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Entertainment Film Tech

AI Experts On The Reality Behind The Sci-Fi Thriller “Transcendence”

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Peter Barnum, Brad Neuman An ambitious blend of fact and fiction, “Transcendence” is Hollywood’s latest dystopian-edged take on the implications of artificial intelligence. The movie presents the tale of the wildly brilliant researcher, Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp), and his team as they perform a radical experiment in uploading a human mind to a computer. It’s set in the near future and, as otherworldly as the plot may seem, director Wally Pfister and writer Jack…

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Culture

50 years ago today, the public got its first taste of video calls

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As reported on Engadget. BY TERRENCE O’BRIEN It seemed like the inevitable future at the time, we’re sure. On April 20th in 1964, Bell Telephone showed off the Mod 1 Picturephone — a precursor to the Skype and Hangouts video calls that have become a standard but under-utilized feature of modern communications. The demonstration was part of the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, visitors were able to step into a booth and have a conversation with a person thousands of miles away…

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Internet Tech

This onesie turns you into a walking WiFi hotspot

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As reported on Engadget. BY JON FINGAS Forget carrying a separate hotspot router to have a local network wherever you go — what if you were the hotspot? Fashion designer Borre Akkersdijk has come very, very close to making that vision a reality with his experimental BB.Suit. The goofy-looking cotton onesie is knitted using a special 3D technique that leaves space for WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC connections, turning the owner into an access point. Akkersdijk showed off the potential of…

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Automotive Military

The US military is building a stealth dirt bike

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As reported on The Verge. By Arielle Duhaime-Ross The US military has issued a grant for the development of a stealth motorcycle, reportsDefense Tech. The motorcycle’s “stealthiness” will be a product of its hybrid-electric engine, which will allow soldiers to drive for long periods on rough terrain while emitting virtually no engine noise. And according to Logos Technologies — the company responsible for building the engine — this will be the first hybrid-electric dirt bike ever built.…

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Android Google Interview

Watch this: Android design head Matias Duarte explains why mobile is dead

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As reported on The Verge. By Sean Hollister Matias Duarte helped design the T-Mobile Sidekick, the Helio Ocean, and Palm’s webOS. Now, he directs the look and feel of Google’s Android operating system. He’s probably not the guy you’d expect to say “mobile is dead.” Those were the words that left his mouth, though, at the 2014 Accel Design Conference in San Francisco. There, Vergeeditor-in-chief Joshua Topolsky interviewed him about his thoughts on design and where Android is headed.…

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Google

This anarchist collective is demanding $3 billion from Google

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As reported on The Verge. By Adrianne Jeffries The Counterforce, Kevin Rose, and the fire beneath San Francisco’s growing class gap Around 7AM on January 21st, 2014, a small group of protesters gathered in the driveway of an understated $1 million four bedroom family home in Berkeley and unfurled a hand-painted banner that read “GOOGLE’S FUTURE STOPS HERE.” The house belonged to Anthony Levandowski, a Google engineer best known for leading the self-driving car project. The…

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Space

NASA catches a glimpse of Saturn birthing a new moon

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As reported on Engadget. BY MARIELLA MOON For the first and perhaps the last time ever, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, whose mission is to orbit Saturn, has captured a new moon emerge from the Jovian planet’s rings. As you might know, the birth of a moon is an extremely rare event, and in Saturn’s case, it might never happen again. You see, there’s a theory that the sixth planet from the sun used to have a much larger…

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Google Mobile

Google’s Project Ara wants to revolutionize the smartphone industry within a year

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As reported on Engadget. BY BRAD MOLEN The night before Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) division was supposed to show off the one and only functional Project Ara prototype to a room full of eagerdevelopers, someone dropped the phone and broke the display. At any other product reveal, this worst-case scenario would be a nightmare come true. Not to Google: The company made lemonade out of a lemon by turning it into a selling point for the modular smartphone.…

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Google

Google Glass update improves battery life, removes video calls ahead of one-day sale

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As reported on The Verge. By Rich McCormick Tomorrow, for one day only, anyone in the United States will be able to purchase Google Glass. Where previously interested parties usually had to sign up to waiting lists or get referred by a friend, the company is making a limited supply of its wearable product available for $1,500 from 9AM ET on April 15th. Ahead of the sale, Google has detailed the next round of updates for its device set…

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Automotive

100 Tesla Model S Convertibles Are Headed To China

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Matt Burns Hold on to your hat. The Tesla Model S is about to get more breezy thanks to a drop-top conversion by Newport Convertible Engineering. Both hard and soft top conversions are now available — they don’t come cheap, though. A soft-top conversion costs $29K and a hard-top $49K. Plus, the buyer has to supply the Tesla Model S. But, once converted, there’s no question that you’ll have the raddest…

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