‘Space Invaders’ with real lasers is delightful, dangerous
What do you get with a laser cutter, Arduino know-how and waaay too much time on your hands? A live action Space Invaders game that’s an actual fire hazard, of course! Maker created a live action version of the classic arcade game just in time for Arduino Day, which falls on March 28th this year. The result is a silly but fun contraption: the paper invaders are clipped to a plate that uses stepper motors for left/right and up/down movement. Meanwhile, the 80W laser cutter is driven side-to-side by an Arduino Nano controller hooked up via USB to a PC.
To play, you watch the game via an overhead webcam view and hit the PC keys for left, right and fire. Before playing for real, Raynsford said that “because of the genuine risk of fire with this project I completed a test burn before the main event.” His initial tests determined that the paper targets were too close together, meaning a hit on the intended target could cause others to burn up as well. After some tweaks, he said “the game played well and resulted in flamey death for the Space Invaders and not the laser cutter, (so) I consider that to be a win condition.”
Via: Boing Boing
Source: Just Add Sharks
Download the 12 stock wallpapers of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
So, the Samsung Galaxy S6 is getting closer and closer to becoming available in the retail shops, but what if you are in the middle of a contract or can’t afford to get the Next Big Thing? Well, you can always choose to give your current phone a fresh lick of paint by installing some new wallpapers. On that topic, we have the stock wallpapers of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge handsets available for download after the break.
The wallpapers come courtesy of HITMAN-CREED from the XDA Forums, and they range from the colourful line-up of beach huts (main image) to the stylistic swoosh designs that we are used to seeing on smartphones. You can choose to download them one at a time by selecting the chosen image and then right-clicking to save, or just download all 12 wallpapers by clicking the link below. Wallpaper resolutions vary from 2240 x 2240 to 2560 x 2560 with a couple of lower res wallpapers thrown in.
If you are one of the 55million prospective Galaxy S6 buyers, you might want to enter our competition to win a Spigen Capsule Ultra Rugged case to protect your future handset.
Download link: Galaxy S6 Wallpapers
Source: XDA
Come comment on this article: Download the 12 stock wallpapers of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 receives Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update in France via OTA and Kies
If you are the proud owner of a Galaxy Tab S 10.5 WiFi (SM-T800) tablet and you reside in France, you might want to dig into your settings and start tapping the software update button. Why? Because Samsung is pushing the Lollipop update to your device as we speak.
Update: According to a reader, the lollipop OTA is hitting the Tab S 10.5 WiFi in Canada as well!
The firmware update is based on Android 5.0.2 and has a build date of March 17 with a change list of 4403645. You have three ways of getting the update on your Galaxy Tab S 10.5 T800 (WiFi), the first two of which are the recommended methods to do so. First you can wait for the OTA(Over-The-Air) update to reach your device (look for the notification in your status bar), or you can hook the device up to your computer to install the firmware via Samsung’s Kies software.
Finally, if you know what you are doing, you can always just download the T800XXU1BOCC update from Sammobile via the source link below and manually flash the update via the Odin software. If you choose to install manually, remember that this update is only compatible with the SM-T800 WiFi Tab S 10.5 model.
Source: SamMobile
Come comment on this article: The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 receives Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update in France via OTA and Kies
Most of us are not using a BBM Custom PIN
Recently we published a poll asking CrackBerry readers if ‘you use a custom BBM PIN’. As I mentioned then, we’ve had the ability to create our own PIN since the last update of BBM and while it’s a pretty cool new addition I wasn’t convinced that it was worth spending a couple of bucks a month on for the privilege.
Rumor: Best Buy to open Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge pre-orders March 27, ship April 10
In Reddit we trust… For leaks that is. Over the weekend, a thread began that told of a trip to Best Buy wherein an employee disclosed a small-scale Samsung “secret”: the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will be making their way into stores this Friday (March 27th), the same day the yellow-colored retailer will open pre-orders for the AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint models. An additional product was also mentioned as a free “device” for those who pre-order, which could be a wireless charger. The phones would then begin shipping on April 10th.
Additional posts in the thread saw other users independently verifying the news from their respective stores, as was it also revealed that in-store demo models have been available for testing in Canada for some time now. It is unclear as to if the “free device” will be exclusive to reservations at brick and mortar stores, or if it will be provided to all advanced proceedings.
Soon you too can get your hands on one!
While none of this has been confirmed by either Best Buy or Samsung, given the mass-scale of interest in the devices, it would be prudent for Best Buy to open reservations as early as possible. Talk of the freebie in particular is interesting in that it follows suit along with what Samsung did in Japan last year: Pre-orders for the Galaxy Note Edge were sold with the device’s Flip Wallet case, and the Galaxy Tab S with the official Book Cover case.
Dimensions of the HTC One M9 Plus leak via Twitter
Just because MWC 2015 has been and gone, that doesn’t mean there aren’t new smartphones looming on the horizon. We’ve seen glimpses of the much-rumoured HTC One M9 Plus for a while now, first we had some pictures leak out, and then some details about its camera became public knowledge. Now? Well, now we have the alleged dimensions of the HTC One M9 Plus.
#HTC One M9 Plus = 5.2″ screen / 150.9×72.5×10.15mm
— OnLeaks (@OnLeaks) March 23, 2015
The leaked details come courtesy of @OnLeaks and show that the HTC One M9 Plus is larger than the standard M9 in every way. Whereas the 5-inch M9 has dimensions of 144.6 x 69.7 x 9.61mm, the Plus variant measures up with 150.9 x 72.5 x 10.15mm. So if these leaked dimensions are correct, the Plus version is longer, wider and fatter than the standard M9. Of course, one reason the Plus variant is larger is that it allegedly carries a 5.2-inch display that may or may not have a Quad-HD resolution.
The HTC One M9 Plus is allegedly only due for release later in the year, so we still have a while to go until all is revealed. One thing that is for certain though is that the steady stream of leaks will continue to tease us until the official unveiling. One question that keeps raising its head in my mind is whether the M9 Plus will be the phone that we wanted HTC to announce at MWC? Only time will tell.
Come comment on this article: Dimensions of the HTC One M9 Plus leak via Twitter
The Galaxy S6 lets you remove most apps (including Samsung’s)
It’s no secret that Samsung scaled back on bloatware with the Galaxy S6, reducing the clutter and hopefully giving you a leaner, meaner smartphone. However, there’s one more treat in store: you can cull many of the apps that are included, too. XDA forum member Jeshter2000 has noticed that a pre-release Galaxy S6 edge lets him disable or uninstall many of the preloaded programs, including some of those from Google and Samsung. If you’d rather ditch S Voice entirely and rely solely on Google’s (frankly superior) native voice commands, you can. So long as this carries through to the GS6 you buy in stores, it’ll represent a big change of heart for Samsung — the company is notorious for bundling redundant, non-removable apps, but it’s now determined to give you much more control.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Via: Android Beat, TechnoBuffalo
Source: XDA-Developers
Aeries for Twitter goes bug hunting with another minor update
The Aeries Twitter client for Windows Phone has just received a substantial update in terms of bug fixing, pushing the app up to version 1.2.5. Included in this release are a bunch of bug fixes and improvements to help provide a more stable experience.
Weekly photo contest: Cars
After a brief hiatus thanks to events (and illness), the weekly photo contest is back and in its new weekend slot. We’ve decided to move it from a weekday when there’s potentially a lot of news and other things going on to a more relaxed slot on a Sunday evening. Aside from a new day, nothing else is changing, so let’s get to it!
This weeks contest is something close to my heart: cars. Along with tech, cars are my other major passion in life and recently I had the opportunity to finally visit the world famous Geneva Motor Show. Some 2 weeks later I’m still trawling through all the photos but it gave me some great inspiration for this weeks contest. The shot up top is from my Lumia 830, is completely unedited and is one of my favorites from the show.
But now it’s over to you to get creative! But first, let’s find out who won the last contest…
The new HTC One M9 gets reviewed
HTC’s last flagship device, the One M8, is something we’re quite fond of. Despite seeing a limited launch and coming after the Android version had already hit the market, it was a great example of a high-end Windows Phone.
Now, HTC is back. The One M9 has so far seen no mention of a Windows Phone version, but until someone at HTC flat out says it’s not happening, we’ll live in hope. And our pals at Android Central have just reviewed it.
AIVAnet 