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Google and Microsoft are using the cloud to track climate change

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As reported on Engadget. BY TIMOTHY J. SEPPALA Data.gov is getting a whole lot greener thanks to its new section dedicated to climate information. The new channel is the product of President Obama’s Climate Data Initiative (PDF), and pulls information that can help predict the effects of climate change and prevent any damage that may result. The raw data comes from the likes of the Department of Defense, NASA and the US Geological Society, but probably isn’t easy to grok for…

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Automotive

Volvo’s connected cars could make winter driving safer for everyone

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As reported on Engadget. BY TIMOTHY J. SEPPALA With its latest research project, Volvo is hoping to make driving in inclement weather a bit less dicey. The Swedish automaker is testing a safety system that uses mobile data networks to relay icy road conditions from vehicle to vehicle. Once you hit a slick spot, the location data uploads to Volvo’s database and then an instant notification is sent to other cars nearing that area. As the outfit tells it, the…

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Entertainment

The story behind the ‘First Kiss’ viral video sensation

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As reported on The Verge. By Katie Drummond   If you had an Internet connection this week, you probably came across “First Kiss” — a video compilation of various strangers fumbling through a few awkward, adorable moments of intimacy. But the video, which has amassed more than 52 million YouTube views, elicited a backlash from more than just cold-hearted cynics. Because it featured models, musicians, and actors promoting a clothing line, some decried “First Kiss” as,…

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Google Hardware Dev

Why We Hate Google Glass — And All New Tech

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Ron Miller I have a theory. When it comes to new technology, there are early adopters who start using it and everyone else sees the very worst in the technology: These people ultimately belittle, dismiss and make fun of those who use it. But in spite of this initial negative reaction, the technology eventually finds its way into the mainstream, and the early fears and misinformation fade away. I first…

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Education

The Anvil Problem

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As reported on TechCrunch. by John Biggs Over a decade ago I was a happy man. In about 2002 I bought an Archos Jukebox. It was a 6GB monstrosity, clad in metal and full of huge batteries, and it contained a clicking, whirring 2.5-inch hard drive. I used it to listen to music and even hacked it to run a home-brew operating system complete with games and media controls. For a while I was quite content…

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Games

‘Project Morpheus’ is Sony’s virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 4

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As reported on Engadget. BY BEN GILBERT The rumors are true: Sony’s working on virtual reality. The hardware is called “Project Morpheus” and it’s headed to the PlayStation 4. The headset is two pieces: a closed display and what looks like a PlayStation Move sensor built in. SCE Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida unveiled it on-stage tonight at GDC 2014; he said the “prototype” is “by no means final.” It’s the culmination of over three years of…

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Mobile Photography

Oppo Find 7 is the world’s first phone that can take 50MP photos (video)

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As reported on Engadget. BY RICHARD LAI We’ve seen the teasers and we’ve seen the leaks, so it’s about time to see the real thing. Oppo has finally unveiled the Find 7 in Beijing just now, and as promised, this Android 4.3 device really can take 50-megapixel photos! But as with many things in life, there’s a catch here: the sensor is actually a 13-megapixel Sony IMX214 CMOS, so it’s a software trick. Still, the results we saw earlier were surprisingly good,…

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Space

That Signal From the Beginning of Time Could Redefine Our Universe

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As reported on Wired. BY ADAM MANN The detector inside the BICEP2 telescope that found primordial B-mode polarization in the cosmic microwave background. Image: Anthony Turner (JPL)   The physics world was on fire yesterday after an announcement that astronomers had detected a signal from the beginning of time. This is exactly as cool as it sounds. Maybe even cooler. And it might lead to us learning further crazy things about our universe. Besides coming as a shock…

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Google Street View hack turns your city into a post-apocalyptic jungle

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As reported on The Verge. By Valentina Palladino Big cities often suffer from a lack of greenery, but now the website Urban Jungle Street View lets you see how your street would look covered in forest flora. The site’s creator Einar Öberg says on Twitter that he’s “breaking terms of use like it’s no tomorrow” — presumably because it uses the undocumented depth data of the Google Maps API to realistically position 3D trees, leaves, and vines that grow inside…

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Business Culture

iHear Wants To Make Personalized Hearing Aids Available For Everyone

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Catherine Shu Though nearly 20% of adults in the U.S. has some form of hearing loss, there are very few options available for them in terms of hearing aids. They can either spend thousands of dollars on a prescription hearing aid or buy a cheap device with pre-settings for a couple hundred dollars. In fact, about 75% to 80% of adults with hearing loss don’t have devices, due in large part to lack…

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