www.youthsprouts.blogspot.com
Microsoft has just unveiled a new technology called Microsoft Surface. A Surface computer is able to recognize physical objects from a paintbrush to a cell phone and allows hands-on, direct control of content such as photos, music and maps. Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a dynamic surface that provides interaction with all forms of digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. But don’t let me spoil all the fun, there is a great Popular Mechanics video embedded below. Have a look, i think you’ll like it. As well as a couple of great promotional videos on Microsoft Surface website.
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YOUTHSPROUTS
Today and Tomorrow is Ours
Monday, March 31, 2008
MICROSOFT TOCHY TABLE, COOL AND REALLY FRIENDLY
Thursday, March 27, 2008
VIDEO OF THE FUTURE STREET ADDS.VIDEO TAKEN FROM THE FUTUTRE
www.youthsprouts.blogspot.com
this is example of the future.
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Review 'to change games ratings'
The games industry is in the spotlight once more
The review was led by psychologist Dr Tanya Byron, who was tasked with making children safer in the digital world.
Games currently receive a mandatory review by classifiers only if they contain "human sexual activity" or "gross violence".
Dr Byron is also expected to call for a UK body to oversee child net safety.
The review was launched last year at the request of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
At the start of the review, Dr Byron told BBC News: "The study will be about what industry is doing already to protect children and what more could be done to ensure they have a positive experience on the internet and with games."
The review's publication follows a report by the Insitute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) which says many young people are effectively being "raised online", spending in excess of 20 hours a week using sites such as Bebo, Myspace, Facebook and YouTube.
The IPPR has called on the government to do more to protect young people from inappropriate content.
The think tank has called for an annual report produced by regulator Ofcom on the effectiveness of initiatives aimed at tackling harmful internet content.
The IPPR also wants Ofcom to police cross-industry guidelines setting out the limits of what young people can expect when on social networks and how to behave online.
More than half of all children surveyed by the IPPR reported they had come into contact with online pornography.
Dr Byron's report is expected to recommend cross-industry codes of practice which are independently monitored, on areas such as user generated content.
The review is also expected to recommend the creation of a website for parents where they can find out more information about online safety.
__Wednesday, March 26, 2008
FREEDOM SHIP.
Ever dreamt of floating on the sea on your life? The Ship boasts of 18,000 living units in the price range of $180,000 to $2.5 million, including a couple of premium suites priced up to $44 million.
The idea that has been tossed around for a while. Now the Freedom Ship company has a new set of designs for the floating urban space, which looks sort of like a giant mall parking lot, and sort of like a really giant Love Boat. Here you can see the new design of the ship. The designers estimate they’ll have it built in three years.
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A world class casino will be around the corner for your entertainment and so will a world class medical facility to meet your health needs. A ferryboat transportation system that provides departures every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, to 3 or more local cities giving ship residents access to the local neighborhood and up to 30,000 land-based residents a chance to spend a day on the ship.
Specifications:
* 18,000 living units, with prices in the range of $180,000 to $2.5 million, including a small number of premium suites currently priced up to $44 million. * 3,000 commercial units in a similar price range * 2,400 time-share units * 10,000 hotel units * A World Class Casino * A ferryboat transportation system that provides departures every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, to 3 or more local cities giving ship residents access to the local neighborhood and up to 30,000 land-based residents a chance to spend a day on the ship. * A World-Class Medical Facility practicing Western and Eastern medicine as well as preventive and anti-aging medicine. * A School System that gives the students a chance to take a field trip into a different Country each week for academic purposes or to compete with local schools in numerous sporting events. For example; The Freedom Ship High School Soccer team plays a Paris High School team this week at home and an Italian team next week in Italy, while the Freedom Ship High School Band presents a New Orleans Jazz musical at a concert hall in London. * An International Trade Center that gives on-board companies and shops the opportunity to show and sell their products in a different Country each week. * More than 100 acres of outdoor Park, Recreation, Exercise and Community space for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Google wants unused tv spectrum.THE WHITE SPACE IN TV BAND
Google is planning a conference call with journalists on Monday to discuss a company filing with the FCC regarding the use of unused portions of the TV spectrum band, known as white spaces.
On the 11:30 a.m. EST call will be Rick Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media counsel.
Technology companies want to be able to use the spectrum between the TV channels for Internet access, and the FCC is considering opening up the white spaces for use by unlicensed Internet devices. But broadcasters oppose the move, saying it will cause interference.
The FCC has been running tests to see if the white spaces can be used without interfering with TV broadcasts. Microsoft has submitted a prototype device that would use the spectrum for high-speed broadband access.
Google, which is a member of the White Spaces Coalition with Microsoft, Intel, HP, and a few others, may have something similar up its sleeve.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
JALSA PAVAN KALYAN POSTERS. ADOBE POWER
www.youthsprouts.blogspot.com
JALSA IS THE SUPER DUPER HIT FILM.
GREAT
HE IS EVERYTHING
ROBO FLY INTO ANTARCTIC CLOUDS
By Jonathan Fildes
Science and technology reporter, BBC News
Watch the robotic plane take to the air
Driven by propeller, the machines made 20 low-altitude sorties, including four over the Weddell Sea.
The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were launched by catapult but flew autonomously until landing.
During some of the test flights the machines were fitted with miniaturised instruments to collect data for use in predictive climate models.
"One of the biggest uncertainties in those models is the physics of sea-ice - how it freezes and how it melts," said Dr Phil Anderson of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), one of the team that carried out the tests.
"A lot of this happens during the Antarctic winter - the nine-month period when we can't get ships and aircraft to the bases - so we decided to see if we could [collect this data] by robot aircraft."
__Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Real RC car controlled with the N95-- phone and more
Amazing! Andreas Jakl posted a cool N95 hack that uses the built-in accelerometer, Python, Bluetooth, and a microcontroller to control the movement of a remote control car:
Now we wanted to take the acceleration sensor of a mobile phone to the next level and use it to control something literally "bigger" than an application that is running on the phone itself.ShakerRacer: Real RC car controlled with the N95 acceleration sensoThe result is called "ShakerRacer" (thanks to Adam Montandon for this great name!). Stephan Selinger, one of our professors, bought a normal RC car for about €90 and "tuned" it. Not in the traditional way, but instead he replaced the standard remote control component with an own microcontroller and a Bluetooth-module.
Using the Python module aXYZ from cyke64, it was possible to write a small application that translates the movements of the N95 acceleration sensor to commands that can be understood by the car. This enables you to go as fast as 30 km/h by just tilting your phone!
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Vonage WiFi phone...and How to put your robo alert to message
www.youthsprouts.blogspot.com
DoctaBu" writes "Using some base code from PlasticBug's DittyBot, I created VoxCaller, an Automator workflow that lets people send computerized voice messages to other people via e-mail. People might think they should just call the person, but I personally think that Zarvox delivers messages in a more... exciting way." This is a lot of fun. Link.
Scott writes "Vonage just released a VoIP WiFi phone... you can use your Vonage VoIP account on any public WiFi access point (but not at places that charge, such as the airport, Starbucks, etc). I'd love to see this phone modded/hacked to be used with other providers (I use Voicepulse)." Link. If you use EVDO, you could at least make a mobile hotspot (see how to) but I'm not sure what settings you can change in the phone for providers (if any).
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cell phones or mobile phones techno crap
Here's a good follow up to our last post about consumption (Artist Chris Jordan) - The NY Times on where cell phones go when they die...
Americans threw out just shy of three million tons of household electronics in 2006. This so-called e-waste is the fastest-growing part of the municipal waste stream and, depending on your outlook, either an enormous problem or a bonanza. E-waste generally contains substances that, though safely sequestered during each product's use, can become hazardous if not handled properly when disposed. Those products also hold bits of precious metals like silver, copper, platinum and gold.
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Live-video-rocket readies for launch--not the hidden locker room cameras or traffic
Member Mister Biggs scored a $30 wireless camera/receiver combo (cheap enough to put into harm's way) and integrated it into into his first stab at a live-video-transmitting rocket. His description -
Estes Canadian Arrow upgraded to accept E class engines, 1-inch fin extensions to increase stability, Kevlar shock cords for two rip-stop nylon 18" paracutes...one for the body tube, and one of for the nosecone camera assembly. Nosecone Kevlar cord is attached to the tip of the cone, to allow for downward-facing video during decent.Best of Luck, Biggs!
Live Video Transmitting Rocket on Flickr
Related:
CVS camera video from a rocket...
K450 PVC Rocket Engine Design & Construction
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Space station robot gets its arms
Dextre will remove the need for some spacewalks in future
Richard Linnehan and Michael Foreman completed the task during a gruelling spacewalk outside the orbiting platform that lasted more than seven hours.
The robot, which is properly called the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator, will in future do much of the external work on the space station.
The 1.5-tonne, 4m-long machine was brought up to the platform by shuttle Endeavour on Tuesday. It was packed in parts on a travel pallet and needs to be reassembled before it can begin work.During the mission's first spacewalk on Friday, Dextre's hands were fitted to its arms. Now those arms have been attached to the robot's torso.
Dextre will be used to install and remove small payloads such as electronics boxes, computers and batteries.
It will be controlled by astronauts from inside the platform or even by ground controllers.
Endeavour's astronauts and the resident crew on the space station have continued to outfit the new Japanese Logistics Module which was also lofted on Tuesday.
This is a storage facility for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (Jaxa) Kibo laboratory, the main section of which will travel to the station on the next shuttle flight.
CLICK HERE
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Self Inflation Tires- BMW AUDI BENZ AND WHAT ELSE
It's a well known fact that keeping your tires properly inflated has numerous benefits. But sometimes it's just inconvenient to stop and check and re-pressurize. A new self-inflating tire design from Coda Development can fix that and you don't even have to stop.
Actually, all you have to do is drive to make sure your tires are properly inflated. Now before the comments start rolling in about how self-inflating tires are nothing new, let me explain how they work.
Normally, a compressed air tank is used to inflate tires that are too low. This new system uses something called a peristaltic pump to regulate air flow. A peristaltic pump is the same kind of pump used in hospitals to deliver medication through an I-V.
The system uses a rotating wheel that, as it turns, pushes the tube's contents through one end. The movement causes a low pressure area which pulls more "whatever" into the other end. In Coda's case, the car's wheel is the rotating wheel and your air-filled tire plays the part of the tube. A pressure sensitive valve ensures that your tire stays at a constant pressure.
Since the system doesn't require nearly as many parts and is not powered by an outside source, it should be much more reliable and cost less. Coda plans to show off the new technology at the 2008 SAE World Congress in mid April.
The LIFEcar : A Zero-Emissions Sports Car, What is it?
A few years ago, a partnership between a handful of British Companies began developing a zero-emissions sports car that was still fun to drive. The 100mph concept is finally complete and will be presented at the Geneva Motor Show.
A large part of the partnership was QinetiQ, one of Europe's largest science and technology companies. The Morgan Motor Company, a legend in British Sports cars, is also a key contributor on the LIFEcar team.
The LIFEcar stands for (Lightweight Fuel Efficient Car). It draws power from fuel cells that convert Hydrogen and Oxygen into electricity which is then fed into small electric motors. When designing the body and frame, weight reduction was of the highest priority. By reducing the overall weight, less power is needed to move and sustain speed. In its final form, the LIFEcar is able to cruise almost effortlessly using a 24Kw system. Most competitors use at least 85Kw.
The lightweight design and highly efficient fuel cell system give the LIFEcar a top speed of about 100mph. No official acceleration numbers have been released as of yet. The designers also incorporated regenerative braking and ultra-capacitors into the drive system. As you stop, energy in stored in the capacitors and then released during acceleration to help reduce fuel consumption even farther.
The vehicle cost about £1.9million ($3.77 million) to finish and brought together some of the best minds Europe has to offer. They hope to continue developing more efficient systems for future cars.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Google your way to a wacky office
By Jane Wakefield
BBC Technology reporter, BBC News website, in Zurich
Sliding into work at Google HQ
Dotcom companies were defined by beanbags and pizza but Google, a company that came to prominence after the bubble had burst, has taken that image to a whole new level.
Meeting 'pods' in the style of Swiss chalets and igloos, fireman poles to allow easy access between floors and a slide to ensure that people can get to the cafeteria as quickly as possible are all part of a design of its new European engineering headquarters in Zurich Switzerland.
The building was designed for - and partly by - the 300 engineers who will work there.
The wacky office is both a showcase for Google's unconventional approach to business and a symbol to prove that Google is no longer a US-centric firm.
But as the search giant expands its wings so criticism about its dominance becomes ever louder.
The civil liberties lobby is hot on its heels with questions about what it plans to do with all the data it is collecting while others question its expansion into new areas - with its purchase of advertising outfit DoubleClick causing particular controversy.
Google stresses that it puts users before making money but an 18% drop in its share price at the beginning of the year proved that it wasn't immune to the US economic downturn and some question how long its good intentions can last if profits continue to fall.
Euro scientists building real-life Transformers
Those mad scientists across the pond are at it again. European scientists have just launched a $9 million project to create a prototype team of self-organizing, self-healing, shape-changing mini robots that can work as a team by 2013. The scientists behind the project say that future applications include search and rescue missions, space exploration, and medicine. The prototype swarm will consist of several hundred individual autonomous units, each measuring around an inch square, and the robots will be able to evolve, adapt and collaborate without human supervision. Ya, you read that last part right.
Now, if you know anything about self-organizing, shape-changing robots, you know that they don’t like taking directions—especially from daft, emotional creatures like humans. So a more likely scenario with this whole program is that the robots will abandon the scientists’ best-laid plans, and evolve into two camps of their own creation: robots programmed to destroy, and robots programmed to protect. Naturally, power struggles will ensue, and we could end up with a ROMI robot gone evil, up against EveR-1, a friendly Korean robot that likes to read stories to children. The ensuing death match would determine the future of the planet. So, ya, thanks again Euro scientists, great plan.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Violin-playing robot
I remember when it was all about which robot could run or ride a bicycle, now it's which one can play the violin... -
Toyota Motor Corp.'s new violin robot performs during a press unveiling in Tokyo Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007. Compared to a virtuoso, its rendition was a trifle stilted and, well, robotic. But Toyota's new robot plays a pretty solid "Pomp and Circumstance" on the violin. The 152-centimeter (five-foot)-tall all-white robot used its mechanical fingers to push the strings correctly and bowed with its other arm, coordinating the movements well.Violin-playing robot - [via] Link.
Related:
Murata boy - bicycle riding robot - Link.
QRIO and AIBO, the memories (huge photo gallery) - Link.
BIOLOID - DIY educational robot kits
@The NYC Toy fair 2008 I was happy to see Robotis's BIOLOID, these are somewhat well-known humanoid robot kits, but they're also more than that - you can make spiders, probes, turtles, dino and excavator bots -- a lot more fun when you get tired of people-bots walking around.
More:
Erector sets and more (iPod & iPhone robots, R2D2 projectors...)
@The NYC Toy fair 2008 Erector was there, perhaps best known for Erector sets - but these folks had a mind blowing product line that I didn't expect. They have a series of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth robots that work with iPhones and iPods and controllable from anywhere in the world.
They had their "classic" Erector set on display, but that's no match for this giant creature.
Lastly, they licensed R2-D2 from Star Wars and sorta went nuts - this R2 unit is a real home projects, web camera, DVD player, iPod / iPhone stereo - and a robot you can control from anywhere. When it needs to project, it tilts back and projects a stunning image just like any other home projector. Obi-Wan you're my only hope, and $3,000+ dollars. It's not released - this was it's debut.
Oh, it's remote is a Millennium Falcon, of course.
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