Hasta La Gadget!

This stunningly trippy object is W49B, a supernova remnant 26,000 light years away from Earth. It’s just a thousand years old, which in cosmological terms is not even a heartbeat in the life of a human. It may also be the birth place of a newborn black hole, the youngest ever detected in the galaxy. More »

Here’s an interesting proposition. How about setting up a red-light district in Detroit? Attie Pollard, who is collecting signatures to run for Detroit City Council in the 2013 elections, has proposed this very idea. He thinks designating a zone for strip clubs could help attract tourism and give a jolt to the city’s economy.

“For instance, starting off with a strip club district,” he told WWJ radio. “Once the time goes on, we can see if brothels or other means of sexual entertainment are needed.”

State law would need to be changed in order to allow brothels in the city.

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Iran tried to smuggle thousands of specialized magnets through China for its centrifuges, in an effort to speed its path to reaching nuclear weapons capability, according to a new US report.

The report, by a renowned American nuclear scientist, said the operation highlighted the importance of China as a transit point for Iran’s nuclear program, and called for sanctions against any Chinese firms involved.

The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) report said an Iranian front company used a Chinese commercial website to try to acquire 100,000 ring-shaped magnets, which it is banned from importing under United Nations sanctions, in late 2011.

Two magnets were needed for each of 50,000 first-generation centrifuges used to enrich uranium at Iran’s nuclear plants, in a process that Western powers say is designed to build nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

The ISIS report by US scientist David Albright suggested that the operation meant that Iran was trying to “greatly expand” its number of first-generation centrifuges even as it builds more advanced machines.

“China needs to do more to show that it is a responsible member of the global economy,” the report said.

“In particular, it should crack down on the efforts of Iranian smuggling networks.”

The ISIS said it could not establish whether Iran found a Chinese supplier willing to provide the ring magnets.

The Washington Post, which first reported the ISIS report, quoted a European diplomat with access to intelligence as saying Iran was positioning itself to make swift progress on its nuclear program.

“Each step forward makes the situation potentially more dangerous,” the unnamed diplomat was quoted as saying.

The White House would not comment explicitly on the ISIS report but said that it was aware of Iran’s “aggressive” efforts to avert UN sanctions.

“The unprecedented international sanctions put in place against Iran are not only designed to crystallize the choice for the Iranian regime regarding its nuclear program, but also to deter and disrupt Iranian procurement of components to support its nuclear program,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

The report will raise new concerns about the extent of progress in Iran’s nuclear program, despite international sanctions, which will be at the top of the agenda when President Barack Obama visits Israel next month.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Iran was now closer to crossing the “red line” after which it would be able to build a nuclear weapon but had not yet reached that stage.

It will also raise the stakes for the latest round of talks between world powers and Tehran, due to take place in two weeks.

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This week the folks at Sync Beatz have decided to revive the Tamagotchi craze with a 16th birthday present for the little toy creatures: an officially Bandai-licensed Android app! This app takes on the life of the original pocket toy, with your ability to work with the digital creature from your childhood in one of two modes: one looks like the original toy, the other utilizes your full Android smartphone display. Is it time to jump back in with the pixel-monster babysitting button-pusher once again?

When you are ready to admit you’re curious about the Tamagotchi app, you’ll be ready to start the healing. The original toy (which is still sold today, mind you) consisted of a flattened-out egg-sized plastic keychain device with a display that was able to show off a set of one-color pixels and three rubbery buttons. These buttons activated a series of options in the game, the game consisting of caring for a little smudge of a monster that grew up in real time.

The big draw with this device was that the creature had to be fed, cleaned, played with on a fairly regular basis throughout the day in order to keep it “alive”. The device needed no battery charging because it required so little computing power, and you were able to re-set your game with a holding down of the two outer buttons (of the three). Here in 2013, the story is essentially the same.

It’s quite surprising that Bandai didn’t take the time to develop the game on its own given their involvement in the increasingly mobile world of gaming already. The fact that we see a banner advertisement at the bottom of the display when the game is opened right out of the box is concerning, too – this doesn’t feel as officially representative of the source material as, say, the DIE HARD app also revealed this week.

That said, you do get to raise an electronic pixelated animal on your own, and it does take place in real time. You do get to feed it, play games with it (including a fabulous rock-paper-scissors in mobile mode), and yes, clean it’s poop up as well. You can work with a variety of sharing tools, and you can take comfort in knowing that the app works with the newest version of Android on the Nexus 4 as well.

It’s free, go ahead and grab it if you dare – there are advertisements inside, but they do fade away from time to time, leaving you in Tamagochi peace.

Tamagotchi L.I.F.E. app Review: too cute not to try is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Nikon is rumored to be in the process of putting in place a major rebate plan for its line of lenses.  The rebate plan is supposed to be introduced at midnight on Saturday and is set to include some top selling lenses.  Another major part of the rebate plan is that buyers will not have to buy a body in order to become eligible for the plan.

The major reason why this would happen (if it does happen) is Nikon’s financial report for its third quarter. The company has had a bad quarter and its stocks fell 19% after its third quarter financial summary was released.  Nikon already has a rebate plan on its website, and might try to slash prices further to move its current inventory.  No official word has been given by Nikon about these rumors

Nikon and its rival Cannon Inc. are the dominant players in the digital camera market. However both companies are facing strong competition in the market of lower end cameras as consumers are now using smartphones for taking pictures. If you were waiting to buy your favorite Nikon lenses, but were on a budget, you just might get a really good deal by Sunday.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: New Sony Cameras Rumored For 20th February Announcement, Sony A38, A58 and A78 Rumored For Launch This Year,