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Comment Tracking on the cheap (Score 4, Informative) 296

by ldm (#38109412) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Inexpensive Anti-Theft Vehicle Tracking System?
Find a Xexun TK-102 on ebay, they will report back their position via the mobile network (you supply a SIM card, and can send it a request for the current position, it will text you back). You can get large extended battery packs too, or you could wire it into the bike's power. They work well enough for us to track drivers at work. Just make sure you get a genuine Xexun one, the others are less reliable and tend to lie about their position, in my case being offset by about 4 miles. There are separate car sized ones, but I have not used them.
Technology

Submission + - 3d printer uses cheap cement polymer for furniture (evolo.us)

Submitted by baosol
baosol writes: The promise of 3d printing for usable mass consumed objects seems to have been just around the corner for nearly a decade now. A new formulation cement-based polymer developed by Rael San Fratello Architects in partnership with the University of Washington and University of California Berkeley replaces more expensive powder mediums for large scale objects. The prototype SeatSlug bench is a demonstration project of the potential of the material and 3d printing process to make sophisticated large pieces using low cost, non repetitive objects. The bench is comprised of 230 individual pieces, each developed as a unique shape. The cement based polymer has a compression strength of 4700 pounds but cost up to 90% less than conventional fusible powders.
Apple

Submission + - Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO (wsj.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Title says it all, really; Steve Jobs has resigned as the CEO of Apple, and would like to become Chairman of the Board. Reasons are not specified, but his declining health of recent years is a likely candidate. He's named Tim Cook as his successor.
Medicine

Submission + - Oxford University tests universal flu vaccine (dbune.com)

Submitted by dbune
dbune writes: A universal flu vaccine has been tested by scientists at Oxford University. The immunization could provide protection against all known strains of the flu, which will protect billions more against the flu virus. The vaccine hits a different part of the flu virus and does away with costly yearly re...
Microsoft

Kinect Hacked To Play Max Payne, Left 4 Dead 2 30

Posted by Soulskill from the neverending-hacks dept.
TechieAlizay points out a post at Geekword.net about a man who hacked Microsoft's Kinect to play Max Payne. "This hack was possible due to FAAST (a toolkit for Kinect), OpenNi/Nite and GlovePIE. Here's how the hacker describes the different control gestures: 'As you can see, the leaning left and right stuff is all there – and moving your body forward and back moves you back and forward. The reload and interact gestures are becoming pretty standard for me now, and pain killers are popped with an upward motion of the left hand. What makes this special though is the leg movements that activate bullet time. The result is bullet time diving for real! When this game hit just after the Matrix film came out, it caused a big stir – with Kinect augmentation it gets even better. The one thing that needs fixing is weapon select; this will be handled by the +/- buttons on the mote in future, I think.'" Another video shows Kinect controlling Left 4 Dead 2. In addition to future PC support, Microsoft is reportedly working on an official SDK. Yet another recent hack of note allows a human to control a humanoid robot with an impressive level of accuracy. Just be careful if you play the Kinect boxing game; somebody might call the police.
Games

Cedega Being Replaced By GameTree Linux 124

Posted by Soulskill from the what's-in-a-name dept.
An anonymous reader writes "TransGaming Cedega, the software forked from Wine that allows running Windows games under Linux, is being discontinued and replaced by GameTree Linux. This new software is also free. From the new website: 'TransGaming is pleased to announce the continued development of Cedega Technology under the GameTree Developer Program. This repositioning of the technology that powered the Cedega Gaming Service will allow the entire Linux community to gain free access going forward. Cedega is a cross-platform enablement technology that allows for Windows-native games to be executed on both the Linux desktop and embedded Linux platforms.'"

Submission + - Nokia Builds a touchscreen display made of ICE! (techhammers.com)

Submitted by hasanabbas1987
hasanabbas1987 writes: Touchscreens have been with us for quite some time now and we have seen all kind of them, resistive touch, capacitive, multi-touch, etc. However, Nokia’s research lab in Tampere, Finland has developed a rather unique kind of touchscreen, a touchscreen made of ice. Well to be honest it’s not really a touchscreen for everyday use, nor is it very portable as the rig includes a projector and some infrared cameras which are connected to a computer, but after all it’s a touch screen made out of ice and that is quite remarkable. Nokia says that this “Playful experiment” reveals that interactive touch displays can be built anywhere and we are very sure that Mr. Freeze from Batman will be highly interested in the project. Watch the MAGIC ice in action after the break.
The Almighty Buck

Failed MMO APB To Be Resurrected As Free-To-Play Game 90

Posted by Soulskill from the pennies-on-the-dollar dept.
Two months ago, we discussed news that Realtime Worlds' action MMO APB closed its doors only a few months after launch, when it became clear that player interest and subscriber numbers couldn't begin to recoup the massive development cost. A few days ago, a company called Reloaded Productions, owned by free-to-play publisher GamersFirst, acquired all the rights and assets to APB. The company plans to relaunch the game as APB: Reloaded in the first half of 2011, abandoning its unusual business model in favor of free-to-play accounts supplemented by microtransactions and premium services.
Biotech

Chip Allows Blind People To See 231

Posted by samzenpus from the bionic-eye dept.
crabel writes "3 blind people have been implanted with a retinal chip that allowed them to see shapes and objects within days of the procedure. From the article: 'One of the patients surprised researchers by identifying and locating objects on a table; he was also able to walk around a room unaided, approach specific people, tell the time from a clock face, and describe seven different shades of gray in front of him.'"
Earth

New Fish Species Discovered 4.5 Miles Under the Ocean 96

Posted by Soulskill from the how-does-it-taste dept.
eldavojohn writes "The University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab (a partner in the recent census of marine life) has discovered a new snailfish. That might not sound very exciting, unless you consider that its habitat is an impressive four and a half miles below the ocean's surface (video). If my calculations are correct, that's over ten and a half thousand PSI, or about seventy-three million Pascals. The videos and pictures are a couple years old, as the team has traveled around Japan, South America and New Zealand to ascertain the biodiversity of these depths. The group hopes to eventually bring specimens to the surface. It seems the deepest parts of the ocean, once thought to be devoid of life, are actually home to some organisms. As researchers build better technology for underwater exploration, tales of yore containing unimaginable monsters seem a little more realistic than before."
Idle

Background Noise Affects Taste of Foods 79

Posted by samzenpus from the that-sounds-delicious dept.
gollum123 writes "The level of background noise affects both the intensity of flavour and the perceived crunchiness of foods, researchers have found. Blindfolded diners assessed the sweetness, saltiness, and crunchiness, as well as overall flavour, of foods as they were played white noise. While louder noise reduced the reported sweetness or saltiness, it increased the measure of crunch. It may go some way to explaining why airline food is notoriously bland — a phenomenon that drives airline catering companies to season their foods heavily. In a comparatively small study, 48 participants were fed sweet foods such as biscuits or salty ones such as crisps, while listening to silence or noise through headphones. Also in the group's findings there is the suggestion that the overall satisfaction with the food aligned with the degree to which diners liked what they were hearing — a finding the researchers are pursuing in further experiments."
Robotics

Study Shows Babies Think Friendly Robots Are Sentient 159

Posted by samzenpus from the stupid-babies dept.
seanonymous writes "A study from University of Washington claims that babies think robots are human, so long as the robots are friendly. No word on what evil robots are thought to be. From the article: 'At 18 months old, babies have begun to make conscious delineations between sentient beings and inanimate objects. But as robots get more and more advanced, those decisions may become harder to make. What causes a baby to decide a robot is more than bits of metal? As it turns out, it takes more than humanoid looks — babies rely on social interaction to make that call.'"

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