Who knew growing rice on a mountain could be so beautiful? The Ailao Mountains in Yunnan, China, have been carved into thousands of gradual steps, each a paddy growing red rice. The rice terraces stretch out over some 400 square miles of mountains and valleys.
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So 20th Century Fox contacted professional video maker and friend of Gizmodo Casey Neistat to make a video for them about Ben Stiller’s upcoming movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Cool, that kind of stuff happens all the time to him. But instead of using the money to make a movie about the movie, Neistat used his entire budget to help survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, the typhoon that ravaged the Philippines
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Typhoon Haiyan, the most powerful storm on record, bludgeoned the Philippines last week with 235 mph gusting winds and 50 foot tall waves. By current estimates, the storm’s fury has impacted 6.9 million people in 41 provinces, taken countless lives, and razed more that 150,000 homes, entire towns simply washed away by the tides.
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Haiyan was probably the strongest recorded typhoon to ever make landfall
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There are fans and then there are crazy people. We’ve all seen the insane women who get plastic surgery to look more like Barbie dolls and even anime girls, but check this guy out. He has 19 plastic surgeries to make himself look more like Superman.
35-year-old Herbert Chaves, originally from the Philippines, has undergone numerous surgical procedures – all to look more like the Man of Steel. Chavez has been a fan since he was five years-old and has had nose jobs, jaw realignment, liposuction, pec implants and even skin lightening.
The $7,000(USD) he spent on surgeries might seem like a bargain, but keep in mind that the average hourly wage in the Philippines works out to be about $1.50 here in the States.
He does look more like Superman/Clark Kent, but sadly, he looks closest to Brandon Routh, the worst Superman.
[via inquisitr]
After first being rolled out in Korea in February, the LG Optimus G Pro is now coming to other Asian markets. With the announcement on May 30, LG’s flagship 5.5-inch Android “phablet” will debut in Hong Kong in June followed by Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia over the course of the month.
The full press release with explanation of its specs and features is below:
___________________________________________________________
LG OPTIMUS G PRO ARRIVES IN ASIA
Fully Packed with Advanced UX and Features, LG’s Biggest Smartphone
Offers Asian Consumers Differentiated Smartphone Experience
SEOUL, May 30, 2013 — LG Electronics (LG) is demonstrating its commitment to the premium smartphone market in Asia with the introduction of its flagship smartphone, Optimus G Pro, in the rest of the region. Originally introduced in its home market of Korea earlier this year, the 5.5-inch display Android device is being rolled-out in the rest of the region starting on May 30. The smartphone will debut in Hong Kong in June followed by other Asian markets including Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Philippine, Vietnam and Malaysia throughout the month.
“LG’s Optimus G Pro sets a new benchmark in the over 5-inch display smartphone category which is catching on with consumers everywhere who aren’t interested in owning both a phone and a tablet,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Asian customers are leading many of today’s technology trends and we’re confident Optimus G Pro will find a large following in this region.”
The Optimus G Pro is equipped with the swift Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, which features a 1.7GHz Quad-Core CPU and Adreno 320 GPU. Combined with other industry-leading features such as a long-lasting 3,140mAh battery and 2GB RAM, LG’s Optimus G Pro is one of the most advanced smartphones currently on the market today. With its expansive 5.5-inch 1080p Full HD IPS display delivering a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels at 400ppi, the Optimus G Pro provides razor sharp images and wide viewing angles as well as a comfortable in-hand experience and great “pocketability.”
Backed by powerful hardware features, the Optimus G Pro also comes packed with differentiated UX features, such as:
• Dual Camera and Dual Recording: The Dual Camera and Dual Recording functions allow users to capture pictures or videos with both the front and rear cameras simultaneously for a unique picture-in-picture experience;
• VR Panorama: The VR Panorama allows shots of entire horizontal and vertical environments for a full 360° view;
• Pause and Resume Recording: The Pause and Resume Recording feature allows for the recording of short snippets of video which can then be viewed as one continuous file.
• Smart Video: Smart Video recognizes the position of the viewer’s eyes and automatically plays or stops the video without any manual input from the user.
Key Specifications:
• Operating System: Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2
• Processor: 1.7GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm? Snapdragon™ 600 Processor
• Display: 5.5-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels / 400ppi)
• Memory: 16GB / microSD (up to 64GB)
• RAM: 2GB DDR
• Camera: Rear 13.0MP / Front 2.1MP
• Battery: 3,140mAh (removable)
• Size: 150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4mm
• Colors: Indigo Black, Lunar White
# # #
About LG Electronics, Inc.
LG Electronics Inc. (KSE: 066570.KS) is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances, employing 87,000 people working in 113 offices around the world. With 2012 global sales of USD 45.22 billion (KRW 50.96 trillion), LG comprises four business units – Home Entertainment, Mobile Communications, Home Appliance, and Air Conditioning & Energy Solution – and is one of the world’s leading producers of flat panel TVs, mobile devices, air conditioners, washing machines and refrigerators. LG Electronics is a 2013 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year.
How was your week? We got to spend a couple of days trekking around the Carnegie Mellon campus in Pittsburgh, PA to check out some of the latest projects from the school’s world renowned Robotics Institute — a trip that culminated with the bi-annual induction ceremony from the CMU-sponsored Robot Hall of Fame. Given all the craziness of the past seven days, you might have missed some of the awesomeness, but fear not, we’ve got it all for you here in one handy place — plus a couple of videos from the trip that we haven’t shown you yet. Join us after the break to catch up.
Butlers, lunar rovers, snakes and airboats: the best of Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Oct 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Here’s another extremely cool offshoot of the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. Platypus LLC build autonomous robotic airboats that can be deployed for a wide range of usages including environmental data and monitoring hard-to-reach spots after natural disasters like flooding. The hull of the boat looks a good deal like a boogie board, built from polyurethane. On top, you’ll find a propulsion fan assembly, just behind a hard plastic electronics compartment that houses internals like the Arduino board. That microcontroller communicates via Bluetooth with a smartphone that sits in the front of of the boat, safely cocooned inside an Otterbox case.
The models we saw this week were carrying Nexus S handsets — relatively cheap solutions bought second-hand off of eBay. Just about any Android phone should do the trick, but in the case of this project, where phones can get wrenched loose or just outright pilfered, cheaper is certainly better. Platypus’ proprietary app helps control the boat autonomously, using the handset’s camera to provide situational awareness. Sensors mounted on the boat, meanwhile, offer up information on oxygen and PH levels, temperature and more.
Continue reading Platypus airboats have a Nexus S for a brain, we go eyes-on (video)
Filed under: Cellphones, Robots, Science
Platypus airboats have a Nexus S for a brain, we go eyes-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mabuhay, Philippines. We’ve covered the Pearl of the Orient Seas’ affinity for electric tricycles, green billboards and a certain cool-looking logo before. This time, it’s all about the Gs as select locations in Metro Manila are apparently in line to get high-speed wireless coverage via a new 4G LTE network being launched by Smart Communications on August 25th. The launch was first reported by Philippines-based site MisterJonjon.com, which has since taken down the post at the company’s request. Areas scheduled to get coverage include parts of financial center Makati as well as locations around the SM Mall of Asia and the University of the Philippines’ Diliman campus, to name a few. The site also reported that Smart will offer customers a Huawei USB LTE stick for free and charge a monthly rate of 3,500 Philippine pesos (about $83). All in all, the company is set to activate 49 LTE base stations during the launch. For more, check out the snapshot of the pulled post through the source link.
[Thanks, Neil]
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet
Smart Communications’ new 4G LTE launch details slip out in Philippines, quickly get pulled originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 04:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The advent of movie support in iTunes for the Cloud was a boon to Apple TV owners as well as any iTunes user with a tendency to hop between devices — within the US, that is. Apple today swung the doors open and let Australia, Canada, the UK as well as 32 other countries and regions around the world get access to their movies whenever they’re signed in through iTunes or an iOS device. Not every studio is on the same page, as many American viewers will know all too well: it’s more likely that you’ll get re-download rights for a major studio title such as Lockout than an indie production, for example. Even with that limit in mind, there’s no doubt more than a few movie mavens glad to avoid shuffling and re-syncing that copy of Scott Pilgrim to watch it through to the end.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
iTunes in the Cloud movies find their way to Australia, Canada, the UK and 32 more countries originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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