It wasn’t too long ago that Google announced a slew of new features coming to its various products, from the terrifyingly realistic Duplex phone-calling Assistant to the tantalizingly useful camera-based navigation for Maps. These new tools are start…
Source: Engadget – New Google Lens features are now live on Android phones
Monthly Archives: May 2018
Project Fi now works with LG's newest phones and Moto's affordable G6
In spite of recent additions, Google’s Project Fi hasn’t had great device choices. You’ve hadto buy a Pixel if you want a high-end phone, and the most affordable modern option has been the mid-tier Moto X4. No more — Project Fi now supports three mo…
Source: Engadget – Project Fi now works with LG’s newest phones and Moto’s affordable G6
Plant Sprouted Garlic Bulbs and Eat the Greens
Garlic, once sprouted, is much too bitter to eat, but that doesn’t mean you should toss it. Bury it in a bit of potting soil and give it some sun, and you could be eating tasty garlic greens in just a week.
Source: LifeHacker – Plant Sprouted Garlic Bulbs and Eat the Greens
Randomly generated, thermal-printed comics
Python code creates curious, wordless comic strips at random, spewing them from the thermal printer mouth of a laser-cut body reminiscent of Disney Pixar’s WALL-E: meet the Vomit Comic Robot!
The age of the thermal printer!
Thermal printers allow you to instantly print photos, data, and text using a few lines of code, with no need for ink. More and more makers are using this handy, low-maintenance bit of kit for truly creative projects, from Pierre Muth’s tiny PolaPi-Zero camera to the sound-printing Waves project by Eunice Lee, Matthew Zhang, and Bomani McClendon (and our own Secret Santa Babbage).
Vomiting robots
Interaction designer and developer Cadin Batrack, whose background is in game design and interactivity, has built the Vomit Comic Robot, which creates “one-of-a-kind comics on demand by processing hand-drawn images through a custom software algorithm.”
The robot is made up of a Raspberry Pi 3, a USB thermal printer, and a handful of LEDs.
At the press of a button, Processing code selects one of a set of Cadin’s hand-drawn empty comic grids and then randomly picks images from a library to fill in the gaps.
Each image is associated with data that allows the code to fit it correctly into the available panels. Cadin says about the concept behing his build:
Although images are selected and placed randomly, the comic panel format suggests relationships between elements. Our minds create a story where there is none in an attempt to explain visuals created by a non-intelligent machine.
The Raspberry Pi saves the final image as a high-resolution PNG file (so that Cadin can sell prints on thick paper via Etsy), and a Python script sends it to be vomited up by the thermal printer.
For more about the Vomit Comic Robot, check out Cadin’s blog. If you want to recreate it, you can find the info you need in the Imgur album he has put together.
We 
cute robots
We have a soft spot for cute robots here at Pi Towers, and of course we make no exception for the Vomit Comic Robot. If, like us, you’re a fan of adorable bots, check out Mira, the tiny interactive robot by Alonso Martinez, and Peeqo, the GIF bot by Abhishek Singh.
The post Randomly generated, thermal-printed comics appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
Source: Raspberry Pi – Randomly generated, thermal-printed comics
Half of Windows 10 PCs already updated to the April 2018 update
The Windows 10 April 2018 Update, version 1803, is enjoying the fastest rollout of any Windows 10 major update thus far.
Even though last-minute delays pushed its rollout into May for most users (it was available to manually install on the last day of April, but didn’t hit Windows Update until May’s Patch Tuesday), as of the 29th of the month, it’s now being used on just over half of all Windows 10 machines.
By way of comparison, the previous update, version 1709 (“Fall Creators Update”) took about two months to reach 50 percent penetration, and the one before that, version 1703 (“Creators Update”) took around three months to reach the same level.
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Source: Ars Technica – Half of Windows 10 PCs already updated to the April 2018 update
Google says its military AI work will be guided by ethical principles
Google’s Pentagon contract and its involvement with the military’s Project Maven has stirred controversy both outside of and within the company. Its plan to provide AI technology that can help flag drone images for human review has led to an internal…
Source: Engadget – Google says its military AI work will be guided by ethical principles
Cloud-based quantum computer takes on deuteron and wins
Enlarge (credit: A 16-cubit quantum computing processor from IBM.)
First it was the electron behavior in a hydrogen molecule, then beryllium dihydride joined the club. Now, quantum computers have been used to calculate some of the properties of an atomic nucleus: the deuterium nucleus to be precise.
What we are witnessing are two concurrent and useful processes. The first, which we have covered extensively, is the development and availability of quantum computers. But, I’ve not really discussed the second at all: the development of algorithms.
You see, theorists—the potential users of quantum computers—have a dilemma. Quantum computers hold a lot of promise. It is highly likely that a good quantum computer can calculate the properties of things like molecules and atomic nuclei much more efficiently than a classical computer. Unfortunately, the current generation of quantum computers, especially those that the average theorist can get access to, are rather limited. This gives the theorists a challenge: can they make computations less resource-intensive so that they can be performed on the currently available hardware?
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Source: Ars Technica – Cloud-based quantum computer takes on deuteron and wins
Finally Buy Yourself A Weighted Blanket For Just $86, While It Lasts
Weighted blankets can work wonders for your anxiety, and you can score an all-time low price on this 15 pound blanket from Amazon today. It’s just $86 after the $11 off coupon, making it the best weighted blanket deal we’ve ever posted. Not to stress you out, but we wouldn’t expect this deal to last for long.
Source: LifeHacker – Finally Buy Yourself A Weighted Blanket For Just , While It Lasts
Researchers Are Training a Robot Butler to Do the Chores You Hate in a Sims-Inspired Virtual House
Researchers are teaching machines to get stuff done using video simulations, a database of chores, and a virtual home reminiscent of your favorite time-wasting video game. The end goal? Teaching robots the same way you teach yourself how to install a toilet: instructional videos.
Source: Gizmodo – Researchers Are Training a Robot Butler to Do the Chores You Hate in a Sims-Inspired Virtual House
FBI links North Korea hackers to two more malware attacks
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have linked more malware with North Korean hackers. The agencies say state-backed hackers called Hidden Cobra have likely used remote access tool Joanap and server message block worm Brambul to infiltra…
Source: Engadget – FBI links North Korea hackers to two more malware attacks
Fortnite Adds Rideable Shopping Carts To Its Wildly Popular Battle Royale Shooter
As if inspired by an episode of Jackass where Johnny Knoxville and the gang participate in outrageous stunts. Epic Games is adding a shopping cart to Fortinite, its incredibly popular battle royale shooter that now has more concurrent users than PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). And no, the carts are not for shopping, of course, but for
Source: Hot Hardware – Fortnite Adds Rideable Shopping Carts To Its Wildly Popular Battle Royale Shooter
Nokia 2.1, 3.1, and 5.1: Cheap phones with stock Android starting at $115
HMD announced a new slate of Nokia phones Tuesday. To go along with the previously announced Nokia 6.1 (review coming soon!), we have the Nokia 5.1, Nokia 3.1, and Nokia 2.1. The highest-end phone here starts at $220, and the price goes down from there.
Every Nokia phone is worth paying attention to, because they are all part of Google’s Android One program. This means they run stock Android and get monthly security updates. Nokia promises two years of major OS updates and three years of security updates for everything. It’s really hard to find good, cheap smartphones, and with this lineup (depending on distribution), HMD seems to have the market locked up.
Before we dive in, here’s a big spec table:
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Source: Ars Technica – Nokia 2.1, 3.1, and 5.1: Cheap phones with stock Android starting at 5
Gizmodo Launches 'The Gateway,' an Investigative Podcast About a Controversial Internet Spiritual Guru
Teal Swan is an internet spiritual guru who produces hypnotic self-help YouTube videos aimed at people who are struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. Many of her videos share unorthodox messages about mental health with her hundreds of thousands of fans who follow her on Facebook and Instagram, and in…
Source: Gizmodo – Gizmodo Launches ‘The Gateway,’ an Investigative Podcast About a Controversial Internet Spiritual Guru
Well That Sucks: Remains Of Man Found Who Survived Initial Pompei Eruption, Only To Get Crushed By Giant Stone Block
A recent archeological discovery revealed the remains of a Pompei man who appears to have survived the volcano’s initial eruption, only to be crushed by a large stone block (possibly part of a doorway) while attempting to flee the city afterwards. Man, that totally would have been me. Holy shit I made it! *dies*
A leg injury, however, may have slowed him down before he was crushed by the huge stone hurtling through the air.
Pompeii archaeologists say the skeleton shows signs of a bone infection in his leg, which could have made walking – much less running – very difficult.
…it was not slow-moving molten lava that killed most of the people of Pompeii. Instead, a vast cloud of hot gas and fragments – called a pyroclastic flow – surged over the city, killing its inhabitants wherever they were, and burying them in ash, preserving their final moment.
Archaeologists believe it was this lethal cloud which struck their newest discovery, throwing him backwards as he turned to look at it.
The man’s head has yet to be found, but is believed to be under the block. Still, at least he died THINKING that he was going to make it. That’s almost certainly better than knowing you’re going to die, and definitely better than thinking you’re not going to die, but then dying in a compromising position like with your penis stuck in a hole in the wall.
Thanks to MSA, who agrees this is exactly why you never look back to see what’s behind you. The past is in the past, you should only be looking forward.
Source: Geekologie – Well That Sucks: Remains Of Man Found Who Survived Initial Pompei Eruption, Only To Get Crushed By Giant Stone Block
Avengers: Infinity War's Shocking Climax Was Almost Held Until Avengers 4
Avengers: Infinity War ends with one of the grandest, bleakest setpieces in Marvel movie history—directly inspired by a moment right out of the comics. But that wasn’t always the case, according to the movie’s screenwriters. In fact, fans could’ve been kept waiting until Avengers 4 to see Thanos’ grand plan unfold.
Source: Gizmodo – Avengers: Infinity War’s Shocking Climax Was Almost Held Until Avengers 4
When Did TV Watching Peak?
An anonymous reader writes: With Netflix and Amazon Prime, Facebook Video and YouTube, it’s tempting to imagine that the tech industry destroyed TV. The world is more than 25 years into the web era, after all, more than half of American households have had home Internet for 15 years, and the current smartphone paradigm began more than a decade ago. But no. Americans still watch an absolutely astounding amount of traditional television. In fact, television viewing didn’t peak until 2009-2010, when the average American household watched 8 hours and 55 minutes of TV per day. And the ’00s saw the greatest growth in TV viewing time of any decade since Nielsen began keeping track in 1949-1950: Americans watched 1 hour and 23 minutes more television at the end of the decade than at the beginning. Run the numbers and you’ll find that 32 percent of the increase in viewing time from the birth of television to its peak occurred in the first years of the 21st century. Over the last 8 years, all the new, non-TV things — Facebook, phones, YouTube, Netflix — have only cut about an hour per day from the dizzying amount of TV that the average household watches. Americans are still watching more than 7 hours and 50 minutes per household per day.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – When Did TV Watching Peak?
Can Nintendo Labo Help Turn Kids Into Makers?
Every parent has been there: It’s Saturday. It’s raining, snowing, or nuclear winter, and for whatever reason, your kid can’t play outside. Then junior hits you with that age-old kid lament: “I’m bored.”
Source: LifeHacker – Can Nintendo Labo Help Turn Kids Into Makers?
Bethesda Teases Fallout 76, The Latest Installment In Post-Apocalyptic Gaming Franchise
Yesterday morning, Bethesda offered a cryptic teaser for an upcoming Fallout game, simply telling gamers to #PleaseStandBy. Today, the developer has announced the next installment in the long-running franchise: Fallout 76.
Bethesda announced the game via a teaser trailer that starts off with the familiar “Please Stand By” message and then
Source: Hot Hardware – Bethesda Teases Fallout 76, The Latest Installment In Post-Apocalyptic Gaming Franchise
'Jurassic World Alive' is like 'Pokémon Go' with dinosaurs
Before kids had Pokémon to obsess over and memorize, they had dinosaurs. And now, Universal Studios and developer Ludia Inc. are smashing those two worlds together with Jurassic World Alive, basically Pokémon Go with dinosaurs. From the…
Source: Engadget – ‘Jurassic World Alive’ is like ‘Pokémon Go’ with dinosaurs
FSF Certifies Refurbished Lenovo X200 Convertible Notebook/Tablet For RYF
If you want a laptop or convertible tablet that “respects your freedoms” at all costs with the hardware freed down to the BIOS and don’t mind running on outdated hardware to accomplish that goal, the Free Software Foundation has now certified the Minifree X200 that is a refurbished model of the decade-old Lenovo X200 as being “RYF” compliant…
Source: Phoronix – FSF Certifies Refurbished Lenovo X200 Convertible Notebook/Tablet For RYF