Invisibility suits are coming thanks to squid-like displays

It’s not as hard to make an invisibility cloak as you might think, but making one that’s truly sophisticated is another matter; metamaterials (substances that change the behavior of light) are hard to build. Rice University appears to have solved part of the problem, however. It just developed a squid-like color display (shown below) that should eventually lead to smart camouflage. The new technology uses grids of nanoscopic aluminum rods to both create vivid, finely-tuned colors as well as polarize light. By its lonesome, the invention could lead to very sharp, long-lasting screens. The pixels are about 40 times smaller than those in LCDs, and they won’t fade after sustained light exposure.

That’s just the start, though. Rice eventually hopes to combine its invention with light-sensing tech that changes the colors to match the surroundings. If that happens, you could easily see combat uniforms and vehicles draped in displays that render them almost invisible. That’s not going to happen in the near future, but the discovery suggests that the disguises you see in Harry Potter and Predator aren’t all that far-fetched.

Filed under: Displays, Science

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Source: Rice University

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​Kickstarter is now accepting projects from Ireland and Scandinavia

Folks looking for crowdfunding in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland just got a lucky break: Kickstarter is expanding its international reach. Starting today, creators in Ireland and Scandinavia will be able to submit projects to the crowdfunding site. An FAQ on the company’s blog lays out the details: The new projects won’t go live until October 21st, but they’ll be visible to the worldwide Kickstarter community when they do. Like all international projects, pledge amounts will be listed in local currency — kroners and euros, specifically. Scandinavian and Irish creators can check out the official announcement at the source link below.

Filed under: Misc

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Source: Kickstarter

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Over 3 million comments on net neutrality registered with the FCC

<img alt="Protesters hold a rally before the FCC meeting on net neutrality proposal in Washington, DC." data-caption="WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 15:
Protesters march past the FCC headquarters before the Commission meeting on net neutrality proposal on May, 15, 2014 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)” data-credit=”The Washington Post/Getty Images” src=”http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/2650×2074+0+0/resize/630×493!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/midas/9736057c24dc52bc4c5881674d7fa6aa/200706361/452209178.jpg” data-mep=”454190″ />

It looks like a lot more of you have strong opinions on net neutrality than initially thought. The FCC has just announced that it’s received more than 3 million comments on the topic, which blows away the previous estimate of 1.48 million and is more than twice that of the hubbub caused by Janet Jackson’s “Nipplegate” back in 2004. Of course, seeing as net neutrality has gained quite a bit of coverage thanks to John Oliver and the recent “Day of Action” campaign, it’s not exactly surprising that citizens everywhere are up in arms about the issue. If you want to chime in as well, you had better do so soon — comments on the topic end in just a few hours.

[Image credit: Washington Post/Getty Images]

We have passed the 3 million mark for #OpenInternet comments received. We are still receiving & processing comments. More updates to come.

– Kim Hart (@khart) September 15, 2014

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Source: Twitter (Kim Hart)

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Icon packs that you must have on your Android device…Round Five

As so many of you know I’m seriously addicted to icons. I have been collecting them for years now and have been doing it long before smartphones came along. I’ve got a very large collection of icons of icon packs that you can use to customize your computer OS, and of course now a decent collection since I’ve been using Android.

With that being said, I find it important to share icon packs that I enjoy with each of you. However, I mainly share them with you to support the developers who make them. Those guys and girls put a ton of hours into their work and I feel it’s important that we support them. Sure, it can get expensive to do that if you’re like me who has well over 7,000 icon packs, but pack by pack it’s cheap. Spending a dollar or two to support a developer who does what they do is well worth it, and it only encourages them do it more. So if you can, pick up an icon pack or two out of this post and help support these folks.

That’s right, I’m going to show you some of the newest, hottest, most amazing icon packs in the Google Play Store today that you need to have installed on your mobile device. These icons packs will make your phone scream with pleasure and will get everyone asking; “What awesome icon pack is that you’re using?”

You can check out some of our older posts on this same subject here: Android Icons You Must Have as well as my other three editions of this post here: Icon Packs You Must Have(Round One) here: Icon Packs You Must Have(Round Two) here: Icon Packs You Must Have(Round Three) and here: Icon Packs You Must Have(Round Four).

I’m sure you’re ready for me to quit rambling and to show you all the good stuff. So without further delay, let me show you some awesome icons that I feel are worthy for each and everyone of you to purchase, download and install on your phone to make it look totally kick ass.

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS SPREAD ACROSS SEVEN PAGES

Cherry G Pro by Dion Fananie  

I’ve always had a thing for icons that look like glass or have a distinctive shine/gloss to them and Cherry G Pro by Dion Fananie is just that. There’s a lot of work that has gone into this set of icons and it shows as you can see in the image above as well as in my screenshot.

Square icons with rounded corners also makes these icons look like drops of water almost. You get 550+ highly detailed icons and updates are pretty regular. With the purchase you also get a few HD wallpapers that you can choose from that go along with the name of the theme and such. Plus you get full dashboard support, ability to request icons for any of yours that may not be themed, and icon masking support so that your icons have the same basic look throughout the homescreen and the app drawer.

Crapcons by Harshit Dwivedi

When I first heard the name Crapcons, like most everyone else I’m sure, I thought the worst. The worst as this being a set of icons that might be making fun of others or something along those lines. And to be honest, I never even really looked at them for quite some time. The name just kind of turned me off.

I kept seeing the name, over and over and finally decided to check them out. Much to my amazement, Crapcons by Harshit Dwivedi are a unique set of icons. They look like a young child was doodling and trying to draw icon apps. Now, this isn’t negative in any way. Actually, it’s something really cool and awesome. Almost reminds me of when my son was learning to draw. And since I can’t take his drawings and put them into icon format, Crapcons are as close as I can get.

Crapcons delivers 950+ icons, 10 HD wallpapers and much more. Needless to say, if you’re looking for something that’s totally different, take a look at Crapcons and pick your set up today via the widget below.

The post Icon packs that you must have on your Android device…Round Five appeared first on AndroidGuys.

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Pirate Legends app review

WARNING: CLICHE, OVER-USED PIRATE REFERENCES BELOW

Ahoy! I got my sea-legs ready to take on this app, because I knew how dangerous the tower defense waters can be. Many a time I have been overwhelmed by tower defense games and given up on the whole premise, but Pirate Legends seemed promising, so I gave it a go!

I’ll start off with the best thing about this game.. The graphics. Really, this game has some very beautiful graphics that add a lot to the gameplay. Every scene is very detailed and polished looking, and its obvious that was a main focus in the production of the app. They pulled it off well, and you’ll enjoy the perilous fights in a very well sculpted environment.

The game itself is enjoyable, and easy to play if you’re used to tower defense games. It manages to get itself somewhat out of the typical tower defense genre with its boss battles, and “relic powers.” However, the game can seem rather tedious which is what kind of steers me away from tower defense games in the first place. Sure, it’s cool to see the kraken take out multiple enemy ships in one fell swoop, but it gets old and it takes awhile to move to the next relic power.

There are definitely other things I would have done differently. One of the main things I would change is the fact that you can only build towers where certain spots are reserved. I know that having too many towers would slow down the game with all the effects, but the towers can still be limited. The problem is that they are only allowing you to be partially strategic. They aren’t leaving the full power of strategy in your hands, and its somewhat disappointing.

All of that being said, the game is still very playable. In fact, I found it hard to draw myself away from Pirate Legends. With every new level I was drawn in. Its exciting to find out what the next enemy is, or what the new tower upgrade will be. All of this in its high-res shiny package. A fun game that’s also pleasing to the eye. Pirate Legends is definitely a well-rounded tower defense game that could still use a bit of tweaking. I still recommend it to all you land-lubbers though! Arrrrrrgh!

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