Nendo Rootote Bag: For Puppet Shows on the Go

Some multi-purpose things have a lot of alternate uses, and pretty good ones, too, like the shopping bag that doubles as a helmet. Then there’s Nendo’s Rootote Bag, which has a more novel second use, apart from being a bag, it’s also a puppet show.

puppet bag 1
These bags with puppets, with puppets like kangaroos, bears, humans, and dinosaurs, are a concept design by Oki Sato. Unexpectedly, there are many uses that an adult might have with an integrated puppet. For one, it’s instant entertainment for the kids and will keep them quiet, at least for a little while.

Another use for it, although pretty unconventional, is as a glove–so when you spot something you’d rather not touch, well, you can just stick your hand in the puppet and use it as you would a glove (but make sure to wash it thoroughly afterwards.)

Nendo Rootote0

If you’re sold on the idea, then you might have to wait a while because they’re not being commercially produced yet.

[via Spoon & Tamago via Core77]


Nokia 808 PureView review: the future of mobile imaging, wrapped in the smartphone past

Nokia 808 PureView review: the future of mobile imaging, wrapped in smartphone's past

The Nokia 808 PureView has a 41-megapixel camera sensor. But you knew that. The crystallization of five years of imaging R&D has landed, and the timing couldn’t have been better for Nokia. Alongside uncomfortable financial reading, its move to Windows Phone hasn’t exactly set the smartphone world alight just yet. It’s seemingly established itself as the go-to WinPho choice for American customers thanks to some aggressive pricing, but with news that the next iteration of Windows Phone won’t come to the Lumia 900, many will hold out for Nokia’s next handset. Whatever that device will be, it’s likely to bring the same PureView technology we’ve got here on the Nokia 808 PureView — a Symbian-based handset whose software has seen better days. However, OS be damned, it still blew away attendees at this year’s Mobile World Congress. Impressive stuff, given that it’s the same show where HTC’s admirable One series debuted.

That huge sensor is paired with a new five-element Carl Zeiss lens and a refreshed flash with double the strength of the one on the Nokia N8 — the existing cameraphone champ. But behind the technical bullet points, it’s how Nokia maximizes the 41-megapixel sensor, oversampling with those pixels to create improved 5-, 8- , 3- and 2-megapixel images, reducing noise and improving low-light performance. However, when it comes to software, Symbian Belle (with Feature Pack 1 in tow) lags behind the likes of Android, iOS and Windows Phone in user experience and app provision. Similarly, the chunky handset flies in the opposite direction of the trend for slim smartphones. Is that camera module really all Nokia thinks (and hopes) it is? What’s more, is Symbian relevant enough for such future-facing goodness? Let’s find out.

Continue reading Nokia 808 PureView review: the future of mobile imaging, wrapped in the smartphone past

Nokia 808 PureView review: the future of mobile imaging, wrapped in the smartphone past originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch Garry Kasparov and Alan Turing Play Chess [Video]

Sixty years ago, Alan Turing sat down to write a computer algorithm which could play a human at chess. Sadly, he never got to see it running on a computer, but now it’s been coded up and who better to pit it against than… Garry Kasparov? Gulp. More »

Hulu Plus Android app updated for more devices

If you pay for Hulu’s premium monthly service and are frustrated because you still can’t access any of the content from your smartphone, your days of waiting may be over. That is, if you have a Galaxy S II or HTC One. Those are among the new devices to gain Hulu Plus support in the latest update to the Android app. The Galaxy Tab 2 tablet is also included in the new version of the app.

For those who could already stream Hulu on your device, the update may still be relevant to you. The company said that it optimized playback for 7-inch tablets and also enhances resolution for devices capable of presenting high-resolution video. While support for Hulu Plus is still not universal for Android users, the company remains committed to providing updates as often as possible.

Hulu Plus’s availability on Android has been dicey from the start. When it first began rolling out to Google’s mobile platform, very scattered and random updates brought the service to devices with seemingly no logic. Some suggested they were only adding support for devices that their employees happened to have around the office. But now, it has grown to very wide availability.

[via Engadget]


Hulu Plus Android app updated for more devices is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


HTC Connect certifies AV gear for your One series phone, Pioneer lines up

HTC Connect certifies AV gear for your One series phone, Pioneer lines up

HTC is going on something of a certification tangent: it’s following its PlayStation Suite approval with its own program, HTC Connect. Home AV equipment with the label promises to lift the standards for streaming media to or from one of HTC’s devices. The rubber stamp will be limited at first to DLNA audio and video, but it should eventually include just about anything that doesn’t involve a wire, such as Bluetooth, in-car media, NFC and wireless speakers. There isn’t an immediate deluge of partners. HTC has scored a rather big ally, however: Pioneer’s DLNA-ready receivers and wireless speakers this year, and beyond, will flaunt the HTC Connect badge. Don’t brag about the media credentials of your One X just yet. Although the Connect seal of approval won’t be needed for media streaming anytime soon, it will only be coming to the One series through an upgrade in the months ahead.

Continue reading HTC Connect certifies AV gear for your One series phone, Pioneer lines up

HTC Connect certifies AV gear for your One series phone, Pioneer lines up originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ken Berger: The Challenge of Measuring What Matters Most

For the vast majority of charitable causes, there is no publicly available information on results. In other words, most charities either do not currently compile such information or if they do, they are unwilling to share it publicly.
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Brian Secemsky, M.D.: Day 1 of Residency: Go

As this is the season for spanking-new physician trainees to flood hospitals around the U.S., I decided to chronicle my own very first 24 hours as a doctor so the reader can get a better insight into this annual event.
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Women & Co: Give Yourself the Gift of Time: 3 Time-Saving Strategies

By Jacqueline Cadogan, Marketing Operations Manager, Women & Co.

What would you do with an extra ten minutes today? What about an hour? We all know time is a precious gift. No matter how we spend them, the hours, minutes and seconds seem to fly. As a result, we’re constantly looking for new time-saving strategies. Are you looking for ways you might be able to shave a few minutes off of your daily routine? Keep reading to learn how ladies just like you get through their to-do lists with time to spare.

“Take advantage of your evening hours.” — Angie, 35, mother of 2, Richfield Park, NY

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Jonathan_Miller: Presbyterians: Help Prevent Injustice Against Israel

This misguided, ineffectual proposal would have only one meaningful ramification — It would seriously deepen a growing chasm between the church and some of its strongest allies: the Jewish people.
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Yep, Kickstarter Is Pretty Much a Scam for Useless Crap [Watch This]

The Onion, as only The Onion can, exposed the cesspool of faux-inventions of Kickstarter by calling the folks who start Kickstarter projects, Internet criminals who “bilk friends and families out of terrible, ill-conceived and unnecessary personal projects”. Yep, pretty much. More »