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Princeton neuroscientists map your brain, play words with subjects

shaun — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 11:14:20 +0000

Don’t speak. Princeton researchers know just what you’re saying — kind of. Alright, so the Ivy league team of neuroscientists, led by Prof. Matthew Botvinick, can’t yet read your minds without the help of a functional MRI, but one day the group hopes to take your silent pauses and broadcast them for public consumption. By mapping highlighted areas of brain activity to words meditated upon by subjects, the group was able to create “semantic threads” based on “emotions, plans or socially oriented thoughts” associated with select neural activity. So, what good’ll these high-brow word association experiments do for us? For one, it could pave the way for automatic translation machines, extending a silicon-assisted grok into our nonverbal inner worlds that churns out computer-generated chatter; giving a voice to those incapable of speech. And if it’s used for bad? More terrifically horrific ~~psychobabble~~ poetry penned by Jewel’s unencumbered mind. Actually, wait. We might be into that.

Princeton neuroscientists map your brain, play words with subjects originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 05:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

DARPA’s XC2V FLYPMode crowd-sourced combat vehicle revealed, now in desert khaki (video)

shaun — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 17:14:19 +0000

Okay, so perhaps the specific color here is up for debate, but one thing is clear: the XC2V FLYPMode is one imposing looking vehicle. Also known as the Experimental Crowd-derived Combat Support Vehicle, DARPA has billed this mean machine as the “first crowd-sourced, militarily relevant vehicle design.” After being selected as the winning entry to DARPA’s design-the-next-Humvee competition, Local Motors tricked out the XC2V FLYPMode in just 14 weeks. For now, it is but a “proof of principle project,” meaning we probably won’t see this thing riding dirty in the desert anytime soon, if ever. You can, however, see at least a portion of the beast’s birth in a time-lapse video after the break.

Continue reading DARPA’s XC2V FLYPMode crowd-sourced combat vehicle revealed, now in desert khaki (video)

DARPA’s XC2V FLYPMode crowd-sourced combat vehicle revealed, now in desert khaki (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Jun 2011 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

Dutch coins feature QR codes, promise ‘surprises’

shaun — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 07:14:23 +0000

Governments cram all manner of bizarre imagery onto the back of currency, so really, what’s a few little QR codes between treasury departments? And heck, who are we to suggest that these new coins from the Royal Dutch Mint aren’t the beginning of a larger barcoded money trend? The mint is celebrating its centennial with two new QR-packing coins, a silver €5 and gold €10. The codes bring their owners to the mint’s website, which promises a “surprise,” once the money is officially available later this month. Some sort of cloud-based vending machine, perhaps?

Dutch coins feature QR codes, promise ‘surprises’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Jun 2011 01:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

Surgical robot builds tiny paper airplane (video)

shaun — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:14:23 +0000

Like killing elephants, paper airplane construction is a skill passed from father to son generation after generation — at least until the robots take over. Dr. James Porter knows this and has done us the service of putting together a video showing him manipulating a da Vinci surgical robot to deftly fold a tiny paper airplane. So why not call in the kid and click through the break for all the go-action, daddy. It’s not quite as impressive as robotic prostate surgery but hey, at least it’s not prostate surgery.

Continue reading Surgical robot builds tiny paper airplane (video)

Surgical robot builds tiny paper airplane (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 04:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

Concept USB drive glows different colors for different file types

othertech — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:30:44 +0000

This is a good idea, but… we basically already have it. I reviewed Western Digital’s e-ink display-equipped My Passport Studio a couple weeks ago, and although it only had room for a label and some basic data, it could just as easily be a better, larger, more versatile display. The concept here would be fun, but it ignores some really basic use issues.

First of all, look at the picture above. Where’s the memory exactly? It’s just a bunch of glass. And where are the display elements? How are they powered? I know, it’s just a for-fun render of an idea. But like so many other concepts we see around here, there just doesn’t seem to be a lot of thought put into it. I like this one though.

[via Dvice and Core77]

Flasks disguised as electronics let you get your drink on like a blogger

othertech — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:07:23 +0000

Yeah, should be a good match, they’re on a streak right now. Okay, let’s see: row 122…123…124. Here’s me, and you’re Q, right? All right. Not bad seats, huh? Friend of mine usually goes with his wife, but they had to go down east for some reason this time around. Oh, there’s the peanut guy. HEY GUY! Yeah – whoop, nice throw – AND A BEER! There we go, okay… what’s he saying? Ten bucks? Are you kidding me? Man, give me a break! Fine. God, they really chisel you here, don’t they? Hey, aren’t you going to get one? No? What – are you going to take my picture with that knockoff Casio you’ve been swinging around? Wait a second, is that – MY GOD, IT’S FILLED WITH WHISKEY!

I hope you’ll excuse that little flight of narration. It just seemed like that’s how it would play out.

I mean, I’m not some big drinker, but I am very poor. I can’t afford six-dollar beers, or eight-dollar shots of my favorite middle-shelf liquor! These faux-electronics flasks are pure genius, if you ask me. Yeah, they’ve probably been around for a while at joke shops, but hey, why not order a couple online? The Bevburry is only $11. I would consider these things to be a very practical move. Economical.

And also, you can get tore up.

[via DVice and Geekologie]

AT&T Begins Selling 3G MicroCells Nationwide

othertech — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 06:37:57 +0000

By Chris Scott Barr

Finally, over a year after they first announced them, AT&T has put their 3G MicroCells up for sale to anyone in the US. If you’ll recall, they rolled them out in Charlotte, NC last September. Now anyone with an AT&T mobile phone will be able to pick up one of these. The only caveat is that you’ll still need to be in an area where AT&T offers service. They check this via GPS when you complete the initial setup.

So what does the 3G MicroCell get you? Essentially you’ll hook the device into your home internet connection and be provided with 3G service for up to 5,000 square feet. You’ll still be using your own cell minutes when talking on the phone, unfortunately. The only way around this is to have your internet provided by AT&T, or to pay them $20 a month for unlimited talk time. Otherwise, you’ll only need to pay the initial $150 for the device.

This always brings up the old argument of having to pay AT&T more money so that you have better network coverage in your house. Yes, they do need to provide better coverage, which they are supposedly working on. However, there are some areas where I live that have poor coverage on all networks. I lived in one of them for a while and it was just plain frustrating. I’d have much rather paid the $150 for the MicroCell than paying for a landline phone. It would have been cheaper in the long run.

[ AT&T ] VIA [ Dvice ]

AT&T Announces Eco-Friendly Zero Charger

othertech — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:06:23 +0000

By Chris Scott Barr

It looks like AT&T has hopped on the eco-friendly bandwagon. They have announced a new mobile phone charger dubbed the Zero Charger, which is supposed to be the greenest of its kind. It’s common knowledge that many devices will still draw power, even after their battery has been fully charged. This USB charger is supposed to cut off the flow of energy as soon as your device is juiced up.

To take things a step further, AT&T is delivering the device in a recycled-cardboard container. They’re really hoping that environmentalists won’t have anything to complain about with this one. The only question left is whether it’s as friendly to your wallet as it is to the Earth. We should find out when it hits stores in May.

[ AT&T ] VIA [ Dvice ]

Gloves with LEDs in them. You know whether you need these or not

othertech — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:30:41 +0000

There’s not much a humble blogger can do when faced with such a straightforward product. It’s work gloves, with LEDs that attach in a number of places so you can see what you’re doing. In the immortal words of Jay-Z, “What more can I say?”

I guess I could say that it looks like there are two attachment points on the index finger, one on the back of the hand, and one somewhere I can’t see.

They only cost $23, which is a great price, if you ask me. If you work under your car a lot or are planning some home improvements necessitating lots of running wires through crannies and so on, these could be quite helpful.

[via Unpluggd and Dvice]

Google Adds Multitouch To Nexus One

othertech — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:03:50 +0000

By Chris Scott Barr

The Google Nexus One is probably one of the closest things to a real competitor to Apple’s iPhone. Yet it has lacked one of the features that really makes the iPhone stand out amongst most other devices. Yes, I’m talking about multitouch. Why bring this up now? Because thanks to the update released by Google yesterday the Nexus One officially has that one feature it was lacking.

Now owners of the phone will be able to pinch-to-zoom in the browser, gallery and maps applications. It’s good to see someone really challenging Apple in this market, as competition breeds innovation.

In other Nexus One news, Google Maps has been updated so that it will sync starred items with maps.google.com, as well as feed you suggestions from the same site. If you like the dimmer “night mode” that most GPS devices automatically switch to at night, you’ll be happy to know that this feature has now been added to Google Maps Navigation.

[ Google ] VIA [ Dvice ]