You can play old SNES games on an original Game Boy, thanks to Raspberry Pi

There have been plenty of Raspberry Pi projects that have stood out since the first of the diminutive computers was released, but few have caught the eye quite as must as Wermy’s reuse of a Nintendo Game Boy.

Taking the original Game Boy shell, he replaced the innards with a Raspberry Pi Zero, swapped the screen with a 3.5-inch composite, colour display, and drilled two new button holes to create the best handheld games machine ever.

Now, thanks to Retropie software and a whole stack of games ROMs, Wermy’s new Game Boy can play SNES, NES and even Megadrive titles, yet still retaining the unique feel of Nintendo’s ground breaking handheld.

Wermy even made his own SD card reader out of an old Game Boy cartridge, so it feels like he’s using the classic console in the correct manner by slotting it in each time before play.

A 2,000mAh battery was also incorporated into the build so the modified Game Boy could be recharged – the original required a host of AA batteries.

You will need a fair amount of knowledge and technical skill to repeat the modder’s work, which rules us out, but you can still build an amazing retro games console using a Raspberry Pi without quite so much effort. Stick with us and we’re soon to tell you how. Watch this space.

Samsung contact lens displays will put AR video and cameras in your eyes

The ultimate goal of augmented reality is to seamlessly blend the real world and the virtual, which is done best without a headset. Now Samsung has won a patent for a contact lens display that will do that and more.

Samsung’s contact lens patent, which was just awarded in Korea, shows that these lenses will be more than just screens worn on the eyes. The contact lenses will also include a tiny camera, motion sensors and transmitter.

These should mean users will be able to take photos by simply blinking and can then view them right away. It will also mean viewing images and video from a connected smartphone is possible.

Imagine walking or driving with the road lit up blue to show the route you’re supposed to be taking. Or you could take a stroll in nature and have the option to see each kind of flower annotated so you know what you’re seeing. Perhaps you could look at a restaurant and see the menu without even going near. The options are many.

The contact lenses themselves will feature some wiring, according to the patent. But this would all be kept to the outer edges and should not affect the user’s perspective.

Of course this is at the patent stage still so how the screen will be powered or remain clear when inactive is unclear. What is clear is that this is the way gadget manufacturers are going with Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens already showing a glimmer of what’s possible with augmented reality.

READ: Microsoft HoloLens preview

Samsung

Ubisoft breaks out the banhammer for ‘The Division’ cheaters

Ubisoft knows that cheating is running rampant in Tom Clancy’s The Division and it’s out to change that. Between hacks where enemy bullets can travel through walls to homing bullets, trying to enjoy the game the way its meant to be played is a bit fraught at the moment. But come the game’s April 12th update, PC players, at least, will have platform-specific tools at their disposal to report the jerks according to a Ubisoft Twitch stream.

Typing “/report [username]” while playing will flag the possible offender’s account for Ubisoft to look at, and if the gaming company determines nefariousness is at play they’ll get a three day suspension. Repeat offenders? That’s grounds for a permaban. It’s a reasonable expectation that if this doesn’t curb the cheaters, the three-day time-out will give way to nothing but permabans a la what Ubisoft did with Rainbow Six: Siege hackers in January.

There are some pretty welcome glitch fixes en route as well. Those address issues where missions wouldn’t start, wouldn’t complete, non-player characters are able to shoot through walls and glitches where folks could get stuck in place on a piece of architecture in the environment, among other bugs.

Via: Destructoid

Source: The Division (Twitch)

FAA considers rules allowing small drones to fly over people

Late last year the FAA implemented rules on drone registration, and now its working group of experts has submitted another set of recommendations. This time the focus is on rules for unmanned aircraft flights over people (who aren’t directly involved in the flight of the aircraft), and just as earlier rumors indicated, the group decided that the best way to set regulations is based on the weight of the machine in question. Small drones weighing under 250g (0.55 pounds) could fly over people, depending on their design, while larger drones up to 4 – 5 pounds (the DJI Phantom 4 pictured above weighs 3 pounds) could do the same, depending on their design, if they stay 20 feet overhead or 10 feet away laterally.

Larger or riskier drones that could cause serious injury — as determined by yet-to-be-implemented crash tests — up to 55 pounds could not be flown over crowds, and would have more limitations. Finally, the fourth group of drones that also pose a potentially serious risk but are intended to be used over crowds would have the most rules, with documented plans for risk mitigation, higher operator qualifications, and possibly coordination with the FAA or local law enforcement. Most of the committee members felt like a requirement for in-person testing would be ignored, suggesting online testing with no background checks for operators of the smallest drones.

DJI VP Brendan Schulman called the recommendation a “progressive approach,” that balanced the benefits of drones and public safety. His company was one of 27 groups (like 3DRobotics, GoPro, Google X, Intel and AT&T) that participated in the Micro Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Aviation Rulemaking Committee, and the FAA will use its information to develop new rules. Unfortunately, this will not be a part of the finalized small UAS rule (governing commercial use of drones under 55 pounds) that we are expecting to see in June. In the meantime you can read the full report for yourself (PDF) and practice some safe drone flying away from innocent bystanders.

Source: FAA (PDF)

Lil Wayne pours some more champagne on the Galaxy S7 in new advert

Lil Wayne is good at pouring champagne on the Galaxy S7, which he does a lot of in the video above. And he also shows off Samsung Pay, which works with traditional registers thanks to MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission).

But it’s mostly about the champagne.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

• Galaxy S7 review
• Galaxy S7 edge review
• Galaxy S7 edge with Exynos: A Canadian perspective
• Here are all four Galaxy S7 colors
• Details on the Galaxy S7’s camera
• The SD card is back on the GS7
• Join our Galaxy S7 forums

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Algae’s enzyme might hold the secret to mass producing biofuel

A common microscopic pond and lake alga named Botryococcus braunii makes big amounts of liquid hydrocarbons that can be used to make biofuel. Problem is, we can’t use the organism itself as a source, because it grows very slowly. A group of scientists from Texas A&M AgriLife Research, however, is looking into what genes are responsible for producing its enzyme that initiates the production of oil. See, the group wants to replicate its ability to make big amounts of oil in other plants more suitable for mass production. And they think the key is to express the enzyme’s associated genes in those other organisms, such as faster-growing algae.

The team’s lead scientist, Dr. Tim Devarenne, said:

“One of the issues with Botryococcus is that it grows very slowly. You just don’t get a lot of biomass and on an economic scale that means it would not work to use this alga. It takes about a week for one Botryococcus cell to double into two cells, whereas a faster growing algae — but one that doesn’t make a lot of oil — can double in about six hours. Maybe if we can transfer the genetic information to make these oils into quicker growing organisms like other algae that grow a lot quicker or a land plant that can produce large amounts of biomass, we can have them produce oil for us.”

Of course, solar and wind energy are much cleaner sources of energy. But if scientists can find a way to activate the genes in other algae that can grow more quickly, then biofuel sources wouldn’t have to take up land that could be used to plant food instead. Devaranne and his team still has to look more closely into the process, though — they’re still “a ways away from making a commercial product” at this point in time.

Via: Popsci

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Basis Peak gets smarter with music control and activity editing

The Basis Peak fitness tracker just got an update that controls the music playing on an Android or iOS device and lets users manually enter the type and duration of a workout. Good news for music fans that get in shape with activities that might necessarily get tracked like yoga or surfing.

Workout editing is done within the app and can be applied to old activities as well as recent ones. To control your jams, a music app will have to playing on your phone before you can adjust the volume and change tracks. It supports any media app on iOS and Google Play, Amazon and Spotify on Android.

The Peak with its black and white display has been marketed as more of a workout companion than a full on smartwatch like the Apple Watch or Android Wear. But Basis has added smarter features like notifications to appease people that don’t want to take their phone out of their pocket just see who’s texting them.

Today’s update along with last year’s update that let it talk to other fitness apps is more inline with the band’s original workout ethos.

Source: Basis

Platoons of autonomous trucks took a road trip across Europe

Six vehicle manufacturers just proved that self-driving trucks are perfectly capable of driving across a whole continent. These companies, including Volvo and Daimler, participated in the European Truck Platooning challenge organized by the Dutch government. “Truck platooning” is the term used when a fleet of autonomous trucks closely follow one another on the road. Since the rigs behind the first ride in its slipstream, they tend to use less fuel and emit less carbon dioxide.

The self-driving rigs started their journey from different parts of Europe and ended in the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Quartz notes that if this accomplishment convinces various government in the continent, then a number of corporations like Unilever will begin using autonomous trucks to pick up cargo from the port to distribute across Europe. If you keep an eye out for autonomous vehicle news, you might have already seen the video of Daimler testing its vehicle on public roads. But if you want to see more self-driving trucks on a road trip, you can watch a coverage of challenge below:

Via: Quartz

Source: European Truck Platooning Challenge

How to adjust the Oculus Rift for a perfect fit – CNET

Right out of the box, the Oculus Rift probably won’t fit perfectly. But this one-size-fits-most headset just needs a few tweaks to get the best fit. Here’s everything you need to know about adjusting the headset to your head and eyes.

Fit the outside first

Loosen the straps on the sides of the headset and top to the loosest settings.
Put on the Oculus Rift starting by slipping the back strap around the back of your head and then sliding the front down over your eyes.
Hold the front of the headset with one hand and adjust the side straps a little at a time with the other until the front fits snug against your face, but isn’t too tight.
Adjust the top strap so it’s snug against the top of your head. Tighten it until the top strap and back strap are supporting most of the weight, so that the front display isn’t digging into your cheeks or around your eyes.

You want the Oculus Rift to be just tight enough against your face without smashing into your cheeks or around your eyes — it shouldn’t fit as tightly as ski goggles. If you move or gently shake your head, the headset shouldn’t move too much — a tiny bit is fine. The headset will fit correctly when your feel the weight more on the top and back of your head and less on your face.

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Adjust the side and top straps to the loosest settings on the Oculus Rift (left) before you get started.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Calibrate the display

Now you’ll need to make sure the picture you see in the headset is as clear as possible. To do that, you’ll need to adjust the space between the lenses.

From the Oculus Home menu, press the Oculus button on the remote to go to the Universal Menu. Look on the right side for the Change Lens Spacing setting and press the large circle (select) button on the Oculus remote to select it.
When you see the see a green cross, adjust the side straps as needed until the horizontal lines of the cross look crisp and clear.
Find the small slider on the bottom right of the front of headset.
Using your thumb, press in and slide it left or right until the vertical lines of the green cross are crisp. This adjusts the spacing of the lenses so they fit your eyes. When the cross looks as crisp as possible, press the select button on the remote to finish.

Finishing touches

The last step is to put the earphones where you want them. They swing back and forth, slide up and down and rotate to fit your ears. They also pop outward to give you some space to put the headset on.

And voila, you’re done. The headset will now fit perfectly every time you put it on. Just pull on the back strap, slide it over your head and slide the front down over your eyes.

Get the perfect fit for the HTC Vive – CNET

Before you dive into a new reality with the HTC Vive, you’ll want to fine tune the headset’s straps so they’ll fit your head. With a few adjustments, it’ll fit snugly and comfortably so you can wear it for a few hours without it hurting your face. Here are the key steps to getting the perfect fit.

Try it on and adjust

The HTC Vive’s straps are more forgiving than the Oculus’ because they’re stretchy, but you’ll still want to make sure they’re fitting just right for the best experience. Here’s how:

Make sure the cables are slipped into the top and back loops on the straps.
Loosen the side and back straps to the loosest settings.
Put the headset on from back to front, making sure the rear strap sits around the back of your head.
Hold the front of the headset with one hand and adjust the side straps a little at a time until the face cushion fits snug against your face but isn’t digging in.
Tighten the top strap until it rests against your head. You want the weight to be distributed on the top and back straps, not on your face.

Pro tip: If the installed face cushion feels too big, swap in the smaller one that comes with the Vive. Just peel the cushion out and replace it.

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You don’t want the Vive to leave an indent in your face when you take it off. Loosen those straps!

Josh Miller/CNET

Adjust the lens depth (optional)

If your eyelashes are hitting the lenses when you’re wearing the Vive, you can adjust the lens depth. This is also useful step if you want to wear the headset with glasses and it doesn’t fit out of the box. These are the three steps:

Gently pull out the lens distance knobs (the gray plastic rings where the straps connect to the headset) until you hear them click.
Twist them both forward at the same time to keep the distance even.
Once the lenses are deep enough, press the knobs back into place.

Calibrate for the clearest view

Now you just need to adjust the interpupillary distance (IPD) of the lenses, which controls how close or far apart they are. Here’s how to calibrate what you see:

After you’ve set up the Vive and can see the Vive’s setup menu or home screen, put on the headset.
Locate the IPD knob on the bottom right of the headset.
Rotate the knob in either direction until what you see in the headset looks crisp and clear.
When you twist the knob, you’ll see the IPD on the screen in millimeters.

Once you’ve determined the correct IPD, you’re all set to start using the HTC Vive. It should fit perfectly every time you put it on and feel comfortable enough to wear for hours of VR fun.