Shared posts

17 Nov 23:09

#drunkjcrew @drunkjcrewuguys #taylorswift #toomanycooks



#drunkjcrew @drunkjcrewuguys #taylorswift #toomanycooks

29 Oct 18:25

"Frozzen: A Passion Play"  #drunkjcrew @drunkjcrewuguys



















"Frozzen: A Passion Play"  #drunkjcrew @drunkjcrewuguys

29 Sep 15:26

The Rainbow Sponge

Kent Johnson

You asked for it!

YOU asked for it; a WHOLE video devoted to the rainbow sponge!
21 Aug 18:02

Turn Any YouTube Video Into A GIF By Just Adding “GIF” To The URL

the freshness

Want to turn something on YouTube into a GIF, but don’t want to futz with downloading third-party apps or digging around for an online converter?

Here’s a handy, easy to remember trick: just add “GIF” to the beginning of the URL. After “www.” and before “youtube.com”

Like so:

gif.

So, for example, you’d turn:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

into:

www.gifyoutube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

and hit enter. Tada!

To be clear, this isn’t an official YouTube tool (though I’d still argue that YouTube really, really ought to build one) — so don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work forever , particularly if YouTube’s legal team gets too bummed about the use of their trademark right in the domain. This is a side project by the team behind the super GIF-centric messaging app Glyphic.

One catch: in the current build, you can set the start time and GIF duration, but you can’t get super precise about it. If you want frame-by-frame control for that sweet, sweet perfectly timed loopage, you’ll probably want something like GIFGrabber or GIFBrewery

[Via HackerNews]

15 Aug 00:06

What are some historical weapons that most people have never heard of?

The Bat bomb.

The bomb contains 26 trays, each containing 40 hibernating bats, each having a small incendiary device with a timer.
When the bombs are released, they break down to individual trays, the bats warm up and wake up from their hibernation, when a parachute opens they fly out and look for a place to hide.
After they do, the device detonates and starts a fire. When 1,000 bombs are dropped (100 by each of 10 bombers), it would start about a million fires - way more than a conventional incendiary bomb (actually each bomb would start a smaller number of fires, but we're getting technical).

The bat bomb was developed by the US for usage against Japan during WWII, but the project was canceled as the Project Manhattan approached completion.

Quora User
25 Jul 15:13

Vagina Slang Timeline

Kent Johnson

"Netherlands", 1591 AD

24 Jul 20:05

Penis Slang Timeline

Kent Johnson

musket and bandeliers[sic]

27 Jun 20:04

Amazon is Offering 31 Android Apps For Free RIGHT NOW

Kent Johnson

Plex and Ravensword are both things I had already bought and don't regret paying for.

Amazon just sent over a little note reporting that it is now offering 31 of its most popular Android apps for free. The catch is that these apps will only be offered as freebies on Friday and Saturday; they go back to their original prices on Sunday.

The news arrives after the company introduced its Fire Phone last week. The phone includes a 4.7-inch display with a 1280 x 720 resolution that's powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.2 GHz, the Adreno 330 GPU and 2 GB of RAM. Other features include a 13MP camera on the back, a 2.1MP camera on the front, 32 GB or 64 GB of storage, dual stereo speakers and more.

The company also introduced Fire TV back in April. This $99 set-top-box measures just 0.7 inches thin, and packs a quad-core processor along with a dedicated Adreno 320 graphics engine. There's also 2 GB of memory, dual-band Wi-Fi, Full HD 1080p streaming, and both HDMI and optical audio-out, enabling up to 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus surround sound.

These two hardware units join the company's Appstore app that's offered to Android devices (side-loading required). To steal customers away from Google Play, Amazon also provides a free app to customers every day. When asked why Amazon is offering all these free apps, an Amazon rep told Tom's that the company from time to time will bundle these free apps together, as seen today.

Amazon's two-day giveaway features a mixture of apps spanning planning, travel, weather, productivity and games. These apps include AccuWeather Platinum, Splashtop Remote Desktop HD, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, MyBackup Pro and even Card Wars: Adventure Time. Here's the full list:

Travel and Weather Apps

  • AccuWeather Platinum ($2.99)
  • Travel Interpreter ($9.99)
  • MobiLearn Talking Phrasebook, English-French-German-Italian-Spanish ($9.99)
  • Pho.to Lab PRO ($2.99)

Productivity and Utility Apps

  • Jump Desktop ($9.99)
  • Root Explorer ($3.99)
  • Notepad+ ($0.99)
  • 2Do: Todo List | Task List ($6.99)
  • Pocket Informant 3 ($9.99)
  • Business Calendar ($4.99)
  • Splashtop Remote Desktop HD ($8.99)
  • MyBackup Pro ($4.99)
  • Acalendar+ ($3.99)
  • EZ Money Manager ($9.95)
  • Plex ($4.99)

Fun & Games Apps

  • Enigmatis: The Ghoshs of Maple Creek ($2.99)
  • League of Heroes Premium ($2.99)
  • CrossMe ($4.95)
  • Real Shanghai Mahjohn ($2.20)
  • CLARC ($2.99)
  • Pinball Deluxe Premium ($2.99)
  • Wedding Dash Deluxe ($0.99)
  • Sudoku 10,000 Plus ($2.49)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($2.99)
  • Dungeon Village ($4.50)
  • The Room Two ($4.50)
  • Card Wars – Adventure Time ($3.99)
  • Ravensworld: Shadowlands ($6.99)
  • Loco Motors ($1.99)
  • Dr. Panda's Bus Driver ($2.99)
  • PUZZINGO Puzzles (Pro Edition) ($14.99)

Follow Kevin Parrish @exfileme. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

25 Jun 19:46

Battle for the car: will Google, Apple or Microsoft dominate?

Kent Johnson

Really happy that Audi is in the Android camp.

Apple CarPlay in a Volvo
Volvo has one foot in Apple's camp and one in the GENIVI Alliance Photograph: Sandro Campardo/EPA

The battle for the car between Apple, Google and Microsoft has ignited this year with the launch of Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android-based Open Automotive Alliance.

Car manufacturers are lining up behind their respective technology banners, with each one pledging allegiance to one or another. Some sit across multiple camps, but others are steadfastly pro-Apple or pro-Google, with Microsoft and the others looking like they’ve been left holding mouldy cheese.

The Apple CarPlay camp

Apple CarPlay in a Volvo
Apple's CarPlay system being shown off by Volvo at the International Motor Show in Geneva. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

CarPlay is Apple’s latest move into the in-car entertainment and information systems. It is an evolution of its previous car connectivity, which saw music pulled from iPods and iPhones into car stereos via the dock connector.

It uses Apple’s new Lightning Connector, which means it is only compatible with the iPhone 5, 5S and 5C, but allows far greater connectivity, including the ability to power the navigation system of the car, place calls and read messages aloud as well as command the car and the iPhone via Apple’s voice assistant Siri.

Apple announced the new technology at the International Motor Show in Geneva this week, along with a large list of car manufacturers which are soon to adopt Apple’s in-car systems.

Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo were the first to announce that CarPlay would be fitted to certain new cars in 2014. BMW, Ford, General Motors (Vauxhall in the UK), Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota, also all announced that they are working on integrating Apple’s CarPlay into vehicles further down the road.

The Google camp

Android
Google's OAA aims to use Android to power in-car information and entertainment systems.

In January, Google launched its own assault on the in-car space called the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA). As Google’s involvement might suggest, the OAA’s aim is to bring the Android platform to cars in 2014 in a meaningful way – not just installing Android from a phone into the car but to tailor it specifically to the in-car experience.

“The Open Automotive Alliance is a group of leading automakers and technology companies that share a vision for making technology in the car safer, more seamless and more intuitive for everyone,” says an OAA statement on its website.

The theory is that the OAA will allow car manufacturers more differentiation than many other competing systems, while maintaining cross-compatibility from a common software across different car brands.

Currently the OAA boasts Audi, General Motors, Honda and Hyundai from the car manufacturers, with Google and chipmaker Nvidia from the technology industry, which means there will be a clash between the Google and Apple camps.

Honda, Hyundai and General Motors are pledged to both Google and Apple, which means that models compatible with Android and the iPhone are likely from all three manufacturers, but not necessarily in the same car.

The Microsoft camp

Ford Sync
Ford's Sync system is powered by Microsoft's Windows Embedded Automotive.

Microsoft has been doing in-car technology and mobile phone connectivity since 1998, when the AutoPC was released as a joint project between Microsoft and in-car equipment manufacturer Clarion.

The Auto PC evolved into Windows CE for Automotive in 2000, changing name to Microsoft Auto before being officially renamed Windows Embedded Automotive (WEA) in 2010.

Microsoft powers three different car manufacturers’ in-car systems, most famously Ford’s often-clunky Sync system, which launched in 2007 and enables users to control the radio and other in-car entertainment features via voice, as well as make and manage calls on a connected phone. It is available in a range of Ford cars, including the Focus and Fiesta in the UK.

Fiat’s Blue&Me in-car system that connects to a mobile phone via USB or Bluetooth is powered by Microsoft’s WEA, and is available in cars from Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia.

Kia’s first generation of its UVO voice and touch-control infotainment system also used Microsoft’s WEA, but Kia switched to an Android-powered UVO system in 2014.

The GENIVI Alliance camp

GENIVI
The GENIVI Alliance wants to put an open-source Meego platform in cars.

If having three separate camps wasn’t enough to complicate the in-car market, a separate group called the GENIVI Alliance formed in 2009 has been working on an in-car system built around Meego, the operating system abandoned by Nokia.

The Alliance aims to drive adoption of an open-source development platform for cars, and was founded by BMW, Intel, General Motors and others, with Volvo, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover and Renault numbered among the members.

The Connected Car Consortium camp

A video showing a 2011 Alpine car stereo with integrated MirrorLink technology connecting to a Nokia smartphone.

The final contender for the in-car space is the Connected Car Consortium’s MirrorLink, a system that displays apps and functions from smartphones on a car’s screens controllable via touchscreen or buttons.

It boasts a wide range of device compatibility, with audio streaming as well as screen mirroring available for various smartphones and other devices.

MirrorLink started off life as a Nokia project called Terminal Mode first presented in 2009 before being renamed MirrorLink in 2011. By 2012 the Connected Car Consortium had 56 members including car manufacturers such as General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen, as well as smartphone manufacturers LG, Sony, HTC and Samsung.

Sony’s Xperia Z series of Android smartphones included the MirrorLink capability, but few cars were equipped with the technology, with most relying on aftermarket car stereos from Sony and Alpine to provide compatibility.

Multi-campers

campervan
Some car manufacturers have a finger in every in-car pie. Photograph: Linda Nylind

It is unclear quite how the new in-car connectivity camps are going to co-operate, if at all. Certain cars may only come equipped with compatibility for the iPhone – others may only be capable of connecting to an Android smartphone for instance.

However, a few car manufacturers sit across different camps. Ford for example, currently uses Microsoft’s systems but is also signed up to Apple’s CarPlay. Kia uses Android for its current in-car systems, but is also a CarPlay member.

General Motors, which produces Vauxhall cars in the UK, is signed up to both Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s OAA as well as the GENIVI Alliance, and so are Honda and Hyundai, which means drivers might get the choice of Android or iPhone compatibility at the point of buying a new car.

It is entirely possible that OAA cars could support Apple’s CarPlay as the systems currently being shown off by Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo at the International Motor Show in Geneva run atop BlackBerry’s QNX software, which has been adopted by the automotive industry because of its history of reliability.

Unless Apple specifically excludes the OAA in its licensing agreements for CarPlay, some cars could default to Android but switch to iPhone connectivity when an iPhone is plugged into the system. How that would work for the driver is unknown at this point, but either way 2014 promises the most interesting and exciting technology to hit in-car systems in decades.

• CarPlay is Apple’s attempt at a land grab for the automotive market

25 Jun 19:40

Google announces exciting new features for Chromecast at Google IO 2014

The next big feature is the ability to mirror anything you’re doing on your Android phone directly to your Chromecast.
16 Jun 17:26

10 GIFs That Prove Animals Prefer Turtles As Means of...



10 GIFs That Prove Animals Prefer Turtles As Means of Transportation

09 Jun 19:22

Computer A.I. Simulating a 13-Year-Old Boy Fools Humans, First to Pass Turing Test

by Paul Lilly
Kent Johnson

while (true) prinft("what r u wearing? wanna cyber?\n");

Eugene GoostmanA computer program passes for a real boy

It only took about 65 years, but a computer posing as a 13-year-old boy became the first to pass the Turing Test, which was designed to test a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior that's equal to or indistinguishable from that of a real human. A supercomputer called Eugene Goostman accomplished the feat during Turing Test 2014 held at the Royal Society in London over the weekend.

A development team led by a Russian computer engineer Vladimir Veselov, who was born in Russia and now lives in the U.S., and Ukrainian born Eugene Demchenko, who now lives in Russia, developed Eugene Goostman in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Eugene was one of five supercomputers competing for the Turing Test 2014 prize.

The test is a question and answer game, "Can Machines Think?" This particular event took place on the 60th anniversary of Turing's death. To pass the test, a computer must be mistaken for a human by more than 30 percent of the time during a series of five minute keyboard conversations -- Eugene was able to convince 33 percent of the human judges that it too was human.

Eugene's accomplishment isn't without a bit of controversy.

"Some will claim that the Test has already been passed. The words Turing Test have been applied to similar competitions around the world. However this event involved the most simultaneous comparison tests than ever before, was independently verified and, crucially, the conversations were unrestricted," explains Professor Kevin Warwick, a Visiting Professor at the University of Reading and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research at Coventry University. "A true Turing Test does not set the questions or topics prior to the conversations. We are therefore proud to declare that Alan Turing's Test was passed for the first time on Saturday."

Posing as a 13-year-old may have helped Eugene pass the test. Due to his character's believed age, Eugene wouldn't necessarily need to get a question correct, but answer in a way that's believable for a boy his age.

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

14 May 15:25

Have you ever had a dream like this?

by mrblueangeldood
Kent Johnson

Love the end.

We all have at one point.
Views: 10393307
89279 ratings
Time: 00:22 More in People & Blogs
09 Aug 20:28

Hive Launch!

by raisins
Kent Johnson

Sharing about a GReader replacement on TOReader just feels weird.

The time has come. Hive is ready (mostly) for you, the awesome people, to use it. All the core features are in: subscribing to sites, reading those sites, sharing stories, commenting, liking, staring and xml import from google reader. The UI/UX is awesome and getting better. There are still some features I am adding/fixing and I will be doing that forever. Really excited to put this in your hands right away and get feedback.

Announcing the closed beta of HiveReader

not a real logo**
web 3.0 viral rss social synergy network website.***




**not a real logo

*** not a real tagline


Wait a minute. I’m new here. What’s Hive?
Hive is the best place on the internet to read the internet. At it’s core it’s a reader app. You subscribe to your favorite sites and read them all in one simple interface. It’s also so much more.

What happened to Hivemined? Why the name switch?
This was a much discussed topic. After explaining to the 100th person. “no, HiveminEd, with an e. Like miners” Something had to change. We’ve all been calling it Hive anyway. So why not call a horse a horse and a reader a reader? And horse.com is taken. Hivemined has become the default user we all follow (ala tom) also the blog title is still hivemined.


How do the keys work?
When you get a key it has N number of uses. So you can bring your friends in and get down to business or just post it wherever you want. I suggest you hire a plane to skywrite it.


What does it look like on the inside?
Like this:
image
image
(yeah, I liked my own post)

Other Common Questions:


I need a key right now. I am dying with google reader shutting down.
Sign up on Hivereader.com. Bug me on twitter. Send me an email Francis[at]hivereader.com I will be slowly sending keys out for others to send to their friends. Starting with people who are alright with using something that might be a little messy or missing something.

Still working on the experience for people new to readers who don’t have an import file to start with. I hope to have a better ‘getting started’ flow setup soon.

OMGZ!!1! THIS IS THE WORST. ____ IS MISSING AND ____ IS BROKEN!!1 YOU SUCK!! I’M OUT, PEACE!
Pushing code and fixes nearly all day everyday. Keeping my eye on twitter, email, and bug reports. #hivebug

PS: You are amazing. Thanks for sticking around and helping build the best thing on the internet.

Again. Huge thanks to Tivix (especially Andy, Adam, Rex, Bret, Sumit and the rest of the Tivix team) for creating the opportunity to make the reader we all want and need (I hope it becomes everything you’ve ever dreamed of).
10 Jul 21:07

Google shuts Latitude down

by Nate Swanner
Kent Johnson

"We understand some of you still want to see your friends and family on a map, which is why we've added location sharing to Google+ for Android (coming soon to iOS)."

Google shutters Latitude

Remember that infographic we showed you a little while ago about shuttered Google services? Break out a sharpie, because Latitude is going on that list. Starting in August, the location sharing service will be dropped from Maps.

This change is effective because Maps is seeing an update. With the new interface and features of Maps, Latitude just didn’t have a place. Instead, there will be social functionality, and users can check in on Google+ for Android, or share their location. There is no iOS feature set right now, but they’re working on it. From the Google Blog:

One important change you should know about is that Latitude and check-ins are no longer part of the new Google Maps app, and will be retired from older versions on August 9. We understand some of you still want to see your friends and family on a map, which is why we've added location sharing and check-ins to Google+ for Android (coming soon to iOS). More details about Latitude and check-in changes can be found in our help center.
Google Blog

This is a very natural progression for Maps and Google+. Latitude was a relic of Google past, a time when services were born and sometimes forced to work together, but often times didn’t. Google+ is the social thread that binds so many services together, meaning things like Latitude can be jettisoned easily.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a great Maps app than Latitude.

    


22 May 21:41

How Do You Pronounce 'GIF' Anyways?

“It’s pronounced ‘JIF,’ not ‘GIF.’” Those are the words of GIF creator Steve Wilhite, who finally settled the pronunciation debate Tuesday night as he accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Webby Award show in New York City, hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt. That’s...
    


25 Mar 19:23

Watch out for those feet.



Watch out for those feet.

20 Mar 04:41

http://iheartcatgifs.tumblr.com/post/44305515279

18 Mar 22:48

howtolovebrokenthings: antiocial: alxesi: that’s enough for...

Kent Johnson

That'll do...



howtolovebrokenthings:

antiocial:

alxesi:

that’s enough for today