[Hack a Day] 2 New Entries: The GO sequencer

The GO sequencer


go_seq

[Guy John] sent in this cool sequencer project. He’s using the game Go as the input. A web camera pics up the location of the pieces on the grid and plots them in his sequencing software. You can see that it is still very much in progress, but it is coming along nicely. He openly admits that it may never be completely practical. There is still so much to be improved to get it even comfortably usable, such as motion detection to remove his hand from the mix when re locating the Go pieces. This project is very similar Skittles interface that we posted back in july.  It would be kind of interesting, though probably repetitive, to actually play a game of go and listen to the variations in the music while you play.

      

Winboni, a window cleaning robot


The Winboni is the first place winner in the International Student Design Competition of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Winboni is a small robot that cleans windows. That alone doesn’t set the robot apart. The fact that it is held on by suction is what distinguishes it. Running off AA batteries, this robot clings to the window as it cleans it with felt pads. It is hard to believe that this isn’t already a commercial product. Actually, we thought we had even seen it before, but we can’t find it now.

[via DVICE]

      

You received this email because you are subscribed to the real_time feed for http://hackaday.com/feed/. To change your subscription settings, please log into RSSFWD.

[Download Squad] 6 New Entries: Google Reader gets a new look

Google Reader gets a new look

Filed under: , , ,


A few weeks ago Google updated Gmail to allow users to choose colorful themes for their email service. The move left some of us wondering when Google Reader was going to get a similar facelift. Apparently today is the day, but the change isn't exactly what I had expected.

Google has rolled out a new look for its RSS reader. There's a lot more white space, and a lot less blue. But there's no way to customize the color scheme.

Probably the best part of the new design is that you can collapse different sections in your sidebar to save space. Don't care what items your friends have shared? Just select the "hide unread counts" button. Hate the fact that every time you log into your account you're greeted with a reminder that you have over 1000 unread items to catch up on? You can collapse that section too.

I happened to have Google Reader open when the changeover occurred, so I was able to grab the screenshot above showing the old new design on the left and the old Google Reader interface on the left. Honestly, found the old version familiar and comforting like a favorite blanket. But I'm sure I'll get used to the new version soon. Getting rid of that 1000+ unread item count will certainly help.

thanks Stuart!

Google Reader gets a new look originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Interpret your dreams online with DreamCrowd

Filed under: , ,


I don't often have dreams, but when I do they tend to be a bit on the Eraserhead / Andalusian Dog side of things. Thankfully, DreamCrowd provides me a way to stumble out of bed and try to get a quick handle on what exactly my subconscious mind was trying to tell me.

Submit your text on DreamCrowd's home page and enter your text, title and tag your dream, and enter the spam-prevention code characters. Hopefully it'll work a bit better for you - I had to try four times even though I matched the code every time.

Still, once it does work and your dream is submitted, DreamCrowd does a good job of picking out key terms and provides Dream Interpretation 101-esque descriptions of their significance. The site is no replacement for a professional opinion, but it's an amusing and useful way to gain some insight.

Interpret your dreams online with DreamCrowd originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

GetIt combines the power of three Windows apt-style updaters

Filed under: , , , ,

As I've mentioned before, I'm a fan of apt-get. It's an extremely easy way to get tons of new applications installed on a new Linux installation. Plenty of similar options exist for Windows, but one stands out.

GetIt combines the power of three Windows implementations of the system - AppSnap, AppUpdater, and Win-Get. Once you've got all your engines installed, use Get-it's GUI to set them up (just click the buton) and you're ready to install.

More than four hundred apps are currently supported, including Avast, AVG, CDBurnerXP, Firefox, AutoHotKey, uTorrent, VLC, OpenOffice, and Handbrake.

Applications can be installed a number of ways. When GetIt checks your repositories for updates, it creates installer files in its Install folder. After that, you can:
  • Browse to the folder and double-click an installer
  • Use the GetIt Gui or command line
  • Index the folder and launch installers from Find and Run Robot (or your favorite launcher)
Installs run without user input, and GetIt also supports checking for updates to your apps. I'd like to see the GUI support multiple selections and would prefer not having to "press any key to continue" following an install, but those are minor gripes. For the average user, category listings would be a helpful addition.

GetIt is a simple, powerful way to download and install tons of great software and keep it up to date on your Windows PC.

GetIt combines the power of three Windows apt-style updaters originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Google finally lets you make Picasa Web Albums truly private

Filed under: , , ,

Picasa private web albumsOnline photo sharing sites like Flickr, Photobucket and Picasa Web Albums provide a great way to share a set of images with friends, family, or the whole world. But what happens when you only want a select group of people to be able to see your photos?

Many sites allow you to hide or block photos from anyone who you haven't explicitly granted access to. But up until recently, if you wanted to hide images uploaded to Picasa from the general public, the best you could do was mark them as "unlisted," which meant that they wouldn't show up in public searches of Picasa Web Albums. But anyone who had the correct URL could still access those images.

Now Google has added the ability to restrict access to the people you've chosen to share an album with. You can set the permissions for a web album either when you're uploading images or after you've already created an album. Just click the edit menu, select album properties, and scroll down to the bottom of the screen where you'll find an option to mark photos as public, unlisted, or "sign-in required."

[via Google Operating System]

Google finally lets you make Picasa Web Albums truly private originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Opera 10 Alpha 1 web browser passes the Acid3 test

Filed under: , , , ,

Opera 10 Alpha 1
The latest version of the Opera web browser gets a perfect score on the Acid3 web standards test, which is pretty impressive until you realize that Firefox and Internet Explorer fall short of that score. And if the two most popular web browsers on the face of the earth don't fully meet these web standards, what good are they exactly?

That said, Opera 10 Alpha 1 includes a number of other tweaks that make this web browser worth checking out:
  • Inline spell checking
  • Automatic updates
  • Updated Presto 2.2 rendering engine
Opera Mail has also been improved, as has the Opera Widget engine for the Linux version of the cross-platform web browser.

Opera 10 Alpha 1 web browser passes the Acid3 test originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iKnow! launches open learning platform

Filed under: , ,

Having knowledge of more than one language (and to be clear, this is about spoken and written languages, not programming languages) is an increasingly important and valuable skill. The problem is of course, the older we get, the harder it can be to pick up another language.

This is why the Internet is so awesome. It can make the challenge of learning a new language or even picking up a few key phrases much easier and more intuitive.

In that vein, last week, Tokyo-based Cerego launched content creation tools for its open language platform, iKnow! to the public. These tools allow users to create learning modules in 188 languages of study and then collaborate with other users to make corrections, add additional items and discuss the process.

iKnow! isn't just about lists of words and phrases, flash card style. It also leverages the semantic web and lets you "remix" the web. You can add content from Google, Flickr and YouTube to supplement the items you are studying -- a picture from Flickr to represent a term, a video from YouTube to help show something in use -- making the process more engaging. There is also text to speech translation, so you can hear how something sounds and then select the correct context and usage.

There are also courses, although right now they are limited to English and Japanese, that let you study terms. You select what level language you are and what format you want to use and a number of items to study. The web app will then show you words, let you hear them, define them and then move on. After a few words, you will be asked if you "know" a word and you are quizzed and asked to choose what a word means and what it means in the context of a sentence. Very cool stuff.

Continue reading iKnow! launches open learning platform

iKnow! launches open learning platform originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

You received this email because you are subscribed to the real_time feed for http://www.downloadsquad.com/rss.xml. To change your subscription settings, please log into RSSFWD.

[Lifehacker] 20 New Entries: Shape Up to Prepare for That Layoff, Says CEO [Career]

Shape Up to Prepare for That Layoff, Says CEO [Career]

Seems like every day there's more news of layoffs in the tech sector and beyond, and if you're one of the survivors worried about your job security, startup founder and CEO Kevin Merritt offers some pointers on what to do before the pink slip lands on your desk. His most unexpected piece of advice?

Start exercising. We all know that discrimination is illegal for most reasons and unethical for other reasons. But if you've watched 60 Minutes, you know that's not how humans behave. With comparably qualified candidates, the attractive, fit people are usually offered the job. What are employers looking for in prospective employees? Someone who will get the job done. If you look like you are full of energy, the perception is that you will get the job done.

Even if getting in shape doesn't help you land a new job, it will at least replace feelings of layoff rejection with pride about your hot bod. The rest of Merritt's advice is just what you'd expect: update your professional skills, reduce household bills, start a blog about your area of expertise, and work your online and offline social networks. What are you doing to depression-proof your career? Let us know in the comments. Photo by bryanesque.


Google Reader Simplifies Look, Adds Features [Google Reader]

The Official Google Reader Blog announces a handful of changes to Google Reader today, most notably in the form of a visual refresh designed to bring a more streamlined look and feel to Google's popular newsreader. That means less visual clutter, more space, and a softer, less saturated skin. Beyond that, the new Reader update adds collapsible navigation to each section of the sidebar, improved options for sharing items with friends, and the option to hide unread counts for any section of reader—like your friends' shared items. As a final (and probably least exciting) addition, Google has created more feed bundles for subscribing to a topic en masse (e.g., music blogs, Nascar, etc.). Keep reading for more detailed screenshots of the new features.

Collapsible Navigation


Hide Unread Counts


New Feed Bundles



We're not seeing the update on our accounts yet, so if you're in the same boat you're likely to see it on yours within the next few days. Still not happy with the simplified Google Reader? Try recently mentioned Helvetireader for another minimalist Reader skin.


WinFlog Extreme Toggles Aero and More via Right-Click [Featured Windows Download]

Windows only: Free application WinFlog Extreme adds several handy shortcuts to your right-click context menus with a Vista-specific twist. For example, with WinFlog you can toggle Aero with a quick couple of clicks, turn on Flip 3D, or perform more basic operations like turning off your monitor or ejecting your disc tray. Although the app is very Vista-specific, it does work on XP—but it's not like you've got any Aero interface to toggle in the first place. For Vista users, the option to quickly toggle Aero is a great feature when you're looking to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of your PC. WinFlog Extreme is a free download, Windows only.


Windows Live Photos Overhauled [Windows Live]

One way you can use your 25GB of free Skydrive space courtesy of Microsoft Windows Live is share your photos online Flickr-style at the newly-revamped Windows Live Photos site. Create albums (folders) in Windows Live Photos, set permissions on who can see your photos, comment on others' photos, and play your photos back slideshow-style. While Windows Live Photos slideshow is inferior to Flickr's full-screen option, the webapp does set itself apart from Flickr a few ways. Overall it's more customizable, with your choice of themes for your photo pages, and while it doesn't offer free-form photo tags like Flickr, you can identify particular people within a given photo (like Facebook). You'll need a Windows Live ID to sign in and try out Live Photos.


Flickr Updates its Mobile Interface [Flickr]

Photo-sharing site Flickr's mobile interface (m.flickr.com) got a facelift and a few upgrades today, notably the ability to play back video clips. Right now the Flickr folks say video playback is limited to the iPhone and iPod touch, but despite several tries on my iPhone, I never did see any video movement. (Update: Video playback's rolling out to iPhone/iPod touch users over the next few weeks.) Once it's available to all, mobile Flickrinos will love this upgrade. [via]


Google and Facebook Both Launch Friend Connect [Online Identity]

Expect to see a whole lot more Google and Facebook sign-in boxes on sites all over the web from today going forward: in what you'd think was a planned parallel announcement, Google and Facebook launched their Friend Connect and Facebook Connect products today, which allow web publishers to set up plug in sign-in and other social features to their web sites. All your online identity are belong to Google or Facebook? Tell us in the comments, and see a video demo of Google's Friend Connect here.


Picasa Adds Private Features to Web Albums [Picasa]

Picasa Web Albums has added new privacy options to your web-based digital photo album properties, allowing users to list albums as Public, Unlisted, or Sign-in required to view. In the latter you choose exactly who is allowed to view your albums. The only catch is that people you share with will need a Google account, but who doesn't have one these days. Either way, it's a nice update. [via]


Festive but Productive December Desktop [Featured Desktop]

Reader reb wanted something festive to dress up her Windows desktop this December, so she used a combination of visual tweaks and strategic customizations to add both holiday cheer and productivity tools to it. Reb lists what she's got going on here:

To do, homework, weather, Bible verse, and system monitoring widgets: Samurize
Application launcher: RocketDock (usually on Autohide)
Wallpaper: Winter Walls 2 by ikue
Visual style: Holly Jolly by lassekongo83
Dock icons: Christmas icons 2007 by gakuseisean

If you haven't done it before, here's how to use custom Windows visual styles. Got a nifty desktop setup to show off? Add it to the Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell group, and be sure to list what's what. Nice work, reb!


First Look at Opera 10 [Screenshot Tour]

Windows/Mac/Linux: Opera released an alpha version of Opera 10 today, a first step toward the next major release of the popular cross-platform web browser. First and foremost, Opera 10 is looking to offer stiff competition with the blazing rendering engines in the upcoming Firefox release (Tracemonkey) and Google Chrome (V8) with an update to its rendering engine, Presto—which Opera claims offers a 30% speed boost over the previous version of the engine. But that's not all.

Opera 10 has also added a few new features and overall standards improvements that should make any Opera user smile—including inline spell-check, full HTML email support for Opera's built-in email client, and a perfect score on the Acid3 web standards test.

Passing Acid3


Inline Spell-Check

Sure, Firefox had built-in spell-check since its release in October of 2006, but any Opera user whose been waiting patiently for this feature should be thrilled.

Full HTML Email


Updated Dragonfly

Developers will be happy to see that Dragonfly—Opera's built-in tool for debugging web sites, similar to the Firebug extension in Firefox—has been updated with more and better features.

Opera 10 is a free download for all platforms. Keep in mind that it's currently in alpha (the final release isn't likely to hit until somtime much later next year), meaning you should expect a bug or three. That said, if you give it a try, let's hear how you like it in the comments.


Open-Source T-Shirts Available at the New Mozilla Community Store [Mozilla]

Mozilla opens the doors to their new Community Store, a partnership with t-shirt making company Zazzle, which lets you design and buy your own Firefox-themed shirt or grab one of the more popular designs from other users. Check out the gallery of featured designs here. If you design one yourself, post a link to it in the comments.


FluidTunes Controls iTunes by Your Waving Hand [Featured Mac Download]

Mac OS X only: Using your Mac's iSight camera to detect the hand gestures you make in front of it, free utility FluidTunes controls your iTunes library playback based on those motions. File this under "really cool but not sure I'd actually use it every day": you swipe your hand back and forth in the air in front of your Mac to move through your iTunes library in Cover Flow mode, and then swipe at a button to play a selected album. FluidTunes shows what you look like on your camera behind your album covers, so you can center your hand over buttons to press them. (It's dim, but it's there—in the screenshot above the user's hand is at the bottom of the screen.) While not touching the keyboard, mouse, or any other digital remote to play your music is amazing, you'll look like a flailing crazy person while you use FluidTunes. Here's a video demo.


FluidTunes is a free download for Mac only.


Google Earth Plug-in Puts Google Earth in Your Mac Browser [Featured Mac Download]

Mac OS X only: Back in May Google released a Google Earth plug-in that integrated Google's popular 3D mapping application in your Windows web browser, and today the Google Geo Developers blog announced that the Earth plug-in is now available for Macs. The Google Earth plug-in still isn't the most widely used plug-in around, but Google did create a new Puzzler game that uses the Google Earth plug-in (Windows and Mac) if you're looking to stretch its legs. The OS X Google Earth plug-in is a free download, works with both Firefox and Safari.


Boxee Updates, Adds Support for Netflix, Windows on the Way [Featured Download]

Windows/Mac/Linux: Free Xbox Media Center (XBMC) spinoff boxee has updated with great news for Netflix lovers: The popular media center application now supports streaming Netflix Watch Instantly video to your boxee media center. There are, however, a couple of catches. First, the Netflix streaming only works on Macs (with Microsoft Silverlight installed), so Linux users are out of luck until Netflix begins supporting Linux. Second, those of you enjoying boxee on an Apple TV are also out of luck (for now) when it comes to Netflix streaming. Now for the good news. The boxee update also introduces a handful of great new feature improvements and bug fixes that everyone can enjoy, including:


  • a new Hulu – looks more like hulu.com, enables you to login (so you can get your Hulu Queue), works faster, and playback should be greatly improved on Apple TV
  • a new YouTube – new look, as well as higher quality video playback. some of these YouTube clips look pretty good on your 46" LCD
  • a new CNN, Flickr, Picasa and Apple Movie Trailers – we've re-written all of these plug-ins to work faster and look better
  • Boston Globe's The Big Picture – it's a great photo-blog, which we really like, and thought could be pretty cool in a 10-foot experience. if you'll like it we could bring much more of these type of services (let us know!)
  • integration with MTV Music – when you click on an album you'll see a new option to let you watch music videos of the artist. check it out. MTV said they can give us higher quality videos, and we have a few more ideas for providing a great music video experience on boxee
  • theWB – on our quest to bring more TV content to boxee is the latest addition. it means shows like Buffy, Babylon5, Firefly, One Tree Hill and The O.C. are now available on boxee


I've been playing around with the new boxee all morning, and it's a great update to the interface. If boxee has been buggy for you in the past, you may want to give this release another try, too—it features lots of behind the scenes code improvements as well.

Finally, to Windows users wondering why they've been included on this download: boxee has also released a pre-alpha for the Windows crowd to a couple hundred of new testers. While that means it's not available to everyone yet, it hopefully will be very soon.


AIM Blast Creates Instant Message Groups for Mass IMs [Instant Messaging]

AOL has rolled out an online tool for sending messages to multiple AOL Instant Messaging (AIM) names at once. Even if you're rocking your AIM account through Digsby, Pidgin, or another multi-protocol client, you'll get a new Buddy List name that serves as a marker for sending out group messages. Users have to be invited and accept to get your messages, and the group creator decides whether the message recipients can see who else is in the group, and whether replies go direct to them or the whole group. It's one of those features you can't believe wasn't there already, but it's thankfully open to anyone using the AIM protocol.


Get Rid of YouTube's Embedded Search Bar [YouTube]

YouTube recently added, without warning, a top-aligned search bar to pretty much every embedded video across the net. Want to turn them off on your own embeds? Add &showsearch=0 in the embed code, as explained here. [via]


Cut Your Phone and Cable Bills by $100 [How To]

PC Magazine columnist Sascha Segan got sick of paying for cable and phone services every month he knew were over-priced and under-utilized. Using some simple negotiation tactics and a bit of tech work, he cut his land line and lowered his cell phone bills. The former required he actually leave his cell company and buy a pay-as-you-go model, causing his former carrier to come back with better rates. To save on shows he wasn't really watching, Segan set up a combination of over-the-air HD channels, a dual-tuner TiVo, and an Apple TV model loaded with Boxee (which we toured earlier this year). It's not exactly Depression-era frugality, but can be an inspiring read for anyone thinking about re-configuring their monthly cash flow.


GPU-Z Retrieves Your Video Card's Stats [Featured Windows Download]


Windows only: GPU-Z is a lightweight (410k!) portable application that gives you a large amount of information about your video card. After loading up GPU-Z you'll have access to everything from the basic GPU information to the memory type on your card to the bios and driver versions. GPU-Z supports multiple cards and detected both the add on card and embedded motherboard video in my system. In addition to fixed statistics GPU-Z accesses the available sensors in your graphics card to give you feedback on processor and memory utilization, GPU temperature and fan speed. For a more hands on approach to working with your graphics card, check out how to use RivaTuner to scale your graphics card for efficiency. GPU-Z is freeware, Windows only.


Times Extra Adds Outside Sources to New York Times [News Aggregation]

The New York Times launched a new version of their front page today, "Times Extra," that incorporates up to eight related or supporting blog posts and news articles from outside sources, including news firms the Times could be seen as in direct competition with. The Grey Lady is only lightly treading in the content-aggregation/link-friendly waters, though—you have to click the "Extra" button in the upper right to get the extra sources, and the cookie switches back to a standard view after 24 hours. Still, it's an intriguing step forward by an old media company looking to what's new—new in the last decade, at least.


Netflix Watch Instantly Now Streaming on Macs [NetFlix]

Netflix's streaming video-on-demand Watch Instantly service should now be available for all subscribers, having just come out of beta. It requires installing Microsoft's Silverlight browser plug-in. [via]


OpenXML Document Viewer Opens Office 2007 Files in Firefox [Featured Firefox Extension]

Windows/Linux (Firefox): Microsoft, through its open-source hosting site (yes, that really exists), has released a plug-in and extension set for Windows and Linux versions of Firefox that can open Office 2007 files natively. While there are certainly many work-arounds for those encountering the newer, won't-open-in-older-Office-suite .DOCX files, including using Google tools, converting by email, and others, Linux users in particular may find using Firefox a lot more handy. Both flavors require installing a plug-in and then adding the Firefox extension, and may also require tweaking Firefox's application settings. The OpenXML Document Viewer is a free download, works for Firefox on Windows and Linux.


You received this email because you are subscribed to the real_time feed for http://feeds.gawker.com/lifehacker/full. To change your subscription settings, please log into RSSFWD.