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This is a series of digital paintings by DeviantARTist Santiago-Perez reimagining a squirrel as a bunch of different superheroes (plus some video game and movie characters). You know, I had a staring contest with a squirrel once. Those f***ers almost never blink. Little bastard won almost an entire piece of bread from me. "Wait -- you were betting with a squirrel?" Well it definitely wasn't a chipmunk. Keep going for a bunch more.

Here's our first live-action look at the joystick-free Steam Controller, being used to play games like Portal 2 and Civilization V. Valve says they've got more live-action demos planned over the next few weeks and months.

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Phones, tablets also can serve as wireless view screens

Sony has just announced a new member of its NEX line that makes it pretty easy to get images off the camera and onto your phone. The NEX-5T will fire images and video over to an Android 4.x+ device — phones or tablets — and then can be shared to any of the usual ways.

If you don't have an NFC-capable phone or tablet, you'll be able images over good ol' fashioned Wifi.

And for its next trick, the NEX-5T will be able to wirelessly use your phone or tablet as a "Smart remote control." You'll get a live preview of the shot, can tweak settings and snap the shutter — all wirelessly.

The NEX-5T will be available in early September for $700 as a kit, or $550 for the body alone. We've got the full presser after the break.

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Advanced audio and video capabilities purportedly heading to new Note device

With just over a week to go until Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 unveiling at its Unpacked 2013 Ep. 2 event in Berlin, we're starting to hear a little more about what might be lurking inside the company's next big-screen, high-end smartphone. Today the Korea Economic Daily, citing "industry insider sources, reports that the Note 3 will feature a 4K (3840x2160) video recording mode, as well as higher-definition 24-bit/192KHz music playback.

The outlet describes Samsung's 4K smartphone camera as a "world's first," however we suspect Sony might have something to say about that — it's expected to show its own 4K cameraphone, the Xperia Z1, at an event hours before Samsung's. Similarly, LG's already announced its G2 smartphone with 24-bit/192KHz playback, a step up from the 16-bit playback supported by current phones.

In any case, it's unlikely average users will see much benefit from 4K footage, as "Ultra HD" TVs remain expensive, and even high-end tablets can't display anywhere near that number of pixels. Regardless, there's no denying it's an impressive technical feat to cram this kind of video camera into device that fits into your pocket.

We'll be live from Berlin next week to bring you full coverage of Samsung's Unpacked event and the Galaxy Note 3 launch — as well as the rest of the IFA 2013 show.

Source: Korea Economic Daily; via: SamMobile, Engadget

Well, OK then, Spigen. We'll be in Berlin on Sept. 4 for all the festivities.

Thanks, @jamesanderson!

One of my favorite features in the LG G2 is the ability to wake the phone without using the power button by tapping twice on the screen. Called "Knock Knock" or "Knock On," it's sort of a necessary side effect from the power button being on the back of the phone. You might want to wake the phone to see a notification, but not necessarily pick it up to do so.

Nokia has done this in the past, and you can get the same sort of feature with a custom kernel. But this is the first time we've seen an Android manufacturer build it in.

And, so, we knock. Or tap. A double rap on the dark display wakes the phone. From there, you can double tap again on the lock screen to put it back to sleep.

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Another great reading and RSS option to pick up where Google Reader left off

When Google Reader finally closed up shop we saw a scramble of replacement services crop up, and now Digg has launched its Digg Reader Android app to accompany its RSS service. Just like another familiar RSS service Feedly, Digg Reader offers syncing of RSS feeds tied to an account — in this case Google, Facebook or Twitter — and serves news to you on multiple devices.

The app is basic, clean and seems to perform well. You can browse around through popular stories without an account, or after signing in add feeds by content type or specific URL through a search function. The basic article view gives options to favorite, view on the web, digg and share out to any service and seems on par with the other apps out there. Naturally unread counts and favorites sync between your devices and on the web

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Ever since Google announced the Chromecast streaming dongle we’ve been waiting for developers to start releasing apps that can truly take advantage of the little device. Koush, the dev behind ClockworkMod and ROM Manager has been working hard on multiple options for the device, as you know, and today has just released Beta 2 of his app which is now called AirCast.

Chromecast allows users to instantly stream YouTube, Google Play Music, Movies and TV, Pandora, Netflix and more, but the option are a little limited for now. Koush has been teasing tons of other easy ways to stream anything you’d like from your phone, not just Google’s few options, and now we get to try it ourselves.

Aircast will allow you to instantly share and “cast” videos and music from your smartphone or tablet gallery, DropBox, Google Drive or other cloud apps all with ease. Using the standard “share” option in Android you simply share to Koush’s app Aircast, and let the magic happen.

The app is currently in a limited beta, and Koush dropped the first version this weekend over on Google+. This afternoon however beta-2 has arrived with a few fixes, and sadly will only work for 48 hours. He can’t release the full app quite yet, as per the Chromecast developers rules, but soon enough it will be in the Google Play Store for all.

If you have a Chromecast and love to tinker, you’ll want to hit the via below and head to Google+ and get the new Aircast app from Koush, then start streaming whatever from wherever. Enjoy!

VIA: Koush Google+ (2)

Are you ready to see something incredible? I'm not sure you're ready. Get ready. Are you ready now? Okay. Check this business out.

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It'll probably come as no shock to those who've been keeping even a loose eye on trends in the carrier space, but US Cellular is about to usher in its own take on shared data. Family plans have quickly become the norm, with data taking precedence over text and voice, and USCC's take on things looks awfully familiar. In fact, you'll be hard-pressed to find any real pricing differences here than what you'll find over on Verizon Wireless. For a point-by-point breakdown, head on past the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Journalists and news consumers alike may be familiar with the Getty name -- Mark Getty founded his namesake stock photography company in the 1990s, and Getty Images is responsible for distributing thousands of photographs every day. But many Southern Californians best know the family for its contributions to the J. Paul Getty Museum, which houses an enormous collection of art at two locations in Los Angeles. It's that latter institution that's making waves today, opening up its digital collection for anyone to view, download, modify and publish, free of charge. The Open Content Program enables access to 4,600 (and counting) high-res images, such as the photograph posted above. The organization's only requirement is that artwork be accompanied by an attribution line, such as the one published below.

[Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.]

Filed under: Internet

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Via: The Verge

Source: Getty

Wanna mod that shiny new Nexus 7? Today's your lucky day. Google just posted the factory image and binaries for its second generation 7-inch tablet -- also known by the product name "razor" and device name "flo". The factory image lets you restore your new Nexus 7 to the exact software it shipped with in case you grow tired of that custom ROM you cooked up using the binaries (natch). Speaking of which, the packages include drivers for audio and sensors from ASUS, NFC from Broadcom plus graphics and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink from Qualcomm. This comes mere hours after some open source drama surrounding the binaries (which now appears to be resolved) and with plenty of time to spare for UK customers. Follow the source links below and have fun hacking this weekend.

Filed under: Tablets, Mobile, ASUS, Google

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Source: Google Developers (factory image), Google Developers (binaries)

If you write for any reason- blog articles, short fiction, poetry, even a letter to the folks back home- chances are you’ve experienced writer’s block.  It can be an annoyance that pushes you a little off schedule, or it can be a crippling blow to the psyche that derails a once promising career and drives you to the brink of madness.  If you’re suffering from the latter, be warned nothing we suggest here address that kind of problem.  If you fall into the mild end of the writer’s block spectrum, however, you might want to check out these brain hacks from back in 2009 to help you kick start the creative engine in your head.

• Write the middle – Stop whining over a perfect lead, and write the next part or the part after that. Write your favorite part. Write the cover letter or email you’ll send when it’s done.
• Write crap – Accept that your first draft will suck, and just go with it. Finish something.
• Write five words – Literally. Put five completley random words on a piece of paper. Write five more words. Try a sentence. Could be about anything. A block ends when you start making words on a page.

You’ll notice that all three of these tips start with the same word: write.  That’s no coincidence.  The best way to beat writer’s block is to just write… anything.  Good luck, wordsmiths!

Living with a five year old means always keeping a stock of band aids.  Maybe it’s just my kid, but it seems like that age is prone to falling down while doing the simplest of things: he could be looking at a butterfly and somehow ends up falling and scraping his knee.  I mean, literally, just looking at a butterfly.

So, we go through a lot of adhesive bandages.  Usually, I just drop the kid in the bath and the band aid falls off in the warm water.  Sometimes, however, a bath is not convenient, so we use the olive oil method, explained here by ParentHacks user, Rachael:

If you dip a cotton ball or q-tip in oil (olive or baby) and rub it against the band-aid, it will allow the band-aid to just fall right off. We’ve eliminated a lot of screaming in our house this way!

Check out the Lifehacker video above for an alternate method: heat the band aid with a hair dryer for a few seconds and it will come off without any pain, a trick that’s especially useful for those of us with hairy arms.

By the way, I don’t suggest sifting through “bandage removal” videos on YouTube.  Ick…

Knowing that I am almost incurably tardy, a friend sent me this You Should Know post that was pretty popular, a few days ago, on Reddit.  It’s a useful tip and one I will surely use, but I am still kind of miffed that this friend- a serial double-clicker and typer of “www” before every web address- was the person to turn me onto it.  This guy is teaching me how to do anything on the Internet?  The shame.  Oh, the shame…

Anyway, Google has a nifty feature that allows you to turn it into an alarm clock or timer.  Just enter “Set timer 35 minutes” and, in addition to search results for online clocks and timers, you’ll get a timer built right into the page:

Reddit user Blemish also points out that the “timer counts in hours, minutes or seconds.”

If you prefer an alarm clock approach, commenter Profix recommends entering a specific time, for example, “set timer for 7pm.”

Neat tricks, but it still rankles that they came to me via a guy who doesn’t know how to create a folder on his PC and has a desktop so completely filled with document files that he periodically deletes old files to “make room” for new ones- even though he has nearly a terabyte of empty space on the drive.

 

The air conditioner in my apartment is not keeping up with the Summer heat.  As I sit here typing these words, I have three fans pointed at me and am still overheating.  Naturally, my thoughts have turned to lifehacks to beat the heat- without crawling into my refrigerator until October.

Our first set of solutions comes from The King of Random (via wonderhowto.com).  He’s taken some oft-repeated Summer hacks and demonstrated them in the above video.  My favorite is the muffin tin repurposed to hold BBQ condiments and save picnic table real estate.

Another way to beat the heat is to make sure you are using your AC the right way.  Follow this in-depth guide and you’ll not only be cooler, this Summer, you’ll also have more money in your wallet to splurge on your Fall wardrobe at the end of the season.  I can already feel the difference after following the suggestion to wash my AC’s filter screen:

It feels like a hassle, but it really isn’t. If you leave things untouched, the filter cakes up even more badly — then it becomes a real hassle. Clogged air filters restrict airflow, ups running costs, and often lead to expensive-to-fix compressor damage. Cleaning the filter screen is highly important in a polluted, concrete jungle or dusty place (like Hong Kong, the Middle East or southern USA) — you may have to clean the air filter once a week.

If you have an outdoor unit and are feeling extra handy, check out this guide for an AC deep cleaning.

Above all, take heart: the Summer is nearly over and soon enough we’ll all be looking back wistfully on these hot months while outside the ground is blanketed with snow.

Bananas are nutritious and delicious.  They contain vitamin B₆, fiber, potassium, and a touch of vitamin C.  There are countless recipes for their use: banana breads and muffins, banana chips, crepes, pancakes, cookies, and even BBQ’d bananas.

Their versatility doesn’t stop there, though.  Check out this list of 10 Interesting and Amazing Uses For Bananas from Nature Hacks and you’ll soon have shinier hair and silverware, tender meat, and- using the recipe below- healthy looking skin.

1 ripe banana, 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar (white or brown) and ¼ teaspoon of your favorite essential oil. Mix everything together, and start scrubbing!

And of course we can’t talk about banana hacks without mentioning the trick of using banana peels to repair scratches on DVDs and CDs.  Apartment Therapy takes you through the process, step by step.

Long ago I gave up trying to keep our furniture in pristine condition.  Our living room table is a battlefield of scars from toy car races, Lego-corner wood carving, and umbrella sword fighting.  It’s the cumulative damage of a five year old’s life well lived (and oft bandaged) and I generally just look past the blemishes when I reach for the TV remote.

The water stains, however, drive me a little crazy.  This simmering exasperation is likely an indicator of unresolved issues caused by the echoes of my mother’s shouted admonitions to “Put a coaster under that cup!”

Fortunately, there are some simple solutions to remove water marks from wood furniture courtesy of howtogetridofstuff.com.

First among their suggestions is to use cigarette ash to disguise the stain: “rub the cigarette ash into the mark using your finger. Buff it with furniture polish after…  You can also completely eliminate the stain using cigarette ash.  First, make a paste out of olive oil and cigarette ash. Work this slowly into the mark. You’ll see the stain coming out as you rub in the paste. This works best if your wood is dark and polished, like mahogany.”

If the stain is relatively new, you can undo some of the damage by removing the moisture trapped in the wood “…using a blow dryer.  Set the [dryer] to low heat, and direct it at the affected area. The stain will be gone soon.”  It sounds almost too good to be true, but the trick is confirmed by Home Made Mamas.  They say,

We used a blow dryer on high. We held it fairly close to the stain. Slowly it stared disappearing! YEA!!!!  After about 20 minutes the stain was almost completely gone. We put a little olive oil on it to moisturize the wood. The results were amazing!!

Well, there you go: a ringing and exclamation-point-filled endorsement of the hair dryer trick.  It’s quick and easy and much cheaper than years of therapy.

Chromecast, that is. I really can't decide whether Chromecast is the bigger story out of last week's "Breakfast with Sundar" in San Francisco, or if it's the new Nexus 7. We'll have our full reviews of both this week — Jerry and Andrew are leading those — and I'll have some thoughts on them as well, in addition to a little gushing here.

On the new Nexus 7: In a word, yes. The resolution. The improved hardware. A slightly higher price, sure, but still well within limits for what I'd consider a must-purchase.

On Chromecast: I couldn't help but blather this on Google+, but this is why I was crowing about the Nexus Q for the last year and change. Yeah, Chromecast's not nearly as sexy a piece of hardware, but the end result is the same, and then some — especially when you take the Chromecast SDK into account.

It's OK that not everybody gets it. Chromecast doesn't have to be all things for all people. No piece of tech does, for that matter. And the ridiculousness of "But the pictures didn't all show it needs USB power" will die off.

A $35 appliance that lets me stream my music and videos — plus YouTube and a full Chrome tab — into my entertainment center and bedroom TV? No-brainer. I bought two myself. And we're giving away one a day for the rest of this week. And we'll have plenty more on Chromecast as it matures.

Let's have a few other thoughts on the past week. It's been a busy one.

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