Saturday, January 11, 2014

Polaroid is already planning to cut the price of its $1,000 4K TV

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/10/polaroid-50GSR9000-hands-on-4k-tv/

Like the high school kid who doesn't get invited to go out partying with the in-crowd, Polaroid decided that the best way that it could turn some jaded heads was with a dramatic reinvention. The company pulled up outside CES with a whole new range of cameras, tablets and a 4K TV, the latter of which was one of a small few that broke the $1,000 barrier. When we went to examine the 50-inch UHD panel, an executive remarked that this un-smart TV would likely get a price cut before it hits store shelves in order to undercut rivals from Vizio and Kogan. Of course, there's no word on just how much cheaper this unit will be, but we figure it'll be hashed out with the accountants in due course.

The unit itself, meanwhile, uses an Innolux panel and comes with a trio of HDMI 1.4 inputs in addition to a USB port -- although it's our sad duty to inform you that the latter can only be used for firmware upgrades. The company also believes that most buyers will already own a Chromecast, Apple TV or similar gear, and so omitted Roku's built-in streaming stick tech, putting the gear at a disadvantage compared to the aforementioned Vizios and Kogans of this world. Still, for now, it's scheduled to arrive in May, and for now at least, you can expect to pay $1,000 for the pleasure of mounting it to your living room wall.

Nicole Lee counted all 3,840 x 2,160 pixels on these TVs by hand for this report.

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When Parrot AR.Drone meets MYO armband, magic ensues (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/10/parrot-ar-drone-thalmic-labs-myo/

Ah, Las Vegas, the perfect location for a spontaneous wedding. Earlier today, we witnessed a quick and dirty collaboration between Parrot and Thalmic Labs at CES, where they paired an AR.Drone 2.0 with a MYO gesture-control armband. The demonstrator was able to control the drone's tilt direction by using just one arm, as well as toggling the rotors by clicking fingers. This author gave it a go as well and found this control method to be as effortless as it looked, though due to the WiFi interference on the show floor (ugh, so typical of large events these days), the drone had to stay within a close proximity of the iPad that was relaying the MYO's commands.

There wasn't a way to adjust the vehicle's height in that particular demo, but there's no stopping Thalmic Labs from assigning additional gestures for that -- maybe clench fist to ascend and spread hand to descend. Understandably, neither company could confirm whether they are bringing this feature to market, but we'd be very surprised if they don't sustain their marriage moving forward.

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The Guys Who Made Siri Have A New iPad App That Talks To Your Kids

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-ipad-app-from-siri-creators-2014-1

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Every episode of a kid's show follows a similar pattern where the main character will pause, turn to the screen and ask a question to the viewer.

Children are supposed to eagerly shout at the screen with the answer. Regardless of what someone says, the character on screen and continue on with the show.

If this is supposed to be educational, how are kids really learning anything if they're given the answer anyways?

Toytalk, a company founded by veteran Pixar Animation execs Oren Jacob and Martin Reddy, have an app that literally answers this question.

The company's first project is called The Winston Show. Its a cartoon app starring Winston and Ellington, co-hosts of a digital talk show which makes kids become the special guests. The best part? It actually talks back to you.

Oren explained the big difference between Toytalk's app and traditional kids shows is this: 'We believe that when conversation is entertaining, it fosters imagination and lets kids explore and grow.'

Voice recognition software harnesses the iPad's microphone makes it possible for Winston to ask questions, listen to the answer and respond to it. Children can actually have an immersive learning experience since the app is teaching them something instead of just giving them the answer. Despite that, Winston can occasionally provide a generic response if he can't understand the question.

Five sketches are built into the application for users to enjoy with over 12 hours of interactive content. Children can choose to compete against a multitude of colorful characters in a variety of quiz shows, create their own story in a segment called Writers Room or just have a fireside chat with Winston on any topic.

When I asked Oren what he feature he was most proud of on Toytalk, he said, "Personally I am most proud that our writing never talks down to kids. We believe that kids always have something smart to say and deserve the same from their entertainment.! "

Instead of opting to premiere their new product on TV, Toytalk decided to bring The Winston Show to the iPad since Oren considered it to be the most "advanced entertainment platform." Also, children were the ideal target for this program because the founders felt that they would be the most receptive audience. 

For now, Toytalk is keeping The Winston Show just on the iPad. Season 2 will be coming out this year but the release date has yet to be announced. If parents are seeking a beneficial way to harness technology for their kids, you can download the app for free here. A demo of the app can be seen below.

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The World's Largest Water Slide Is In Kansas City — You Won't Believe It Until You See This Video

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/verruckt-water-slide-in-kansas-city-2014-1

Kansas City's Verrückt water slide is the largest in the world, taller than Niagara Falls and absolutely unreal-sounding.

It's approximately 17 stories tall (the official height will be announced later). Look at this insanity:

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A Guy Rigged Up 2 Tesla Coils To Play The 'Game Of Thrones' Theme Song, So You Should Probably Watch This Video

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-tesla-coil-theme-song-2014-1

You have to love the creative pursuits of "guy in garage."

YouTube user Arc AttackMusic has loads of videos demonstrating his Tesla coils and their musical capabilities. One of the songs in his Tesla coil repertoire is the "Game of Thrones" theme song.

Here's the video description:

We built these little Tesla coils so that we could check them onto airplanes as baggage. We had to test them. That is the reason this video exists.

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