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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 16 declined, 8 accepted (24 total, 33.33% accepted)

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Submission + - Future Versions of Photoshop Can Make Blurry Photo (fstoppers.com)

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "A new photoshop algorithm featured at the Adobe Max 2011 is able to take extremely blurry images (by photographersâ(TM) standards at least) and render them sharp and usable with the click of a few buttons. The goal behind this software is not to fix improperly focused images but rather to fix motion blur caused by a shaky camera or a slower shutter."
Politics

Submission + - Toyota: Democrats 'not industry friendly' (politico.com) 1

Submitted by RemyBR
RemyBR writes: Internal Toyota documents derided the Obama administration and Democratic Congress as “activist” and “not industry friendly," a revelation that comes days before the giant automaker's top executives testify on Capitol Hill amid a giant recall.

According to a presentation obtained under subpoena by the House Oversight and Government Relations committee, Toyota referred to the “changing political environment” as one of its main challenges and anticipated a "more challenging regulatory" environment under the Obama administration's purview.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/33248.html#ixzz0gIMa8W02

Submission + - New Clean Magnesium Energy Cycle (inventorspot.com)

Submitted by RemyBR
RemyBR writes: An experiment being performed at the Hokkaido Toyako G8 summit in Chitose, Japan, aims to prove that the revolutionary Magnesium Energy Cycle could one day free society from dependence on fossil fuels. The demonstration conducted by Tokyo Institute of Technology Professor Takashi Yabe uses water and the common metallic element Magnesium to create pollution-free power.

What's more, solar-powered lasers are used to renew the magnesium fuel with the only waste product being oxygen. Professor Yabe's team at TIT has been steadily testing the technology for several years now, and the pilot plant at Chitose is intended to showcase the environmentally-friendly fuel cycle to an influential audience at the G8 environmental summit.
Data Storage

Submission + - 'Atomic pen' writes with individual atoms (pinktentacle.com)

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "An Osaka University research team has demonstrated an "atomic pen" that can inscribe nano-sized text on metal by manipulating individual atoms on the surface.

According to the researchers, whose results appear in the October 17 edition of Science magazine, the atomic pen is built on a previous discovery that silicon atoms at the tip of an atomic force microscope probe will interchange with the tin atoms in the surface of a semiconductor sample when in close proximity.

The completed text measures 2 x 2 nanometers, which is roughly 40,000 times smaller than the width of the average human hair."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Japanese official consumes epical amount of porn (usatoday.com)

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "Officials in Kinokawa, Japan, demoted a senior official after they discovered that he had logged "more than 780,000 hits" on pornographic websites during a nine month period. The Associated Press says no one noticed that the 57-year-old was spending a big chunk of his day viewing pornographic material on the government-owned computer until technicians tried to remove a virus from his computer. How is that possible?"
Robotics

Submission + - Japan's cyborg research enters the skull (pinktentacle.com)

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "Researchers at Osaka University are stepping up efforts to develop robotic body parts controlled by thought, by placing electrode sheets directly on the surface of the brain. Led by Osaka University Medical School neurosurgery professor Toshiki Yoshimine, the research marks Japan's first foray into invasive (i.e. requiring open-skull surgery) brain-machine interface research on human test subjects. The aim of the research is to develop real-time mind-controlled robotic limbs for the disabled, according to an announcement made at an April 16 symposium in Aichi prefecture. Original story available in japanese."
Robotics

Submission + - Wiimote to control a machine-gun-toting robot (metro.co.uk)

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "Those who have had a go on a Nintendo Wii will know it's fiddly enough just to knock a tennis ball over the net. Now imagine using a 'Wiimote control' to defuse an unexploded bomb. Scientists — presumably inbetween ten-pin bowling on Wii Sports — have created the Packbot, a machine-gun-toting robot which uses Wii technology to clear mines and bombs."
Patents

Submission + - Beijing olympics website pirates flash games (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "Stolen video games are nothing new in China, but it reaches a disturbing new level when the official website of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games does it. Several of the flash games located on the website seem to have been lifted and modified from already existing games. As Ars Techinca reports, developer Cadin Batrack has noticed that the game resembled a modified version of his own game, Snow Day, as if someone had downloaded the SWF file and modified it. That game has been taken down, but more remain."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Japan's whale experiments bizarre report (smh.com.au) 1

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "A review of the controversial scientific research conducted by Japan and its whalers has uncovered a list of "bizarre" and useless experiments, including how to cross breed cows with whales. Scientists have analysed 43 research papers produced by Japan over 18 years, finding most were useless or esoteric. The scientific research included injecting minke whale sperm into cows eggs, and attempts to produce test-tube whale babies, News Limited newspapers report."
Robotics

Submission + - Cyber-goggles record and identify object you see (pinktentacle.com)

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a smart video goggle system that records everything the wearer looks at, recognizes and assigns names to objects that appear in the video, and creates an easily searchable database of the recorded footage. Designed to function as a high-tech memory aid, these "Cyber Goggles" promise to make the act of losing your keys a thing of the past, according to head researcher professor Tatsuya Harada. Original articles (in japanese) available at Sankei and Asahi Shinbum."
Censorship

Submission + - Japan seeking to govern top news Web sites (iht.com)

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "A Japanese government panel is proposing to govern "influential, widely read news-related sites as newspapers and broadcasting are now regulated." The panel, set up by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, said Internet service providers (ISPs) should be answerable for breaches of vaguer "minimum regulations" to guard against "illegal and harmful content." The conservative government, led by the Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, is seeking to have the new laws passed by Parliament in 2010."
Medicine

Submission + - Low cholesterol linked to stomach cancer risk (nih.gov)

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "People with very low cholesterol levels seem to be at increased risk of developing stomach cancer, Japanese researchers report. Some studies have linked low cholesterol levels to higher death rates from cancer in general, Dr. Kouichi Asano, of Kyushu University, Fukuoka, and colleagues explain in the International Journal of Cancer. "With respect to gastric cancer, a limited number of studies suggest this inverse association, while others do not.""
Portables (Apple)

Submission + - MacAir insides full of waste, say japanese (digitalworldtokyo.com)

Submitted by
RemyBR
RemyBR writes: "A team of engineers made up of representative of Japanese PC makers have declared the MacBook Air computer to be a "perfect, sophisticated external appearance, but its insides are full of waste." Specific problems include the number of screws to secure the keyboard (30), and a structure that is "hard to comprehend." Once engineer went so far as to say, "If I proposed such a design, our company would never approve it.""

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