Nov 29
A genius dad invented something to make dad life easier: a flying, camera-equipped quadrocopter that could follow his kids to the school bus stop. That’s right, a personal drone for his kids. Genius, I say. Genius! More »
Nov 29
Kongregate has stepped out of its web browser boundaries by offering free-to-play downloadable desktop games alongside its existing catalog of browser-based titles. Only Super Monday Night Combat, Smashmuck Champions and Bomb Buddies are available for desktop play, but the outfit is set to beef up its selection in the following weeks. It’s not likely that this development will cause Steam to nervously eye its rearview mirror for a competitor on its coattails, but it’s interesting to see GameStop’s F2P game venture ever so slightly dip its toes into Valve’s territory. However, Gabe Newell’s platform may yet have some fiercer competition in the brick-and-mortar retailer’s Impulse storefront. Ready to stock up on the gratis Windows games? Hit the bordering source link to get started.
Continue reading Kongregate breaks free of the browser, serves up downloadable games
Filed under: Desktops, Internet
Source: Kongregate
Nov 29
Back in August, we gave you a hands-on look at Sony’s 84-inch 4K Bravia 84X900 TV, a massive slate of eye candy if ever there was such a thing. Then, in September, the unit became available for pre-order despite its lack of a definitive release date. Now Sony has announced the 4k Ultra HD Video Player, which comes loaded with some 4k content.
One common argument against 4k ultra-HD televisions is the lack of content to pair up with the super displays. While the TV can display 4k movies, for example, users won’t get to enjoy that feature unless they have access to 4k content. To answer these bits of criticism, Sony is bundling the 4k Ultra HD Video Player with its XBR-84X900 4k TV.
The player has a hard drive, and is preloaded with 10 movies: The Amazing Spiderman, Total Recall, Bad Teacher, Salt, The Other Guys, Battle Los Angeles, The Karate Kid, That’s My Boy, Taxi Driver, and The Bridge on the River Kwai. In addition to these films, there’s some other 4k content tossed into the mix, which is said to include “shorts from cool contributors like Red Bull Media House and others.”
While this is all fine and dandy, it’s there’s obviously still some big limitations when it comes to 4k content, leaving consumers mostly with a giant, expensive, super-high-definition TV and lackluster content. Sony has a response to this, though, saying that its “solution” will be updated on occasion with more content. The announcement also suggests that Sony plans to reveal 4k content solutions at CES this January, which we’ll be covering.
[via Sony]
Sony announces bundled 4K Ultra HD Video Player with preloaded content is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Nov 29
‘Sonar Vision’ system touted by researchers to help the blind hear what they can’t see
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a prototype system that could one day aid the congenitally blind by converting video into auditory cues. The “Sonar Vision” works in a similar way to a bat’s echolocation system, but instead of chirping, uses a video camera embedded in a pair of glasses. A laptop or smartphone then converts the images into sound, which is transmitted to a headset. After 70 hours or so of training, that allowed users to identify objects like faces or houses, position objects in space and even identify individual letters. Surprisingly, researchers also found that after only several hours using the device, regions of the cerebral cortex dedicated to sight became activated for the first time in the congenitally sightless. That could possibly let doctors “wake up” regions of the brain never before used, according to the team, “even after a lifetime of blindness.”
[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Science, Alt
Via: Ubergizmo
Source: CEA
Nov 29
You know when you watch a beer commercial or an ad about fruit or anything relating food and think, man, that looks absolutely delicious? And then when you go to the market to get that same exact food, it looks absolutely nothing like the commercial. It happens every time! How do ad men make the products look so good? With awesome slow motion, apparently. More »
Nov 29
What Movies Think of Photographers
Posted in: Today's Chili
What do you think of photographers in real life? Guys and girls with awesome jobs? Creepy paparazzi who sell their soul to TMZ? Truth tellers? Lighting obsessed? Here is how movies portray photographers. More »
Nov 29
For many, the very definition of the custom desktop PC is the ability to upgrade the processor, choosing a $300 retrofit instead of a $1,500 whole-system replacement. We might have to kiss that symbolism goodbye if sources at Impress Watch, SemiAccurate and ZDNet are genuinely in the know. They claim that desktop processors built on Intel’s future, 14-nanometer Broadwell architecture will be switching from contacts based on a land grid array (LGA) to a ball grid array (BGA) that could dictate soldering the chips in laptop-style, rather than putting them in an upgrade-friendly socket. The exact reasons for the supposed switch aren’t available, but there’s speculation that it would be mutually beneficial for Intel and PC manufacturers: Intel would have more control over motherboard chipsets, while builders could save money on assembly and conveniently drive more outright PC sales. Intel hasn’t confirmed any of the strategy, so we’d still be very cautious before making any presumptions. If real, though, the switch would be glum news for chipset makers, motherboard makers and most of all hobbyists; even though socket changes have made CPU upgrades tricky in the past, having the option removed altogether could put a damper on the do-it-yourself community.
Source: Impress Watch, SemiAccurate, ZDNet
Nov 29
The folks over at Gigaom have scored a variety of exclusive details about the upcoming Redbox Instant by Verizon video streaming service. The Netflix competitor has been slated for launch by the end of the year, but no official details have been released. The service’s help section, however, was available publically online, and revealed quite a few details.
Sadly, if you head over to the Redbox Instant Help Center now, you’ll be presented with a login screen that requires a password for access. However, before the company locked down the pages, several pieces of information were gleaned. Subscriptions to Redbox Instant by Verizon will be cheap, starting at $6 a month. This subscription will provide subscribers with complete access to Redbox’s video library.
The next subscription level is priced at $8 per month, and includes four credits per month for movie rentals at Redbox rental boxes. To ensure the machine has the right movie, users can reserve the DVD online or with the service’s app. Unused rental credits expire at the end of the month, so don’t get your hopes up on letting them build over time.
For those who want to watch videos offline, such as during a plane ride or while on vacation, Redbox Instant also offers video-on-demand rentals starting at $0.99. The rented videos can be downloaded onto a device, such as a tablet, and watched offline. Meanwhile, all online streaming is performed using Silverlight. To start with, Redbox Instant will only be available online, and on iOS/Android gadgets, certain Blu-ray players and Samsung televisions, as well as the Xbox 360 console. Up to five devices can be used with an Instant account. If the help files are any indication, the service may be launching on or around December 17.
[via Gigaom]
Redbox Instant by Verizon details surface, hint at mid-December launch is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Nov 29
Storm Book Tower-A Slim Desktop PC
Posted in: Today's Chili
Storm System Technology is proud to bring you their latest slim desktop PC, the Storm Book Tower-A. Powered by a 3.40GHz AMD A10-5700 processor, the system is equipped with an AMD A75 chipset, a Radeon HD 7660D integrated graphics card, a 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD Super Multi Drive, a 300W 80PLUS BRONZE power supply and runs on Windows 7 Home Premium OS. The Storm Book Tower-A is available now for 39,900 Yen (about $486). [Product Page]
Nov 29
Dell E2313H 23-Inch Full HD Monitor
Posted in: Today's Chili
Here we have a new Full HD monitor from Dell, the E2313H. Adopting a TN panel, this new 23-inch LED-backlight monitor provides 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 250 cd/m2 brightness, 5 ms response time and 170/160 degree viewing angles, and features both DVI-D and mini D-Sub connectors. The E2313H is available now for 14,980 Yen (about $182). [Dell]
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