Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-much-of-nyc-a-taxi-driver-sees-in-a-single-day-1604813865
Everybody's wondered what it's like to be a taxi driver. Whether riding in the back of a cab contemplating your existence or watching a Robert De Niro movie, we've all contemplated how many passengers it takes to make a day's wages. Now, thanks to some clever code, you can watch it play out before your very eyes.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/14/bittorrent-paywall-science-fiction-series/
BitTorrent is set to dabble in paywalls by teaming up with an independent producer for a sci-fi series called "Children of the Machine." Rapid Eye Studios will produce and fund the $1 million pilot, which will revolve around teenagers, global warming and technology gone awry. BitTorrent has worked with TV makers and major studios in the past, but is trying a brand new tact for the show. To fund a full eight-episode run, at least 250,000 users will have to sign up for a "BitTorrent Bundle" for $10 after seeing the pilot. Right now such bundles are free, but it plans to introduce paywall bundles starting in September with music content from a yet-unnamed "major artist." BitTorrent told the NYT it's looking for users "willing to reward creativity by paying a fair price" for the new scheme. It admit that it's a risky experiment, though -- users may be too set on a fair price being "free."
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Via: NYT
Source: BitTorrent
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/14/cheap-diabetes-test/
Researchers from Stanford University have developed a microchip that could make it much less costly to diagnose type-1 diabetes. The debilitating disease often strikes children, and the quicker it's detected, the easier it is to treat. The current test, however, is a time-consuming, costly burden for both hospitals and patients, requiring radioactive materials and several days of time. The new chip uses gold nanoparticles that cause fluorescent materials to glow when telltale antibodies are detected. Unlike the old tests, only a pinprick of blood is required, and the $20 chip can be reused up to 15 times. Such diagnostics could compliment other diabetes research, like Google's glucose detecting smart contacts, along with potential treatments or even cures. Researchers said the test will be particularly useful in countries where the standard test is too expensive, and are now working to launch it globally.
[Image credit: Stanford University/Norbert von der Groeben]
Source: Stanford University
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/14/mit-shape-shifting-robot-material/
Robots tend to be either very rigid or very soft, but neither extreme is ideal; ideally, machines could both squish themselves into tight spaces and remain sturdy for strength-dependent tasks. They just might, thanks to a team-up between MIT and Google's Boston Dynamics. The two have developed a composite material that can switch between hard and soft states on the fly. The design mates a compressible foam inside with an external wax coating. If a robot needed to deform, all it would have to do is soften the right joints with a bit of heating. It could even heal damage by heating and cooling an affected area.
It's still early days, but there are already plenty of potential real-world applications for the material. DARPA (the impetus for the project) wants robots that can literally slip through the cracks to reach otherwise inaccessible areas; they could rescue survivors trapped under rubble, for example. MIT, meanwhile, pictures surgical bots that could repair hard-to-reach body parts. We're still a long, long way from the liquid metal of Terminator 2's T-1000, but these findings suggest that the concept of a shape-shifting automaton isn't completely far-fetched.
Filed under: Robots, Science, Google
Via: TechCrunch
Source: MIT News
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/14/microsoft-says-super-cheap-windows-devices-are-on-the-way/
It used to be that if you only wanted to pay $199 for a brand-new laptop, you'd have to try your luck on Black Friday or pick up a Chromebook. Not so anymore. Microsoft COO Kevin Turner outed a $199 HP Windows laptop called the Stream at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference this morning, and it should see the light of day in time for the holiday season. Fine, it doesn't sound like the biggest deal ever. There are already a few solid Windows laptops floating around there for less than $100 more, after all, and at this point no one's sure what $199 will actually get you. That's a fair point, but c'mon: on some level this move is all about symbolism. Microsoft is telling the industry -- and the consumers that fuel that immaculate machine -- that it's not giving up low-end computing to Google without a fight.
Nadella and his crew are banking on the fact that Windows provides greater functionality and extensibility than ChromeOS right out of the box. When computer shoppers can own the full Windows experience (for better or worse) for the same price as committing to a Chrome-y connected lifestyle, they'll have to mull that choice over. That's exactly what Microsoft wants. Turner also confirmed that the next few months would bring at least a few full-blown Windows tablets priced to move at $99. That announcement wasn't as much of a surprise since the folks in Redmond revealed that the OS would be free to manufacturers when its installed on device's with screens under 9 inches. It was only a matter of time, but hey -- that doesn't make the gesture any less meaningful.Source: The Verge
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