Livescribe, the company whose magic smartpen makes taking notes a whole lot easier, is back with completely revamped capabilities and cloud integration that almost makes you want to be a student again. The company’s new Sky Wi-Fi smartpen has been recording what you hear and synchronizing it to what you write since it launched in 2008, but it now digitizes and syncs notes across iOS and Android devices via the cloud. The new pen – which is available starting Monday at retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy and Livescribe.com — is a huge leap forward for the company who already makes the note-taking process that much more painless for students and business people. If you’re not familiar with how it works, here’s a quick rundown: When taking notes with a Livescribe pen in its accompanying black notebook – which features high-tech dot paper for digitizing the content — the pen records everything you write and hear. To replay the audio, users can tap a word in the section of notes and the recording will begin playing from that exact spot. Now, the updated pen takes it a step further with cloud capabilities, so it’s possible to access content remotely via smartphones, tablets and PCs. It also launched a full integration with social networks and Evernote, allowing users to wirelessly send digitized notes directly to their accounts. Although notes could be sent to Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox and Evernote in the past, mobile integration in the cloud for the first time. (The connector buttons for the social networks will be available starting early 2013.) The new cloud capabilities shine via the service’s existing Pencast feature in Evernote, a note-taking app which helps users keep track of to-do lists, save ideas and stay organized. Similar to watching a movie, a Pencast relives exactly how notes were taken: After pressing play, audio starts and notes that were taken at that time will appear on screen in sync. Evernote, which already has more than 40 million subscribers, is a natural fit for Livescribe because its userbase is already note-taking savvy and looking for new ways to stay organized. The news about the partnership comes just a few days after Evernote announced more than 100 new features to its platform. Developers will be able to integrate content created with the Sky Wi-Fi smartpen into apps and services too. The company announced on Monday the pre-release of the Livescribe Mobile SDK (0.9), with limited availability starting in December. A launch for Android is expected to debut before the end of the year, while iOS is planned for early next year. Because the Mobile SDK will allow the smartpen to connect directly with tablets and smartphones via Wi-Fi, new opportunities will undoubtedly open for developers looking to integrate the pen into platforms. The Sky Wi-Fi smartpen comes in various models with different pricing options: 2GB (200 hours of audio recording time), $169.95; 4GB (400 hours), $199.95; 8GB (800 hours of audio, plus a one-year subscription to Evernote Premium), […]
Remember way back in March 2012, when a robot cheetah designed by the Pentagon’s finest minds failed to outrun Olympian sprinter Usain Bolt? Remember how the metal creature’s mere 18 miles an hour — when compared to Bolt’s all-time high of 27.79 mph — provided humanity with some shred of dignity and self-assurance? Okay, maybe you don’t remember all of that. But if you do, forget it. Because the cybernetic cat is back — and it just beat Bolt’s best time. The Cheetah, as it is officially known, was created by a company called Boston Dynamics and funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA, the same group of military minds that brought us the Internet. In a video DARPA just released, seen above, the Cheetah laughs off Bolt’s challenge. Loping strangely along on four metal legs, the creature reaches 29.3 mph before its need for speed trips it up. What’s more, Bolt could only sustain that pace for 20 meters (and he had a little tailwind action, if truth be told). In theory, the Cheetah could complete an entire marathon in less than an hour. DARPA hopes this strange device could help foot soldiers on the battlefields of the future, like some kind of invincible sniffer dog on speed. But given that its inventions tend to have peacetime implications — you may have noticed that Internet thing isn’t just for defense scientists any more — we expect plenty of unintended consequences. Will robots compete in the Olympics of the 2020s and take all our medals? Will they challenge us to street races and laugh as we cough and splutter in last place? I, for one, would like to welcome our new superfast overlords. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/05/robot-faster-usain-bolt/
If you’re hungry, you better smile: Researchers at the University of Toyko have developed a smile-activated refrigerator, which requires users to flash a grin before entering. The system, which is called the “The Happiness Counter,” aims to naturally encourage smiling in our every day lives. Equipped with built-in Sony CyberShot digital camera that features smile-recognition technology and an attached light sensor, it can sense when a smile has been flashed and unlocks the refrigerator door. Although you would think this could cure late-night food-binging for those feeling down, it’s still possible to open the refrigerator if you don’t smile — you just have to tug at it harder. “We feel that the happiness counter will naturally encourage the act of smiling in the multitude of daily frustrations, thus enhancing a positive mood and the communication of people,” a spokesperson said in a product video. The fridge might actually make smiling easier, too: researchers conducted a series of trials to test its effectiveness and found participants were more likely to smile forcefully in the first few days of using the system, compared to day 10 when people were much more likely to smile naturally. The team also believes this type of smile-activated technology has potential to boast productivity and morale in the workplace. For example, a “Happiness Counter” could be installed outside a meeting room, and only those who smile are allowed to enter. “Increasing the number of smiles in the workplace will enhance the atmosphere for everyone and they might be able to produce some nice ideas,” a spokesperson said in the video. Are you intrigued by the concept? Do you think it could really make a difference in your overall mood and outlook? Let us know in the comments below. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/10/smile-refrigerator/
Mobile Music Touch is a novel treatment for people who have lost sensation in their hands from a spinal cord injury. Not only does it have therapeutic benefits, but it also teaches people to play the piano in the process. Developed by Tanya Markow at Georgia Tech, the MMT is a device consisting of a glove, control box and five small vibrating motors. These have two functions. Firstly, it vibrates continuously and helps restore feeling and mobility to people suffering from spinal cord injuries. Previous studies have shown that vibrations can have a restorative effect, and a recent study with the MMT supports these results. Unlike other therapeutic devices, the MMT is small enough to be worn comfortably for extended periods of time. However, the MMT has a second trick — it teaches music. As music is played, a light-up keyboard indicates the correct key and the MMT vibrates the corresponding finger. A recent study, focused not on piano playing but on frequent wear of the MMT alone, had promising results. “Some people were able to pick up objects more easily,” Markow told Georgia Tech. “Another said he could immediately feel the heat from a cup of coffee, rather than after a delay.” The musical component of the MMT is important, though. For one thing, the researchers found that users who learned songs with the MMT learned them faster. It also gives users more of an incentive to use the device, and a goal to work towards. “Equipment used for hand rehabilitation may seem monotonous and boring to some, and doesn’t provide any feedback or incentive, […] Mobile Music Touch overcomes each of those challenges and provides surprising benefits for people with weakness and sensory loss due to SCI,” said Thad Starner, of Georgia Tech’s Contextual Computing Group. “It’s a great example of how wearable computing can change people’s lives.” While extremely promising, Markow and her colleagues are looking forward to further research using the MMT — expanding it to include MRI studies to observe the effects on patients more directly. “I am No Man” Doesn’t Cut It: The Story of Eowyn Why All Those Sexist Complaints About The New Ghostbusters Movie Are Garbage Study Says Binge-Watching Is For Lonely & Depressed People & Those Who Lack Self-Control The Pirate Bay Has Returned To the Land Of the Living After Two Months This article originally published at Geekosystem here Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/18/mobile-music-touch/
Google has updated Google TV with several important features, including a voice search and a new TV guide called PrimeTime. The voice search option enables you to start watching TV shows, movies and YouTube videos simply by speaking to your TV. You can also open apps, go to websites and perform searches. Google’s search engine will even recognize various natural language search queries; for example, saying “how to tie a bow tie” will get you an instructional video on YouTube. As far as PrimeTime goes, it’s a renamed TV & Movies app which Google launched last year. It enables you to access favorite channels, see recently watched shows, browse for best live shows or find suggestions based on content you like. Google is on fire lately when it comes to Google TV updates. Only last week, Google announced it would start offering music and movies to Google TV owners in some European countries. And yesterday, Google launched an updated Google TV and Android YouTube app which enables you to play videos you’ve found on your Android device on a Google TV with one click. The update will be rolling out to LG devices “this week,” followed by other devices, Google claims. Check out an overview of the new features in the video above. Get Your Tickets to Mashable Media Summit The Mashable Media Summit 2012 will explore the impact that technology is having on media, and how digital media is affecting our lives and changing the world. This one-day conference will bring together the brightest minds in media, including content creators, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, social media executives and journalists. Date: Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 Time: 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Location: The TimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, New York, NY 10036Tickets: Purchase early bird tickets on Eventbrite. A Look Back at Last Year’s Mashable Media Summit Mashable Media Summit 2011 Media Summit 2011 The Mashable Media Summit on Nov. 4 at the Times Center in New York City attracted professionals in digital, tech, advertising, sales, marketing, mobile and publishing from all over the world. Media Summit 2011 We had a packed house in attendance for this year’s Media Summit. The Future of Social Media Pete Cashmore, founder and CEO of Mashable, speaks on the future of social media, its current landscape and what trends to expect for 2012. Media Summit 2011 This year’s Media Summit was located at the Times Center in New York City. Social Media Grows Up: The Evolving Role of Social Media in News Organizations Mashable‘s community manager Meghan Peters chats with Katie Rogers, social media manager at The Washington Post; Anthony De Rosa, social media editor at Reuters; and Drake Martinet, social media editor at AllThingsD. Teaching – and Learning From – The Old Grey Lady Brian Stelter, a media reporter and blogger at The New York Times speaks at the Media Summit. The Filter Bubble: How to Fix Content Curation Eli Pariser, author and chairman of the board at MoveOn.org, discusses how human editors and algorithms […]
Video-sharing platform Vimeo launched on Wednesday a new iPhone app with the ability to uploaded recorded videos faster and easily share them to social networking sites. The free app — now available in the Apple App Store — allows users to record videos and upload them directly from the app. Users can pause uploads and start them again when needed. Social sharing is a major focus in the redesign, making it simple to share clips with others via Facebook, Twitter, email or iMessage. The platform carried over some existing features to its new look, such as the option to like, comment and add videos to a Watch Later queue. A nice new perk is that now you can watch clips while uploading your own at the same time. “We redesigned it to be smarter and more intuitive so you can do what you want, when you want, really easily,” Vimeo said in an official blog post. “You can take your feed on a road trip (just not while you’re driving), relax in the park with your Watch Later queue or catch a Staff Pick or a friend’s video while in line for lunch.” Although the update is only for iPhone users now, the company is reportedly working on new iPad and Android apps, according to VentureBeat. To coincide with the launch, the company released a quirky video to demonstrate why one might want such an app. Be sure to check it out above. The news comes just two months after Vimeo announced a program called Tip Jar, which gives creators the ability to monetize their films and videos. Instead of enabling ads on videos, viewers can “tip this video” by donating anywhere between $0.99 to $500 after watching a clip. Image via Flickr, roland Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/28/vimeo-app-iphone/
A new generation of Retina displays with high pixel densities is now on the market. Unfortunately, that means your website imagery could instantly become ugly and pixelated if you don’t take action. With the introduction of the iPhone 4 in 2010, Apple no longer measured its screens in pixels, but in points. The scaling factor of the screen changed, which determines how a point relates to a pixel. A Retina display now has a scale of two, so one point is equal to two pixels — if you draw a one-point line, it shows as two pixels wide. If you’re imagery isn’t optimized to account for this, your product won’t make a great first impression. Most standard desktop displays fall between 96 to 100DPI, with web-ready graphics normally at 72DPI. However, Retina displays have a much higher DPI (generally acknowledged at 200 pixels per inch, or greater), so the images will look blurry if you don’t make adjustments. It’s therefore essential to ensure your website images are optimized to scale up properly. We’ll cover four approaches to convert your site to Retina, while ensuring its imagery looks great on all devices. If you have found alternative solutions to serving Retina images, please share your recommendations with readers in the comments below. 1. CSS Sprites One method to serve responsive Retina images is to use CSS Sprites. To cater for high-resolution displays, you need two images: a normal resolution (@1x) and a high-resolution image (@2x); this means doubling the number of files, selectors and references in your CSS. However, if you use a CSS Sprite, “you only need to override the link to the @1x sprite file for all the selectors that include high-resolution assets,” says Maykel Loomans, user interface designer at Instagram. This technique reduces network requests and stylesheet file size, an efficient process for creating Retina assets. The CSS Sprite solution, though, is only for assets referenced in your CSS. For the images on your page, Imulus has developed Retina.js, a very useful plugin that checks your server to see if you have any image source with @2x at the end. For example, if you have an image on your page that looks like this: img src=”/images/my_image.png, the script will check your server to see if an alternative image exists at this path: /images/my_image@2x.png. It then automatically replaces images on your page with high-resolution variants. To use it, just place the Retina.js file on your server and include the script on your page at the bottom of your template, before the closing </body> tag. While it is often more time-consuming to produce multiple graphics, the end result produces an optimal file size and is a “future-friendly” approach to development. 2. Retina Images Retina Images is a server-side solution, which serves high-resolution images automatically without double loading resources. It relies on PHP, a modified .htaccess file, enabled cookies and JavaScript. Once set up on your website, all you have to do is create a high-res version of each image you […]
Here is a list of devices from which you, dear readers, claim to send emails: Commodore 64, carrier pigeon, homing pigeon, courier pigeon, fountain pen, rotary phone, hammer and chisel, tin can via the string network, typewriter, abacus, Apollo Guidance Computer, Atari, car phone, shoe phone, 1984 Samsung car phone, difference engine, Game Boy Color, IBM Selectric, pocket rocket, Remington SL3, souped-up TV remote, steam powered digital telegraph, TI-83 Plus, TI-89, toaster, UNIVAC, Coleco Adam computer, Moleskine notebook, Pony Express, Skynet, space-age phonograph and smoke signals. Phew. That’s a lot of retro. And a lot of Wikipediaing for the uninitiated. This data derives from Thursday’s request for edits to that line of text that phone companies so gauchely added to mobile emails: “Sent from my iPhone” and the like. I know I promised you a best-of list, but… Instead, I wrote you an essay breaking down the data! (Bum trade, sorry.) What really caught my attention is that people saw a basic grammar to iPhone signature witticisms. You put a single line of text in front of millions of people, and they start — en masse — to decompose it into playable components. Here’s the general form of the message (explicit stuff is in brackets): Apology/Location/Status [Communication] from [My] [Device] The surface content of the message is that you’re receiving a message from a device. But the type of device conveys an implicit status message, while the presence of the line provides an in-advance apology for any errors as well as an indication you’re mobile out there in the world (or at least not at your computer). Using this general form, we can create a loose taxonomy of the signature edits. (Yes, I know I’m taking this too seriously. Sent from a nerd in data heaven. Expect overthinking.) Sent from a rotary phone. Image: Alexis Madrigal Look, you can check for yourself (I’ve scrubbed the names and backstories): Image: Alexis Madrigal Most people only played with one of the elements. Obviously, the list at the top of this post shows people toying with the idea of the device itself, which (unintentionally or not) also changes the status message that gets delivered. They get all the other benefits of the line, but get to associate with a device that’s “more them.” Others liked to highlight the device’s “deviceness,” as in Nathan Tsoi’s “I typed my text above on a smallish quadrilateral of aluminosilicate glass, a task that would have been unimaginable to most people even a few short years ago. Mistakes are inevitable” or Marcus Himmel’s “Sent from a toy that has more computer power than all of NASA back in 1969 when it sent two astronauts to the moon” or Don D in Peoria’s, “Sent from the first great invention of the 21st century.” The other popular way to personalize the signature was to play with the implicit apology. These come in two flavors. The first is to actually apologize with words: Typed with big thumbs on small phone iPhone. […]
Want to buy a specific camera for someone for the holidays, but can’t find it in your budget range? A new website called Greentoe is bringing price negotiation to the consumer electronics world — think Priceline for gadgets. The website, which launched in October, allows shoppers to name their price on anything from brand name TVs to camera lenses. Here’s how it works: After finding a product, users can submit an offer for what they would pay. Greentoe then notifies its network of retail partners to see if a merchant will accept. If a deal is made, the item ships to consumers directly from the retailer, which can be anything from a small to big-box company. “When you walk into a Best Buy, you can’t haggle with employees for the price you want,” Joe Marrapodi, CEO and co-founder Greentoe, told Mashable. “There wasn’t a way to ask for a lower price, so we wanted to develop a way to do it digitally.” One example highlighted on the e-commerce site is that a shopper recently shaved $50 off a Fujifilm camera, bringing the price from $263 to $213. Not a bad deal. So could this be the new Priceline for the tech world? Maybe. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below. Image via SevenWafflz Gamer Gifts 1. Triforce Lamp Know a Zelda fan in need of some power, wisdom and courage? This beautiful wood and acrylic lamp can be hung or shelved. The pixelated carvings on each side warm the room with dappled light. Price: $95.00 2. Portal 2 Graphic Poster The best part of this stylish turret-themed poster is the tiny print at the bottom: “hello.” It’s impossible not to hear that depressive little robot voice. Price: $32.82 3. NES Moleskine This hand-stamped stocking stuffer is great for students or journos with retro roots. Price: $10.00 4. Skyrim iPhone Stats Case Elder Scrolls fans will enjoy adding this clever case to their inventories. The iPhone obviously has magical properties. Using it will add +10 to your speechcraft skill. Price: $37.20 5. Xbox 360 Bullet Buttons Hardened shooter fans (think Call of Duty) might enjoy this Xbox controller hack. Etsy seller DiselLaceDesign provides bullets that fit perfectly, but you’ll need a special screwdriver to put it all together. Price: $11.98 6. Chrono Trigger Zeal Mousepad SNES time travelers will recall the floating kingdom of Zeal and the abuses that lead to its downfall. Memorialize the mysterious realm with this snazzy mouse pad. Price: $14.00 7. Goomba Cufflinks Perfect for that Nintendo-themed wedding you have coming up. Or something. Price: $28.00 8. Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Punchout! This pixelated print packs a one-two punch in terms of geeky cultural references. The Internet’s favorite astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson was memeified last year as a “reaction face,” used to mock Internet arrogance. Mix that with a reference to the 1987 Nintendo game Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!, and you’ve got one hell of an Internet inside joke. Price: $11.00 9. The Reterners (Final […]
Any high school-aged coders with a love for space and NASA out there? Read on. Zero Robotics, a robotics programming competition set up through MIT, is entering its fourth year — and there’s still a day left to register. Here’s how it works: Students can sign up in teams for free on the website. Over the course of the semester, they compete head-to-head with other teams in writing programs — sort of situational, scenario-based challenges. Gradually, the challenges get more difficult. Then, after several phases, finalists are selected to compete in running code for the International Space Station (ISS) — which is broadcast live by an astronaut on board the ISS. Since 2009, the competition has allowed participants to compete in a series of coding challenges through an online platform. “There’s a whole ranking system that tells them how well they’re doing as they’re going through it,” said Jake Katz, co-founder of the competition and research assistant in the Space Stations laboratory at MIT. “And throughout the course of the season, the game gets slightly more complex. They start out in two dimensions and then they will soon, around Oct. 5, be going into 3-D competition — then we add some additional challenges towards the end.” The original kick off for this year’s competition was on Sept. 8. But, Katz said, there’s still a day left to register. “There have been people participating so far, and are already off and running with it, but it’s still possible to join in and make a submission for the first phase,” he said. “We have 75 teams so far, and that’s just from the U.S.” There are an additional 43 teams from 19 other countries, he said. The competition is sponsored by NASA, DARPA, TopCoder, Aurora Flight Sciences, CASIS and MIT. TopCoder, a programming company, designed the platform the games are played on. “In 2009, when we started, we had just two teams competing against each other,” Katz said. “Just two years later, we had about 100 teams from all over sign up.” Check out the promotional video below: What kind of code would you write to run on board the ISS? Let us know in the comments. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/26/zero-robotics-mit/
