O Canada — your wacky scientists are at it again. And this time, the bright minds over at the University of Western Ontario have their third eye set on a certain precognitive prize. Avoiding the messier open-skull, electrode-imbedding alternative, researchers at the Centre for Brain and Mind employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to successfully predict the action of participants’ hands before they’d moved a muscle. After a year of brain-scanning trials, scientists learned to accurately foretell which signals were linked to one of three set actions: grabbing the top of an object, its bottom, or simply reaching out to touch it. Like our clairvoyant cousin’s previous beverage-predicting breakthrough , the spoils of this study go to prosthetic limb motion control and the paralyzed who’ll use it. We know what you’re thinking, but we’re not going to make the obvious Thing joke here. Instead, we have to wonder — What Would Ms. Cleo Do? Full release after the break, but you already knew that. Continue reading Canadian scientists scan your brain, know how you want to hold your hand Canadian scientists scan your brain, know how you want to hold your hand originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft offers up ‘managed driving’ source code, gets back to location-based business
July 5, 2011 No Comment
WiFi-sniffing — all the major tech giant’s are doing it. But it’s for your own better-targeted, location-based good… they swear . It’s a familiar story that saw Google get served in France and the UK for its fleet of data-collecting Street View cars, and had Apple accidentally storing users’ geographic info unencrypted on their phones. Given the history, it’s not surprising to see Microsoft take the offensive by offering up source code from its own ‘managed driving’ program: the cars that collect WiFi, GPS and cell tower data. With the code out in the open, MS can easily side-step allegations of personal data-mining and continue its focus on improving local search services. The move is further evidence that the Ballmer-led company intends to take user privacy very seriously, having already stopped the tracking of individual Windows Phone handsets last May. Location aware devices are an inevitable part of our search-assisted lives, we just wish they all came with a giant opt-out button. [Image credit via WinRumors ] Microsoft offers up ‘managed driving’ source code, gets back to location-based business originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google Maps-powered training bike simulates Tour de France, refuses to speak English
July 5, 2011 No Comment
Poor France. The nation known mostly for its food and wine only has a few major sporting events to call its own, yet we — great, fat and lazy America — have pwned its most iconic one for seven years . That legacy could still live on — if you don’t mind shelling out $1299 and sweating all over your living room floor, that is. Powered by Google Maps and touted as the official trainer of Le Tour de France, comes a Pro-Form training bike so hardcore, it even simulates potholes. Ok, we made that last part up, but it does allow you to feel the burn of 24 pre-set courses, or one of your own punishing design . For the ultra-committed indoor enthusiast, there’s also Intelligent Wind Resistance and a 20 percent incline / decline feature that’ll match the ups and downs of real life outdoor cycling without the hassle of the actual outdoors. Honestly, it’s a bit much and we can’t really see this thing taking off with the New Year’s Eve resolution set, but if you’ve always wanted that biker’s derriere , this is your trainer. Google Maps-powered training bike simulates Tour de France, refuses to speak English originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Terrafugia Transition aircraft gets DOT roadworthiness sign-off, can now drive you to the airport
July 5, 2011 No Comment
For most experimental aircraft, earning an airworthiness certificate is enough of a challenge. But the Terrafugia Transition is a unique type of flying machine, requiring approval not only from the FAA, but also from the USDOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), since this air / land hybrid is likely to spend just as much time cruising down the highway as it will flying 5,000 feet above. The Transition is now slightly closer to takeoff, with the NHTSA granting exemptions for absent airbags, a missing electronic stability system, and the plane’s lightweight polycarbonate windows (polycarbonate is lighter than automotive safety glass, and won’t shatter and obscure a pilot’s vision in the event of a bird strike). Unfortunately the Transition still has other hurdles to fly over — its cabin is limited to carrying 330 pounds when fully fueled, including passengers, and the price has jumped 41 percent, to $250,000. In the meantime, Terrafugia hopes to move forward with production later this year, bringing the ‘flying car’ slightly closer to a runway (and highway) near you. Terrafugia Transition aircraft gets DOT roadworthiness sign-off, can now drive you to the airport originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 04:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Come on down! You can be the next contestant on the Prizes site. That was overkill, we know, but it’s a necessary introduction into a new world of online solution-based social gaming pioneered by the Slide team. Acquired by the Goog back in 2010, the low profile entertainment-driven app developer has been hard at work making the web ‘more social’ and filling its Big Daddy’s pockets. Debuting in classic Google beta form, Prizes takes your Twitter or Facebook accounts and signs you up for cash prize-winning, user-created contest shenanigans. In case you missed that fine point, we’ll reiterate — users design the challenges, you post a solution (or vice versa). Like the $40 “Give my Dad a makeover!” competition we’re completely unqualified to enter, or the $30 “Comprehensive ‘get healthy’ plan for living in a large, polluted city” game we’re sure Al Gore could win in his sleep. It’s a kooky idea, but we can definitely see the service having widespread appeal. Let’s be frank here: Google + social gaming + prize money = solid user gold. Google slides Prizes into beta, helps you get real paid originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 03:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If you have an AT&T iPhone in your possession, there’s a good chance you’ve quickly glanced at available insurance options and noticed they’re… well, a tad on the spendy side. Big Blue’s only solution requires a $12 monthly asking price — considering that’s before the deductible gets factored in, we just can’t imagine it selling like hotcakes. The tides appear to be turning, however; according to AT&T’s official site, iPhones will be eligible for Asurion Mobile Insurance plans on July 17th. With these new plans, the monthly cost will plummet to a much more reasonable $5, placing it lower than Verizon’s version. We’re still awaiting word on the deductible, though other smartphones on the same protection plan require a $125 replacement charge. Here’s the drawback: it’s only available for the first 30 days after the device is purchased, which means anyone who procured an iPhone before mid-June will want to keep those cases and screen protectors glued on tight. There’s also no intimate details on what kind of damage is covered — good thing these things are so difficult to destroy , eh? AT&T to offer standard insurance for iPhone owners starting July 17th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Earlier this month, we told you about the free TouchPads being custom wrapped for the devs at WebOS Internals. It seems that those fortuitous webOS junkies have upheld their end of the deal, as the first delectable homebrew patches have begun to show up in Preware. As we’ve seen, this tech is offered at no cost — and HP continues to reach out to devs of unofficial apps, making the situation a win for everyone. Check out a shot of the first patch officially completed for webOS 3.0 below (Glass Effects Squite), and hit the source to keep an eye on what’s brewing next. Continue reading TouchPad homebrew patches surface in Preware, devs keep on giving TouchPad homebrew patches surface in Preware, devs keep on giving originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 01:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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China’s control over the rare earths market hasn’t faced too many challenges over the past few years, but that may be changing, thanks to a major discovery in Japan. Geologists say they’ve uncovered expansive new deposits of rare earth minerals, buried within a seabed some 20,000 feet below the Pacific Ocean surface. Research leader Yasuhiro Kato estimates that the deposits contain anywhere from 80 to 100 billion metric tons of rare earths, which, if commercially viable, could pose a serious threat to China’s global hegemony . Supply shortages and aggressive Chinese export controls have combined to raise global prices in recent years, much to the chagrin of manufacturers who rely upon the metals to produce smartphones, tablets and a wide variety of other gadgets. But with analysts predicting a rare earth surplus within the next few years and Japan’s mining industry now poised for a potential resurgence, the outlook is certainly looking a lot brighter. Japanese scientists discover massive rare earth deposits, China bristles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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