Motion-sensing ‘PomPom Mirror’ recreates your likeness in fur
If you’re tired of your ugly mug staring back from across the bathroom sink every morning, just install this furry silhouetting mirror from New York-based artist Daniel Rozin. He built it for the Descent With Modification exhibit at NYC’s bitforms gallery. The “PomPom Mirror,” as it’s called, leverages a Kinect motion capture device to control 464 servos that, in turn, flip 928 black and white faux fur pom poms back and forth to match your movements in real-time.
Filed under: Displays
Via: ThisIsColossal
Source: Vimeo
Air Force certifies SpaceX to bid for military space missions
Making peace with US Air Force and dropping charges against the agency has paid off for SpaceX. Its Falcon 9 rocket has finally been certified, giving the company the right to compete for national security launches. Elon Musk’s space corp has passed every requirement set by the Air Force, after a couple of years (and a few months of delay), lots of paperwork and tests. According to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, this certification allows more than one provider to compete for military launches, which is expected to cost the branch $70 billion until 2030, for the first time in around a decade. “Ultimately, leverage of the commercial space market drives down cost to the American taxpayer and improves our military’s resiliency,” she said in a statement.
If you recall, this all started when the armed service awarded an exclusive contract to United Launch Alliance (ULA), a Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture. The Air Force did make a handful of launches available for bidding, but Elon Musk sued the Air Force for the right to compete for more. He accused ULA of bribing an AF official with a lucrative VP position to get that solo contract and argued that the exclusivity will cost too much taxpayer money.
Now that SpaceX has been certified, it might even take over the the projects originally meant for ULA beyond 2019. See, the US Congress banned the use of Russian engines for national security launches beyond that year due to the country’s military actions in the Ukraine. That means the ULA’s Atlas 5 rocket, which is equipped with Russian-built RD-180 engines, has to retire in a few years’ time. The company doesn’t expect its next-gen rocket, the Vulcan, to be certified until 2022, whereas SpaceX is hoping the Falcon Heavy gains certification by 2017. Musk and his team will get the first chance to bid for a national security mission as early as this June, wherein the winner will have to ferry additional Global Positioning System III satellites to space.
We thank the @USAirForce for its confidence in us and look forward to serving it well http://t.co/9mcE6Je9nG @SecAF23 pic.twitter.com/ZhBN1SD2z0
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 27, 2015
Filed under: Science
Source: Bloomberg, Reuters, US Air Force
Minecraft Pocket Edition getting update full of cool things this week
Developer Mojang has announced an update to Minecraft: Pocket Edition on all mobile platforms, Android included, will be submitted to the app stores for Google, Apple and Microsoft this week. Mojang is highlighting a new “skins” feature, probably because it includes an in-app purchase option, but there are a bunch of other wacky updates and new features included.
Skins for Minecraft: Pocket Edition will be the way players can change the appearance of their character. The skins do not provide any special abilities or affect game play in any. They are just for looks.
For those ready to get a new look right away, Minecraft will offer bundles of paid skins for about $1 per pack of around 20 skins. The first two that will be available include City Folk and Town Folk. Those interested in spending a little time instead of money on new skins can look for them on the Internet and upload them to Minecraft: Pocket Edition or create their own using the Minecraft: Skin Studio.
For users interested in other aspects of the game, Mojang has a slew of new stuff being added. Boats will now support two passengers so players can take their pets along, stuff like snowballs and eggs can be thrown from boats, and players will now be able to fish, even for edible clownfish.
Lots of new creatures are being added to the game, including chicken jockeys, baby zombies, bats, cave spiders, spider jockeys, and squids. Mojang also fixed some issues like chickens walking on water and animals breeding without touching along with general bug fixes.
source: Mojang
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I/O 2015: What’s next for Google?
On Thursday, thousands of people will take to the Moscone Center in San Francisco for Google I/O 2015. The event, which runs for two days, shows us what Google has been working on to be released this year and beyond. The schedule actually gives us an idea of what to expect. Between the keynote and abundance of workshops, there is plenty to see from Google this week.
Android M
With so much going on with the next version of Android, it would be better to provide some key links:
- Battery life and RAM optimization
- Fingerprint authentication
- Two-year update guarantee for Nexus devices
- Overhauled storage, sharing service for photographs
- Android Pay
The team behind Android is continuously working to extend battery life and reduce memory use. Hardware manufacturers can keep stuffing batteries of larger sizes into devices, but, ultimately, Google has to do its part. The company plans to optimize the operating system so that it does less work on the battery and memory. Google will also bring fingerprint authentication to Android, a feature that has only been included by hardware manufacturers themselves. Furthermore, Android Pay will be heading into the mobile payments arena with Apple Pay. Prepare for the Google-Apple battle to intensify once again this fall.
Android M should be available in preview relatively soon as a full release, paired with two Nexus phones, is expected in October.
Wearables
Apple, Samsung, Fitbit, Garmin, Basis, HTC, Razer, and Pebble are all among the companies fighting with each other and Google for placement on wrists around the world. Since Android Wear launched last year, the wearables industry has only become more complex. This year, Android Wear could lean more towards health and fitness as Google Fit and biometrics are being spotlighted with sessions of their own.
Google’s wearable platform will also get a new always-on feature that allows apps to be opened for as long as the user needs them to be.
Perhaps new hardware will be announced during the Android Wear segment of the keynote considering the platform’s hardware is due for a refresh. Who knows, maybe we will see something less like a smartwatch and more like a fitness band. Remember, Android Wear is for wearables as a whole and not just smarwatches.
Home Automation / Internet of Things
Nest didn’t come cheap and is finally being put to work:
For years, we’ve been talking about home automation. There are universal remotes, wall panels and apps to control devices in your home. But Works with Nest is more than just an on/off switch. It’s about making your house a more thoughtful home, working securely behind the scenes to interact with things you already use every day. And, as a result, making your home safer, more energy efficient, and more aware. Learn more about the Works with Nest developer program and join us in making this vision become reality.
An entirely new platform, possibly the rumored Brillo operating system, will bring together things that don’t even have a screen. Screen or not, from your thermostat to your refrigerator, Google wants to be involved.
Virtual Reality
Those in attendance at Google I/O 2014 thought they were on the verge of seeing the company’s first shot at virtual reality enter the world. Instead, they were given materials to get started with Cardboard. People didn’t think Google was serious. Well, they were, and now it’s an open source platform.
Google enjoys showing what people can do with its software, so having Cardboard present at the event would be a great celebration. It would be nice way for Google to show Oculus, Samsung, and HTC that virtual reality doesn’t have to be so expensive.
The next iteration of Google Glass will likely miss this year’s event to take a breather.
Android TV
Did you notice that NVIDIA’s SHIELD TV set-top box has yet to be released? The powerful set-top box was announced months ago and, still, no one can buy it. Google may be the reason behind that. The company will be focusing on gaming with dedicated sessions for both Android TV and Google Cast. Having the SHIELD TV present would certainly help because of the strength of the new Tegra X1 processor. Then, following the event, the SHIELD TV could become available to everyone.
More interestingly, we could see Android TV receive a feature that resembles its predecessor. One session is described as a way to “install channels on TVs that blend in seamlessly with traditional linear channels.” Users are seemingly going to be able to give Android TV access to information from their television provider. Apps and services from the Play Store, such as Netflix or Hulu, would then be embedded into a program guide to exist alongside traditional channels. The phrase “media playback” is included but I doubt that means DVR-like features.
There is absolutely no way that the company will allow Android TV to go in the way of Google TV.
Chromecast
It has been two years since Google introduced Chromecast to the world. This little dongle darling exceeded everyone’s expectations and millions of people are enjoying its versatility. In fact, the Cast button has been hit more than 1 billion times. People love Chromecast due to its price and affordability. The once meager section of the Play Store for compatible apps is now overflowing with content.
Now, though, could be time to repackage the device. Amazon, Roku, and even Intel all have competing products on the market. The Nexus Player seems to have been a miss and Google should be looking to knock them down. The next Chromecast could support 4K content and gaming capabilities with improved power inside. A Marvell processor with 512MB of RAM may not cut it anymore. Also, increased WiFi support would be nice to increase range and reduce lag. Consumers wouldn’t mind paying around $50 for those benefits.
That’s it?
Of course not! Google will have much more to say. The keynote will run for about 2-3 hours, leaving room for in-depth demonstrations and surprises. Almost anything is possible.
Be sure to stick with us for our live coverage of Google I/O 2015. And let us know in the comments what you think Google will introduce.
Come comment on this article: I/O 2015: What’s next for Google?
It’s happening: Cortana is coming to Android (and iOS)
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Microsoft intends for Windows 10 to be the be-all, end-all operating system that will span not only PCs, Xboxes and Windows Phones, but as it was revealed today, also Android and iOS devices as well. Key among today’s announcements were a “Phone companion” app for Windows 10 that will allow Windows Phone, Android and iOS devices to seamlessly hook into personal Microsoft files as well as announcing that Cortana is coming to Android (and iOS). Check out how this is going to work in the video below:
Unfortunately, because Cortana on Android will technically only be a companion to the Windows 10 app, it won’t actually be able to hook into some of Android’s system features – for instance, don’t expect to be able to call out “Hey Cortana” to your Android device with this Phone Companion app. That’s a shame, but we’re hoping this is one step closer to that possibility.
I’ve always thought that the only hope Microsoft had in making an impact in the mobile scene again (seeing as Windows Phone is pretty much dead in the water) is to make its Windows environment open to Android and iOS as well, and with the Phone Companion app and Cortana doing just that, Microsoft might just have a chance again in this space.
What do you think about Cortana coming to Android with Windows 10? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Windows Blog via BGR
The post It’s happening: Cortana is coming to Android (and iOS) appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
PlayStation Plus gets an answer to Xbox Live’s subscriber-only sales
Sony has long been willing to discount certain PlayStation games if you’re a Plus subscriber, but it hasn’t offered the certainty of Xbox Live’s Deals With Gold. You don’t know that you’re going to get a steady stream of bargains, especially not for newer titles. That doubt should disappear after today, though. Sony has launched PlayStation Plus Specials, a sale program that gives you a break on games and add-ons that are still relatively fresh. How fresh? To start, you’re getting 20 percent off Bloodborne in the US — a sweet deal for a big PS4 hack-and-slash that’s only a couple of months old. It’s too soon to tell whether these offers will be as tempting down the line, but it’s also hard to object to getting more savings for your money.
Source: PlayStation Blog
‘Mad Max’ the game has crazy cars, murder and a story
The “Savage Road” story trailer suggests that there’s a deeper tale behind all of the desert-drenched road rage and creative killing in the Mad Max video game. Apparently, that story is about a dude looking for a car, finding a car, kissing a lady and then destroying all of the evil men he can reach on four wheels. It’s a slightly different narrative than the one in this year’s film, Mad Max: Fury Road, and plot isn’t the only way these two products diverge. We played a portion of Mad Max last week and found it to be fun as a car game but lacking in intrigue as a brawler: “In its translation to an open-world video game, Mad Max: Fury Road’s unique charm’s been traded in for monotony.” Still, a video full of rampaging, spiky vehicles and bloodthirsty desert overlords gets our blood pumping every time. Watch the story trailer below. Mad Max is due on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on September 1st, with pre-orders open now.
New Asus ZenPad renders leak out ahead of Computex unveiling
Asus will reportedly unveil its new tablet line at Computex next week, and it looks like we’re getting an early look thanks to some press renders obtained by Ausdroid. Called the ZenPad, these new tablets will supposedly come in both 7 and 8-inch variants, with the former toting a resolution of 1,024 x 600 and the latter with a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536. The 8-inch model will also have a 4:3 aspect ratio, similar to what we see on the iPad.
The larger of the two tablets will feature front-facing speakers, a soft touch material on the back, along with a strip of leather-like material on the edge of the back side. Also on the back, we can see a rear-facing camera and an ‘Intel Inside’ logo, backing up previous rumors that the tablets would be powered by Intel processors. We can also see the power button mounted below the volume rocker on the right side of the tablet, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack sitting up top. According to the render, the tablet looks to feature some sort of slot on the left-hand side, though whether it’s a microSD card slot or a SIM card slot for cellular connectivity is still up in the air.
Computex takes place from June 2nd to June 6th, so we’ll definitely know more about these tablets by the end of next week. Judging by the press renders and the few rumored specs we have so far, are you excited for Asus’ next tablet offerings?
Samsung is developing denser batteries and slimmer camera sensors, to be released by 2017
Samsung has just announced its plans to develop “denser” batteries and thinner camera sensors that will supposedly make their way to smartphones by the year 2017. While that may seem quite far off, the wait will likely be worth it. If Samsung accomplishes what it wants to with these plans, smartphones and individual camera and battery components produced by the company will be much thinner and more efficient.
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Samsung’s current battery tech has an energy density of 700Wh/l (Watt-hours per liter), and it expects that number to increase to 750Wh/l by the end of 2016, and to 780Wh/l by the end of 2017. Of course, this means batteries with the same capacities will be much thinner with this increased energy density, allowing the company to produce thinner devices without the need to skimp on battery capacity.
The voltage of the battery is also slated to get an increase, with the company hoping to reach a voltage of 4.40V in the next few months, and a voltage of 4.5 volts by 2017. Samsung is also working to improve its fast charging technology, and hopes for its batteries to charge up to 80 percent in just 30 minutes by the end of that year, as well.
On the camera side of things, Samsung expects its upcoming sensors to feature a smaller pixel size, from 1.12 microns down to just 1 micron. This would result in a 23 percent decrease in thickness from 6.5mm to 5mm for a 16MP sensor and from 5.2mm to 4.5mm for a 13MP sensor. It’s possible that Samsung is risking quality when it comes to shrinking its pixel size, though this certainly isn’t a new idea. Both Sony and Nokia use a process called “pixel binning” in their higher-end cameras, which is a process Samsung could also adopt for its new sensors.
Lastly, the company is also working on a new RWB camera sensor for smartphones. RWB stands for ‘red white blue’, which Samsung hopes will provide “better color fidelity” in photos.
The year 2017 seems pretty far off, but the details Samsung has just laid out will absolutely take some time to develop. If Samsung can bring these ideas into fruition in the next few years, we’re going to see major progress in battery capacity and camera sensors on smartphones.
Apple Replaces Problematic ‘Discoveryd’ Process With mDNSresponder in 10.10.4 Beta 4
In today’s fourth OS X 10.10.4 beta, Apple made a significant behind-the-scenes change that could result in improved networking performance for some users — the removal of the “discoveryd” process. As noted by MacRumors forum members and 9to5Mac, in OS X 10.10.4 beta 4, the discoveryd process has been replaced by mDNSresponder.
Since OS X Yosemite debuted in October, there have been ongoing complaints about discoveryd consuming CPU resources, draining battery life, and causing issues with Wi-Fi. These problems have lingered for several months, even after multiple bug fixes and performance improvements included in OS X 10.10.1, 10.10.2, and 10.10.3.
Discoveryd was introduced with OS X Yosemite, replacing mDNSResponder for managing Mac networking tasks, but it’s led to a host of problems like those listed above along with issues like slow wake from sleep, failures to resolve DNS names, duplicate machine names, and more, as detailed in a post earlier this year by Ars Technica. Several developers have also complained about discoveryd in Yosemite, including Instapaper’s Marco Arment and Iconfactory’s Craig Hockenberry.
It’s no secret in the tech community that discoveryd is the root cause of so many problems. There are even crazy workarounds. With so many issues, you’d expect some information from Apple explaining ways to mitigate the problems.
The removal of the unstable discoveryd process in OS X 10.10.4 beta 4 may improve network stability problems for many users who have been experiencing continual issues. With the removal of discoveryd, Apple has reverted back to using the earlier mDNSresponder process that was used before discoveryd was implemented with OS X Yosemite.
AIVAnet 