Hasta La Gadget!

Researchers at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria have developed a new kind of image sensor that could one day revolutionize the form factor of digital cameras. Instead of a postage stamp-sized digital eye, the sensor is a flat, flexible, transparent plastic sheet that could be invisibly overlayed on displays, or just used as is. More »

Wearing a computer on your face may sound ridiculous, but according to Conan, Google Glass only marks the first step in the search giant’s ambitions in wearable computing. The real destination? Your ass. More »

Google seems to be looking to bring its ambitious Google Glass wearable computer to market much faster than many likely anticipated, according to the Verge. Google told the site that it hopes to have a “fully-polished” version of Glass available for sale to ordinary consumers by the end of 2013. The cost will be under the $1,500 Google was asking for developer-targeted editions of the headsets put up for pre-order first at Google I/O, and then again earlier this week.

This is the most clear Google has been yet about its public release schedule for the headset-mounted computing device. The company had previously been reported to be targeting a year-end 2013 consumer release, with a price point around that of current smartphones, according to a report from last February by the New York Times’ Nick Bilton. Then in June 2012, Google co-founder Sergey Brin suggested that a rough timeline for developer and consumer availability would put the device in the hands of the general public in 2014.

This time, a Google official has said directly that the company is targeting an end-of-year release date, so there’s little room for different interpretations there, and the credibility of the source isn’t up for debate. Google’s recent release to a broader audience beyond just developers via an application process indicates things might be moving quicker than the company previously expected.

The Verge also got some extended hands-on time with Glass, and notes that it is compatible with iPhone devices as well as Android handsets. They also came away convinced that this is something that Google will eventually be able to turn into a device with mass-market appeal, whether or not it’s quite at that stage by the time it hopefully hits shelves later this year.

Just as the Hylian Shield – in its many incarnations – has protected Link from countless projectiles and attacks, so will this backpack protect your books, Nintendo handhelds and any stray rupees you find.

Etsy seller Ivana Roso aka pepolina said she sewed the individual parts by hand, then put the backpack together using a sewing machine. She didn’t say what materials she used, although looking at it I think it’s made of synthetic leather.

Here’s the backpack held as if it were actually a shield. Emulate at your own risk.

You can order the Hylian Shield backpack from Ivana’s Etsy shop for only $60 (USD).

[via Insanely Gaming]

At more than 7,580 feet long, Seattle’s Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge is already the world’s longest floating bridge. But after fifty years of service the four-lane concrete span has aged worse than Gerard Depardieu. Its pontoon supports can no longer endure the region’s strong storms and the bridge itself is likely to collapse under a moderate earthquake. But Washington can rebuild it, they have the power, they have the technology. More »