Christmas is over! The year is almost up! And in days like today when there’s not much going on, it’s always fun to look back at the year that was. Who did something stupid? What silly things happened? What do you remember? ADHD sums up the entire year of 2013 in under a minute in this animation video. Can you recognize everything?
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Holiday shoppers have already been reeling from a breach of Target’s database, and their situation isn’t improving now that Christmas is over. The store chain has confirmed that the perpetrators took encrypted PIN codes, theoretically scoring access …
If there is one big criticism that Apple faces over their computers it would be the lack of upgradability. Basically if you were to buy an iMac that you wanted to use for a long time, you’d have to pick its most powerful specs because unlike PCs, it is nearly impossible to swap out the iMac’s innards for something better or newer. This is where the Mac Pro comes in with a bit more upgradability and according to the folks at Other World Computing who performed a quick teardown of the new Mac Pro, it has been confirmed that the CPU in the computer is removable, meaning that users will be able to upgrade the CPU whenever they want in the event that it starts to get a little old or worn out.
This is thanks to the fact that the processor is socketed to the motherboard, as opposed to being directly soldered which seems to be the case in most of Apple’s Mac computers, both laptop and desktop. Apple’s Mac Pros have typically been a little bit more customizable than say the iMac, where users can swap out RAM and graphic cards for something better or newer. Of course one could argue that this still isn’t as modular compared to the PC, but for those who are planning on getting a Mac Pro, we suppose this is better than nothing.
Mac Pro’s CPU Confirmed To Be Removable original content from Ubergizmo. 
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A few months ago, Apple announced the iPhone 5s which shocked the world not because of its design or its features, but rather an industry first for smartphones thanks to the A7’s 64-bit chip that made its way into the device. It wasn’t too long after that that companies such as Samsung revealed that they were also working on 64-bit chipsets and it seems that these chipsets could debut as soon as CES 2014. This is thanks to a recent tweet by Samsung on their Exynos Twitter account, where they posted the picture above in which the tagline reads, “Flying even higher in 2014”, suggesting that we could see new Exynos technology at CES 2014.
At this point it remains unknown as to what Samsung might have up their sleeves, but there is a possibility that whatever announcement Samsung plans to make, it could be related to the company’s 64-bit chipset, which seems to be in line with what we have heard. Will the 64-bit Exynos chipset make its way into the Samsung Galaxy S5? The rumors seem to be pointing towards that, along with how it would make sense for Samsung to do so as well, if they want to compete with Apple’s iPhone 5s. In any case Samsung’s Exynos 5 series of octa-core chipsets made their debut back in January of 2013, so it wouldn’t be out of the question for Samsung to announce the next big thing around the same time next year as well.
Samsung Teases Exynos Announcement For CES 2014 original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Earlier this month, Blackberry pushed out an update to the Twitter mobile app for Blackberry 10, bringing it up to version 10.2.2. Along with the new release came some new … Continue reading
When your dog barks, what does it mean? For the more astute, they might realize that their dog wants to be let out for a walk, or it might mean that someone is at the door, or it could be that they’re hungry, or for those particular superstitious, could it be that our dogs are sensing something otherworldly? Jokes aside, it’s hard to tell what our dogs mean when they bark, but as we had reported earlier, a headset known as the No More Woof is hoping to translate a bark into something humans can understand. It might seem somewhat novel but the project has been met with huge success and has since managed to exceed its Indiegogo funding of $10,000 by almost $5,000 at this time of writing.
For those unfamiliar, No More Woof is a headset designed to be worn by dogs which uses an EEG hooked up to a Raspberry Pi computer and a loudspeaker to help dogs “talk” to their human owners. Initially the EEG unit is expected to be capable of picking up a few thought patterns, such as hunger, tiredness, and curiosity, and will be updated over time as the team conducts more research and is able to determine more thought patterns that could be translated into speech. There are two options available to backers: a NMW Micro that can understand 2-3 thought patterns, and a NMW Standard which will be able to distinguish more. For more information, check out the video above for the details.
No More Woof Is Successful In Funding, Exceeds It By $5,000 original content from Ubergizmo. 
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3D printing has come a long way and we’re starting to see more use for it these days. Perhaps thought of as somewhat of a novelty tech product in the past, 3D printing has come to the point where we can print items such as gun and even artificial bones which can be used for medical purposes. While there are several 3D printers you could get on the market, but if you’re after something a little more professional, so to speak, perhaps the BI V2.0 printer might be worth taking a look at. As it stands the BI V2.0 3D printer is a Kickstarter project which has since managed to exceed its funding with 25 days to go and for those interested, a minimum pledge of $699 will nab you the entire setup upon its successful funding and production. (more…)
BI V2.0 3D Printer Launched On Kickstarter original content from Ubergizmo. 
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The Xbox One was launched in a black finish, although lucky Microsoft employees managed to get their hands on a white version, and let’s not forget the gold plated Xbox One that has been making its rounds as well. Well if you’re looking to get an Xbox One but in a different color that isn’t black, you might be interested to learn that ColorWare has announced that they have launched their line of Xbox One units which will be painted in a variety of different colors that will not be of the black variety. For those who do not own the Xbox One, ColorWare is selling their customized version of the console for $749 including the Kinect. Granted this is more than what retailers have priced the Xbox One for, but we guess that’s the price you have to pay if you to be a little different.
Alternatively Xbox One console owners can send in their own unit for ColorWare to customize which will cost them $249, but unfortunately this customization does not cover the controller, meaning that your controllers might be a little mismatched compared to the console. ColorWare is not new to the customization scene, in fact we have seen them offer different customizations for smartphones like the iPhone, or computers, like the Alienware M15X, and even headphones! If you’d like to learn more, hit up ColorWare’s website for the details.
ColorWare Launches Lineup Of Customized Xbox One Consoles original content from Ubergizmo. 
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We have seen the Oculus Rift used for more immersive gaming experiences, and while the Kinect was designed for gaming in mind, it has also managed to find use in non-gaming environments, which is why it is no surprise to find that NASA has managed to find a way to use both the Oculus Rift and the Kinect to control the robots that they send into space. While remotely controlling robots from Earth is definitely not new, by using the Oculus Rift and the Kinect, it allows NASA to control their robots to an even greater degree, not to mention the immersive experience provided by the Oculus Rift headset might make it seem like they are right there in space themselves.
This project was put together by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with their engineers stating that this setup has to be the most immersive interface that they have yet to build. While the engineers have experimented with the original Kinect, it was the Kinect 2’s improved accuracy and ability to detect finger and wrist positions that helped provide them with a greater degree of accuracy and control. According to Human Interfaces Engineer, Victor Luo, “Imagine…how inspirational it would be for a 7-year old to control a space robot with the tools h’s already familiar with!” If you have a minute or two to spare, you can check out the demonstration in the video above.
NASA Engineers Use Oculus Rift And Kinect 2 To Control Robots original content from Ubergizmo. 
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In this illusion, a toy car seemingly appears from no where. How is that possible? Well, the car was always there. Really. It’s a simple but masterful trick, the toy car is programmed to travel along a designated route while the red cards are shown off as a distraction. As one card is shown to reveal nothing behind it, the other card is covering the moving toy car. What you’re seeing is what you’re allowed to see.
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