Hasta La Gadget!

We’d like to pretend to be all serious about the science behind teaching a robot arm to teach itself a complicated motion like pancake flipping. We’d drone on and on about how the combination of demonstrated motion, trial-and-error, and object motion tracking come together for some “Expectation-Maximization based Reinforcement Learning,” but really we just can’t stop giggling at all the pancake misses perpetrated by the robot on video, which can be found after the break.

Continue reading Robot arm learns to flip pancakes, can never know the joys of tasting one

Robot arm learns to flip pancakes, can never know the joys of tasting one originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Boing Boing  |  Programming by demonstration  | Email this | Comments

Only four months after OpenGL 4.0 hit the scene, the next revision of the cross-platform graphics API is here, bearing gifts of fancier math and more cribbed DirectX 11 features. Unless you’re a graphics guru, though, we doubt you’ll be that interested in “64-bit floating-point component vertex shader inputs,” so let’s get to the meat of what you’re after: impressive 3D gaming. OpenGL 4.1 promises to help deliver that to cellphones easier than ever before, by making OpenGL ES (used in iOS and Android, depending on your hardware) completely compatible with the desktop graphics version, and promises “features to improve robustness” in WebGL 3D browser acceleration as well. There’s also support for stencil values in fragment shaders, but we digress — if you understood what we just said, hit up the source and more coverage links for the rest.

OpenGL 4.1 spec finalized, streamlines 3D graphics for web and phones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista, CNET  |  Khronos Group  | Email this | Comments

CNET tests five iPhone flight tracker apps to find the most satisfying, functional, and user-friendly title. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20011595-233.html” class=”origPostedBlog”iPhone Atlas/a/p

This article was written on June 27, 2007 by CyberNet.

We knew a “complete overhaul” was in-store for Google Docs & Spreadsheets, we just didn’t think it was going to be introduced as soon as it was! Yesterday the Docs & Spreadsheets team introduced all of the changes, and posted details of those changes on their blog.

The biggest change that you’ll notice is the interface – it looks much different. There are new icons, more content, and better organizational controls. Another big change is the start page because now you’ll have a two-pane workspace instead of the old list view. I think you’ll agree with me when I say that the new interface changes are nice, and it simply looks shinier and better.

Another big change is the organization structure, and for some of you, this is just what you were looking for. There are now folders that replace the tagging system that was used previously, and with it, you’re able to drag and drop files into folders. I’m not quite sure why they ditched the tagging system because that’s what seems to be popular these days, but they have. What is nice about it though, is that if you had multiple tags for a single file, that single file can live in multiple folders at one time.

They’ve also made it easier to search. Once you start typing your search query, you’ll get filtered results from your document list as you type. They compare it to Google Suggest where the search engine offers suggestions as you type. Nice. Additionally, they’ve added new keyboard shortcuts to make things easier for you, as well as right to left text support. For those who write in Hebrew or Arabic, this will be a welcome addition.

So what’s missing? I thought for sure that they would have gotten support for Google Gears in with this complete overhaul so that users would be able to work offline. Unfortunately, they didn’t. For me at least, offline support is the only thing really keeping me from using it regularly.

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Every year, the Library of Congress examines the DMCA and issues exceptions as necessary for groups of people who circumvent copy protection for various reasons, including fair use and parody. This year, the Library of Congress has issued six new exemptions, including two notable ones that allow for users of smartphones to jailbreak or root their device without worry that their actions violate the DMCA, and one that allows documentary filmmakers and students to rip and use short portions of copyrighted movies on DVD for educational purposes, documentary films, and non-commercial videos.

Granted, the exemption doesn’t mean that handset manufacturers have to support jailbroken devices or even stop playing the cat-and-mouse game of issuing patches that disable apps that help users jailbreak or root their devices. Similarly, this doesn’t mandate that movie studios provide unencrypted content for documentary filmmakers or students. What the exemptions do however is allow those groups to work without fear of being sued or issued a cease-and-desist under the DMCA.

The ruling also has exemptions for software that is protected by physical dongle where the dongle is no longer manufactured and no replacements are available, eBook readers that read-aloud or allow users to customize the text and circumventing copy protection on video games for the purposes of security testing. For more information on the ruling, check out our full coverage at PCMag.com.