Brazil releases 'good' mosquitoes to fight dengue fever

BBC reports: [edited]

Brazilian researchers in Rio de Janeiro have released thousands of mosquitoes infected with bacteria that suppress dengue fever. The hope is they will multiply, breed and become the majority of mosquitoes, thus reducing cases of the disease.

The bacterium Wolbachia is found in 60% of insects. It acts like a vaccine for the mosquito which carries dengue, Aedes aegypti, stopping the dengue virus multiplying in its body. Wolbachia also has an effect on reproduction. If a contaminated male fertilises the eggs of a female without the bacteria, these eggs do not turn into larvae.

If the male and female are contaminated or if only a female has the bacteria, all future generations of mosquito will carry Wolbachia. As a result, Aedes mosquitoes with Wolbachia become predominant without researchers having to constantly release more contaminated insects.

Dengue re-emerged in Brazil in 1981 after an absence of more than 20 years. Over the next 30 years, seven million cases were reported. Brazil leads the world in the number of dengue cases, with 3.2 million cases and 800 deaths reported in the 2009-14 period.
------------

MagMIMO Wireless Charger

New Scientist reports: [edited]

Charging your phone may soon be as simple as sitting down at your desk, thanks to a device called MagMIMO that can charge phones at a distance.

Wireless chargers exist, but they require a phone to be right next to a charging pad. At a distance of 30 centimetres a prototype can charge an iPhone 4s battery from dead to full in just under 5 hours. It doesn't matter what orientation the phone is in – upside down in a pocket or flat on the desk – and the phone needn't be stationary.

MagMIMO borrows a trick from radio communications: advanced Wi-Fi routers can detect when a computer is connecting to them and boost the signal in their direction. MagMIMO does the same thing, but using magnetic fields instead of radio waves. An array of wire coils generates a magnetic field and when a phone disrupts that field, MagMIMO senses it and focuses on the phone by creating a slightly different field with each coil. The magnetic fields reinforce each other so as to maximise the strength of the overall field reaching the phone.
------------

India's first Mars satellite enters orbit

BBC reports: [edited]

India has successfully put a satellite into orbit around Mars, becoming the fourth country to do so. Mangalyaan - more formally referred to as Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) - was launched from the Sriharikota spaceport on the coast of the Bay of Bengal on 5 November 2013.

The Mangalyaan robotic probe will soon begin work studying the Red Planet's atmosphere. One key goal is to try to detect methane in the Martian air, which could be an indicator of biological activity at, or more likely just below, the surface.

The total cost of the Indian mission has been put at 4.5bn rupees ($74m; £45m), which makes it one of the cheapest interplanetary space missions ever. Nasa's recent Maven mission cost $671m.
------------

iPhone eye test spots vision problems

++++++++ reports: [edited]

The World Health Organization estimates that 246 million people have poor vision. Of these, about 90 per cent live in low-income areas without good access to healthcare or expensive diagnostic machines.

To solve this problem Smart Vision Labs has combined two tools often used for eye tests into a single inexpensive and portable device. The first tool, an autorefractor, calculates whether someone is short-sighted or long-sighted, and to what extent, by measuring the size and shape of their eye. The second, an aberrometer, looks for distortions in how light reflects off the eye, which could indicate rarer problems such as double vision.

This equipment usually costs thousands of dollars, but Smart Vision Labs says it has made a device with the same functions that clips onto an iPhone. It can estimate vision problems by taking a handful of pictures of a person's eye and using software to analyse them. The company plans to sell it as part of a low-cost kit for people in developing countries.
------------

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

Digital Photography Review reports: [edited]

For those of us who desire a compact camera that delivers non-compact camera photo quality, the only choices have been the Sony RX100 trio or the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark I and II. I've been very impressed with the RX100 III's image quality and excellent video features but, like some of my colleagues, I don't find it very pleasant to use. While I like the photo quality and controls on the PowerShot G1 X Mark II, it's just to big for everyday use.

The LX100 fits in-between these models, with more of a lean toward the G1 X II. It's not pocketable like the Sony but it's not quite as bulky as the Canon.

It's nicely built, as you'd expect from a $900 camera. The physical dials for aperture, shutter speed, and exposure compensation allow for quick changes. I'm less enthused about the electronic viewfinder, which uses a 'field sequential system' that causes a sort of rainbow effect and drives my eyes crazy. Some coworkers thought that it wasn't as bad as on the GX7, which Panasonic said may be due to an increased refresh rate.

If you want shallow DOF on a compact camera, this is the camera you want to buy. The lens isn't as long as I'd like, but that's the trade-off that was made to keep the LX100 as compact as possible. The camera lacks an ND filter as well, though you can screw one on to the front of the lens.

Some other features I'm excited about are the DFD autofocus system which was so impressive on the FZ1000, the multi-aspect modes that Panasonic has made very accessible, and the ability to record 4K video.

Lumix DMC-CM1

Digital Photography Review Connect reports: [edited]

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1 smartphone features a 1 inch 20MP sensor, which is likely the same imaging unit we've seen used by other recent high-end compact cameras like Sony's Cyber-shot RX100 III.

The large sensor is coupled with an F2.8 Leica lens that offers an equivalent focal length of 28mm. This is by far the best camera specification on any smartphone and the 20MP resolution should even allow for a good-quality digital zoom. The CM1 is also capable of recording 4K-video and Raw images. Focus, aperture, shutter speed, ISO and white balance can all be adjusted manually, and there's a mechanical click-wheel around the lens ' barrel' on the front of the camera/phone.

The rest of the specification is in line with current high-end smartphones. Images can be viewed and composed on a 4.7-inch 1080p display and Android 4.4 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S801 quad-core processor that is clocked at 2.3 GHz. 16GB of internal memory are on board but the device also takes microSD-cards of up to 128GB capacity.
------------

Haibike xDuro NDURO PRO 26 Gen 2 2014

e-bikeshop reports: [edited]

With 180 mm travel and the Bosch performance motor, the NDURO turns your hometrails into a bike park.

This eBike will pretty much handle anything you throw at it. Its perfect for the serious mountain biker from full on downhill trials to local bike parks. The spec of this electric bike is top end. You have Mavic Enduro wheels, Sram XX1 drive train and, of course, completely newly developed suspension of the Haibike Sprocket Equalizing System (SES). The bike also features a Fox's premium kashima coated forks and rear shock. Avid's X.0 brakes on big uprated rotors supply more than enough stopping power in any condition.

Bosch eBike System on Haibike NDURO PRO 26 2014The new Haibike NDURO PRO 26 eBikes feature the latest Bosch Performance crank drive motor, so you can be sure its fitted with the latest kit and set up for optimum performance. This system outputs 60Nm of torque & peaks at 500w! It offers up to 275% assistance on turbo mode, while Eco mode offers a more subtle 50% assistance. There are 4 levels of assistance and you can turn it off completely and ride it as a normal bike!

Price: £6000

Thanks to Gareth Jordan for the heads up
------------

Dell UltraSharp 27" Display

The Register reports: [edited]

The monitor is the world’s first screen with a 5120 x 2880 pixel resolution.

With 14.7 million pixels, there is a lot of data to move around, and it will be a challenge for anything but the most powerful graphics cards as it has almost twice as many pixels as a 4K screen. The monitor has dual DisplayPort 1.2 sockets.

The monitor also has two 16W integrated Harmon Kardon speakers built in, six USB ports and a media card reader. No price has been announced but $2,500 (£1,500) has been suggested.
------------

eyefi mobi card

a whole lot of nothing reports: [edited]

I was skeptical of the new eyefi mobi cards recently released, but when I bought a new compact full-frame camera for an upcoming bike tour, I decided to try it out after hearing the smartphone integration was much better than previous models.

You start by installing a custom profile to your phone which stores the WiFi password on your card and auto-connects your phone to your camera whenever you power up your camera. You run a mobi app on your phone, and it quickly transfers images (even 26 megapixel RAW images) to your phone. From there, you can selectively choose which images to save to your phone’s native Camera Roll, then share them any way you see fit.

Last week on a trip to NYC I took my new compact camera with me and could easily upload photos to Instagram and Twitter within seconds of taking the photos. I can take a photo with my camera, open up my phone, touch the mobi app icon and about ten seconds later I can be saving that image to my phone’s camera roll. I could also manipulate and tweak the images in iPhone apps like VSCOcam, Photoshop Express, etc. directly on the phone before sharing it out to the world.
------------

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

New Scientist reports: [edited]

"IT'S like having a new life," says Lucy Banda, a farmer in Mwambaso village in western Malawi. Over the past three years she has trebled her farm's output and increased her income 15-fold.

Banda is one of 1.75 million African smallholder farmers, 40 per cent of them women, enrolled in a $180-million five-year programme run by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. AGRA was set up in 2006 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Now, its latest report says the scheme is achieving its aims. Flagship projects in Tanzania and Malawi have each recruited 18,000 farmers, while in Ghana 117,000 have signed up. On average their farms' yields have doubled. From these initial three countries, the programme has expanded to 18.

"We hope by 2015 to have reached 20 million smallholders," says Bashir Jama of AGRA, who runs the organisation's soil health programme.
------------

Western Digital My Passport Wireless

PetaPixel reports: [edited]

The My Passport Wireless drives include an SD card slot so you can unload photos on location without having to get an intermediary device involved.

When you’ve filled up your camera's SD card, back it up by sliding it into the included slot. The photos can then be viewed and downloaded onto any of the connected devices wirelessly.

It will allow you to wirelessly connect up to 8 devices to it without any need for an Internet connection, and can act as a WiFi hub/hotspot.

It runs off of a rechargeable battery that will last for up to 6 hours of video streaming and 20 hours of standby time.

Price: 1TB - $180, 2TB - $220.
------------

Harrow-Wolverhampton-Harrow, 05-09-14

Harrow to Wolverhampton
Let It Go - Idina Menzel
Drinking from the Bottle (feat. Tinie Tempah) - Calvin Harris
Tiger Feet - Mud
St. Croix - Family Of The Year
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Knock On Wood - Amy Stewart
Breakthru [2011 Remaster] - Queen
All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople
Epic - Faith No More
Good Feeling - Flo Rida
He's A Rebel - The Crystals
Rasputin - Boney M
Toxic - Britney Spears
Livin' Thing - Electric Light Orchestra
Camouflage - Stan Ridgeway
Mr. Company Computer Guy - Bud Light - Real American Heroes
Working My Way Back To You Babe - Spinners
Moi Lolita (Single Version) - Alizee
Hooked On a Feeling - Blue Swede
Mr. Really Really Really Bad Dancer - Bud Light - Real American Heroes
I Don't Know You Anymore - Bob Mould
john jacob jingleheimer schmidt - kids
Lights (Pnau Remix) - Ellie Goulding
Rocket (Tiësto Remix) - Goldfrapp
Camelot Song - Monty Python
Born Slippy (single) - Underworld
Surburban Homebody - Sparks
Wire Frame Mattress - The Wytches
The Jean Genie - David Bowie
Stella - Ida Maria
La Primavera - Sash!
Skinny Marinky Dinky Dink - kids
Double Dutch - Malcom McLaren
Little Bitty Pretty One - Huey Lewis and the News
I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked (Single Mix) - Ida Maria
Europa And The Pirate Twins - Thomas Dolby

Wolverhampton to Harrow
game theory - ithaca audio
Pokemon Theme - Nightcore
Moaning Lisa Smile - Wolf Alice
Jealous (I Ain't With It) - Chromeo
Superlove - Charli XCX
do your ears hang low? - kids
Bernadette - The Four Tops
I Can't Help You - Cate Le Bon
Burlesque - Family
Angel With A Shotgun - Nightcore (original by The Cab)
Short Skirt, Long Jacket - Cake
Escape (Pina Colada song) - Rupert Holmes
Material Girl - Madonna
Delorean Dynamite - Todd Terje
Love from outer space - Tahiti 80
You Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
Black Betty (ext. guitar solo) - Ram Jam
Bamboo - Deers
Got To Give It Up (Part I) - Marvin Gaye
Fighting Fit - Gene
Alisha Rules The World - Alisha's Attic
Joy Division Oven Gloves - Half Man Half Biscuit
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Andrews Sisters
Driving In My Car - Madness
Red Dirt Road - Brooks & Dunn
Just Dance - Lady GaGa & Colby O'Donis
Mr. Bass Plaque Maker - Bud Light - Real American Heroes
I’m A Cuckoo - Belle and Sebastian
Where will the dimple be - Alma Cogan
Dress You Up - Madonna
The Talking Fish (Asem Usem Iyak) - Ibibio Sound Machine
Hyperactive! - Thomas Dolby
Friday Fish Fry - Kelis
The Final Countdown - Europe
Little Bitty Pretty One - Thurston Harris
Lipstick On Your Collar - Connie Francis
Applause - Lady Gaga
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
------------

Dyson 360 Eye

Wired reports: [edited]

The Eye hinges on a 360-degree camera that views the room at a 45 degree angle and takes 30 pictures per second. Those photos become a live map of the room. To get started, the Eye undocks itself from a charging station affixed to the wall. The robot triangulates its position in the room, finds the centre, and starts spiralling outward. Once it has vacuumed 10 square feet, it relocates to clean a new patch.

Infrared sensors keep the Eye aware of pets or thin table legs, but the bulk of the vacuum’s spatial smarts come from the real-time map of the room. Once it’s covered the entire floor, it scoots back into its charging dock.

The Eye has one of the company’s proprietary digital motors that whirs at 104,000 RPM — that Dyson estimates has 20 times the force of other robot vacuums. In place of standard wheels the Eye uses treads, so the Eye can climb over ledges or door frames, sucking dust out of cracks and crevices along the way. And unlike other scuttling vacuum cleaners, the Eye’s brush bar is as wide as the body of the robot, so that everything in its path gets a full sweep.

The Dyson 360 Eye goes on sale next spring, first in Japan and then worldwide. The price is not yet set.
------------

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Digital Photography Review Connect reports: [edited]

Samsung has announced the latest iteration of its top-of-the-line phablet, the Galaxy Note 4. In terms of design the new model is very close to its predecessor, the Galaxy Note 3, and also features the same faux-leather back. Under the hood, however, things have been upgraded significantly, specifically in the camera department.

For mobile photographers, the big news about the Galaxy Note 4 is its optical image stabilisation system. The Note 4's camera sensor is the same 1/2.6-inch 16MP BSI CMOS unit with F2.2 maximum aperture as on the Galaxy S5.

There is also a 3.7MP front camera with a fast F1.9 maximum aperture and a couple of features for improved selfie-shooting. You can use the heart-rate monitor on the device's back as a shutter button and the front-camera allows for recording of selfie-panoramas.

The Note 4 comes with a 5.7-inch 2560×1440 QHD (a pixel density of 518 ppi). Android 4.4 is powered by a quad- or octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM. Images can be stored on 32GB internal memory or a microSD card. The 3320 mAh battery offers a quick-charging mode that according to Samsung lets you charge from 0 to 50% in 30 minutes.
------------

Internet Archive Book Images

BBC reports: [edited]

An American academic is creating a searchable database of 12 million historic copyright-free images.

Kalev Leetaru has already uploaded 2.6 million pictures to Flickr, which are searchable thanks to tags that have been automatically added.

The photos and drawings are sourced from more than 600 million library book pages scanned in by the Internet Archive organisation.
------------

Free Typeface - Cooper Hewitt

Font Squirrel reports: [edited]

Cooper Hewitt is a contemporary sans serif, with characters composed of modified geometric curves and arches for the recently renovated Cooper Hewitt Musuem. Available in 7 weights and complementary italic versions, it is based on his Galaxie Polaris typeface.
------------

Autodesk Pixlr

Pixlr reports: [edited]

Pixlr has been a favourite online photo editor and mobile app for years. Now, you can get the same Pixlr experience with even more fun and powerful tools on your Mac or Windows computer.
------------

Olympus PEN E-PL7

Digital Photography Review reports: [edited]

The E-PL7 is the sixth camera in Olympus's midrange PEN Lite lineup.

The latest model adds several significant improvements over its predecessor, a revised shutter mechanism, a full control dial on the top plate and a 3:2 rear display. The shutter mechanism reduces the image shake that has blunted the appeal of previous models while the addition of a control dial should enhance the experience for users wanting to take control of the camera. The squarer display, meanwhile, is a better balance between the shape of the camera's stills and movie output - meaning more of the screen is used.

Meanwhile, the point-and-shoot end of the audience still get a responsive touchscreen experience with a results-orientated 'live guide' interface. And, because it needs to justify its purchase to a smartphone-owning world, a fold-down rear screen for taking 'selfies.' There's also built-in Wi-Fi to transfer those shots off to a smartphone before you miss any further moments, or your food gets any colder.

The 3-axis voice coil motor driven 3-axis stabilisation is borrowed from the E-M10 and promised around 3.5 stops worth of stabilisation, according to industry-standard testing.

The E-PL7 is being launched at a cost of $599 body only and $699 with the retractable 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 zoom.
------------

Mural made from product packaging

Boing Boing reports: [edited]

Artist Gerlinde Gruber of Vienna, Austria made this mural out of roughly 1700 packages from Mayr-Melnhof Packaging. The 8 meter by 4 meter artwork was exhibited for the first time at the MMP booth at the Interpack 2014 trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany.

For more images, click here.
------------

Google Photo Sphere available on iOS

TechCrunch reports: [edited]

Google has just launched a new app for iOS users, which allows you to take 360-degree photos, then publish them to Google Maps or other social networks. The app is an expansion of a feature that was previously available via Google’s Android operating system.

Google’s Photo Sphere lets you look not just left and right, but also up and down – like you can with Google Street View.

After users create a Photo Sphere, they can opt to publish to a dedicated community within Google Maps called Views, or social networks like Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. Additionally, explains Google, locally relevant photo spheres may appear in Google Maps itself, helping people to virtually explore the world.
------------

ButterUp

Kickstarter reports: [edited]

Say goodbye to hard clumps of butter ripping apart your morning toast with ButterUp. ButterUp turns cold, hard butter into easy to spread ribbons of dairy goodness.

Our unique design features a built in grater to aerate and soften butter making it easy to spread. Easy to spread also means you use less butter.

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

Gratisography

gratisography reports: [edited]

Free high-resolution pictures you can use on your personal and commercial projects. All pictures by Ryan McGuire of Bells Design and free of copyright restrictions.
------------

dockStubz

Cable Jive reports: [edited]

dockStubz is a small adapter for your audio dock or charge station so you can dock with your iPhone with its case on.

Price: $18.95
------------

Atraci

Atraci reports: [edited]

Atraci is an application for Windows, Mac and Linux that lets you listen to more than 60 million songs. It requires no sign up, displays no ads and is 100% safe.

We believe that listening to music should always be free and available to everyone, and that only owning it should bear a cost.

We also believe that software both useful and open-source simply can't die. Join us now and contribute at github.com/Atraci/Atraci.

Android and iOS apps on the way.

[for more info about how it works click here, Ed.]
------------

OwnPhones

core 77 reports: [edited]

OwnPhones are wireless 3D printed headphones modelled to your own ears. And there's no mail-in ear putty involved. You gather your ears' data points using your smartphone, their app, and an object used for size-reference.

These wireless headphones offer good sound quality and fit, but are also customizable in intense ways. There are four types available: Fit, Designer Fit, Smart Fit and Jewelry. Those correspond with basic 3D-printed plastic blob looks, more complex printed shapes, futuristic glowing cyborg styles with added processing power, and jewellery in precious metals.

OwnPhones sport a built-in microphone for calls, Bluetooth 4.0, app-controlled variable noise cancellation and the ability to set exceptions for specific sounds (like an alarm clock) so you never ever have to take them off. There are even optional colored LEDs that can signal whether you're available or busy, stoplight style.
------------

uBeam Wireless Charging

The New York Times reports: [edited]

When Meredith Perry, 25, started studying astrobiology at the University of Pennsylvania, her career goal was to eventually find life on other planets. Instead, Ms. Perry accidentally stumbled upon something even more exciting: the ability to charge portable electronics, like cellphones and laptops, wirelessly using ultrasound.

To do this, Ms. Perry created a technology that can take electricity, convert it into sound and send that audio through the air over ultrasound. Then a receiver attached to a portable electronic device catches the sound and converts it back into electricity. The technology makes it possible for a device to move freely around a room, in a pocket or purse, while constantly charging.

“This is the only wireless power system that allows you to be on your phone and moving around a room freely while you’re device is charging,” Ms. Perry said in an interview. “It allows for a Wi-Fi-like experience of charging; with everything else you have to be in close range of a transmitter.”

The uBeam charging stations will be thin, measuring no more than 5 millimeters thick. These transmitters could be tacked to walls like wallpaper or made into decorative art to beam electricity to devices. Smartphones and laptops could then be equipped with receivers able to convert audio and charge the devices.
------------

Daewoo Testing Exoskeletons

New Scientist reports: [edited]

At a sprawling shipyard in South Korea, workers dressed in wearable robotics were hefting large hunks of metal, pipes and other objects as if they were nothing.

It was all part of a test last year by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, at their facility in Okpo-dong. The company, one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, wants to take production to the next level by outfitting staff with robot exoskeletons that give them superhuman strength.

The exoskeleton fits anyone between 160 and 185 centimetres tall. Workers do not feel the weight of its 28-kilogram frame of carbon, aluminium alloy and steel, as the suit supports itself and is engineered to follow the wearer's movements. With a 3-hour battery life, the exoskeleton allows users to walk at a normal pace and, in its prototype form, it can lift objects with a mass of up to 30 kilograms.

Chu says worker feedback from the trial has been mostly positive. Testers were pleased that the exoskeleton let them lift heavy objects repeatedly without strain, but everyone also wanted it to move faster and be able to cope with heavier loads. Chu is working on it. "Our current research target of the lifting capacity is about 100 kilograms," he says.
------------

Free Font - Source Serif

Adobe reports: [edited]

We are pleased to announce the release of Source Serif, a new open source typeface which is now available here on Typekit — as well as directly from SourceForge, for anyone who feels inspired to dig into the original font files.

Source Serif was designed by Frank Grießhammer as the serif counterpart to our popular Source Sans family.

Adobe’s principal type designer, Robert Slimbach, consulted with Frank on the design of Source Serif, helping to ensure its compatibility with Source Sans. With its simplified, eminently readable letter shapes, Source Serif is well-suited for digital environments, and shines when used for extended text setting on paper or on screen.
------------

Jimi USB Port Extender

iClarified reports: [edited]

Jimi is a J-shaped extension that eliminates the need to strain to reach the USB port at the back of the iMac.

Simply plug Jimi into the USB port at the back of the iMac and extend the bottom of the “J” to snap into place along the bottom vent of the computer. Jimi is exclusively designed for the iMac Slim Aluminium Unibody model (released November 2012) or later.

Available in the UK for £12.95 from Amazon.
------------

Denny Bike

engadget reports: [edited]

The Denny (built by fabricator Taylor Sizemore) sports a minimalist frame, which hides the tech packed inside. There's an electric motor on the front hub (with a removable battery) to boost your hill-climbing. That's married with a computer controlled automatic shifter that automatically adjusts to ride conditions. To combat showers, it uses a simple device with rubber bristles to break up the water, rather than a fender.

The Denny also has safety features like daytime running lights, brake lights and turn signals activated by bumping the brake handles. The handlebars function as either a nifty quick locking system, or detach fully to secure the frame and back wheel.

For now, the bike remains experimental as part of the Oregon Manifest Bike Design Project. However, whichever bike wins the contest will go into production, and previous champs like the Faraday Porteur have lived on as crowdfunded production models.

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

Brewbot

Brewbot reports: [edited]

Brewbot uses sensor technology to track and automate the beer brewing process. Simply follow the instructions in the app, add the ingredients when prompted and, hey presto, you can call yourself a brewer.

Monitor, track and understand how water turns into beer using the mobile app, from adding the ingredients on brew-day to the day it is ready to drink. Brewbot provides an insight into how your beer is doing every step of the way.

Join the community and begin brewing your own Brewbot Ale by picking up a Brewbot at the special pre-order price, starting at £1,700.

Current orders are shipping in September 2014.
------------

London-Nottingham-London-Somerset-London, 25- & 27-07-14

London - Nottingham, 25-07-14
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight - Richard Thompson
Walking on a Wire - Richard Thompson
Wall of Death - Richard Thompson
Down Where the Drunkards Roll - Richard Thompson
One Door Opens - Richard Thompson
Persuasion - Richard Thompson
1952 Vincent Black Lightning (alt) - Richard Thompson
I Misunderstood - Richard Thompson
From Galway to Graceland - Richard Thompson
Valerie - Richard Thompson
Shoot out the Lights - Richard Thompson
Beeswing - Richard Thompson
When the Spell Is Broken - Richard Thompson
Dimming of the Day - Richard Thompson
Highway 61 Revisited - Johnny Winter
Seven Days - Ron Wood
Just Like A Woman (live) - Richie Havens
When The Ship Comes In - The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem
Introduction - Johnny Cash
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere - Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash & Shawn Colvin
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Rehearsal) - Eric Clapton
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - Neil Young
All Along The Watchtower - Neil Young
I Shall Be Released - Chrissie Hynde
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right - Eric Clapton
Emotionally Yours - The O'Jays
The Band - The Band
Absolutely Sweet Marie - George Harrison
License To Kill - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Roger McGuinn - Roger McGuinn

Nottingham - London, 25-07-14
Beaten Up In Love Again (Album Version) - The Doves
There's A Hole In My Bucket - Harry Belafonte & Ertha Kitt
Laisse Tomber Les Filles - April March
Sweet Talkin' Guy - The Chiffons
In The Shadows - The Rasmus
Whoops Now - Janet Jackson
Belle - Beauty and the Beast
Keep Your Hands To Yourself - The Georgia Satellites
Metarie - Brendan Benson
Chartjunk - Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Vicious - Lou Reed
He's A Tramp - Lady And The Tramp
Cologne (feat. Nikki Cislyn & Javeon) - Clean Bandit
9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
Shang-A-Lang - Bay City Rollers
Take on me - a-ha
Fade To Grey - Visage
You Sexy Thing (16/6/87 BBC Radio 1 John Peel Session) - Cud
Great Minds Think Alike, All Brains Taste The Same - Happyness
Love Is To Die - WARPAINT
Bad - Michael Jackson
Monday Morning 5:19 - Rialto
Borderline - Madonna
Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That - Dolly Parton
The Wire - HAIM
Archie, Marry Me - Alvvays
Toop Toop - Cassius
Take On Me - Reel Big Fish
Better Off As Two (single) - FrankMusik

London - Somerset, 25-07-14
Dance Wiv Me (feat. Calvin Harris & Chrome) [Radio Version] - Dizzee Rascal
Mr. Fortune Cookie Fortune Writer - Bud Light - Real American Heroes
Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) - Beyoncé
My coo ca choo - Alvin Stardust
Cum on Feel the Noize - Slade
It Wasn't Me - Shaggy
One More Night - Yellow Dog
Stop, Stop the music - The Hollies
Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) - Raspberries
I'm Not Alone (Radio Edit) - Calvin Harris
Pump Up the Jam - Technotronic feat. Felly
Birthday - Katy Perry
History Eraser - Courtney Barnett
Jump In the Line - Harry Belafonte
(I Hate) Everything about you - Ugly Kid Joe
Infinity 2008 (Klaas Vocal Edit) - Guru Josh Project
Brand New Lover - Dead Or Alive
I Would Die 4 U/Baby I'm A Star - Prince And The Revolution
Mr Jones - Counting Crows
Dilemma - Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland
When Can I See You Again? - Owl City
Mayor Of Your Town - Leona Naess
I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
Rock My Heart (Radio Mix) - Haddaway
One Fine Day - The Shirelles
Get Low - Flo Rida
Banquet - Bloc Party
Daughter - Loudon Wainwright III
eez-eh - Kasabian
Papa don't Preach - Madonna
I'm Your Man - Wham!
Sitting Down Here - Lene Marlin
Going To The Chapel - The Shirelles
Swoon - Emily Wolfe
Got To Get - Rob 'N' Raz feat. Leila K
Islands In The Stream - Dolly Parton (with Kenny Rogers)
Sonic Boom Boy - Westworld
I Love You 'Cause I Have To - Dogs Die In Hot Cars
One Girl / One Boy - !!!
You're The One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta
Helena Beat - Foster the People
My Girl - Madness
Klapp Klapp - Little Dragon

Somerset - London, 27-07-14
I Can't Wait - Nu Shooz
Zombie (Dancin' With The Zombie) (cranberries remix) - A.D.A.M. feat. Amy
Mr. E's Beautiful Blues - Eels
I Think I'm A Clone Now - "Weird Al" Yankovic
Don't Save Me - HAIM
Starstrukk (feat. Katy Perry) - 3OH!3
Secret Smile - Semisonic
Feel It (feat. Maya) - The Tamperer (feat. Maya)
Mr. Handlebar Mustache Wearer - Bud Light - Real American Heroes
Goshen '97 - Strand Of Oaks
My White Bicycle - Nazareth
Another One Bites The Dust [2011 Remaster] - Queen
The Streak - Ray Stevens
These Aren't The Droids - Neko Case and Kelly Hogan
Dhoom Machale Dhoom - DHOOM-3
Bad Boys - Wham!
Avant Gardener - Courtney Barnett
Slung-lo - Erin McKeown
Good Morning Baby - Semisonic w/Bic Runga
I wanna be sedated (Ramones cover) - The Offspring
Call me maybe - Nightcore
Innocente (feat. Leigh Nash) - Delerium
Mah Na Mah Na - Mahna Mahna and The Two Snowths
Cool Jerk - The Revillos
Return to Yesterday - The Lilac Time
Take On Me - El Conjunto Nueva Ola
Ride A White Swan - T.Rex
Sailor's Daughter - Sabina
Nature Boy [Edit] - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - Florence + The Machine
Friday I'm in Love - The Cure
Kung Fu Fighting - Bus Stop Feat. Carl Douglas
Rhythm Is a Dancer - Snap!
Louie - Ida Maria
Move It Like This - Baha Men
Anti-Parent Cowboy Killers - Joanna Gruesome
Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
Number Three (live) - They Might Be Giants
Word Crimes - "Weird Al" Yankovic
99 Red Balloons [Pleasure Delux techno remix] - Nena
Daddy's Girl - Red Sovine
Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo - Alma Cogan
Under Pressure [2011 Remaster] - Queen (ft. David Bowie)
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Pump Up the Volume - Marrs
The Sun Has Got His Hat On - Ambrose and His Orchestra
Virginia Plain - Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music
Insane In the Brain - Prince Fatty
Feel It In Your Heart - Abandon
Encore Une Fois - Sash!
Fooled Around And Fell In Love - Elvin Bishop
Yes Sir I Can Boogie - Baccara
Polka Face - "Weird Al" Yankovic
3 Little Words (single) - FrankMusik
Sign Of The Times - Belle Stars
The Ketchup Song (Asereje) - Las Ketchup
Summer Girls - LFO
Pacifier - Catfish and the Bottlemen
Ridin' - Chamillionaire Feat. Krazie Bone
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Yeti SB5c

Wired reports: [edited]

The SB5c features 27.5-inch wheels, a compromise between the lighter weight of 26-inch wheels and steam roller-like qualities of a 29er. According to some industry experts, this in-between wheel size is also appealing to aggressive riders who want to get some air, and more petite riders who may feel overwhelmed by 29-inch wheels.

There’s also a new suspension platform that optimises pedalling efficiency by smoothing out small bumps and offering controlled travel during descents. It uses a 'translating pivot' system composed of a pair of short rails above the bike’s bottom bracket. The carrier goes up on these rails to make pedalling smoother, and as rear travel increases, this hardware moves downwards on the rails to increase chain tension and give a better path for the rear wheel.

Some other notable specs include 127mm of travel on its Fox Float rear shocks and a 140mm fork; Shimano XT disc brakes; and a SRAM 11 speed cassette. Its curvaceous frame comes in turquoise or black, and the whole setup weighs in at 26 pounds before pedals.

The SB5c ships now starting at $6,600 with a SRAM X01 build, but can run up to $10,600 if you opt for SRAM XX1 parts and an Enve M60 wheelset.
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Pexels

Design Instruct reports: [edited]

If you’re looking for a convenient, singular source of great photos to use in your design projects, head over to Pexels — an image-based search engine that only features copyright-free public domain photos.

Pexels looks for photos from sites like Unsplash and Gratisography, and then pulls them together in one spot. Finding photos by subject is easy because the site takes the time to tag each image it features.

The search engine has over eight hundred free photos, with thirty new photos added every week.
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A tree that produces 40 types of fruit

Science Alert reports: [edited]

In 2008, Van Aken learned that an orchard at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station was about to be shut down due to a lack of funding. This single orchard grew a great number of heirloom, antique, and native varieties of stone fruit, and some of these were 150 to 200 years old. To lose this orchard would render many of these rare and old varieties of fruit extinct, so to preserve them, Van Aken bought the orchard, and spent the following years figuring out how to graft parts of the trees onto a single fruit tree.

Working with a pool of over 250 varieties of stone fruit, Van Aken developed a timeline of when each of them blossom in relationship to each other and started grafting a few onto a working tree’s root structure. Once the working tree was about two years old, Van Aken used a technique called chip grafting to add more varieties on as separate branches. This technique involves taking a sliver off a fruit tree that includes the bud, and inserting that into an incision in the working tree. It's then taped into place, and left to sit and heal over winter. If all goes well, the branch will be pruned back to encourage it to grow as a normal branch on the working tree.

After about five years and several grafted branches, Van Aken's first Tree of 40 Fruit was complete. It looks like a normal tree for most of the year, but in spring it reveals a stunning patchwork of pink, white, red and purple blossoms, which turn into an array of plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines, cherries and almonds during the summer months, all of which are rare and unique varieties.

Not only is it a beautiful specimen, but it’s also helping to preserve the diversity of the world’s stone fruit. Stone fruits are selected for commercial growing based first and foremost on how long they keep, then how large they grow, then how they look, and lastly how they taste. This means that there are thousands of stone fruit varieties in the world, but only a very select few are considered commercially viable, even if they aren't the best tasting, or most nutritious ones.

Van Aken has grown 16 Trees of 40 Fruit so far, and they’ve been planted in museums, community centres, and private art collections around the US. He now plans to grow a small orchard of these trees in a city setting. Of course, the obvious question that remains is what happens to all the fruit that gets harvested from these trees? Van Aken told Lauren Salkeld at Epicurious:

"I've been told by people that have a tree at their home that it provides the perfect amount and perfect variety of fruit. So rather than having one variety that produces more than you know what to do with, it provides good amounts of each of the 40 varieties. Since all of these fruit ripen at different times, from July through October, you also aren't inundated."

Read the rest of the interview, here.
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000

Digital Photography Review has published a full review of Panasonic's premium superzoom.

Snippets from the conclusion follow:

"The DMC-FZ1000 is one of the most exciting 'compact' cameras to come along in some time. The combination of a 1"-type sensor and bright 25-400mm lens make the FZ1000 a compelling choice for both the traveler and someone who wants a camera that does both stills and video very well."

"The FZ1000 is the first compact camera to support 4K video recording (at an impressive 100Mbps bit rate), so it's ready for the next generation of televisions."

"Exposure is generally accurate, with highlight clipping not being a huge issue. Colours have a nice vivid look to them, without being over-the-top like some other consumer-level cameras."

"Panasonic has taken a relatively conservative approach to noise reduction, leaving more grain than the Sony RX10, which tends to brush away fine detail. The FZ1000 maintains fine detail until about ISO 3200 and you can comfortably shoot a stop higher, after which you'll want to downsize or switch to Raw."

W"hile image quality is close to that of interchangeable lens cameras at their base ISOs, the FZ1000 falls behind relatively quickly due to its smaller sensor. That said, no ILC offers the same combination of size, video, and price as the FZ1000."

"Video quality is excellent. 4K video also allows one to capture 8 megapixel stills, which look very good. The 1080p video is top-notch."

"The FZ1000 is one of the most responsive compacts we've seen, whether it's startup speed, autofocus, or the user interface. The autofocus speed is what really stands out, regardless of the lighting condition. The FZ1000 has an available electronic shutter, which allows for silent shooting. You can compose your photos and movies on either a fully articulating 921k dot LCD or via a gorgeous XGA electronic viewfinder."

Price: £749.00
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Bacteria that lives on electricity

Engadget reports: [edited]

All life is ultimately powered by electricity, albeit indirectly, since most organisms consume sugars that produce electrochemical reactions. Several types of bacteria are known to skip the sweets and go straight for the electrons, however - and researchers have discovered that they may be everywhere.

New Scientist reported that biologists have grown bacteria (Mariprofundus ferrooxydans PV-1) that harvest electrons directly from iron electrodes. Several species were teased out of soil from a seabed floor and deep well in Death Valley, California, just by applying a charge to the ground. In a lab environment, a separate team found that they can be kept alive exclusively with electricity.

Scientists found that up to eight species may eat and excrete electrons, including some with remarkable properties. For instance, hundreds of thousands of bacteria can form daisy-chained "wires" an inch or so long, and tap seawater oxygen for energy. Such filaments can hold soil together and conduct electricity about as well as standard copper wire. Those properties could lead to interesting practical applications, like "SPUDs" or self-powered useful devices that clean up pollution, or bacteria that create electric "biocable" networks in the soil.
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Free Font - Intro Condensed

Font Fabric reports: [edited]

The Intro type system consists of 50 unique font styles and weights. Two are available free.
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New Tooth Decay Treatment

The Guardian reports: [edited]

Scientists have developed a new pain-free filling that allows cavities to be repaired without drilling or injections. The tooth-rebuilding technique developed at King's College London does away with fillings and instead encourages teeth to repair themselves.

Tooth decay is normally removed by drilling, after which the cavity is filled with a material such as amalgam or composite resin. The new treatment, called Electrically Accelerated and Enhanced Remineralisation (EAER), accelerates the natural movement of calcium and phosphate minerals into the damaged tooth.

A two-step process first prepares the damaged area of enamel, then uses a tiny electric current to push minerals into the repair site. It could be available within three years. Professor Nigel Pitts, from King's College London's Dental Institute, said: "The way we treat teeth today is not ideal. When we repair a tooth by putting in a filling, that tooth enters a cycle of drilling and refilling as, ultimately, each 'repair' fails.

"Not only is our device kinder to the patient and better for their teeth, but it's expected to be at least as cost-effective as current dental treatments. Along with fighting tooth decay, our device can also be used to whiten teeth."
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LG G Watch Review

Wired has published a review of LG's Android smartwatch.

Snippets follow:

"The company’s new G Watch is the first of three Android Wear smartwatches — the other two being the Motorola Moto 360 and Samsung Gear Live. It comes with an always-on, 1.65-inch LCD display and a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon processor with 4 GB of memory."

"the G Watch feels like the worst parts of your smartphone strapped to your wrist, plus Google Now and some third-party app integration."

"the G Watch comes with a 280 x 280 pixel resolution LCD display that’s bright and clear, although it’s unreadable in bright sunlight. A replaceable 22mm synthetic band straps that LCD watch face to your wrist. The band, inlaid with shallow diamond-shaped indentations on the inside, feels very thick. It never blends seamlessly into your daily experience — you’re aware there’s a watch there. Its rectangular face measures approximately 38mm x 47mm x 10mm."

"While Android Wear has promise — the user interface is clean and intuitive, and there’s a clear, easy way for third party developers to get their apps onboard — it’s hardly a saviour for our smartphone woes. In fact, the watch is mostly a hell of constant, vibrating notifications. You can cease the constant buzzing by going into the Android Wear app and selecting which ones you don’t want notifications from; you can also temporarily silence the watch. But in both cases, it silences indiscriminately."

Luckily there’s far more to the watch than just Gmail notifications. Android Wear’s third party app ecosystem promises to open up infinitely more use cases. After granting developers access to its API on the 7th, there are currently 33 Android Wear-optimised apps, including software from entities like Pinterest, Runtastic, Eat24, and BandsInTown."

"One thing LG’s G Watch does do well is voice control. You don’t even have to hold the watch up to your face, a simple utterance of “OK Google” instantly brings up the voice command interface, letting you record a note, set an alarm, make a simple query, search directions on Google Maps, and more. When you get a text or Hangout, you can dictate and send a reply straight from the watch. It does a stellar job of interpreting what you say so long as you’re in a reasonably quiet location."

"The G Watch is water and sweat resistant, but it isn’t truly waterproof. It charges in a small cradle that the watch face magnetically snaps into. You can easily use 80 to 100 percent of its battery in a day, so you’ll want to keep this charging cradle at your office desk or by your bedside."

"The goal of wearables, smartwatches in particular, is to free you from your smartphone dependence. “Look, now you don’t need to pull your phone out of your pocket to check what that notification was. A discreet glance at your wrist will let you know if it’s important or not!” False. When your wrist is vibrating constantly it’s both irritating and distracting for you and everyone else around you. And unlike a smartphone tucked away in a bag or pocket, you can’t ignore it."
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IBM investing 3 billion dollars in graphene chip research

The Register reports: [edited]

IBM's big blue scientists have been given the money to solve a problem that lurks not so far in our future. That problem is the imminent breakdown in conventional chip operation and chip materials as we shrink transistor gates from today's 14nm process size to 10nm and 7nm.

At around 7nm, which most industry observers expect we will hit in the early 2020s, more and more jostling electrons will jump in and out of gates, leading to a frustrating problem known as gate current leakage.

The company sees carbon nanotubes (CNT) as a good candidate for the replacement of silicon as they are "three to ten times better than silicon tech on a [process] node-to-node basis". Production of CNT at mass scale is ramping up as well, he said: "You have to make carbon nanotubes with purity levels that are six nines. Today we are at four nines and over a year ago [we were] at 98.5 percent."

Alongside CNT, IBM is also working on III-V MOSFETs, which are transistors designed to better cope with the aforementioned leakage problems.
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Free Font - Bebas

FontFabric reports: [edited]

Bebas Neue is a sans serif font family based on the original Bebas Neue free font by Ryoichi Tsunekawa.

Now the family has four new members – Thin, Light, Book, and Regular – added by Fontfabric Type Foundry.
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Enabling Email Send Undo in Gmail

osxdaily reports: [edited]

If you’ve ever sent an email that you immediately realised wasn’t complete, contained errors, or, even worse, was to the wrong person, you know that feeling of dread. For web-browser Gmail users, an optional setting offers a layer of forgiveness to those situations, providing the ability to recall a sent email.

Go to gmail.com and log in to your Google account as usual.

Click on the gear icon/settings button in the upper right corner of the Gmail inbox window, then choose the “Settings” option from the pulldown menu.

Select the “Labs” tab. Locate “Undo Send” by ‘Yuzo F’, check the “Enable” radio box and click 'Save Changes' at the bottom of the window.

Next, go to the “General” tab within Gmail Settings, locate the “Undo Send” option and adjust your recall email/undo send cancellation period. Again scroll to the bottom and select “Save Changes”.

To use the feature, send any email, and you’ll find an “Undo” option available next to the “Your message was sent” box that shows up in yellow at the top of the screen.

When you click “Undo” the email becomes unsent, returns and becomes a draft, allowing you to amend and resend the message.
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Karbonn Smart A50S

The Register reports: [edited]

For the same amount of money as an Apple adapter plug, Indian mobile company Kabonn is selling a fully fledged Android smartphone.

It is on sale now at a starting price of 2,699 rupees, or twenty-six of your British pounds, SIM-free. It’s only 2G with EDGE support, but it does have a 2MP pixel main camera, VGA front camera and 2GB of internal memory – of which they claim 600Mb is free. This is expandable to 32GB with a micro SD card. It also has a micro USB charging port.

Its 3.5-inch capacitive touch-sensitive screen has a pixel resolution of 480 x 320 and a 1100mAh battery that is good for a day. The size of the screen means it’s small at 61.8x115.7x10.5 mm and light at 120g.

Based on a 1.2GHz dual core processor, it supports Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. The A50S is a dual SIM phone and runs Jellybean.
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Free Font - Baron

Behance reports: [edited]

Baron is an uppercase display typeface designed by Frank Hemmekam reports: [edited]inspired by the classic sans serif font families. With many alternative characters it is perfect for usage in posters/logotypes and headlines.

Free for personal use and commercial use, Frank is keen for people to send him links to examples of his typeface being used.
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Toyota Free Piston Engine

Road & Track reports: [edited]

Electrically driven cars are the future. But until we have cheap, 1000-mile batteries, we still need range-extending fossil-fuel engines. The simple solution is to strap a generator to a piston engine, as BMW did with the two-cylinder range extender in its i3 EV. But if the engine never turns a wheel, there's no need for it to rotate anything. Why not cut out the middleman and use the piston's reciprocating motion to generate electricity? That obviates camshafts and most other rotating parts, too.

Toyota recently showed a prototype engine that does just that. It's called the Free Piston Engine Linear Generator (FPEG). "Free" refers to the fact that the piston isn't attached to a crankshaft; instead, as the piston is forced downward during its power stroke, it passes through windings in the cylinder to generate a burst of three-phase AC electricity. The FPEG operates like a two-stroke engine but adds direct gasoline injection and electrically operated valves. It can also be run like a diesel, using compression rather than a spark plug to ignite its fuel mixture.

Toyota says this mechanically simple engine achieves a claimed thermal-efficiency rating of 42 percent in continuous use. Only the best, most complicated, and most expensive of today's gas engines can come close to that number, and only in specific circumstances. Even better, a two-cylinder FPEG is inherently balanced and would measure roughly 8 inches around and 2 feet long. An engine of that size and type could generate 15 hp, enough to move a compact electric vehicle at highway speed after its main drive battery has been depleted.


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Deepflight Super Falcon Mark II

Deepflight reports: [edited]

The Super Falcon Mark II represents the pinnacle of personal submersible technology. Completely redesigned following the successful Super Falcon Mark I, the Mark II is designed to do barrel rolls with dolphins, spy-hop with whales, and will take you anywhere you want to go underwater, in style, safety, and comfort.

Designed with safety as the number one criteria, all Super Falcon Mark II craft are subject to DeepFlight’s stringent testing standards, and are proof-pressure tested for safety. Unlike all conventional submersibles which use ballast to descend, the DeepFlight Super Falcon Mark II is always positively buoyant — with auto return to the surface — providing unparalleled safety.

Forget everything you know about submersibles: the Super Falcon Mark II with its low frontal area and lightweight proprietary pressure hull, is designed around the pilot. Flying the Super Falcon Mark II is a radically different experience, connecting you to the blue space around you like never before.

Price: c. $2,000,000
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