Doctor Who TARDIS French Press: Coffee for Your Companion

This Doctor Who TARDIS Coffee Press is the perfect way to start your morning – for both you and a companion. I don’t know about you, but I need a good strong cup of coffee to wash the taste of that last season from my palette. I’m just sad it doesn’t make TARDIS noises and light up on top after your coffee has steeped long enough.

Sadly, it’s not bigger on the inside, but its 34 ounce capacity should be more than enough to keep you buzzing. We Americans prefer coffee over tea, but I guess you could make tea in it too. I don’t see why not. The Doctor’s TARDIS can do all kinds of things, but it can’t sit on your counter and make coffee, now can it? I’d say that puts you one-up on the good Doctor.

You may not be running around saving the world from Daleks, but at least you’ll be well-caffeinated thanks to this mini Police Box. More like a Police cylinder, really. Materialize one into your kitchen today for $39.99 over at ThinkGeek.

Don’t worry, this rocket-launching Chinese robo-boat is strictly for science

It seems inevitable that the high seas will eventually play host to a sort of proxy war as automated vessels clash over territory for the algae farms we’ll soon need to feed the growing population. But this rocket-launching robo-boat is a peacetime vessel concerned only with global weather patterns.

The craft is what’s called an unmanned semi-submersible vehicle, or USSV, and it functions as a mobile science base — and now, a rocket launch platform. For meteorological sounding rockets, of course, nothing scary.

It solves a problem we’ve seen addressed by other seagoing robots like the Saildrone: that the ocean is very big, and very dangerous — so monitoring it properly is equally big and dangerous. You can’t have a crew out in the middle of nowhere all the time, even if it would be critical to understanding the formation of a typhoon or the like. But you can have a fleet of robotic ships systematically moving around the ocean.

In fact this is already done in a variety of ways and by numerous countries and organizations, but much of the data collection is both passive and limited in range. A solar-powered buoy drifting on the currents is a great resource, but you can’t exactly steer it, and it’s limited to sampling the water around it. And weather balloons are nice, too, if you don’t mind flying it out to where it needs to be first.

A robotic boat, on the other hand, can go where you need it and deploy instruments in a variety of ways, dropping or projecting them deep into the water or, in the case of China’s new USSV, firing them 20,000 feet into the air.

“Launched from a long-duration unmanned semi-submersible vehicle, with strong mobility and large coverage of the sea area, rocketsonde can be used under severe sea conditions and will be more economical and applicable in the future,” said Jun Li, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a news release.

The 24-foot craft, which has completed a handful of near-land cruises in Bohai Bay, was announced in the paper. You may wonder what “semi-submersible” means. Essentially they put as much of the craft as possible under the water, with only instruments, hatches and other necessary items aboveboard. That minimizes the effect of rough weather on the craft — but it is still self-righting in case it capsizes in major wave action.

The USSV’s early travels

It runs on a diesel engine, so it’s not exactly the latest tech there, but for a large craft going long distances, solar is still a bit difficult to manage. The diesel on board will last it about 10 days and take it around 3,000 km, or 1,800 miles.

The rocketsondes are essentially small rockets that shoot up to a set altitude and then drop a “driftsonde,” a sensor package attached to a balloon, parachute or some other descent-slowing method. The craft can carry up to 48 of these, meaning it could launch one every few hours for its entire 10-day cruise duration.

The researchers’ findings were published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. This is just a prototype, but its success suggests we can expect a few more at the very least to be built and deployed. I’ve asked Li a few questions about the craft and will update this post if I hear back.

A more portable Nintendo Switch may lower the price

Pretty much since the day the Nintendo Switch launched, there have been whispers and speculation about a potential hardware revision for the console. Players expecting hardware revisions out of Nintendo isn’t really surprising, as the company launched a number of them for both the original DS and the 3DS. Since the Switch is a hybrid console that’s fairly easily portable, … Continue reading

Defense of Amazon's Face Recognition Tool Undermined by Its Only Known Police Client

Faced with two independent studies that found its facial recognition software returns inaccurate or biased results, Amazon has repeatedly claimed that the researchers failed to use the software, called Rekognition, in the way the company has instructed police to use it.

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Study suggests Facebook users are happier if they leave for a month

You’ve no doubt heard anecdotal evidence of Facebook users feeling better after they’ve quit the social network, but how often does that help, really? A fair amount, according to researchers. A study (PDF) from New York University and Stanford show…

Microsoft Super Bowl 2019 Ad Highlights Xbox Adaptive Controller

Super Bowl ads tend to get a lot of attention and Microsoft wants just that for the Xbox Adaptive Controller. The company is returning to this major sporting event with an ad that highlights this special controller that makes gaming possible for the differently-abled. This is Microsoft’s first Super Bowl ad in four years as it last aired one back in 2014.

Super Bowl ads are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination which is why there’s always so much interest in them. Companies typically spend around $4.5 million per 30 second slot and that’s excluding the cost of production.

The Microsoft commercial highlights all of the different ways that this powerful controller can be used to play games. The Xbox Adaptive Controller has two programmable buttons which are fairly large as well as the ability to hook up to 19 jacks for various accessories. The controller can be used to play games on both the Xbox and PC. The company has even designed the packaging to be accessible.

The two-minute ad walks us through the story of several young gamers who have disabilities and how they’re able to play Xbox games with the Adaptive Controller. So it’s not more of an outright pitch for the controller as you’d expect from a conventional ad. It’s more emotional in that it tells stories that make you take a second and appreciate people who defy odds on a daily basis.

Microsoft Super Bowl 2019 Ad Highlights Xbox Adaptive Controller , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Pocket Sky helps keep you happy

For some people, the change in seasons would be accompanied by a change in moods, but for the worse. There is just something about a lack of sunlight or perhaps even with a bleak outlook for a few months that will send the human body into a spiral of depression. Pocket Sky from Austrian healthtech-start-up Active Wearables intends to prevent that, where it is touted to be able to put a stop to the likes of seasonal affective disorder, jet lag, or even shift work disorder. The Pocket Sky is meant to be worn like a pair of glasses for just 20 minutes daily, and it tips the scales at a mere 12 grams so that you will not even know that it is there, enabling it to blend smoothly into any lifestyle.

Courtesy of its unrivalled diminutive and unobtrusive look, the Pocket Sky is easy enough to be worn anywhere and anytime. This helps one facilitate personalized, highly effective routines, where its soft blue light will be able to help improve the wellbeing of the individual as well as vigilance through the suppression of the production of melatonin.

Pocket Sky will upend the way biologically active light is consumed, bringing with it the potential of helping out many millions worldwide who are negatively affected by disturbances of their body clock. Being able to be charged without the need for any cables via a stylish looking cradle, the Pocket Sky will be able to offer up to a couple of weeks’ worth of battery life on a full charge, making it ideal for travelling or commuting. Available from February 2019 onwards, this seems to be the ideal gift for someone who works shifts that are constantly changing, as well as for frequent travelers who skip time zones like a skipping rope each month.

Press Release
[ Pocket Sky helps keep you happy copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Pete Davidson And Kanye West Hung Out And People Have Questions

The two caught up at Kid Cudi’s birthday party along with Timothée Chalamet.

Doctor Who TARDIS French Press: Coffee for Your Companion

This Doctor Who TARDIS Coffee Press is the perfect way to start your morning – for both you and a companion. I don’t know about you, but I need a good strong cup of coffee to wash the taste of that last season from my palette. I’m just sad it doesn’t make TARDIS noises and light up on top after your coffee has steeped long enough.

Sadly, it’s not bigger on the inside, but its 34 ounce capacity should be more than enough to keep you buzzing. We Americans prefer coffee over tea, but I guess you could make tea in it too. I don’t see why not. The Doctor’s TARDIS can do all kinds of things, but it can’t sit on your counter and make coffee, now can it? I’d say that puts you one-up on the good Doctor.

You may not be running around saving the world from Daleks, but at least you’ll be well-caffeinated thanks to this mini Police Box. More like a Police cylinder, really. Materialize one into your kitchen today for $39.99 over at ThinkGeek.

Don’t worry, this rocket-launching Chinese robo-boat is strictly for science

It seems inevitable that the high seas will eventually play host to a sort of proxy war as automated vessels clash over territory for the algae farms we’ll soon need to feed the growing population. But this rocket-launching robo-boat is a peacetime vessel concerned only with global weather patterns.

The craft is what’s called an unmanned semi-submersible vehicle, or USSV, and it functions as a mobile science base — and now, a rocket launch platform. For meteorological sounding rockets, of course, nothing scary.

It solves a problem we’ve seen addressed by other seagoing robots like the Saildrone: that the ocean is very big, and very dangerous — so monitoring it properly is equally big and dangerous. You can’t have a crew out in the middle of nowhere all the time, even if it would be critical to understanding the formation of a typhoon or the like. But you can have a fleet of robotic ships systematically moving around the ocean.

In fact this is already done in a variety of ways and by numerous countries and organizations, but much of the data collection is both passive and limited in range. A solar-powered buoy drifting on the currents is a great resource, but you can’t exactly steer it, and it’s limited to sampling the water around it. And weather balloons are nice, too, if you don’t mind flying it out to where it needs to be first.

A robotic boat, on the other hand, can go where you need it do and deploy instruments in a variety of ways, dropping or projecting them deep into the water or, in the case of China’s new USSV, firing them 20,000 feet into the air.

“Launched from a long-duration unmanned semi-submersible vehicle, with strong mobility and large coverage of the sea area, rocketsonde can be used under severe sea conditions and will be more economical and applicable in the future,” said Jun Li, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a news release.

The 24-foot craft, which has completed a handful of near-land cruises in Bohai Bay, was announced in the paper. You may wonder what “semi-submersible” means. Essentially they put as much of the craft as possible under the water, with only instruments, hatches, and other necessary items aboveboard. That minimizes the effect of rough weather on the craft — but it is still self-righting in case it capsizes in major wave action.

The USSV’s early travels.

It runs on a diesel engine, so it’s not exactly the latest tech there, but for a large craft going long distances solar is still a bit difficult to manage. The diesel on board will last it about 10 days and take it around 3,000 km, or 1,800 miles.

The rocketsondes are essentially small rockets that shoot up to a set altitude and then drop a “driftsonde,” a sensor package attached to a balloon, parachute, or some other descent-slowing method. The craft can carry up to 48 of these, meaning it could launch one every few hours for its entire 10-day cruise duration.

The researchers’ findings were published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. This is just a prototype, but its success suggests we can expect a few more at the very least to be built and deployed. I’ve asked Li a few questions about the craft and will update this post if I hear back.