Turn your sleep into music with a new software

Each of us has a different set of sleep patterns. Sleep patterns usually comprise of our physical positions as well as heart beat and breathing rates, while we sleep. Scientists at the University of Helsinki have now developed a software which can turn your sleep patterns into music.

The idea sounds exciting in that each of us essentially has a unique sleeping pattern, so the corresponding music for it would also be unique. In order to record the sleeping patterns of a person, a Beddit sensor has to be placed under his/her mattress. This sensor comes with internet connectivity and once it has collected the relevant data, it uploads that data to Sleep Musicalization website. (more…)

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Nano-code puts counterfeiters on the backpedal

Scientists have recently reported that they managed to come up with a new nano-code, an invisible tag of sorts that rely on the widely-used “quick response” code in order to help foil the plans of counterfeiters, especially banknote forgers and criminals who thrive on fake drugs and other faux high value items such as vintage wine. The nano-code is actually a QR code that will be used as a form of authentication. This is no ordinary QR code though, as it comprises of nanoparticles which have been merged with blue and green fluorescent ink.

The code itself will be generated with standard computer-aided design (CAD) equipment, where it is then sprayed onto a surface such as paper, plastic film, office tape, glass via an aerosol jet printer. It will remain invisible until the object becomes illuminated by a near-infrared laser. This would result in the invisible nano-code to pop up as though like magic, where it can then be scanned for verification purposes. Initial tests have proved to be favorable, where even on banknotes, said nano-code continued being readable after multiple wear and tear.

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Impossible Project Instant Lab turns iPhone photos into instant film

Now here is a Kickstarter project that would definitely appeal to many folks, especially when you consider how it is capable of transforming your iPhone photos into instant film. Basically, the Instant Lab from Impossible Project lives up to its name, and according to the Impossible Project co-founder Florian Kaps, “Digital images look great, but there is one big disappointment: They don’t exist in reality, they are not real.” Do you agree with that particular statement, or otherwise?

We do know that Impossible Project was reborn a couple of years ago, where the instant film churned out by it would work with existing Polaroid cameras back then, including the iconic Polaroid 600 and the SX-70. Based in the Netherlands, all of Impossible Project’s products are churned out from an old Polaroid factory. At time of publishing, Instant Lab will play nice only with the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S, but needless to say, the iPhone 5 is definitely in the company’s sights for sure.

To use Instant Lab, just open the app, select the photo that you want to project, and the app will get about using its own algorithms to set the brightness levels as well as time the phone’s display will be on to make sure that the film is properly exposed. You follow that up by setting a timer while placing the phone into a cradle on top of a set of “bellows,” opening up the shutter above the film. Should the timer go off, it will trigger the camera to expose the film and the user then closes the shutter, ejecting the film just like you do with an old Polaroid camera.

Instant Lab is said to come with a $299 price tag, although Kickstarter backers can get theirs for $189. As at press time, it seems that the Instant Lab is on track to arrive in February next year for a truly vintage Valentine’s Day.

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R2-D2 luggage by Salvador Bachiller

This might not be the droid that you are looking for, but it definitely is the luggage that you have been waiting all your life – ever since R2-D2 made its appearance back in the 1970s with the debut of Star Wars, enthralling the imagination of geeks and non-geeks worldwide in a grand space opera conjured by a very young George Lucas back then. Since then, we have seen our fair share of R2-D2 incarnations which appeal to the geek demographic, but Salvador Bachiller might be on to a winner here with his €95 R2-D2 luggage that has rollers at the bottom so that you can drag it along the next time you step into your Imperial Shuttle, er, Airbus A380.

Of course, it would be cooler if the relevant electronics that are smart enough could be incorporated into the R2-D2 luggage here, allowing it to follow you around like the tootin’ astromech droid that it was in the movies. Still, I am quite sure that hard core Star Wars fans would find this particular R2-D2 luggage a must buy, never mind what the missus has to say about it.

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HTC 4G patents brought up against Apple are probably valid, says US Judge

Apple recently won a landmark victory against Samsung when a U.S. court decided that Samsung must pay the company $1 billion in damages. However, this doesn’t mean that there is an end in sight for the patent wars. Rather, Samsung seems all set to sue Apple in case it releases an iPhone 5 with LTE technology.

While Samsung spared the new iPad, which also features LTE, HTC hasn’t been so forgiving. It had launched a case against Apple, alleging that in implementing LTE technology in its newest iPad, Apple had violated two of its 4G LTE patents. (more…)

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Samsung to sue Apple over LTE

Samsung and Apple do have some bad blood going on in between them – to the tune of $1 billion actually, in favor of the fruity company. Word has it (from a Korean source, no less) that Samsung Electronics will “sue Apple over its release of the iPhone 5 for infringing on its fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) connectivity patents.” I guess the battle lines have been drawn even before the September 12th event where it is largely expected for Cupertino to unveil the latest iPhone, currently speculated to be the iPhone 5, at Yerba Buena in San Francisco.

A senior Samsung representative further confirmed the South Korean giant’s intentions of suing Apple over LTE by adding, “It’s true that Samsung Electronics has decided to take immediate legal action against the Cupertino-based Apple. Countries in Europe and even the United States – Apple’s home-turf – are our primary targets.”

No love lost here, and it would be interesting to see, if the lawsuit actually gets filed, how everything will end up.

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Microsoft announces new holiday stores in different markets

The software giant known as Microsoft has just announced that they will continue to expand their retail locations in order to meet expected demand for new Microsoft-enabled devices later this fall, and we have the full list in the extended post right after the jump. The locations will be scattered throughout the US as well as Canada, and these stores are tipped to open in time for the mad holiday season so that consumers will be able to enjoy “excellent choice, value, service and an engaging way” with what Microsoft’s products and services have to offer.

The expansion of their retail footprint might also be interpreted by some that they know Apple’s business model works just great, so being “inspired” by Cupertino has led Microsoft to do something about the situation. Would you make a beeline for one of these new stores when they open, just out of curiosity? Hopefully these stores live up to the spirit of their new corporate logo.

(more…)

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Google Glass makes Fashion Week debut

Tech and fashion might make for strange bedfellows, but this does not mean that they are like oil and water – fundamentally unable to gel. The Google Glass which was revealed in further detail this June was spotted in New York city yesterday, with designer Diane von Furstenberg debuting her spring 2013 collection alongside Google’s futuristic eyewear.

This is definitely one of the more interesting collaborations that Google has indulged in for their Google Glass, and it is interesting to note that the $1,500 glasses were not there just for cosmetic purposes, but rather, being used to record behind-the-scenes video footage in order to make up a short movie that focuses on von Furstenberg’s creative process.

von Furstenberg released a statement, saying, “I am so excited to introduce Glass to the fashion world and use this revolutionary technology to give everyone a unique perspective into fashion.” Where else do you think that Google Glass will be able to make an impact?

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Elektrobiblioteka lets you control a computer interface with a book

The very medium through which we read books has changed fundamentally in recent times. While once they used to comprise exclusively of printed paper, they have been carried over to the digital realm and given the form of e-books. We can’t touch them, flip the pages or feel them but we still read them and perhaps with an even greater appetite. So essentially, books are a part of our computing experience now.

Waldek Wegrzyn, a Polish designer, decided to do exactly the opposite – to make computing dependent upon a book. He connected up the interface of a computer with an electronic book. This way, when you flip the pages of the book, the web pages are also flipped and you essentially control a computer interface with a book. (more…)

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Toothbrush fixes space station and tartar problems

The next time you grab the humble toothbrush to keep your pearly whites nice and clean, do remember that it is not only capable of putting tartar and plaque issues at bay, but with a little bit of ingenuity, a couple of astronauts managed to replaced a vital power unit on the International Space Station today with the help of a toothbrush. Of course, the toothbrush was not the only exclusive repair tool, but rather, the sum of a whole, but it is definitely the most unique tool out there thanks to a little innovation and improvisation.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japanese spaceflyer Akihiko Hoshide were the ones who performed this spacewalk repair with a toothbrush to help them out along the way. Certainly there should be some McGyver blood running through the veins of those astronauts, don’t you think so? I for one, will never look at my toothbrush in the same way ever again. How about you? I guess it did not matter whether the toothbrush was electronic or otherwise.

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