Tag: public-access

Run Android on an iPhone – with some heavy engineering and caveats

Familiar with cramming one operating system into somewhere it doesn’t belong , developers at Tendigi have just created a homemade iPhone case that lets you run Android on your iOS smartphone. (Well, kind of). Fortunately, because of the Android Open Source Project , it gave Nick Lee the freedom to clone the mobile OS and build his own local hardware. Before he went that far, Lee decided to test the concept — streaming Android across to an iPhone through a cable — with a Nexus 5. He needed tools that could communicate with iOS, as well as services that let USB cables play nice with an iPhone. Lee also crafted software that transmitted what was happening on the Android devices’ screen to the iPhone, while also send touch-input back. The next challenge: cramming it all into an iPhone “case”. See it working after the break. He then made his own tiny Android development board (all the technical specifics are here ), linking it to the soon-to-be franken-iPhone and its own power supply, prototyping and 3D-printing an enclosure to house it all and attach to the iPhone. It’s not the prettiest case, and really you’re ‘streaming’ Android to your iPhone screen, but it’s the man-hours thought that counts, right? Source: Tendigi

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Run Android on an iPhone – with some heavy engineering and caveats

The new ‘Doom’ hides sinister images in its soundtrack

It’s no secret that the new Doom is chock-full of Easter eggs and other surprises, but the latest is one you wouldn’t find just by wandering around the game’s tortured halls. Intrepid fan TomButcher has noticed that at least one tune in the soundtrack, “Cyberdemon, ” shows both pentagrams and the number 666 when you visualize the music’s frequencies through a spectrogram. Composer Mick Gordon recently teased that this hidden sinister imagery might be present in a video (below at the 3:29 mark), but there’s no doubt about it now. Clearly, he remembers the days when the original Doom ‘s hellish artwork had some parents in a frenzy. Music aficionados will be quick to note that stealthy image insertion isn’t new. Aphex Twin (aka Richard James) legendarily inserted his own face into the spectrogram for a track on his Windowlicker EP, for a start. All the same, it’s good to know that the art of sneaking in subtle audio references is far from dead — even if you’re unlikely to see this feat in many other games going forward. Via: Reddit Source: TomButcher (Imgur)

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The new ‘Doom’ hides sinister images in its soundtrack

World’s largest solar power plant experiences minor meltdown

A small fire temporarily shut down the generator at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System near the California-Nevada border Thursday. According to the Associated Press , some wires at the power plant melted and caught fire after a misaligned mirror zapped them with concentrated sunbeams. When it is operating correctly, the array of over 173, 500 heliostats reflect and focus sunlight onto boiler towers that create supercritical steam to drive turbines and create electricity — enough to power some 140, 000 homes in California. It’s an efficient system that also has the unfortunate side effect of incinerating birds in mid-flight, but now we can also add “solar meltdown” to the list of potential power plant disasters. According to San Bernardino County fire Captain Mike McClintock, those misaligned mirrors were reflecting the sun’s rays onto electrical wires about 300 feet up one of the boiler towers. While images from the blaze show some damage to steam ducts and water pipes, no one was injured and workers at the plant reportedly had things under control in less than 20 minutes. One of the boilers was shut down for repairs, but the plant itself remained online.

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World’s largest solar power plant experiences minor meltdown

‘Hearthstone’ update brings drastic changes to the card game

Hearthstone is undergoing some changes in the interest of keeping the digital-trading-card game fresh. But in introducing the “Whispers of the Old Gods” — expansion out on the 26th — developer Blizzard is tweaking a bunch of cards and, based on the 5, 000-plus comment Reddit thread , this isn’t exactly for the better. Fan favorite cards like Molten Giant have gotten a casting cost increase up to 25 from 20, while the Knife Juggler card has had its attack decreased by a point. Polygon breaks the changes down on a card-by-card basis incredibly well. Blizzard says that “careful consideration” went into these choices, and that it was based on both the company’s own ideas and checking out community feedback. So, chances are that the developer is listening to what you have to say regarding the new expansion. Just remember to keep polite when airing your thoughts, okay? You can grab the expansion from the in-game store across all platforms next Tuesday. Via: Polygon Source: Blizzard (1) , (2)

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‘Hearthstone’ update brings drastic changes to the card game

Firefighter mask offers hands-free thermal imaging

When firefighters tackle a dangerous blaze, thermal imaging can be their greatest ally. It’s usually integrated in a small handheld camera, helping team members to quickly locate civilians, peak through walls and identify safe passageways. Tyco’s Scott Safety has now developed a face mask which includes an integrated thermal camera and display, called “Scott Sight.” A small image is shown inside the mask — similar to how Google Glass ‘ would appear in your peripheral vision — at nine frames per second, for up to four hours. The user can also switch between four different interfaces, as well as ambient and max temperature settings. The combination should allow firefighters to keep their hands free. Whether they’re guiding people to safety, or using specialized equipment, Scott Sight should help firefighters to be more effective and tackle blazes faster. The only downside is that each crew member will need their own mask to see the world through thermal vision — a handheld camera, in comparison, can be easily viewed and shared between multiple people. Nevertheless, Scott Sight feels like a logical step forward. It sets the foundation for a more advanced overlay, similar to Microsoft’s HoloLens , which firefighters could enable on the fly. Such a system would remove the need to constantly peer at a tiny screen, keeping the wearer’s gaze front and center — a behavior that’s paramount in a fire-fuelled situation, where potential dangers could present themselves at any moment. Via: Gizmodo Source: Tyco , Scott Safety

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Firefighter mask offers hands-free thermal imaging

‘Biopen’ lets doctors 3D print cartilage during surgery

If you need knee replacement surgery in the future, doctors may be able to create a custom-made joint from your own stem cells. A team from St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, have developed the Biopen, a type of 3D printer that uses “ink” made from hydrogel and stem cells. While 3D printing stem cells isn’t new , the exact shape of a patient’s cartilage often can’t be known until they’re cut open. Using the device, surgeons can precisely customize the joint to the patient with surgical “scaffolds, ” then permanently harden the biogel using ultraviolet light. Built from medical-grade plastic and titanium in consultation with doctors, the Biopen is supposedly up to the challenges of an operating room. “The development of this type of technology is only possible with interactions between scientists and clinicians — clinicians to identify the problem and scientists to develop a solution, ” says Professor Peter Choong, Director of Orthopaedics at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. The process yields a very high 97 percent survival rate for the cells. Doctors developed a Biopen prototype several years ago (see the video, above), but refined it considerably, according to a new research paper . The same device could be used in other forms of surgery where custom tissue regeneration is needed, but there’s no word yet on when it will be tested on patients or commercialized. Via: IB Times Source: Pubmed (subscription)

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‘Biopen’ lets doctors 3D print cartilage during surgery

J&J’s anesthesia-bot loses against its human counterparts

Just because robots can be more efficient than humans and can make certain processes cheaper doesn’t mean they’ll always come out on top. Case in point: Johnson & Johnson is pulling its anesthesia robot called Sedasys from the market over poor sales, according to Outpatient Surgery and Anesthesiology News . It was once a promising alternative to anesthesiologists, since it can bring down the cost of administering sedation from $2, 000 per procedure to $150 to $200. It eliminates the need for an anesthesia professional, after all, as it allows any nurse or doctor to put a patient under in the operating room. One of the reasons why it experienced such slow adoption rates is because the American Society of Anesthesiologists campaigned against it. The group eventually backed down after the machine was limited for use in routine procedures like colonoscopy, but by then, they’ve already done their job. Unfortunately, J&J now plans to lay off 3, 000 employees from its medical devices division due to its products’ (Sedasys included) poor sales, so it’s not a total victory for humans after all. Via: PopSci , The Washington Post Source: Outpatient Surgery , Anesthesiology News

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J&J’s anesthesia-bot loses against its human counterparts

Toyota will make automatic braking near-standard by 2017

Worried that you might not stop your Camry in time to avoid a nasty collision? Toyota is determined to prevent that from happening going forward. The Japanese car maker has announced that its automatic braking systems will be standard on 25 out of 30 Toyota and Lexus models, at nearly every trim level, by the end of 2017. It’ll only be non-standard on the 4Runner, 86 (formerly the Scion FR-S), Mirai , Lexus GX and Scion iA. Just what you’ll get will vary: while Lexus only has one braking system (based on a camera and millimeter wave radar), Toyota has both laser- and millimeter wave-based variants. Whatever you get, though, it’s a big step forward for safety and semi-autonomous driving in one of the world’s biggest vehicle brands. You probably won’t have to fork over extra just to minimize the chances of a crash, whether you’re driving a frugal Yaris or a decked-out Lexus LX. Via: TechCrunch Source: Toyota

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Toyota will make automatic braking near-standard by 2017

Apple iOS 9.3 update available today with ‘Night Shift’

During its ” Loop You In ” event, Apple announced that iOS 9.3 would finally be available to all starting today. The new version of the operation system adds the color-temperature changing Night Shift, Notes with Touch ID and password support. The News app also got some love with trending topics. CarPlay is updated with better Maps and an easier way to select music. The operating system has been available to developers and any users that opt-in to beta test the latest version of iOS. So the none of the features are much of a surprise. But, if you’re not in the mood to mess with your iPhone experience using a system that’s not quite ready for primetime, soon you’ll be able to set Today’s event introduced the new iPhone 5SE which is available for order now . Get all the news from today’s iPhone event right here , and follow along with our liveblog !

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Apple iOS 9.3 update available today with ‘Night Shift’

MSI ships its Mac Pro-like Vortex gaming PC

Do you like the Mac Pro’s concept of stuffing a lot of computing power into a small cylinder, but wish there was a gaming PC inside instead of workstation hardware? You just got your wish. MSI has started shipping the Vortex , a riff on Apple’s formula that crams a full-on game rig into a tube that’s just 10.6 inches tall. It uses similar vertical cooling and includes Thunderbolt ports ( Thunderbolt 3 in this case), but it’s clearly aimed at a crowd that’s more interested in Far Cry Primal than Final Cut Pro. The mini desktop is billed as relatively upgradeable, and there’s even customizable lighting if you think the system isn’t attention-grabbing enough . Just be prepared to pay through the nose for the privilege. In the US, the Vortex starts at $2, 199 with a 4GHz Core i7, dual GeForce GTX 960 graphics, 16GB of RAM, twin 128GB SSDs, a 1TB hard drive and Killer-made networking. It’ll cost you $3, 999 to get a no-compromise model with dual GeForce GTX 980 video chipsets and 32GB of RAM. This PC is strictly for well-heeled enthusiasts, then, but it’s likely your best bet if you want a compact game machine that doubles as a conversation piece. Source: MSI

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MSI ships its Mac Pro-like Vortex gaming PC