Hasta La Gadget!

This is some practical bling.

(Credit: Joseph Xu)

The precious metal gold can be used for purposes of good (like flexible brain implants) rather than evil (like a $9.4 million iPhone 4S). Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a stretchy conductive material out of gold nanoparticles and polyurethane that holds promise for use in flexible electronic devices.

Once embedded in polyurethane, the spherical gold nanoparticles can conduct electricity, even when the material is stretched out to twice its original length.

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The nanoparticles align into a chain form when stretched. “As we stretch, they rearrange themselves to maintain the conductivity, and this is the reason why we got the amazing combination of stretchability and electrical condu… [Read more]

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You’ve got the obnoxiously large grill, the finest cuts of meat, and champagne chilling in the cooler, but if you really want to impress your friends with an over-the-top BBQ this summer, you’ll need a stack of these hundred dollar bill napkins.

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Have no worries about the upcoming collection of DROID devices from Verizon being just as hardcore as the previous set. With yet another set of images appearing today of the devices – or at least the largest of the three – we’re to understand that kevlar patterning continues to be in order. What’s more, it would appear that the area around back-facing camera’s lens brings more ruggedness than ever before, texture and all.

The image you’re seeing above is a combination of a photo and a render. While all sources point toward this device being amongst the reboot of the DROID series, it’s the red stripe down the middle that’s the most questionable. It’s far more likely that the leakster who posted said image added this stripe on their own – not too difficult a photoshop job in the end.

Meanwhile this device has been spotted with black, white, and even full-on red backs over the past few weeks. The color exists across the major part of the back of the device and spills over under the rim of the machine in the front. You can barely see this bit in the black edition due to the blackness of it, but it’s there!

The press event that’s basically a lock for revealing this and the DROID ULTRA as well as the Mini is set for July 23rd. These devices will effectively act as reboots of the DROID RAZR HD, DROID RAZR HD MAXX, and DROID RAZR M. Meanwhile we’ll be waiting for Motorola’s big release in the Moto X, a device that’ll be revealed on its own in a Google-centric event, likely sometime inside August.

VIA: SRLeaks

DROID MAXX keeps the kevlar, Motorola stays rugged is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NOVOGORSK, Russia, July 19 (Reuters) – The Kremlin is unaware of any plans by fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden to seek Russian citizenship, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said on Friday.

Snowden, who is wanted in the United States on espionage charges, is holed up at a Moscow airport. A Russian lawyer who helped him file an application for temporary asylum in Russia this week said Snowden had not ruled out seeking citizenship.

(Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Steve Gutterman, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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Even Thursday night’s epic torrential downpour did not get in the way off the official kick-off party for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim 2014.

Perhaps it helps that it was all in celebration of waterproof fashion.

Models, designers, and chefs gathered poolside (under umbrellas) at South Beach’s Raleigh Hotel — made famous as the backdrop in silver screen movies of glamorous swimmer-actress-bathing-suit-designer Esther Williams.

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