For everything from family to computers…
I hope this won’t happen! Â I will boycott whoever does this! Â [Hint/Rumor: Microsoft]
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Recent stories about potential technical efforts to limit the future playability of used games, as well as commercial efforts to limit the content included with used copies, got us wondering: is it actually legal to hinder someone from reselling a game (or piece of a game) that they legally bought in the first place?
from Ars Technica
This will be bringing “Minority Report” to laptop level!!!
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Kinect’s vision and depth perception technology could soon be integrated into laptops. The Daily has seen two prototypes, believed to be from Asus, that incorporate an array of sensors above the top of the screen, replacing the traditional webcam. Below the display are a set of LEDs. Sources at Microsoft confirmed to The Daily that the laptops contain versions of the Kinect sensor.
Asus has dabbled with Kinect-like systems before. Its Xtion PRO PC peripheral uses sensor and software technology licensed from PrimeSense—technology also found in Microsoft’s Kinect sensor.
What the sensor might be used for is anybody’s guess. The Kinect for Windows—a version of the Xbox 360 accessory with revised firmware to support close-up operation—will be released in February, and with that, third-party applications that use the sensor will start to arrive. Windows 8 might even include direct support for Kinect-powered features: documents leaked in 2010 hinted at Kinect integration with automatic user switching using face detection.
from Ars Technica
All I can say to this app is “Wow.†If you have grown sick of waiting for Hulu to release some sort of non-membership app or to add your device to their supported list, you may want to check out Flash Video Browser. Using this app, you can watch all the Hulu you could ever dream of, just like you do through a PC browser. No subscription required, just free web-only content that for whatever reason, has been blocked from mobile devices.
And here’s to hoping that this doesn’t get shut down in the next couple of days now that it has started to get some attention.
Market Link ($0.99)
Cheers Ted!
from Droid Life
Advances are opening solar to the 1.3 billion people who don’t have access to grid electricity.
The falling cost of LED lighting, batteries, and solar panels, together with innovative business plans, are allowing millions of households in Africa and elsewhere to switch from crude kerosene lamps to cleaner and safer electric lighting. For many, this offers a means to charge their mobile phones, which are becoming ubiquitous in Africa, instead of having to rent a charger.
Looking for a great starter robot project? Doug Paradis is an active member of the Dallas Personal Robotics Group, and last year, they were looking for a way to help their beginner members strengthen their robot-building chops. Thus, the Tiny Wanderer was born.
We produced a series of lessons covering 5 topics needed to make a simple, programmable robot: making PCBs with the toner transfer method, programming ATtiny microprocessors, laying out circuit boards using KiCAD, using Inkscape to design robot parts, and programming state machines.
The Tiny Wanderer is the starter DIY robot model we designed to support the series. It uses the unintimidating ATtiny85 chip, which is less complex than larger chips, and the new kit version lets you easily swap in an Arduino. The chassis, inspired by the now-discontinued Oomlout SERB, has benefited from constant modification and tweaks by DPRG members. Its two IR LED/sensor proximity “feelers†were originally designed to let the bot wander around a tabletop without falling off, but they can be repurposed for obstacle avoidance and line-following.
Doug documented the step-by-step Tiny Wanderer build and shared it with us on the pages of the newest issue of MAKE, Volume 29 (on newsstands now). We took it a step further and shared the whole build with you on Make: Projects. And the Maker Shed has put together a complete Tiny Wanderer kit for folks who’d rather get to building than searching for components. And Make: Labs engineering intern Eric Chu shared details and video of their Tiny Wanderer build last week.
Plus, here are two videos from Doug showing Tiny Wanderer’s tabletop and line-following tests:
From the pages of MAKE Volume 29:
We have the technology (to quote The Six Million Dollar Man), but commercial tools for exploring, assisting, and augmenting our bodies really can approach a price tag of $6 million. Medical and assistive tech manufacturers must pay not just for R&D, but for expensive clinical trials, regulatory compliance, and liability — and doesn’t help with low pricing that these devices are typically paid for through insurance, rather than purchased directly. But many gadgets that restore people’s abilities or enable new “superpowers†are surprisingly easy to make, and for tiny fractions of the costs of off-the-shelf equivalents. MAKE Volume 29, the “DIY Superhuman†issue, explains how.
from MAKE
You can now watch Chris Paine’s sequel documentary to ‘Who Killed The Electric Car?’ for free!
If you’re in the market for a new camera but still doing your shopping virtually, add Camera Size to your list of helpful webapps. The site places digital cameras side by side so you can easily find which one fits you best. More »
from Lifehacker