Wednesday, September 25, 2013

drag2share: 3D printer duplicates paintings down to the last brush stroke (video)

source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/3d-art-printer/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

3D printer duplicates paintings with incredible detail, down to each brush stroke video

We've seen 3D printers produce some pretty amazing things, but nothing quite like this. Tim Zaman, a Dutch researcher, has reportedly developed a 3D duplication technique capable of capturing incredible detail, such as brush strokes and other textures on a painting. With a captured image on hand, it's then possible to print a reproduction matching every detail, including raised brush strokes. Reproductions are created using an Oce printer that can reproduce large-format paintings at 600 ppi; the process resembles that of a dye-sub printer, with the printing head moving back and forth many times, adding a new textured layer with each pass. It's a very cool idea, but don't expect to fill your home with flawless duplicates -- you'll first need to get your hands on a priceless piece of art.

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drag2share: 86,000 square miles of Great Britain meticulously recreated in Minecraft

source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/24/uk-recreated-minecraft-virtual-universe/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

86,000 square miles of Great Britain meticulously recreated in Minecraft

There are those with free time, and then there's Joseph Braybrook. This fine bloke managed to recreate some 86,000 square miles of Great Britain within the Minecraft universe, and moreover, it took but a fortnight to concoct. Further justifying his work as more than goofing off, he used Ordnance Survey terrain data in the world's construction, leading Graham Dunlop, OS Innovation Lab Manager, to proclaim the following: "We think we may have created the largest Minecraft world ever built based on real-world data." The new universe contains over 22 billion Minecraft blocks, and once players have downloaded the 3.6GB file, they're free to build at will. Just don't go planting any US flags -- that's just downright rude.

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Amazon's Fire OS 3.0 'Mojito' arrives just in time for those new tablets

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/25/amazons-fire-os-mojito/

Amazon's Fire OS 30 'Mojito' arrives just in time for those new tablets

New hardware without a software refresh? Don't make Jeff Bezos laugh. Today's (well, tonight's) arrival of three new slates also marks the unveiling of the company's latest tablet operating system. And this time, it even has a name. See, Amazon's been using "Fire OS" internally to describe the software powering its tablet line, and now we get to use it as well, with the arrival of version 3.0. Based, as ever, on Android (Jelly Bean, this time out), Bezos and co. have been using the codename "Mojito," trading in candy names for sugary cocktails. The operating system will ship on the new HDX and HD devices. We didn't get exact confirmation that it'll roll out to older devices, but an Amazon rep we spoke with implied that there's a good likelihood of that, given update precedents from the company.

First thing's first -- still no Google Play access here. No surprise there, of course. After all, the company's in the habit of subsidizing the cost of its hardware based on future content sales, though, as ever, the company was quick to point out the speed with which its proprietary app store has grown in recent years. UI-wise, things look familiar here. Content, once again, is king, with the home screen built around a river featuring apps, games, movies, music and the like. The company did respond to customer concerns, however, by adding a more familiar grid-style layout that you can access with a swipe up, appeasing you Android users out there. Swipe from the right, and you'll see Quick Switch, which lets you switch between different recently used pieces of content.

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9 Examples Of Real Mind-Blowing Technology That You Haven't Heard Of Yet

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/incredible-technology-2013-9

Microsoft Star Trek

We're certainly not in Star Trek's neighborhood when it comes to technological capability, but the car is packed and ready to go.

While it's easy to lose yourself in daydreams of teleportation and interplanetary travel, already we can do amazing things, like turn the ocean into a big glass of drinking water.

A cancer-killing computer chip can run wild in a patient's bloodstream and wreak havoc on cancer cells.

NASA's even putting legitimate effort towards building a Star Trek-like warp drive system. So maybe we're closer to a science fiction universe than initially suspected.

Nanofiber salt filters could be used to harvest ocean water for drinking.

Living near the ocean may one day mean your drinking water is so plentiful that it's free or cheap.

Nanofiber is a fibrous material that's incredibly thin (less than 100 nanometers). It functions very effectively as a salt filter since individual grains of salt are too big to pass through the holes in the nanofiber.

Unfortunately they're cost prohibitive to deploy right now.



A cancer-killing computer chip could live in a patient's bloodstream.

It's called a "microfluidic" chip, covered in long strands of DNA. The DNA absorbs the malicious cancer cells, and if they need to be studied later, the cancer cells can be retrieved from the chip later.



Graphene supercapacitors could lead to the electric car of your dreams.

Imagine an electric car that could drive a couple hundred miles, then fully recharge its battery in one minute.

Graphene supercapacitors are what will make this possible. A supercapacitor can hold as much power as a battery, but they charge far more quickly. Graphene has a high energy density though, which is a fancy way of saying it can hold more electrons (and therefore electric charge) than a standard battery.

As graphene is no longer cost-prohibitive to manufacture at scale, graphene supercapacitors could easily end up in our phones, laptops, and basically anything that runs on a battery.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
    






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drag2share: 24 'Geniuses' Just Won $625,000 To Spend However They Want

source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/2-pwLslSxNM/macarthur-fellowship-2013-winners-2013-9

Karen RussellThe names of 24 MacArthur Fellows were revealed at midnight on Wednesday, bestowing recipients with a gift of $625,000, paid over five years, to be spent anyway they choose. 

The so-called "genius awards" from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation have been handed out to around two dozen creative and talented Americans from all different fields every year since 1981. 

The no-strings-attached money is intended to give recipients the freedom to pursue new ideas or move forward with their current work.  

No one can apply for the awards. The fellows are chosen by an anonymous panel of experts, who inform the winners through a telephone call just a couple days before the official announcement. 

This year, the fellows range in age from 32 to 60. There are several artists including a concert pianist, a playwright, and a choreographer of classical ballet. The other fellows include an organic chemist, a medieval historian, a behavioral economist, and an immigration lawyer. 

You can see the full list of fellows at the MacArthur website

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