Polyphonic Overtone Singing Explained Visually With Spectrograms

New submitter Tucano writes The overtone singer Anna-Maria Hefele can sing two notes at the same time. In her latest video, spectrograms and frequency filters are used to explain how she can produce two melody lines at the same time, and how she uses her mouth to filter the frequencies of her voice. When the voice produces a sound, many harmonics (or overtones) sound at the same time, and we normally hear this as a single tone. In overtone singing, the mouth filters out all harmonics but one, and the one that remains is amplified to become louder. This is then perceived as a separate tone, next to the fundamental. In her video, Anna-Maria shows techniques that become increasingly advanced. She shows the overtone scale (steady fundamental, moving overtone), the undertone scale (steady overtone, moving fundamental), parallel movement and opposing movement of overtone and fundamental, and even complex compositions with two separate melody lines. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Polyphonic Overtone Singing Explained Visually With Spectrograms

Rooftop Solar Could Reach Price Parity In the US By 2016

Lucas123 writes: The cost of rooftop solar-powered electricity will be on par with prices of coal-powered energy and other conventional sources in all 50 U.S. states in just two years, a leap from today where PV energy has price parity in only 10 states, according to Deutsche Bank’s leading solar industry analyst. The sharp decline in solar energy costs is the result of increased economies of scale leading to cheaper photovoltaic panels, new leasing models and declining installation costs, Deutsche Bank’s Vishal Shah stated in a recent report. The cost of solar-generated electricity in the top 10 states for capacity ranges from 11-15 cents per kilowatt hour (c/kWh), compared to the retail electricity price of 11-37 c/kWh. Amit Ronen, a former Congressional staffer behind legislation that created an investment tax credit for solar installations, said one of the only impediments to decreasing solar electricity prices are fees proposed by utilities on customers who install solar and take advantage of net metering, or the ability to sell excess power back to utilities. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Rooftop Solar Could Reach Price Parity In the US By 2016

Inside the Blood Factory That Keeps Track of the World’s Rare Donors

When most of us think of “rare blood, ” we think of Type O-negative. But it turns out there are far, far rarer types than that. In Filton, England, there’s a lab that handles blood donations from across the UK—and identifies this super-rare blood. Read more…

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Inside the Blood Factory That Keeps Track of the World’s Rare Donors

Spray-On Soy Sauce Ensures Your Sushi Isn’t Soaked In Salt

Did you know there’s a proper way to eat sushi that doesn’t involve completely soaking the rice in soy sauce? You’re only supposed to dip the fish, which can be tricky if you’re not skilled with a set of chopsticks. So Fukuma, a Japanese soy sauce manufacturer, is now packaging the salty brown side in tiny spray bottles so you can perfectly spritz your sushi. Read more…

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Spray-On Soy Sauce Ensures Your Sushi Isn’t Soaked In Salt

The Tech Skills and Courses Google Recommends for Software Engineers

Software engineering is one of the most in-demand and best paying careers, but learning computer science can also pay off even if you don’t do it professionally. Google has a guide on the courses and experiences future software engineers should consider. Read more…

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The Tech Skills and Courses Google Recommends for Software Engineers

16 Things You Can Do In Android Lollipop That You Couldn’t Do In KitKat

After what feels like a long time since we saw the L Preview first appear , Google is now rolling out the final version of Android 5.0 Lollipop to its existing Nexus devices, and it also appears on the brand new Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 gadgets. Get to know the best version of Android yet by working through this selection of tips and tricks, covering all of the new features, major and minor, that are built into the operating system. Read more…

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16 Things You Can Do In Android Lollipop That You Couldn’t Do In KitKat

The U.S. Navy’s First Laser Cannon Is Now Deployed in the Persian Gulf

After seven years and $40 million of development, the US Navy has finally sent its prototype laser weapon, one capable of blowing holes clean through UAVs , on patrol throughout the disputed Persian Gulf . Read more…

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The U.S. Navy’s First Laser Cannon Is Now Deployed in the Persian Gulf

The Plan to Turn NYC’s Old Payphones Into Free Gigabit Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Today, New York announced the winning bid to transform the existing payphone infrastructure. LinkNYC will bring free gigabit Wi-Fi connectivity to some 7000 street towers. It’ll be the largest and most ambitious Wi-Fi network of its kind in the world. Read more…

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The Plan to Turn NYC’s Old Payphones Into Free Gigabit Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Some Billionaires Want To Give NYC a $170 Million Floating Park

Last month, Mayor De Blasio announced a push to fund green spaces in New York’s poor neighborhoods. This probably isn’t exactly what he meant: Very wealthy power couple Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg have announced plans to fund a giant park in the Hudson River. Read more…

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Some Billionaires Want To Give NYC a $170 Million Floating Park

iOS 8.1.1 is here, and while it’s a pretty minor update, Apple says it should increase performance f

iOS 8.1.1 is here, and while it’s a pretty minor update, Apple says it should increase performance for the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S, two of the oldest devices that make the leap to iOS 8. Go grab it now, especially if you have some more elderly devices. Read more…

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iOS 8.1.1 is here, and while it’s a pretty minor update, Apple says it should increase performance f