Month: February 2013

Education

Computer Science Education Had A Good Day In America

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As reported on TechCrunch. by GREGORY FERENSTEIN America’s elite institutions came out in full force for computer science education. First, the House of Representatives voted to update its traditional students arts competition to include anationwide mobile apps competition. Then, to top off the day, the nation’s leading geeks, from Mark Zuckerberg to Bill Gates,helped launch a national nonprofit to encourage young programmers. For now, the congressional competition will include students from each congressional district and “initially focus on developing…

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Hardware Dev

Freescale fashions world’s smallest ARM-powered microcontroller

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As reported on Engadget. By Alexis Santos If you’re looking for an exceedingly tiny ARM-based microcontroller, Freescale says it’s just cooked up the world’s smallest. Dubbed the Kinetis KL02, the piece of kit is 25 precent smaller than the previous record-holder and measures up at a 1.9 x 2.00 x 0.56 millimeters. Having trouble visualizing exactly how small that is? Just take a gander at the photo above. A 48 MHz ARM Cortex-M0+ processor has made it onto the wafer-level chip-scale…

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Education Microsoft

Gates, Zuck and crew entice kids into programming through a short film

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As reported on Engadget. By Jon Fingas Kids in many parts of the world are growing up surrounded with technology, some from a very tender age. Many schools aren’t teaching much if any programming, though, which has led Code.org to make a short film spurring young techies into action. We have a hunch that it might work — the video has quite possibly the most star-studded collection of men and women explaining how they got into coding…

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Engineering Microsoft

This Amazing 3-D Desktop Was Born at Microsoft

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As reported on Wired. BY RYAN TATE SpaceTop, a 3-D desktop environment you can reach into, was shown at the TED conference today by Jinha Lee, who developed the system during and after his internship at Microsoft Applied Science. Image: TED   LONG BEACH, California – The history of computer revolutions will show a logical progression from the Mac to the iPad to something like this SpaceTop 3-D desktop, if computer genius Jinha Lee has anything to say…

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Culture

Fails, Falls and Photobombs: The 10 Most Viral Moments From the Oscars

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As reported on Wired. BY ANGELA WATERCUTTER View as gallery Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony was a little bit batty, but it made for great internet. Jennifer Lawrence managed to fall down on her way to accepting her Best Actress Oscar, flip off the press corps and still win the night. Channing Tatum, despite not really being nominated for anything, did a dance with Charlize Theron and presented an award. An injured Kristen Stewart pimp-walked onto the…

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Excersize

The Shiver System – Cold weight lose.

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As reported on Wired. BY STEVEN LECKART Photo: Adam Voorhes; Illustration: Christoph Neimann   I’m in the fetal position at the bottom of a swimming pool. Water temperature: 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In my lap there’s a 20-pound weight anchoring me in place. All I’m wearing is a Speedo, a nose plug, goggles, and a snorkel resembling an oversize asthma inhaler. The mouthpiece connects to two 4-foot hoses feeding out of the water and into a PC-sized…

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Mobile

Google: selling phones in the Play store is ‘here to stay’

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As reported on The Verge. By Chris Ziegler Has Mountain View moved past a chaotic Nexus 4 launch? At a roundtable session in Barcelona today, Jamie Rosenberg, VP of Google Play, noted that the model of selling devices directly to consumers through the Play store is “here to stay.” That has never been a sure thing: Google famously launched direct sales of its original Nexus device, HTC’s Nexus One, before reversing direction and deciding to sell the…

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Google

WSJ: Google worried by Samsung’s Android dominance

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As reported on The Verge. By Chris Welch Google is growing increasingly worried about Samsung’s position atop the Android smartphone market, according to the Wall Street Journal. During a meeting last year, Android head Andy Rubin reportedly hailed the manufacturer’s spectacular success, though also warned that Google could fall into a precarious position should Samsung pull too far ahead of competitors. The company already wields plenty of influence, tallying 39.6 percent of the global smartphone market last year,…

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Application

If My Phone Falls Down The Seat Crevice Again I’ll Lose It. Please Redesign Meatspace.

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As reported on TechCrunch. by JOSH CONSTINE The physical world wasn’t built for $500 devices we need every other minute. This is never more obvious than when I strain my back and curse like a sailor because my phone has fallen into the gap beside my car or plane seat. As tech companies obsess over usability, the thoughtlessness that mars the meatspace comes into painfully sharp relief. Excuse my hyperbole and quiet your calls of “first-world problems!” That’s…

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Google

Rich Kids Of Google Glass

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As reported on TechCrunch. by ALEXIA TSOTSIS You know, I’m sort of jealous. Because I’ve eaten something like three Po’boy sandwiches in the past three days, and every single time I’ve wondered, as I was eating, where the odd name Po’boy originated. But didn’t want to take out my grubby phone during the meal to find out. I’ve also wondered whether this is a problem that Google Glass could solve … “If I had Google Glass right now, I would already…

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