Another week is in the books. Whether you were hard at work, or busy finding YouTube videos to distract you ’til the weekend, the fine folks of the gizmo and gadget industry were hard at work making sure you’ve got lots of creative ways to blow all that money you earned. Here’s the best of what hit the markets this week.
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This structure, seen on a barge in Portland, Maine, could well be a Google floating data center. A very similar structure is under construction in San Francisco Bay.
(Credit: John Ewing/Portland Press Herald)
As CNET reported Friday, it looks very much like Google has been building a floating data center made from shipping containers on a barge in the middle of San Francisco Bay. But it may not be the only one of its kind.
Google has not responded to multiple requests for comment. But the project in San Francisco Bay appears likely to be the manifestation of a 2009 patent for a “water-based data center,” and would likely leverage the fact that wave energy can provide cheap and plentiful power.
Now it seems as though Google may well have built a sister version of the project, and, according to the Portland Press Herald, it recently showed up in the harbor in Portland, Maine.
In both cases, the structures on both barges appear to be made from a number of shipping container… [Read more]
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San Francisco’s bay barge mystery: Floating data center or Google Glass store?
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A radical dream for making techno utopias a reality
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Picture this: In the near future, ten percent of our veterans could be walking around with chips implanted in their brains. These aren’t intended for some I, Robot-style takeover, but rather to treat conditions like PTSD and substance abuse. Sound crazy? DARPA only deals in crazy
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In one of the weirdest stories of the week, it looks like Google is building something super-secret near Treasure Island, just off the coast of San Francisco. And boy is it big!
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This bra won't unhook quietly.
(Credit: Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET)
What do chocolate, Twitter, and bras have in common? They’ve all come together for a marketing campaign aimed at breast cancer awareness. The campaign hinges on a bra that sends a tweet each time the clasp is freed.
Despite the rich possibilities for teen-romp coming-of-age movies, the Tweeting Bra‘s aim is to encourage women to conduct breast self-exams every month.
Nestle, the brand best known for its chocolate associations, has a cereal brand called Nestle Fitness sold pretty much everywhere but the US and Canada. No, it’s not just a bunch of chunks of chocolate in a box. It’s actually geared toward health-conscious consumers. That’s why the Nestle Fitness/breast cancer awareness campaign actually makes sense.
Boobs, I did it again! ??? ??????????? ?????. ???????? @mariabacodimou #tweetingbra
— TweetingBra (@tweetingbra) October 22, 2013
Greek TV personality Maria Bakodimous is wearing the connected bra for two weeks. Each time the bra is unhooked, it sends a message via Bluetooth to a cell phone,… [Read more]
Related Links:
Why Twitter isn’t like Facebook
New leaks point to US Galaxy S4 Minis, more Megas
Twitter seeks to raise $1 billion in IPO
Top tweets on Apple’s iPad event
DNA analysis uncovers genetic errors behind 12 major cancers
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The release of the 33-foot-long Thunderbolt Optical Cable by Corning is a long-awaited event. For those that want to move data along a wired connection – a long distance, at that – there’s a lot to be said about the 10 Gbit/s bi-directional, dual channel technology, and as the first “all-optical” offering in the world […]
The apps world brought us redesigns, updates, and brand new offerings this week, none of which are pumpkin spice flavored. Put on your touchscreen gloves and get apping!
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The word is spreading here near the end of 2013: USB is over, if you want it. USB PD (Power Delivery) is set to be the new standard for the next generation, working with standard specifications set to start taking effect as early as 2014. This technology may very well change the way we power […]
NSA.gov was unresponsive late Friday afternoon due to a distributed denial of service (DDoS), according to packs of Anonymous-types on Twitter. Indeed the website would not load for us when we tried, but it’s hard to know why until we get confirmation from the NSA. If it is indeed a DDoS attack on the NSA, it would not be the first.
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(Credit: Video screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET Australia)
Stop-motion animation is usually a pretty meticulous process by anyone’s definition, but graphic artist Nando Costa is apparently a lot more hard core. He’s created a 2-minute, 30-second stop-motion animation — by laser cutting each frame into wood.
“As seen in the video, each frame is unique,” he said. “Aside from the design of each frame itself being distinct, small variances that naturally occur in the laser-engraving process, as well as the different wood grain of each frame, naturally created subtle shifts of the position of the artwork. An effect that I was particularly interested in and that could naturally be achieved in digital assembly but that I was much more excited about re-creating with real objects.”
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PetChatz dispenses video, treats, scents on command
Steve Jobs action figure sports youthful ’70s mop top
Project aims to turn animated GIFs into a physical keepsake
Eyewear shopping app turns your headshot into 3D image
Laser pointer attacks on airplanes skyrocketing
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