Dieter, Derek, and Keith discuss Palm’s Developer Day (recorded before all the crazy HP / Palm news).
Thanks to everybody for writing and calling in!
Zi Ye and Hammad Khalid from the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University in Canada have created a truly flexible, portable gaming interface where users interact with the images projected onto a handheld board by physically bending and twisting sections or applying pressure to areas containing sensors…
Continue Reading Gaming flexibility takes on new twist with Project Cobra
Tags: Flexible,
Input Device,
Pico projector,
Portable Gaming,
Sensors
Related Articles:
If you have an Android Handset and State Farm Insurance, your life just got a little bit easier. Why you might ask? Well, State Farm has released an Android app they refer to as the “Pocket Agent.” Pictured to the left, the app is one of the most comprehensive insurance company apps I have seen on either the Android or iPhone platforms. It is just great.
The fully-featured app packs quite a few features into a neat little package. Among other things, the app allows users to submit claims, pay their bill, contact a state farm agent, and locate hotels, gas stations, tow trucks and rental car services using the handset’s GPS. Overall, the app is very quick and I felt like the features would never end. It really made me wish I had State Farm Insurance!
Overall, any other insurance companies who are thinking of making their own apps, should use this as a guide. The bar has been set, so let us hope Progressive and the others can reach it.
For those who do have State Farm we would love to know what you think. Do you use the “Pocket Agent ?” Let us know in the comments people!
Source: State Farm
The teasers got us riled up, but April’s almost over and we still haven’t seen Steam on Mac. Oh, wait! Valve says the magic date is actually May 12. Ok, back to twiddling our thumbs again. [Joystiq via Engadget] More »
General Motors Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., ranking member of the House oversight and Government Reform Committee stated in a letter to GM CEO Ed Whitacre, Jr. that GM “has come dangerously close to committing fraud and that you might have colluded with the U.S. Treasury to deceive the American public.” What the letter refers to is the recent television ad campaign launched by GM whereby Whitacre is seen announcing the repayment in full, by GM, of their government loans.
While this is not a flat out deception, it understates the case as perceived by the public. In reality, GM received bailout funding of about $50 billion; $43 billion would be converted to a government stake in GM, and $17.4 billion of those funds were put into an escrow account, which was tapped by GM to repay the loan portion.
“Our work is not finished, but repaying our loans with interest is a clear sign that our plan is working, and a critical step toward returning GM to profitability and public ownership,” GM spokesman Greg Martin said. “It’s hard to see how GM’s loan repayment could not be seen as a positive milestone for the company and taxpayers.”
Despite being a critic of GM, Sen. Chuck Grassley acknowledged in a speech on the Senate floor that GM was ‘technically correct’ in their statements.
You can check out the commercial after the jump.
– By: Stephen Calogera
Source: Detroit News
This may not be the most glowing endorsement a product’s ever gotten, but I think it’s clear that the best part about an office in an aluminum box is that you can eventually be buried in it. More »
State Farm® Insurance has launched Pocket Agent™ when in need of submitting a claim if in an accident including tools for documentation and photo taking. Or use it for quick access to your policy and insurance card info, check State Farm Bank balances, search locations, or even find hotels, gas stations, car rentals, etc.
Download the app via QR Code we provided above and tell us what you think! Of course our Android App Review is forthcoming.
Posted by Hal Dardick at 7:32 p.m.
Cook County commissioners took steps today to limit the authority of Board President Todd Stroger in the wake of the latest hiring scandal in the final months of his administration.
Most hiring and transfers would be frozen and Stroger would have three business days to report all allowed personnel changes and raises under a trio of measures introduced by five Democrats, including influential Finance Committee Chairman John Daley, D-Chicago.
Stroger also would have to report within three days nearly all spending on supplies, materials, equipment and professional services not already approved by commissioners.
Fellow Democrats were reacting in part to recent reports that Stroger hired Carla Oglesby, the manager of his failed re-election campaign, at $116,000 a year and then days later paid her public relations firm nearly $25,000 to promote federal relief funding for 2008 flooding.
The county inspector general’s office recently pulled Oglesby’s personnel file and asked for details about the payment to her public relations firm, which was in an amount just $25 below the threshold for board approval, a source said.
Commissioner Bridget Gainer, D-Chicago, said board members already were worried that Stroger would make detrimental changes before his term expires in December, when the winner of the general election for board president will be sworn in.
“It is a concern that has been magnified by what we’ve learned over the past couple of days,” Gainer said, who added that a veto-proof majority of commissioners back the restrictions on Stroger. “We are in a time of budget constraints, and we need to make sure there isn’t any additional hiring.”
Stroger spokeswoman Chris Geovanis said the administration had yet to see the measures and therefore had no comment.
Stroger, politically bruised by his hiring of a former steakhouse busboy with a criminal history, placed fourth in the February primary. The “hiring of friends and family” has become a mantra of his critics.
There would be exceptions to the hiring freeze, so court-ordered hiring at the jail and juvenile detention center would not be interrupted, and the independent public health system would maintain its authority. Stroger also could hire to fill vacancies in “essential” posts.
All hiring would have to be reported to the board, like the other spending, and commissioners could reverse spending decisions they deemed commissioners inappropriate, said Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston.
Stroger “has, I think, abused the public trust again,” Suffredin said.
Caddyman over at androidforums has posted up a new Android 2.1 leak for the Droid Eris. There’s a huge list of bugfixes, and from the looks of it the odd connectivity issues Eris users were seeing with the previous leaks should have been addressed, as well as the pesky bugs with the latest Google Voice app. For those of you running one of the previous leaks, this is something you’ll want to look at for sure!
Warning – This is leaked beta testing software, and wasn’t meant for general use. Flashing it will wipe your phone, and take away root if you have it. As always, use your best judgment and flash at your own risk!
Links, changelog, and further instructions can be found HERE. Thanks, kbaker!
Found under: BlackBerry, Games, Apps, ,
Read more in mobile format
Filed under: Motorsports, Safety, Motorcycle
We traveled out to Alpinestars’ U.S. headquarters near Los Angeles, California today so that the giant manufacturer of automotive and motorcycle safety gear could show us its latest high-tech hardware. The most important aspect of the visit was a closely held trade secret, but it’s now out in the open: the Tech Air Race motorcycle suit.
Airbags in motorcycle suits aren’t necessarily anything new, but the big breakthrough here is that the system is small enough to be integrated directly into the Electronic Airbag Protection Suit and is controlled by a high-tech electronic brain. As Alpinestars says, a motorcycle crash isn’t all that difficult to describe in words, but in mathematical terms, things get much more difficult.
As such, there is a very complicated set of algorithms that are constantly monitoring the rider’s movements, and there are five levels of programing that ensures the airbag doesn’t deploy when it’s not necessary. First and foremost, though, the system does not arm unless it senses the rider is moving and the engine is running. Interestingly, it’s been tested on machines powered by both internal combustion engines and electric motors.
It takes a total of about eight milliseconds for the electronic brain to determine whether a crash is imminent. Once the seven sensors placed all over the suit trigger the airbag system, it takes just 50 milliseconds to fully inflate and stays fully inflated for about five seconds. After 25 seconds or so, the bag completely deflates. After the event, a GPS system is used to help determine exactly where the accident took place.
Alpinestars’ airbag system includes two separate cylinders that set off a cold charge of nitrogen. It takes roughly one minute for the system to rearm itself after the initial firing. Currently, Ben Spies, Mika Kallio and Dani Pedrosa are running the data logging suits at MotoGP races.
So, what does the future hold for the Tech Air technology? Alpinestars promises that there will be applications for racing, street and even off-road riding. Currently, the initial consumer-ready suits are targeted for June of 2011, and other applications will follow in the coming years.
Time will tell how effective such active safety technologies prove, but Alpinestars’ data certainly looks compelling. At present, the technology is expected to add roughly $2,500 to the cost of a standard suit. A hefty tag for sure, but it’s tough to put a price on safety.
Click past the break to watch a video of the airbag being deployed on a rider.
Gallery: Alpinestars Tech Air Race suit
Airbags on motorcycles: Alpinestars introduces Tech Air Race motorcycle suit [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
If you’ve read even a little bit about potential sources of biofuel, you’ll know that algae is one of the big ones. During photosynthesis, the unicellular aquatic plant turns sunlight and carbon dioxide into oil. It’s grown in ponds, where it’s not taking land away from food production, and yields much more oil than other biofuel crops, such as corn or soybeans. Researchers at the University of Michigan have recently come up with a method of getting algae to give up its oil more quickly and efficiently than has previously been possible – they pressure cook it…
Continue Reading Putting the pressure on algae to create biofuel
Related Articles:
Needless to say, the 2010 Acura ZDX is a peculiar beast. And after a week’s worth of testing, we’re still not sure what to make of it.
In just over two weeks, Lexus has recalled, issued a stop-sale and fixed its GX 460 SUV after concerns about the stability control system were raised by Consumer Reports.
Bugatti buffs know that only one Type 64 was built in 1939. What they may not know is that an two Type 64 chassis were stamped but never finished. Until now.
Browse our archive of Daily U-Turn posts or subscribe to the RSS feed
Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 4.29.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
In the last couple of weeks, while everybody’s attention has been upon Kevin Rudd’s conflict with the States concerning taking over the GST and the Hospital system, and with his failure with the roof insulation and the Carbon Emission Trading Scheme, there has been a series of meetings between the members of the Labor Party and the Greens Party to form an alliance that will seek to push through Parliament some unacceptable legislation in the next few months before both State and Federal elections. This has not been reported in any newspaper or radio program, but has been secretly proceeding, designed to catch the Opposition and the Crossbench Members off guard.
Their reasons are different. Premier Keneally, a member of the dominant Right faction and her supporters are seeking to wrest control of the NSW Labor Party by attracting to it the support of more radical citizens in its fight against Barry O’Farrell and the Opposition. Meanwhile the Greens’ Lee Rhiannon is standing for election in the Federal election for the Australian Senate and she wants to shore up her numbers from the same group of citizens.
So both have formed an alliance that will win them support at the State and Federal Elections from the Gay and Lesbian Lobby. In this they have the support of lesbian members of the State Labor Party.
The issues are on the table. The Premier’s Department, it is said, has ordered the Department of Community Service Minister Linda Burney, to meet with Greens Lee Rhiannon to get up legislation allowing for same-sex child adoption and same-sex “marriage” registration. The Greens have said they want legislation to abolish prayer in Parliament and are also working on a number of measures to reduce funding for Christian and Private Schools.
Elections make parties aggressive and desperate. The numbers are close. In the Lower House the Labor Party has a clear majority. In the Upper House the numbers are unpredictable. Some in the left wing of the Liberal Party agree with these propositions and Barry O’Farrell may not be able to hold all of his members in line. It does not require someone to “cross the Floor”. It only requires someone to be absent for a short time when the vote is taken.
The Shooters can usually be counted on for a conservative vote, but they will trade votes on some measures for which they want Government support. Rev Fred Nile of the CDP, and I, as leader of Family First, will stand resolute but we may not be able to carry the day. Now is the time for people who value traditional family life as we have always known it to “watch and pray”. Otherwise you will wake up one morning soon to a totally different society to that which you value.
Rev the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC
ST. PETERSBURG, FL- Charlie Crist, who started the day as the sitting elected Republican governor of Florida and a GOP Senatorial hopeful, announced this evening that he is leaving the political party that he has called home since he began his succesful political career, and officially declared that he is now running as an independent candidate for U.S. Senate.
“My decision to run for the U.S. Senate with out party affiliation says more about our nation and our state than it does about me,” Crist said, describing the current political system as a “broken” one .
“I know this is unchartered terroritory. I am aware of that and I am aware that after this speech ends, I don’t have either party helping me. But I need you, I need you the people more than ever, ” Crist said to the enthusiastic cheers of his hometown crowd. ” I was never one who sought to hold elective office to demagogue or point fingers. For me, public service has always been about putting the needs of our state and our people first.”
As a GOP candidate Crist was badly trailing Republican rising star Marco Rubio in the GOP primary.However, as an independent candidate, Crist is in a statistical dead heat with Rubio, and Democrat Kendrick Meek for the Florida senate seat, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll.
This is an edited version of the Gerald Ward Lecture given by Phil Glendenning at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra on 20 November 2009.
I believe over the course of our history we have discriminated most consistently against two groups of people in Australia – those who were here first, our Indigenous peoples, and those who were here last, especially refugees.
We have had new terms of derogatory language to accompany each new group of arrivals, whether it was with the Irish ‘paddies’ and the ‘coolies’ in the 19th century, through to the ‘wogs’, ‘dagoes’ of the 1950’s and 60’s to the other ugly terms used to describe those who came from south-east Asia in the seventies, those from the Middle East in recent years and from Africa now. Such characterisations were used in order to say to people, “you are less equal than me.”
However, I will make a prediction. In 10 years from now, one of Afghan children who arrived by boat this year will be playing fullback for the Rabbitohs, and his sister will be scoring for the Hockeyroos. They will be embraced by Aussies. Others will be at uni, or working hard in the community. This is what happens in Australia.
Yet whilst attitudes shift towards the last to arrive, Indigenous people continue to find themselves at the bottom of every social indicator in the nation. In NSW, Indigenous people make up 2 per cent of the population but make up 52 per cent of the jail population. Enough. Enough. Enough.
You’d think we could learn from our history rather than continue to repeat it. The apology in Parliament to those taken by the state as children is a reminder of the great unfinished business stemming from the apology in 2008 to the Stolen Generations.
Saying sorry is the very least we should do – sadly, for many, that is the only thing that has been done. It is not enough to say that present generations are not responsible for the actions of previous generations, since present generations benefit from that original dispossession and its ongoing repercussions.
We should also recognise that no compensation could ever be satisfactory because, as Peter Adam said in a powerful speech in Melbourne earlier this year, what was done was so terrible, so immense, so universal and so pervasive, so destructive and so irreparable. But recompense we must. The idea of recompense is not alien to our society. James Hardie had to recompense workers harmed by asbestos. There was widespread support that this should be the case. If this recompense is right, then surely it is also right to offer recompense to the Indigenous peoples of Australia.
The Bringing Them Home report into the removal of Aboriginal children from their families noted that compensation or reparation had to be part of the holistic approach towards delivering justice and facilitating healing. It recognised the enormous barriers that face members of the Stolen Generations in seeking to now make claims of compensation for emotional, sexual and physical abuse. It proposed a national tribunal to facilitate these claims and assist people with a legitimate legal right in accessing compensation. The proposed tribunal would be a partnership between governments, churches, Indigenous organisations and the Stolen Generation’s community, but would also be independent.
As we have seen concerning boat people lately, there is a crisis of moral leadership in the country. Where are our moral leaders with the courage to advocate with passion for necessary changes, rather than continue to start from a fear of offending the powerful, or the static desire to maintain the status quo?
Perhaps a starting point would be to reclaim the language in the national debate. If we were to go back 25 years and listen to the debate in parliament and in the media, it was clear that we lived together in a society. If we unpack the debate today, we seem to live together in an economy. This is significant because the people who live together in a society are citizens; those who live together in an economy are customer or consumers. Thus every human relationship is reduced to an economic relationship.
The dehumanisation of the language is reflected in the treatment given to those who have come to this country most recently – refugees and asylum seekers. There is something about us as Australians and our attitude to people who come by boat. After all, what they are doing is precisely what all non-Indigenous Australians or their ancestors have done – come here from somewhere else. As one Aboriginal leader commented at a function at Government House in Sydney, it was worth noting that we were gathered a few hundred metres from where the first boat load of unauthorised arrivals landed in 1788!
The politics of fear have characterised much of the debate around asylum seekers and refugees. We have locked people away in remote detention centres, and denied them a face. Again the language used points to the ethos at work: “The Pacific Solution”. If ever there was a chilling policy in Australian policy it was this one, reasonating down the years to Europe in the 1940s. Thank God the Pacific Solution is no more.
The way to deal with the politics of fear is to separate the myths from the facts. There have been a number of falsehoods in circulation led by shock jock radio hosts, the press and politicians with a taste of playing the race card. Separate the myths from the facts by clicking here.
In the light of Christian faith lies a fundamental belief that it is possible to live on this planet like a human being: this is sign of the Good News we can never lose sight of. Ultimately, if we remain close to the people we seek to assist we will also hear the truth that liberates us all.
I realised this again recently in Afghanistan in the strength of an elderly woman who had one son killed and had another missing after returning from Australia. I did not know how I could help her so I reached into my wallet and offered her $20 to cover her costs for travel. She lives on $4 a week. Zahra gently refused and said, “No sir. Sometimes when you offer money it makes it worse. Just because one lives in poverty and oppression, doesn’t mean they live without dignity.” I will never forget her courage, wisdom and strength.
We seek a world where those who come first and last in this country might be able to enjoy an equitable place in the life of the nation. We seek a world where the needs of the poor take priority over the wants of the rich; the freedom of the weak takes priority over liberty of the powerful, and the access of marginalised people on society takes priority over the preservation of an order that excludes them.
Phil Glendenning is the Director of the Edmund Rice Centre in Sydney. He is also the National President of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation.
Found under: HTC, Android, Microsoft, Apple, ,
Read more in mobile format
Motorola announced it’s Q1 earnings today, with the technology company pulling in more than $5 billion dollars! That’s right, $5 billion dollars! Its mobile arm brought in $1.6 billion, shipping 8.5 million phones, including 2.3 million Android smartphones. Nice! While overall Motorola sold less Android phones this quarter, I think that is still pretty damn good! Good job Moto! Personally, I think next quarter we need less Backflip phones and more Droids!
Source: Motorola
Commencing last week, the NSW Government is running a Foster Care Recruitment Campaign in partnership with non-government agencies.
There are more than 16,000 children and young people in out-of-home care across the State. Many of these children live with relatives but thousands rely on foster carers to provide them a safe and loving home. While the Government is committed to reducing the numbers of children in care, sadly there will always be children who must be removed from their families for their own safety. There is a need for responsible, caring people to take on the challenges and rewards of fostering with a non-government agency or Community Services.
On 25 April the Government launched an advertising campaign to raise awareness of fostering and refer people to the Fostering NSW website www.fosteringnsw.com.au The website provides a one-stop shop for people wanting to learn more about fostering. The website includes information and contact details about non-government agencies that provide foster care in NSW, including agencies that work specifically with Aboriginal carers. People can also find out about fostering with Community Services.
A call centre is being established and potential carers can ring 1800 2 FOSTER to learn more about fostering and find out about local information sessions. Research carried out for Community Services reveals that 78 per cent of the community has never considered fostering and that it can take someone 12 months to contemplate becoming a foster carer before they make their first enquiry. This is why awareness raising is critical.
Aboriginal children make up a third of children in care. Recruiting Aboriginal carers is crucial to help these children stay connected to their culture and community. The campaign is also seeking to recruit carers from all cultural and language backgrounds. Helping a child in need is rewarding and worthwhile – but it has its challenges. Children in care are overcoming experiences of neglect, trauma and abuse. Carers and their families need to be very well informed before they take the step of bringing a child into their home.
Carers are not superheroes. They are ordinary, good-hearted people from all sorts of different backgrounds who willingly open their homes to children who are not their own. Fostering is not for everyone: carers need patience, a good sense of humour, and compassion to succeed. Carers undergo an assessment and thorough checks including criminal record checks to ensure they are suitable to care for children. Training, support and financial assistance are available to help with the job of fostering.
Family First believe that we all share responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of children. Research shows that a stable and nurturing home environment can provide much better life outcome for kids. For children who cannot live with their parents, this is especially important.
