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16 Jun 00:09

BOOM: Watch An Angry Army Chief Deliver A Scathing Dressing-Down To Sexist Soldiers

by Ray Flores

This epic smackdown stems from an investigation into the Australian army and its culture of sexual exploitation. Unlike in America, when the Aussies found out that almost 100 army personnel may be guilty of gross misconduct and sexual exploitation of women -- both military and civilian -- they sent THIS GUY to send a message to any soldier who even thinks once about being sexist.

At 1:43, he gives them an ultimatum that leaves no doubt on his (and the rest of the Aussie army's) intentions. That is. BAD. ASS.

04 Jun 11:18

Next Time Someone Tells You That Immigrants Are Destroying Our Country, Show Them This

by Adam Mordecai

This nice British lady is kind enough to do the math on what's wrong with our thinking on immigration so you don't have to. She curses a little, but only because she's quoting a faulty argument. 

28 May 10:29

Google Acquires Kite-Power Generator

by samzenpus
garymortimer writes "Google has acquired a US company that generates power using turbines mounted on tethered kites or wings. Makani Power will become part of Google X – the secretive research and development arm of the search giant. The deal comes as Makani carries out the first fully autonomous flights of robot kites bearing its power-generating propellers. Google has not said how much it paid to acquire Makani, but it has invested $15m (£9.9m) in the company previously."

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28 May 10:26

One Of The Most Patriotic Things I've Ever Seen Doesn't Involve Guns, God, Or Glory

by Rebecca Eisenberg

I love how this woman has found a way to support our troops without having to support our wars, too. Or as she put it, "I don't care about political crap — I just love freedom."

26 May 12:17

Java Developer Says He Built, Launched Basic Open Source Office Suite In 30 Days

by Soulskill
alphadogg writes "A freelance Java developer claims it took him only 30 days to build and launch a basic open source office suite that runs on multiple OSes. Called Joeffice, it works on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux as well as in browsers, according to the developer, Anthony Goubard. It includes a very basic word processor, spreadsheet program, presentation program and database software, Goubard said. The office suite was built with NetBeans and uses many popular open source Java libraries. That allowed him to built the program in 30 days, he said, a process that he documented daily on YouTube (video). The suite was released as an alpha version, which means that not everything works yet. Goubard's Amsterdam company, Japplis, launched the suite, which is available under an Apache 2.0 license. This license allows companies to change and redistribute the code internally without having to share the new code publicly, he said."

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24 May 00:24

Microsoft's Cheap Shot At The iPad Actually Points Out Exactly Why Windows 8 Tabs Suck

by Darrell Etherington
Lucas Kushner

Microsoft has been particularly negatively targeting specific competitors recently...

ipadvsurface

Being behind in a market sucks, and it’s understandable to want to lash out at the top dog, as Microsoft has shown it’s willing to do with Google in search and email, and now with Apple in tablet computers. A brand new Windows 8 ad pits the iPad against Microsoft’s Windows 8 tablet, in an attempt to show how much more versatile the Asus VivoTab is vs. the iOS device.

Microsoft uses Siri’s voice (which isn’t difficult, given that it’s a fairly generic computer-generated female tone) to highlight what the Windows 8 tablet can do that the iPad can’t, including things like live tiles (it took me a couple views to figure out what “I don’t update like that” even meant), Windows Snap multitasking, and… PowerPoint. Then finally we get a price comparison, showing the much cheaper price tag for the Asus.

The problem is that not only is the Siri construct weak and her actual lines poorly written, but the abilities Microsoft chooses to highlight show exactly why it doesn’t “get” the tablet market. People aren’t looking for multitasking PowerPoint slide deck-creating machines; they have computers for that.

The closing bit here is maybe the worst part; showing that Apple’s iPad can easily provide a remarkably realistic experience for playing Chopsticks on the screen is not the way to trash your competition, especially if you noticeably can’t offer up an equivalent experience on your own hardware. Apple uses that in its own ads for a reason, and that’s to highlight the magical, delightful experiences users can have on its device. Countering that with a bunch of sober (though admittedly useful) features isn’t the way to turn the tide back in your favor.

An earlier version of this post mistakenly identified the Asus VivoTab in this ad as a Surface.


23 May 13:02

Dating Tips From A 10-Year-Old

by Kim Hohman

Doing nice things makes you feel good and makes the people around you feel pretty great, too. If you need evidence to support that fact, listen to what this kid has to say.

23 May 12:54

How To Use Your Cell Phone as a Survival Tool [Infographic]

by Eric Lyday

Let me first say that I want to be Bear Grylls. The dude is amazingly crafty and knowledgeable about survival. So, in the spirit of Bear, here’s an infographic to keep you alive in the worst conditions.

Under normal circumstances, a working cell phone would be much more useful than a broken cell phone. But, if you’re down to nothing but the bare essentials, breaking your phone might just save your life.

Firstly, you can make your battery combust to create a fire simply by attaching a wire (found from inside your phone) to the positive and negative nodes. Then, I would assume that you would need to quickly catch some grass or leaves to light your campfire because the wire will disintegrate quickly. Other uses include widdling your circuit board or metal back case to make a good cutting or hunting tool. My personal favorite is the LCD screen that can alert a flying plane to your whereabouts. Just throw the peace sign toward your savior plane and hopefully they will pay attention to flashing lights. BAM. Saved.

Know about any other survival tricks? Leave a comment!

[via]


© Eric Lyday for Daily Infographic, 2013. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cell phone, Circuit board, compass, crash, cutting, fire starter, fish hook, isolation, LCD screen, signal mirror, spear, survival, tools

23 May 12:52

Physicists Create Quantum Link Between Photons That Don't Exist At the Same Time

by samzenpus
sciencehabit writes "Physicists have long known that quantum mechanics allows for a subtle connection between quantum particles called entanglement, in which measuring one particle can instantly set the otherwise uncertain condition, or 'state,' of another particle—even if it's light years away. Now, experimenters in Israel have shown that they can entangle two photons that don't even exist at the same time. Anton Zeilinger, a physicist at the University of Vienna, says that the experiment demonstrates just how slippery the concepts of quantum mechanics are. 'It's really neat because it shows more or less that quantum events are outside our everyday notions of space and time.'"

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22 May 10:14

3-D Printable Food Gets Funding From NASA

by Soulskill
cervesaebraciator writes "According to Quartz, '[Anjan Contractor's] Systems & Materials Research Corporation just got a six month, $125,000 grant from NASA to create a prototype of his universal food synthesizer. But Contractor, a mechanical engineer with a background in 3-D printing, envisions a much more mundane — and ultimately more important — use for the technology. He sees a day when every kitchen has a 3-D printer, and the earth's 12 billion people feed themselves customized, nutritionally-appropriate meals synthesized one layer at a time, from cartridges of powder and oils they buy at the corner grocery store. Contractor's vision would mean the end of food waste, because the powder his system will use is shelf-stable for up to 30 years, so that each cartridge, whether it contains sugars, complex carbohydrates, protein or some other basic building block, would be fully exhausted before being returned to the store.' No word yet on whether anyone other than the guy trying to sell the technology thinks it'll make palatable food."

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21 May 12:46

German Researchers Hit 40 Gbps On Wireless Link

by Unknown Lamer
judgecorp writes "German researchers from the Fraunhover and Karlsruhe institutes have achieved 40Gbps transfers over 1km using a wireless link. The new record raises the hope that point-to-point wireless could be used instead of expensive fibers in some rural broadband applications." Partially thanks to transmitting between 200GHz and 280GHz.

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09 May 22:59

Printable Gun Downloads Top 100k In 2 Days, Thanks to Kim Dotcom

by timothy
Sparrowvsrevolution writes "The promise of a fully 3D-printable gun is that it can spread via the Internet and entirely circumvent gun control laws. Two days after that digital weapon's blueprint first appeared online, it seems to be fulfilling that promise. Files for the printable gun known as that 'Liberator' have been downloaded more than 100,000 times in two days, according to Defense Distributed, the group that created it. Those downloads were facilitated by Kim Dotcom's startup Mega, which Defense Distributed is using to host the Liberator's CAD files. And it's also been uploaded to the Pirate Bay, where it's one of the most popular files in the filesharing site's uncensorable 3D printing category."

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09 May 00:09

$10 gadget contains "the entire English Wikipedia with 3 million topics" (now $25)

by Mark Frauenfelder

(UPDATE: They've jacked the price up to $25 $29!) I don't have a WikiReader so I don't know if it's any good or not, but I love the idea of a $10 hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. I ordered one just because it has a "Random" article button. If you have one, please let us know what you think of it in the comments.

  • Palm-sized device contains the entire English Wikipedia
  • Pre-loaded content, no internet connection needed
  • Ready to go right out of box
  • Touchscreen controls and keyboard
  • Uses 2 AAA batteries

Get in the know with the WikiReader. This palm-sized electronic encyclopedia contains the entire English Wikipedia covering 3 million topics -- equivalent to more than 1,000 volumes. No internet connection is required, it comes preloaded with the entire Wikipedia and is ready to use right out of the box. Easy touchscreen controls and touchscreen QWERTY keyboard allow you instant access to a world of knowledge. Never be out of date, either, as the content can be updated quarterly via online download or via MicroSD card. Runs on 2 AAA batteries which will last approximately 1 year.

UPDATE: I'm going to do this when I get mine.

WikiReader Pocket Wikipedia $10

    


09 May 00:05

Delaware to Allow Same-Sex Marriage

by By ERIK ECKHOLM
The bill passed the State Senate by a 12-to-9 vote and the governor quickly signed it, making Delaware the 11th state to permit same-sex marriages.
    


07 May 02:56

Portal Now Available On Linux

by timothy
Lucas Kushner

FINALLY

alancronin writes "Valve have released Portal for Linux through the Steam platform. If you have a copy of the Windows version you will automatically have a copy of it for Linux in your account. There are also rumors of Portal 2 coming soon."

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01 May 01:35

Automated constrained poetry, made from Markov Chains and Project Gutenberg

by Cory Doctorow

A "Snowball" is a poem "in which each line is a single word, and each successive word is one letter longer." Nossidge built an automated Snowball generator that uses Markov Chains, pulling text from Project Gutenberg. It's written in C++, with code on GitHub. The results are rather beautiful poems (these ones are "mostly Dickens"):

o
we
all
have
heard
people
believe
anything

i
am
the
dawn
light
before
anybody
expected
something
disorderly

i
am
the
very
great
change

Snowball (also called a Chaterism) (via Waxy)

    


26 Apr 23:50

Designer Builds 3D-Printed Headphones That Use No Manufactured Parts

by John Biggs
unboxed

If the whole of human knowledge were to be wiped out tomorrow, how would you recreate the consumer electronics industry so you can jam out to some rockin’ tunes? Why you’d build these unique 3D-printed headphones. Except for some twists of wire, these cans consist of thin pieces of printed plastic and the speakers are actually plastic with a coil of copper wire embedded, by hand, into a set of tiny traces. Even the audio plug which consists of wire wrapped around a small plastic spindle.

You can download the project here and print it yourself or marvel at how the creator, designer J.C. Karich was able to use wire and plastic to build a pair of cans that actually work. He obviously had to source the wire and magnets (although, arguably, he could have dug the ore himself, right?) but the rest of the project is completely hand-designed and printed on the fly, an increasingly common feat with today’s 3D printers.

The audio quality looks surprisingly good, all things considered, and the design is ingeniously primitive. Writes Karich:

Anyway, the sound quality is very nice against all expectations but will necessitate a power amplifier to be louder when using only portable sources like pods or phones.

Sadly no one has reported actually being able to build these things yet on Thingiverse but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Who knows? Maybe this is the future: artisanal headphones.


26 Apr 11:44

3D-Printed Gun May Be Unveiled Soon

by samzenpus
Lucas Kushner

This is terrifying.

colinneagle writes "A 3D-printed gun capable of firing multiple rounds may be unveiled soon. Cody Wilson, the 25-year-old founder and director of nonprofit organization Defense Distributed, recently told Mashable that the end product of Wiki Weapon, the initiative to create an operational 3D-printed gun, may soon be ready to unveil to the public. In a March interview with CNN, Wilson said he hoped to have a printable gun ready by the end of April, so his most recent comments suggest that he may fulfill that promise. While Wilson was sparse with details, he did tell Mashable that the prototype would be a handgun consisting of 12 parts made out of ABS+ thermoplastic, which is known for its durability and is commonly used in industrial settings. The firing pin would be the only steel component of the 3D-printed gun, which will be able to withstand a few shots before melting or breaking. Wilson reportedly anticipates making an official announcement soon."

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26 Apr 00:27

The New York Times Releases Its Headline-Reading Google Glass App

by Chris Velazco
nyt-glass2

Google’s ambitious Glass display is still a ways off from its public release, but it looks like those newly minted Glass Explorers now have something else to do besides taking first-person photos. The New York Times just pulled back the curtain on its own Glass-friendly app today, which makes it the first installable third-party app available for the ambitious headset (Path was technically the first third-party app, but it’s preloaded on early versions of the device).

It’s no surprise to see the Grey Lady embrace Glass so enthusiastically — Google developer advocate Timothy Jordan first showed off an early version of the New York Times Glass app at SXSW 2013 in Austin (you can see his full talk here), which pipes new news and headlines to the head-mounted display at regular intervals. Navigating through that stream of news seemed easy enough: a quick tilt of the head would allow the user to sift through photos and full articles, as well.

Setting up the app is a simple process — clicking on the link above asks for access to your Google account:

Once that’s all done, Glass can occasionally chime in by reading headlines in your ear, but the app is also capable of reading off brief article summaries too. All told it seems like a very neat, (if strangely intrusive way) to consume your daily dose of news, and other companies have already pledged to craft their own Glass experiences — Path and the New York Times are a given, but Evernote and supposedly even Twitter are working on apps for Google’s daring device.


25 Apr 15:10

City Room: City Expands Recycling Program to Include Hard Plastics

by By ANDY NEWMAN
New York City announced the biggest expansion of its recycling program in 25 years on Wednesday. The expansion will encompass all hard plastics, including shampoo bottles, clothes hangers, countless toys and other common household objects.
    


23 Apr 02:01

Smartphone For the Blind Invented In India

by samzenpus
hypnosec writes "The world's first smartphone for the blind that features a display capable of converting text and pictures into Braille and raised patterns has been invented in India. Based on Shape Memory Technology – a concept whereby metals expand and contract to retain their original shape – the phone's screen has a grid of pins. These pins move up and down based on the text or display to be represented."

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20 Apr 07:12

What Makes Google Glass Work [Infographic]

by Grayson

Even from their beginnings as simply a search engine, Google has always been immensely popular. After their initial years and rapid growth as a company they were soon able to incorporate several other aspects such as maps, news and videos into their site, further solidifying their place in the modern world of the Internet. They weren’t content with just staying online as a company, though, and began to branch out into phones, operating systems, laptops and now they’ve got their sights set on a completely new market: glasses.

Today’s infographic from Droid-Life.com gives us an outline on some of the inner workings of Google’s newest and most ambitious pet project, Google Glass. While not widely available as of yet, there is already a great buzz surrounding Google Glass; people are wondering if it will work exactly as it’s being shown to work and if so, how is it done?

The graphic shows us that a small projector projects an image through a prism, which puts the image directly on the user’s retina, creating a small layer over the reality in the background. The “Google Glass” component’s position on the frame is also adjustable, making the display layer able to be positioned in various areas within the user’s field of vision.

For more information on the upcoming Google Glass and what makes it work have a look at the infographic below. [Via]


© Grayson for Daily Infographic, 2013. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: google, Google Glass, Google Glass battery, Google Glass battery infographic, Google Glass display, Google Glass display infographic, Google Glass infographic, Google Glass interactive, Google Glass interactive infographic, Google Glass microphone, Google Glass microphone infographic, Google Glass phone, Google Glass phone infographic, Google Glass prism, Google Glass prism infographic, Google Glass screen, Google Glass screen infographic, Google Glass speakers, Google Glass speakers infographic, Google Glass technology, Google Glass technology infographic, Google glasses, Google glasses infographic, Google glasses technology, Google glasses technology infographic, Google infographic, how Google Glass works, how Google Glass works infographic, what makes Google Glass work, what makes Google Glass work infographic

19 Apr 06:44

Google Forbids Advertising On Glass

by timothy
An anonymous reader writes "Contrary to widespread thought, Google Glass will not be an advertising platform: 'Google Inc has lately told app developers that they are not allowed to present ads to Google Glass users and they are also not permitted to sell users' personal and private information for the fulfillment of advertising needs. The internet company has explicitly and openly said that the Glass platform should and must be clean and clear of any ads whatsoever, because the technology is designed to facilitate internet browsing and other related activities, therefore, the featured podium cannot be used to advertise products as it will cause the user experience to diminish.' Seems like Google is going for hardware-only revenue on this one." You're not supposed to resell the Glass hardware, either.

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18 Apr 14:23

Why "Useless" Skills Like Juggling Are Still Worth Learning

by Eric Ravenscraft
Lucas Kushner

Juggling is good for you, I swear!

It's easy to assume that skills like juggling are silly or impractical. However, some studies have shown that juggling actually improves concentration, dexterity, and even helps relieve stress.

Read more...

    


18 Apr 14:23

on Infinite Loops

by Ian

on Infinite Loops

17 Apr 13:43

How a differential gear works -- a-ha generating video

by Cory Doctorow

I posted this in March 2011, but as Kottke says, "it's so good, here it is again." "How a differential gear works" is a short industrial film that does a better job of explaining how differentials work than any other materials I've seen -- a real "a-ha" generator.

How a differential gear works

    


17 Apr 13:27

Nano-Suit Protects Bugs From Vacuums

by Unknown Lamer
sciencehabit writes "Put a fruit fly larva in a spacelike vacuum, and the results aren't pretty. Within a matter of minutes, the animal will collapse into a crinkled, lifeless husk. Now, researchers have found a way to protect the bugs: Bombard them with electrons, which form a 'nano-suit' around their bodies. The advance could help scientists take high-resolution photographs of tiny living organisms. It also suggests a new way that creatures could survive the harsh conditions of outer space and may even lead to new space travel technology for humans." Work is also being done on electron "suits" that protect against radiation.

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