the typical protective surfaces found to devices. Maybe Toray and Gorilla Glass should get together. GorillToray?
For as much as everybody loves to hate 3D, there seems no end remakes and reboots touting it. Even YouTube is jumping on board, announcing today that all short-form videos uploaded in 1080p will automatically be converted to the 3D format. More »
from Gizmodo
Everyone can’t stop talking about how nanotechnology is the future of healthcare, but so far we’ve not seen many useful applications. Finally, here’s one: these nano-scale gold stars can kill cancer cells dead without ever entering them. More »
There’s a small room in Minnesota that blocks out 99% of all external sound. That’s an impressive number! Also impressive: nobody can take more than 45 minutes alone in the room before they go nuts. More »
Google has always been innovative and coming up with the future before we are ready for it. There was talk about a project featuring a device that would deliver the power of the internet in a wearable device and today I tripped over this video on Google’s channel that spills the beans on what they are working on.
Check out Project Glass:
I think this is an amazing concept. Many of the things that this mobile connected device promises we already try to do with a number of devices like smart phones and tablets. These glasses look to anticipate your needs and deliver that content without having to pull your phone out or always issue commands.
Of course, despite how cool this appears, what they don’t show is the user. No matter how magical this device could be, I wonder what you might look like wearing them. Will this have a multitude of styles to fit your fashion? Can the lens be prescription or will this only be for those blessed with perfect vision? Will it be a lens at all?
This likely is going to hinge on how silly you might look wearing them.
Rumor says we might even see this device for sale later this year, or at least a more functional version to show off.
You’ve probably heard that the sun is strong enough to power our planet many times over, but without a practical method of harnessing that energy, there’s no way to take full advantage. An incredibly thin and light solar cellcould go a long way to accomplishing that on a smaller scale, however, making the latest device from researchers from the University of Austria and the University of Tokyo a fairly significant discovery. Scientists were able to create an ultra-thin solar cell that measures just 1.9 micrometers thick — roughly one-tenth the size of the next device. Not only is the sample slim — composed of electrodes mounted on plastic foil, rather than glass — it’s also incredibly flexible, able to be wrapped around a single strand of human hair (which, believe it or not, is nearly 20 times thicker). The scalable cell could replace batteries in lighting, display and medical applications, and may be ready to be put to use in as few as five years. There’s a bounty of physical measurement and efficiency data at the source link below, so grab those reading glasses and click on past the break.