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

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.
------------

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.
------------

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.
------------

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

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.
------------

Free Font - Intro Condensed

Font Fabric reports: [edited]

The Intro type system consists of 50 unique font styles and weights. Two are available free.
------------

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."
------------

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."
------------

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.
------------

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.
------------

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.
------------

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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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III Review

Digital Photography Review has published a full review of the latest incarnation of Sony's premium compact camera.

A précised version of the 'final word' follows:

The RX100 III provides better image quality than any camera its size ever has. Add to this an impressive and comprehensive feature set and it looks like the very definition of a stand-out camera.

In terms of shooting experience, the RX100 III continues to feel more like a camera that will somewhat grudgingly let you take control, rather than an enthusiast camera designed for the committed photographer from the ground up.

However, the breadth of its capabilities, from its bright, flexible lens and handy viewfinder, through to its class-defining image quality and well-supported, high-quality video capture mean there's nothing to really match it. And if you mainly shoot in P or Auto mode, you may never experience our frustrations about the handing.

The RX100 series has always been technically impressive, but the addition of the brighter lens, viewfinder and ND filter extend its utility to a huge degree. Owners of its predecessors should seriously consider upgrading unless they need more zoom reach.
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Free Font - Skola Sans Pro

DesignBeep reports: [edited]

Skola Sans Pro is a family of 29 fonts designed by Lasko Dzurovski a graphic designer from Macedonia.
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Moto 360 Smartwatch First Look

Engadget reports: [edited]

The Moto 360 strikes a stunning pose on your wrist, particularly in its stainless steel (as opposed to black) garb. Fit and finish of the devices we saw was top notch. The chamfered edges of both the glass covering the screen and that metal housing lend it a luxurious look and feel, and the thick, split leather strap is premium, too.

We thought it odd that the company .

We asked Lior Ron, Motorola's wearable products lead, why the Moto 360 has the glass extend beyond the watch's metal housing, when the trend in mobile screens is for there to be zero gap between the surface of the glass and the pixels beneath them. He informed us that it's a 'nod to the premium watch aesthetic' as many premium watches have chamfered glass.

It has the added benefit of showing off the circular display to the fullest - looking closely reveals that pixels are packed from edge to edge.
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Hover cars to be built in Tel Aviv

BBC reports: [edited]

A 500m loop will be built on the campus of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) followed by a commercial network, according to skyTran, the company that will build it.

Two-person vehicles will be suspended from elevated magnetic tracks, as an alternative transport method to congested roads, the firm promised.

The system should be up and running by the end of 2015. The firm hopes the test track will prove that the technology works and lead to a commercial version of the network.

The vehicles will achieve speeds of up to 70km/h (43mph) although the commercial rollout is expected to offer much faster vehicles.

Joe Dignan, an independent smart city expert, said the system represented "a hybrid between existing infrastructure and autonomous vehicles". "It will get the market in the mood for autonomous vehicles - it is not too scary, is cheaper than building out a train line and uses part of the urban landscape, 20 feet above ground, that isn't currently used."
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Avatron Air Stylus

Air Stylus lets you use your iPad as a pressure sensitive, wireless drawing surface for your favourite graphics software on your computer.

Draw or paint on your iPad’s screen directly into Adobe Photoshop, Pixelmator, or almost any computer-based creative software that supports pressure sensitive pens.

Air Stylus creates a natural drawing and painting environment, letting you combine the power of computer-based creative software, the finesse of a pressure sensitive stylus, and the elegant usability of your iPad.

For more information, click here.
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Amazon Fire Phone

the Guardian reports: [edited]

After months of speculation, Amazon has unveiled its first smartphone: the Fire Phone. Its US release date is 25 July.

The device has a 4.7in screen, a 13-megapixel rear camera, and an innovative system of cameras and sensors on the front of the phone to track head gestures from users, and change the display accordingly.

The Fire Phone also has a feature called Firefly that identifies songs, films, TV shows, books and products, then directs people to buy them from Amazon. It will also identify signs, artworks and wine labels, and provide more information on them.

People paying $199 for the Fire Phone on a two-year contract from US mobile operator AT&T will also get a year's free subscription to the Amazon Prime subscription service.
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Crucial MX100 SSD Drives

The Register reports: [edited]

At launch the 2.5", 7mm MX100 family comprises three capacities: 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. 128GB costs £56, 256GB, £80, and 512GB, £159.

Crucial has provided power loss and thermal protection, AES-256bit, TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE-11667 hardware encryption technologies and RAIN (Redundant Array of Independent NAND) to protect against block failures.

If all you want is fast storage for everyday use without the price premium for the fastest on the block, then the MX100 range should meet your needs and save you a few quid into the bargain.
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Adobe Ink & Slide for iPad

Wired reports: [edited]

Ink and Slide are a stylus and straight rule. They work with a pair of iPad apps specifically created to take advantage of the new tools’ capabilities. Overall, the stylus and straightedge are at least as capable as similar iOS accessories, and among the best looking. The apps, however, aren’t terribly intuitive.

Ink looks like a 21st century space pen. Its body is a single aluminum tube hydroformed into a twisted triangular prism. At its back end, white plastic rings its metallic charging receptors, which in turn encircle translucent plastic that diffuses colourful, customizable LED light when the pen is turned on.

The tip resembles an analogue pen or pencil, with a 2mm black capacitive touch tip ringed by metallic silver and shiny white plastic. The tip is hard plastic, rather than the rubbery stuff a lot of stylii use. The stylus is not much heavier than a traditional ballpoint.

Ink fits in a triangular combined carrying case and charger. Plug the back end of the stylus into the lid of the case, slide the pen inside the body of the case, then connect this charging container to a micro USB. The case, made of white plastic, has a matching LED-illuminated ring on the lid that glows while it’s plugged in.

Slide shares a similar aesthetic: brushed aluminium, a single circular button carved onto one end, and white plastic below. Inside Slide houses three magnets. One at either end allows the iPad to detect when the straightedge is placed on its surface, while a third can be activated with a button press to change settings.

Ink and Slide cost $200 and are available now, while the apps, Line and Sketch, are free from the App Store with a Creative Cloud log-in.
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Free Font - REN Typeface

Behance reports: [edited]

REN Typeface is Andreas Leonidou's latest retro typeface. Available in 4 styles, it is best suited for posters, logos and motion graphics.
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CATable: A Work Desk for Cat Owners

Design Fetish reports: [edited]

Designed by Ruan Hao of Hong Kong’s LYCS Architecture, he desk features a smooth workspace on top with a warren of cubby holes just big enough for a cat to crawl through.
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New Hope in Search for Cancer Cure

The Telegraph reports: [edited]

A pill which boosts the body’s natural defences could help fight off all cancers and stop them ever returning, scientists believe.

‘Delta-inhibitors’ were already known to help leukaemia patients, but researchers were amazed to find they also work on a whole range of other cancers. The drugs, which are taken orally as a pill, were so successful in leukaemia trials that the control group, who were taking placebos, were immediately switched to the medication on ethical grounds.

Cancer suppresses the immune system by producing an enzyme called ‘p100delta’ which tells it to power down, making it difficult for the body to fight the disease. The drugs ‘inhibit’ that enzyme, allowing the immune system to attack tumour cells.

The added benefit is that once the body has learned to fight off the cancer, it has in-built immunity, so that the disease can never return, unlike if it had been killed by chemotherapy. Although the study was conducted in mice, researchers are confident it would work in humans and are hopeful that human trials will begin soon.
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NASA employs lasers for faster data transfer

Gizmodo reports: [edited]

The Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science project, or OPALS, mounted a 2.5 watt, 1,550-nanometer laser transmitter to the International Space Station. The device was tasked with transmitting data at 50 megabits per second to a NASA receiving station near Los Angeles.

With the ISS hurtling around our planet at over 17,000 MPH, a steady aim is hugely important: NASA likens the task to 'aiming a laser pointer at the end of a human hair 30 feet away and keeping it there while walking'.

But the transmission was a success: the laser rig beamed down a video file in 3.5 seconds, a feat that would have taken more than 10 minutes using traditional radio frequencies currently used for data transmission to outer space.

NASA says the boost in data transmission capabilities is like going from dial-up to DSL. This is hugely important for NASA, whose space missions are generating ever-growing amounts of data. And fast, reliable data downloads are crucial in NASA's plans to send a mission to Mars.
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Free Font - Uni Sans

Font Fabric reports: [edited]

All caps sans. Two weights with italic versions. Designed by Svet Simov, Ani Petrova (cyrillic alphabet), Vasil Stanev (font development).
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Fleex

New Scientist reports: [edited]

NEED to learn a new language but would rather watch TV shows instead? A new software app aims to let you do both at once.

Once downloaded, Fleex extracts the subtitle data in video footage stored on your computer or online – whether it's a movie in the language you want to learn or YouTube footage – and presents subtitles in both your native language and your target language.

For now, Fleex teaches only English. It does not display all the English subtitles throughout a programme, as that might swamp beginners with too much information. Instead, the subtitles for their own language are shown and, initially, only a low proportion of them are also shown in English. The amount in English offered rises, under the student's control, as their comprehension grows. Meanwhile, subtitles in their native language gradually drop away.

At any time, selecting a confusing word in an English subtitle will bring up a menu defining the word and outlining its common usage. Idioms and common expressions are explained, too. Fleex costs €4.90 per month on a subscription basis.
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Solar Impulse 2 completes successful first flight

Flight Club reports: [edited]

Flown by German test pilot Markus Scherdel, the Solar Impulse 2 departed from Payerne Airport in Switzerland on 2 June at 5:30am and landed at 7:50am local time.

Solar Impulse 2 has a wingspan of 236 feet - larger than a Boeing 747-8i. However, the SI2 only weights about 1 percent of the 747. With a structure made of composite materials and wings covered in sheets of wound carbon fiber, it's truly the most energy efficient plane ever made, outside of an engineless glider. The wings, fuselage and horizontal stabiliser are covered in 17,248 solar cells, at 135 microns thick, which provide energy to the plane's four engines.

Lithium polymer batteries power the four 17.4hp engines, weighing a total of 1,395 pounds, make up a quarter of the plane's total weight. The two-bladed propellers spin at 525rpm. The system is 94 percent efficient.

26 knots is all the speed it takes to get the Solar Impulse 2 airborne, using roughly 500 feet of runway. It can cruise up to 27,000 feet at speeds ranging from 31.5 to 77 knots. At sea level, it only has to fly at 20 knots to remain airborne.
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Dragon V2 Manned Spacecraft

gizmag reports: [edited]

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has taken the wraps off the Dragon V2 manned spacecraft that it’s designed to propel. At a brief media event at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California headquarters, Musk introduced the larger, more powerful version of the reusable Dragon capsule, which will one day carry up to seven astronauts to the International Space Station and return to Earth to land under its own power.

The first unmanned version of the the SpaceX Dragon recently completed its third cargo mission to the ISS and has another scheduled in a few months time. Though the spacecraft has enjoyed considerable success, SpaceX has always seen it as an interim step toward the company’s goal of a fully reusable manned capsule capable of making a powered landing with the precision of a helicopter.

The interior has a futuristic set of seats and a pilot seat with a touchscreen control panel. Only the joystick is analog and only critical emergency systems have manual buttons. According to Musk, the capsule has a much more sophisticated piloting system, so it can dock with the space station autonomously or under the control of a pilot instead of relying on one of the ISS’s robotic arms.

For returning to Earth, the Dragon V2 has the third version of the PICA-X heatshield, which is SpaceX’s improvement on NASA’s Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) heat shield. This shield protects the capsule during reentry and because it ablates less than previous versions, Dragon V2 can carry out more flights before needing a refit.

The capsule has eight SuperDraco engines, which are 200 times more powerful than the Draco engines used on the current Dragon. Putting out 16,400lb of thrust each, the SuperDraco engines will allow the new Dragon to return to its spaceport and make a powered landing.
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Free Font - Cinzel

NDISCOVERED reports: [edited]

Cinzel is a typeface inspired by first century Roman inscriptions and based on classical proportions. It is available in 3 weights, in regular and decorative versions.
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VirusTotal

virustotal.com reports: [edited]

VirusTotal is a free online service that analyses files and URLs for quick detection of viruses, worms, trojans, and all kinds of malware.
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