Jul 10
Jul 10
In space, a shower can be cause for spending the night in.
(Credit: Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET)
There’s nothing more awkward than when a bit-too-friendly cosmonaut serving with you on the International Space Station finally asks you out.
Caught off guard by his forward request to join him for yet another viewing of “Contact” followed by a romantic spacewalk, you mumble an excuse about having to wash your hair and try to quickly float past him to the nearest hatch.
The showering cop-out isn’t just weak sauce because it’s an old sitcom trope, but it’s gotta sting all the more with the knowledge of the fact that there is no traditional showering on the ISS.
Fortunately, U.S. astronaut Karen Nyberg is relaying her best tips to help navigate such orbital faux pas.
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- … [Read more]
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Jul 10
Jul 10
It’s back to basics for BlackBerry in a set of devices revealed – or re-revealed, depending on how versed in the dark art of leaks you are – to be headed for a bit of a reboot of both the Q10 and the Z10 for 2013. The devices at hand are the BlackBerry A10 and 9720, both of which are being detailed this week.
What you’ve got with the A10 is a new larger version of what was delivered with the Z10 earlier this year. The A10 goes by code-name Aristo and is made to be a touchscreen machine with focus on power and gaming. It’s been suggested to BGR, along with details of the other handset at hand, that the A10 will have a “much more refined fit and finish” than the Z10.
This device is suggested to be taking on a bit more unique angle than the previous releases with BlackBerry, going with a separate GPU and CPU instead of the current integrated chip solution they employ at the moment. What this means for Qualcomm and NVIDIA should be clear, if said suggestion is true: BlackBerry is out.
That said, it’s tipped that the A10 will be working with 2GB of RAM and a dual-core processor while, at the moment, BlackBerry 10 is not prepared for a quad-core structure. Or at least they’d not be able to make full use of any more than a couple cores at this stage.
Meanwhile the BlackBerry 9720 is a reboot of the Q10, but better yet, it looks essentially nothing like this first-wave entry into the BlackBerry 10 environment. Instead the 9720 is more of a reboot of the BlackBerry 9700 in style, made much more a 2013 look to match up with the rest of the BlackBerry 10 family. The following images are provided by the same tipster speaking to BGR above, here showing the 9720 in all its glory.
Look like a good full set of devices for the company through the rest of the year? How does this make you feel as a legacy user of BlackBerry devices?
BlackBerry A10 and 9720 lead for 2013: reboots the both of them is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 10
Sony's PlayStation 3.
(Credit: Sony Entertainment America)
Companies like Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft may soon be able to sell their game consoles in China — though there are a couple of catches.
The Chinese government is expected to terminate its 13-year-old ban on the sale of game consoles, the South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday. Lifting the ban is part of an overall strategy to create a “Shanghai free trade zone” in order to open up the Chinese economy to other countries, the Post said.
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However, console makers who want to do business in China must agree to certain rules, sources told the Post. The companies must manufacture their products for Chinese consumers in the new free trade zone… [Read more]
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Jul 10
Jul 10
When we last saw Moniker Guitars they were trying to raise $50,000 to fund a custom guitar business. Now, three months and $60K later, they’ve beaten their goal and are now selling their axes online.
The biggest differentiator at Moniker is their online guitar configurator that lets you create your own custom ax in any shape, color, or style. They’re also adding graphics and text, should you want to put your bands name boldly on the body.
The founders Kevin Tully and Dave Barry were looking for backers to help fund the first few fiddles off their assembly line. Now they’re offering entry-level models for about $900 and, depending on your paint job and parts you request, they can run into the $1500 range. However, given that this is a custom, hand-made guitar build by two dudes in Austin, Texas, it makes at least a little economic sense.
What’s truly interesting, however, is that the company is almost fully crowdfunded. They launched in 2012 and this initial investment pushed them into business. Whereas the traditional guitar maker would probably have to get a loan for parts and equipment, Moniker simply asked customers to pre-order, create a great product, and raised capital for sandpaper and saws without bank involvement. It is, in short, a brand new way of building a business. It’s not the first crowdfunding success stories by far, but it’s certainly one of the coolest.
In fact, it’s heartwarming enough to make you want to play a power ballad on a crowded tour bus while swigging Jack Daniels with four other men with questionable taste in hairstyles.
Jul 10
People so rarely use light string accompaniment as the soundtracks for their 3D printing projects these days, but I think this video deserves it. It depicts a new, syringe-based metal printing system made by researchers at NC State. It uses gallium and indium which oxidizes in air, thereby sealing the droplets together. While you won’t be building any 3D guns with this process – it’s far too slow and the dots are microscopic – you can create self-healing wires and stretchable circuits.
“We’ve found that a liquid metal alloy of gallium and indium reacts to the oxygen in the air at room temperature to form a ‘skin’ that allows the liquid metal structures to retain their shapes,” wrote Dr. Michael Dickey.
They have also created a system to inject liquid metal into a mold and then dissolve the mold away, leaving only the metal. Because the droplets bind and not “heap,” the system allows you to build 3D objects without resulting in a little pool of metal.
You could also feasibly use this process alongside standard plastic 3D printing systems to create leads that would snake their way through the inside of an object. It’s non-toxic – so presumably you can eat a lot of it – but it’s still quite expensive so don’t expect to build any stainless steel rats any time soon.
Jul 10
When a night out involves bringing two smartphones, a music player, a 7-inch tablet, and a 10-inch tablet, then you know you’ve got a problem. Most people are addicted to tech these days, and it ruins more social events than you think.
This reality is what prompted Digital Detox to come up with a camp offering for adults addicted to their gadgets called Camp Grounded.
It’s a three-day camp where the usage of digital devices isn’t allowed at all. It’s described as a gathering “where grown-ups go to unplug, getaway [sic] and be kids again.” Typical camping activities are scheduled throughout the weekend, from bonfires and sing-alongs to capture the flag and archery.
Other activities include writing sessions and creative workshops. Digital Detox held the first Camp Grounded this past June, where each slot cost $350(USD). You’ll be surprised to know that all slots sold out. No word on timing for the next Camp Grounded session, but you can get on their email notification list here.
[via Dvice]
Jul 10
All headphones are not created equal, we know as much for sure. For one, quality when it comes to headphones is of the utmost priority for many an audiophile, while others who are on another level figure out that quality is not the only criteria to consider – it must also look drop dead gorgeous when one wears it. I guess it is this kind of thinking that has led the folks over at Sennheiser to come up with the Momentum On-Ear headphones, which will debut in a palette of fresh, pastel colors which would certainly not look out of place in this fast moving fashionable era.
Through the injection of bright, beautiful color into Sennheiser’s range of headphones, the new Momentum On-Ear has been specially crafted from the finest materials and will arrive in a quartet of colors, where they have been inspired by an international team of design experts and trend scouts. The quartet of colors found the Momentum On-Ear models would be blue, green, pink and ivory, where pastel shades define an emerging trend that deliver a more subtle look which happens to be the direction that current fashion collections are headed towards.
Apart from its visual beauty, you can be sure that comfort, too, is high on the list of priorities for the Sennheiser folk, where it comes with a headband and earpads that have been finished in high-tech Alcantara. Just in case you were left scratching your head wondering what Alcantara is all about, it happens to be a specialized luxury material that is loved by designers and automotive upholsterers alike, preferred for its unique combination of softness, durability, and breathable comfort. These Alcantara earpads are capable of isolating the listener for a great listening experience on the move, never mind that they happen to move through the pressure cooker-like, noisy urban environments. There are lightweight sliders made out of premium brushed stainless steel which complete the high end look.
Company Page
[ Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear headphones copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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