PIC24F with Ethernet, USB and SD

It's no secret most people will use an Arduino for their electronics project. But, it's no secret Microchip's PIC range of microcontrollers are also quite common and popular.
When you start toying around with it, sooner or later you'll be wishing for more... and that includes things like an SD card to load/store data; a USB port to interact with a PC; or even an ethernet connection for networking. So, I present you this WEBSD.

Some of thing you can do with it:

1. An Touch keyboard, usable as a standard USB keyboard.
2. A Video Game ( pong and snake games) , with TV output, and connection to a PC Keyboard ( the old PS/2 ) for control.
3. Picture frame,  reads pictures form the SD card and show them on the TV.
4. Controling a 5 volt LCD and some leds, with just 3 wires ( the MCU is 3.3V)
5. Web server, where you can see some status of the board as temperature, the position of a Pot and a Button,  control some leds and the LCD ( all this from the internet)

I'm sure you'll be able to come up with some pretty cool ideas of your own to take it even further.

Google Art Project

After travelling the world with Google Maps, Google Earth and Streetview, Google now invites us to step inside some of the world's best known art museums with this Google Art Project.

This amazing project allows us to walk across Museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA in New York, The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Tate Britain & The National Gallery in London, Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and appreciate the intricate work of all the famous painters in high-resolution detail.

Indeed a site worth visiting... over and over again. Even if only to plan for your actual visit to these places (or to revisit the ones you've already seen.)

[via GoogleBlog]

Better Gmail Attachments Management

If you're tire of looking back and forth across dozens, or even hundreds of emails, to find the one with the attachement file you desperately need, then maybe it's time you start using:

This attachments.me offers a much easier way to find all your Gmail and Yahoo email attachments.

I really hope Google doesn't wait long to acquire these guys and integrates this service into Gmail.
Sure you can user advanced search tags like "has:attachment" and others, but for most people... that's something they don't -or care to- know. Besides, a "visual" result is also a lot more appealing and useful than a simple list of emails.

Check attachments.me in operation in the following video:



You can try the following invite code for possible faster signup process: lifehacker.

Kissing Game Controller

Girls, next time someone invites you for some video game action, be careful as it might involve some serious kissing.
At least, if the said friend is planning on using this kissing game controller.
This controller allows you play a game by moving your tongue inside your partner's mouth - yes, you're reading it right.

Microsoft Kinect, you better watch out for this kiss controller, as it's surely posed to surpass your success! :)


Kiss Controller from Hye Yeon Nam on Vimeo.

Make Your Own Android Clock Widget

If Android is often considered to be fully customized to each user's preferences; which shouldn't you be able to create your own Android clock widget?

Well... indeed you can, thanks to this Make Your Own Clock widget app.

You can not only create widget clocks like these ones...

as you can even create a clock in roman numerals!

As you can see... it realy can't get any more customizable than this. :)

Real Life Escher Perpetual Waterfall

Ever wondered if it were possible to create a Escher-style, perpetual waterfall?

The following video would seem to prove it, but we all know we can't really believe what we see with our own eyes (optical illusions) let alone on a computer/TV screen!



Here's one possible explanation on how it would be possible to create this real life Escher Waterfall.

How to Fix Chrome Update Bug

If your Chrome browser doesn't auto-update even it ask you to restar your browser in order to complete an update, here's what you have to do to fix it.

How can you tell if you're affected by this bug? Just compare your Chrome version before and after the update restart process. If the version number is the same, you'll need to take things into your own hands.

You'll need to browse into Chrome's folder - in my case:

C:\Users\User1\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application

(you can find that by right clicking on the Chrome desktop shortcut and seeing its properties)

You should find two exe files in there: chrome.exe (the current version), and chrome_new.exe the new version that doesn't "stick".
We'll need to give it a hand, so... with Chrome running, go to the about box, and before you presse restart chrome to apply the update, rename chrome.exe to something like chromeold.exe and only then click the restar chrome button in the about box.

That should take care of the problem, and you'll finally be using the latest Chrome version.

... Just keep in mind you'll probably need to perform these steps again when there's another update...

Fantasporto 2011

Once again, Porto becomes the movie capital of Portugal. The Porto Film Festival Fantasporto begins today its 31st edition, with over 300 movies that bring the "fantastic" element to town (but not only, as Fantasporto has since tried to diversify its offerings to a much broader range of movies.)

If you happen to have a chance, don't miss the opportunity to visit us from Feb 25th to March 5th, and breathe the amazing atmosphere this movie fest creates... and, of course, be sure to watch a couple of movies... or more! :)

As always, I'll be there every single day!

Coca Cola Secret Formula

Here's one secret I never thought I would be revealing here, but here it is. Once considered the World's biggest secret, the Coca Cola secret formula has now been found and is available for anyone willing to try it out.

Yes, even the elusive 7X secret ingredient has been discovered, as seen below:


Fluid extract of Coca, 3 drams USP (cocoa leaves stripped of cocaine)
Citric acid 3 oz
Caffeine 1oz
Sugar 30 (it is unclear from the markings what quantity is required)
Water 2.5 gal
Lime juice 2 pints 1 qrt
Vanilla 1oz
Caramel 1.5oz or more to colour

7X flavour (use 2oz of flavour to 5 gals syrup):

Alcohol 8oz
Orange oil 20 drops
Lemon oil 30 drops
Nutmeg oil 10 drops
Coriander 5 drops
Neroli 10 drops
Cinnamon 10 drops

Full HD High Speed Video with the Phantom Flex

While I play around recording video at 240fps in just 320x240 with a Nikon P100, some other - more lucky - guys can play around recording Full HD quality video at 2564fps.

How?... Thanks to the amazing Phantom Flex. A digital high-speed camera that can not only record FullHD video at 2570fps, it can do even more:

• 5350 fps at 1280x720
• 10750 fps at 640x480

And, if FullHD is not enought, the Phantom Flex can record video at 2560 x 1600 though "just" at 1455 fps!

Nothing like some videos to really see what it can do, right?




Locked in a Vegas Hotel Room with a Phantom Flex from Tom Guilmette on Vimeo.





Pity it costs from 50 to 150 thousand dollars.

Google Adds 2-step Validation for Login

If you use Google service, you can probably imagine how disruptive it would be if someone hacked into your account and took over your position. Not only would they be able to send emails/spam in your name, they would also have access to all your info on Gmail, Photo albums on Picasa, appointments on Google Calendar, and so many other info that we don't even want to think about.

That precisely I use a unique and hard to guess password for Google alone, and never ever type it in any other place that asks me for it, even if it would be plausible they would just use it for "good causes".

Google is well aware of how important your Google account is and now takes and extra step to ensure its protection with this 2-step validation. you activate in your Google account settings.

Just like online banking transactions, this method requires you not only to enter your regular username and password, but also a code that is sent to your cellphone via SMS - or generated by an App (iPhone, Android and Blackberry).

So, an attacker not only needs to crack your password - but also have your cellphone in his/her possession.

Sure, it can be annoying if you have to do this every day, but you choose to only be asked every 30 days.
There's also an option to create app-specific passwords, so you can safely enter your Google account details without actually revealing your real password; and even in the worst case scenario of having no cell phone, you can still use one of the 10 fall-back codes Google emails you when you enable this extra security measure.

What are you waiting for? There's no more excuses for you to get hacked out of your Google account simply by password alone.

Nvidia Kal-El shows Tegra's Future

We all "mobile" is all the rage right now, and Nvidia just poured high-octane fuel into the fire! Nvidia's next-gen super-chip (aptly named Kal-El) shows us what the Tegra line has to offer. Nvidia's project Kal El puts mobile chips up there, right next (and above) common desktop CPUs.

We're talking a quad-core chip next to a brand new 12 core Nvidia GPU, allowing screens up to  2560x1600(!) and five times more powerful than current Tegra 2 implementations.

Arriving this Summer, this Kal-el can even surpass a Core 2 (T7200) Intel CPU, as you can see in the following benchmark.


Care to see how this translates into... browsing?



But, want to know what's even better? There are new super-heros coming from Nvidia with each new year (Wayne, Logan, Stark) each one doubling its predecessor performance. Meaning... by 2014, we'll be using devices almost 100x more powerful than our current Tegra 2 devices.

Can you sincerely imagine what that will allow us to do/imagine?

P.S. Engadget has some videos showing Kal-El running Great Battles Medieval at 720p with 650 solders on screen, compared to a regular Tegra 2:

Androidify your Smartphone

Though the tiny green robot that serves as Android's logo is quite cute, I guess there are a lot of people that would prefer having a customized version of it living in their smartphones. And now, thanks to Google, you can! You just need to download the Androidify app and customize your droid at will.

Like they say, you can now make Android your own. :)

Androidify in the Android Market

How to Store SIP contacts in Google Contacts

If you're having trouble keeping your Google contacts SIP information fields in sync, here a nice tip arriving from a friend.

Seems like the easiest and safest way to add SIP contact information to your google contacts, is to simply add another telephone number field, but adding the prefix "sip:" to it.
That way, it will still be a valid number field, and get synced to all your devices and computers.

SuperAmoled Plus Secret Revealed

It was one of the things most people were wondering about Samsung's new SuperAMOLED+ screen used in the Galaxy S 2. Would it still use the traditional OLED pentile pattern or - as it was rumored - would it use a RGB subpixel pattern similar to LCD screens?
Well... that's exactly what happened. The new SuperAMOLED+ screens havd indeed 3 RGB subpixels per pixel, just like any regular LCD screen, providing a much clearer image on screen.

The new screens are also thinner and use less power - the only drawback being that with 50% extra pixels, a 4.3" screen has the same resolution as a pentile 4" screen.

[via Oled-Info]

Webding Site Translator

Can't really say I find this tool particularly useful, but... it's not uncommon for someone else to think so. So, I present you the Webding site translator. A site that can translate any website into a webdingized version.

Maybe it will indeed prove useful to play a prank on someone; or maybe there actually is someone out there, who can "read" the webding font - after all, there are people who can read klingon, aren't there?

How to Capture Screenshots in LG Smartphones

While it is incredibly easy to capture screenshots of the screen on an iPhone and even Samsung Bada devices (just press the menu button and the lock/sleep button at the same time), things are not quite as easy on other devices.

For example, for LG smartphones like the LG KF750 Secret, capturing a screenshot requires accessing a secret menu.

You need to enter this secret functions menu by entering the following code:

 338464#*#

Then, you need to proceed to the Capture Mode function and enable it.

From then on you can easily capture screenshots by pressing the Volume Up button!

Keep in mind that, while you have this mode enabled, every press in this button will take a screeshot. So, be sure to disable it as soon as you're done, in order to get your LG back to regular operation mode.

[via: LG Phones]

NoteSlate - Digital Paper for the Masses

Promissed for June, for just $99, this NoteSlate seems to be too good to be true. But let's hope they really make it.

Unlike the more complex (and expensive) tablets, this NoteSlate goes back to the basics. It's just a plain digital slate where you can write and draw stuff. A page of digital paper and nothing more.

 Basic Characteristics

• REAL PAPER look design
• ONE COLOR display
• ONE TOUCH ability just with pen / eraser
• 210x310x6mm thin body
• 13 inch matte monochrome eInk display
• 190x270mm active display, 750x1080pixels
• 180 hours battery life (almost 3 weeks of daily work !)
• 280 g weight !
• basic inputs: pen with eraser, USB mini, SD Card, Jack 3.5 mm, AC/DC 12V
• Wi-Fi module on request with order (no added charge (!)
• no web browsing !
• end price $99
• ONE POINT OF SALE - NoteSlate online e-store

Special patents

• simple three button physical interface ( SAVE CURRENT SCREEN / SHOW LAST SCREEN / DELETE CURRENT SCREEN )
• pen magnetic holder directly on the tablet surface (throw the pen away and go !)
• any ordinary pen or pencil usage (works just on NoteSlate NATURAL model )
• real paper look and feel when using

Accessories

• solar energy backside cover

Models

• BASIC MODEL / WHITE / BLACK / GREEN / BLUE / RED / COLOR MODEL / NATURAL

Google Celebrates Thomas Edison Anniversary

Today's Google Doodle celebrates the 164th anniversary Thomas Alva Edison, prolific inventor with countless patents that make our lives easier every single day (do I have to mention the incandescent light bulb? - but not without his own issues: like his battle with Tesla over the AC electricity. But I guess he's entitled to that...

Truth be told, his empire stands and prosper even today, with the General Electrics (GE) still playing a major role in many areas of the Industry and Society.

Google Translate App for iPhone

Google recently updated its Google Translate App for iPhone, which now becomes a lot more interesting and useful.

Google's Translate App can now perform voice recognition in 15 different languages, translate words and phrases into over 50 languages (of which, 23 can be "spoken out loud".)

You can also mark phrases as favorites, so you can use them frequently at ease, and there's also a landscape mode that makes it easier to show a translated text to someone else.

The only catch? Well... Google seems to think Portuguese is actually Portuguese from Brasil (a completely different accent) - which makes it almost impossible for it to recognize "proper" Portuguese. ;P

But I'm not complaining... it's an amazing App, and highly recommended for every traveller. Now... if we could only forget those insanely expensive roaming data rates.

iPad 3 and Apple's Best Kept Secret

Yesterday HP announced its HP TouchPad (an excellent tablet, let down only by its delayed arrival to market), and Blackberry says its PlayBook arrives in March at $499, and now - even before any official announcement regarding the iPad 2 - rumors about a soon to arrive iPad 3 start making the headlines.


What would this iPad 3 have to offer regarding the soon(er) to arrive iPad 2? Some say it could be the much awaited high-resolution Retina Display; others say it might just be a smaller 5-7" version of the iPad.

... or, it can happen that it's just "say-so" to keep other companies stressed out about it!


Let's see: if there's really an iPad 3 coming soon after the iPad 2 launch; Apple risks angering its loyal customer base.
Sure, there are thousands (if not millions!) of people that wouldn't mind buying a new iPad 2 - even if they knew a new iPad 3 was right around the corner. But, there are millions more that would be quite annoyed by it, particularly after Apple got us used to its yearly product cycle.


Why would Apple do such a thing?
Well... maybe they're actually feeling the pressure by the upcoming tablets. Android Gingerbread finally starts looking like a real and decent produtc; and HP's TouchPad with WebOS *really* is something people will want - though having to wait so many months for it might ruin the "edge" it could have if it were on sale right now.

If Apple does launch an iPad 3 in September, with a Retina Display - it might give the breathing space Apple needs to revamp its iOS (which is now looking increasingly dated when compared to WebOS and others.)
Other manufacturers would need many months to come up with their extremely high-resolution screens...

Or...

Maybe this iPad 3 September launch means that Apple plans to introduce two iPad models.

A cheaper, affordable model (the upcoming iPad 2), and a newer high-end model (the hypothetical iPad 3.)


This could really be quite a thing if Apple were to play a very surprising card: offering the iPad 2 at a cheaper price than the current iPad!

Let's not forget: price was the critical factor that made the iPad the success that it was/is.
If you recall, during the iPad launch Steve Jobs first announced a $999 price that let down everyone... just to immediately slash it in half, to $499 - to everyone's relief!

Now... just imagine the same thing happening with the iPad 2... when it came to the price announcement, Apple would show a $499 price point... just to slash it again to $299 or $249!

That would really be something. It's not unfeasible... the iPad 2 would cost basically the same as the iPad 1 in manufacturing costs, as there really aren't any big changes (just updated CPU and chips, more RAM, etc. in some cases with chips combining multiple functions, that are actually cheaper.)

A lower cost iPad would really blow the competition out of the water. We all know how hard it has been for them to offer Tablets at affordable prices; and without the "millions of units" Apple sells, it's really hard for anyone to compete with "volume discounts".

At half-price, even a lower-spec'ed iPad (compared to other alternatives) would still be on top of most people preferences. And, it would also be the perfect move in order to prevent anyone buying an iPad 2 from feeling "annoyed" by an upcoming - and more expensive - iPad 3 a few months later.

I know it really sounds unlikely for Apple to actually use "cheap prices" as a selling point... But there's no doubt it would really be a very, very, amazing move for us - and completely disruptive for all other tablet manufacturers!

[based on my original article in Portuguese]

Smartphone Sales Surpass Computers

It was predicted it would only happen next year, but the market proved otherwise: Smartphone sales have surpassed computers!

In the last three months of 2010, over 100 million smartphones were sold while computers ranked in at "just" 92 millions.

And it would be even more if we considered iPads, iPod touch, and other mobile devices which are not actually considered "smartphones".

This trends shows exactly just how important the mobile segment has become, and it is likely it will becoming increasingly so in the future. That's why no company can afford to be left behind, or risk be soon forgotten in the mobile world of the future.

(Hence the likelihood that a Microsoft-Nokia partnership will actually happen, as both should better join up forces before it's too late.)

HP Reclinable Touch Computer

It doesn't take a genius to notice how impractical it is to frequently use a touch monitor in a vertical standing position. That's probably why HP has now decided to make it easier... with a reclining touch computer.

The new HP TouchSmart 610 and the HP TouchSmart 9300 Elite (for consumers and business markets) can recline from an upright position to an almost flat position, allowing the user to adjust the screen for maximum usability and comfort.

The 23" screens have LED lit LCD panels, while the processing power comes from second-gen Intel Core Processors (and can handle up to 16GB of RAM.)

Prices for the TouchSmart 610 consumer PC start at $899 and it will be available on Feb. 9.

Gmail Priority Inbox in Mobiles

Well, it didn't take them that long. Gmail's priority Inbox is now available for mobiles.

If you recall, Gmail's priority inbox allows you to better manage your important and unimportant emails. Google tries to figure out which emails deserve your immediate attention, and learns every time you mark an email as more/less important.

Now it is available for HTML5 mobile browser such as the ones in Android 1.5+ and iOS 3+ devices.

Just be sure you have enabled priority inbox in your Gmail account first (in case you haven't done it yet.)

OASIS Legos

Playing with LEGOs is about to become a lot more interesting, thanks to this OASIS (Object- Aware Situated Interactive System) from Intel Labs.
Using depth sensing cameras similar to the Kinect, this system allows the creation of interactive projections that can respond to objects and gestures.

The possibilities are endless... but even if it were just to play around with LEGOs... I'd be sold! :)

Windows Phone 7 on the iPhone

If you fancy the Windows Phone 7 user interface, but wouldn't trade your iPhone for nothing in this world, maybe you can have the best of both worlds - as long as your iPhone has been jailbreaked - thanks to this OS7 for the iPhone.

From the following video, it really does look good, and as it's still in development you can try it out for free.

Beats carrying two devices around... :)

How to Open a Locked Suitcase Without Damaging It

This is a travel tip that might come in handy when you least expect it: how do you open a locked zipper suitcase without damaging it or leaving a trace?

The answer is simpler than you might expect and requires no tool other than a ballpoint pen (or similar object).
Thanks to the "self-healing" properties of the zippers, you just need to pry it a bit and open the suitcase without any damage.
Afterwards, you can seal it back by simply moving the zipper across the length of the "pried" part and have it just as it was in the beginning.

Handy!

Chrome with WebGL and Instant Search

If -like me- your Chrome is always running and you don't even notice there's a new update available, indeed there is, and is quite a "big one". The latest version offers us something that until now was only available in the developement test versions: Chrome with WebGL support.

In case you don't know what this WebGL is, nothing like see it in action with these WebGL demos to better understand how your browser can benefit from 3D hardware acceleration on the web.

The omnibox can now support the new Google Instant, that offers real-time results as you type, though you have to activate it manually, as it comes disabled by default.

Not to mention the Chrome Web Store... now available to all US users.

Jerusalem UFO 2011

It's not the first time UFOs are seen over Jerusalem, but this time you can have a pretty decent look through several tourist's cameras spread around the city.

Although, it's a pity no one seems to have a RED high-definition camera, or even a simple high-quality SLR with a decent zoom to capture these UFO moments.
Thankfully, as hardware improves and more and more people have access to it, it shouldn't be long until we capture some UFOs in glorious high-definition! ;)

Amazing Surface iPhone iPad Connect

For now, it seems something we can only see in movies - although one can almost certainly imagine we'll have it in our homes... sometime in the future. But, seeing it live as an actual product makes it even more amazing.

This Amnesia Connect allows you to transfer content from a mobile device like an iPhone or iPad to/from a Microsoft Surface table by just dragging content around.

More amazing still, the mobile device screen can act as a "lens" to the displayed content on the surface table, allowing some very interesting effects.

I know it's not easy to grasp it by just reading words... and that's why I urge you to watch the following video, and be amazed by what's about to become "common" in the near future (I hope! :)


Amnesia Connect from Amnesia Razorfish on Vimeo.

USB Alert - Never Forget your Flash Pen Again

If you're like me, you've already lost a couple (or more) USB Flash Pens, by simply forgetting about them after you've attached to someone else's PC.

Well, if you're tired of repeating the same mistake, one solution can be this USB Alert.

This small program reminds you of any connected USB storage devices whenever you lock, loggoff or shutdown your PC.

Hopefully, that will be enough to keep you from leaving a USB pen filled with personal data laying around.

[via 4sysops]

Preparing for the iPad 2

- "Darling, I Love you so much! If you wanted to I would give you my iPad." :)