tagged w/ The Cutting Edge
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Jon and Eddie attempt the Pamchenko.
Written and Performed by:
Alex Fox (Jon) Rachel Lewis (Eddie)
Directed by: Jenessa Joffe
Edited by: James Fitzpatrick
"The Jon and Eddie Rap"
Composed by: Daniel ObermanJon and Eddie attempt the Pamchenko.
Written and Performed by:
Alex Fox (Jon)... more
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The Rotten Tomatoes Show is a movie review show that airs on Thursday nights at 10:30 e/p on Current TV. From reviews of the newest releases to commentary on cult favorites and movie trends, each episode of The Rotten Tomatoes Show is a fast-paced, comedic journey through the week in cinema.
For more from the Rotten Tomatoes Show: http://rottentomatoesshow.com
For more about movies from Current: http://current.com/moviesThe Rotten Tomatoes Show is a movie review show that airs on Thursday nights at 10:30... more
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Take a tour through the Kawamoris' house and see a brief interview with Mrs. Kawamori on having a hydrogen fuel cell that powers the family's home.
Also, check out the feature article, "Hydrogen in every home," in the April 2009 issue of Ode Magazine.
For some reason Ode Magazine doesn't make everything available online. I guess they still want us to buy the magazine. :)
Here's the magazine link in case they put it up later. http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/62/japanese-fuel-cell/Take a tour through the Kawamoris' house and see a brief interview with Mrs.... more
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We showed you this NSA-approved Windows Mobile secure beast-phone already, but this video shows more information about the Sectera Edge. It features one-touch high-level security and— wait for it— customizable ringtones!
The Sectera Edge, a brick of a smartphone with the styling of a five-year-old Palm Treo, is the only device of its type to be approved by the NSA. But it's not just a super-secure BlackBerry replacement: the Edge has two distinct "modes," normal and secure, and the phone toggles between them with the press of a button. In secure mode, it uses powerful encryption and constant monitoring to keep the data safe, while in normal mode, the phone functions pretty much like a typical smartphone with the same commercial encryption we normals are stuck with. I especially like the color themes signifying the difference: bright red means top-secret, just like in the movies.
Of course, nobody has confirmed that the Sectera Edge is going to be used by President Obama, but it will certainly be used by high-ranking members of the Department of Defense and others who need its functionality. The Edge costs $3,350, although it doesn't seem likely that they're available to purchase even if somebody was inclined to.We showed you this NSA-approved Windows Mobile secure beast-phone already, but this... more
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The video was done by Scholz&Friends, a Berlin-based ad agency, for European electronics chain Saturn.The video was done by Scholz&Friends, a Berlin-based ad agency, for European... more
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In a talk with Bits about what Xbox "want[s] to be when we grow up,” Microsoft's Shane Kim clearly has video on the brain. With Netflix, he says, they're "just beginning to scratch the surface.”
As examples, Kim mentions watching pro sports games on the Xbox while chatting with your friends, and reveals that they're thinking about adding a music service. (Zune? Hopefully not another service.)
Here's where it gets interesting—Kim says they're not planning on a browser or anything that completely busts open the Xbox. Rather, Kim says "“We are about delivering higher quality experience, not having the most varied experiences." Bits (unfortunately) paraphrases the next part:
He argued that while there may be hundreds of video sites, most of the activity is concentrating on a handful of sites like Hulu and YouTube. So his first instinct is cut a handful of deals that integrate the Xbox more deeply into such sites.
Hulu on the Xbox 360 totally would be a "higher quality experience"—one that would blow our mind. The deal would make sense for both parties too: It's no different than the integrated Netflix service on Microsoft's end, and it would turn the system into the most serious, fantastic video box around (important, since PS3 has the Blu-ray advantage on the video front). For Hulu, it would be a huge opportunity to blow up their audience and advertising revenue.
Of course, it's entirely possible, if not probable Kim was just spouting off examples and no Hulu deal is in works. But, if Microsoft really is looking at every good option, surely they're looking at Hulu. They've already done tons of deals with Hulu parent NBC, and they've never been afraid to pay up to get what they want. We know it's what we want, so we hope where's the smoke, there's hot, streaming fire.
(original article from http://gizmodo.com/5114459/could-hulu-be-coming-to-xbox-360)In a talk with Bits about what Xbox "want[s] to be when we grow up,”... more
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It’s true, of course, and not just from a Sci-Fi point of view. With robots doing everything from vacuuming our floors to storing our data to performing surgery, there is a growing need for an international body to establish standards. If, as British robotics professor Noel Sharkey says, “decisions about [robots'] application will be left to the military, industry and busy parents,” we run a risk of enabling very risky behavior among robots, indeed.
Who makes the decision of when a surgery is too complicated to be remote-operated? Will robot nannies (don’t laugh, believe me they’re on their way) have a minimum age with which they can interact? How will combat robots be accountable for causing civilian deaths? These are questions which seem fanciful now, but in 10 years you’ll be wondering why we didn’t ask them 10 years ago.
(Original article from http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/12/18/scientist-warns-we-must-establish-a-robot-code/)It’s true, of course, and not just from a Sci-Fi point of view. With robots... more
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A group of South Korean scientists have developed a transparent memory chip that could be the precursor to completely transparent electronics.
The RAM's design is simple enough to comprehend. It consists of clear oxide film and electrodes placed on a glass or plastic circuit board.
And while researchers haven't successfully developed any other PC components, it's believed that their same process could apply to CMOS chips, which would pretty much open the door wide open for application in hand held electronics. With enough money to back manufacturing of current technologies, it's believed we could see commercial products in 3-4 years.
When you take a look at the above concept or this glass cellphone, it's not all that hard to imagine the interesting potential of see-through electronics.A group of South Korean scientists have developed a transparent memory chip that could... more
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While us normal folk were gorging on turkey and fixings, the tireless US Patent Office was busy filing an interesting Apple patent detailing a mobile liquid cooling system—something that looks like it could be used in a future portable device.
Initially filed in May of 2007 (it's government, people!), the patent app describes a two-part cooling system for small form factors. In the first part a liquid coolant is used to transfer heat away from components (such as a quad-core mobile processor, perhaps?). In the second phase, the heat is transferred from the liquids onto a large aluminum plate which would then pass it off into the environment just as most laptop temperature management systems work today.
Whether this is just another defensive or out-there research patent, or an actually useful new way to cram more power into a smaller space via liquid cooling remains to be seen. Let's hope Apple's next patent is for a brand new battery juicy enough to power the whole system for more than 20 minutes.While us normal folk were gorging on turkey and fixings, the tireless US Patent Office... more
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You’re following a gloomy corridor into a large boiler room, dimly lit by a flickering fluorescent lamp and echoing with the rhythms of unseen machinery. Three enemy soldiers suddenly appear on a catwalk high above the floor. They split up, one of them laying down suppressive fire, which forces you to take cover. Although you shoot back, the attackers still manage to creep forward behind a curtain of smoke and flying debris.
Moments later, a machine gun rings out, and you are cut down in a shower of bullets. Then, as you lie dying, you glimpse the soldier who flanked you from behind while his two buddies drew your attention.
Thankfully, it was only a video game, so in fact you’re not mortally wounded. Still, your ego might well be bruised, because you were not only outgunned but also outsmarted by artificial intelligence (AI).
[For the complete story go to http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/print/7011]You’re following a gloomy corridor into a large boiler room, dimly lit by a... more
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In a dusty supply closet at 1 Times Square, a computer terminal hooked up to hordes of ethernet servers, RAID arrays and monitors humbly runs the largest LED sign in the world. The sign, a 3-sided, 17,000-square-foot Goliath, debuted last night at the opening of a Walgreens in New York City. Today, I got to see what makes it tick.
Each side of the sign, designed by D3 LED, requires a 48-drive RAID pumping data at a rate of 3.2GB/second to a custom-built PC. From there, the data is fed through graphics cards to multiple DVI pipes, which lead to six DVI pixel splitters (known as a Spyders). The splitters take video data of a specific resolution and upscale it to the size needed for the display. Once the data is crunched and formatted for the sign, it's sent out via 4Gbps ethernet to one of more than 12,000 display modules that make up the ginormous billboard.
Each module is a mini-computer, complete with MAC address, redundant 4-gigabit ethernet ports, power supply and a fan. Each panel can report all kinds of vital statistics, including its temperature. If there's a problem, the panel reports itself to the main computer for easy troubleshooting. (Like a good communist, it can report problems with its neighbors, too.) The majority of the electronics are accessible from inside, so dangerous repair jobs on scaffolding suspended over Times Square are a thing of the past.
The sign's modules are split into three sections, low-, medium- and high-resolution grids based on their distance from the street. (Why waste pixels for objects way high up?) The top, as you probably guessed, has the largest pixels, at 24mm, while the middle has 12mm and the bottom has 10mm.
The animators are faced with a tough challenge when creating content for the signs, as they must keep the different display sizes in mind so the animation appears cohesive throughout the sections. To help out the animators, sign creator D3 LED made a virtual copy of it that is 10,000 pixels high by 4,000 pixels wide, the equivalent of 43 megapixels. (It's 20 times the resolution of HD, too.) They use an Adobe After Effects template to help coordinate placement of the animations on the slash-shaped sign.
As previously reported, a single 30-second spot on the billboard requires a staggering 150GB of data transferred through the system. But before you accuse D3 and Walgreens of hogging all of the power in New York, they attest that they are not. With the Con Ed bill in mind, their design reduced unnecessary copper wiring by over 300,000 feet and increased the voltage for more efficient power. They also set up an auto-dimmer (like you might have on your laptop) that adjusts the luminosity of the LEDs based on the ambient light outside. All of this makes it not necessarily cheap but at least cheaper than you'd think to operate.
The Walgreens sign is a complex, fascinating testament to the sheer power of LED displays. While most people living in New York avoid Times Square exactly because of things like this, tourists will undoubtedly flock to the center to observe the sign up close, even though it can be seen from as far away as Bryant Park and the Port Authority. For now, it's something that even this semi-jaded NYC resident can appreciate.
[For the original article and all the photos go to http://gizmodo.com/5096475/the-insane-hardware-driving-the-worlds-biggest-led-billboardIn a dusty supply closet at 1 Times Square, a computer terminal hooked up to hordes of... more
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This isn't the first cellphone concept to incorporate glass, but I'll be dammed if it isn't one of the prettiest. There aren't any details on functionality, but it is clear that designer Mac Funamizu's "Glassy Glassy" concept takes minimalist design about as far as it can go without ditching the physical phone altogether and implanting communication devices directly into our brain.This isn't the first cellphone concept to incorporate glass, but I'll be... more
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Mesh WiFi firm Meraki released an addition to its hardware family of routers today with a wall-plug adapter ($179). The Meraki Wall Plug, which features a hole to screw the unit to an outlet, complements the existing Indoor ($149) and Outdoor ($199) nodes. Meraki's hardware includes access to (and requires use of) a hosted back-end management console.
The Wall Plug is part of Meraki's push for apartment buildings and complexes (multiple dwelling units or MDUs, in real-estate parlance). The company said it will offer a $5,000 bundle aimed at MDUs that will cover 100 to 150 apartments or other units.
The company also said that their long-awaited Meraki Solar would ship December 4. A worldwide run on solar power equipment when oil prices spiked increased the price of the panel required for the unit. The price of the Solar model runs from $749 for a bring-your-own-panel model up to $1,499 for areas with shorter days or less light.
Company cofounder Sanjit Biswas said that Meraki also decided to change the battery type after receiving feedback from beta users, which is part of what led to the 1-year delay. In winter or monsoon season, the beta product "would run out of juice in a couple of days with no sun." Customers said that they needed guaranteed 24-hour performance, and Meraki switched from sealed lead-acid to lithium iron-phosphate for greater capacity. Biswas said this dropped the weight, too, which reduces shipping costs for the many remote areas that the Solar unit has been tested in and will likely be used.
Biswas said that Solar was used in a lot of places the firm didn't expect–anywhere that power wasn't available, such as parks, but also where even though an electrical outlet would be installed, there were ancillary costs.
Some customers would say, Biswas noted, "A union electrician is going to cost me a couple of thousand dollars." He said that many Meraki customers were "choosing to do Wi-Fi because it was a relatively low-impact amenity to offer," so the higher initial price of Solar was easily canceled out by lower installation and recurring costs.
Biswas said that Meraki continues to extend its market into areas it didn't predict, such as small enterprises: firms of 50 to 200 employees that cover large areas, such as doctors' offices or shopping malls, and that outsource their information technology services. "That's a surprise for us: it's not just about public access, sometimes it's just about plain Wi-Fi access, even internally," Biswas said.
The centralized management console is a plus for this segment because Meraki customers can manage accounts and operations themselves after a system is set up, or use an integrator for remote help. Biswas noted that the console and hardware now support enterprise features, including WPA2 Enterprise (802.1X plus WPA2), quality of service (for VoIP and streaming), and multiple SSIDs (for running several virtual networks with different access privileges). The system has scaled to manage thousands of devices on a single network, as well.
Meraki highlighted a customer installation in Chile, which they only found out about after the network lit up on their map showing active installations. In Lebu, a fishing village 300 km from Santiago, residents had no real Internet access, although there was both a satellite feed and an E1 (similar to a T1) leased line. A local integrator lit up the town for about $20,000 in less than a week, and the network now has over 1,000 regular users. Biswas said, "They're using all the same sites that you and I would use."
The city isn't charging for service, because it found "the collection costs would be too high," Biswas said. He noted, "We've seen this model replicated elsewhere in Latin America," where a feed is spread throughout a town, taking residents from no Internet access to low-end broadband. (Meraki allows bandwidth shaping for shared access.)Mesh WiFi firm Meraki released an addition to its hardware family of routers today... more
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So modern treehouses aren't new, but the designers of this project in New Zealand have crafted something that blends fantastically with its host redwood tree. The fungus or chrysalis-shaped building—take your aesthetic pick—will be a smallish restaurant built by, of all people, the NZ Yellow Pages. It's currently under construction from laminated pine, plantation poplar and redwood thirty feet up a giant tree in a place north of Auckland. Getting there'll be fun when it's finished though: entry is via a 120-foot high treetop walkway.So modern treehouses aren't new, but the designers of this project in New Zealand... more
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Here's my first video piece for Air America Radio, an interview with the inspired creators of the surreal Adult Swim series, SUPERJAIL!Here's my first video piece for Air America Radio, an interview with the inspired... more
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As the technology required to create a physical link between Earth and outer space becomes closer to a reality, discussions of next-generation space exploration have been given new life.
Japan announced recently that it was researching plans to build a space elevator – a link to space that could transport cargo and even tourists – for as little as 1 trillion yen ($11 billion).
"Just like travelling abroad, anyone will be able to ride the elevator into space," chairman of the Japan Space Elevator Association, Shuichi Ono, told The Times.
The news is believed to have shaken up scientists at NASA, who have traditionally focused on rockets to reach space but could now be considering following Japan's suit.
Australia too may play a part in the creation of a space elevator, with a region off the west coast identified as ideal for an Earth dock – the structure that would anchor the link.
Unlike some science-fiction depictions of a giant tower or elevator reaching into the stars, modern plans for a space elevator rely on a cable being stretched between a satellite and a platform on Earth along which vehicles could travel.
One location being considered by NASA for such a platform is off the coast of Perth, according to the West Australian co-author of the book Leaving The Earth By Space Elevator, Philip Ragan.
Mr Ragan, who wrote the book with former NASA scientist and space elevator expert Dr Bradley C. Edwards, said there were 12 criteria that had to be met when choosing a possible location for the Earth port including consideration of storms and lightning.
"We identified that the Indian Ocean, about 500km off of Perth, was a prime location to site the Earth end of the cable," Mr Ragan said.
"A second preferred location is about 2000 miles (3218km) south of Hawaii... (which would be) closer for Americans in air time but logistically more remote for servicing by shipping."
An Australian Senate report released last week backed up Mr Ragan's claims and said the West Australian oil industry's expertise in building offshore platforms could prove useful if the plans went ahead.
"The Indian Ocean off Western Australia has been identified as an ideal location for a space elevator – a thin carbon nanotube connecting a barge to a space station, along which supplies could be carried up," said the report.
Professor Lachlan Thompson, from RMIT's School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, said Australia would also be an ideal partner for space agencies because its land mass was not divided into different nations.
"Australia is an ideal place for suborbital and orbital tourism due to it being a large land mass not divided by countries," he said.
[Click on link above to read the rest of the article]As the technology required to create a physical link between Earth and outer space... more
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