Sand flea jumping robot & oldy but goody big dogs life
It looks like Boston Dynamics put itself on the robotic map again with the Sand Flea Jumping Robot. If you have never heard of the Big Dog robotic four legged creature heres your chance because the video shows its amazing technology that has been around since 2004 to 2010 in different generations. Whats so good about Big Dog robotic is the fact that it can stay stable walking up right in all weather conditions while being full blown kicked in the side. The newest creation that Boston Dynamics has made public as of a few days ago is the Sand Flea Jumping robot. The Flea can move anywhere it wants and set itself up like a rocket which can fling a good few stores in the air all being fine. It can basically move anywhere it wants by simply jumping any obstacle.
Top 15 Augmented Reality Apps for iPhone and iPad
Augmented Reality You Can Get NowAlthough Google's Project Glass augmented reality glasses offer a taste of the high-tech future, they're not for sale yet. But that doesn't mean augmented reality is out of reach--right now, you can get your hands on a bunch of apps for your iPhone or iPad that are just as cool as Google's glasses. These apps use your device's camera to overlay information on the viewfinder.
Here are 15 of the best augmented reality apps. They'll do everything from showing you the nearest restaurant or movie theater to helping you redecorate your living room.
Here are 15 of the best augmented reality apps. They'll do everything from showing you the nearest restaurant or movie theater to helping you redecorate your living room.
Toshiba Unveils 13.3-Inch Android Tablet
Toshiba has introduced its new line of quad-core Android tablets, including a giant 13-inch model with a high-resolution display and quad-core processor. The company is also phasing out its 7- and 10-inchThrive tablets, which will be replaced with the new Excite line of tablets running Android 4.0.
The 13.3-inch Toshiba Excite sports a high-res display, which at 1,600 by 900 pixels is sharper than typical Android tablets, but still below the third-generation iPad’s display of 2,048 by 1,536 pixels. The only comparable resolution in Android land would be the Asus Transformer TF700T, which sports a resolution of 1,900 by 1,200 pixels.
Make no mistake though, the 13-inch model is big: it weighs 2.2 pounds, it’s 0.4 inches thick and is practically the size of a serving tray. But with the size, you get a range of ports, including a full-size SD card slot, a microUSB port and a microHDMI port. Toshiba also claims the battery can last up to 13 hours, and there’s an included (separate) tablet stand for when the tablet gets too heavy for users.
The 7.7-inch ExciteThe giant Toshiba tablet also packs some powerful specs inside: it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on a Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM, and sports dual cameras, 1.3-megapixel on the front and a 5-megapixel on the back. There’s no 3G/4G connectivity on board though, and the Excite 13 is set to arrive on June 10 for $650 for the 32GB model and $750 for the 64GB model -- around $50 more than the equivalent iPad models.
With a 13.3-inch tablet, almost double the size of the popular Amazon Kindle Fire, Toshiba hopes to appeal to those who use their tablet mostly at home. With the large screen and loud SRS Surround speakers, it’s easier on the eye to watch videos (as long as you use the aforementioned stand), and it could be better for video calls as well.
The 10-inch ExciteBut if you’re looking for some more regular-sized tablets from Toshiba, the company also introduced 7.7- and 10-inch Excite tablets, also running on quad-core processors and Android 4.0. The Excite 10 is set to go on sale in May for $450 for 16GB, $530 for 32GB or $650 for the 64GB model. The Excite 7.7 will arrive in June with the Excite 13, at $500 for 16GB and $580 for 32GB.
The 13.3-inch Toshiba Excite sports a high-res display, which at 1,600 by 900 pixels is sharper than typical Android tablets, but still below the third-generation iPad’s display of 2,048 by 1,536 pixels. The only comparable resolution in Android land would be the Asus Transformer TF700T, which sports a resolution of 1,900 by 1,200 pixels.
Make no mistake though, the 13-inch model is big: it weighs 2.2 pounds, it’s 0.4 inches thick and is practically the size of a serving tray. But with the size, you get a range of ports, including a full-size SD card slot, a microUSB port and a microHDMI port. Toshiba also claims the battery can last up to 13 hours, and there’s an included (separate) tablet stand for when the tablet gets too heavy for users.
The 7.7-inch ExciteThe giant Toshiba tablet also packs some powerful specs inside: it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on a Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM, and sports dual cameras, 1.3-megapixel on the front and a 5-megapixel on the back. There’s no 3G/4G connectivity on board though, and the Excite 13 is set to arrive on June 10 for $650 for the 32GB model and $750 for the 64GB model -- around $50 more than the equivalent iPad models.
With a 13.3-inch tablet, almost double the size of the popular Amazon Kindle Fire, Toshiba hopes to appeal to those who use their tablet mostly at home. With the large screen and loud SRS Surround speakers, it’s easier on the eye to watch videos (as long as you use the aforementioned stand), and it could be better for video calls as well.
The 10-inch ExciteBut if you’re looking for some more regular-sized tablets from Toshiba, the company also introduced 7.7- and 10-inch Excite tablets, also running on quad-core processors and Android 4.0. The Excite 10 is set to go on sale in May for $450 for 16GB, $530 for 32GB or $650 for the 64GB model. The Excite 7.7 will arrive in June with the Excite 13, at $500 for 16GB and $580 for 32GB.
TiVo on the iPad: How to Transfer Recordings
I have a new Retina display iPad. I have a TiVo Premiere DVR, which records HD programming. Naturally, my geeky self got to thinking: "Wouldn't it be cool to transfer my favorite shows from the TiVo to the iPad?"
Yes, it would be cool. But the TiVo-sanctioned software I used for the job proved to be expensive, time consuming to use, and ultimately didn’t deliver the quality I had hoped for.
The TiVo Web site lists two software suites for converting TiVo recordings into file formats compatible with portable devices like the iPad: Roxio Creator 2012 for PCs (list price $100; price for TiVo users, $70) and Roxio Toast 11 Titanium for Macs (list price $100; price for TiVo users, $80). Since I’m a Mac guy, I bought Toast 11 Titanium.
To start, I launched the TiVo Transfer program that comes with Toast 11 Titanium. After launching the software, I chose my TiVo Premiere DVR as the transfer source (your TiVo and computer must be connected to the same network).
Next, I selected the recordings I wanted to transfer to my iMac. I could either create an "Auto Transfer," which means all current and future episodes of a TV series will be automatically transferred to my iMac. Or I could click "Start Transfer" to transfer an individual program. I chose the latter option, to transfer an episode of "American Horror Story."
Yes, it would be cool. But the TiVo-sanctioned software I used for the job proved to be expensive, time consuming to use, and ultimately didn’t deliver the quality I had hoped for.
The TiVo Web site lists two software suites for converting TiVo recordings into file formats compatible with portable devices like the iPad: Roxio Creator 2012 for PCs (list price $100; price for TiVo users, $70) and Roxio Toast 11 Titanium for Macs (list price $100; price for TiVo users, $80). Since I’m a Mac guy, I bought Toast 11 Titanium.
To start, I launched the TiVo Transfer program that comes with Toast 11 Titanium. After launching the software, I chose my TiVo Premiere DVR as the transfer source (your TiVo and computer must be connected to the same network).
Next, I selected the recordings I wanted to transfer to my iMac. I could either create an "Auto Transfer," which means all current and future episodes of a TV series will be automatically transferred to my iMac. Or I could click "Start Transfer" to transfer an individual program. I chose the latter option, to transfer an episode of "American Horror Story."
And then, I waited. Depending on how fast/slow your computer is, the transfer process can take a while. The 60-minute "American Horror Story" episode took 15- 20 minutes to transfer, more or less. The TiVo Transfer app doesn’t show a progress bar, unfortunately.
Afterwards, I launched Toast 11 Titanium, clicked the "Convert" tab, and selected TiVo on the "Video" tab. The episode I’d transferred to my iMac was visible in a pane, so I dragged it into the software's transfer queue and clicked the big red "Convert" button. At this point, you have the ability to edit the video file—to only convert a selection, for instance. I tried this with another recording (of a news program), and it worked well.
From there, I selected the device (options include Apple TV and the third generation iPad) for which I wanted the file formatted. I also selected the video quality and the folder in which the file would be saved. Toast 11 Titanium offers the option to schedule the file conversion, a nice touch. You can also preview the file.
Afterwards, I launched Toast 11 Titanium, clicked the "Convert" tab, and selected TiVo on the "Video" tab. The episode I’d transferred to my iMac was visible in a pane, so I dragged it into the software's transfer queue and clicked the big red "Convert" button. At this point, you have the ability to edit the video file—to only convert a selection, for instance. I tried this with another recording (of a news program), and it worked well.
From there, I selected the device (options include Apple TV and the third generation iPad) for which I wanted the file formatted. I also selected the video quality and the folder in which the file would be saved. Toast 11 Titanium offers the option to schedule the file conversion, a nice touch. You can also preview the file.
Once my settings were chosen, I clicked to start the conversion. Unlike TiVo Transfer, Toast 11 Titanium displays a helpful progress bar. The final step was to import the converted video file into my iTunes library and sync it to my iPad, and this is where things went badly.
Resolution-wise, it's basically a horror story. The end result was merely good, not great, video quality, because TiVo limits maximum quality of video conversions to 640 x 480 resolution. That's a far cry from the new iPad’s native 2048 by 1536 resolution or even the first two iPads, which have 1024 x 768 resolution.
Buying an HD program through iTunes and downloading it directly to an iPad is way faster and easier. And it delivers a program with noticeably sharper video quality. If you plan to regularly transfer tons of programs and you don't mind going to the trouble and the inferior video quality, Roxio’s software will ultimately save you money. Otherwise, just buy your entertainment through iTunes and get your geek on some other way.
Resolution-wise, it's basically a horror story. The end result was merely good, not great, video quality, because TiVo limits maximum quality of video conversions to 640 x 480 resolution. That's a far cry from the new iPad’s native 2048 by 1536 resolution or even the first two iPads, which have 1024 x 768 resolution.
Buying an HD program through iTunes and downloading it directly to an iPad is way faster and easier. And it delivers a program with noticeably sharper video quality. If you plan to regularly transfer tons of programs and you don't mind going to the trouble and the inferior video quality, Roxio’s software will ultimately save you money. Otherwise, just buy your entertainment through iTunes and get your geek on some other way.