Microsoft Teases Windows 10’s Upcoming ‘Project Neon’ Design Language

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Windows Central: Microsoft just gave developers a sneak peek at Project Neon, Microsoft’s upcoming design language for Windows 10 that aims to add fluidity, animation and blur to apps and the operating system. We exclusively revealed that this was in the works in late 2016, and today Microsoft has given us a first peak at what Project Neon will look like. During the Windows Developer Day livestream, an image of Project Neon was seen the background of one of the PowerPoint slides being shown off on stage. Although not much, it’s further confirmation that this is the end goal for Windows 10’s UI, and Project Neon will be bringing a fresh coat of paint to apps. Project Neon should benefit all types of Windows 10 devices, including Windows 10 Mobile, HoloLens and even Xbox. We’re still several months away from Project Neon being everywhere in Windows 10, and we’re expecting to see more at BUILD this coming May. In fact, a lot of the Project Neon APIs are available in the latest Insider Preview builds of Windows 10, meaning developers can already begin taking advantage of these new user interfaces and design language! Animations and transitions are a big deal with Project Neon, with the goal of making the operating system and apps feel like they work together. Peter Bright does a good job summarizing the looks of the screenshot via Ars Technica: “The picture shows a refreshed version of the Groove music app on a Windows desktop. The fundamentals of the app and its layout aren’t changed, underscoring that Neon is very much an iteration of the current Metro/Microsoft Design Language (MDL). The window has shed its discrete title bar and one pixel border, with the application content now extending to the very edge of the window. The search text field no longer has a box around it, and the left hand pane has a hint of translucency to it.” You can view the screenshot here and judge it for yourself. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Microsoft Teases Windows 10’s Upcoming ‘Project Neon’ Design Language

LibreOffice 5.3 Released, Touted As ‘One of the Most Feature-Rich Releases’ Ever

An anonymous reader shares a report: A new month, and a brand new version of open-source office suite LibreOffice is now available to download. And what a release it is. LibreOffice 5.3 introduces a number of key new features and continues work on improving the look and feel of the app across all major platforms. The Document Foundation describes LibreOffice 5.3 as “one of the most feature-rich releases in the history of the application.” One of the headline features is called MUFFIN interface, a new toolbar design similar to the Microsoft Office Ribbon UI. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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LibreOffice 5.3 Released, Touted As ‘One of the Most Feature-Rich Releases’ Ever

This Raspberry Pi-Powered Magic Mirror Can Be Set Up With One Line of Code

We’ve seen a few different magic mirror projects using a Raspberry Pi, but in the newest issue of MagPi they’ve put together what might as well be the definitive magic mirror guide as it’s easily the simplest one to make for yourself. Read more…

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This Raspberry Pi-Powered Magic Mirror Can Be Set Up With One Line of Code

Check Out the Evolution of the US Dollar Bill

The US one dollar bill is still old school. In fact, it has the oldest design of all US currency being produced today. So that means it doesn’t have the flashy tech, or the colorful hues, or the wild looks that have leaked into the redesigns of the more valuable banknotes. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t changed. Just… Read more…

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Check Out the Evolution of the US Dollar Bill

Wire a Raspberry Pi Zero Directly Into a Power Supply for a Low-Profile Computer

The Pi Zero is awesome because it’s so small, but it still requires all kinds of cables and chargers. Over on NODE, they show off how to build the Pi Zero into a USB hub and power supply for an all-in-one computer. Read more…

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Wire a Raspberry Pi Zero Directly Into a Power Supply for a Low-Profile Computer

This battery is powered by bacteria

 Researchers at Binghamton University in New York have created a “bacteria-powered battery on a single sheet of paper.” The project is aimed at creating batteries for disposable microelectronics that can run for weeks using a little bacteria-rich liquid. “The manufacturing technique reduces fabrication time and cost, and the design could revolutionize the use of bio-batteries as… Read More

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This battery is powered by bacteria

3D-printed satellite launcher heads to ISS with blessing of Chris Hadfield and Grant Imahara

 If you could print something out aboard the International Space Station, what would it be? That was the question posed to engineers and enthusiasts in the ISS Design Competition, and the winner — a clever and powerful device for launching palm-size satellites — will actually be getting beamed up. Read More

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3D-printed satellite launcher heads to ISS with blessing of Chris Hadfield and Grant Imahara

New Text Adventures Compete In 22nd ‘Interactive Fiction Competition’

An anonymous Slashdot reader writes: 58 brand-new text adventures are now available free online for the 22nd Annual Interactive Fiction Competition. The public is encouraged to play the games, and on November 16th the contest’s organizers will announce which ones received the highest average ratings. After 22 years, the contest is now under “the auspices of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, a new, charitable non-profit corporation dedicated to supporting the technologies and services that enable IF creation and play…” according to the contest’s organizers. “[T]he competition now runs on servers paid for by the IF-loving public, and for this I feel sincere gratitude.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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New Text Adventures Compete In 22nd ‘Interactive Fiction Competition’

Teslas will now be sold with enhanced hardware suite for full autonomy

Enlarge (credit: Tesla) Late Wednesday, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk announced that the company would be adding its own hardware to new all new Tesla cars to allow up to Level 5 autonomy. In the automotive industry, Level 5 denotes a fully self-driving vehicle. Musk said that it would be some time before Tesla’s software would advance to meet capabilities of the new hardware available, which the company is calling “Hardware II.” Still, the CEO stressed that all new cars would come with the new hardware suite, even if the software isn’t activated. The hardware includes eight cameras for a 360-degree view, twelve ultrasonic sensors, “forward-facing radar with advanced processing,” and an Nvidia Titan GPU that’s capable of 12 trillion operations per second. Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Teslas will now be sold with enhanced hardware suite for full autonomy