Duck Goes Moo!

https://www.sifteo.com/

Introducing: SIFTEO!  This looks like a rather interesting product.   the system consists of a series of cubes with a screen on them that can be work together for playing games.  You can apparently use as many Sifteo cubes as you like, and the games will adjust to work with however many screens you are using.  They also seem to be able to sense tilt and proximity, which allows for many different game mechanics.

Here is a YouTube video of them in action:

https://www.sifteo.com/

Not sure of the benefits of such a thing, but it’s cool none-the-less.

Engadget made a post about a product Lenovo has been working on, the IdeaPad (name sounds a little familiar, now doesn’t it?).

It runs Windows 7 when docked and runs the SkyLight OS when removed from its base, which sounds a little weird to me.  Why not just run Windows 7 the whole time?

Looks pretty neat, but I do wonder what its cost will be in comparison to the Apple’s iPad.  Either way, its good to see other companies keeping Apple on its toes and not letting them just push out iCrap that they know their die-hard fans will buy.

DARPA has gone an created a real working version of the chronically obstinate, endlessly useful M.U.L.E. from old Atari gaming days.

Here are the key requirements that the robo-mule must stand up to:

• It must be capable of carrying sufficient payload capacity, range, endurance, and low noise signature for dismounted squad support, while keeping weight and volume scaled to the squad level.
• The robot must support all manner of walking, trotting, and running/ bounding and capabilities to jump obstacles, cross ditches, recover from disturbances and other discrete mobility features. The LS3 must be able to follow a leader between 5m and 100m ahead, in dynamic, cluttered environments with other moving soldiers in close proximity.
• It must have the ability to perceive and traverse its immediate terrain environment autonomously with simple methods of control.
• The robot must understand simple soldier-to-LS3 interaction with minimal direct control of the platform’s speed and heading (joy-sticking and tele-operating are examples of direct control). The vehicle must require minimal oversight or direct control (e.g. joystick control) from an operator.  Direct control modes should only be used for error recovery, and should not be needed more than 3 times per 24-hour operational period, for no more than 5 minutes at a time.
• The robot must be able to follow a leader between 5m and 100m ahead, in dynamic, cluttered environments with other moving soldiers in close proximity.
• The robot must be able to operate for arbitrarily long periods without GPS as well as be able to negotiate slopes up to 30 degrees fully loaded and go up steps up to 12 inches high.
• The robot must be able to wade through 36 inches of water.

from networkworld.com

Okay, it’s not quite the hunk o’ junk the autonomous beasts of burden were in the classic game, but it seems to me to be something that can be retrofitted to fulfill a wide variety of purposes, not just hauling cargo.  Farming?  Mining? Hunting wumpuses?  (wumpi?)  Only the future will tell.

For those of you who just gotta hear that theme song, here you go:

I dig that synthy music they’re playing in the background… oh yeah, and the 3D desktop fabrication process is pretty darn neat too.

It’s happening right now.  Steve Jobs is unveiling yet another product that may or may not change how we do things (or at least add a whole new slew of slick commercials full of annoying hipster types).

It’s the iPad.  It’s kinda like a big, flat iPod Touch.  Really… that’s kinda what it is, maybe with a little more performance power.  Or maybe it’s more like a netbook without the clamshell case.

I mean, it seems kinda neat, and my initial response was “Ooh, I gotta get that!”, but the more I think about it the more I think to myself that I’d rather just watch movies on my laptop and read actual newspapers.

Still, if someone got me one I’d probably use the heck out of it.

Find out more here at The New York Times.

Adobe Suite Pillows at mysuitestuff.com

Okay, so I first paid for and pre-ordered Sims 3 back in January, back when it was supposed to be coming out on Febuary 2.

Then they announce that it is not coming out for an additional four months.

Now it is out and I just got an email telling me that it is out of stock and they have no idea when they’ll have enough to send me a copy and that my order is now officially a backorder.

Really?  I pre-order it six months ago and they still were not able to provide me with a copy on the day it comes out?

Now, I am open to the idea that perhaps it was already over sold in January… but I would have thought that six months is plenty of time to make up some of that inventory.

It’s just as well, I really do have things to get done as of late, so it’s kind of a mixed blessing.   Still, I should be playing me some Sims 3 right now.

———–

UPDATE:  EAGames sent an email apologizing and is sending me a copy over next-day air.   Maybe they’re not such bad eggs after all.

Still, I really need to get some things done so it might just sit unopened for a week or two… who am I kidding, it’ll be opened and installed within hours of arrival.

Nice knowing you, productivity.  See you in about three months after I burn out on the Sims.

I saw this on Slashdot:

Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.

tweenbots.com

These things are absolutely adorable, but I think they need some googly eyes, personally.

Still, it is a really neat idea… at least for areas that are heavily trafficked with helpful humans who aren’t too busy to or annoyed with the thing to help it along its merry way.

Speaking of which, I wonder how changing the expression on the robot’s face would affect how much people would help it, or if there was no face on it at all.  They should make several of these, each with a different expression on its face to see which ones are more likely to get to its destination the fastest and most reliably.

Also, what about audio?  What if it was preprogrammed with a series of friendly requests for help whenever it got near someone or something… eh, maybe that’s putting too much thought into it.

Makes me wish I had remained in acedemia and had grant money to do cool things like this.

>> read more here

Everyday I’m seeing more and more signs that AR is going to start going mainstream. The day that augmented reality becomes common is the day that everything will start changing. It will be a whole new tech boom.

Here is piece on Microsoft’s efforts to bring AR to feasibility:

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22218/?a=f

Some fans of the Half-Life game franchise have started making their own online show using a mixture of graphics from the game and live action. The end result is actually not half bad. I imagine these two guys have a bright future ahead of them (the creators of the show, not the characters in the show who are most likely doomed).

Well, dangit. I was looking forward to Sims 3 coming out this month but they announced on Tuesday that it will not be coming out until 4 more months.

I would like to say something like, “well, I’m sure its to guarantee a better product”, but I think the real issue is that they feel there isn’t enough publicity yet and they want to launch a four month ad campaign to ensure it beats all previous game sale records.

This is what I hate about EA Games. I really wish Maxis had never let themselves get bought out by them, but I guess Will Wright deserves to be a millionaire for all the excellent games he’s made over the years (though I wonder how much hand he has anymore in any of his creative projects).

Sigh…