Sep 10
Valve’s Steam Big Picture Goes Live
Posted in: Today's Chili
Big Picture is Steam’s user interface (UI) that is designed to work well on big displays/televisions. It is a format that has challenged many other apps, but Valve is determined to get it right. The demo looks really nice and Big Picture seems really well thought-out for typical things that people bump into when using large displays. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Valve Big Picture mode beta launched, Valve to launch non-gaming apps on Steam next month,
In life, you can be darned good at what you do, but it you lack focus, all of that skill will not amount to much, really. Well, the 
You can say that a company like 3M is probably as flexible as these two LED lighting solutions from them – the AIR and the FLEX. First introduced to the world recently by 3M Architectural Markets (which incidentally is the company’s interior products division), AIR and FLEX embodies their ongoing commitment to develop LED and OLED lighting solutions. After all, the LED and OLED market do seem to experience encouraging growth year-on-year, paving the way for an exciting yet challenging market for interior and lighting designers. For starters, AIR comes across as a lightweight hoop fixture that is available in 3′, 5′ and 7′ diameters, in addition to having a vast array of color outputs to choose from. The LED lights are also dimmable and replaceable, so fret not if some of your brat pack decides to play football at home and break one of the LED lights.
LG Electronics has just announced that their monstrous 
Are you a fan of the Evangelion series – story, characters and all? If you have answered in the affirmative, then here is a wee bit of news that might just capture your attention. Known as the Evangelion humidifier (no prizes for guessing just what this puppy is able to churn out), it does roll back the years and return you to memories of the scene where the Nerv building is destroyed by the Third Children using Eva 01. The humidifier works great behind the scenes, as it actually relies on the steam that rises up to throw in a touch of realism in this classic Evangelion scene.
If you find it difficult to get your kids to bed, perhaps it is time to try something novel. Something as different as say, a floating bed? Now, this does sound a wee bit kinky considering how we are referring to childrens’ beds here, but basically, this floating bed has a far more practical use – when in need of space, you can stash it right into the ceiling, now how about that? All right, so this bed does not float on some sort of mag-lev technology, but rather, it remains suspended as though it hangs by a thin linen curtain as seen above, although it will not be too far a stretch of one’s imagination that there are unseen metal wires or rods behind the scenes here.
When we talk about a magic carpet, this is normally confined to fairy tales somewhere in Arabia, more often than not involving an exotic princess and a streetwise boy who has the assistance of a genie in a lamp to boot. Well, the magic carpet that we are talking about today is literally more down to earth, where it can detect almost immediately just when someone has fallen as well as predict mobility issues, thanks to the good scientists over at the University of Manchester. The clever implementation of plastic optical fibres that are laid on the underlay of a carpet allows it to bend whenever anyone treads on it, mapping out one’s walking patterns in real-time.
There is no escaping the long arm of social networks these days, and wherever you turn, you see people who are connected to the Internet in some way or another. Well, AT&T wants you to be able to check out your Facebook account even when you are sitting in front of the TV thanks to the U-verse TV App. Facebook on TV is touted to be the latest interactive app from the AT&T U-verse TV, where you can hook up to your Facebook account while enjoying your favorite shows in front of the idiot box. Just what else is the TV app capable of other than checking out your status updates? 