Before #Ferguson, Michael Brown’s death was already a topic on Twitter
Before the protests and the armed vehicles. Before tear gas sent an Al Jazeera news crew scrambling for safety. Before Ferguson, MO became a no-fly zone and before we became all too familiar with the burned out shell of a middle America QuikTrip, the death of Michael Brown was already on Twitter.
After the unarmed teenager was shot and killed by a police officer Saturday, protesters took to the streets in following days, met initially by a heavily armed police response. Tweets and Vines from St. Louis Alderman Antonio French or journalists like Wesley Lowery and Ryan J. Reilly (all of whom were arrested and released during the protests) gave a clear picture of events on the ground as the days progressed, and livestreams like those from KARG Argus Radio showed what the TV couldn’t or wouldn’t. Misinformation has also been a problem, with hoaxes and a leaked name for the officer involved (which turned out to be false) circulating.
Now, Rolling Stone writer Tim Dickinson points out the tweets of St. Louis rapper/producer “TheePharoah” that captured the actual shooting and the events that followed live as they happened.
I JUST SAW SOMEONE DIE OMFG
– Bruh. (@TheePharoah) August 9, 2014
This man saw Michael Brown get gunned down from his Ferguson apartment & tweeted in live time https://t.co/NzWigBhBMN pic.twitter.com/DK8vsCqjoM
– Tim Dickinson (@7im) August 15, 2014
With media helicopters grounded (after reports that shots had been fired at police helicopters) and satellite trucks pushed out under police orders, anyone paying attention to the protests was likely tuned in to the internet to see what was happening with their own eyes. Now, word that the shooting itself was livetweeted provides an even clearer look at the changing world we live in. It has taken nearly a week for the police to provide a report of the incident and name the officer involved, and it will be much longer before anyone is satisfied that all the details have been revealed to the public. But now, bystanders, media and community activists alike are reaching out to the world from where they are. We’ve seen the internet transform public unrest in foreign countries, and right from the start, this week has shown how much things have changed — even when it’s depressing, horrific and hard to watch — right here in the US.
[AP Photo/Jeff Roberson]
Filed under: Internet
Via: Mediaite
Source: @TheePharoah (Twitter)
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Tonight, Twitch streams a live performance of the ‘Hohokum’ soundtrack
There’s a lot to love about PlayStation’s latest indie darling Hohokum, and its soundtrack is an absolute standout reason for even playing the game. Sony knows this and is partnering with game-broadcasting giant Twitch to stream a concert of the game’s score tonight to celebrate. Starting at 9:45 Eastern / 6:45 Pacific, you can catch the artists from Ghostly International being interviewed and playing the game’s tunes via both the PlayStation and Ghostly Twitch channels. You can even watch the show right here after the break; it’s up to you! Given how chill the indie’s music and visuals are, Twitch’s second-ever concert could be the perfect way to unwind and head into the weekend.
Watch live video from PlayStation on www.twitch.tv
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Twitch
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Engadget Daily: the future of Xbox One, a graveyard of Boeing 747s and more!
Today, we investigate the future of the Xbox One, visit a graveyard of the world’s most prolific jumbo jets, round up our favorite laptops for school and more! Read on for Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours.
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Windows Phone’s answer to Snapchat has you ‘winding up’ your friends
There’s no official Snapchat app for Windows Phone right now, but don’t worry — Microsoft is offering an equivalent that might do in a pinch. The new WindUp app covers very similar ground, letting you send media and messages that disappear after a set amount of time; you’re supposed to “wind up” your friends by giving them just a brief glimpse of what you’re sharing. No, we don’t get the (fairly contrived) explanation any more than you do, but Microsoft isn’t worried about marketing here. This is really a research experiment meant to explore how people “create, share and converse,” not to topple someone else’s messaging empire. Don’t expect WindUp to evolve or reach other platforms, then. Even so, it may be worth checking out if you’d like a ephemeral chat app focused solely on Windows Phone fans.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Microsoft
Via: Neowin
Source: Windows Phone Store, Inside Microsoft Research
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Nike’s LED basketball court boosts training with motion tracking
Wearables have become popular among athletes for monitoring training progress, but on its recent Rise campaign stop in Shanghai, Nike took a different approach. Inside the so-call House of Mamba, NBA star Kobe Bryant hosted 30 young players from all over China who trained on a full-sized LED basketball court — complete with projected graphics and motion tracking. The playing surface displayed reactive visuals based on players’ movements for drills based on Bryant’s own regimen. A dozen athletes will compete this weekend in Beijing with three winners moving on to the Nike World Basketball Festival in Barcelona next month. Curious to see how it works? Well, there’s a pair of videos after the break that show just that.
Filed under: Misc
Via: Gizmodo (Sploid)
Source: Nike
.CPlase_panel display:none;
One Codex wants to make searching DNA as easy as using Google
Once upon a time, sequencing your genome was a prohibitively expensive proposition — mapping out your genetic code cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and the practical applications of the data were few and far between. These day the process is so affordable that health care professionals are sitting on petabytes of genome data. Making use of that data, however, is another problem. The current genome searching algorithm, called BLAST, isn’t particularly fast. A new firm hopes to change that, and is introducing One Codex: a genetic search platform that can index DNA base pairs 1,500 faster than contemporary databases.
The tool is currently in an open beta, but initial results are promising. One Codex can perform some actions and data uploads thousands of times faster than the company is comfortable estimating, and the long-term benefits of a robust and fast genome search are incredible. “Instead of using a specific test for tuberculosis, the doctor would take sample, sequence that sample and transform that biology into data,” One Codex founder Nick Greenfield says. “Then exhaustively search that data against all the pathogens and they’d be able to tell you if you have TB, the type of TB and maybe if this TB has antibiotic resistance.”
It’s pretty impressive stuff. At present, the database can search against 30,000 bacteria, viruses and fungi and that number is staged to grow further. It’s probably not a search engine you’ll use personally, but it’s one you’ll be glad exists in the long term.
Filed under: Science
Source: TechCrunch
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Google Now tempts you with a Field Trip to nearby sights
The folks in Mountain View have been adding new tools to Google Now, like suggesting another flight if yours is delayed. The search company’s Field Trip app has been suggesting local points of interest since its launch in 2012, and now the two are in cahoots. Now already displayed a list of nearby sights, but with a recent update, the other app’s more detailed info on art, architecture and more is automatically beamed to your mobile device. So when you’re out of town, expect to see a few more recommended cards in that feed to entice you to change those plans.
[Photo credit: Melville B. Grosvenor/National Geographic/Getty Images]
Filed under: Software, Mobile, Google
Via: BGR
Source: Google Search (Google Play)
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Intel’s next Xeon chip stuffs up to 18 cores into very powerful PCs
AMD and Intel have been in a race to stuff their highest-end processors with as many cores as possible, and it appears that this one-upmanship isn’t about to end any time soon — much to your advantage. As Macworld UK notes, Intel is close to releasing a new range of Xeon E5 processors where more cores (and thus more parallel computing power) is par for the course. According to ChipLoco‘s leaked roadmap, even the lowest-spec chips start with six cores versus today’s four; the best model touts a whopping 18, which should help heavy-duty systems juggle a huge number of simultaneous workloads.
You may get to see this new Xeon in action, too. The new E5 is expected to launch on September 9th in Dell Precision workstations, and it’s also a direct upgrade to the chips used in the Mac Pro. Sadly, you likely won’t find an 18-core desktop in an Apple Store any time soon — that processor will be too hot and power-hungry — but it’s entirely possible that a 14-core Mac will show up. Whichever platform you prefer, you shouldn’t have to wait for much longer for a dream 4K video editing rig.
Filed under: Desktops, Apple, Intel, Dell
Via: Electronista
Source: Macworld UK, ChipLoco
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Next version of Windows to get public trial in the fall
While some people are still getting used to the idea of Windows 8, Microsoft’s already working to put the next major iteration of Windows in people’s hands. And that could be happening sooner than you think. According to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, who has a solid track record on Microsoft-related scoops, the Surface maker is looking to release a “technology preview” of Windows Threshold, aka Windows 9, toward the end of September or the beginning of October. Foley notes that, in an effort to enhance the serviceability of the OS, people who instal the preview will be required to agree to “have subsequently monthly updates” pushed to their computer — which seems like a small pledge to make in exchange for trying some new software.
As a refresher, Threshold is expected to further unify Microsoft’s operating systems, like Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. The OS will reportedly ship in three modes — desktop, tablet and smartphone –and is capable of tailoring the experience to fit whatever device you’re using. You’ll be able to check it out soon enough, since the “technology preview” of Threshold is said to be coming as a public teaser once it officially arrives.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Software, Microsoft
Source: ZDNet
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Tesla adds drive unit to its infinite mile warranty following Edmunds report
A few weeks ago, Edmunds posted its findings after blazing the highways in Tesla’s Model S for nearly a year and a half. In addition to falling short of the promised 265-mile range, a series of service trips saw the drive unit replaced three separate times. Today, CEO Elon Musk announced via the company blog that the warranty on that part has been extended to match the battery pack’s infinite mile coverage. The unit will be replaced within eight years no matter the odometer reading. What’s more, the new warranty terms apply to any Model S built thus far — not just the popular 85kWh model cited in the report. “If we truly believe that electric motors are fundamentally more reliable than gasoline engines… then our warranty policy should reflect that,” Musk noted in the post.
[Photo credit: Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Tesla
.CPlase_panel display:none;
AIVAnet 