Robot Penguins - The Dawn of the Linux Era?

I don't know if Linux is planning to take over the world using these robotic penguins, but no one can deny this video from FESTO showcasing their bionic projects is trule amazing. From those robotic penguins to ondulating walls and several other impressive machines, this is truly a sign of things to come.

3D Web - Google O3D

O3D is Google's latest project, attempting to bring 3D worlds into our web browsers.

As you can watch on the following video, the result seem a lot better than those provided by VRML (which never really made it into the mainstream.)



Will this O3D be different? I doubt anyone can tell for sure...
But I can't help but wonder... imagine if, some years from now, we'd be able to run a game like Crysis, emulated inside a regular web browser! :)

National Geographic Infinite Photograph

Mesmerizing indeed, this infinite photograph from National Geographic, consisting in over 300k photos that create a infinite zooming photo-mosaic.

Watch it and see for yourself..

The PirateBay is Down

The PirateBay is currently down, but there's no need to panic... yet.

From what we're told, this is due to a technical problem and not to an "offensive attack" from its enemies.

That seems to be the case, as you can still access the site via an IPv6 proxy:

http://ipv6.thepiratebay.org.ipv4.sixxs.org/

So, let's wait a bit longer and hope everything will be sorted out soon.

Apophysis - Flame generator for Windows

Apophysis is a "Freeware fractal flame editor for Windows", and while quite easy to use (tutorial here) it certainly requires some knowledge and inspiration to come up with images like these - or maybe some dumb luck will work just as well. ;)

(more images here)

NASA UFO Footage

Time to mention one of my favorite themes, that used to make me wonder a lot in my youth: UFOs.

So, nothing better than sharing this NASA video compilation of UFOs cought on film.



One reminder though: while most people immediately  think of little green man and alien spaceships when they hear "UFO" - the truth is this acronym is used to identify any and all unidentifed flying object: whether it actually happens to be an alien spaceship (highly unlikely) or a a simple plastic bottle (a lot more likely.)

In this NASA footage, and although I'm no expert on this matter, most unknown objects seem to resemble fragments of our own spaceships or satellites - though, as always, there are a few that happen to be quite intriguing. And those really "unexplained" ones are the ones that really make us wonder what may be out there.

Have fun. :)

SenderClipboard - Copy-Paste Filenames on Windows

Sorry to bring up something I had already talked about, but again I received in my email a dozen screencaptures wasting Megabytes when all I needed was for someone to send me a folder listing with the relevant filenames in text format.

With my tiny SenderClipboard, all you have to do is select the filenames, right click on it and "send" those to it. Afterwards, you can simply paste those filenames into any text document or email.

Simple and easy.

GE Smartgrid Augmented Reality

If you want to tell people about renewable energy, why not use an engaging method?

That's exactly what GE has done with its SmartGrid program, using the always cool augmented reality.
Check the video:

iPhone and RFID

Attaching a RFID reader to the iPhone?... It might be fun, as shown in the following video.


iPhone RFID: object-based media from timo on Vimeo.

But personally, I'd find it a lot more interesting if we could use our cell phones as wireless wallets as they do in Japan. That, would be a lot more useful. :)

Similar Image Search with Google Labs

Google has been hard at work in image processing and image recognition. Today, we're able to use some of that expertise with a new service: Similar Images Search.

Using this Similar Images Search from Google Labs, you can easily find similar images to the one you're interested in. This is particularly useful, for instance, when you're search term represent several different items.
As shown on the following video, if you're searching for "jaguar", you'd be presented with images of bothe the animal as well as cars from that brand. Now, you can easily zoom in on the ones you really want.



... I imagine that, in a couple of years we'll be doing the same kind of stuff... with video! :)

Google News Timeline

If you can't spend an hour away from world news, either because you're a reporter or doing some research, then you'll love this News Timeline from Google Labs.

With a selection of daily or weekly news (just double click the timeline for zoom in/out) that gets updated instantly as you move around, this is really an amazing way to see what's happening/has happened in the world.

Check it out.

TechnoBox iPhone - Roland TB-303 TR-808 TR-909 in your Pocket

Want one more reason to get an iPhone?

How about TechnoBox (App Store Link) bya AudioRealism which puts the classics Roland TB-303, TR-808 and TR-909 in your pocket?

Slap Widgets - Physical Feedback on Surface

While Surface style interfaces are increasingly popular, the truth remains that the "touch" experience alone isn't enough for some people and some applications.

For instance, no matter how good you may be using a virtual keyboard on a multitouch surface, the absence of tactile feedback is awkard for many users. That's where Slap's physical widgets come in.

While they aren't really new (we've already seen some physical interaction demos on Surface touchtables) these Slap can be quite effective in bringing these multitouch surfaces into areas requiring physical feedback - whether it's because you can't look at the screen constantly, or simply because you actually depend on that feedback for interaction.

Nothing like a video to show you what I'm talkin about.

10 Free Open-Source Books

Not only software can be free. And to prove it, I bring you 10 free books about free software and the open-source movement.

1 - Linux Starter Pack

As the name suggests, a must read for everyone wanting to try out Linux.

2 - The Easiest Linux Guide You’ll Ever Read

This book guides you through a default Suse Linux installation and provides detailed walk-throughs to show you how things work - probably the easiest way to get the hang of it.

3 - Ubuntu Pocket Reference and Guide

The name says it all. Includes info right up to Ubuntu 8.10.

4 - Producing Open Source Software - How to Run a Successful Free Software Project

5 - tuXlabs Cookbook

6 - Free Culture

7 - The Blender Basics

Essential for everyone wanting to learn their way into 3D imaging and animation without spending a cent.

8 - Free and Open Source Software for Development


9 - LPI 101 and 102 study notes


10 - The Cathedral and the Bazaar


Just start downloading... and enjoy!

ToneMatrix Synthesizer

A very interesting demo, inpired by Yamaha's Tenori-On as explained by its creator.

So, just try out this ToneMatrix by Andre Michelle.

If you're really into Flash programming, then you'll find his lab to be an amazing resource for ideas and demos: including 3D mapping, physics, particles, sound, video, and many other things.

Thing like this curious cable clock:

Inserting Inline Images in Gmail Email Body

While I strongly suggest using plain-text emails most of the time, I have to admit there are times when an HTML email with some inline images comes in handy.

However, inserting that kind of images in Gmail emails has never been that easy, with most people choosing those images as email attachments.

Well, now all you have to do is to enable the new "Inserting images" feature in Gmail Labs and you'll get a new image insert icon in your rich formatting mode toolbar.

Sure, your Gmail friends will still have to click "Display images below" or "Always display images from ..." to see it, but... at least sending those inline images in your email is now a lot simpler.

via [gmailblog]

Expanding shortened URLs

With Twitter attracting more and more people every day, you've probably noticed URL shortening services becoming popular again. These service turn a long URL into a shorter link, saving precious characters for micro-blogging services.

This doesn't affect Twitter alone, and shortened links can be used in any other place like forums, mailing lists, chats, etc.

The problem is, clicking on any of these shortened urls can become a potential security risk:

For instance, while most people would think twice before clicking on a link showing http://www.icantbetrusted.com most wouldn't have a problem clicking it if it were hiding behind a http://tinyurl.com/xyz URL. And that's a real problem...

Fortunately, you can do something about it using greasemonkey.

With this TinyURL decoder script, all those shortened links will reveal its true identity. The same thing can be accomplished with this other Psychic TinyURL script, which adds the expanded URL to the link title.

via [Webmonkey]

Conficker Online Detector

And because we know its "out there", better to be safe than sorry and do a quick check on this online conficker detector to ensure you have nothing to worry about the latest trendy virus Conficker.

All clear on this front...

1 Billion Apps Downloaded from App Store

If someone doubted Apple's App Store huge sucess, then let me tell you we're quickly heading to the 1 Billion mark!

And to celebrate the ocasion, Apple has some nice offers for you: a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro.

You can also enter by filling up this form.

Folding@Home with 27 Nvidia GTX 295

If you think a single Nvidia GTX 295 is nice, what can you say about this rig with 23 GTX 295s?



Of course, this system was not intended for playing games but for a much more noble use: to use the immense processing power these cards haver to help research Huntington's Diseases using Folding@Home.

Even if you have a much less powerful computer, you might consider joining the effort, as every CPU cycle helps.

Canonball in Mercury

Have you ever felt the weight of a canonball? Even if you haven't, you can imagine it to be quite heavy, right?

But what if instead of throwing it to a pool filled with water, you'd throw it into a tank filled with mercury?

Check the result for yourself:



Yep, it floats!
Too bad mercury is considered a serious health hazard, I can't imagine how much fun it would be to plunge into a pool filled with mercury. :)

[update]
It didn't take long, a friend of mine quickly pointed me to this photo:

I suppose this was "before" mercury was considered bad for your health... :P

Run Ubuntu as a Windows App

It will sound outrageous to some, but allowing people to run Ubuntu in as many ways as possible is always a good thing.

Today, I bring you Portable Ubuntu, which can be run as a regular windows app.

Just take a look at PortableUbuntu, and see how you can have Ubuntu ready to run even on a Windows computer.

(That being said, I still recommend you install Ubuntu by default, and use Windows inside a virtual machine, or dual boot to use that odd windows-only program, or game.)

Bumptop - the 3D Desktop

In a time where touchscreens are becoming increasingly popular, why should we stick with outdated computer desktops designed for keyboard and mouse interaction?

With Bumptop your computer desktop becomes an enhanced virtual extension of a real world desktop, where you can drag and drop items, and group them into stacks - among other things.

I've played around with a beta version a few months back and it looked promissing - and these newer releases are sure to be even better:



If you want to see how it works with a touchscreen be sure to check this other Bumptop video review.

Build your Multitouch Surface for $350

Everyone has already seen some sort of demo video of MS Surface - or similar - but the question remains: how long till we can have something like that in our own homes?

According to Maximum PC, you can have it right now, and all you need is some spare parts and $350 to build your own multitouch "Surface", using open-source software (Touchlib, AMCap, FlashOSC.)


Maximum PC's Multitouch Surface Computer from Maximum PC on Vimeo.

You can find all details you'll ever need and a step-by-step tutorial at MaximumPC.

Inside a Google Data Center

Ever wondered where all the bits arriving at your computer when you use Google come from? Wonder no more...



Impressive...

I was surprised by the fact of each motherboard having it's own UPS battery - which actually makes sense, as it scales perfectly with the number of servers you have running; instead of having a single oversized Gigawatt UPS for the entire container (not to mention it would also become a single-point-of-failure.)

The World in 3D

Google has been pushing to have the entire world mapped in 3D, using Google Earth and SketchUp.

They're now showing you just how easily it can be done, creating your own house in 3D and sharing it with others.

Reactable Multitouch Table

A lot has been written about Surface style equipments - but in the end, they never seem to get out to actual people wanting to use it for something more than just showing it off.


Maybe things will change with this Reactable, using the technology we've already seen to implement a new kind of musical instrument/controller.
Better see it for yourself:

Gmail Auto-complete Search [Labs]

At last, searching through your emails in Gmail is now a lot easier - all you need to do is head to the Gmail Labs tab and enable search auto-complete.

Furthermore, if you ever had to search for email with attached photos (and, who hasn't?) you'll no longer need to memorize those geeky search query terms like: filename:(jpg OR png OR tiff).

All you have to do is begin typing attchaments or photos, and select the apropriate option...

A must-have lab feature everyone needs to enable right now. :)

A nice present for all of us on its 5th birthday...

Learn to use Google

I know I've alread told you about 101 tips and tricks for using Google efectively; but I'm surprised to find lots of people unaware of all the power available in Google's search box.

From complex math calculations, unit conversions and currency conversion...
(just enter this into Google's search box):

• 5*9+(sqrt 10)^3=
• 10.5 cm in inches
  
• 150 EUR in USD

To things like:

• ~automobile (searches for automobile and its synonyms)
• define: fast food (self-explanatory)
  
• Isaac Newton discovered * (Fills in the 'blank' *)
  

And lots more... take a couple of minutes and learn some of the stuff Google can do for you.

Microsoft Labs Small Basic

For many people, BASIC was the first computer language they had the chance to play around with. That certainly was the case for me, and that's probably why I can't stand indifferent to this remake made by Microsoft Labs: Small Basic.

Intended to be a simple and fun way to learn computer programming, this Small Basic uses a reduced instruction set (only 15 keywords) - while still allowing you to create complex programs and games, and even use web services.

You can check some of the available examples, like a Tetris-style game, as well as searching photos on Flickr. And lots more, available from Small Basic blog.

You can also download a PDF introduction to Small Basic .


If writing code is not your thing, you can always check a more modern approach to programming like MIT's Scratch.

iPhone Virus via Skype

Just a couple of days after Skype for the iPhone has been launched, it gets back to the spotlight because of a rather nasty aspect: this App is vulnerable to a virus that can erase all your iPhone data.

This security flaw is triggered when you answer a skype call - usually from an unknown caller - sending an audio strean of digitally encoded data; something that sounds like a fax call (or ZX spectrum tapes, if you've been around that long) and takes advantage of the usually inactive analog modem in the iPhone hardware.

In just a few seconds your iPhone will start erasing all its data and revert back to factory mode.

Be afraid, be very afraid!

Samsung LCD Dissected Layer-by-Layer

If you ever wondered how a LCD looks on the "inside", imagine no more: Samsung has opened up one of its lateste LED-backlit sets and shows you how far we've gone since those bulky CRT TVs.

For more photos of each layer, click here.

Take a nice look at the LED backlight "layer", with all its difusers and light guides, that transfer the light from the LEDs placed on the screen edges to the entire viewable screen area.