Shelfie, formerly known as BitLit , already lets you take a photo of the physical books you own and get matching ebook copies. Now they’re throwing audiobooks into the mix, so you can listen to the books on your bookshelf too. Read more…
Continue reading here:
Shelfie Lets You Download Ebooks and Audiobooks by Snapping Photos of Your Physical Copies
Esther Schindler writes: In addition to writing the story of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien drew it. The maps and sketches he made while drafting it “informed his storytelling, allowing him to test narrative ideas and illustrate scenes he needed to capture in words, ” reports Ethan Gilsdorf at Wired. “For Tolkien, the art of writing and the art of drawing were inextricably intertwined.” It’s all coming out in a new book, but here we get a sneak preview, along with several cool observations, such as: “If Tolkien’s nerdy use of graph paper feels like a secret message to future Dungeons & Dragons players, then so does his ‘Plan of Shelob’s lair.’ Tolkien’s map of tunnels stocked with nasties—here, a spider named Shelob—would be right at home in any Dungeon Master’s campaign notes. He even marks the place for a classic dungeon crawl feature: ‘trap.'” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
View the original here:
See the Sketches J.R.R. Tolkien Used To Build Middle-Earth
In the 150 years since Charles Darwin recognised the kinship of all life, scientists have worked to fulfil his dream of a complete Tree of Life . Today, the methods used to trace the evolutionary branches back through time would exceed Darwin’s expectations. Scientists across a range of biological disciplines use a technique called the molecular clock , where the past is deciphered by reading the stories written in the genes of living organisms. Read more…
An anonymous reader writes with an update to the news we discussed in July that a small library in New Hampshire would be used as a Tor exit relay. Shortly after the project went live, the local police department received an email from the Department of Homeland Security. The police then met with city officials and discussed all the ways criminals could make use of the relay. They ultimately decided to suspend the project, pending a vote of the library board of trustees on Sept. 15. DHS spokesman Shawn Neudauer said the agent was simply providing “visibility/situational awareness, ” and did not have any direct contact with the Lebanon police or library. “The use of a Tor browser is not, in [or] of itself, illegal and there are legitimate purposes for its use, ” Neudauer said, “However, the protections that Tor offers can be attractive to criminal enterprises or actors and HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] will continue to pursue those individuals who seek to use the anonymizing technology to further their illicit activity.” …Deputy City Manager Paula Maville said that when she learned about Tor at the meeting with the police and the librarians, she was concerned about the service’s association with criminal activities such as pornography and drug trafficking. “That is a concern from a public relations perspective and we wanted to get those concerns on the table, ” she said. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
More:
First Library To Support Anonymous Internet Browsing Halts Project After DHS Email
Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero grabbed the world’s attention this past winter when he announced his plans to perform the first human head transplant. Many doubted that such an outrageous procedure would ever see the light of day. Now, Canavero has a date on the books. Read more…
More here:
The First Human Head Transplant Will Take Place in 2017
When engineers build planes, they use heavy aluminum masking tape to cover up surfaces during production. Now, engineers at BAE Systems have created a new kind of tape that leaves the surface clean when it’s peeled away—and it’s reckoned it will save them $70 million. Read more…
See more here:
A New Kind of Masking Tape Will Save the Aerospace Industry Millions
Even the light bulb, one of the earliest electrical inventions, can afford to have tweaks made. With this Kickstarter bulb , use your smartphone to switch the light’s color: anything from shades of white to Night at the Roxbury- invoking fuchsia. Imagine Hue that comes fully featured out of the box. Read more…
See the original post:
The Latest Color-Changing Smart Bulb Turns Life Into a Rave
theodp writes: In an adapted excerpt from Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology, Univ. of Michigan prof Kentaro Toyama begins: “‘Technology is a game-changer in the field of education, ‘” Education Secretary Arne Duncan once said, and there was a time when I would have agreed. Over the last decade, I’ve built, used, and studied educational technology in countries around the world. As a computer scientist and former Microsoft employee, I wanted nothing more than to see innovation triumph in the classroom. But no matter how good the design, and despite rigorous tests of impact, I have never seen technology systematically overcome the socio-economic divides that exist in education. Children who are behind need high-quality adult guidance more than anything else. Many people believe that technology ‘levels the playing field’ of learning, but what I’ve discovered is that it does no such thing.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Read more here:
Technology Won’t Fix America’s Neediest Schools — It Makes Bad Education Worse
If you’re getting ready to set up a new computer or you need to format an old one, it’s useful to get a quick glimpse at everything you have installed so you can easily reinstall them later. OS X Daily shows how to do it with a Terminal command. Read more…
Original post:
List All Installed Applications on a Mac with a Terminal Command
Steam is finally getting a proper refund system. Starting today, users of Valve’s PC platform will be able to get a full refund on any game for any reason , provided it’s been less than 14 days since purchase and they’ve spent less than two hours playing. Read more…
Read the article:
Steam Is Now Offering Refunds