28718959
submission
Lanxon writes
"An in-depth feature in Wired explores the reason science may be failing us. "For too long, we've pretended that the old problem of causality can be cured by our shiny new knowledge. If only we devote more resources to research or dissect the system at a more fundamental level or search for ever more subtle correlations, we can discover how it all works. But a cause is not a fact, and it never will be; the things we can see will always be bracketed by what we cannot. And this is why, even when we know everything about everything, we'll still be telling stories about why it happened. It's mystery all the way down."Link to Original Source
27850778
submission
Lanxon writes
"A group of 3,000 Swedish file sharers have succeeded in getting their organisation, called the Church of Kopimism, recognised as a religion by the Swedish authorities, reports Wired.
The movement has been trying to gain official recognition for their beliefs in sharing and data copying since 2010. The church's name comes from "Kopimi", pronounced "copy me". The organisation believes that communication and sharing is sacred and needs to be respected."Link to Original Source
22383818
submission
Lanxon writes
"Hideyuki Sawada reckons his robotic mouth — which pumps out a nasal rendition of Japanese playground song, Kagome Kagome — beats out synthesised voice software at creating realistic speech sounds, reports Wired. It uses human-inspired organs to (arguably) produce a more organic sound for speaking, or singing, humanoids"Link to Original Source
21838898
submission
Lanxon writes
"After a week of frenzied speculation, JK Rowling has revealed that she will release the long-awaited e-books of her mind-bogglingly popular fantasy series through her own ecommerce store and interactive online experience, Pottermore. Crucially, Rowling will sell the e-books through a proprietary platform, she revealed at a press conference this morning. Because of a shrewd arrangement with her publishers Bloomsbury and Scholastic (or possibly just a short-sighted one on the publishers' side), Rowling retains the digital rights to the seven Harry Potter novels."Link to Original Source
21197882
submission
Lanxon writes
"Usually, the only constraint on building a Lego creation is your imagination. Unless, that is, you build a giant structure which demands its own "Lego Room". One Lego fan has done just that: say hello to the Garrison of Moriah, and the 50 metre square room it inhabits. Inspired by the fantastic buildings featured likes of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, Garrison-creator Gerry Burrows has built a detailed (and huge) sculpture to scale of the tiny Lego people who have the honour of inhabiting it."Link to Original Source
21048648
submission
Lanxon writes
"Scientists have given the world's oldest spider a terrifying facelift. Researchers from the UK used X-ray imaging to take a closer look at ancient spider specimens, which have existed blurrily in amber since their deaths hundreds of thousands of years ago. However, tomography, the process of creating an image by dividing it into sections through a penetrating wave, computed by X-ray, has allowed researchers to see past the gloop and study spiders and other insects up close and personal for the first time."Link to Original Source
21024348
submission
Lanxon writes
"The Hargreaves review of the UK's copyright laws, commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron over concerns that the law has become increasingly out of touch with modern consumer behaviour, has been published.
It suggests a number of tweaks to the existing laws, but doesn't propose the dramatic overhaul that some had hoped for. Nonetheless, it's managed the impressive feat of being welcomed by both sides of the copyright chasm."Link to Original Source
20709196
submission
Lanxon writes
"Designer Dominic Wilcox has come up with a Pinocchio-style "finger-nose stylus" that lets you use your phone hands free, reports Wired. He came up with the design after he found that he wanted to use his touchphone in the bath. A wet hand is not a good touchscreen navigation device, so he found himself using his nose to scroll, but found it hard to see precisely where his nose was touching the screen. The solution was to create a nose extension "finger" that would allow for navigation while holding the phone firmly in his one dry hand."Link to Original Source
20147642
submission
Lanxon writes
"Let's get one thing clear straight off the bat here. Do not try this at home. Joerg Sprave, an alarmingly competent German slingshot enthusiast, has built what might be his most audacious design yet: A slingshot crossbow that fires machetes, reports Wired. The resulting video is, to say the least, impressive in its ability to terrify."Link to Original Source
19230752
submission
Lanxon writes
"Push Snowboarding is an open-source mobile software and hardware project spearheaded by Nokia, which combines biological sensors and mobile phones with the extreme sport of snowboarding, to gather data about a rider's run down a mountain — such as speed, altitude, location, board position, sweat levels and heart rate etc — and make it not just useful during a post-run analysis, but also fun. The system is based on open data, freely available hardware schematics and is not limited to Nokia platforms. Wired has been following the development first-hand, and explores the possibility of the system being used in resorts as "Foursquare for extreme sports'."Link to Original Source
