Monopoly money is no more in the new Ultimate Banking edition

Hasbro has released a new edition of Monopoly called Ultimate Banking, that should help keep familial infighting to a minimum. Instead of paper money, which can easily be laundered or stolen when you aren’t looking, this new edition uses debit cards. It also does away with the easily-corrupted Banker position, replacing the human with an electronic card reader (aka an ATM).

Both the players’ debit cards and the property cards themselves will be machine readable. So, when purchasing property, players will first scan the property’s bar code and then their own cash card. If they have enough money for the transaction, the funds will automatically be deducted from their account. Funds can also be transferred between players, if necessary. Removing the human influence should certainly help keep the financial shenanigans to a minimum — just hold on to those debit cards. Monopoly Ultimate Banking will hit store shelves later this summer for $25.

Via: SlashGear

Source: Hasbro

Researchers want to use wasps to improve UAV flight plans

After spending the past decade studying ground-nesting wasps a team of researchers from the Australian National University believe that they’ve unlocked the secret to the insects’ uncanny homing abilities — one they hope can be applied to future UAV development. Modern, autonomous UAVs have to be laden with high resolution cameras, GPS radios and a slew of other high-tech gadgetry in order to know where they are and where they’re going. Wasps, on the other hand, only need their compound eyes and a daily refresher flight.

The ANU team used high-speed cameras to track the wasps eye movements and, from that data, figure out where the insects were looking. “The learning and homing abilities of wasps make them smarter than anything humans know how to build,” ANU Professor Jochen Zeil said in a statement. “Roboticists look to replace expensive high resolution cameras and reduce power consumption without losing information that is crucial for visual navigation and our research could help with this.” The research should also help biologists better understand the mental mechanisms involved in the insects’ navigational skills.

Via: Slash Gear

Source: Australian National University

Bop It! 2016 is more complicated than you remember

If the return of The X-Files and Full House to TV wasn’t enough of an indication that pop culture has a thing for the Clinton years right now, then maybe news that Bop It is coming back will change that. But unlike the model of yore that only demanded you “bop it,” “twist it” and “pull it,” this one has “sing it” in addition to 21st century tasks including “selfie it” for certain modes. Naturally.

A prepared statement (PDF) out of this year’s Toy Fair says that there’s a trio of different games built into the device including Classic for Bop It! purists. Action mixes it up by utilizing on-board accelerometers and other sensors. Of course, there’s also the sound-based Beat Box mode which Hasbro touts is for Bop It! experts.

Unlike pricey vaporizers that also play Simon, this flashback game will only set you back $20 when it releases this fall. At that price, maybe Uber will add them to even more back seats to distract late-night fares who are more than a few sheets to the wind.

Source: Hasbro (PDF)

Johns Hopkins grows tiny brains in petri dishes for lab testing

Most new drugs tested on mice don’t work on humans, because we’re “not 150-pound rats,” says Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School’s Dr. Thomas Hartung. He and his team believe the “mini-brains” they’ve designed and grown in the lab are better test subjects for drug development, since they’re derived from human cells. These mini-brains are truly tiny at 350 micrometers in diameter, or about the size of a housefly.

To make them, the scientists reprogrammed adult skin cells into embryonic stem cells, which were then grown for a couple of months. That was long enough for them to develop four types of neurons and two support cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes). The team then tested the mini-brains by placing them on an electrode array and listening to the neurons’ electrical communication as the drugs were added.

Since they’re so small, researchers can grow a hundred of test subjects in a single petri dish, and each batch can produce hundreds to thousands of identical copies. Other institutions like Brown University developed in-vitro brain cell clumps in the past, but Hartung says these ensure accurate results:

We don’t have the first brain model nor are we claiming to have the best one. But this is the most standardized one. And when testing drugs, it is imperative that the cells being studied are as similar as possible to ensure the most comparable and accurate results.

Hartung is in the midst of building a company called ORGANOME in hopes of starting the mass production of his mini-brains by this year. He’s also hoping that labs across the world adopt the practice of making them, because we can only “replace animal testing on a large scale” — for brain-related research anyway — if using brain models becomes the norm. His creation has other potential applications, as well. By using skin cells from people afflicted with certain diseases, scientists can also grow tiny brains to study Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and autism.

Via: Motherboard

Source: Johns Hopkins

BMW iPerformance plug-in hybrids coming in July

BMW obviously has a long-term plug-in vehicle plan. Like megacity long. First hinted at in 2008 and finally announced in 2009, the Bavarian’s EV march has gone through the MINI E, the ActiveE, and then the i3 and i8. There’s got to be a detailed timeline chart taped to an office wall in Munich somewhere that we would love to get a glimpse of, but instead we just get bits and pieces of where BMW’s going next. At least now know the next phase: iPerformance.

The new iPerformance models will be vehicles from the core BMW line-up that have plug-in hybrid technology that was first used in the i3 or i8. This technology includes the, “electric motors, battery cells and electronic control systems” and the first models to use some of the i Brand guts will be the plug-in hybrid versions of the 7 Series, like the new BMW 740e iPerformance. BMW is also going to throw in some of the now-standard blue accents that you might be familiar with form the i3 and i8, in case you don’t recognize the outlet panel.

As for the continuation of the i vehicles (currently just that two-model line-up), we still don’t know anything other than the rumors of an i5 or i6 or who knows what. You can read the full release about iPerformance here.

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Source: BMW

LG brings a smarter pen experience to the Stylus 2

LG’s promised trickle of details leading up to the G5’s debut is in full force, but it’s also teasing out at least one other model. Like last year, the outfit is selling a stylus-equipped phablet, the LG Stylus 2. Here’s to hoping that the Korean tech company keeps that nomenclature from the prepared release rather than making us Yanks and folks in Korea request a “Stylo” again.

Other than that, the phone has a few smart features to go with its latest pointer/input method. Taking the stylus out of its holder triggers Pen Pop, a shortcut menu where the Pop Memo and Pop Scanner apps reside. The Stylus 2 also has built-in tools to make sure you don’t leave the fancy finger-replacement behind as well. Should the phone detect motion when the stylus tunnel is empty, Pen Keeper will pop an alert.

As far as hardware goes, expect a 5.7-inch, 1280 x 720 screen; 1.2 GHz processor and a 13 MP camera on the back. Nothing too crazy in that regard.

The company’s big reveal is set for next week on the 21st, but if these teasers keep it up, there might not be much new to talk about by this year’s Mobile World Congress in Spain.

Source: LG

Leaked teaser video shows off waterproof Galaxy S7, S7 Edge

Samsung isn’t officially showing off its next flagship phone until the 21st, there’s already a video of it available on a company YouTube channel. Imploring us to get ready for #TheNextGalaxy, the video shows off what we’re guessing are the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. There’s not much in the way of details and the design looks very close to the current S6 lineup, but a rainy segment would appear to confirm rumors of waterproofing. It also appears to have a flat back, confirming a Wall Street Journal report that it would ditch the protruding camera hump this time around.

Separately, a tipster tells Engadget that a rumored March 11th launch date is correct, that the devices will be IP68 waterproof certified, and there will be SIM card / microSD card slots on the top. Phone Probe also pointed out a Samsung Indonesia webpage that says the Galaxy S7 will “bring light to the night,” which alludes to better low-light camera performance. That all lines up with the leaked images we’ve seen before, although we should find out for sure in about a week.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Phone Probe, Samsung Indonesia

Army blimp went on a rampage due to lack of batteries

The Pentagon is done looking into what caused the Army’s JLENS blimp to drift away and demolish power lines in its path in 2015. While investigators refused to make the full report public, Los Angeles Times has seen the overview and summary they provided to congress staff members. According to the reports, the agency determined what led to the blimp’s disastrous rampage, including the fact that its automatic deflator didn’t work because it had no backup power source.

The JLENS or Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System program is comprised of two tethered blimps with radars that can track aircraft and missiles. An 18-inch-long device called pitot tube that measures the blimps’ air pressure apparently started the unfortunate sequence of events in October 2015. One of the blimps failed to start up its fans in response to atmospheric changes, because its pitot tube was malfunctioning and couldn’t effectively do its job. Due to the drop in air pressure, the blimp turned perpendicular to the wind — it remained that way until its 8-inch-thick Kevlar tethers were torn apart.

Now, here’s what’s frustrating. The blimp wouldn’t have damaged Pennsylvania’s power lines if only the Army installed its batteries. Its tethers also held its electric wiring, but it was supposed to have a backup power source for its automatic deflation system. The blimp would have fallen to the ground two miles from where it was tied down if only the device worked. LA Times says the military asked Congress for $27 million to get the JLENS project back up. It remains to be seen whether the government will agree, considering the project had been performing poorly before it was suspended.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: Los Angeles Times

BBC Three is now an online-only channel

For sentimentality’s sake, we hope you indulged in your pre-bed ritual of catching a cheeky episode of American Dad! on BBC Three last night — because as of the early hours of this morning, it ceased to exist as a broadcast channel. For the next few weeks, it’ll be repurposed to promote BBC Three’s new online-only identity before disappearing from your TV’s EPG… forever. The switch has been a long time coming, of course, with the BBC setting the ball rolling almost two years ago as part of continued cost-cutting measures. Despite some opposition from the public, the BBC Trust formally approved the broadcaster’s plan for an online-only BBC Three late last year, and that transition has concluded today.

The BBC Trust’s green light wasn’t without fine print, with various conditions set “to ensure younger audiences continue to be well served.” BBC Three became known for its experimental and often hilarious commissions, and the BBC has been keen to comfort loyal viewers with the promise its doctrine won’t die alongside the linear TV channel. As part of BBC Three’s rebirth, it’ll further embrace new media, with its YouTube channel and social network activity becoming more important outlets for content.

In addition to BBC Three’s iPlayer presence, a new online portal called The Daily Drop is already live, highlighting content on social media channels and blending in blog posts, news and short-form videos. Joining that site later today is another platform, “The Best Of,” which will primarily feature long-form content like documentaries, dramas and comedies, such as the new series of Cuckoo that premieres online this evening.

Plenty of new commissions have been announced across all these genres already, and while BBC Three Controller Damian Kavanagh admits “we won’t get everything right immediately,” he’s confident “being online means we can now adapt and iterate quickly.”

“We aren’t constrained by duration or form anymore so the shackles are off when it comes to creativity.”

Source: BBC

‘Mass Effect: Andromeda’ lead writer joins Bungie

Not long after the departure of writer David Gaider, another scribe from Canadian developer BioWare has left the company. This time it’s the lead writer from the upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda, Chris Schlerf. The announcement comes by way of Schlerf himself via a series of tweets. Naturally, he’s proud of his work on the game and says he’s excited to play it upon release, in addition to saying that working with BioWare was one of the best experiences of his career. Where’s he working now? In another sci-fi universe under the employ of Bungie where he’s presumably writing the next bits of Destiny.

This shift could signal a few things. Given Schlerf’s short tenure (his Linkedin profile says he left BioWare last September after joining in November 2013), he may have been a contracted employee, with his duties ending once a bulk of the work as lead writer was done on Andromeda. That’d make his leaving a normal course of business.

The other possibility, when combined with the rest of BioWare’s high-level exits these past few years, might be an indication that something is afoot at the studio and leadership-role workers are leaving for better opportunities sooner rather than later. We’ve reached out for more information and will update this post if anything becomes clearer.

To confirm what some folks asked about a few months back, I am no longer working on ME:A at BioWare Montreal.

— schlerf (@schlerf) February 16, 2016

All that said, very happy to be back in Seattle, working with this scrappy little company called Bungie that some of you may have heard of.

— schlerf (@schlerf) February 16, 2016

Via: Game Informer

Source: Chris Schlerf (Twitter)