Mind-controlled Robotic Leg

io9 reports: [edited]

Until now, the only thought-controlled prosthetics available to amputees were bionic arms. But this leg will soon be available to the more than one million Americans with leg amputations. It was developed by lead scientist Levi Hargrove at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

The leg’s movements are controlled by a person’s original nerves, which are redirected to a small area of the thigh muscle. When these redirected nerves instruct the muscles to contract, sensors on the amputee’s leg detect tiny electrical signals from the muscles. These signals are then analysed by a specially-designed computer program which decodes the type of movement the patient is trying to perform (like moving the knee or ankle). It then sends these commands to the robotic leg.

“This new bionic leg features incredibly intelligent engineering,” said Hargrove in a RIC release. “It learns and performs activities unprecedented for any leg amputee, including seamless transitions between sitting, walking, ascending and descending stairs and ramps and repositioning the leg while seated.”
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Science Fiction Starships Comparison Chart

Kotaku reports: [edited]

This comparison chart, compiled by DeviantARTist Dirk Loechel, presents what he says is an accurate size-comparison between famous sci-fi starships. As far as I can tell it's got more or less every single sci-fi starship ever, from Star Wars to Warhammer to EVE Online to Halo and way, way beyond.
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YouTube Audio Library

The Verge reports: [edited]

YouTube includes a number of simple production tools to help film makers improve their projects, and today it's launching a library of royalty-free music that can be used in any video. The YouTube Audio Library is launching with 150 tracks in genres spanning from funky dance and electronic to sappy country tunes, all of which can be streamed and downloaded as 320kbps MP3 files.

Tthere are some gems within the collection that do a great job representing their genre without feeling like a knockoff product, giving filmmakers easy access to royalty-free music.
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iPhone 5s Camera Image Samples

DPR Connect reports: [edited]

DPReview Editor Barnaby Britton has spent the weekend shooting with Apple's new iPhone 5s, testing the phone's capabilities under a variety of lighting conditions.

Britton made some of the same observations that other reviews have pointed out: the camera is very quick, improvements to the flash do offer more accurate final results and the panoramas are incredibly impressive. He also noticed that those filtered photos snapped with the updated Camera app only appear as such within the phone: that is, your retro shot of your friend using the Noir filter will look black & white on your phone but when you transfer the files directly from phone to computer, only the original unfiltered image appears.

There are 60 images in the gallery.
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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Digital Photography Review has posted a full review of Sony's upgraded high-end compact camera.

Conclusion snippets follow:

It feels almost greedy asking the RX100 II to do more than it does. As it is, it takes exceptional pictures for a camera of its size, offers a wealth of manual shooting and customization options, and takes great video. It does everything and more you'd expect from a compact, and quite a few things you'd expect from a bigger camera.

The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II produces some of the best images we could ever expect to see from a compact camera. It's not the best shooting experience, but Sony has pushed the limits for this category and produced something really innovative.

Is the RX100 II worth the cost of a mid-range interchangeable lens system? And would you be better off saving some money and buying the now-discounted RX100 instead? That depends. If a slightly-less-noisy ISO 3200 JPEG is worth an extra $150 to you, then the RX100 II will be the better investment. If you can live with a little more noise, don't care much for a tilting LCD and don't plan to use Wi-Fi sharing, then you're better off with an RX100.
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Inside the iPhone 5s

The Register reports: [edited]

The gleeful geeks at iFixit and ChipWorks have torn apart Apple's latest flagship iPhone, the 5s, and inside they found a lot of glue and a few surprises.

"This is an 's' version, which means it's speedier, more secure, superior – or similar – to its predecessor," said iFixit's Gwendolyn Gay in a video accompanying the teardown.

In addition to the new A7 processor, the fingerprint sensor, the improved camera, and the sensor-wrangling M7 chip – is a higher-capacity 3.8V battery than its predecessor: 5.92Wh and 1560mAh, compared to the iPhone 5's 5.45Wh, 1440mAh power source.

ChipWorks found that the M7 processor is from NXP Semiconductors. The A7 processor is manufactured by Samsung

Its fingerprint sensor is a bunch of very small capacitors that creates an 'image' of the ridges on your finger, based on technology from AuthenTec, acquired by Apple in July 2012.

Being avid advocates of the "Right to Repair", iFixit rates each product it tears down with a 1-to-10 reparability score. Their rating for the iPhone 5s gives that "s" a few more possible interpretations: "six" is the score, which makes it "sorta" repairable.

The benefits of the power-saving sensor-management capabilities of the M7 chip won't be fully realized until developers take advantage of its CoreMotion API, and the advantages of the A7's 64-bit ARMv8 architecture offers developers – including Apple's – a goodly amount of potential for the future.
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London - Nottingham - London, 21-09-13

London to Nottingham
Merengue - Bolivar
Somewhere In My Heart - Aztec Camera
Lazarus - The Boo Radleys
Put a little love in your heart - Annie Lennox & Al Green
Jackie Collins Existential Question Time - Manic Street Preachers
Standing In The Shadows Of Love - The Four Tops
Pump Up the Jam - Technotronic feat. Felly
Play House - Afrobeta
Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man - Prince
New Song - Howard Jones
It's The Same Old Song - The Four Tops
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - The Chiffons
Lost Weekend - Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
Jonny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
Beauty And The Beast - Jump 5
Hello - The Beloved
Behind A Painted Smile - The Isley Brothers
Johnny reggae - The Piglets
Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough - Manic Street Preachers
Jive Talkin´ - Bee Gees
Stereo - Pavement
Sunny - Boney M
Sometimes - James
Sexy and I Know It - LMFAO
The Sun Rising - The Beloved
Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel
Halcyon - Delphic
Hold on to Love - Peter Skellern
Xanman - Pond
Satellite Of Love (Radio Edit) - Lou Reed vs Groovefinder
A Little Respect - Erasure
Family Man - Daryl Hall & John Oates
My Perfect Cousin - The Undertones
Rocket - Goldfrapp
Lean On Me - Club Nouveau
Wake Me Up - Avicii
Motorcycle Emptiness - Manic Street Preachers
Can you feel it - The Jacksons
Nancy Boy - Placebo
Heart Shaped Guitar - Masked Intruder
Ghostbusters - Bowling for Soup
Mary of the 4th Form - The Boomtown Rats
Tarzan & Jane - Toy Box
I Think I Love You - Partridge Family
I Just Can't Wait To Be King - Jason Weaver
Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
Crying at the discotheque (ext) - Alcazar
Like Clockwork - The Boomtown Rats
Sweet Harmony - The Beloved
One On One - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Daydream - Günter Kallmann Choir
The Elements song - Tom Lehrer
We don't have to take our clothes off (ext) - Jermaine Stewart
Crash - The Primitives
Wake Up Boo! - The Boo Radleys
Holiday - Madonna
How Bizarre - OMC
My Number - Foals
Cola Bottle Baby - Edwin Birdsong
Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine
Falling - Haim
WWPRD - Jeffrey Lewis and The Rain
Telepathy - Lene Lovich
I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You - Black Kids

Nottingham to London
Deacon Blues - Steely Dan
Sugar and Spice - The Cryan Shames
Shooting Star - Dollar
Birdhouse in your soul - They Might Be Giants (TMBG)
Don't Talk To Me About Love - Altered Images
I've Never Been To Me - Charlene
Pressure Drop - The Maytals
What I Am (single) - Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians
Another girl, another planet - Only Ones
Show Me the Wonder - Manic Street Preachers
Robert De Niro's Waiting - Bananarama
We're Going To Be Friends - The White Stripes
I'm gonna getcha good - Shania Twain
Out of Touch - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Ready or Not - Fugees
King City (alt) - Swim Deep
Toxic - Britney Spears
The Bitch Is Back - Elton John
Age of Aquarius - Fifth Dimension
Baby I Don't Care - Transvision Vamp
Little Yellow Spider - Devendra Banhart
Apache - Micheal Viners Incredible Bongo Band
Afterglow - The Crookes
Sheila (Radio Edit) - Jamie T
Tell That Girl To Shut Up - Transvision Vamp
Jeans on - David Dundas
Mr. Sandman - The Chordettes
Wild Ones - Flo Rida Feat. Sia
Good Looking Woman - Joe Dolan
You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette
The Boy With the Arab Strap - Belle and Sebastian
That Don't Impress Me Much (dance remix) - Shania Twain
No You Girls - Franz Ferdinand
Come back and stay for good this time - Paul Young
Pin - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Special K - Placebo
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Archive of Book Cover Designs & Designers

Creative Pro reports: [edited]

Next time you feel the need for a little visual inspiration, head directly to bookcoverarchive.com and be prepared to spend some time browsing over 1300 cover designs.

Click on a cover to get a close up view with info about the designer, publisher, author. You can also choose to view covers by a specific designer.
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Temperature chart for the last 11,000 years

kottke reports: [edited]

For the first time, researchers have put together all the climate data they have (from ice cores, coral, sediment drilling) into one chart that shows the 'global temperature reconstruction for the last 11,000 years'.

The climate curve looks like a "hump". At the beginning of the Holocene - after the end of the last Ice Age - global temperature increased, and subsequently it decreased again by 0.7°C over the past 5000 years.

The transition from the relatively warm Medieval into the 'little ice age' turns out to be part of a much longer-term cooling, which ended abruptly with the rapid warming of the 20th Century. Within a hundred years, the cooling of the previous 5000 years was undone.
------------

Ricoh Theta

The Inquirer reports: [edited]

Ricoh has unwrapped what it claims is 'the world's first mass-produced' 360 degree imaging device. The device features a twin lens that captures the scene around, above and below the device in one shot for fully spherical images.

Weighing 95g, the device links up to smartphones so that images can be uploaded via WiFi and viewed in a free Ricoh app. The app allows users to then pinch, swipe or rotate the images they have taken, editing the size, shape and composition if they like before sharing online

Ricoh said the Theta will work with Apple iOS 6.0 devices and newer. Android compatibility is expected before the end of the year.

The handheld device will be sold for £329 and will go up for pre-order this month.


------------

Sony QX10 & QX100

Digital Photography Review Connect reports: [edited]

Sony has introduced a pair of digital cameras designed to attach directly to your smartphone. The QX10 and QX100 are cameras that clip onto your smartphone, which is used to operate the camera and view photos. The compact QX10 has a 1/2.3" sensor while the QX100 has a large 1-inch-type sensor and fast 3.6X zoom lens. The QX100 is essentially a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II without an LCD. The cameras are priced at $250 and $500, respectively.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 and QX100 offer a totally new way of shooting on your mobile device. These cameras leave the world of tiny sensors and fixed lenses behind, offering you a choice of high zoom power or excellent photo quality. But are they worth the price?

The QX10 features an 18-megapixel sensor and a 10X optical zoom lens. Sure that's more pixels than any smartphone - aside from a few Nokias - but will the typical smartphone user notice the difference? As for the zoom, you can pick up teleconverters such as this one for a lot less that the QX10. Sure, you can't zoom in and out, nor will the image quality be as good, but $35 is a lot cheaper than $250.

While it's based on the RX100 II, the QX100 is a bit underwhelming. On the positive side, it offers the same high-quality lens and sensor as the camera on which it is based. That said, it's missing quite a few features, including shutter priority and manual exposure modes, adjustable ISO sensitivity, Raw support, and Full HD video. Add in the bulk and the price ($500) and you might be wondering if you should just carry around a premium compact camera instead.
------------

Samsung Galaxy Gear

The Verge reports: [edited]

The $299 Galaxy Gear is quite unlike anything you've seen before. Yes, it's a smartphone accessory that can pick up notifications, control music playback, and keep time with a rich variety of watch faces, but Samsung takes it a few steps further by integrating a 1.9-megapixel camera, a speaker, and two microphones — allowing you to shoot short 720p movies and even conduct phone calls with the Galaxy Gear.

It is not a phone in its own right — it relies on a Bluetooth connection to your Samsung Galaxy device in order to do most of its connected work. When it goes on sale later this month, the Gear will be compatible with the freshly announced Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition, while software updates for the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S III, and Galaxy Note II are in the works to introduce compatibility there as well.

It features a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display with 320 x 320 pixel resolution, a single-core 800MHz Exynos processor, a metal face and buckle, and a selection of six different shades of adjustable wrist band.

Basic onboard apps include a pedometer and the ability to find your Galaxy, but most impressive is the number of compatible apps. Samsung says there's over 70 to choose from — which can be installed via the Galaxy Gear Manager app on your phone, including Pocket, Path, Evernote, RunKeeper, and Runtastic Pro.

There are a couple of significant downsides that temper my enthusiasm for the new Gear. First and foremost is the speed and intuitiveness of the user interface — or rather, the lack thereof. There's a tangible lag to anything you do with the Gear, while the swipe gestures are hard to figure out and do different things depending on where you are in the menus.

Additionally, the speaker built into the buckle is too quiet and makes conducting a phone call via your watch a possibility only in quiet areas; it also doesn't play back any music, it just controls output on your connected device.

Samsung promises "about a day" of endurance from the Gear, but by the end of our briefing with the company, the cameras on most of its demo units were refusing to turn on due to the watches running low on power.

On the plus side, the camera built into the Galaxy Gear produces surprisingly decent pictures and there's 4GB of onboard storage to stash them on if you're away from your smartphone. The Galaxy Gear will launch globally in late September and will be available in the United States in early October.
------------

2D to 3D in 3 Strokes

PetaPixel reports: [edited]

The video is a demonstration of a piece of 3D object extraction and manipulation software that made its debut at SIGGRAPH 2013.
The software was developed by Tao Chen, Zhe Zhu, Ariel Shamir, Shi-Min Hu and Daniel Cohen-Or.

3D objects are extracted from 2D images using a '3-sweep' method: two strokes to define the profile of the object, and one along the main axis. Depending on the complexity of the shape, sometimes parts have to be outlined individually, but the result it always the same: the software pulls an editable, movable 3D model straight out of a 2D photo.

The software’s current limitations mean that certain objects don’t scan in as well, and the texture of the extracted model often looks a bit strange.
------------

Olympus O-MD E-M1

Digital Photography Review has released a hands-on preview of Olympus' recently announced flagship Four Third/Micro Four Third hybrid.

Snippets follow:

"There are two distinctions that set the E-M1 apart from its little brother (the E-M5) - a more sophisticated autofocus system and a 'buttons for everything' design approach."

"The biggest technological step forward on the E-M1 is the addition of on-sensor phase detection elements, giving the camera two distinct focus modes. The phase-detection system is used when lenses from the original Four Thirds system."

"The E-M1 gains the 2.3m-dot electronic viewfinder panel we first saw as the VF-4 accessory for the PEN E-P5. The optics give a viewfinder with magnification of up to 1.48x, which puts it only a fraction behind the 0.76x viewfinder in Canon's 1D X and ahead of Nikon's pro-grade D4 DSLRs.

"There's a more advanced processor in the E-M1 that conducts a variety of lens corrections, when creating JPEGs, including correcting for chromatic aberration and correcting sharpness on a per-lens basis.

"The biggest difference between the E-M1 and the E-M5, though, is the degree of direct control on offer. We really liked the E-M5's twin-dial control system, but the E-M1 goes beyond that by providing button-and-dial combinations for quickly changing almost every imaginable setting on the camera, quickly."

For early reviews, visit ePhotozine, Robin Wong and Ming Thein.
------------

Kapture

uncrate reports: [edited]

Sure, your smartphone has the ability to record voice memos, but using it means you have to know ahead of time about something you'll want recorded.

Kapture is an always-on audio-recording wristband — so any time you feel the need to capture the last 60 seconds of audio, all you have to do it tap it, and it instantly saves. And, with the included smartphone app, you can store, edit, share, and replay your old audio clips for as long as you want.

To find out more, visit the Kickstarter page.
------------

Greyp G12

The Verge reports: [edited]

The Greyp G12’s downhill-inspired dual-suspension frame, hydraulic brakes, and beefy midsection straddles the line between bikes and bicycles, and there are pedals if you feel like doing some work yourself.

Greyp says that the G12 can do 40mph unassisted and gets 75 miles on a single charge. (The 1.3 kWh battery cells pictured above push the bike's total weight to nearly 110 pounds.) Recharging from nothing takes just 80 minutes with a standard 220V outlet, after which you’ll be able to unlock the bike with its built-in fingerprint scanner. The G12's retail price and availability are still up in the air, but the price for dealers is €6,000.


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London - Lincoln - London, 07-09-13

London to Lincoln
Express Yourself (Digital Remaster 00) - N.W.A.
Needle In A Haystack - The Velvelettes
Crazy in Love - Beyoncé & Jay-Z
Kids - MGMT
He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - The Velvelettes
Private Eyes - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Pop Goes The World - Men without Hats
My Little Red Book - Love
Lose Yourself (clean) - Eminem
Robert De Niro's Waiting - Bananarama
Dark Star - Poliça
Daddy Cool - The Darts
Then He Kissed Me - The Crystals
Wicked Game - Chris Isaak
Scar - Cloud Control
Scooby Snacks - Fun Lovin Criminals
Down Among the Dead Men - Flash and The Pan
What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted - Dave Stewart & Colin Blunstone
Wish I was skinny - The Boo Radleys
DJ DJ - Transplants
Lovin' each day - Ronan Keating
Hotel California - SkaDaddyZ
Empire State Of Mind [Jay-Z + Alicia Keys] (Explicit) - Jay-Z
Venus - Bananarama
Mind Your Manners - Pearl Jam
Believe (rhythm promo) - Cher
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk
If I Had Words - Mice (Babe soundtrack)
Shake Some Action - Flaming Groovies
Shoulda Woulda Coulda - Beverley Knight
Shine On - The House Of Love
Bring Me To Life - Evanescence
There's your trouble - Dixie Chicks
Young Savage - Ultravox!
American Woman - The Guess Who
Electric - Leila K
Kiss On My List - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
She's So Modern - The Boomtown Rats
The Land Of Make Believe - Bucks Fizz
Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In - Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
My Way Or The Highway - Limp Bizkit
Fit But You Know It - Streets (Featuring The Futureheads)

Lincoln to London
Rich Girl - Daryl Hall & John Oates
My Favourite Things - Julie Andrews
I Wanna Be Like You - Louis Prima (King Louie), Phil Harris (Baloo), & Bruce Reitherman (Mowgli) -
The Day I Met Marie - Cliff Richard
Harlem - New Politics
Starship Trooper - Sarah Brightman & Hot Gossip
Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus
Awkward (EP Version) - San Cisco
Can You Dig It - The Mock Turtles
Umbrella (Radio Edit) - Rihanna
California Soul - Marlena Shaw
5.7.0.5. - City Boy
Baby Jane - Rod Stewart
You Make My Dreams - Daryl Hall & John Oates
I Love You More - George Duke
Only You Can - Fox
Joyride - Roxette
Man! I Feel Like A Woman! - Shania Twain
Some Girls - Racey
Lazy guy - Slobberbone
Tiny Dancer - Tim McGraw
War - Edwin Starr
Maneater - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Always something there to remind me - Naked Eyes
Where's me jumper - Sultans of Ping
La Bamba - Los Lobos
Let It All Hang Out - Los Hombres
I Can't Go For That - Daryl Hall & John Oates
C-C-C-Cinnamon Lips - OK Go
Bankrobber - The Clash
Crush (new) - Jennifer Paige
You Might Think - The Cars
Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac
Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
Gertcha - Chas 'N' Dave
The Mighty Quinn - Manfred Mann
Reelin' In The Years - Steely Dan
Black Skinhead - Kanye West
Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? - Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
Down Under - Men At Work
Beans For Breakfast - Johnny Cash
Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters
Perfect Skin - Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
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Sony Smartwatch 2

Trusted Reviews reports: [edited]

Sony’s SmartWatch 2 is a £129, good looking water-resistant Android watch that is meant as a second screen for any Android 4.0 phone. It lets you read texts and emails as well as check social media without having to take your phone out of your pocket.

The SmartWatch 2's body is made from aluminium painted black with a machined edge showing off the silver beneath. It’s a good-looking, industrial design utilising the round power button used on the range of Xperia phones and tablets. All other controls are via the touch screen, with the usual Android back, home and menu touch buttons at the bottom.

The transflective 1.6-inch LCD screen is bright enough to be viewed even on the sunny day we got our hands on it and is just about big enough to use comfortably. It’s only 220 x 176 pixels which on the 1.6-inch amounts to 176 PPI. That’s not an amazing resolution by any stretch, but text is legible enough, although pixels are clearly visible.

It features Bluetooth 3, NFC for easy pairing and microUSB charging and data transfer. The microUSB is covered by a flap to ensure the SmartWatch 2 retains its IP 57 water-resistant rating.

Gentle vibrations make you aware of new notifications which you can check. There is also the ability to answer and reject calls or use the watch as a viewfinder to take photos via a paired phone. There’s no microphone or speaker.

The Sony SmartWatch 2 is always on and can last for up to 4 days under normal usage conditions.
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Does pressing the pedestrian crossing button actually do anything?

The BBC has published an informative article on this subject.

Short answer: It depends.

At a standalone pedestrian crossing, unconnected to a junction, the button will turn a traffic light red.

At a junction it is more complicated. At night, the button does act to stop the traffic, but only between the hours of midnight and 07:00. In the daytime, the button has no effect.
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A week with Google's Chromebook

If you're thinking of purchasing Google's £1,049 Chromebook Pixel, Jeffrey Van Camp's Living with a Chromebook for a week is like 7 minutes of heaven, then 7 days of hell" article is worth a read.

In case the title isn't too much of a clue, here are some excerpts from John Gruber.

"The biggest realization came for me when I turned on my MacBook Air after a week. (I had to because I needed to take a Skype call.) It was so... fast. And I could use every Chat service I wanted. And the battery life was much better than the Pixel. And it was so much lighter. And I could run the full version of Spotify. And I could open iTunes. And I could edit Microsoft Office documents without a lengthy conversion process. And I could use Dropbox. And it didn’t slow down for me. And, best of all, I could use the Chrome browser, and every Chrome app I had installed, on my Mac. It was wonderful and such a relief to not have to think about what I couldn’t do, or worry if my next email attachment will open or not."

"Some readers say I’ve expected too much out of Chrome, but wanting to edit some documents, chat outside a browser window, and use common services is not excessive."

To anglicise Gruber's conclusion... "How can someone 'expect too much' from a £1,049 notebook?
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3Doodler

We wanted to design a 3D printing device that could be used within minutes, without needing any technical knowledge, software or computers. We also wanted it to be affordable as well as fun, so that anyone could 3Doodle!

Peter Dilworth, Co-Founder
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Nokia Lumia 1020

Digital Photography Review Connect has published an in-depth report on the Lumia 1020's 41 megapixel camera.

The 'Final Word'

The Nokia Lumia 1020’s innovative zoom and impressive image quality set it apart from all competitors. By nearly every metric, it takes better pictures than any other phone on the market.

Its imaging Achilles heel is its camera app’s sluggish shot-to-shot and start-up times. While many phones feel nearly instantaneous on both fronts, the 1020’s four-second delays can feel very long. Whether you find this negligible or nauseating depends on your personal style of photography.
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