Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Scientists Match Dream Images To Photos
Scientists Match Dream Images To Photos: scibri writes "Scientists have learned how to discover what you are dreaming about while you sleep. A team of Japanese researchers scanned the brains of three people as they slept, and compared the scans to those of the same people looking at photos of common objects. They were then able to tell, with 75% — 80% accuracy, if one of those images appeared in a dream."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Fusion Power Breakthrough Near At Sandia Labs?
Fusion Power Breakthrough Near At Sandia Labs?: An anonymous reader writes "An achievement that would have extraordinary energy and defense implications might be near at Sandia National Laboratories. The lab is testing a concept called MagLIF (Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion), which uses magnetic fields and laser pre-heating in the quest for energetic fusion. A paper by Sandia researchers that was accepted for publication states that the Z-pinch driven MagLIF fusion could reach 'high-gain' fusion conditions, where the fusion energy released greatly exceeds (by more than 1,000 times) the energy supplied to the fuel."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Sony RX1 camera leaks with full-frame sensor in compact body, laws of physics slightly bent
Sony RX1 camera leaks with full-frame sensor in compact body, laws of physics slightly bent:
Here's something you probably didn't expect: a compact Sony camera with a full-frame sensor. While Photoprice.ca was uncovering a treasure trove of leaked press shots that include the Alpha A99 and NEX-6, it also came across images of the RX1, whose body looks borderline pocketable yet stuffs in the same kind of sensor (and likely image quality) you'd normally reserve for pro-grade models. Several extra details reveal themselves right from the start. The RX1 is carrying a 35mm, f/2.0 lens with no apparent button to detach the lens -- the included glass is probably as good as it'll get. However, the RX1 is most definitely tuned for experienced shooters, with a toggle for macro focusing as well as dedicated controls for aperture and exposure compensation. We're also liking that there's a pop-up flash, a standard hot shoe for accessories and three custom settings on the mode dial. The slip doesn't include mention of a release date or a price, but talk during the A99 slip mentioned a September 12th unveiling that wouldn't shock us if it included multiple cameras -- and we would be equally unsurprised if the RX1 carried the same high price commonly associated with other full-frame bodies.
Filed under: Cameras
Sony Alpha Rumors | 
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Filed under: Cameras
Sony RX1 camera leaks with full-frame sensor in compact body, laws of physics slightly bent originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Sep 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Philips HomeCooker co-designed by Jamie Oliver... pukka
Philips HomeCooker co-designed by Jamie Oliver... pukka:
IFA 2012: Preparation and cooking in one
Philips has announced an addition to its kitchen appliance range that aids the preparation of food and cooks it all in one. The Philips HomeCooker can?chop, stir, steam and saut?, and has been co-designed for the manufacturer by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
Appearing on stage during the Philips press conference at IFA in Berlin, Oliver helped demonstrate and explain what the device is capable of. One comes with a cutting tower, but both have autostir functionality, multiple cooking activities, PerfectTemp technology to ensure temperature settings (between 40-degrees and 250-degrees C) are maintained, and there's a Quickset timer for up to 99 minutes.
The cutting tower comes with a five disc system for shredding, and a 5-in-1 DirectCut system means that chopped items go straight into the pan in five different shapes and sizes.
Both of the HomeCookers are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning, and come with a?3-litre family sized stainless steel bowl. They also feature auto shut-off failsafes, so when the food is done, it won't continue to cook.
The Philips HomeCooker with Cutting Tower (HR1050) and Philips Home Cooker (HR1040) will be available in both black and white. Pricing and release dates are yet to be announced.
Tags:
Philips Kitchen Appliances Home And Kitchen Jamie Oliver Philips Home Cooker IFA2012
Philips HomeCooker co-designed by Jamie Oliver... pukka originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 11:49:37 +0100
IFA 2012: Preparation and cooking in one
Philips has announced an addition to its kitchen appliance range that aids the preparation of food and cooks it all in one. The Philips HomeCooker can?chop, stir, steam and saut?, and has been co-designed for the manufacturer by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
Appearing on stage during the Philips press conference at IFA in Berlin, Oliver helped demonstrate and explain what the device is capable of. One comes with a cutting tower, but both have autostir functionality, multiple cooking activities, PerfectTemp technology to ensure temperature settings (between 40-degrees and 250-degrees C) are maintained, and there's a Quickset timer for up to 99 minutes.
The cutting tower comes with a five disc system for shredding, and a 5-in-1 DirectCut system means that chopped items go straight into the pan in five different shapes and sizes.
Both of the HomeCookers are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning, and come with a?3-litre family sized stainless steel bowl. They also feature auto shut-off failsafes, so when the food is done, it won't continue to cook.
The Philips HomeCooker with Cutting Tower (HR1050) and Philips Home Cooker (HR1040) will be available in both black and white. Pricing and release dates are yet to be announced.
Tags:
Philips Kitchen Appliances Home And Kitchen Jamie Oliver Philips Home Cooker IFA2012
Philips HomeCooker co-designed by Jamie Oliver... pukka originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 11:49:37 +0100
EverQuest II gets new SOEmote technology
EverQuest II gets new SOEmote technology:
This news is interesting on two different levels. First, I’m rather surprised that EverQuest II is still played enough that Sony Online Entertainment is adding features to the game. Second, the new SOEmote feature is actually very cool. The idea behind the new feature is to bring emotions to your in game avatar by mimicking the player’s own expressions.
SOEmote promises to bring both visual and audible personalities of the player to their in game avatar using your typical webcam and computer. Sony says that the new feature gives players of the MMORPG game the sort of facial animation technology typically used in Hollywood movies for creating digital characters. The new feature was available as of yesterday.
SOEmote features Live Driver technology, which is a real-time facial analysis system with expression tracking and animation technology used with standard web cams. The system can analyze thousands of expression measurements each second and then send that data to the virtual character’s expressions precisely in real time. That means if the gamer frowns, the avatar on the screen will frown as well.
The system also has voice fonts that allow the players voice to sound like any character they play. The idea is to allow the gamers voice to sound like their character or other voices of their choice. This sounds like an interesting feature, do you think it will add to the value of MMORPG games such as EverQuest II.
EverQuest II gets new SOEmote technology is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This news is interesting on two different levels. First, I’m rather surprised that EverQuest II is still played enough that Sony Online Entertainment is adding features to the game. Second, the new SOEmote feature is actually very cool. The idea behind the new feature is to bring emotions to your in game avatar by mimicking the player’s own expressions.
SOEmote promises to bring both visual and audible personalities of the player to their in game avatar using your typical webcam and computer. Sony says that the new feature gives players of the MMORPG game the sort of facial animation technology typically used in Hollywood movies for creating digital characters. The new feature was available as of yesterday.
SOEmote features Live Driver technology, which is a real-time facial analysis system with expression tracking and animation technology used with standard web cams. The system can analyze thousands of expression measurements each second and then send that data to the virtual character’s expressions precisely in real time. That means if the gamer frowns, the avatar on the screen will frown as well.
The system also has voice fonts that allow the players voice to sound like any character they play. The idea is to allow the gamers voice to sound like their character or other voices of their choice. This sounds like an interesting feature, do you think it will add to the value of MMORPG games such as EverQuest II.
EverQuest II gets new SOEmote technology is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
HTC tipped to launch 5″ device with 1080p display
HTC tipped to launch 5″ device with 1080p display:
Samsung released the international version of the Galaxy Note in November 2011, and not long afterwards LG announced its intentions to release its own 5-inch smartphone. Recent reports have indicated that the Galaxy Note II will make an appearance at a Samsung event on August 29th, and it looks like HTC isn’t content with being left out of the large smartphone game. DigiTimes reports that the company is planning to release a 5-inch device of its own that will trounce the competition with a 1080p display.
According to sources speaking to DigiTimes, HTC plans on releasing the device sometime in September or October, putting it up against the likes of the Galaxy Note II and the next iPhone, if current release date rumors are to be believed. The resolution of the device is listed as 1794×1080: the panel will most likely be 1920×1080, while 126 pixels are used for the onscreen Android keys found on Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean.
Little is known about the device, although DigiTimes does go on to say that the surprisingly large sales of the Galaxy Note has prompted other companies to take a second look at the form factor. Back in June, Samsung claimed it had sold more than 7 million Galaxy Notes worldwide, impressive for a device that was at first dismissed. LG’s Optimus Vu has been been available in South Korea for several months now, featuring a 5-inch 1024×768 screen, but the company hasn’t released any sales numbers for the device.
Specs for HTC’s mystery 5-inch device aren’t known, although benchmarks leaked in July indicate that the company is working on a device with a 1080p screen matched with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chip. The device certainly didn’t lack in horsepower either, doubling the score of the HTC One X while also beating the Samsung Galaxy S III by a healthy margin. BGR also reported back in April that an HTC device with a 5-inch 1080p display would land on Verizon sometime in the Fall.
HTC tipped to launch 5″ device with 1080p display is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Samsung released the international version of the Galaxy Note in November 2011, and not long afterwards LG announced its intentions to release its own 5-inch smartphone. Recent reports have indicated that the Galaxy Note II will make an appearance at a Samsung event on August 29th, and it looks like HTC isn’t content with being left out of the large smartphone game. DigiTimes reports that the company is planning to release a 5-inch device of its own that will trounce the competition with a 1080p display.
According to sources speaking to DigiTimes, HTC plans on releasing the device sometime in September or October, putting it up against the likes of the Galaxy Note II and the next iPhone, if current release date rumors are to be believed. The resolution of the device is listed as 1794×1080: the panel will most likely be 1920×1080, while 126 pixels are used for the onscreen Android keys found on Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean.
Little is known about the device, although DigiTimes does go on to say that the surprisingly large sales of the Galaxy Note has prompted other companies to take a second look at the form factor. Back in June, Samsung claimed it had sold more than 7 million Galaxy Notes worldwide, impressive for a device that was at first dismissed. LG’s Optimus Vu has been been available in South Korea for several months now, featuring a 5-inch 1024×768 screen, but the company hasn’t released any sales numbers for the device.
Specs for HTC’s mystery 5-inch device aren’t known, although benchmarks leaked in July indicate that the company is working on a device with a 1080p screen matched with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chip. The device certainly didn’t lack in horsepower either, doubling the score of the HTC One X while also beating the Samsung Galaxy S III by a healthy margin. BGR also reported back in April that an HTC device with a 5-inch 1080p display would land on Verizon sometime in the Fall.
HTC tipped to launch 5″ device with 1080p display is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Harvard Software 3D Prints Articulated Action Figures
Harvard Software 3D Prints Articulated Action Figures: An anonymous reader writes with an excerpt from an article at Geek.com "A team of computer scientists at Harvard University have developed a piece of software that allows anyone to 3D print their own action figures at home. Not only will the models carry the likeness of the character, they will also be fully articulated. The software can take an animated 3D character and figure out where best to place its joints. In what is referred to as reverse rendering, the software first looks at an animated character's shape and movement and identifies the best joint points (original paper, paywalled). It then adjusts the size of the different parts of the model so as to allow a real joint to work once printed. Optimizations are then carried out to produce a model as close as possible to the on-screen version, but at the same time workable as an actual real-world, articulated 3D model."
The bad news: Harvard is patenting everything and wants to commercialize it on a proprietary basis. The good news: An anonymous reader pointed toward the paper in full.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The bad news: Harvard is patenting everything and wants to commercialize it on a proprietary basis. The good news: An anonymous reader pointed toward the paper in full.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
First map of the human brain reveals a simple, grid-like structure between neurons
First map of the human brain reveals a simple, grid-like structure between neurons:
In an astonishing new study, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have imaged human and monkey brains and found… well, the image above says it all. It turns out that the pathways in your brain — the connections between neurons — are almost perfectly grid-like.
It’s rather weird: If you’ve ever seen a computer ribbon cable — a flat, 2D ribbon of wires stuck together, such as an IDE hard drive cable — the brain is basically just a huge collection of these ribbons, traveling parallel or perpendicular to each other. There are almost zero diagonals, nor single neurons that stray from the neuronal highways. The human brain is just one big grid of neurons — a lot like the streets of Manhattan, minus Broadway, and then projected into three dimensions.
This new imagery comes from a souped-up MRI scanner that uses diffusion spectrum imaging to detect the movement of water molecules within axons (the long connections made by neurons). The brain has always been very difficult to image because of the wrinkly nature of the cerebral cortex that surrounds the brain — but this new MRI scanner finally has the ability to peer through the folds. Members of the Human Connectome Project first analyzed monkey brains (pictured above) — which are very similar to human brains — and then used their findings to tweak the MRI scanner to improve its imaging of human brains (pictured below). A connectome is a complete map of the connections and pathways in a brain — basically, the neuronal version of your DNA genome.
“Before, we had just driving directions. Now, we have a map showing how all the highways and byways are interconnected,” says Van Wedeen, a member of the Human Connectome Project. “Brain wiring is not like the wiring in your basement, where it just needs to connect the right endpoints. Rather, the grid is the language of the brain and wiring and re-wiring work by modifying it.”
Curiously, it seems like this network of highways and byways is laid out when we’re still an early fetus. At a very early stage, our brains form three “primal pathways” that traverse our brains horizontally, vertically, and transversely. The NIH scientists now think that those early connections act as markers, forcing the continued growth of an orderly, grid-like structure. Apparently such a setup is more amenable to evolutionary adaptation, too.
As for the actual implications of such a discovery… well, in the long term we are looking at a much greater understanding of consciousness, intelligence, and mental illness. After cracking the genome, there is now a lot of emphasis on unearthing the mysteries of the connectome. We still know almost nothing about how the brain’s structure translates into its incredibly complex and powerful functionality — but this study is an important step towards a scientific model of the brain.
In an unrelated project, MIT has been trying to crowdsource analysis of the human connectome by getting people to play a game of “connect the neurons.” MIT has also recently pinpointed the location of individual memories in the brain.
Read more at NIH
In an astonishing new study, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have imaged human and monkey brains and found… well, the image above says it all. It turns out that the pathways in your brain — the connections between neurons — are almost perfectly grid-like.
It’s rather weird: If you’ve ever seen a computer ribbon cable — a flat, 2D ribbon of wires stuck together, such as an IDE hard drive cable — the brain is basically just a huge collection of these ribbons, traveling parallel or perpendicular to each other. There are almost zero diagonals, nor single neurons that stray from the neuronal highways. The human brain is just one big grid of neurons — a lot like the streets of Manhattan, minus Broadway, and then projected into three dimensions.
This new imagery comes from a souped-up MRI scanner that uses diffusion spectrum imaging to detect the movement of water molecules within axons (the long connections made by neurons). The brain has always been very difficult to image because of the wrinkly nature of the cerebral cortex that surrounds the brain — but this new MRI scanner finally has the ability to peer through the folds. Members of the Human Connectome Project first analyzed monkey brains (pictured above) — which are very similar to human brains — and then used their findings to tweak the MRI scanner to improve its imaging of human brains (pictured below). A connectome is a complete map of the connections and pathways in a brain — basically, the neuronal version of your DNA genome.
“Before, we had just driving directions. Now, we have a map showing how all the highways and byways are interconnected,” says Van Wedeen, a member of the Human Connectome Project. “Brain wiring is not like the wiring in your basement, where it just needs to connect the right endpoints. Rather, the grid is the language of the brain and wiring and re-wiring work by modifying it.”
Curiously, it seems like this network of highways and byways is laid out when we’re still an early fetus. At a very early stage, our brains form three “primal pathways” that traverse our brains horizontally, vertically, and transversely. The NIH scientists now think that those early connections act as markers, forcing the continued growth of an orderly, grid-like structure. Apparently such a setup is more amenable to evolutionary adaptation, too.
As for the actual implications of such a discovery… well, in the long term we are looking at a much greater understanding of consciousness, intelligence, and mental illness. After cracking the genome, there is now a lot of emphasis on unearthing the mysteries of the connectome. We still know almost nothing about how the brain’s structure translates into its incredibly complex and powerful functionality — but this study is an important step towards a scientific model of the brain.
In an unrelated project, MIT has been trying to crowdsource analysis of the human connectome by getting people to play a game of “connect the neurons.” MIT has also recently pinpointed the location of individual memories in the brain.
Read more at NIH
The Future of Project Glass
The Future of Project Glass: An anonymous reader writes "Project Glass made a big splash not too long ago at Google's annual developer conference when they showed several users falling on to the Moscone West in San Francisco. Google's pretty bent on showing us the sharing possibilities with Project Glass, but it feels like in time that technology could become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Fortunately for those of us who lack a hyperactive imagination, a short film popped up recently that can help fill in the blanks. The world created in the film was made possible by wearable tech. Games, cooking challenges, information in real-time about the person you are talking to, all made possible by the contact lenses being worn. And of course there's a darkside to the equation, the potential to hack and therefore influence the actions of others. Ultimately, it's a realistic idea of the future we all face."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Unbreakable Crypto: Store a 30-character Password In Your Subconscious Mind
Unbreakable Crypto: Store a 30-character Password In Your Subconscious Mind: MrSeb writes "A cross-disciplinary team of US neuroscientists and cryptographers have developed a password/passkey system that removes the weakest link in any security system: the human user. It's ingenious: The system still requires that you enter a password, but at no point do you actually remember the password, meaning it can't be written down and it can't be obtained via coercion or torture — i.e. rubber-hose cryptanalysis. The system, devised by Hristo Bojinov of Stanford University and friends from Northwestern and SRI, relies on implicit learning, a process by which you absorb new information — but you're completely unaware that you've actually learned anything; a bit like learning to ride a bike. The process of learning the password (or cryptographic key) involves the use of a specially crafted computer game that, funnily enough, resembles Guitar Hero. Their experimental results suggest that, after a 45 minute learning session, the 30-letter password is firmly implanted in your subconscious brain. Authentication requires that you play a round of the game — but this time, your 30-letter sequence is interspersed with other random 30-letter sequences. To pass authentication, you must reliably perform better on your sequence. Even after two weeks, it seems you are still able to recall this sequence."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The Computer That Can Learn a Board Game in Two Minutes—And Beat You At It [Science]
The Computer That Can Learn a Board Game in Two Minutes—And Beat You At It [Science]:
If you think you're good at board games, you just met your match. Because a computer scientist has developed machine learning software that can watch your playing for just two minutes—then comprehensively thrash you. More »
You Can Download BitTorrent Files with Your Browser [Piracy]
You Can Download BitTorrent Files with Your Browser [Piracy]:
Though torrenting files has been around forever, there has always been a relatively high barrier of entry that kept normal people from diving in. Not anymore. BitTorrent just announced Torque, a new JavaScript interface that'll let you download BitTorrent files right from your browser. It's going to be so easy now. More »
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