Researchers suggest that premonition could be real

I’d wager that most people have been doing something at work, at school, or at home that they weren’t really supposed to be doing. Suddenly, you get a feeling that the thing you’re not supposed to be doing is going to get you in trouble, and you quit doing it only seconds before your boss or parents walk into the room. Some believe that is premonition or the anticipation of an event before you have a conscious reason to know about it.

Researchers at Northwestern University claim that they have found evidence that premonition may actually exist. The researchers looked at the results of 26 studies published between 1978 and 2010. The team of researchers acknowledges that the subconscious human mind sometimes knows more about the situation or environment than the conscious mind.

Lead author of the study Julia Mossbridge, a research associate in the Visual Perception, Cognition and Neuroscience Laboratory at the University, said that it remained unclear whether humans have the ability to predict future important events without clues as to what might be happening. The researchers used the example of a worker playing a video game at work.

In the example, the worker is able to shut down his video game and get back to work only seconds before his boss walks into the room. Mossbridge specifically says that she and her collaborators are not 100% confident that people are actually sensing the future. She says that she prefers to call the phenomenon “anomalous anticipatory activity.”

“Our analysis suggests that if you were tuned into your body, you might be able to detect these anticipatory changes between two and 10 seconds beforehand and close your video game,” Mossbridge said. “You might even have a chance to open that spreadsheet you were supposed to be working on. And if you were lucky, you could do all this before your boss entered the room.”

“I like to call the phenomenon ‘anomalous anticipatory activity,’” she said. “The phenomenon is anomalous, some scientists argue, because we can’t explain it using present-day understanding about how biology works; though explanations related to recent quantum biological findings could potentially make sense. It’s anticipatory because it seems to predict future physiological changes in response to an important event without any known clues, and it’s an activity because it consists of changes in the cardiopulmonary, skin and nervous systems.”

[via Belljarnews]


Researchers suggest that premonition could be real is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Laser Cutting Table For Amateurs Slices What You Sketch

In the not-too-distant future home manufacturing will be as commonplace as home printing. Devices like the Makerbot will fuel the revolution, but only when they become as easy to use as this Constructable that precisely cuts materials based on doodles made with a laser pointer. More »

Robotic butlers, bartenders and receptionists at Carnegie Mellon (video)

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At school like Carnegie Mellon, it sort of figures that you’d find robots just about everywhere, performing the sorts of tasks we’ve traditionally left to us more fleshy types. In the two days we’ve spent on campus, we’ve seen ‘bots do just about everything — some far more autonomously than others. Take Roboceptionist — the robotic secretary was one of the first intelligent beings we encountered upon arriving on the premises, artificial or otherwise, greeting us from a wooden kiosk near the entrance to Newell-Simon Hall.

The receptionist’s creators named him Marion “Tank” Lefleur — but don’t call him “Marion.” It’s really a sort of a “Boy Named Sue” scenario, and calling him by his birth name is a surefire way of getting on his bad side. When he’s not getting irritated, Tank’s tasked with helping you find things on campus — people, halls, food — by way of a small keyboard. He’s got a surprisingly complex backstory that informs his answers. Ask him how his mom and dad are doing and you’re bound to get some fairly bizarre responses — same with more straight forward questions about finding a place to eat on campus, for that matter.

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Robotic butlers, bartenders and receptionists at Carnegie Mellon (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Uses TVs in Elevators to Scare the Crap out of People

Do you know what it feels like to have an elevator fall apart while you’re in it? Nah, me neither. But these people did – and they lived to tell the stories of their harrowing experience.

Not that their lives were really at risk, because it was all part of an elaborate prank of sorts that LG pulled to show off the ultra-realistic images on their IPS flat-panel monitors.

lg elevator floor prank
I would think that some people got pretty pissed after realizing the stunt that LG had pulled. What LG did was added a layer to the floor of the elevator, with  nine embedded monitors that looked like floor tiles. Once the elevator began moving, the video tiles would fall away to reveal an image of the elevator shaft.

And that’s when all the fun begins.

The effect looks so real, it’s scary. But for those of us who weren’t in that elevator, it’s freakin’ hilarious.

[via Geeky Gadgets via Dvice]


Bleeding Skull Candle is Bloody Cool and Perfect for Halloween

Turn the lights out and light your candles. It’s Halloween in a matter of days and we all know that dark houses set the mood for a creepier atmosphere.

And what better candle could you possibly get for this ghoulish time of the year than this Bleeding Skull Candle from ThinkGeek?

Bleeding Skull CandleThe ‘bleeding’ part of its name isn’t just a name, because that’s what the candle actually does. Light it up and watch with horror as blood slowly pours out from one of its eye sockets.

The longer it burns, the more blood there will be.

It might be kind of difficult to clean up but it’s one of the funnest candles I’ve ever seen to date. Priced at $12.99(USD) It’s one of the many fun items you can find at ThinkGeek.


Samsung TecTile 3.0 update offers even more NFC capabilities

TecTile updated to version 3.0 today, and it brings a lot of new features and includes various enhancements that allow for better customization that NFC junkies will love. If you’re not familiar with Samsung‘s TecTile app, it’s a proprietary application for Samsung devices that lets users write and re-write different activities to NFC tags.

Users can now add different profiles to TecTile, meaning that you can allow custom settings for various situations like work, home, night, etc., and each of which can be activated (and deactivated) using NFC. As an example, if you want your phone to be on different settings when you’re at work, you can assign it to a “work” profile, and then write it to an NFC tag. As soon as you tap the tag, the profile is activated.

The update also includes assigning multiple actions to a single tag, which compliments the aforementioned profiles feature. With a single tag, you can trigger things like silent mode, full brightness, and disable WiFi all at once. This is probably the most convenient feature included in the update, since a lot of users end up wanting to change multiple settings all the time.

Aside from those features, the update also brings stored tag history (for reference on older tags that you made in the past), support for private tags (so that only your phone can read them), and the ability to unlock a previously locked TecTile tag. TecTile 3.0 is a free download and the update is available now in the Google Play store.


Samsung TecTile 3.0 update offers even more NFC capabilities is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Gorilla Glass Gets Around: Now Featured On 1 Billion Devices Worldwide

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Corning’s Gorilla Glass got famous for being the tough, scratch-resistant front screen covering material on Apple’s original iPhone. Then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs talked Corning CEO Wendell Weeks into producing production quantities of the stuff, the legend goes, and now, it’s been featured on over 1 billion devices worldwide, the company announced in its quarterly earnings release.

Gorilla Glass is in larger part responsible for Apple’s feat of dazzling the world with a touchscreen phone that could even survive a tango in your pocket with a set of keys, and still come out looking like a champ. And now it’s virtually everywhere: Acer, Asus Nokia, Dell, HP, HTC, LG, Lenovo, Sony, all use it, and the list goes on.

So what’s that done for Corning’s overall fortunes? Well, in 2011, it neared $700 million in sales, and in Q3 sales alone for 2012 Gorilla Glass totalled $363 million, up 21 percent year over year.

But it’s not all roses, overall sales were up 7 percent from Q2 to $2.04 billion, but down 2 percent year over year, and the company may cut jobs in an effort to reduce costs thanks to weaknesses in its telecommunications and environmental tech divisions.

Gorilla Glass is clearly a key revenue driver for Corning going forward, and it also discussed its upcoming Willow Glass product in the release, which is an “ultra-slim flexible glass” designed to change what’s possible in creating consumer electronic devices. As Corning previous showed off in a video, Willow glass could dramatically improve LCD and OLED panel production, as well as drastically change the shape of future smartphone designs, since it makes curved glass surfaces much easier, and eventually, more affordable to produce.


Apple Store now has Lightning to HDMI and VGA adapters at $49 a pop, souped-up iPad charger

Apple Store now has Lightning to HDMI and VGA adapters at $49 a pop, soupedup iPad charger

We noticed during the iPhone 5 launch that Apple had a big caveat with its Lightning to 30-pin adapter: no video or iPod out support. Now that the new iPads are here with that same connector, the problem’s been partially rectified — for a sum. Namely, you can grab the Lightning to VGA or digital AV (HDMI) adapters for a rather princely $49, though there’s no sign of any iPod support yet. If you’re still holding out for generic models instead, you may want to rethink that plan, as there’s a control chip inside each, and so far only Apple holds the authentication keys. Also, a new $19 12W USB power adapter (which connects directly to the Lightning port) has also appeared for the 3rd and 4th generation iPads, bumping the previous version’s 10W — meaning your slate might get charged a bit quicker.

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Apple Store now has Lightning to HDMI and VGA adapters at $49 a pop, souped-up iPad charger originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SpookyShadowcasters – Phantom Friends for Halloween

Its time to decorate our homes for Halloween, soon we’ll be treat collecting and apple bobbing and enjoying our hand carved pumpkins and several assorted colors of candy corn. Some folks go all out, with cobwebs and tombstones and other-worldly body parts unearthing themselves on front lawns everywhere, but some of us enjoy a more subtle approach to our Halloween decor.

Check out Zombie Shadowcasters, a deceivingly small Halloween item, this simple tea light candle holder with laser cut mahogany plywood silouhuettes of, you guessed it, zombies… these may be all you need to set a haunting mood this holiday season. Using the glow of the tea light (and depending how far you place the boys from the wall) these zombie shadows will move and flicker in almost life size splendor on your walls or curtains, allowing you to experience all the glee of a zombie apocalypse without any of the fear of instantaneous death, or the inconvenience of having your brains eaten. Get yours at geekgems.com for only 15 bucks.

If battery operated entertainment is more your style, you can haunt your surroundings quickly and easily with the Spooky Shadows Light, this frosted rotating dome turns slowly, casting shadows of flying witches, arched back cats, and barren trees all around the room, giving you that elegant cemetery-feel without the need to carve anything, or deface your paneling. Can you imagine the fun of replacing your child’s trusted Disney nightlight with swirling witches and moons. Priceless. Available from spirithalloween.com for under 20 bucks.

For more “Ghoulest Gadgets” visit our Halloween Gadget Guide.
[ SpookyShadowcasters – Phantom Friends for Halloween copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


Brand cachet not bargain pricing will propel iPad mini say analysts

The iPad mini may not have matched the sub-$200 pricing of the Nexus 7, disappointing bargain hunters, but Apple can count on brand appeal to make up the difference according to industry watchers. The new 7.9-inch tablet surprised some with its $329 starting price, $80 more expensive than the closest comparable Nexus 7, but analysts expect the perceived value of Apple’s name and the slightly larger display than 7-inch alternatives to more than make up the shortfall. However, the consensus is that the iPad mini will quickly eat into full-sized iPad sales.

Forbes has been gathering up the opinions, and the premium price tag isn’t seen as a hinderance: in fact, some suggest it’s actually a defensive move by Apple to protect its overall allure. “Critiques will focus on specs, but for many potential buyers the brand is critical” UBS analyst Steve Milunovich argues. “The pricing of the mini was toward the higher end of expectations, protecting margin and Apple’s premium brand.”

“In our view, Apple made a successful attempt to justify why the iPad mini deserves a premium” Nomura analyst Stuart Jeffrey suggested, while J.P. Morgan’s Mark Moskowitz believes that ”the larger screen size and iOS 6 capabilities of iPad mini stand to be good enough to grab share from the $199 tablet crowd.” Topeka Capital’s Bill Choi, however, doesn’t see the tablet segment as anywhere near saturated enough for Apple to need to compete on price. “Apple continues to sell a premium product in the fast growing tablet market at premium price points” he wrote.

The biggest hinderance to sales, in fact, could well be the supply chain. “Apple will sell 5-7m units in the December quarter,” Topeka Capital’s White predicts, “held back by supply constraints.” Once those ease, however, the full-sized iPad should be watching over its shoulder. “Next year,” White warns, “we believe the iPad mini will take off like a wildfire and eventually surpass the iPad in unit sales over the next couple of years.”

Still, there’s room in the market for Android still. “A 65-percent price premium is significant and, we believe, allows for Amazon and Google to continue to build out their positions” Nomura’s analyst counters. “This, in turn, should encourage more tablet-specific Android application development and thus narrow the gap with the iPad over time.”

There’s more on the iPad mini in our hands-on and in our wrap-up of coverage from yesterday’s Apple event


Brand cachet not bargain pricing will propel iPad mini say analysts is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.