Google Drive lowers pricing

9to5 Google reports: [edited]

Google announced that it’s lowering the monthly pricing plans it offers on Google Drive. Storage purchased counts towards storage for Drive, Gmail and Google+ Photos.

The new monthly plans begin at just $1.99 for 100GB down from the previous $4.99 for the same amount of storage. There is also a new $10 plan for 1TB (down from $50 previously), and a 10TB and up option that starts at $99.99. Google will also continue offering the free 15GB option that comes with your Google account for Drive, Gmail and Google+.
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Pono

Pitchfork reports: [edited]

As promised, Neil Young launched the Kickstarter for his long-awaited high-quality digital music service and player today at SXSW. It's called PonoMusic (the players are called PonoPlayers), and it costs $399 and contains 128GB of memory.

Watch the Kickstarter video, below, featuring testimonials from Arcade Fire, Beck, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Beastie Boys' Mike D., Jack White, My Morning Jacket, Dave Grohl, Elvis Costello, and many more. As of this posting, the campaign had raised $340,000 [$2,250,000 now, Ed.] of its $800,000 goal. (It runs through April 15.)

In the Kickstarter video, Young compares the experience of listening to MP3s to listening to music underwater. He makes the claim that the PonoPlayer allows for 'visceral' listening, like breathing air. The Kickstarter page clarifies that Pono is not just a new audio file format. 'It is a grassroots movement to keep the heart of music beating,' the Kickstarter reads. 'PonoMusic aims to preserve the feeling, spirit, and emotion that the artists put in their original studio recordings.'

The triangular device connects to the PonoMusic App, for Mac or Windows, which offers access to the PonoMusic store, where you can buy and download music, much like iTunes. There are two output jacks, one designed for specifically for headphones and one designed for home audio systems or cars.

In his book Waging Heavy Peace, Young talked about the early days of Pono (when he called it "PureTone"), saying, "An MP3 has about five percent of the data that can be found in a PureTone master file." More recently, he wrote, "Hearing Pono for the first time is like that first blast of daylight when you leave a movie theatre on a sun-filled day."
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Smartwatch concept

The Verge reports: [edited]

Gábor Balogh is a freelance designer from Hungary who, like many of us, wants an attractive, watch-like watch that just happens to be smart. The difference between Balogh and the rest of us is he went ahead and designed an interface he believes could enable regular watch designs to include a full bevy of smart features.

In an attempt to avoid obfuscation, Balogh's concept doesn't utilise a touchscreen or voice control. Instead, the interface uses the buttons and bezel found on most watches. The bezel is key to this interface. It can rotate to scroll through a long message or switch functions in an app, or be clicked to make a selection.

Using the bezel for controlling apps and other smartphone-related tasks frees up the three side-mounted buttons to control "native" functions like time, date, and alarms, as well as switching between modes. This clear separation of native and app functions should make the interface easily accessible to users familiar with how a regular watch works, while the lack of a touchscreen will stop the display from picking up smudges and grime from your fingers, and also stop your fingers from obscuring the display.
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Miracle Machine

Los Angeles Times reports: [edited]

Want to be a winemaker? With the new Miracle Machine, it's easier than you think.
There's no need to buy a winery. All you need are a few ingredients, the soon-to-launch Miracle Machine smartphone app and the Miracle Machine. It's a tabletop device that turns grape concentrate, yeast and a couple other ingredients into wine.

You'll be able to choose from six wine types that include full-bodied Cabertnet Sauvignon, rich Chardonnay from Napa Valley, cool-climate Pinot Noir from Oregon, aged Tuscan blend from Italy, Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma and a delicate red and white from Burgundy.

Sync your smartphone to the app and the Miracle Machine's fermentation chamber gets to work making the wine. It uses electric sensors, transducers, heaters and pumps to create a controlled environment for the first and second fermentation stages.

The refractometer measures the sugar content, a ceramic air-diffuser pumps filtered air to aerate the wine and soften the tannins, and the transducer is used to speed up the wine's flavour development.

The Miracle Machine will cost $499. James and Boyer plan to sell the wine ingredient kits through their website and on Amazon. The two also plan to launch a $10 monthly wine club to supply members enough kits to make a couple bottles a month.
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The client is always right!

Jonathan Quintin has produced a marvellous collection of quotes that will make anyone who works in the creative industry grin, sigh or sob uncontrollably.
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Apple CarPlay

Trusted Reviews reports: [edited]

Apple has partnered with leading auto manufacturers to roll out CarPlay as a 'smarter, safer' way to use your iPhone in the car.

To begin with, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo will premiere CarPlay equipped vehicles at the Geneva International Motor Show, with other manufactures to introduce the service at a later point.

“CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s VP of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing. “iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets driver use their iPhone in the car with minimised distraction.”

CarPlay uses Siri to give you an “eyes-free” experience when driving using voice commands. You’ll be able to instruct Siri to read out your messages, dictate responses, make calls or listen to voicemails without you having to move your hands from the steering wheel.

The new iOS in the car features will also integrate Apple Maps to anticipate destinations based on your recently made trips, contacts, emails, texts or appointments. CarPlay will use Maps to give you the route, traffic conditions and ETA.

Apple has partnered with other auto manufacturers including BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot Citroen, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota.
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Free Font - Oranienbaum

Created by Ivan Gladkikh and Oleg Pospelov.

Available here
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GM Rice resitant to 'triple-threat'

New Scientist reports: [edited]

For the first time, a single strain of genetically modified rice has been developed to handle drought, salty soils and lack of fertiliser. The aim is to 'climate-proof' rice farms in Asia and Africa so that they can grow the same variety each year, regardless of the conditions.

Crops have previously been developed that cope with individual environmental stresses such as drought and salt, but this rice is the first to counter three at once.

The salt-tolerance gene came from Arabidopsis thaliana, a type of cress widely used in plant research, and the drought-tolerance gene came from a common soil bacterium called Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The gene that enables the plant to use nitrogen more efficiently, so that it doesn't need fertiliser, came from barley.

On 21 February, Arcadia announced it had completed two years of trials on the rice. The company compared the performance of its super rice with that of the unmodified parent rice in different environments.

Under a range of drought conditions, the yield of the modified rice was 12 to 17 per cent greater than that of the parent rice. With low levels of fertiliser, its yield was 13 to 18 per cent greater. When exposed to both of these stresses at once, the yield of the modified rice was 15 per cent more than that of the unmodified rice. Trials using a range of salty conditions showed the altered rice had a yield that was as much as 42 per cent more than the parent rice.
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Airlander

BBC reports: [edited]

The world's longest aircraft has just been unveiled in Britain's biggest aircraft hangar. The unique, aerodynamic shape of the helium-filled balloon means it can generate lift just like an aeroplane wing.

This enables the designers to make the machine heavier than air, which cuts the need to have dozens of crew hanging on to ropes holding it down every time you land. In fact, you can land it via remote control, on water.

With a length of 92 metres the new airship is 20 metres longer than a Boeing 747-8.

It costs £60m and the designers are planning an even bigger version that will eventually be able to carry 50 tonnes at a time.

It is 70% greener than a cargo plane. It doesn't need a runway, just two crew. And it can plonk 50 tonnes anywhere in the world you like, which is 50 times more than a helicopter.

The HAV, which has been named Airlander, could ferry tonnes of supplies to and from any disaster zone, day in and day out. All you would need is a crew of two and a patch of ground, or water on which to land.
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Online Theremin

Created by Luke Phillips. Works in most modern browsers. Lots of fun.

To access click here.
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Game Boy Emulator On Your iPhone

Cult of Mac reports: [edited]

Ben Midi’s Gameboy runs inside your mobile Safari browser. Just select one of the 13 available Game Boy games, slap a Vanilla Ice cassette into your tape deck, and pretend it’s 1990.

Games currently available include:

- Mario Land
- Tetris
- Dr. Mario
- Bomberman
- Kirby’s Dream Land
- Kirby XXL
- Space Invaders
- Motocross Maniacs
- Bomb Jack
- Boxxle 2
- Castelian
- Centipede
- Stopwatch
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Lotus C-01

Motorcycle News reports: [edited]

Lotus has taken the covers off the new motorcycle it will produce as a road bike and go on sale within months. The German-owned company Kodewa which has a licence to run the Lotus name has now officially revealed the final styling of the bike and technical details.

The engine is a 1195cc V-twin from KTM’s RC8R superbike with a claimed 200bhp and dry weight of 180kg.

The C-01 motorcycle is not designed, engineered or produced by Group Lotus plc but is the result of a collaboration between motorsport veterans under the leadership of Kodewa, led by Dr Colin Kolles. The development on the C-01 was carried out with the support of Holzer Group (co-owners of Kalex) and design guru Daniel Simon.

The C-01 will be available in a range of liveries some of which pay homage to Lotus’ sporting pedigree. A customisation service is also available. Only 100 units will be produced.
------------

LEGOgrapher

PetaPixel reports: [edited]

Human photographers aren’t the only ones dragging their cameras to every corner of the globe in search of the decisive moment. As it turns out, a little LEGO man spent a year doing the same thing as part of photographer Andrew Whyte‘s The Legographer series.

The photos were shot on an iPhone 4S using the 645Pro app and edited in Snapseed.

Whyte (a professional long exposure photographer) told us why he chose to use his iPhone rather than his expensive Nikon gear:

"For my first attempt at a 365 series I knew it had to be portable and spontaneous — my commercial photography, long exposures at night, is rarely either of these. My mobile phone fitted this agenda perfectly and had the added bonus of having a much closer minimum focusing distance than any of my Nikon gear. That’s how I get up close to the figure and force the perspective to make him look life-sized.
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Google Mail Tips

The Huffington Post has published an informative article on a number of useful Gmail features.

My personal favourites are:

1. The dots in your Gmail address don't matter. You can email JohnDoe@Gmail.com, John.Doe@Gmail.com or J.o.h.n.D.o.e.@Gmail.com and they will go to the same place.

2. If you add a "+" sign and then any words into your Gmail address, it still works. For example, if you were to subscribe to a shopping site and your email address is JohnDoe@Gmail.com, you could use the email address JohnDoe+Shopping@Gmail.com to sign up. You'll still get your emails and you'll be able to filter them more easily by which address emails are sent to. Plus, if you get any emails from another site to JohnDoe+Shopping@Gmail.com, you'll know who gave your email address out.

3. You can 'un-send' emails. Gmail has a 'lab' that gives you a few seconds between the moment you hit the send button and the moment it actually sends and allows you to stop an email from sending. All you have to do is click on the gear in your inbox, go to 'settings', then to 'labs'. Scroll down, find the lab called 'undo send'. Click 'enable, then 'save changes'.
------------

XStat Syringe

Wired reports: [edited]

Tourniquets are useful tools for injuries to extremities, but gushing wounds in the pelvis or shoulder require a different approach. The current standard of care is stuffing gauze into the wound. Not only is gauze not FDA cleared for this application, it’s often painful, imprecise, and ineffective, requiring field medics to repeat the agonising process.

A company called RevMedx decided to approach the problem in a different manner after being inspired by expanding foams used to patch tires and walls. Realising that foams wouldn’t be effective, they cut up ordinary sink sponges and stuffed them into wounded pigs. It worked, and a $5 million development contract from the U.S. Army followed.

Each sponge is made of wood fibres, coated with a coagulant derived from shrimp, and then compressed to a quarter of their original size. Once inside the body, a combination of pressure caused by their expansion and coagulant applied throughout the wound combine to staunch the blood flow.

Inserting the sponges was another challenge. Reducing the size and weight were the top priority. One of the most challenging aspects of the procedure is reaching deep wounds. The sponges expanded so quickly they needed to be kept dry as they enter the wound, so Park and his team crafted a tip for the device made of grooved silicon that rips open as the sponges are forced through it, keeping them dry and clean until they reached their destination.
------------

Parajet SkyRunner

Wired reports: [edited]

This car can fly - and you can order it today for £75,000. Launched in the UK in January, the Parajet SkyRunner was designed by British aviation engineer Gilo Cardozo and his team at Dorset-based Parajet Industries; it is a high-speed off-road car which turns into a paraglider that can fly at 88kph at up to 15,000 feet. "It's a new type of recreational machine - the only flying car you can actually go out and buy," says Cardozo.

The SkyRunner is made of carbon fibre, titanium and aluminium. Before takeoff, a 0.2mm-thick nylon polymer wing is unfolded from the boot and laid out behind the car, and a switch in the cockpit disengages the wheels and powers up a three-bladed propellor. When the car reaches 60kph, the parachute wing rises up, and you have liftoff.
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Pininfarina Cambiano Inkless Pen

Uncrate reports: [edited]

Already known for their design contribution to the likes of Ferrari, Pininfarina is synonymous with beautiful, luxurious aesthetics. But now they'll be known for something a little bit different. At first glance, the design is unmistakably Pininfarina, with an elegant shape, handcrafted in Italy from aluminium and wood. And its ethergraph tip allows it to write forever, without ink [yes, it is magic, Ed].
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Adaptive/Responsive/Static/Liquid Web Site Demo

Liquidapsive reports: [edited]

Ever wondered what the difference between Adaptive, Responsive, Static and Liquid sites is? Had someone try and explain it only to be left more confused?

Pick a flavour from the drop down on the top of the page then drag your window narrower and wider, taller and shorter. It will make much more sense when you see for yourself how the approach works.

Thanks to Brook Jordan for the link
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Archipad

Design Milk reports: [edited]

Archipad is a new iPad sketching app by Urban Design that is scale aware. Once you set the scale of your drawing sheet, the drawings will be completely scaled to the real world, even down to the line thickness.

In addition, Archipad has many other features that cater to architects and designers, including layer rotations, shape and freehand drawing tools and more. It has a tiered pricing structure, it’s free to download for small projects. As projects become more complex, the user can buy a subscription for however long or short they need the app for.
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Lego, in your (Chrome) Browser

Popular Mechanics reports: [edited]

In a collaboration between Google Chrome and Lego, digital versions of the classic childhood toy are available online. Google invites new users to begin at the Build Academy, where web tutorials teach you how to construct your Lego creations.

A normal complement of 13 different bricks is satisfactory for most basic buildings, but an "Extras" tab includes ready-made doors, windows, and other Lego odds and ends for more enterprising souls. Once your piece de resistance is complete, you can share (via Google+) your creation with others.
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Stratasys multi-material colour 3D printer

BBC reports: [edited]

The world's first multi-material full-colour 3D printer has been launched by Stratasys, the owner of the MakerBot range of printers. It features "triple-jetting" technology that combines droplets of three base materials, reducing the need for separate print runs and painting.

By incorporating traditional 2D printer colour mixing, using cyan, magenta and yellow, the manufacturer says multi-material objects can be printed in hundreds of colours. While the base materials are rubber and plastic, they can be combined and treated to create end products of widely varying flexibility and rigidity, transparency and opacity, the company said.

Stratasys marketing manager Bruce Bradshaw told the BBC: "This will help industrial designers reduce the time it takes to bring prototypes to market by 50%."

Duncan Wood, publisher of specialist 3D printing magazine TCT, told the BBC: "This is groundbreaking stuff. Being able to produce single products incorporating materials of different rigidity and colour has been the holy grail of 3D printing to date.

It will cost about $330,000 (£200,000).
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Ryno One-Wheeled Electric Motorcycle

Wired reports: [edited]

It takes a special kind of magic to make an electric one-wheeled motorcycle not terrifying to ride, and Ryno Motors has pulled it off. The microcycle, which has a single 25-inch motorcycle tire and reaches speeds up to 10 mph, uses a combination of gyroscope sensors and accelerometers to balance itself.

Rather than use a hand-throttle like a motorcycle, you juice the Ryno simply by leaning forward as you would on a Segway. Leaning forward on the handlebars forces the sensor-balanced wheel to adjust its position for balance, which propels you forward. Braking is as easy as leaning back, but there's also a hand brake if you'd rather slow down that way.

The Ryno is able to handle inclines up to a 20-percent grade, so it's largely San Francisco-friendly. It also takes about six hours to charge up fully using a 12-volt DC charger. That gives it a range of about 10 miles or an hour per charge at top speed. Real-world usage - stopping, starting, and going more slowly - will probably yield quite a bit more than that.

It's hard to describe what it feels like to ride the Ryno, but the main takeaway is it's much easier and safer than it seems. The vehicle balances itself without a hitch, and getting the hang of leaning forward and backward to accelerate and decelerate takes only a few seconds.

Indeed, The self-balancing skills of the Ryno are impressive to the point of being miraculous. With the vehicle turned on and no one seated on it, Hoffmann pushed down as hard as he could on the handlebars while standing in front of it. It didn't even budge on its single wheel as the gyro and motion sensors kicked in. Of course you can still tip it over from side to side fairly easily, but your legs are there for stabilisation.
------------

Box

Box reports: [edited]

With 50GB of free storage, Box makes it easy to store, manage and work with all your files and documents wherever you are - on the web, from your desktop and on your iPhone and iPad.

Box for iPhone and iPad helps you get work done on the go. It's fast, secure and simple to use, so you can be productive from anywhere. More than 20 million users and 200,000 companies use Box - including 97% of the Fortune 500.

With Box for iPhone and iPad, you can:

・Get all your files at your fingertips
・Always have the most up-to-date information about your business
・Use your iPhone and iPad to present in meetings
・Share important files
・Review projects and leave feedback on the go
・Stay connected with your team

Box for iPhone and iPad features:

・High-quality rendering of 100+ file types
・PDF, PowerPoint and Word viewers for reviewing and presenting
・Offline access to files and folders
・Real-time search of files and folders and within documents
・File-level encryption and security controls
・Photo and video import
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iWatch Concept

Todd Ham reports: [edited]

I started with a few sketches then worked my way towards a rough 3D mesh of the device. I kept the band simple with a curved touchscreen display on the front. For physical controls I placed a single button on the left to act as the home button, and two more on the other side for volume controls.

For the lock screen I designed a simple black & white interface displaying the time, date, and button to activate Siri. From here the possible actions are: tap to use Siri, swipe up to unlock, or pull down to view notifications. Sound familiar?

The springboard has four app icons vertically stacked with a page controller on the right. Swiping up or down moves between pages of apps. Pressing the home button takes you back to the lockscreen.


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The Onewheel

Core 77 reports: [edited]

A self-balancing electric monowheel skateboard, the Onewheel seemingly replicates the feeling of riding around on a hoverboard (if not the form factor), and even a novice can purportedly pick up how to ride one in less than a minute; in addition to the self-balancing feature, riders can accelerate by leaning forward and slow down by leaning back, as with a Segway.

The 25-pound device will reach 12 mph, with a range of four to six miles. Charging the lithium battery takes from 20 minutes to two hours, depending on what type of charger you use.

Doerksen and his team have it up on Kickstarter, where it's already tripled its $100,000 goal.


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Food Ingredients

James Kennedy has produced a range of posters showing the 'ingredients' of a range of 'natural' foods.

James writes:

'To make these graphics, I calculated the percentage composition of all the interesting ingredients and wrote an 'ingredients' label for each fruit using E-numbers where they exist. Anthocynanins, which are said to give blueberries their 'superfood' status, are also known as E163, for example.'

'As a Chemistry teacher, I want to erode the fear that many people have of 'chemicals', and demonstrate that nature evolves compounds, mechanisms and structures far more complicated and unpredictable than anything we can produce in the lab.'
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Free Font - Fira Sans

Wikipedia reports: [edited]

Fira Sans (initially called Feura Sans)is a sans-serif typeface designed by Erik Spiekermann and Ralph du Carrois of Carrois Type Design for the Mozilla Foundation.

Fira Sans is available in four weights with corresponding italics: light, regular, medium, and bold. There is also a monospaced variant, Fira Mono, available in regular and bold.

Available from Font Squirrel
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Google Image Search Updated

Engadget reports: [edited]

Google Image Search has allowed users to filter results based on how they're licensed since 2009, but the option remained hidden under an advanced options menu where few users ever look. Now, a request by law professor and Creative Commons founding member Lawrence Lessig has changed that.

Bing added the option to filter by licensing rights last July with placement front and center, and Googler Matt Cutts tweeted that his company's search engine has a similar option, shown above. Perfect for bloggers in a hurry or anyone looking to whip up an image for a new meme, it can pick out images labeled for reuse, reuse with modification, or commercial variants of either.
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Bioglow Starlight Avatar

inhabitat reports: [edited]

Missouri-based Bioglow has been working on light-producing plants for a number of years and finally has one that they can sell. Starlight Avatar™ is an auto luminescent plant that does not require UV light or chemical additives. The light producing plant was made by taking an ornamental Nicotiana alata plant and introducing the light-emitting pathway from marine bacteria into its chloroplast genome. The genetically modified plant glows a soft blue-green in the dark.

Bioglow hopes to improve their techniques and strengthen the light production capabilities. They foresee a time when the plants are used as decorative landscaping that could eliminate the need for night time lighting and decrease emissions from electricity use.
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Caffeine aids long-term memory

the Hub reports: [edited]

Michael Yassa, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins, and his team of scientists found that caffeine has a positive effect on our long-term memory. Their research, published by the journal Nature Neuroscience, shows that caffeine enhances certain memories at least up to 24 hours after it is consumed.

The Johns Hopkins researchers conducted a double-blind trial in which participants who did not regularly eat or drink caffeinated products received either a placebo or a 200-milligram caffeine tablet five minutes after studying a series of images. Salivary samples were taken from the participants before they took the tablets to measure their caffeine levels. Samples were taken again one, three, and 24 hours afterwards.

The next day, both groups were tested on their ability to recognise images from the previous day's study session. On the test, some of the visuals were the same as those from the day before, some were new additions, and some were similar but not the same.

More members of the caffeine group were able to correctly identify the new images as 'similar' to previously viewed images rather than erroneously citing them as the same.
------------

Blek

Very fun gesture-based puzzle game.

£1.99, for iPhone or iPad, from the App Store.
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Spotify brings free shuffle streaming to iOS apps

gigaom reports: [edited]

Spotify has released an update to its iOS apps, bringing free shuffle music streaming to mobile users without a monthly subscription. The app now lets you listen to playlists or a particular artist in shuffle mode on your iPhone or iPod touch, while the iPad version lets you play any song, any time, like the desktop app.

Unlike Pandora or iTunes Radio, Spotify’s iPhone/iPod touch app doesn’t shuffle all songs similar to a particular artist. Instead, you get access to all of the songs in that artist’s catalogue, which are played at random. You get up to six skips an hour, and there are ads, but I’ve been listening to Yo La Tengo on my iPhone for the past half hour and have only heard one.

The iPad app is a lot more similar to the experience you get from using Spotify’s desktop app or on the Web. You can pick any song or any album and listen to it on demand, albeit with ads.

Prior to this update, Spotify’s mobile apps were only available to users that paid for premium access. There are still benefits to subscribing. You can listen to whatever you want, whenever you want, without ads. And you can download music for offline listening. For the free mobile apps you always need to be connected. Still, this is a great app to download if you’re not into radio-style format on other apps.
------------

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS35 and ZS40

Digital Photography Review reports: [edited]

Panasonic has introduced the Lumix DMC-ZS40 travel zoom, also known as DMC-TZ60 in some markets. Equipped with Wi-Fi and NFC, it provides a 30x zoom range (24-720mm equiv), an 18.1 megapixel sensor, and a built-in electronic viewfinder. It features a control ring around the lens, Raw shooting and focus peaking.

Also introduced is a lower-cost model, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS35 (TZ55), with Wi-Fi connectivity (though no NFC). The ZS35 covers a 28-560mm equivalent 20x zoom range, uses a 16 megapixel sensor, and lacks a viewfinder.
------------

Ion Audio Bluetooth Cassette Adapter

MacRumors reports: [edited]

Ion Audio has introduced a Bluetooth-enabled cassette tape adapter that allows older stereos to stream music wirelessly from mobile devices.

The device is rechargeable via USB and lasts up to six hours on a charge, turning on and off automatically when inserted and ejected from the cassette deck and somewhat supports hands-free calling by routing incoming call audio through the car's speakers - though a speakerphone will still be needed to talk.
------------

A Concise Guide to Lightroom Develop Presets

Digital Photography School has published a helpful article with a good selection of free presets to download.
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'Gecko' feet could help robots fix space stations

New Scientist reports: [edited]

It may look like a circuit board stuck to the ceiling – but this is actually a climbing robot. Stranger still, it is in a vacuum, testing its ability to use dry but sticky gecko-like feet to crawl around an orbiting spacecraft.

The idea is that one day astronauts won't have to risk their lives to fix things on a craft's exterior. Instead, they will command swarms of hull-crawling automatons to do the job.

The gecko robot, called Abigaille III, is the work of Michael Henrey and his colleagues at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. To test Abigaille's space flight credentials, Henrey took it to the European Space Agency's labs in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, where it was put through its paces at the extreme temperatures and zero-pressure conditions of space.

Henrey's trick is to use foot pads based on a dry polymer adhesive covered in mushroom-like structures with a large surface area. A dry adhesive was chosen because wet ones would collect dust and release fumes that might damage spacecraft instruments.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, gravity means that climbing robots need to lift several times their own weight if they are to be any use. Abigaille's feet wouldn't get it very far if it had to carry a load, but robots with electrically heated sticky footpads are showing their mettle in these sorts of applications.

Image: Simon Fraser University School of Engineering Science/MENRVA
------------

Barbed Wire Fences Were An Early Telephone Network

Gizmodo reports: [edited]

Before Ma Bell came to town, it was barbed wire that brought rural communities together. A Sears telephone hooked up to barbed wire — miles of which were already conveniently strung along fences — connected far-flung ranches in the recently settled American west. Thus an ingenious and unregulated telephone system sprung up a hundred years ago.

Since the system had no switchboard, every telephone along the fences would ring at the same time. Each house had its own distinctive ring — two short one long, for example. Of course, when things got lonely out there on the ranch, there was no guarantee of privacy.

Talk was free, and so people soon began to 'hang out' on the phone, just as they do today in online social networks. People would read the newspaper over the telephone, they'd have musical nights where someone would play their banjo, someone else would sing along, and others would listen.

The shared line could even serve as a rudimentary broadcasting system. On many fence-phone networks, a single, very long ring would signal a 'line call', an announcement of interest to everyone on the system. This might be a weather report, weekly livestock prices, word that the train would arrive late, or news of an emergency such as a prairie fire.
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Self-cleaning dishes

dornob.com reports: [edited]

Swedish design studio Tomorrow Machine has produced dishes that clean themselves.

More accurately, the plate and bowl never get dirty at all. They are coated with a super-hydrophobic material like that found in nature on lotus leaves. The material repels water on the molecular scale, never letting anything actually stick to or completely touch the surface of the dishes.

To wash them, all you have to do is tip the crumbs or leftovers off – you don’t even have to wipe them. The dishes are tough enough that they won’t break when you drop them, and they are lighter than traditional ceramic plates.

The project was commissioned by the Swedish Foreign Industries Commission. Their goal was to use natural materials in the making of futuristic objects that will not only make our lives easier in the future, but reduce humans’ effect on the planet.
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London, Somerset, London, 28-12-13 & 29-12-13

London to Somerset
Zat You Santa Claus - Louis Armstrong
Nelson Mandela - Special A.K.A. (The Specials)
Billy - Prefab Sprout
I.O.U. (AEIOU) - Freeez
Let The Music Play - Shannon
Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men
we are your friends - never be alone again - Justice vs simian
I'm Gettin' Nuttin' For Christmas - Stan Freberg
Lariat - Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
The Boys Of Summer - Don Henley
The Wire - HAIM
I Can't Wait (extended) - Nu Shooz
Born To Be Wild - Ozzy Osbourne & Miss Piggy
The Boys Of Summer - The Ataris
I've Got The Music In Me - Kiki Dee Band
Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who
Hey There Lonely Girl - Stylistics (w/Eddy Holman)
If You're Never Gonna Move - Jessie Ware
The King Of Rock 'n' Roll - Prefab Sprout
iPod Xmas - Hello Saferide
Central Reservation (The Then Again Version) - Beth Orton
Vehl - Kidnap Kid
3 AM Eternal - KLF
Zola - Wonder Villains
Down Among the Dead Men - Flash and The Pan
Everyday I Love You Less And Less - Kaiser Chiefs
Jackie Jackson - Franz Ferdinand
Cheesecake - Louis Armstrong
The Monkeys Are Breaking Out The Zoo - Belle and Sebastian
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Jackson 5
I'm the Man, That Will Find You - Connan Mockasin
Boy From New York City - Manhattan Transfer
Animaniacs theme - Animaniacs
A Rainy Night In Soho - The Pogues
When You Are A King - White Plains
Kiss me - Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy
Hold Me Now (Radio Edit) - The Polyphonic Spree
Lollipop (Candyman) - Aqua
Too good to be forgotten - Amazulu

Somerset to London
Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema Club
Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes
Murder on the dance floor - Sophie Ellis-Bextor
I Cry - Flo Rida
Must Be Santa - Bob Dylan
Oh Lori - Alessi brothers
Batches & Cookies (feat. Sophia Eris) - Lizzo
All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
She's So High - Tal Bachman
Cinnamon - The Long Winters
Build Me Up Buttercup - Foundations
Hey Mickey - Toni Basil
Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas - Eels
I Won't Let You Down - PhD
Zambesi - Bert Kaempfert
For America - '87 - Red Box
Girl All the Bad Guys Want - Bowling for Soup
Last Night - Vitamin C
Of the Night - Bastille
Tonight - Wilkinson
My Zero - Ezra Furman
I Can Hardly Make You Mine - Cults
European Me - Johnny Marr
The Most Beautiful Girl [In The Room] - Flight Of The Conchords
Nothing - Drenge
Wild Tiger Woman - Giuda
Are You With Me Now? - Cate Le Bon
Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses
Rock a Doodle Doo - Linda Lewis
Marshmallow World - Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler
Reflektor - Arcade Fire
You Can't Judge a Book By the Cover - The Strypes
Hit Em Up - Afrikan Boy
Blurred Lines (feat. T.I. & Pharrell) - Robin Thicke
Here Comes the Hotstepper - Ini Kamoze
Middle Sea - Yuck
If You're Into It - Flight Of The Conchords
Last Christmas - Wham!
Father Christmas - The Kinks
We All Stand Together (Frog Chorus) - Paul McCartney
Show Me the Wonder - Manic Street Preachers
Good Feeling - Flo Rida
Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? - Arctic Monkeys
My Number - Foals
Scar - Cloud Control
King City (alt) - Swim Deep
The Ruler's Back - Jay-Z
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Brett's 2013 Christmas Card

Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
For in him all things were created:
things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
all things have been created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead,
so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace through his blood,
shed on the cross.

Colossians 1:15-20

For high resolution image of card, click here
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Run Mac OS in your web browser

OSXDaily reports: [edited]

Ever wished you could go back to the good old days of the black & white Mac Plus, running ancient versions of Mac OS like System 7? Your dream can come true with the help of any web browser on just about any platform imaginable, be it OS X, iOS, Android, Windows, or Linux, and you’ll even get a whole bunch of classic Mac apps to play around with too.

Depending on which instance you run you’ll get either either a Mac Plus with System 7 and the classic KidPix app, or you’ll get a Mac Plus with a whole variety of old school apps like BBEdit Lite, MacDraw, MacPaint, Microsoft Word, Excel, Works, Orion, PageMaker, ZTerm, Disk Copy, Disinfectant, TeachText, ResEdit (!), StuffIt, Compact Pro, Risk, ShufflePuck Cafe, and Cannon Fodder.

Pick your fun:

Mac Plus with games & apps

Mac Plus with Kid Pix

The classic Mac OS experience is complete, you can open folders, adjust control panels, create and save files, edit things with ResEdit, or play Shufflepuck Cafe.

Thanks to Gareth Jordan for the link
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LG launching 4K, 31-inch ultra-widescreen monitor

Engadget reports: [edited]

LG's 31-inch 31MU95 will feature a 4,096 x 2,160 IPS panel with a 19:10 ratio. For comparison's sake, most Ultra HDTVs and monitors like ASUS's first 4K model display 3,840 x 2,160 pixels at 16:9.

The new offering conforms to the 4K format recorded by RED's Epic and Scarlet cameras and also packs a Thunderbolt 2 port with 20Gbps throughput. LG claims that'll let you monitor 4K footage and archive it up at the same time - ideal for on-set movie playback or post-production, for instance.

LG will also offer 34-inch and 29-inch UM95 models with 3,440 x 1,440 resolution at 21:9, which will display 99-percent of the sRGB gamut and come with LG's True Color calibration software.

There's no pricing on any of the new monitors yet, but Dell's recently launched 32-inch 4K Ultrasharp model is running $3,299, by way of reference. The high-res panels and other ultra-widescreen business models from LG will arrive at CES 2014 in January.
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Scientists invent the perfect coffee mug

io9+ reports: [edited]

The vessel is the brainchild of Logan Maxwell and Dean Verhoeven. Together, the pair founded a company – Joeveo – and launched a Kickstarter for their mug, which they call the "Temperfect."

Maxwell tells io9 the Temperfect mug is engineered to bring scalding beverages to a hot-but-drinkable temperature and keep it there.The Temperfect is designed to bring coffee or tea (which are typically brewed at around 200 °F) to an ideal drinking temperature in about two minutes, and keep it there for hours on end.

Your conventional insulated mug prevents heat loss by sandwiching a vacuum between two walls. The Temperfect works in a similar fashion, but adds a third wall to the mix. Like a regular thermos, the Temperfect has a vacuum between its outer and middle walls, but between its middle and inner walls is a non-toxic chemical that Maxwell calls "Material X".

At room temperature, Material X is a solid, but pour a hot beverage into the mug and it quickly absorbs any excess heat, becoming a liquid while rapidly dropping the temperature of your brew. The excess heat is stored in Material X, and dissipates back into the coffee as it cools. The so-called "phase change" mug resembles similar prototypes first cooked up in the 1960s that never made it to market due to manufacturing hangups.
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Color Template

Rocket Design has produced a helpful online colour tutorial that takes you through a number of logical stages to help choose an appropriate colour palette for your design project.
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British Library puts a million images online

The Appendix reports: [edited]

The British Library has released one million of images on Flickr under the most open Creative Commons license.
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Lego iPad Stand

Jason Kinsella and Charlotte Bakken have recreated a design classic with a modern twist. Kinsella and Bakken (both big fans of LEGO) recreated a scale model of the 1984 classic, Apple Macintosh. Then with a few simple adjustments to the design, they were able to incorporate the Apple iPad into the design. The result; a super cool looking place to dock the iPad, read the newspaper, or watch a film.
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Google Launches Chrome Apps for Mac

MacRumours reports: [edited]

Google today announced that it is bringing Chrome Apps to the Mac, following a beta period that began in May. Chrome Apps are designed to function like native Mac apps, working offline, updating automatically, and syncing on any computer where a user is signed into Chrome.

Chrome Apps work offline, update automatically and sync to any computer where you're signed into Chrome, so you can pick up where you left off. Your Chrome Apps on Mac behave and feel just like native software. For example, you can find your Chrome Apps in the Applications folder on the Dock. Search for apps by name in the Spotlight search—just like any other Mac program that you already use.

Chrome Apps, which are separate from Chrome browser apps, are downloaded into the applications folder and work like any other Mac app. The apps have access to local storage for offline support, differentiating them from standard Chrome apps, and are able to easily sync content between multiple computers.

Chrome Apps for the Mac also work with Google's Chrome App Launcher, which will be automatically installed when any Chrome App is downloaded. The Chrome App Launcher aggregates all Chrome Apps into one convenient expandable grid on the Mac's dock.
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Free Font - OpenDyslexic

opendyslexic.org reports: [edited]

OpenDyslexic is a new open sourced font created to increase readability for readers with dyslexia. The typeface includes regular, bold, italic, and bold-italic styles. It is being updated continually and improved based on input from dyslexic users. There are no restrictions on using OpenDyslexic outside of attribution.
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ATOMS: Lego for the digital generation

The Next Web has published a review of one of Seamless Toy Company's smart building block toys.

Excerpts follow:

"ATOMS are essentially a system of plug-and-play sensors, motors and logic blocks, aimed at children and adults alike. Different colours represent different functions – yellow bricks sense things (e.g. detect movement), red bricks ‘connect’ (e.g. power things), green bricks are all about ‘logic’ (e.g. they affect the outputs) and blue bricks are concerned with action – in other words they ‘do’ things."

"We managed to get our hands on a Bunsen Set, which is a so-called ‘Scaredy Quark’ that can be afraid of light, and is also prone to being clumsy."

"The Bunsen Set ships with a light sensor, control knob, battery, splitter, motor, and audio recorder. While it’s apparently aimed at those aged 6 years and over, based on our initial tinkerings we doubt anyone that young would be able to construct this without a lot of help from an adult or older sibling. That’s not to say it was difficult to build per se, it’s just that it does require paying a lot of attention to the instructions which aren’t always that clear to follow."

"The ATOMS kit we used was great. The set in itself may not be essential, but it definitely helps you grasp what it is you’re actually doing. For example, the built-in voice recorder means you could record a ‘snoring’ noise which is activated when you pull the visor down over the bot’s eyes. Or you can hide it somewhere (e.g. a dark cupboard) and make it blurt out a noise (“Aaaaggghhhh”) when someone opens the door."

"[ATOMS] have been designed so they can be placed in other kids toys (e.g dolls), sewn into clothing and attached to LEGO blocks. Take the Wave Wand Set, a kit that includes an exploding brick. So you potentially could bring a LEGO house to life by ‘blowing it up’ from the inside, triggered perhaps by the flash of a camera."
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World’s first roast-grind-brew coffee machine

For more information, click here.
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Adobe Typography Primer

Adobe reports: [edited]

This 20 page primer was first published in 2000. It talks about things like using the right character, choosing and using typefaces, combining typefaces in a publication, and loads of other interesting typographic tidbits. It’s something you might share with a co-worker who needs to know more about the mysterious world of x-heights and optical sizes.

To download the pdf, click here.

via the logo smith
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Copenhagen Wheel

Gizmag reports: [edited]

Back in 2009, MIT's SENSEable City team unveiled its Copenhagen Wheel prototype. It's a self-contained electrically-powered rear bicycle wheel that can be installed on any bike, instantly turning it into an e-bike. Today, it was announced that a commercial version of the Copenhagen Wheel is now available to consumers.

The wheel's onboard electronics sense how hard the rider is pedalling, and trigger the motor to pitch in with its own assistance, as needed. This means that if the rider is going uphill, for instance, the motor will contribute more. If they're cruising along comfortably, on the other hand, it might not run at all.

Exactly how much assistance it provides can be predetermined by the rider, using an app on their smartphone. That app also allows them to track their riding stats, including distance traveled, calories burned and elevation gain. Additionally, when the paired phone (and its user) move out of Bluetooth range of the parked bike, the wheel will automatically lock until the phone returns.

It features either a 250-watt or 350-watt hub motor, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, a range of approximately 30 miles and a top assisted speed of 20 mph. It weighs 5.5 kg, and is available in 26-inch, 27-inch and 700C sizes.

Battery life is extended via a regenerative braking system. When recharging is required, the battery can be removed from the wheel.

The Copenhagen Wheel is available now for pre-order, at a price of US$699. Shipping is expected to begin at the end of the first quarter of next year.
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Creating a better water repellent coating

Ars Technica reports: [edited]

In recent years, water-repelling materials have got better and better. But even the best hydrophobic surfaces still take their time when repelling water. This becomes an issue when the surfaces you want to keep water-free operate in freezing conditions. If water is not repelled quickly, it can freeze and end up stuck there.

Now Kripa Varanasi, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has come up with a way of speeding up the process of repelling water. His approach involved creating a textured surface with tiny ridges (0.1 millimeters high).

Previously, scientists thought that contact time was shortest if droplets spread and recoiled symmetrically on a material, but Varanasi's material shows that asymmetrical recoil works better. The time water spends on their surface is 37 percent less than the same material without ridges.

The fact that their material is so good at its job made them look at other superhydrophobic materials. They found that both the nasturtium plant and the wings of the Morpho butterfly had similar ridges, and water droplets recoiled on them asymmetrically. The speed at which they did this was even better than lotus leaves, which are considered the "gold standard" of superhydrophobic materials.
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Amazon plans drone deliveries

Huffington Post reports: [edited]

In an interview with Charlie Rose on Sunday's episode of "60 Minutes," Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos revealed the giant online store is developing a drone-based delivery service called Prime Air. According to Bezos, Prime Air would be able to get customers their products only a half-hour after they click the "buy" button. His "optimistic" estimate to "60 Minutes" was that Prime Air will be available to customers within 4 to 5 years.

Last minute shoppers or those with itchy mouse trigger fingers - especially with Cyber Monday tomorrow - may want to curb their enthusiasm for Prime Air. Amazon is still working on more safety testing and FAA approvals before the Prime Air fleet will be able take flight.

“The hard part here is putting in all the redundancy,” Bezos said. “All the reliability to say this can’t land on somebody’s head.”
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Boomf

The Next Web reports: [edited]

Boomf prints Instagram photos on vanilla-flavoured marshmallows and sends them to you in the mail.

You connect your Instagram account to the Boomf website, select nine images, pay £12 and they’re sent to your UK address.

As the Web app for ordering them connects to your Instagram account to access the photos, you won’t be able to use a friend’s photos on their own gift.

- - - - -

Editor's Note: I ordered a pack. The process is painless, especially if you have a PayPal account. The package arrived a couple of days later. The presentation is good, and the printing perfectly acceptable. However, there is currently no facility for adding a personalised message, which I think is a major oversight. I Tweeted this to Boomf, and they replied with a reassuring "coming soon, my friend!".
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