Monthly Archives: June 2013

The After Math: Microsoft fits new Windows, Sony pushes the limits of a smartphone screen

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Welcome to The After Math, where we attempt to summarize this week's tech news through numbers, decimal places and percentages.

The After Math Microsoft fits new Windows, Sony pushes the limits of a smartphone screen

In recent weeks, we've covered BlackBerry, Google, Nokia, Apple, Sony and (at least gaming-wise) Microsoft, but this week, the Redmond company returned to dominate tech news, showcasing a new version of Windows 8 (and RT) at its annual Build conference. It's tried to fix some of the operating system's early criticisms and make it all a bit more accessible. They even threw in a Start button -- of sorts. Meanwhile, Sony set jacket pockets quivering, announcing its new 6.4-inch smartphone (that's not a tablet), replete with arguably the most powerful mobile processor out there. For a numerical breakdown of the week's news, follow us after the break.

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Creepy Piranha Plant: Kill it With Fire Flower!

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I haven’t played The Last of Us yet, but I think if you crossed that game with Super Mario Bros. this would be one of its enemies. This gruesome sculpture came from the talented hands and twisted mind of Karen aka Dogzillalives. Karen said it’s made of “polymer clay, acrylic paint, matte and gloss varnishes.” I’m not sure I believe her.

medium plant guy piranha plant by karen dogzilla lives

She actually just calls it “Medium plant guy.” I don’t even want to know what Large plant guy looks like. Check out her deviantART page and her Etsy shop if your stomach isn’t empty yet.

[via Obvious Winner]

 

Tetris LED Tie: The Missing Puzzle Piece for Your Geeky Suit

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A few months ago we saw an awesome tie with a built-in equalizer. Bill Porter is working on a more interactive necktie: one that plays Tetris. Bill made it to trump his usual geeky teaching attire, a lab coat with lots of LEDs on it. Even in its unfinished state I think we can all agree that the Tetris Tie is much better than the lab coat.

tetris led tie by bill porter

The tie is made of a DigiSpark microcontroller, 80 RGB LEDs and two Li-ion batteries in a custom 3D-printed housing. Bill originally used the batteries for his wedding suit. Don’t be afraid of clicking that link; it’s much better than the lab coat.

All in all Bill only spent four hours and about $50(USD) to make the tie, but as I said, it’s still unfinished. Right now the tie only displays random movements. I’m pretty sure he’s also going to trim the cardboard overlay or perhaps get rid of it altogether. Bill is also planning on adding A.I. that can actually play the game as well as a Bluetooth module so that it can be played using a smartphone as a controller.

[via Bill Porter via inStash]

BSkyB wins trademark case against Microsoft over SkyDrive name

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BSkyB wins European trademark case against Microsoft over SkyDrive name

While many can tell the difference between Sky TV services and Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage, that's not necessarily true for everyone. A British court certainly thinks there's room for confusion: it has ruled that SkyDrive infringes BSkyB's trademarks on the Sky name in both the UK and the European Union. The presiding judge didn't believe that Microsoft's use of the "sky" prefix was absolutely necessary, and she showed evidence that at least some of the general public didn't understand which company made what. Microsoft says it plans to appeal the verdict, although there's no guarantee that it will have to relabel SkyDrive if the appeal falls through. Some past trademark lawsuits have led to fines instead of name changes, and we suspect Microsoft would rather pay out than lose brand recognition across a whole continent.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: BAILII

Google Reader Is Dead, Long Live RSS

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There is no time to shed tears over the demise of Google Reader; many of you have probably migrated to another stable RSS Reader. This post is a quick shout-out to all our Yanko Design fans that have been busy with stuff, now is a good time to drop all things and quickly transfer ALL your lists and feeds (including Yanko Design) from Google Reader, before they shut doors permanently. We think readers like Feedly are great. They offer easy migration and can automatically transfer all of your feeds for you.

Wired.com had compiled a list of alternate readers for you and you can pick the one that suits you best. We think Feedly will be a good fit since they offer a standalone web version and its own cloud syncing service. If you act now – before Google Reader shuts down – Feedly will allow you to transfer all of your feeds for you and retain that Google Reader look.

*image courtesy Mashable.

We hope to see all our 250,000+ RSS subscribers through the new channels!

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(Google Reader Is Dead, Long Live RSS was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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Woman Uses Super Glue Instead of Lip Cream, Glues Lips Together

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People do some pretty dumb things, but this has to go down as one of the most idiotic moves I’ve heard of in a while. Apparently, a woman in New Zealand mixed up her lip cream with super glue.

glued lips 2

*not the actual woman who did this (image: shutterstock)

The Otago Daily Times reports that a 64-year-old woman felt her lips were chapped in the middle of the night, when she rolled over to grab her lip gloss from the night stand. Instead, she reached for the super glue. Apparently, when she called 911 for help, she couldn’t even open her lips to speak, and managed only to grunt.

Eventually, she made it to the emergency room, where her lips were separated. I still can’t figure out why you’d have super glue on your bedside table, nor why you wouldn’t notice the chemical smell of the glue before applying it to your lips.

[via Dumb as a Blog]

iblazr LED Flash for Mobile Devices Plugs into 3.5mm Port: from Audio to Video

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Most modern smartphones have a built-in LED camera flash. But if you think that your phone’s flash isn’t bright enough to properly document your party nights, dramatic Instagram pics or Bigfoot sightings, keep an eye out for the iblazr. It’s an external flash for mobile devices that plugs in via the 3.5mm headphone jack.

iblazr led flash

The folks behind the iblazr claim that its four LEDs provide four times more brightness than the iPhone 5′s built-in flash when taking pictures, and up to eight times brighter when shooting videos. The image below supposedly shows the difference between the iPhone 5′s flash (on the left) and the iblazr (on the right).

iblazr led flash 2

The iblazr will also have its own power supply so you won’t worry about it draining your mobile device’s already limited battery life. It will also come with a free camera app that will let users toggle the iblazr’s brightness and other options.

iblazr led flash 3 300x250 iblazr led flash 4 300x250 iblazr led flash 5 300x250 iblazr led flash 6 300x250

But of course the iblazr’s best feature is the fact that it plugs in via the 3.5mm headphone jack. This makes it compatible with virtually all mobile devices. Apparently you can also control multiple iblazr units at once using a headphone splitter, as shown in one of the images in the gallery. Their website is hinting at a fundraising campaign soon; keep an eye on it or on their Facebook page if you want to. I hope it comes with sensor that will prevent it from flashing when it senses that the user is shooting a video vertically.

[via DamnGeeky]