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Friday, August 24, 2012

This Specialty Crop Generates The Highest Profit Per Acre

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/specialty-crop-profit-per-acre-is-2012-8

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has released a report, summarized by the Minneapolis Fed, showing strawberries are far and away the most profitable "specialty" crop planted by Midwest farmers. Here's the full chart.

Minnfed

The report used farm records from 2008 to 2011 from in-state producers to find out average financial performance for nine crops. At least five farms had to have grown the crop for it to be included in the analysis.

"Just as strawberries are often the first crop out of the field, so too are they first in financial returns after direct expenses and overhead are paid, followed by assorted vegetables," the Fed notes. "In some cases, they didn't have much competition; four of the nine categories did not recover their basic costs or merely broke even."

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The Wacky Words That Are Now in the Oxford Dictionaries Online: LOLZ, Photobomb, Mwahahaha and More [Wtf]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5937502/the-wacky-words-that-are-now-in-the-oxford-dictionaries-online-lolz-photobomb-mwahahaha-and-more

Dictionaries exist in between a rock and a hard place: jump on new words too late and they look like a dinosaur, add in words too early and they're made into a mockery. Words are hard, yes, but some words don't exactly need defining like some of these just added to the Oxford Dictionaries Online.

Surprisingly (or I guess, not really anymore), there were a lot of wacky tech and Internet words that made the cut to be included inside the Oxford Dictionaries Online. But here's the thing about adding words we use on the Internet to the English dictionary: we're not really talking English. It may sound like it, it may look like it but it's a whole 'nother lingo altogether. Anyways:

lolz
mwahahaha (seriously?)
photobomb
ridic
tweeps
ethical hacker (this cracks me up)
hackathon
hat tip
lifecasting
inbox (just now?)
UX
video chat
Wikipedian
See, I can totally understand how some of those words need defining. UX, inbox, video chat, even hackathon. But words like mwahahaha and ridic are well, ridic. Come on now. Here are some none tech words that are now part of the dictionary and they're even more ridiculous:
date night
dirty martini (what?)
douche (they're an official breed now!)
DW
genius (what the fuck?)
group hug
guilty pleasure
hosepipe ban (wait this is seriously what the fuck)
micropig (a pig of a very small, docile, hairless variety)
OH
ripped
soul patch
vajazzle
vote someone/thing off the island (what is this Y2K?
I need to learn a new language. [Oxford Dictionaries, Image Credit: sergign/Shutterstock]

Freescale's new industrial touchscreen tech even works in the rain

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/24/freescale-xtrinsic-touchscreen/

Freescale is announcing a new industrial touch sensing technology that'll even sense your swipes and prods through a film of water. Xtrinsic 3.0 is designed to be used in industrial, medical and in-car systems, with pre-built user interfaces ready to be added to any device its jammed inside. In addition to being able to work through water, it can withstand noise, detect electrical interference and reduce false touches. It's being demonstrated at the company's technology forum in India from today, presumably ready to be licensed by passing equipment manufacturers in short order.

Continue reading Freescale's new industrial touchscreen tech even works in the rain

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Freescale's new industrial touchscreen tech even works in the rain originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 01:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, August 23, 2012

Make Fresh Bread in Minutes in a Pressure Cooker [Cooking]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5937291/make-fresh-bread-in-minutes-in-a-pressure-cooker

Make Fresh Bread in Minutes in a Pressure Cooker One of our favorite food hacks is making fresh bread without a bread maker. If you own a pressure cooker, you can get make delicious and rich-tasting loaves at home in under twenty minutes.

Laura at Hip Pressure Cooking (the same smart site that showed us how to cook eggs in a pressure cooker) reveals this new bread-making technique. You'll need some sort of container, like a coffee can or heat-proof glass measuring cup, and just a few simple ingredients (e.g., flour, baking soda, yogurt). After pressure cooking for fifteen to twenty minutes you should get a warm loaf (even faster than baking bread in a crock pot). The bread doesn't come out crunchy, but you can quickly grill a few slices or put them under the broiler for some crust.

The pressure cooker is a wonderfully versatile kitchen tool. One of the best things about this, besides the time savings, is you avoid heating up your kitchen with the oven.

Pressure Cooker Bread: Less energy, less time, REAL bread! | Hip Pressure Cooking

Gigabyte P2542G gaming laptop hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/23/gigabyte-p2542g-gaming-laptop-hands-on/

While we managed to get our hands on Gigabyte's latest graphics card-toting Ultrabook back at CeBIT, we've just finished handling the P2542G (its high-end gaming sibling) at the laptop and motherboard maker's UK launch event. Packing a 15.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080 display, it runs on an Ivy Bridge Core i7-3610QM, with a 2GB NVIDIA GTX 660M card to power PC gaming's latest and greatest. Add in a Blu-ray player and THX-certified dual-woofer sound system and you have the makings of pretty capable beast -- not to mention looking the part with a yellow paint job and dual exhaust vents along the back edge. Read up on our impressions and check out our video hands-on after the break.

Gallery: Gigabyte P2542G gaming laptop hands-on

Continue reading Gigabyte P2542G gaming laptop hands-on (video)

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Gigabyte P2542G gaming laptop hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tencent and TCL unveil Ice Screen: a 26-inch Android-based smart TV

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/23/tencent-tcl-ice-screen-smart-tv/

Chinese web titan Tencent and TCL Multimedia have torn the wraps off the Ice Screen, a jointly developed 26-inch smart TV with a 1,366 x 768 display that allows users to browse the web, access videos, music and games through QQ services. Under the hood, the Android-powered television houses a dual-core Cortex A9 1GHz processor, a Mali 400 GPU, 4GB of RAM and support for a memory card of up to 32GB in size. An IR remote and an app for devices sporting version 2.2 or higher of Google's OS can be used to control the tube, which can sit horizontally or vertically in its stand. On the connectivity front, the panel packs Wi-Fi, a pair of USB ports, HDMI and a 3.5mm headphone jack. You can plunk down ¥1,999 (roughly $315) for an online pre-order before its September 3rd launch. More details await in the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Tencent and TCL unveil Ice Screen: a 26-inch Android-based smart TV

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Tencent and TCL unveil Ice Screen: a 26-inch Android-based smart TV originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 10:11:00 ED! T. Plea se see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google mapping out Canada's Nunavut territory with local community, Street View trike

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/23/google-mapping-Nunavut-territory/

Looking for somewhere remote, quiet and cold for retirement? You can't get much further out than Cambridge Bay -- hidden away in Canada's arctic Nunavut territory, this sleep town is only reachable by plane, boat or Google Maps. Navigating its streets on the latter option is about to get a whole lot more detailed, too. The Maps team has started working with residents like Chris Kalluk to build what it hopes will be the most comprehensive map of the region to date. Mountain View's digital cartographers are training residents to use equipment like the Street View tricycle to take in the isolated territory's natural beauty while letting locals fill in the finer details (like roads, lakes and rivers) at community Map Up gatherings. "This is a place with a vast amount of local knowledge and a rich history," says Kalluk. "By putting these tools in the hands of our people, we will tell Nunavut's story to the world." Fittingly, the community's first mapping event saw local landmarks mapped out in both English and Inuktitut, one of the territory's official languages. Check the project out for yourself at the source link below.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Google mapping out Canada's Nunavut territory with local community, Street View trike originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 10:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MasterCard denies BitCoin card rumors, BitInstant says it's still on track

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/22/mastercard-denies-bitcoin-card-rumors/

Well, BitInstant is insistent that it will launch a BitCoin debit card, but MasterCard is claiming it will not be part of the plans. After a mock up of the plastic made the rounds featuring the company's logo, the financial powerhouse felt it necessary to reach out to us, clarifying its non-involvement.

"MasterCard has no relationship with BitInstant. There are issuers who allow the conversion of Bitcoins to US dollars and other currencies, delivered on prepaid cards. However, we're not aware of this particular programme from BitInstant."

Of course, if you read the transcript of Charlie Shrem's chat announcing the plans, he never actually names MasterCard. The logo was likely meant as a placeholder -- one that some outlets took a little too literally.

Interestingly, this doesn't actually mean that MasterCard won't be involved... just that the company isn't at this point in the process. BitInstant released its own statement, just hours after the card house contacted us, saying that it has been working with MasterCard affiliates, but had yet to submit to the financial firm directly.

"The card program is moving forward and the arrangement with MasterCard will be handled in due time at the proper stage of the process by the partners who work directly with that company."

So, what have we learned today? Not a whole heck of a lot actually, other than the fact that putting out a debit card is a complicated business. You'll just ha! ve to st ay tuned to see how this shakes out.

Filed under: Internet

MasterCard denies BitCoin card rumors, BitInstant says it's still on track originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wireless Sensor Tags alert you to movement and temperature changes, fit on your keyring

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/22/cao-gadgets-wireless-sensor-tags/

There's plenty of sensor gear around for hobbyists to play with, but not so many polished products for the monitoring-obsessed. Cao Gadgets is attempting to fill that niche with its functionally named Wireless Sensor Tags -- small devices which monitor movement and temperature, notifying you if anything's amiss. A magnetometer registers movement by changes in its orientation, and can inform you of door openings or similar disturbances, while the temperature triggers are based on upper or lower thresholds. The $15 sensors (or $12 if you want three or more) have a battery life that should last several years depending on their setup, but there is one catch -- you also need the Tag Manager hub ($50), which plugs into your router via Ethernet. It keeps in frequent contact with any subordinates in its 200-foot range, and if after several attempts it finds one MIA, a warning can be sent in case any of your home guards have walked or fallen asleep. The tags also have inbuilt beepers which can be pinged to track down any rogue possessions they're partnered with, like your keys.

A lot of thought has been put into micromanaging the tags, which are customizable through web-based, Android or iOS apps, and will send out alerts via email, Twitter, or push notifications on slates and phones (text-! to-speec h is available if you're too lazy to read). If you're into your data, you can also access trigger statistics from the software, complete with graphs. The home monitoring kit is available now, and instead of crashing your browser with too many embeds, we've decided to point you to the source below for the half-dozen demo vids.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Household, Wireless

Wireless Sensor Tags alert you to movement and temperature changes, fit on your keyring originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Display starts volume production of in-cell touch screens, we have a hunch as to who wants them

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/22/lg-display-starts-volume-production-of-in-cell-touch-screens/

Looks like we'll be finding in-cell touch displays in our devices sooner rather than later: LG Display has confirmed that it's been mass-producing the thinner LCDs since earlier in August. CEO Han Sang-beom also notes that manufacturing has been going as smooth as, well, glass. Despite the complexity of building touch input directly into a display, the company expects to keep the supply going "without any fail," according to the executive. As to who's making the orders? LG Display isn't naming its customers on the record, and production could be as much for its sister company's phones and tablets as anyone else's. It's hard not to pinpoint Apple as the 800-pound gorilla in the room, however. Apart from Apple representing one of LG Display's biggest existing customers, multiple rumors and component leaks point to an iPhone with an in-cell display being in the works. The timing raises a distinct possibility that we'll know more about the screen manufacturer's clients in less than a month.

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays

LG Display starts volume production of in-! cell tou ch screens, we have a hunch as to who wants them originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IRISNotes 2 looks to undercut Livescribe, digitizes your scribbles for $99

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/23/irisnotes-2-looks-to-undercut-livescribe/

IRIS is trying to make a big name for itself in the OCR world. But, top notch software alone isn't going to put its name on the tips of consumers tongues. For that they're gonna need something sexier, more... tangible. With its portable scanner line already on shelves the company is pushing out an update to its digital pen series IRISNotes. The IRISNotes Express 2 and Executive 2 are very similar to the intriguing Livescribe that, while compelling, never seemed to fly off the shelves. IRISNotes ditches the special paper required by its more popular competitor, and instead uses a small receiver that clips to the top of a standard sheet to record your scrawl in digitized form. IRIS hasn't specified how much storage is on board, only saying that it can save 100 pages worth of notes before you'll need to download its contents to a PC. The $99 Express undercuts Livescribe's cheapest offering by $20, but it's worth noting that it doesn't have support for voice notes or a stable of applications that tie into its ecosystem. The Executive model retails for $149 and sports a more elegant finish, befitting its name. It also comes with a 30-pin adapter that lets you dump your missives directly to an iDevice. Both are available now, and you'll find complete PR after the break.

Continue reading IRISNotes 2 looks to undercut Livescribe, digitizes your scribbles for $99

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

IRISNotes 2 looks to undercut Livescribe, digitizes your scribbles for $99 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 00:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JBL's newest Jembe desktop speakers are Bluetooth-enabled, now on sale for $99

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/23/jbl-jembe-wireless-bluetooth-speakers/

The Jembe wired speakers have been out on the market since late last year, but now JBL's finally introducing a cordless variant of these sleek desktop noisemakers. Aside from being Bluetooth-friendly at last, the pair's retaining its "stylish weave design" and adding a Harman TrueStream sound technology that wasn't found on the lesser-priced, cabled Jembe set -- this, naturally, while still utilizing a 3.5mm headphone jack as the main input source. JBL's pricing the new Jembe speakers at $99 in the US and £70 (about $110) for UK folks, with the company set to be taking orders as we speak. For that, however, you'll have to virtually land on either of the links below -- otherwise you can always go with those eccentric (and rather intimidating) Edifier Spinnakers.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals, Wireless

JBL's newest Jembe desktop speakers are Bluetooth-enabled, now on sale for $99 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 02:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VMware intros Fusion 5 virtualization software with support for Win 8, integration with Mountain Lion

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/23/vmware-announces-fusion-5-virtualization-software/

With Mountain Lion newly available and Windows 8 on the verge of shipping, now was a pretty good time for VMware to update its Fusion virtualization software, dont'cha think? The company just announced Fusion 5 with 70-plus new features, including support for Win 8 and tight integration with OS X 10.8. For instance, you can now view Windows programs in Mountain Lion's Launchpad, while VMware software updates pop up in the Notification Center. Fusion also supports AirPlay for the first time, and you can also run either Mountain Lion or Mountain Lion Server as a virtual machine. The company also added support for Retina Display MacBook Pros, so that everything looks crisp on that 2,880 x 1,800 screen. Also of note: Fusion now supports USB 3.0, and Linux users get some love in the form of Open GL 2.1 graphics support.

The standard version of Fusion 5 is available now for $49.99, but people who bought Fusion 4 since the release of Mountain Lion can upgrade for free. There's also a professional version ($100 for one license), which includes all the above features, and also lets IT departments lock down settings for employees' virtual machines.

Gallery: VMware Fusion 5 screenshots

Continue reading VMware intros Fusion 5 virtualization software with support for Win 8, integration with Mountain Lion

Filed under: Software

VMware intros Fusion 5 virtualization software with support for Win 8, integration with Mountain Lion originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red posts high frame-rate video demonstration to smooth out misconceptions

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/23/red-high-frame-rate-demonstration/

If you're still unsure about what you'll be getting into if you see the 48fps version of "Hobbit," Red has jumped into the fray with an article on its website and, most importantly, high quality HFR (high frame-rate) videos. It delves into all the aspects of the tech, starting with a primer on the minimum frame rate required to perceive motion, illustrated by a pair of clips to show the threshold. From there it details "judder" when panning at 24 fps versus 60 fps, motion blur, the possibility of brighter projection with HFR in 3D and of course, action at slower versus faster frame speeds. Finally, it demonstrates the hated "TruMotion" soap opera-esque interpolation method on modern TVs, and why that's different from true fast-frames. Sure, Red has a vested interest in seeing upcoming HFR films from its Epic camera succeed, but a little education might be what's needed to break old habits.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Home Entertainment

Red posts high frame-rate video demonstration to smooth out misconceptions originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Aspire V5 review: an 11-inch Ivy Bridge laptop for $550

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/23/acer-aspire-v5-review/

More Info

Acer first took the wraps off its Aspire V5 series at CeBIT in March, teasing the line of notebooks with designs that are 30 percent thinner than other laptops in their category. A few months later, in June, the company officially unveiled the 14- and 15-inch Aspire V5s, with Ivy Bridge processors and prices starting at $630. Rounding out that family is the 11-inch the Aspire V5 171. We have a bit of an identity crisis on our hands with this guy: though it looks like a netbook and weighs a light three pounds, it packs a Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor befitting a full-fledged machine, but it costs a budget-minded $550 ($500 with Acer's current promotion). Many products in this price range are clunky 15-inchers, so where exactly does this Aspire V5 fit in? Join us past the break as we sort that out.

Gallery: Acer Aspire V5 review

Continue reading Acer Aspire V5 review: an 11-inch Ivy Bridge laptop for $550

Filed under: Laptops

Acer Aspire V5 review: an 11-inch Ivy Bridge laptop for $550 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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