Oct 25
Oct 25
The Dutch design firms Studio Roosegaarde and Hejimans Infrastructure just came up with a brilliant prototype for a “Smart Highway” that uses interactive lighting that adapts to driving conditions to make the roads safer. Enough with crap infotainment systems inside cars that distract us from driving with Twitter and dinner reservations—let’s light up the roads like a night club until no one crashes again. More »
Oct 25
What do you think about video games – are they capable of turning that cute little child of yours into a rampaging monster many years from now, or could it actually have junior end up as a better person in the long run? The Boston Children’s Hospital did run a study using video games, hoping that the Rage Control game can help kids with their anger management issues. The study saw researchers rely on traditional treatments with children (aged 9 to 17) who had anger control issues, and these include cognitive-behavioral therapy, relaxation techniques, and social skills.
As for the second group of 18 children, they not only received the same standard treatments but also played a video game known as Rage Control for the last 15 minutes of their session. The video game sounds like Space Invaders, where kids had to keep their heart rate under a preset limit, or they are unable to destroy enemy spaceships in the process. Researchers claimed that the video game group were far better at keeping their heart rates down, and this resulted in clinically-significant decreases in anger scores on standardized tests. Hmmm, perhaps Bruce Banner should have given this a go instead of scouring the universe for a “cure”.
I do wonder, though, just how kids keep their heart rates down when playing a video game. I mean, I get all excited especially during the more tense moments in a game, how about you? [link to study]
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: SPARX video game treats depression in youngsters, Counter Strike kept boredom at bay in Mars500 experiment,
Oct 25
The Windows Store is a topic of a lot of debate in gaming, but one issue that’s been a particular sticking point is its lack of some incredibly popular games because of a ratings policy mixup. Now that’s been fixed. More »
Oct 25
Ever since 9/11, traveling by air has gotten a whole lot more restrictive. We have to remove our laptops and turn them on, take off our shoes and belts even, have our jackets turned over at airport security checks, or even let our fingers get swabbed just in case there is a trace of explosives on them. Of course, the ruling of not being able to bring liquids is another pet peeve of mine, but in the name of safety, anything goes, right? Here we are with word that there is a vulnerability in the US domestic airline boarding pass, where its barcodes could enable travellers to bring aboard unauthorized items.
The barcodes actually reveal just which airport checks a passenger will face, and something like your ordinary smartphone can do the barcode reading. To put it in a nutshell, it could very well undermine the US’s PreCheck system, where it randomly picks on which frequent fliers are able to skip part of the entire pre-boarding security shebang. Passengers knowing whether they have been picked or not, assuming they have had ulterior motives that are murderous in the end, could change plans at the last minute without enforcement agencies any better off for it. Again, this proves that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Bikinis with barcodes makes for an interesting ad platform, Barcodas converts barcodes into music on the iPhone,
Oct 25
If a vintage video game is rare enough, it can sell for huge money. Back in 2010, a copy of the Atari 2600 game Air Raid sold for $31,600. The reason is because it was the only known copy with a box. Now another copy of Air Raid has shown up with both the box and instruction manual. That makes this the only known complete copy in existence. As of now it is up to nearly $18,000 on an online auction.
This complete copy of Air Raid was discovered by a family in Southern California. Their father was given the game by a sales rep for the company Men-A-Vision while he tended to a game retail space in a local drug store.
After the store closed he was given the video game stock and the Atari display kiosk, where these games have been stored for about thirty years.
They read about the selling price of the first one and of course liked what they heard. I wonder how high it will go before the auction ends on November 4th.
[via Geekosystem]
Oct 25
It is rather hard to believe that a company like Bang & Olufsen has yet to roll out a Smart TV that they can call their own, and we are proud to announce that such a day has finally arrived. The BeoVision 11 is Bang & Olufsen’s first foray into the Smart TV scene, where it intends to be one (luxurious) all-in-one entertainment and information hub in your living room. Touting a careful balance of form, function and technology, the BeoVision 11 sports half a dozen speakers that has been crammed into its slim interior, where each of these speakers will boast of a dedicated 32 watt ICEpower amplifier.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: LG looks towards webOS Smart TV, LG 84-inch 4K Ultra Definition TV up for grabs, prepare to dig deep,
Oct 25
Moog’s LEV-96 sensoriactuator prototype wields touch control of 96 simultaneous harmonics, we go eyes-on (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Late last week, Moog outed its LEV-96 sensoriactuator prototype and offered a glimpse at its latest R&D unit. Even though it’s still in the early phases of beta-testing, we were able to stop by the Moog Music factory for a closer look and a brief glimpse of the gear in action ahead of its appearance at Moogfest. While the unit is installed on acoustic guitars for the time being, the company says that similar tech can be used on other acoustic instruments and eventually to other surfaces — this is just the current manifestation. Since the tech modifies the guitar’s natural harmonics and string vibrations, the LEV-96 is getting cozy on both traditional acoustic guitars and those outfitted with pickups in its present state.
As far as controls go, the entire unit is capacitive touch-enabled from the moment a finger swipe powers it on. Sliders allow for adjusting the intensity, harmonics and note duration while the other buttons enable arpeggio presets and modulation that includes tremolo and random harmonic tweaks. Those sliders remain in play when a preset is activated, serving to enable further adjustments on selected There is a lock button, too, so that you don’t accidentally make a switch mid-strum. All of these finger-friendly surfaces work alongside two pairs of electromagnetic pickup channels per string to wrangle the 96 simultaneous harmonics. Magnets work to either increase of decrease the string’s motion, bringing out vibrational modes that have always been in-play on acoustic instruments, but have never been offered the power needed to make ’em sing. The folks at Moog are quick to remind us that the LEV-96 is still in its infancy, but you can rest assured we’ll be keeping an eye our for what develops. For a peek at the tech in action, head on past the break for a really quick demo that we kept brief due to that fact that this is an early prototype.
Gallery: Moog LEV-96 prototype eyes-on
Filed under: Misc
Moog’s LEV-96 sensoriactuator prototype wields touch control of 96 simultaneous harmonics, we go eyes-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 25
Skitch, the popular screenshot and image-editing tool, has arrived for Windows 7 and Windows 8. The “Windows Desktop” version is essentially for Windows 7, but it also works on Windows 8 as a legacy app. The Windows 8 version, however, is fully compatible with Microsoft’s new operating system, so you’ll get a seamless Skitch experience in Windows 8 when using their native Windows 8 app.
Skitch for Windows 8 has a new interface that includes the familiar Windows 8-style tiles, and there’s also some new features that are included. There’s a Pixelate feature that allows you to quickly pixelate a section of an image out, whether it’d be personal information or even a funny NSFW photo where you might not want to reveal everything.
There’s also a highlighter tool that let’s you quickly highlight text in an image, and you can even change the styling of the highlighter such as color and thickness. And not surprisingly, since Skitch is owned by the popular note-taking application Evernote, the two apps are seamlessly integrated with one another.
Probably one of the biggest new features is the addition of map integration. If you want to tell someone where to meet you by using a map, simply click the Map icon, search for the location, and then just draw an arrow with some text. Then, all you have to do is save the image and send it to your friend.
Both Skitch apps are available now. The Windows 8 app can be found the Windows Store, and the Windows Desktop app can be downloaded directly from the Skitch website.
Skitch launches Windows Desktop and Windows 8 apps is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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