Hasta La Gadget!

Have you ever wondered what an atom looks like magnified 100 million times and collected together with some other magnified atoms in the shape of a boy, animated, and set to music? If the answer is yes, we’ve got a short movie after the jump that will make your day. IBM Research, setting out to do something unique and hands-on, has created the world’s smallest movie using atoms.

IBM says this project challenged the limits of movie making, and involved positioning the magnified atoms individually for each frame, resulting in the short film you can watch in the video below titled, “A Boy and His Atom.” Set against a gray backdrop, the story tells of a boy named Atom and his friend, an atom (such a small medium puts limitations on story options, it seems).

How does one make a movie using atoms? With a very large microscope, says IBM. Specifically, with its scanning tunneling microscope, which was the first means by which scientists got to peer at atoms. It is a huge hulking beast of a machine weighing two tons and running at a temp said to be approximately -268 Celsius. The combination of features allowed the researchers to move the atoms around with high levels of precision. You can get a more detailed look at how it was made in the next video.

The project’s principle investigator Andreas Heinrich said: “Capturing, positioning and shaping atoms to create an original motion picture on the atomic-level is a precise science and entirely novel. At IBM, researchers don’t just read about science, we do it. This movie is a fun way to share the atomic-scale world while opening up a dialogue with students and others on the new frontiers of math and science.”

[via IBM]

IBM uses atoms to create world’s smallest movie is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Now with a patent sale, new financing and asset offloads under its belt, Kodak’s homing in on when it might emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In January, the imaging giant predicted it might finally exit its financial default by mid-2013, and now it’s filed paperwork with a New York court indicating it’s on track to meet that goal sometime during its third quarter this year. In addition to the timeline update, the Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement outlines how the firm’s debts have been settled and its future plans, which place heavy emphasis on its commercial imaging business. A hearing for the document and associated strategy is anticipated to be scheduled in mid-June, and creditors will arrange a vote afterwards to decide if everything’s to their liking. Kodak’s certainly not out of the woods just yet, but it’s plodding steadily towards the clearing.

[Image credit: Viktor Nagornyy, Flickr]

Filed under: Cameras, Misc

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Source: Kodak

By David Schwartz

PHOENIX, April 30 (Reuters) – The Arizona Senate on Tuesday approved a measure to make gold and silver legal currency in the state, in a response to what backers said was a lack of confidence in the international monetary system.

The legislation cleared the Republican-controlled Senate by an 18-10 vote after being approved by the state House earlier this month. It now goes to Republican Governor Jan Brewer, who has not indicated if she will sign it into law or veto it.

The bill calls for Arizona to make gold and silver coins and bullion legal tender beginning in mid-2014, joining existing U.S. currency issued by the federal government.

If signed into law, Arizona would become the second state in the nation to establish these precious metals as legal tender. Utah approved such legislation in 2011.

More than a dozen states have considered similar legislation in recent years, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The use of gold and silver as currency would be strictly voluntary, with businesses left free to accept the precious metals as payment for goods and services as they choose.

State Senator Chester Crandell, a Republican and sponsor of the bill, said the ability to use gold and silver in everyday life in the state is still a “work in progress” and that more legislation was needed before it could be viable.

“This is the first step in getting it into the statute so we can build on it,” Crandell said at an earlier hearing on the bill.

But Democratic state Senator Steve Farley said the bill could create massive problems for businesses in the state and government officials trying to administer what would in effect be a dual monetary system.

“There’s no reason for us to do this,” Farley told lawmakers during the final vote on Tuesday. “This is another one of those things that gets national press for us – and not in a good way.”

He also pointed to the recent decline in the value of gold – which sank to $1,321.35 per ounce on April 16, its lowest price in more than two years – noting that “anybody who thinks gold or silver is a really safe place to put your money had better think again.”

The push to establish gold and silver as currency has become increasingly popular in the United States in recent years among some hardline fiscal conservatives, with the backing of groups including the Tea Party movement, American Principles Project and the Gold Standard Institute.

Keith Weiner, president of the Gold Standard Institute advocacy group and a supporter of the bill, said the legislation was needed to counter what he sees as insolvency in the global monetary system.

“The dollar system and all of the other derivative currencies, including the euro, are a recipe for worldwide bankruptcy,” Weiner told lawmakers at an earlier hearing, adding that a “sound and honest money system such as gold and silver” was needed to bring stability. (Editing by Tim Gaynor, Edith Honan and Eric Beech)

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We have seen our fair share of HP Probooks in the past, and this time around, the HP Probook has come under the spotlight yet again, with computer manufacturer HP all set to deliver personal computers as well as computers for Maine’s Learning Technology Initiative. This 4-year contract by the Maine Department of Education intends to see both students as well as teachers have a technology solution so that they can prepare themselves to be the next generation’s workforce. The HP ProBook 4440 would be the device in question here, where it runs on Microsoft Windows and will be the primary technology and learning solution for the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MTLI).

Having said that, ushering in HP also signals the end of Maine’s long-standing exclusive contract with Apple, which kicked off 11 years ago. The MLTI was kicked off thanks to a vision of former Governor Angus King, in an effort to prepare Maine’s students for a rapidly changing world. Having said that, while it is not unusual for corporations to offer discounts in order to pick up a plum contract like this, do you think that the proliferation of HP’s brand to current kids might eventually be translated to permanent customers? After all, humans tend to remain in the comfort zone as we are comfortable with what we know and are familiar with. Food for thought.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Uncover Takes MacBook Customization To The Next Level With Laser Cut Art, Lenovo ThinkPad S431 Is Powered By Windows 8,

The FCC’s approval process can be incredibly secretive, since most companies prefer not to leak out any information that could give away the identity of their star products. Sony, on the other hand, is typically the most liberal when it comes to letting us in on the scoop, and its latest device is no exception. In this case, the T-Mobile version of the Xperia Z was spotted with a full spread of external and internal photos along with a detailed user manual (which also gives away the model, carrier association and features such as WiFi calling). If you’re still in denial for any odd reason, the docs confirm the inclusion of AWS LTE (band 4) and pentaband HSPA+. T-Mobile still hasn’t confirmed that Sony’s flagship is coming to its smartphone lineup, but we likely won’t have to wait very long before we get an official announcement from the Uncarrier. Head below to check out the docs for yourself; or, for the Cliff Notes version, we have a small gallery of images and screenshots below to get the point across.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sony

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Source: FCC