This art project turns primitive smoke signals into ones and zeros
An art installation from the Koln International School of Design aims to give us a feel for the ethereal radio waves we take for granted every day. Binairy Talk, created by Niklas Isselburg and Jakob Killian, uses a sound generator and pulsing device to fire smoke rings at a laser sensor. Those are interpreted by a computer as either ones or zeros, with the resulting messages displayed on a screen. That may seem like a cumbersome way to say “hello,” but the idea is to use an ancient, tangible system like smoke signals to “create awareness as to how much data and information constantly surrounds us.” High minded concepts aside, it’s also pretty cool — check the video below.
[Image credit: KISD/Niklas Isselberg]
Filed under: Wireless, Science
Via: Wired
Source: Binairy Talk
London’s Tube to accept contactless payments from September 16th
The contactless payment feature on your bank card is ideal for speeding up minor purchases, and soon it’ll be able to replace your Oyster, too. London buses have supported contactless payments for some time, and Transport for London (TfL) has today announced that come September 16th, they’ll get you through the barriers at Tube, Overground and DLR stations as well. The benefit of using your bank card is you never have to top it up, and in addition to the daily cap on travel charges already in place, any method of contactless payment will also be subject to a new weekly cap (Monday to Sunday), whereby TfL figures out the cheapest possible fare for that period. You’ll be able to keep track of your journey and payment history via an online account, much like you can with a registered Oyster card now. Implementing contactless payments across the wider London transport network comes after a pilot that’s been running since April, but TfL are still looking for new lab rats to test the system before its formal launch.
NFC was once considered too slow to be a viable alternative to the RFID chips used in Oyster and bank cards. No longer, however, as EE’s jumped on today’s announcement with one of its own. The carrier’s Cash on Tap mobile payments app will work on London’s transport network from the September launch, although it’s currently available on only a handful of compatible handsets. Vodafone is also said to be working with TfL, and O2 was testing contactless payments on the Tube way back in 2008, so no doubt those networks will follow suit with their own apps before too long. The problem with mobile wallets, though, is that you have to top them up like an Oyster, meaning bank cards are the clear winner when it comes to convenience.
[Image credit: TfL/Flickr]
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Transportation, Mobile
Sky spends £5 billion to become one of Europe’s biggest pay-TV operators
Rumors of an assault on Europe have circled for quite some time, but today BSkyB has finally made a move to expand its pay-TV empire outside of the UK. The company today announced it has agreed to pay 21st Century Fox a total of £4.9 billion ($8.33 billion) to acquire Sky Italia and buy the majority share (57 percent) of Sky Deutschland. If the deal is given the green light by regulators, the newly-formed Sky Europe would emerge with almost 20 million European customers.
While the deal has been driven by BSkyB, Rupert Murdoch also stands to gain a huge amount from the takeover. He owns 21st Century Fox, which, of course, owns Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland, but also holds a 39 percent stake in BSkyB. That means the UK business is effectively buying its sister companies, adding some more cash to Murdoch’s war chest ready for another crack at an $80 billion takeover of Time Warner (and HBO).
In the UK alone, Sky has seen the number of connected homes double over the past year to over 5 million. While it faces increased competition from BT and Virgin Media, it’s pushed forward with on-demand offerings like Sky Go, which now counts 5.5 million registered customers, and streaming service Now TV. Sky wants replicate that success in Italy and Germany, giving the Rupert Murdoch-backed company the chance to tap new markets where combined paid TV, broadband, and streaming services aren’t quite so popular.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Sky (PDF)
Sense Sleep Monitor Tracks Sleep Behavior and Bedroom Environment [iOS Blog]
Hello Inc’s new Kickstarter project Sense is an iOS-compatible sleep tracking system that allows users to monitor their sleep patterns and bedroom environments without the need for intrusive hardware.
The primary Sense device is a glow-in-the-dark polycarbonate orb that derives data from factors such as noise, light, temperature, humidity, and air particles to measure sleep quality. Sense also comes with the Sleep Pill, which is a small sensor that clips onto a pillow to track movement with a 6-axis accelerometer and gyroscope.
Sense works with its own companion app for iOS to provide users a snapshot of their last night’s sleep, offering an overall sleep score in addition a timeline of events throughout the night that triggered movement. The app can even play back noises that were captured by Sense, allowing users to listen to sound disturbances that may have led to an interruption in sleep.
The app also includes a Smart Alarm feature, which works with the Sense monitor and Sleep Pill to wake a user up at the right time. For instance, if a user begins to move more frequently after an extended period of rest, the app’s Smart Alarm will sound off in sync with a sleep rhythm. Sense also includes a number of pre-made sounds and alarms to aide the sleeping experience.
The Sense sleep monitor and Sleep Pill can be preordered for a special price of $99 on Kickstarter, with regular pre-orders costing $129 afterward. The first Sense monitors and Sleep Pills are expected to begin shipping in November 2014.
‘Ulysses’ is coming to life thanks to virtual reality
Look, there’s nothing to be ashamed of if you’ve been plowing through James Joyce’s Ulysses for the past, oh, decade. It’s such a challenging read, that a developer thought it best to create some sort of a virtual reality world based on the piece that can be accessed through an Oculus Rift headset. Irish filmmaker Eoghan Kidney has launched a crowdfunding campaign in hopes of raising €4,000 ($5,400) for the project. The idea is to provide accompanying visuals as a narrator reads the story, which (to us, anyway) sounds it could help readers reach the final pages. Sadly, the campaign only deals with a single chapter called Proteus, but Kidney says it’s just a prototype for a larger project that tackles other parts of the book. If you want to put yourself in Stephen Dedalus’ shoes and walk along Sandymount Strip, head after the break to watch the video.
[Image credit: Brad Lindert/Flickr]
Filed under: Misc
Via: Kotaku
Source: The Creators Project, Fund It
Light in the Dark is a new indie puzzle game from Dreamgate Studios, due out September
I often enjoy a puzzle game, and indie puzzle games make me especially giddy. That’s not to say that big name puzzle games aren’t fun too, but I really like the new, fresh ideas that indie studios tend to come up with, and an upcoming game from Dreamgate Studios, Light in the Dark, is looking mighty interesting. The premise for the game is simple: you assume control of light-emitting creatures called totems, searching through a labyrinth of rooms to find their sleeping babies who can only be awakened by a matching beam of coloured light. Check out the adorable teaser trailer below which shows brief amount of gameplay:
As you can see, it’s not as simple a concept as you might think, especially when you need to start bending and reflecting light in order to get the right angles. Light in the Dark will be the Australia-based Dreamgate Studios’ first game, however their roster of talent includes experience from games like X-Com, Bioshock and Fallout. The game is going to be playable at PAX Prime this year, and will release in September 2014 on Android, iOS and Windows Phone for $1.99.
What do you think about Light in the Dark? Does it look like a game you’ll be interested in? Let us know your thoughts.
Press Release
Dreamgate Studios’ Hybrid Illuminates the Physics,
Color Blending Fun in Puzzle Game: Light in the Dark
Coming Soon to iOS, Android, Windows Phone Devices
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – July 21, 2014 – Mobile gamers that want a new challenge can look forward to September 2014 when Dreamgate Studios releases Light in the Dark, a physics and color blending puzzle game hybrid. PAX Prime 2014 attendees will get an early look at the title, which will be demoed in the Academy of Interactive Entertainment’s booth.
Light in the Dark will test players’ wits as they help the cute colorful-cartoon species known as totems find and rescue their babies, lost in the labyrinths of long forgotten tombs. Baby totems are reunited with their parents by spotlighting the children in a specific color, requiring gamers to bend and blend sources of light. Navigating the ancient mazes in Light in the Dark requires quick thinking and reactions to avoid the many obstacles as well as evil mummies and other creatures lurking in the shadows of the burial ground.
While this is the first title by Dreamgate Studios, it is far from the only game the developers have worked on. The team is comprised of industry veterans whose resumes’ cite AAA series including X-Com, Bioshock and Fallout.
“We are drawing on the decades of development experience acquired from working on gamers’ favorite franchises to deliver a quick, fun and engaging experience,” David De Margheriti, CEO, Dreamgate Studios, explains. “Based on feedback we received during testing, Light in the Dark’s colorful environments filled with strategic challenges, should be right on the mark for puzzle lovers.”
Light in the Dark will be available for $1.99 USD in the App Store, Google Play and Windows Phone Apps+Games Store at launch.
About Dreamgate Studios
Dreamgate Studios is an independent game development studio based in Canberra, Australia dedicated to creating memorable experiences through interactive game-play on mobile devices. Established in 2011 by industry veterans, the company’s goal is to combine the AAA experience of their team with the creative freedom of being an indie developer to deliver novel and innovative gameplay experiences.
More information about the company is available at http://www.dreamgatestudios.com/
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Spotify comes to (a few) Vizio smart TVs
Despite the popularity of its music service, Spotify’s presence on connected TV platforms is still spotty. It’s on Apple TV via AirPlay, Roku, LG and Samsung, but not Xbox, PlayStation or Chromecast (officially). We can add on one more today, as Vizio says it’s coming to their VIA Plus enabled TVs. The only bad news? That list is currently limited to just a few models consisting of the 2014 E- and M-series TVs, and you’ll need Spotify Premium to tune in. If you don’t have Spotify Premium you can try it free for 48 hours — check out some favorites from our editors if you need musical suggestions.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Vizio Blog
Sense sleep sensor monitors your zzz’s and wakes you up at the best time
You’re lucky if you can sleep easily and wake up feeling refreshed all the time — some people need a bit help to get a good night’s rest from apps and gizmos, like this new device called Sense. The gadget, which looks like a crystal ball with rubber bands, acts as some sort of a bedside sleep guardian that monitors not only your sleeping habits, but also environmental conditions. It comes with a “Sleep Pill” that clips to your pillow, which tracks your tosses and turns, automatically transmitting data to Sense via Bluetooth Low Energy and ANT. The gadget then relays all the info you need, including a sleep number to let you know how well (or how bad) you’ve slept, through the system’s iPhone or Android app.
Sense has other things to offer other than this core feature, such as the ability to record sudden loud sounds that might disrupt your sleep through its built-in microphone. (If you’re wondering, creator James Proud told The Verge that it’s not always recording, and it only ever saves sudden sound spikes.) The device can also detect pollen or dust in the air that might trigger allergies or determine whether you need heavier drapes to block out the light. Even better, the device can wake you up at the end of an REM cycle, so you don’t feel sluggish when you get out of bed.
Sense’s developers, Hello Inc., launched a KickStarter campaign recently to raise $100,000, which the project has now surpassed, as it’s already received $420,000 in pledges, thus far. A SEC filing spotted by StrictlyVC, however, proves that the company already has serious VC backing to the tune of $10.5 million, indicating that its KickStarter campaign is but a PR move. You can use the campaign to your advantage, though, since you can get the device and a Sleep Pill by pledging $99, whereas pre-ordering the system later on will cost you $129. By the way, in case Sense still ends up falling short of your expectations, you can always pair it up with a smart bed when one does hit the market.
Via: The Verge
Source: Kickstarter
More dinosaurs had feathers than we thought
Realistically, we’ll probably never successfully clone a dinosaur — but if we ever do, we may be surprised by how the beast turns out. A fossil found in Siberia threatens to change our perception of what history’s giant lizards may have looked like. We already know that not all dinosaurs were scales and teeth — fossils from the 1990s show that some carnivorous theropods may have worn feathery coats — but the new fossil suggests that far more dinos were covered in birdlike feathers than previously suspected. The Siberian discovery suggests that plant-eating dinos may have had feathers too.
The new fossil, identified as Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus, is the first non-theropod dinosaur discovered to exhibit evidence of feathers. It’s an outlier, but it suggests that non-carnivore may have evolved with feathers as well. According to head researcher Pascal Godefroit, it could even mean that many of the well-known species we see as all-scales today were feathered, too. “Probably more of them had feathers but those feathers were not fossilized,” the paleontologist told The Verge. “Potentially, all dinosaurs could have been covered in feathers.”
Godefroit says this information will change how scientists think about how the creatures evolved, but admits the research is only just starting. “There are too many questions left.” Still, our grandkids could be looking at museum exhibits very different from the ones we enjoyed as children.
[Image credit: D. Hurst / Alamy]
Filed under: Science
Gamer discovers deceased father’s ghost car, gets to race him again
YouTube comments typically fill one with shame and disappointment in the human race, but here’s one that just might make you cry. Below a video from PBS about video games as spiritual experiences, a user going by the online handle 00WARTHERAPY00 has written a touching story about the time they spent gaming with their dad. ‘THERAPY00 says that when he or she was four years old, they’d play Xbox with his or her father and had tons of fun up until a few years later when their dad passed away. It was ten years before the commenter could bring him/herself to boot Microsoft’s first game console and when they did, there was a surprise waiting for them. Rally racer Rallisport Challenge features a function that records the best lap-time for a given circuit with an apparition-like version of the car used. Meaning that, quite literally, there was a ghost of 00WARTHERAPY00′s father waiting to compete against him or her.
“and so i played and played, and played, untill [sic] i was almost able to beat the ghost. until one day i got ahead of it, i surpassed it, and…
i stopped right in front of the finish line, just to ensure i wouldnt [sic] delete it.
Bliss.”
The story has since gone viral, and we couldn’t help but be reminded of this one about a gamer that discovered a stack of mail and presents from their departed mom in Animal Crossing. That’s it; no snark here. Now, if you don’t mind, we’re going to grab a Kleenex or two.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Via: Yahoo! Autos
Source: YouTube
AIVAnet 