Learn the Russian alphabet in ten minutes

With Putin and Russia in the news more and more thanks to Trump and Steven Seagal, maybe it’s high time to learn how to pronounce Russian text. Thanks to the instructor’s lovely accent in this ten-minute tutorial , you’ll be pronouncing (if not understanding) in short order. (more…)

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Learn the Russian alphabet in ten minutes

e-ink keyboard changes for every purpose

I’ve been into old-fashioned mechanical keyboards lately; Sonder’s e-ink model promises to bring the fetish into the 21st century. Each key is both mechanical and a tiny e-Ink display that can change on a per-application basis. The Sonder Keyboard combines a sleek new design with a built-in rechargeable battery and enhanced key features. With an improved mechanical mechanism beneath each key for increased stability, as well as optimized key travel and a lower profile, the Sonder Keyboard provides a remarkably comfortable and precise typing experience. It pairs automatically with your Mac, so you can get to work right away. And the battery is incredibly long-lasting — it will power your keyboard for about a month or more between charges. The styling is minimal and Apple-oriented. Sonder’s keyboard uses Bluetooth, but comes with USB and a lightning port too. It’s $200, which seems reasonable for such a specialized device: compare to Art Lebedev’s Optimus Popularis color LED model, still a pricey curiosity at $1500.

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e-ink keyboard changes for every purpose

FBI gets warrant to search Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s email

Hillary Clinton’s email woes won’t die . Federal investigators today obtained a fiercely-sought warrant to begin searching a large cache of emails sent to or from Huma Abedin, longtime confidante and senior aide to Hillary Clinton. Federal law enforcement officials told reporters the warrant was in on Sunday, as prosecutors with the Justice Department and agents from the F.B.I. rushed to review as much of the emails as possible before Election Day, which is now only one week away. (more…)

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FBI gets warrant to search Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s email

WikiLeaks reveals President Barack Obama’s personal email address

The stolen emails recently published by WikiLeaks reveal that President Barack Obama’s email address during the presidential transition at the end of the 2008 campaign was bobama@ameritech.net. (more…)

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WikiLeaks reveals President Barack Obama’s personal email address

Projection mapping on a moving surface with a high-speed projector

Projection mapping is one of the most profound visual effects that computers can generate; themepark fans will have seen it in effect on the revamped opening scene to the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland and in the night-time shows that involve painting the whole castle with light (projection mapping is also used to generate the rear-projected faces of the animatronic figures in the new Snow White ride). (more…)

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Projection mapping on a moving surface with a high-speed projector

Magic use in Harry Potter novels charted

Skyler Johnson created an interactive infographic that charts the use of magic in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels . The spells are organized by count or time, with instances color-coded by the book they appear in. Hover over each use and you even get the quote, for context! [via Tor and Metafilter ] Emily Asher-Perrin writes: Perhaps not surprisingly, the spells that we see used most often are commonly used by Harry and his friends as means of non-violent resistance; Expecto Patronum; Expelliarmus; Stupefy. The Killing Curse appears sixth down on the list, which is fascinating–it is technically speaking the “most evil” of all the dark magic spells, and it is the most often used.

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Magic use in Harry Potter novels charted

State of emergency declared as Florida struck by flesh-eating screwworms

Nice place! Via PBS : The discovery occurred earlier this month in the Florida Keys, where the U.S. Department of Agriculture detected the New World screwworm, a parasite that lives inside open wounds, in a deer. About 30 deer have been found dead or been euthanized in the last two weeks due to screwworm infections. As a result, the county declared an agricultural state of emergency. “The screwworm is a potentially devastating animal disease that sends shivers down every ranchers spine,” Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam said. “It’s been more than five decades since the screwworm infested Florida, and I’ve grown up hearing the horror stories from the last occurrence.”

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State of emergency declared as Florida struck by flesh-eating screwworms

Social media surveillance software used by cops faces backlash

Geofeedia bills itself as a way for marketers to reach potential customers through geotagged “hashtag listening,” but they also sell it to police departments for “predicting, analyzing and acting on social media conversations,” like, say, peaceful protests. (more…)

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Social media surveillance software used by cops faces backlash

Britain’s new plastic money so hi-tech it can play vinyl records

In this video, a man plays Abba’s 1976 classic Money Money Money using one of the new £5 notes issued in the UK. They’re made of plastic. The new polymer five pound notes have a rather curious ability of being just about able to play vinyl records (with the aid of a contact microphone and small amplifier not shown on screen). As the corners on these new banknotes are more durable and sharper than its paper counterpart it acts like a very crude record needle. Like a lady barbarian’s armor in a computer game, the new fiver doesn’t crumple easily or get wet or tear, but still folds, and has a see-through window. “I do quite like them,” says a Briton on the street. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChqhM9C44fM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srQSzhkh8Uo

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Britain’s new plastic money so hi-tech it can play vinyl records