A self-defense course will teach you how to use your keys as a weapon, but in practice, when you're under attack and panicking, protecting yourself with a keyring isn't as easy as it sounds. So the Hit, from Unikia, combines a loud audible panic alarm with a pop-up holder that turns a key into a switchblade that's easier to wield as a weapon.
The coloring book has just gone high-tech.
Mobile app colAR takes traditional 2D coloring pages and then turns them into 3D models that literally jump off the page. Unlike any coloring experience you’ve had before, the app makes the things you color come to life with animation that seems to bring the otherwise generic drawings to life.
SEE ALSO: Top 25 Free iPhone Apps of All Time
Armed with a 96-box of Crayola’s and some imagination, I gave the app a try.
Did you know they have colored metallic crayons? I sure didn’t. Out of the crayon game for a while now, picking the colors for the plane picture I colored for our test was an exceptionally difficult proposition, also the hardest part of using the colAR app. Read more...
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Netflix users in Canada have not been seeing the full widescreen version of Inglourious Basterds.
There’s an entire Tumblr devoted to comparing Netflix’s version of movies — especially super-widescreen films like There Will Be Blood and Prometheus — with what you’d see on a DVD or BluRay version of the same film.
Though many of the movies shown on that Tumblr are not — and have never been — available in the U.S. on Netflix, the comparisons do leave little question that a handful of titles are not being shown in their full glory to some customers.
The big question is whether this is Netflix’s doing, as the Tumblr and other sites have alleged (without asking Netflix, mind you), or whether this is just Netflix streaming what they are provided by the studios.
Having spent several years covering the entertainment world in a previous life, I had always been told that Netflix merely streams what it gets from the content creators. So if a studio sends the full wide-screen version of a film, that’s what you’ll get. This is the same reason why some foreign films have optional subtitles while others have the subtitles actually included as part of the print. It’s not Netflix’s choice; it’s what they are given.
This is also why Netflix’s old partnership with Starz had many non-HD and non-widescreen titles. Not because Netflix “cropped” them, but because that is what Starz provided.
For its part, Netflix wouldn’t point the finger at the studios, but did issue the following statement:
“We do not crop. We want to offer the best picture and provide the original aspect ratio of any title on Netflix. However, unfortunately our quality controls sometimes fail and we end up offering the wrong version of a title. When we discover this error, we replace that title as soon as possible.”
Ubisoft to 'release open-world on a regular basis' originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Jul 2013 12:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
With the Samsung Galaxy Folder, a smartphone from this worldwide manufacturer will single-handedly bring back the fashionability of physical QWERTY keyboards. At least that’s what the tip is from Korea along manufacturing lines where the smartphone is said to be being built. There it’s rumored that large amounts of reports of “discomfort” have been rolling in on the backs of their massively successful touchscreen-only device lines – and it may be time to create yet another Galaxy handset.
The Samsung Galaxy Folder is said to be coming with a 4.2-inch display with mid-tier display resolution. This machine will have a flip-screen allowing it to work with a full QWERTY keyboard in place of a traditional flip-phone’s 9-digit keypad, and the whole handset line will be prepped for full data support and 4G LTE right out of the gate. This is different from most traditional flip-phones as the form factor all but died out at the dawn of the smartphone.
ABOVE: Samsung’s dual-screen W2013 flip-phone designed for Jackie Chan, straight from Android Community and released back near the end of 2012.
This tip comes from DDaily where the publication reports the device to be appearing as soon as the 16th of August internationally. While it’s unclear when – or if – the smartphone will be hitting the USA on stateside carrier bands. This publication also suggests Samsung has reached out to them with a statement which suggests the August release and LTE support incoming.
“Galaxy Folder will be released in August with LTE support.” – (translated) Samsung via DDaily
With the Samsung Galaxy Folder there’s a question of how the vast majority of touchscreen-only Android apps will function. While most smartphones today employ Android with on-screen keyboards, Samsung will have to retro-fit apps – or ask developers to do so – so that this machine’s unique makeup can be handled with style.
This device will likely be launched in a variety of colors to appeal to those consumers hoping to keep up with Samsung’s higher-cost range of smartphones and tablets. If the Samsung Galaxy S 4 can come in Aurora Red, so can the Galaxy Folder.
VIA: Blog of Mobile
(Ninja M.)
One of the best parts about working here at Consumerist is our dedicated legion of readers providing a vast array of expertise that’s perfect for sharing with everyone. That’s why it was great to hear from a worker in a big warehouse store who writes that he wanted to pass along the knowledge he’s gleaned on the job to help all of you have a successful shopping trip. To the tip list!
1. Know your surroundings: You’re not shopping some shiny, slick boutique. By their very nature, warehouses are ginormous spaces and are actual working warehouses, which can be dangerous. Our tipster says if you take one thing away from his advice, it’s to never forget that you’re in a warehouse — complete with moving forklifts and enormous carts or flatbeds pushed by distracted shoppers. Stay alert — and keep a firm handle on your kids and out of harm’s way.
2. Spur of the moment doesn’t cut it for large orders: Of course warehouses sell items in large quantities, but you’re not the only person looking to buy 200 cases of juice boxes. No, really.
3. Bring the right wheels: You’ll also need to make sure your transportation can handle what you’re buying — “A queen size mattress will not fit into your Toyota Corolla,” notes our tipster.
4. Timing is everything: Avoid the first weekend of the month, if possible — it tends to be a bit of a zoo.
5. Keep an eye on your personal belongings: This goes for any store, but especially in such a large area where you might leave a purse on your cart while you trot off to another aisle in search of those 200 cases of juice.
6. Pay attention to the signs: Unlike grocery stores where the price is usually below the item, in warehouse stores they’re often above the item. Make sure you read the name of the item on the sign and check that it matches the product you’re grabbing off the shelf.
7. You’re not at Best Buy: “If you want expert advice on a specialty item (electronics, luggage, jewelry, etc.), my advice is to go to a store that specializes in that category, or research online. I’m always willing to help as best I can, but we do not have people trained in these categories.”
8. Be flexible when it comes to selection: While a warehouse store allows for savings on large quantities, the selection is often a lot smaller. So if a store doesn’t have your preferred brand, don’t yell at the workers — it’s not their call on which items are stocked. Our tipster adds: “At our store, we do submit requests to home office, so feel free to ask, but it usually takes a number of requests to get an order placed.”
9. Check the website: Can’t find what you’re looking for? Don’t forget about the Internet. The store’s site might have certain items online that aren’t available in-store.
The New Black Panther Party is offering a $10,000 reward for the capture of George Zimmerman, and yes, that’s “dead or alive.”
A video from CNN showing a handful of military-attired members of the New Black Panther Party has been making rounds on the blogosphere this week, and several Party spokespeople have issued statements on the controversial George Zimmerman verdict.
In the video above, spokesman Mikhail Muhammad offers $10,000 “for the capture of George Zimmerman. We’re going to force our government to do their job properly, and if they don’t we will.”
Muhammad also claims that the Party is receiving monetary support from athletes and celebrities, and that they hope to offer a reward of $1 million for Zimmerman’s capture by next week.
“We’re saying to President Obama, you gotta do your job on this one buddy… So white America, we have given you 400 years to get it right and you still have failed black people. We’re not even citizens in this country. We’re still third class citizens. Today as black men, we must stand up. We must say to white America, ‘Your time is up.’”
New Black Panther Party leader Malik Zulu Shabazz also sounded off on the verdict early this week, saying that George Zimmerman “will always be hunted and hated like the villain that he is and the demon that he is to many.”
“Those jurors were making a direct statement to black America, and they were telling us that, ‘We are in fear of the black male, fear of the black man and fear of the Trayvon Martins and we are going to maintain this first, the right of us to kill you n****r,’” he said.
Some leaders of the New Black Panther Party have also called for violence against white people, though these threats have turned up empty thus far. Still, critics charge the New Black Panther Party for spreading racial hatred and encouraging minorities to engage in violent acts against “White America.”
But the New Black Panther Party maintains that “Black America” is on the defensive. “It was really some white jurors on that jury telling black people, ‘To hell with you and to hell with your children,’” Shabazz said of the George Zimmerman verdict.
Offering a monetary reward for a citizen who is currently not charged with a crime is considered a felony in most states.
What do you think of the New Black Panther Party? Though their actions are hard to justify, is their frustration understandable? Sound off!
New Black Panthers Offer $10K For George Zimmerman Capture [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr
In this 2012 video, veterinarian Ernie Ward sits in a parked car in a summer day to find out how hot it gets and to prove how dangerous it is to leave pets and children unattended. With all four windows cracked a couple inches, the car reaches 117 degrees in just 30 minutes.
The role that race played in the George Zimmerman trial is one of the case’s more controversial aspects, and continues to be debated (largely along partisan lines) nearly a week after the verdict was handed down.
Right-wing media publications have been touting a local news report lately that suggests Zimmerman couldn’t have been a racist because he tutored black youths and even did some “internal family campaigning” for President Barack Obama.
Those same publications have mocked the “liberal bias” of the mainstream media, challenging them to carry the story.
A dozen or so publications have been circulating the following claims about George Zimmerman, primarily from family members and friends. Per The Examiner:
Additionally, they point out that the conservative outlet Breitbart.com reported on many of these claims as many as six months ago, well before the trial.
Brother Robert Zimmerman also described George as “a registered Democrat. He registered as a Hispanic. He kind of did some internal family campaigning for Obama.”
Robert Zimmerman has been made press rounds before and after the trial, performing what critics are calling “apologism” for his brother.
The question of whether or not race has anything to do with the George Zimmerman verdict and if so, how much, continues to be a point of contention between right-wing and left-wing media outlets.
While the left-wing’s apparently deliberate ignorance of these details is suspect, the right-wing media fails to explain how this information invalidates racial discussions in the case, and dangerously implies that it makes the death of an unarmed teenager something critics don’t have a right to be upset about.
What do you think of the role race plays in the George Zimmerman verdict? If Zimmerman can indeed be excused of racism himself, does race not have a place in the grand scope of the trial at all?
George Zimmerman Tutored Black Kids, Voted For Obama [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr
Paris-based artist Ludo (previously) has been active lately with works popping up all over France. His trademark monochromatic paste-ups with dripping green highlights often merge technology with plants or insects to create what he calls a “new order of hybrid organisms”. To see more of his work you can always stop by StreetArtNews or follow the artist’s blog.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Moral of the story: Just be yourself. Or Bruce Willis. Yeah, in fact, just always be Bruce Willis.
The post Vin Diesel with Other Celebrities’ Hair appeared first on POPHANGOVER.
Thermite is one of the most ridiculously dangerous and completely awesome pyro concoctions out there. We've already seen it completely devour a laptop, and what could be better than that? Thermite explosions. In slow motion.
Photo: Provenance unknown
... and don't go extinct!
Have you ever leaned over a railing and felt your stomach drop at the sight and perceived depth of the stories below you? Normally I stay away from railings because of my fear of heights and because I feel like I might drop down to my death if I lean too forward.
Silly, but that’s what I feel every time I look down, anyway.
Making people all over realize this fear is magician Rahat Hussein, who pulled a third-story fall prank on unsuspecting people shopping at the mall. If I were there, I’d probably scream my head off and stay away from railings for good.
Rahat pranked individuals who thought they were auditioning to be a television show host. Instead, they ended up with no gig and a huge scare after the fake interview.
[via Laughing Squid]
I don’t watch a lot of action movies, because I’m that Debbie Downer who’s always thinking about how much it must suck to be, say, a claims adjuster in Manhattan after the events of “The Avengers.” So I was glad that our colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports raised an important question: does my insurance cover me in the event of a sharknado?
“Sharknado,” as you must know if you’ve spent more than thirty seconds online in the last week, was one of SyFy’s original movies about deeply implausible yet secretly awesome disasters and how humanity deals with them. It got aired for the first time last week and received online attention out of proportion to its actual ratings, but raises an important question: if a tornado flung human-eating sharks at your house, how would your insurance company deal with the damage?
They would look at the claim as a combination of two things: a wind event, which also includes cyclones and hurricanes, and a falling object. That is, the shark. If a shark fell on and damaged your car, that would be covered under a comprehensive policy just as if you had collided with a deer or a bird.
Good news: Homeowners insurance covers a sharknado [Consumer Reports]
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