Monday, February 28, 2011

MC2 Post 959 By Gosh and by Golly Wumpus, Where Did My Google Gmail Go?

Google Wipes Out Gmail Settings 
and Messages

 
Engineers are still working on it

 
 
 
 


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Has Google's New Algorithm Really Cleaned Up Search?

 
 


 
 

 
 
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What About The Wisdom of Crowds?

 
Isn't the Tipping Point of Facebook and Twitter like an Upside Down Iceberg Where the Opinions of Mass Marketers (celebrities) Out Weigh the Opinions of the People 
I Care About. 

Just Saying...Wingman.


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Sunday, February 27, 2011

MC2 Post 958 A Classroom in the Palm of Your Hand


Where Can You take a  Class on 
Computer System Engineering 
from MIT?

Because of All the Hype about iPhone 
Apps (There's an App for That) mentality. 
We Forget that there's Also an iTune's University at
the iTunes Store with Classroom Lecture 
series on many subjects.
Even, get this,

"Computer System Engineering" from MIT.

( Hey, I've Heard of that place. )

It's Like Being in the Front Row.

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Friday, February 25, 2011

Thursday, February 24, 2011

MC2 Post 955 Xoom Don't Hate Me Because Im Beautiful



Hate Me Because I'm Too Expensive

When You're Trying to Catch Apple in the Tablet Market (which sold 15 million at mid-january 2011), the Idea Works 99.9 % of the time is: 


Add features Apple Left off in the First Iteration.

The Xoom runs Android 3.0 version of its mobile operating system, (Honeycomb). This gives it a needed App-like Store.

The Xoom is equipped with formidable hardware. The 1GHz, NVIDIA Tegra 2-based slate boasts a sizable 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 capacitive display, 3G connectivity (Verizon), along with front and rear facing cameras, HD video capability, and loads of wireless options.

 

Check. 


And Offer it at a Lower Price


Whoa!  

$800 Freakin' Bucks,

What is Motorola Smoking?





They Must have Missed the 8 Gazilion Tablets at CES.

Who wants to be known as the "Most Expensive of the Bunch?"


Yea! Moto.

Engadget: Motorola Xoom Review




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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

MC2 Post 954 Print Me Up an Ear Please

Printers Can Do The Darndest Things....Really!

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US researchers at Cornell University have engineered an ear made of silicone using a 3D printer, which they hope will one day be capable of producing functional human body parts.

Hod Lipson, the director of the Computational Synthesis Laboratory at the university, has been testing the 3D printer as a means of producing synthetic heart valves.



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From:  http://www.goodgearguide.com.au


Scientists use 3D Printing to Create Human Ear





Cornell University Scientists use a 3D Plotter to Print a Replica Human Ear 
from Silicone.


----------------------------------------------------

Scientists Demonstrate “Printable Skin”



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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

MC2 Post 953 The Chip of The Hour Nvidia Tegra

Nvidia Promises Quad-Core Smartphones 
and Tablets




And The World Slowly Turns To Quad Core


Nvidia’s Kal-El Tablet Prototype Shows Off New 
Quad Core Tegra Processor




 
The Superman Reference is Really 
Spot On










"Just as the world has rallied around the concept of dual core, the world is about to see that quad core raises the bar, delivers a lot more performance, and fits into all mobile platforms," Nvidia's senior vice president of the mobile business unit Phil Carmack said.
MWC (Mobile World Congress)

Kal-El is just the beginning, too. Nvidia unveiled an ambitious roadmap with chips called "Wayne," "Logan" and

"Stark" that will offer close to 100 times the processing power of current Tegra 2-based phones by 2014. That lends a new meaning to "hero product."

With five times the graphics performance of Tegra 2, Kal-El is able to drive 2560-by-1600 monitors. That's higher-def than almost all content on the market, so Nvidia is targeting the ability to use your phone in a dock as a full-fledged PC.

"You'll have full photo editing, video editing, writing of documents, browsing the Web, all sorts of stuff" at speed on a large monitor, Carmack said.

 


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Monday, February 21, 2011

MC2 Post 952 Okay Sister, We'll Have Nun, er None of that. Why?



Answer: "Because it's a Bad Habit."

Too Much Facebook Gets Nun Banished from Order



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Wingman: "I say Too Much Facebook, and Bieber Is A Sin."

Remember What John Said...

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Saturday, February 19, 2011

MC2 Post 950 Guess Who's Keeping a Sharp Eye on Biofuel Patents


Why The Future in Biofuels is Cloudy


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The high-power NiMH battery of a Toyota Prius

Wikipedia on:  
Patent encumbrance of large 
automotive NiMH batteries



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Big Oil Biofuel Patent Trolling Ongoing...

From:  http://hardware.slashdot.org

TinyURL Link: http://tinyurl.com/4eg4dhk

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BP-DuPont Biofuels JV Takes Gevo to Court








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MC2 Post 949 What Kind Of Broadband Do You Get









Check the National Broadband Map.



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Friday, February 18, 2011

MC2 Post 948 From Time Magazine's Techland:

From:  http://techland.time.com



Top 20 Must-Have Android Apps


Google's mobile operating system, Android, has been growing exponentially since its launch in late 2008. Android handsets can now be found on every major network in the U.S. from most manufacturers at several price points. There's something for everyone—old, young, happy, sad, short, tall, sleepy, punchy, bashful, smug—you name it.

If you've just purchased your first Android phone or you're looking to round out your existing collection, here's a list of 20 must-have apps that every Android owner should consider. 



They're all free, too!


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Thursday, February 17, 2011

MC2 Post 947 The Big and Little of Samsung in Barcelona

From:
http://reviews.cnet.com



2 Rows of Samsung Phones


Samsung goes Big and small in Barcelona




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Fresh Update at: 6:33 AM 2/17/2011
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From:   http://reviews.cnet.com



ViewSonic Debuts V350 Smartphone with 2 sims

 


The ViewSonic V350 runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) on a 3.5-inch touch screen. Features include a 600MHz processor, 512MB of memory, a microSD 
card slot, Wi-Fi, a 5-megapixel camera, a music player, 
Assisted-GPS, a 3.5mm headset jack, Bluetooth, messaging and e-mail, 
a personal organizer, and access to all the usual Android apps 
through the Android Market.

Wingman: "So What's the Big Deal?"
 

 What's most exciting about the V350 is that it has two SIM card slots, 
which will let you use two phone numbers at one time.

Huh ???


Link:  http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-20032675-78.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20


TinyURL:  http://tinyurl.com/4plsqyf
 
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From:  http://arstechnica.com

Why The Dell Buying AMD Rumor, 

Not Likely


Link:  http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2011/02/dell-to-buy-amd-not-likely.ars


TinyURL:  http://tinyurl.com/4cc34mv

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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

MC2 Post 946 IBM's Watson Jeopardizes Humanity (and television) in Game 2





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Not Ready For Prime Time

Wingman: "Scientifically interesting, but is it
Good Television?"
No.

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Tuesday's Match:

Tonight's episode showed that IBM's Watson supercomputer--and the highly paid engineers who made Watson what he is--had merely been toying with the humans yesterday.

Those few errors IBM's Watson committed in the first of three "Jeopardy" shows against former champion Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter were merely like an underling giving his boss a chance on the golf course.

 



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Why You Should Screw The TeleComs 

Data Plans on Tablets


The Real Reason Android Tablets

Don't Stand a Chance Against iPad --
Onerous Monthly Data Fees

"The whole data pricing thing reminds of cell phone data plans before the June 2007  -- ridiculously expensive...."


Joe Wilcox is Right on the Money on this one.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

MC2 Post 945 Take a Flyer at a New HTC Android Tablet

From:  http://news.cnet.com


Mobile World Congress 2011

BARCELONA, Spain




BARCELONA, Spain--Meet the HTC Flyer, unveiled here today at Mobile World Congress 2011. This Android 2.4-based tablet features a 7-inch Super LCD touch screen that's encased in an aluminum unibody design. This is a design that the company has used on a number of its smartphones, including 
the HTC Legend.




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A Closer Look at the HTC Flyer's Screen, 
Stylus, and Scribe









TinyURL:  http://tinyurl.com/4o88a3v    



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Fresh Links From Chuck:
-------------------------------



Link:  http://www.freshnews.org/



Link: http://www.dslreports.com/

( Both now added to Wingman's MC2 Favs on Right.)

Wingman: "Thanks, Bro and really happy about yesterday's "news"."

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Monday, February 14, 2011

MC2 Post 944 Paper Accelerometers for Pennies in the Works

From:  http://hackaday.com



[George Whitesides] led a team to develop the new technology that uses simple manufacturing methods to produce the sensor seen above. Graphite and silver inks were screen printed onto heavy paper. The single limb sticking out from the body of the sensor is a separate piece of paper that bends the carbon area when force is applied. This changes the carbon’s resistance which is measured using a Wheatstone bridge constructed by gluing resistors to the device.



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Thinking of Hardware Hacking? 

Let's Go to the Board Room:





Hackaday has compiled a list of boards that we commonly 
see in submitted projects, split up by price range and 
with a little detail for reference.



Link:  http://hackaday.com/2011/02/01/what-development-board-to-use/



TinyURL:  http://tinyurl.com/4u7f99e

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