Why, hello there!-I was just appraising some rare PDFs in the back room when I heard you come in. Feel free to peruse our inventory, and if you have any questions, please allow me-one of the world’s foremost authorities on and purveyors of fine electronic books-to act as your steward through the wonderfully esoteric world of antique eBook collecting. More »
Kubi means “neck” in Japanese and that’s just what this new telepresence product is supposed to reproduce. This rig, designed to work with any tablet, essentially creates a user-controlled pivoting system that allows the person you are video-calling to control the position, angle, and rotation of the tablet camera.
It’s not amazingly complex nor is it completely mobile, facts that make Kubi far more interesting for, say, a small office or conference room. Controlling Kubi’s neck, the caller can look around the room, tilt the camera up and down, and keep the camera and tablet a safe distance from the proceedings. As a parent, I’d see Kubi being useful when talking with the family. Rather than one kid hogging the iPad, I could control my position remotely and see everyone in the room from a slight distance.
I talked with Kubi’s creators, Marcus Rosenthal and Ilya Polyakov, both of whom have extensive experience in robotics. They said that they didn’t want Kubi to be mobile “because motors are expensive” and the batteries used to power an upright robot would be prohibitively costly. In short, it was far simpler to create a cool telepresence system than a sub-par roaming robot.
As we tested the Kubi it became clear that this pair was onto something. By giving each party control over their view, the Kubi becomes a sort of surrogate head rather than a stationary webcam. Being able to move from person to person and look each participant in the eye is a cool feeling.
They’re selling pre-orders on the device for $200 on Indiegogo and are looking for funding of $200,000. I doubt it will be difficult.
Halo 4 may not have shared the success Call of Duty: Black Ops II has, especially when you consider the game is exclusive to the Xbox 360. But the series itself has had quite the run as Microsoft announced today 50m units of the entire Halo series have been sold.
Halo debuted on the Xbox back in 2001 and since then has received regular updates all the way to this year’s Halo 4, which earned $220 million in its first 24 hours. Before today’s announcement, the Halo series had sold a total of 46 million units, which leads us to assume Halo 4 has sold a total of 4 million units.
Halo’s popularity has earned an inevitable sequel from Halo 4′s developer, 343 Industries, which the team is currently working on its early development. Aside from the sequel, 343 Industries is currently debating whether or not to deliver a second season of Spartan Ops, which is a game mode that tells a completely different story from the campaign and encourages co-op play.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Archos GamePad Now Available , NVIDA GeForce Experience App Finds Near-Perfect Game Settings,
The Nokia Lumia 920 can be used with any gloves: it’s a miracle. But for the vast majority of other smartphones, that’s not the case, so there are a variety of sellers making touchscreen compatible gloves. Netherlands-based Mujjo was one of the first to try making some that are actually stylish and durable. This year, they updated their basic model (as well as introduced some expensive leather ones), and the improvements make them an even better buy.
… gloves that are actually decently warm, comfortable and good-looking, while still offering very accurate and responsive compatibility with standard capacitive touchscreens like those used on the iPhone, iPad and Android devices. These are also a step above the generic ones you’d find on Amazon, though they’re also a tad more expensive.
… people who like to stay warm but also use their devices while outside, perhaps in the harsh winters of Canada, Fargo or Alaska. Actually these are just about the right comfort level for anywhere where it gets cold enough to snow, and do a good job of keeping digits insulated without making your hands sweaty.
… they’re a cut above the rest of the pack in terms of quality, durability and design. And they’re made by a small accessory hardware startup in the Netherlands that got started in 2010, so you’re supporting entrepreneurs committed to creating awesome products and also helping a friend or loved one keep their hands warm and also touchscreen-friendly.
Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean the sun has gone away. In a few months it will be summer and sunglass season again. That’s a certainty. Also a certainty: right now is an excellent time to purchase sunglasses. While everyone’s forgotten about protecting their eyes from UV rays because it’s a little chilly, sunglass retailers and manufacturers are discounting like crazy to prop up demand, and Amazon’s price matching. The result? A perfect chance to buy an iconic luxury sunglasses at very un-luxury prices. Cop them now, because when you want them in May you’ll be paying full price. They also make excellent gifts (hint, hint.) More »
If there’s one simple way of finding out where you’re going to dump all of your recyclable materials in the United States, it’s the iRecycle app. This app works for Android, iOS for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, and in your browser. While the browser version is – surprisingly – less efficient than the app as it’s actually not an app at all (head to Earth911.com to see), you’ll find that it’s all using the same basic directory of information, and it all works.
What this application does is present you with an amazingly simple-to-use interface that shows categories of recycling, first of all. What you’re seeing above is the chart that pops up on the iPhone 5 (full-screen, yes!), it showing you a set of 12 categories: Automotive, Batteries, Construction, Electronics, Garden, Glass, Hazardous, Household, Metal, Paint, Paper, and Plastic. From there you’ll go to secondary categories.
In Metal you’ll have everything from Aerosol Cans to Lawnmowers to Vehicle Donation – and yes, there is some double-posting of secondary categories to make sure you get to where you want to go even if you select Metals instead of Automotive to recycle the metal in your vehicle. Once you select this secondary category, you get a screen that uses your current location (or a location of your choice) and gives you all of the nearby locations that recycle the product you’ve chosen.
Once you’ve found the one you want, you get a display with information including a phone number, the ability to visit the institution’s website, a link to Maps (Apple Maps if you’re on the iPhone or your choice of maps if you’re on Android), a checklist of other materials accepted, Restrictions, and additional notes. Of course each of these items only appears if the location has that information readily available – sometimes all you get is a location.
There’s also a Share button in the upper right-hand corner when you get to a location screen and everything connects as it should. This app is so easy to use and so helpful when we want to recycle our wares that it’s almost amazing that it’s free. Thanks to Earth911 though, it certainly is free, and it’s certainly worth a download – grab it!
iRecycle app for iOS and Android Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Most of the drone-related news these days may focus on military or police use, but those are far from the only applications for the unmanned aerial vehicles. Case in point: the World Wildlife Fund, which has now received a $5 million grant from Google’s Global Impact Awards program to fund UAVs designed to monitor endangered species. Details on the drones themselves remain light, but the WWF says they’ll be used to detect poachers and tagged animals on the ground, and then relay that information to a command center and mobile law enforcement units. What’s more, while that initial funding will only provide something of a testbed, the WWF says it’s focusing on “easily-replicable technologies,” with its ultimate goal being to create an “efficient, effective network that can be adopted globally.”
[Image credit: WWF]
Via: BBC News
Source: WWF
Everyday objects are slowly being infused with modern technology. There are fridges that can monitor their contents and automatically order online to restock themselves, socks that know how many times they’ve been washed and now, with the help of a tiny device, your car can be made so smart, it knows when it’s being towed and will tell you so.
This device is called the moj.io. I know, I wish they had come up with a better name. But the folks behind it probably spent all their brain power on the device itself, because it sounds very promising. The moj.io connects to the Internet via cellular networks and to your car via the On-Board Diagnostics OBD-II port (found in all major automotive lines since 1995). Once connected and paired to your mobile device, the moj.io can tell you where your car is located, if it’s being towed, the car’s overall condition and more. moj.io apps can also be more proactive. They can hold calls and text alerts while you’re driving to keep you safer or send text message alerts based on the speed and location of the car. Parents and obsessed lovers will find that one useful.
Pledge at least $89 (USD) on Indiegogo to reserve a moj.io unit. But because it needs to be online – as of now, it’s partnered with T-Mobile in the USA and Rogers in Canada – expect to pay extra for an Internet subscription. U.S. pricing is $7.99/month or $79/year, and canadian pricing is $12.99/month or $119/year. Though if you buy on Indiegogo, you get your first 3 months of service for free.
I’m sure some people have a few privacy concerns with having a device like this available to everyone, but I think that overall the benefits outweigh the risks. Besides, tracking technology has been available for a long time now, it’s just that now it’s in the hands of common folk.
There is absolutely no reason anyone needs a miniature wriggling tentacle arm sticking out of one of their computer’s USB ports. But that doesn’t make this seemingly pointless accessory any less awesome, or any less desirable. More »
Since there are tons of music player options for the desktop, a lot of underrated players get left behind, MediaMonkey being one of them. However, the team is still alive and well, and they just released a beta music player app for Android that comes with some pretty cool features that a lot of music junkies can benefit from.
The new beta is packed with all of the features you would expect in a mobile music player, and it also comes with video support even. You’ll also find podcast support, handy category navigation, a car-friendly user interface, even WiFi syncing if you happen to use MediaMonkey for Windows, since that’s the only way to take advantage of the feature.
The app can also wirelessly syncs play history (play counts, last played, date added, etc.), and it’ll also sync playlists, videos, and podcasts. However, in order to take advantage of all the new features, you’ll have to update to the beta version of the desktop player for Windows as well — both are free downloads.
The app might not be for everyone, but folks who want excessive control over their local music collection should definitely consider giving it a try. It’s not available in the Google Play store, so for now you’ll have to download the APK file from the Reddit thread, since MediaMonkey decided to release it on their closed forums.
[via Reddit]
MediaMonkey beta for Android released, offers WiFi sync, podcasts, more is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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