Because of the stresses it endures when it's literally exploded into a driver's face, the fabric material used in airbags can't be re-used again in case it fails. But it's still perfectly suited to the rigors of hauling laptops, textbooks, and sweaty gym clothes. So Toronto-based MariClaRo turns them into these one of a kind backpacks that are individually made to order.
Last week we showed you a quick preview of OK Go's new video for "Needing/Getting", and now here's the full monty, compiled from a literal drive-by of 1157 homemade instruments of melodic Rube Goldberg(ish) goodness.
You can check out the full rundown of how everything was put together—including the band taking stunt driving courses—in the details section of the video on YouTube. [YouTube]
So how are you going to watch the game this year? Huddled in front of your buddy's RCA, squinting at plays? No thanks, not when you can watch it on a screen big enough to make you feel like you're on the sidelines.
We tested four 3D-capable HDTV's, each with at least 60 inches of viewing area, to find the one that provides the best picture, clarity, color and most panel-defying 3D. We looked for one that was easy to setup, install, and use without calling in tech support. Because our ideal HDTV doesn't require a visit from from a specialist to get up and running, we set them all up using the THX calibration method, which you can find on any THX-certified Blu-ray. It's game time, after all, and you want your set ready to watch in minutes, not hours.
The Mitsubishi 75-inch LaserVue DLP is, first and foremost, gigantic—like having a drive-in theater installed in your living room. And for watching movies it was stupendous. Its six-color processor provides a huge range of color shades, but they were never quite as bright or as intense as the other TVs we tested. The set's minimal edging was a plus, helping add to the sense of being in a theater. It worked wonderfully under dimmed lights but trying to watch early Sunday sports was a problem—some of us have east-facing living room windows, and this baby is afraid of the light. It's also afraid of subpar content: Any sort of digital artifact or SD quality video (like a Netflix show streamed over a slow Wi-Fi connection) was glaringly obvious on its massive screen, even from far away. The 3D picture was solid with a good depth to the image, but fast-moving action—whether a thrown pass, car chase, or slap shot—did tend to get blobby and blurred.
On the hardware side, the LaserVue is a bit limited. It can't be wall-mounted, the set itself is horrendously heavy—tipping the scales at 140 pounds—and takes about 15 seconds to warm up when you turn it on. It does have four HDMI ports, which should be enough for most people, but its lack of USB jacks prevents you throwing in a few pirated movies family photos on a whim. Initial setup was straightforward, but the remote, which is about the size of my forearm with more buttons than my keyboard, took a while to learn.
• Screen Size: 75-Inch
• Display Type: DLP
• Refresh Rate: 120Hz
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, 4x HDMI, 2x component/composite
• 3D Type: Active Shutter
• Weight: 140 lbs
• Price: $6,000 MSRP
The LG Class Cinema has a matte screen and its frame has a transparent bezel. The matte finish helps cut down on glare from ambient light while the bezel features an attractive touch interface for power, volume, and channel control. Like on the TNG-era Enterprise.
The color accuracy and 2D picture clarity are both fairly good but not outstanding—on par with other mid-priced sets. It employs 8-channel processing for each color and is capable of displaying 16.7 million possible shades. Black levels and shadow details, unfortunately, were only average. There was a notable loss of detail in dark movies, like Aliens.
The LG's passive 3D is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, the glasses are lightweight, flicker-free, and inexpensive, which means everybody in the room actually gets a pair and nobody will be getting nauseus extended sessions. The 178-degree viewing angle is also quite generous. On the other hand, the passive technology comes at the price of half the vertical screen resolution—1920 x 1080 images actually come across as 1920 x 540. It's not a deal breaker, but certainty noticeable. And, despite the 240Hz refresh rate, we also noticed some blurring during fast action scenes.
The LG offers four HDMI ports and double USBs, as well as component and antenna hookups and built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. None of its ports face the rear of the set, so it can be wall mounted nice and flush. The remote feels a bit cheap, though. Good thing the set also includes a slick five-button, motion-controlled SmartTV remote that can perform all of the same functions.
• Screen Size: 65-inch
• Display Type: LED/LCD
• Refresh Rate: 240Hz
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Ethernet, 4x HDMI, 2x USB 2.0, 1x RF, 2x component
• 3D Type: Passive
• Weight: 104 lbs
• Price: $4,500 MSRP
The Samsung 64-inch 1080p plasma is as gorgeous as it is slender. At a mere inch thick and 51 pounds, it's the thinnest and lightest set of the group. And, with slim, brushed-metal frame and inch-wide transparent bezel, there's very little to distract from the on-screen action.
The color accuracy was spot-on and the picture clarity was excellent—we barely had to make any adjustments during calibration. Colors were extremely vivid, much brighter and far more intense than any of the other sets. Combined with an anti-glare screen coating and Samsung's Real Black Filter, you can watch in a bright room without the picture getting washed out. 2D clarity was also fantastic, even with SD signals, though it did suffer from some digital artifacts when watching streaming content. The 3D image was very good with excellent—and adjustable—field depth. The active shutter glasses were a bit bulky though—you definitely notice them after a long 3D sesh.
It features four HDMI ports, two USB ports, and is Wi-Fi enabled. We were especially impressed with the remote, which has a Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard on the back side, making for easy-peasy username entering. Navigating the Samsung's menus was very intuitive, despite the amount of features it packs. Streaming content like Netflix and Hulu Plus are all there. Skype too, if you want to plug in a camera.
• Screen Size: 64-inch
• Display Type: Plasma
• Refresh Rate: 240Hz
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Ethernet, DNLA, 4x HDMI, 2x USB 2.0, 1x composite/component
• 3D Type: Passive
• Weight: 51 lbs
• Price: $3,800 MSRP
The Sharp Aquos Quattron's screen is taller than the average American man. Its called Quattron because there's a fourth color—yellow—in its sub-pixel arrays (these colors are mixed to create the shade for each individual pixel), allowing it to generate nearly a trillion potential color shades. The black levels and shadow detail were equally impressive, thanks to the set's local dimming edge-lit LED back-lighting, with very little loss of clarity during dark scenes. The picture clarity was top-notch as well; there were significantly fewer jagged edges even on SD content. 2D HD content was clear enough that you could count the laces on a thrown football in flight.
The 3D was fairly good, though we did notice some halo effects with it turned on and some blurring during fast action (though that's pretty much universal in 3D sets). Screen flicker was, however, nearly nonexistent, and the 176-degree viewing angle was impressive.
The Sharp is Wi-Fi enabled, and includes four HDMI ports. No USBs, though, but you can push local content over your home network to play it . The streaming service selection was more sparse than the Samsung's offerings, but the amount and degree of picture controls were made calibrating the set dead simple.
• Screen Size: 70-inch
• Display Type: LED/LCD
• Refresh Rate: 240Hz
• Connectivity: Ethernet, DNLA, 4x HDMI, 2x USB 2.0, 1x component
• 3D Type: Active
• Weight: 99 lbs
• Price: $4,300 MSRP
Rejoice fellows of the Lego ring, because we got the first close-up look of the Lego Lord of the Rings sets coming out this year. And they are amazing, from the Mines of Moria—cave troll included!—to Helm's Deep to Shelob!
Yes, that was a Lego LOTR nerd squeaky scream. Look at the Hobbit mini-minifigs fighting Shelob! (that's another one). You can see the Mines of Moria on the back, with the cave troll battling the Fellowship! (yes, yes). That seems to be the second biggest set, the biggest one being Helm's Deep.
The image was secretly taken by a fan from Slovenia in private area of the Lego booth at Nuremberg's Toy Fair. This stolen image comes after Lego gave us the official look of all the Lego Lord of the Rings characters. I can't wait to see them at the New York Toy Fair next week (and show them to you). [Kocke Klub (Slovenian)——Thanks Scott!]
That Field Notes notebook you'll find in many a reporter's back pocket ensures they never miss a scoop, but it doesn't do a lot for their image. At least not as much as this clever faux-hankie notebook that complements a blazer.
Available in a polka-dotted red, black, or white pattern, the top of the notebook is trimmed to a point so it looks like a folded hankie when carried in a breast pocket. And with 60 pages of acid-free paper, you have enough space for every scandalous quote. Available here for $10 each—pencil, blazer, and whimsical sense of style not included. [Hankie Pocketbook via GeekAlerts]
They said it couldn't be done, but Robb Godshaw has successfully found a way to make ping pong—truly man's greatest sport—even better. By introducing a rocking mechanism under the table, and high-powered flashes to throw off your opponent.
The whole setup is cleverly referred to as Swing Pong, with the table being tilted to the left and right via pneumatic actuators located underneath. A set of arcade buttons in front of each player lets them tilt the table at any point, altering the trajectory of a shot and making it harder to return. But the table can also be set to continually rock back and forth throughout an entire match, upping the difficulty level for both players.
There's even a set of bright camera flashes underneath the table's translucent surface which serve to temporarily blind the players, and the net will actually move farther away from the last person who scored, making it harder and harder for them to keep a rally going. Further evening the odds, and encouraging the condition known as pong rage. What? Am I the only person ever diagnosed? [Robb Godshaw]
You might think the TV show The Good Wife is best suited to middle-aged women (so much so that my fiance enforces reference restraint when we're out with friends). Seriously though, it's one of the best shows on TV. Character Depth! Complex, contemporary issues! And tons of tech. Bear with me.
[Ed: These views do not reflect the opinions of anyone else at Gizmodo.]
Technology is coarsing through this show's plot. These details are often brought to bear through Zach, the doe-eyed son of our protagonist Alicia Florrick. Like a lot of kids his age, Zach runs tech support for his lawyer mom. His whizkid skills often end up breaking one of his mother's cases wide open. And while rolling his eyes at his mom's computer naivety, he embarks on investigative pursuits with nothing but ipod in hand.
You should check it out. It's on Hulu and Amazon. Watch, if only so I can one day live in a world where I can freely admit, without shame, to watching this show.
Hub's flat-packed Prizm iPad stand is designed to be as light and minimal as possible, separating into two pieces of precision cut thin aluminum that can be easily slipped inside a bag or case alongside your tablet.
But it looks more to me like a ceremonial weapon that I swear I've seen Worf brandish on several episodes of Star Trek TNG. At the least, when you're done propping up your tablet or phone, you can probably use it to fend off a Borg attack for at least a few minutes. It's available in 10 different colors and finishes for the iPad for $30 to $35, and the iPhone for $25 to $30. [Hub]
The best Kickstarter projects are the ones that have videos of the product doing what it claims to do, and are already well-funded when you discover them. Like this amazing Zen Table which creates intricate sand drawings using a metal ball specially designed sculpting head.
At $500 for the small version (which comes as a DIY kit) the Zen Table makes for one expensive desktop toy, but seeing it in action makes me more tempted to shell out the $750 for the fully assembled larger model. Using a hidden mechanism that moves through the sand, the Zen Table carves out complicated images from your digital files, either from a USB connection, an SD card, or an optional wireless connection.
What impresses me most is how the table cleverly uses the striped background pattern it creates to move the sculpting head between different areas, without leaving criss-crossing trails like you'd get from an Etch A Sketch. Its creator has obviously put a lot of work into the software to ensure it produces very clean results as it draws, and I'll be honest, it's far more mesmerizing to watch than a swinging pendulum. [Zen Table via The Awesomer]
As she points out, clinging to its outdated business model hasn't done much for the Yellow Page's stock value over the past few years. But that could easily be resolved if it just started marketing them as free booster seats. I mean, that's how everyone still uses them right? That, or for demonstrating uncommon feats of strength as you tear one in two. [Reddit via BoingBoing]
Yesterday we showed you a few methods for quickly chilling your Superbowl libations, but none are as fast, or easy, as West Coast Chillers new can which lowers the energy drink's temperature by 30 degrees at the push of a button.
Now you've probably heard of these self cooling cans before, and that's because they've actually been in development for over 18 years now. In fact, back in 1998 Pepsi was all set to use these same cans, but it was discovered that the refrigerant used contributed to greenhouse gases. So it was back to the drawing board for another 12 years while the company developed a suitable replacement that now uses environmentally-friendly activated carbon and carbon dioxide.
The science behind how the cans actually work seems like it's a closely guarded secret, but once the West Coast Chillers start popping up in stores for about $3 a can, I'm sure we'll have the opportunity to open one up and see how it ticks. But, since the cooling mechanism is recyclable, maybe we should just leave it a mystery. [West Coast Chill via Gizmag]
A platform is useless without dedicated developers. Brandon Watson, former head of the Windows Phone Developer Experience, knows this better than anyone. Knowledge he will surely carry over to his new gig as director of Amazon's Kindle Cross Platform team.
Watson took to Twitter yesterday afternoon to confirm his career change and while this is no small loss for Microsoft, it could mean great things to come for the Kindle-verse. Especially when you consider the "cross platform" aspect of his title. Could this mean we'll see third party apps on the Kindle Touch? If so, we might finally get an answer to the most pressing question of our time: will Angry Birds still be boring in black and white? [Brandon Watson, All About Microsoft via The Verge]
The hard plastic wheels used on skateboards usually means they're relegated to only gleaming the cube on smoother surfaces like sidewalks. That's not the case with Rockboard's Descender, which adds tank-like treads for all-terrain ollies and kickflips.
Ok, so with 36 wheels in total (3 per set, 9 per tread) you're probably not going to be pulling off any tricks with this thing, but that's not why it was created. The large free-wheeling treads make the Descender usable on almost any surface, whether it's grass, snow, or even rocky terrain. So you're able to use it all-year-round wherever you want to.
Ironically it's probably not actually going to be useful for impressing your friends at your local skatepark, but recklessly careening down a mountainside provides more of a thrill anyways. Available sometime this spring, for kids, teens, and adults, as long as they're under 200 pounds. [Rockboard via Coolest Gadgets]
Because, you know, if you are running away from justice, the last thing you want to do is taunting and talking with the police through the internet, that place in which everything gets logged and located unless you know what the hell you are doing (and this guy obviously didn't know what the hell he was doing).
McCombs contacted the police in Facebook to tell them he was running away and that they weren't going to be able catch him. He said he was going to turn himself in once he had a lawyer and the money for the bail, and protested about being put up in their "Creep of the Week" Facebook page before being even convicted (he was right about this one).
According to the Jefferson police, "this is a pretty silly-acting individual to be facing such a serious charge. Of course we are happy to let him know that, yes, we can catch you, but more than anything we are happy that maybe his victim is a step closer to getting justice." Well, sure he may be an idiot, but maybe you should wait for a judge to declare him guilty and post his mugshot in your Creepy McCreepster Facebook page, Mr. Policeman, Sir.
In any case, in case you missed it, here's the complete exchange again. [Al—Thanks Chris!]
McCombs' first reply to the posting of the wanted "rape by force" mugshot.
Instead of shutting him down, whoever runs the sheriff's office Facebook page immediately takes the bait and trolls back. McCombs replies that he's getting a lawyer and asks if he can turn himself in to a "nicer" county.
Sheriff keeps talking.
The sheriff offers to talk to McCombs via email, but the suspect prefers to talk in public on Facebook.
The dumb kid just can't stop talking, now asking the police for legal advice.
This is like watching a train crash in slow motion.
McCombs accuses the cops of defamation of character for posting the mugshot. He has a point. How can the police classify anyone as "creep of the week" when these people have not been convicted yet. He may be innocent.
Some dude piles on. People are so nice. Isn't accessory to trolling a misdemeanor?
The police finally realize that it's dumb to put up this public show.
McCombs finally posts the obligatory "I didn't do it." Just after this, the whole mugshot and conversation was deleted by the sheriff's office.
Part of Jefferson County Sheriff Office's Facebook Creep of the Week page, now without McComb's mug shot or conversation.
Microphones can't discriminate what they hear, which can lead to noisy conversations if you're careening down a snowy hill. But by picking up the vibrations in your skull while you talk, Buhel's new SpeakGoggle G33s promise to clearly decipher every word.
The goggles connect to a cellphone in your pocket over Bluetooth, letting you take and place calls. Or can connect to another pair of goggles like a set of walkie talkies, with a range of up to 1,640 feet. The bone conducting microphone it uses is built into the frame, so you have to be wearing the goggles for it to pick up what you're saying. But in theory it will allow for clear conversations no matter how loud the wind is howling, or if you're swooshing through fresh powder.
On a single charge you're promised up to 12 hours of talk time, and because they include a built-in headphone jack, you can also wirelessly stream music from a smartphone for up to 10 hours. It also probably goes without saying that the goggles have been tested in temperatures as cold as -45°C. So they'll probably even work on your next trek up Everest. [Buhel via Gizmag]
So by now we've realized that Siri isn't the end all of personal assistants that Apple claimed it would be. In fact, as Nick Douglas discovered, she's particularly unhelpful when it comes to assisting with your morning exercise routine.
You'd think she might be a little encouraging given she's there to serve, but Nick soon discovers that her automated abilities are pretty much useless outside of placing calls and scheduling meetings. And a word of warning, asking her to call 911 on your behalf just has bad idea written all over it. [YouTube via Laughing Squid]
Here are the three cities of Sunday's Super Bowl as seen from space: New York City (Giants), Greater Boston area (Patriots), and the host city, Indianapolis, Indiana. The high definition images were captured by NASA's Landsat 7.
One cool bit of space trivia: since 1972, Landsat satellites have collected two million images, now stored in the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive. [Flickr]
The Sun? Clouds? Little wavy lines? These cryptic icons used by meteorologists only serve to confuse those of us wanting to know tomorrow's forecast. So Robb Godshaw created this easy-to-understand forecasting device that lets you feel what tomorrow's temperature will be.
Robb, an industrial design student at Rochester Institute of Technology, created the Cryoscope from a heat sink, cooling fan, and a Peltier element, which is kind of like a thermo-electric pump that can transfer heat from one area to another. All the elements are encased in an aluminum cube which heats up or cools down to reflect tomorrow's predicted air temperature.
A simple web app lets you specify your location, so the forecast is—you know—accurate. And on the underside of the cube a red and blue colored LED provides a visual cue to the predicted temp, in case the Cryoscope is hot enough to make you wish you hadn't touched it. [Robb Godshaw via Cnet]
Jemima Packington was born with the gift of foresight. Unfortunately, that future-vision is only legible by reading the positions of thrown asparagus. That's right—she's an asparamancer and she just foretold the births of two royal British heirs and Britain's imminent trouncing of the rest of the world in the 2012 Olympics.
Watch as she deftly predicts the UK's weather (overcast with some rain, how did she do that?!). But that's not all, she's already made plenty of 2012 tellings including dual royal pregnancies, a new UK party leader, the collapse of the Euro (yeah, like nobody sees that coming) and the death of a high-profile British figure (*cough* George Michael *cough*). We'll have to see if her predictions come true but her sudden appearance in the year 2012 must be a sign of future catastrophe, or at least more shitty London weather until spring. [Buzzfeed]
The photographer utilized the Bokeh photography technique to achieve the ethereal quality of the macro-photos. The bokeh technique emphasizes the aesthetic quality of out of focus areas and how those blurred areas render light. The highlights in those blurred areas usually produce a halo of light.
According to Colossal, Lee picked up the camera for the first time three years ago. Imagine how incredible her photographs will be after six years. [Lee Peiling via Colossal]
The new substrate has been dubbed Lotus Glass and, in addition to being as resilient as Gorilla while granting enhanced picture quality, better response time, better resolution, and reducing the screen's power requirements. According to a release by Corning,
The intrinsic thermal consistency of Corning Lotus Glass allows it to retain its shape and quality during high-temperature processing. Decreased compaction and variation during the crystallization and activation step further reduces stress and distortions to the substrate. This enables tighter design rules in advanced backplanes for higher resolution and faster response time.
Lotus Glass is expected to debut later this summer on the next iteration of the Galaxy Nexus line. [Corning via Mobile Mag]
Image: asharkyu / Shutterstock
Whether sitting atop the Hudson or drifting just above a skyscraper, these conceptual floating airports put landing strips where they're needed most: in the middle of bustling metropoleis. Our friends at Oobject have assembled 12 of the best.
Be sure to also check out these converted jets and jungle planes.
Music discovery on Spotify sucks. It really sucks. It's amazing that you can listen to millions upon millions of songs for $10 a month, but trying to find something new is frustrating if all your friends listen to crap. Music Bloodline is your savior.
The Next Web just stumbled upon Music Bloodline, which is the coolest music discovery tool we've seen in a while. It catalogs artists according to who influenced who. Pretend that you're listening the same T. Rex record over and over because nothing else comes to mind. Head to Music Bloodline and look up T. Rex instead. There you'll find a bio, discography, and top tracks. There are even Spotify links, so you can listen to tracks and albums with a click. After clicking around on the site a little bit, you'll find loads of artists you'd never heard before—or at least artists you haven't listened to in a while. Stone Roses FTW.
Music Bloodline would feel much more seamless and awesome if it were built directly into Spotify as an app, but it's pretty awesome and we'll take what we can get for now. [Music Bloodline via The Next Web]
Pixound brings an intriguing approach to the music app: letting you play any photo as if it were a musical instrument. That was enough to get our attention, and when we first started playing around with the Pixound app for iOS ($1), we thought it was a neat gimmick, but probably not worth a buck.
Then we kept playing, delving deeper into the app's features. Having done so, we think this one's definitely worth a dollar. At the very least, you could use it to take a picture of the people sitting across from you on the subway, and start playing them like a musical instrument.
Due to the odd economics of apps, that ability - something nobody in their right mind would design dedicated hardware for - costs about a fifth of the price of an super-expensive cup of coffee.
Pixound's mojo runs way deeper than just pulling off that subway stunt though. In its default mode, the app lets you play colors (pictured left) using a piano sound, but it also contains every musical mode you can think of, a wide variety of instruments (all of which sound great), a backing drum track, and even the ability to tweak how the app lets you play the various colors in your photos (RGB or hue).
Oh, and it also comes with variable chorus and reverb, presets that make everything sound good without you futzing around, and pre-stocked photos with their designs processed to work well within the app (like the one to the right). Pixound also includes a ball that can move from left to right or in loops through a painting, basslines, and, frankly, too many options to include here.
And yes, you can import any photo from your iPhone or other iOS device and play that too.
The interface responds quickly to the touch, despite the complexity of how the sounds are generated. There's no AirPlay, so you can't play photos on your television set via Apple TV, which would be nice, but that omission is to be expected, because AirPlay wasn't designed to stream sounds that are always changing. And clearly, the app should let you record and share music, which it doesn't.
Still, after reading this far, you probably already know whether you want this app or not. And you probably do.
Here are some more screenshots showing a bit more of what is possible with Pixound:
Ah, the pixie dream girl of romantic comedies past. She's perfect, isn't she? So light-hearted, so whimsical, so in touch with the simple joys of glitter. But what lies beneath that fairy dust exterior? Well, this.
Can no one help these poor, adorable, carefree women? And to be honest, even after watching this—should they? Full video below:
The rest of this week's top web comedy videos, including an exploration of Peter Dinklage's dinklings, a PSA to save Community, and yet another video of People Saying Sh-t, can be found over at Splitsider.
Other highlights from the week in comedy:
- We kicked off The Best Sitcom Episode Ever Tournament! And the tough choices started immediately: Simpsons vs. Seinfeld? Office vs. Office? It's like choosing between our children, except harder because sitcoms are better than children.
- We sadly waved a curious and playful goodbye to Lord Wyndemere as Paul Brittain left SNL.
- We talked to director Peter Atencio about the making of Key and Peele.
- We struggled to accept how these ten pilots were never picked up.
- We spoke to Jon Glaser about Delocated's third season.
- We advised you to model your life after Drake, son.
- We stayed up late for Late World with Zach on VH1.
- We sang the praises of Casey Wilson's time on SNL.
- What would life be like if SNL ripoff Fridays was still on the air?
- We bugged you to watch The Untitled Web Series That Morgan Evans Is Doing.
- Man, Alec Baldwin's been hosting SNL for a long time.
- We watched some interviews with David Letterman, Merril Markoe and Billy Crystal when they were itty-bitty baby comedians.
- We looked at the ten movies that everyone loves to hate.
Splitsider is a website about comedy and the people who create it. It covers movies, TV shows, web videos, books and any other format that exists to make you laugh.
The Army's IFAK—Individual First Aid Kit—used to be built into a SAW ammo pouch. This was a terrible solution as the pouch would continually get caught on other equipment—not what you want in a fire-fight. But no longer! The US military has just overhauled this life-saving accessory.
Seated on the hip, the old-style IFAK was "just kind of a brick on your side that gets in the way of everything," said Rich Landry, Product Manager of Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, at NSSC. To correct this, Army engineers completely revamped the design of the kit, allowing it to be carried on the small of the back. In addition to the new position's advantage of fitting under the soldier's backpack and being more easily accessible, it packs more supplies as well—including two combat tourniquets compared to the typical single compression bandage.
According to Landry,
And that's critical for us, because the big picture in load carriage is the backpack piece. That's where a large percentage of the load and bulk comes from. And it's critical that we still have to be able to carry that. All you do is reach back and pull (the IFAK) out, and it doesn't matter what side you pull it out from. So if this hand is injured, you can reach behind with this (hand) and pull it out, or your buddy can get to it.
Every soldier in a theater of operations carries an IFAK. They're built for use as a first response kit and typically include a tourniquet, gloves, bandages, gauze and other necessities to keep a soldier alive until medics reach him. Despite the new kits being in development for less than a quarter, they have already been approved by Army brass and should be shipping to the front lines of Afghanistan and other trouble areas very shortly. [US Army via Medgadget]
You.
About a year ago I was putting the final touches on an article for a major media outlet. I honed, I proof-read, I tweaked. My self-absorbed goal was to have to the most popular item on this big media site for at least a few hours, and based on the topic and content, I really thought I had a shot. And then, minutes after my piece was published, the site's editors put up a story about baby panthers.
And just like that, it was over.
There are a few rules that hold true even in this ever changing media landscape and one of them is that no one beats a good kitty story. While story placement and promotion matter, readers have a big part in determining which stories will rise to the top of the most popular lists on news sites. As a rule of thumb, editors choose the top stories while the reading public decides which stories will be the most popular by way of their shares, Tweets, Likes, and the like. Editors decide what to cover. The public decides what to read and share.
But I have a feeling the public is getting a promotion. In two major cases, conversations historically reserved for editorial meeting rooms have been extended to the social web.
First, there was the challenge to the Stop Online Privacy Act as it moved through Congress. Several major Internet organizations joined in a coordinated effort to bring the negative aspects of SOPA to the attention of the general public. Big sites either went totally black or at least supported the cause with prominent links to information on the subject. The media dramatically boosted coverage of the story. And in a very short time, public and organizational pressure forced the political backers of SOPA to fold. When was the last time a large swath of the American public even knew the contents of a bill before Congress?
This week we've seen an even more powerful shift. There was no coordinated organizational effort. But thousands of voices on the Internet still managed to organize in a way that drove the news. I write a daily newsletter in which I cover the top ten news stories of the day. As part of my daily routine, I visit about fifty top news sites multiple times a day. At the outset, the story about the Susan G. Komen Fund cutting its financial support of Planned Parenthood was covered, but it was not a major story on any of these sites. It was, however, a major story in my Twitter and Facebook streams. People were energized by the news and from the Komen Facebook wall to Twitter and blogs, they had an outlet to express that energy. Within a few hours, major media picked up on the surge of activity around the topic and it quickly moved to the top of front pages.
The story started small. The people decided it was major. Big media responded and gave the story more coverage. And within a day, we had a full-fledged media firestorm that was being driven from the bottom up.
At the height of the coverage, NBC's Andrea Mitchell interviewed Komen founder Nancy Brinker. During the exchange, Mitchell explained that she was voicing the anger of many people and channeling the energy and ideas surfaced by thousands on Twitter.
That sounds like a pretty good way to decide what's news.
SOPA and Komen represent a change in how we pick top stories. Even in an era of constant changes in the way we consume and share content, this is a remarkable moment in the history of news and public discourse.
There are of course risks to majority rule when it comes to what makes headlines. Sometimes the pace of the realtime Internet leads to the rapid and rabid spread of mininformation. Brands and individuals can witness the destruction of their reputations before anyone has a chance to see the facts through the fog of retweets.
But with the mainstream press and the Internet-enabled general public providing checks and balances, we might see a much improved process by which we all decide what should be the headline of the moment.
I'm guessing we'll still be pretty interested in cat stories. Some things will never change.
In 2011, manufacturers shipped 487.7 million smartphones and only 414.6 million computers—that's desktops, laptops and tablets. Combined. We'd heard prophecy of this day, and now it may have arrived.
The study by Canalys has troves of data about global smartphone sales, which seem to lend credence to the theory that smartphones are becoming the main computing devices of the masses. Creation and productivity tasks aside, the vast majority of what we need to do or obtain from the internet can be accomplished on a $100 device that fits in our hand. And they're becoming near-ubiquitous.
For the rest of the stat geekery, check out the full report if poring over data about product shipments is your thing. [Canalys]
You know Apple's 1984 commercial. You've seen Apple's 1984 commercial. Heck, it's widely accepted that the 1984 commercial is one of the best ads of all time. But did you know it was almost cancelled by Apple before it ever aired?
Of course, it wasn't almost cancelled by Steve Jobs, who loved the ad. It was almost cancelled by the suits sitting on Apple's board. Former Apple board member Mike Markkula actually wanted to fire Chiat\Day (the ad agency who handled Apple marketing at the time) because the commercial was so bad and CEO-at-the-time John Sculley told Chiat\Day to just sell the Super Bowl airtime Apple purchased instead of using it for the commercial. EVERYONE ON THAT BOARD HATED IT.
Chiat\Day only ended up selling 1 of the 2 airtime slots they had (refusing to sell the other and lying to Apple that it was too late to sell). So Apple begrudgingly held on, it had paid for everything already, after all.
The best part of the story is when Woz heard that the commercial was in trouble, he told Jobs that he would pay half the $800,000 it cost for the airtime to save the commercial if Jobs would pay the other half. The lesson, as always, Woz is the awesome. Read more about Apple's 1984 Super Bowl commercial at Mental Floss. [Mental Floss]
On Super Bowl Sunday, 55 IT specialists will huddle together in a dark room to keep their company's website afloat on the biggest day of its entire year, since it's going to be bombarded by millions of ravenous fans. But the company they work for isn't the NFL.
Here's how Domino's social media specialist explained the roles of who's in the room to The Atlantic:
* Application owners check the initial code of our applications, making up our defensive line.
* Those watching our operating systems are our second line of defense, or "line backers"... who react to every situation on the "field."
* Those observing the network will jump in and "cover" if anything looks dicey on a larger scale, serving as our "cornerbacks."
* In case someone tries a "Hail Mary" play to hack into part of our system, we have our Security team there as our "safeties" - our last line of defense!
Which is about the caliber of sports metaphor you'd expect from a social media specialist. But it doesn't make it any less cool that Dominos stuffs bunch of nerds into a room during the super bowl to make sure you get your pizza. [Dominos via The Atlantic]
Being one of Paul Newman's best performances ever—if not the best—is enough reason to watch this 1961's dark drama of losers and losers. But when you add Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott and Piper Laurie at their very best, with a perfect script and direction by Robert Rossen, it's just impossible to avoid.
Everything is perfect in this story of a young pool hustler—Fast Eddie, Newman—who tries to take on a legendary pool player—Minnesota Fats, Gleason—and ends associated with a gangstery figure—Bert Gordon, Scott—in order to make it big at any cost... just to discover that winning doesn't mean shit. The characters, the razorsharp dialogue and the silences, the cinematography, everything in this masterpiece clicks to shake your body, break your fingers, and punch your face repeatedly.
It's heartbreaking, yet exhilarating because of its intensity and perfection. And the pool playing scenes are fun (all of them performed by the Newman and Gleason except one trick shot).
If you watched it a long time ago, you will enjoy it even more if you watch it again. [Netflix, iTunes, Amazon]
Correction: all of them freak me out. [Bobby Neel Adams via Visual News via Petapixel]
You're very easily distracted by pretty much everything on your computer. That's not a terrible thing most times—it's on there because you enjoy interacting with it, after all—but it's trouble when you're on deadline. A free app called Think can help with that by blacking out (or dimming) every app but the one you're working in. That way you can keep an organized virtual workspace without being distracted by what's happening in this window over here. Free
If you work in a noisy office, you probably need to block out your surroundings. But if you're also not the type of person who can work efficiently while listening to music, you're a little screwed. Earplugs are a good solution, but it can look a little rude using the big industrial orange ones; they're basically a huge flashing sign that everyone around you is too annoying. You can use a big pair of on- or over-ear headphones to block the noise without actually listening to anything, or you can get a pair of ear plugs that look like headphones, like these V-Moda Faders, but are actually just shutting your dumb coworkers up for you. $15
If you have something to write, you're probably working in Word or a Google Doc or some other similarly and counterproductively distracting application. That's why I love Writer for its no-nonsense, barely-customizable text editing. Anything that needs to be formatted can either be done after a paste or manually coded if that's more your fancy. There are similar apps for Windows, or others for Mac, but there is something to be said for not worrying about how big your fonts are or if this word should be italicized and just writing the words you're trying to write. $3
This is the single hardest part of working in front of a computer all day: You have a infinite distractions in front of you, and it's up to you to control yourself. Especially if your firewall is relatively lax. One solution is to employ an app like Anti-Social to stop you from visiting those troublesome websites during work, be it Twitter or Facebook or ESPN or whatever (BUT SERIOUSLY, NOT GIZMODO). Another is to get an app to just limit your time on them, like StayFocused. Because self-control is for suckers. $15 (Anti-Social)/Free (StayFocused)
If your job doesn't require you to be online to communicate or access assets, you should probably just ditch the whole damn internet until you're done with your project. You can use Freedom or similar apps to turn off your computer's networking capabilities for blocks ranging from a few minutes to 8 hours. $10
You shouldn't be eating delivery every day, but when you're on a tight deadline, the 20 minutes it takes you to run to the kitchen to whip something up to keep yourself going matter more than the few extra dollars or calories. Seamless delivery is fast, easy, and available via smartphone app in case you locked yourself out of your internet connection. $10-$15 minimum
This one's courtesy our friends over at Lifejacker. A good trick is to set up a stopwatch with a very rough estimate of how long something should take you. By the time the timer goes off, you should be close to done. Take a few extra minutes (if you need them) to finish, and you'll be able to speed through the rest of your project since your brain is in "this is alllllmost done" mode. $9
Lead image credit: Yuri Arcurs/Shutterstock
It's Friday afternoon, you've made it through the long week, and it's time for Happy Hour, Gizmodo's weekly booze column. A cocktail shaker full of innovation, science, and alcohol. TOUCHDOWN, let's spike the punch!
This is the beauty of chemistry. Salt lowers the freezing point of water significantly. Fill a cooler with plenty of ice, salt, and water. It should be nice n' soupy. Cubes of have only so many points of contacts with a can of beer, whereas a solution like water can completely cover it in coldness, plus the solution will be about 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Using this technique, it's possible to get room-temperature beer down to the mid-30's in less than 5 minutes.
The only drawback to this technique is that by lowering the freezing point of the water the ice is going to melt fast, and once it's all melted the temperature will rise again. This means you going to have to drain some liquid out of the cooler and continue adding more ice at regular intervals. Not ideal in the middle of a close game. That said, it's a reliable solution that's safe for cans or bottles, and is probably your best bet.
There are definitely drawbacks to this method, the biggest one being that you must not forget about the beer in your freezer. Which, y'know, you're likely to do when you're drinking beer. Set a timer and don't forget it. If you leave it in too long the can or bottle may explode. Which is bad. In fact, you probably shouldn't try it with bottles at all. It's no where near as efficient as the salty ice-water technique anyways. Not only does it take longer, it won't get as cold, and you have to wrap each beer individually, which wastes time and paper. But, it's also not the worst option out there.
-1 large cooler
-1 funnel
-12+ feet of 3/8-inch copper tubing
-100% non-corrosive silicone sealant
-ice, water, and salt
-Duct tape
-Scrap styrofoam (optional)
Get a length of 3/8-inch copper tubing from a hardware or plumbing store. I just found a 25-foot roll for $27. Perfecto. Attach one end to the inside of your cooler's spigot (it will lets excess water out) and seal it in there with 100% silicone sealant. Make sure it's non-corrosive and non-toxic. This must be water-tight. If you have a better idea than silicone sealant, do it. At the other end of the tube, attach the funnel, using sealant or duct tape—this one is a little less critical. You'll have to let it set for 24-hours. Once it's dry, space out the loops a bit so they're not touching each other, but make sure they are stacked correctly, so that the spiral is continuously going downwards. I'm going to see if I can space them out by cutting holes in scrap styrofoam. How much tubing you'll need depends on how big your cooler is, but to a certain extent, the longer the tube, the colder the beer will be when it comes out.
Now put the cooler on a table (or a stool in the bathtub, if you want to be careful) and fill it with ice (as much ice as possible, remembering to keep the coils straight). Have it so the hose comes out of one of the sides, and so you'll be able to mostly close it later. Now add a bunch of salt. A cup? Maybe two? It'tlDepends on how big your cooler is. Fill it the rest of the way with water. If you sealed everything correctly there should be no water leaking out of the spigot. Close the lid as much as possible (with the funnel still sticking out), and tape the lid to the rim to help prevent heat-loss. Flush the tube out with water once (if you haven't already), and then you should be ready for game time.
This method should allow you to pour a warm beer into it and have it come out icy cold in less than a minute. What's the point? Your cooler and fridge can only fit so much beer. This way you have unlimited storage and unlimited cold beer. You can do one at a time, and your friends will be wowed by the geeky scienciness of it. The reason this one is better than the one made by the Mythbusters (no offense Adam) is on their first try they used dry ice, which froze the beer. The second time they just used regular ice, which didn't get it cold enough (and it leaked like crazy). This should be the happy medium. When the game is over, you should be able to scrape off the silicone sealant and your cooler will be back to normal.
The Disclaimer: I haven't tried this yet. But I'm going to this weekend, and I will document how that goes. Also, don't judge my total lack of art skills. Glorious leader Joe Brown made me do it.
UPDATE 2: Failure. But an interesting one.
Had everything set. Camera rolling. I poured the beer in, and... it just stopped. It refused to go through the tubes. I pulled the funnel off and blew it through (which took a lot of effort). I thought it must be so cold that it was freezing in there, but then water streamed through just fine. I did a few more tests (wasting three beers in the process), until I finally found the culprit.
Carbonation. The carbonation causes air pockets (or gas pockets, really) to build up in the tubing. The gas wants to rise while the liquid wants to fall, but because the tube is pretty narrow they come to a standstill until one moves to the side enough for the other to slip by. Because of the tube's low-grade decline, gravity isn't strong enough to pull it all through. This is why jockey boxes use a keg's pressure to push it through. I tested this theory by sending carbonated water down, and sure enough, it got stuck, too.
To be fair there is a bit of unevenness in the downward slope of the tubing (it was hastily thrown together on a Friday night), which definitely adds to the problem. It would also probably help if I took another loop (~42 inches) out to make the decline steeper.
The good news is that the 66-degree beer was 39-degrees when it came out. The bad news is that it was fairly flat, and I had to blow into the pipe like Louis Armstrong to get it. Not worth the trouble. But I'll do some tinkering with the design and we'll see what's what.
Image credit: Shutterstock/Dewayne Flowers
This is a fascinating video. It shows how the US Navy destroys its old ships, one scrap of metal at a time, recycling every component to make new parts. The ship is the USS Savannah, a Wichita-class tanker almost as long as two football fields and ten floors high.
This thing was huge and heavy: 659 feet (201 meters) long, 96 feet (29 meters) tall. It used to displace 40,743 tons when full and, apart from all that fuel, it carried two CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters.
She was the fifth Savannah in the history of the US Navy, launching on April 23, 1970. The ship, which ended its life in 1995, served as a replenishment oiler for the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean until 1972, when she left to Vietnam to serve during the war. At the end of 1973, she returned to the Mediterranean until June 1974, when she returned to Norfolk, Virginia.
The video is from National Geographic's program Break It Down, which airs this Sunday, February 5. You know, in case you don't give a damn about the Superbowl and prefer to see some stuff being broken apart. [National Geographic Channel and Wikipedia]
Tom Brady—Patriots QB, NFL boy of gold, Gisele's hubby and Uggs slanger—is in the Super Bowl this year so he doesn't have to worry about where to watch the game. Last year though, Brady didn't play in the Super Bowl and had to watch it at home like the rest of us. What did he do? Well, Brady fired the game on an illegal stream off the Internet. Brady! He's just like us.
In a media session, Brady said:
"Last year, I was rehabbing my foot in Costa Rica watching the game on an illegal Super Bowl website and now I'm actually playing in the game, so it's pretty cool"
Okay, I guess he was in Costa Rica so he's not exactly like us but I'm very familiar with those fuzzy streams hanging out in the darker areas of the internets! I'm surprised Brady is too, actually. Did he Google it himself? Does he have a preferred website for this? Maybe a friend suggested the idea? Or was it Gisele? Who knows! It's just funny to think about one of the best quarterbacks of all time (one with millions of moolah) cursing at his internet connection for freezing up and trolling in the comments saying things like PATRIOTS RUULE!!!1.
Oh and the funny thing is the NFL actually hates these illegal streams and was a big supporter of SOPA because of them. Take that you happyness-sucking suits! [Masslive via Sports Grid]
Managing content on your Android gets to be a pain pretty quick. How much music can I put on here? Did I sync all those photos to my computer? Is this document the most up-to-date version? This week's app picks help make managing those things a snap. Oh, and we've got a pretty sweet game, too.
If you want to see all the apps on one page click here.
Syncly: The app keeps an eye on your Android device's SD card and automatically uploads any photos added to that card to your DropBox account. After an initial setup, the app just does its job in the background. Upload images over Wi-Fi or your device's 3G/4G connection. Free
Rhapsody: The granddaddy of streaming music services is finally on Android. If you already have a subscription to the Rhapsody, you can now listen to your music while you're on the go. Sync your favorite songs to your device for offline listening when your connection falters. Free/$10 a month subscription
Osmos HD: Kotaku says, "With 27 guided levels which can be replayed in arcade mode on several difficulty levels, procedurally generated randomization, and a wide variety of playfields to navigate, $4.99 is a ridiculously small price to pay for one of the best games you can play on a mobile device. Osmos is guaranteed to draw you in." $5
Google Docs: The Android version of Google Docs got updated this week to include offline access to your files. This is especially helpful when you're running the web-based client on a tablet that only has Wi-Fi access to the Internet. Once you hit a Wi-Fi hotspot, Google Docs will automatically update your online files with the changes you made to the offline files. Free
If you want to be ripped like those NFL guys you're going to have to workout. Like all the time. You shouldn't even be reading this post. Quit your job and download an NFL player's workout app. Or if you're in Canada, go after a hockey puck. Forget it, I know we're all just gonna sit around and play video games on our iPhones.
If you want to see all the apps on one page click here.
Hardest Shot: If you can secure a hockey puck, stick, and ice rink, this app will measure whether to not you're ready for the NHL. As a Californian, I have access to none of these things. But if you're a Canadian, I'm sure there are pucks just lying around in the streets waiting to whacked around a hockey rink. I could be wrong. $2
Puzzlejuice: Kotaku says, "Puzzlejuice combines the falling-block puzzle gameplay of Alexey Pajitnov's classic with word-game mechanics of Boggle or Scrabble and the match-three mandate of Bejeweled. A familiar assortment of shapes descend from the top of the screen, broken up into different colors. When you fit blocks together and bind three colors adjacently, you can tap that section to generate letters. Multidirectional swiping along adjacent letters forms words. Creating a whole row turns all of those blocks into letters. The twist is that you'll need to clear the rows yourself." $1
RFID chips are super cool because those little buggers can beam things wirelessly. The guys at Mythbusters totally thought so too and wanted to make an episode about how trackable and hackable RFID chips were. Sounds amazing! Everyone would've learned more about the technology that's invisibly invading our lines. But, nope. Credit Card companies banned 'em.
Specifically, it looks like the lawyers of Visa, American Express, Discover and all the other bigwig debt slurpin' credit card companies got in immediate contact with Discovery (the network that airs Mythbusters) and told 'em if Savage and crew did the episode, the credit card companies would pull its advertisements and commercials from Discovery. Discovery caved and the RFID episode was axes. Bummer. [Disinfo via @bxchen]
