Michael Turner, Author at Argyll Free Press

The Toy 3D Printer That Prints Toys

February 15, 2016 By Michael Turner 1 Comment

Mattel, one of the world’s biggest toy makers and the name behind things such as ThingMaker, Hot Wheels and Barbie dolls has now come up with the toy 3D printer that prints toys. The new printer and its app actually take on the name that the 60s creation did, adopting the title of ThingMaker once more. The set was announced last Monday at New York’s Toy Fair and it has been made in collaboration with Autodesk.

For anyone interested to set loose their kids’ imaginations with a 3D printer and respective app that lets them create their own, personalized toys, you can already head out to Amazon US and preorder a unit for $299.

Sadly however, there isn’t an infinite number of possibilities when it comes to actual printing toys, as the app that you need to pair the printer with does have its own library of items you can use to build your own version of a toy. You can make use of a number of templates in order to create you preferred doll for example, as soon as you’ve paired the printer with your smartphone.

Once you’ve selected all the customizable details of your toy and you’re all set to print, the 3D printer will begin to print out parts of the doll in batches. The parts come with easy assembly assist, by printing out parts that display ball and socket joints that anyone can just put together in a matter of minutes.

And this is only what will be available in first phase. Eventually, the ThingMaker 3D Printer and ThingMaker Design app will hold more than just a few customizing options, adding filament color options as well as other branded variants later into the product’s life. And considering this is the first of its kind, there’s no telling when devices such as the ThingMaker will start printing even more complex things.

The entire printing process does take a fair amount of time but manages to print out as many as 20 figurines, 30 pieces of jewelry or 100 rings with just 1 kilogram spool of plastic. Basically, once you have selected every detail regarding the doll or toy you wish to print, you can send the command and let it print overnight.

Even if the ThingMaker is a toy designed for children 13 and above, it still has a tight and safe build that will not risk any sort of risk to kids operating it. The printer’s doors lock automatically while it’s printing and it won’t expose any delicate or heating up parts to external contact.

Image Source: 1

Nearly 1,500 Windows 3.1 Applications Have Been Revived

February 14, 2016 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

Because we all get nostalgic about the times when being on a computer felt awfully different, archive.org has made it possible that nearly 1,500 Windows 3.1 applications have been revived. That includes over 1,000 games and about 300 productivity tools or other applications that you may not even remember having but once you set gaze on them will immediately bring back memories.

The hundreds of emulated programs exist thanks to the same people who previously brought us 2,400 MS-DOS games to our browsers and now decided to expand their reach into the Windows 3.1 era. And to make it even better, they’re all free too; although you may get a notification after playing or using some of them to let you know who created them and offer you a donation link.

And it’s not even like all you can find on archive.org is just the mainstream stuff. Sure, you are very likely to find most of the classics here and enjoy them to your heart’s content, but there’s also a great number of games or apps that you may not have had the chance to see back in the day. Browsing may lead you to find fairly interesting things.

And if there’s really no utility you can see in playing these things or witnessing the beginning of 90s software, then think of it as a trip into the past and witnessing a piece of history. But surely, anyone who has used a computer back then will be swift to recognize the familiarity and nostalgic at getting to revisit it once more.

Regardless of how you look at it, there is an unmistakably huge amount of work that has been put into emulating all of these, and not just that as they have all been reduced to small browser window size. Each piece runs a JavaScript version of DosBox, which actually boots up Windows 3.1 then attempts to load the program you selected onto this platform.

So to list some of the things you’ll find should be games such as SkiFree, Wheel of Fortune: Deluxe Edition, RattleRace, Sim Earth, Brickbuster and Hoyle Solitaire and even a preview of the upcoming Windows 95 that interacts with you and teaches you how to use the new Windows and what is so great about it. There is also a Windows 95 stock version that you can launch and play around with to reminisce what those 40 MB operating systems were all about back then.

Image Source: 1

Excitement Amongst Scientists as Gravitational Waves May Be Proven to Exist

February 9, 2016 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

If you’ve been checking various researchers’ Twitter pages, you may have already noticed that there’s a lot of excitement amongst scientists as gravitational waves may be proven to exist – finally. They were originally envisioned and predicted by Albert Einstein back in 1916, on basis of the theory of general relativity.

In essence, gravitational waves are believed to be ripples made by bodies in the curvature of spacetime. Because of the effect of gravity, energy can therefore be transported along these ripples and become known as gravitational radiation. They are believed to be more often occurring in binary star systems, neutron stars or black holes.

There has been an ongoing experiment known as LIGO – Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory – that hopes to reproduce and detect gravitational waves in a man-designed environment. While it is not yet confirmed that the experiment resulted in the expected conclusion, several big names in the scene have been at it and getting particularly excited about the prospect as the experiment is nearing its end.

LIGO will announce its findings on Thursday at 3.30 PM GMT in a paper published in Nature, along with an official press release. If gravitational waves are proved to exist, it would therefore confirm Einstein’s beliefs exactly 100 years later than they were made. The method that the researchers employed for confirming or infirming the theory that gravitational waves exist is by measuring incredibly tiny changes in the length of a tunnel all the way at the LIGO Hanford Observatory.

Gravitational waves are believed to be one of the most elusive, intriguing and yet mysterious phenomena in our universe; this is partly because they are caused by rather rare events that take place very far away from what the human eyes can reach. Mankind is only capable of theorizing what a merger of black holes would mean and how gravitational waves would be created as a result.

That is exactly what the scientists are trying to mimic – but naturally at a much smaller scale – in their laboratories at the LIGO Hanford Observatory. And judging by the reactions that they’re barely controlling themselves from having via social media, it would appear that they only have good news for humanity.

If Einstein’s theory is confirmed, this could lead to much more ambitious scientific goals for the human race – and may eventually lead to discovering some method of time travelling; although that would certainly take a lot longer than we’d think.

Image Source: 1

More Astonishing News From New Horizons Spacecraft

February 5, 2016 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

Mere days ago, we were graced with a real life image of Charon as it was taken last summer from the edges of the solar system and now we have even more astonishing news form New Horizons spacecraft. This time it’s about Pluto itself, and the amazing images that were rendered by NASA after the space probe that was launched back in 2006 did a fly by the dwarf planet last year during the summer.

The data that the probe has been feeding and beaming back to Earth along its 10-year trip has provided an immense amount of insight about the workings of our own solar system and truly went where nobody had been before. The newest news feeds from NASA display even more information that New Horizons has gathered from the farthest edges of our solar system; and more explicitly images and recordings of the dwarf planet Pluto.

Scientists have been studying all of the data gathered from Pluto ever since it first started getting fed to them back on Earth. A new analysis suggests that Pluto’s glaciers and made of water ice and that they float similarly to how icebergs do on the surface of the earth.

The reason this is possible is because of a difference in density. Because the water ice that the glaciers are made of has a lower density of the frozen nitrogen that the surface below them has (also common to objects in the Kuiper belt), they tend to ‘float’ or travel slowly. Although the glaciers there remain hard and frozen solid due to the -380 degrees Fahrenheit temperature on Pluto, they seem to break apart and move in a series.

These were conclusions drawn after closely studying the images depicting one particular zone of the planet Pluto – namely the Sputnik Planum. It was detected that the glaciers would slowly move across the flat plane, sometimes as much as 12 miles across it. In earth terms, this would translate in gigantic icebergs that move across the frozen oceans. Except in Pluto’s case, it’s a gigantic frozen surface of nitrogen.

A particular portion of the Sputnik Planum, namely the Challenger Colles, appears to be a large accumulation of these glaciers. Scientists speculate that this is a place where the nitrogen ice below is shallower than in other parts, making the water ice glaciers ‘station’ and gather here. The Challenger Colles zone is 37 by 22 miles, while the entire Sputnik Planum zone is believed to span for about 300 by 210 miles.

The image taken by New Horizons was captured about 12 minutes before the probe’s closest approach to Pluto, from a range of approximately 9,950 miles from the surface on July 14^th, 2015.

Image Source: 1

This Species of Deep Sea Worm Is an Early Life Form

February 4, 2016 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

Although the Xenoturbella has been found and known of since 1949, only the recent, closer studies on it decided that this species of deep sea worm is an early life form. And by early, scientists refer to what the very first non-microbial life form may have been like. By studying the species – which divides into 4 different categories – researches may be able to discover just how animals evolved over the length of time.

All four species of Xenoturbella had received a rather hilarious nickname from scientists – purple sock – because of the way it looks. With the shape of a crumpled, discarded purple sock, the Xenoturbella can be found on the very bottom of deep seas and oceans, near cold seeps, hydrothermal vents and some were found near a whale carcass.

A team from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, along with researchers from the Western Australian Museum and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute managed to collect numerous specimens of the flat-worm-like looking creature over 12 years. After close study in laboratories that focused on anatomy and the mitochondrial genomes, scientists decided that the main species splits into 4 different kinds of Xenoturbella: Xenoturbella Monstrosa, Xenoturbella Profunda, Xenoturbella Churro and Xenoturbella Hollandorum.

The study places the Xenoturbella and other worms known as acoelomorphs closest to all other bilaterally symmetrical animals. The species is believed to have evolved from more complex organisms and the very simple construction of them only suggests just how far back they go. The Xenoturbella doesn’t have any limbs, brain or eyes. The only distinguishable feature of the animal is a small gap that is used as a mouth. Regardless, everything that goes in goes back out through the same ‘mouth’.

At one point throughout history, the Xenoturbella was believed to be a mollusk. While most specimens do not exceed the diameter of a small coin, the largest one ever found was 20 centimeters long and belonged to the Xenoturbella Monstrosa family. The creature only seems to glide on the bottom of the ocean and uses some form of muscles to hold its position. When it contracts its muscles, it’ll look like what gave it its purple sock nickname.

One remaining mystery of the Xenoturbella is its usual diet; scientists have not been able to understand or find traces of what the species feeds on. The rovers sent to study and collect specimens of the Xenoturbella have never witnessed it eating and whenever researchers opened the worms up, their insides would be already empty. Considering the species does not have teeth or a sucking mechanism, it’s difficult to pinpoint what type of sustenance it relies on.

Image Source: 1

Apple Is to Unveil Some of Their Secrets on March 15th

February 3, 2016 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

Speculation and rumors may be put to rest and confirmed, respectively, as Apple is to unveil some of their secrets on March 15th. Several sources have confirmed that six weeks from now, Apple will finally tell the public itself just what it has been working on in the past months.

While recent headlines have been talking about numerous patents regarding virtual reality handsets, contact-less controls and other devices that will surely attempt to revolutionize the technology that we see these days, the event on Tuesday, March 15^th will most likely not go up to that scale. Considering that all of the above are simply patented concepts that we may or may not see for a few more years to come, here is what is expected of Apple to shed some more light on.

The iPhone 5se

One charm that the pre iPhone 6 models had was the smaller scale size that they came in. While these days, large displays and smartphone tablet hybrids fill the shelves, finding a smaller device that is still up to date with the current technology is already asking a lot from phone manufacturers.

That is why Apple is apparently planning to incorporate the latest technology they own in a smaller, 4-inch device dubbed the iPhone 5se. Compared to the original iPhone 5 that came out in 2013, the iPhone 5se is a long leap ahead – featuring an A8 processor, a new motion coprocessor, iPhone 6s’ 3D Touch feature and either 16 or 64 GB capacity models.

iPad Air 3

While early rumors suggested that the iPad 3 was going to aim to become a hybrid tablet with an over 12” display, it turned out into what was later revealed to be the iPad Pro. However, it seems that Apple is still hopping on the stylus bandwagon and bringing the Apple Pencil along with it. Furthermore, the new iPad Air 3 will come with game changing specifications too – an A9 processor to replace the A8X found in the older models and up to 4 GB of RAM memory.

On top of that, there is also a rumor suggesting that users would also get a 4K display that could extent to even higher resolutions than the iPad Pro – up to 3840 x 2160. And to wrap it up, the iPad Air 3 promises to have a much better camera than its predecessor too.

Apple Watch Bands

There are also some small updates coming the iWatch’s way with this occasion, as it’s expected to see an entire new selection of bands coming for the wearable, including rubberized sport band colors, a new Hermes band, a space black version of the Milanese Loop and some other variations made of different models. The watch itself, however, doesn’t seem to be getting any attention from a hardware point of view for the time being.

Image Source: 1

One Way Dogs Find Out How You Feel

February 1, 2016 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

A recent study reveals the surprising discovery of one way dogs find out how you feel. It’s always been known and told said from generation to generation that you shouldn’t act aggressively not fearful around dogs in order to prevent them from attacking you. While that kind of behavior read relies on the dogs’ ability to read body language, the study in question suggests that they can also read facial expression, just the way humans do amongst themselves.

It’s unclear whether this is something that dogs inherited since their domestication or whether it has been an ability that they have always possessed. It is, however, most certainly related to the dog-human relationship as not only are they capable of telling what the mood of a person is, but also know to react to it. From this perspective, this phenomenon could easily be considered taught response.

For example, when house dogs sense that a person is angry, they tend to look away. Researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland, Europe believe that in the evolutionary process dogs have learned how to detect both congenial moods as well as hostile attitudes as another method of self-preservation. That is why sometimes, even if the canines have no issue with making eye contact with other representatives of their race, may sometimes display reluctance at doing it with the human species.

the researchers conducting the study used 31 dogs, belonging to 13 different breeds, that were trained through positive reinforcement and clicker-based response to stay in front of a screen without being told or forced to do so. Throughout the series of images that were shown to each dog separately, the researchers made use of eye gaze tracking to distinguish the ways the subjects reacted to different emotions of humans or other dogs.

According to the study, dogs would spend a great amount of time staring at the eye area – much more than other portions of the face such as the mouth or nose – but overall based their reaction upon a complete scan of the face. That suggests that dogs can tell what you fell after they scan the entirety of your face, not just from a single reaction such as a smile.

When shown images of other dogs, however, the subjects seemed to focus on other features rather than the eyes – as it had been in the case of humans. When the image of an aggressive dog was shown on the screen, the subjects would linger more on the mouth rather than eyes.

Image Source: 1

Encrypted Phones Will Be Banned in California

January 22, 2016 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

A new bill that states that encrypted phones will be banned in California has just been introduced by a lawmaker. The document refers to the type of encryption that cannot be cracked by manufacturers or law enforcement.

Legislators fear that the advanced technology we have today can shield vital information from investigators. This is not the first measure that has been taken in this respect. On the other side, security and technology experts believe that weakening encryption can harm ordinary users by putting them in danger.

The new bill was submitted by Jim Cooper, assembly member of The Democrat California. In more detail, it states that every smartphone that will be manufactured from January 1, 2017 onwards and sold on the territory of California must be able to be unlocked and decrypted by the provider of its operating system or its manufacturer. Cooper believes that such a measure is necessary in the fight against human trafficking.

At the moment, iOS and Android users can encrypt their respective devices when they first set them up. In this case, everyone who does not have a password cannot access the device, including its manufacturer and law enforcement. However, this use of end-to-end encryption and disk encryption is starting to concern many people, as it can conceal evidence. For instance, in 2014 a police officer declared that the encryption used for iPhones can make them the ideal choices for pedophiles.

A very similar bill was introduced in New York, while in France an amendment pursued to do the same thing but it was not turned into a law. Many in the UK believe that they will soon face the same changes with the government’s investigatory powers bill. Returning to the U.S., the White House declared last year that they are not trying to ban encryption at the moment, but they do not exclude the possibility in the future.

The CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, demanded the White House to make a statement in public that they are going to support products with strong encryption. However, police officers have a different opinion: the police needs all the information it can get in order to catch the bad guys, and especially human traffickers.

It remains to be seen whether encrypted phones will be banned in California or not. Ironically, both Google and Apple have their headquarters in California, and thus if the law is passed and they will not comply, they might be forced to move.

Image Source: 1

New Date and Venue for Google I/O 2016

January 14, 2016 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

Google I/O 2016 will take place between 18 and 20 May in Mountain View, California, at the Shoreline Amphitheater.

It seems we have a new date and venue for Google I/O 2016, the annual conference by Google. The event will take place between 18 and 20 May in Mountain View, California, at the Shoreline Amphitheater. Apparently, the special feature of this year will be self-driving cars that are currently in development. Car producers are quite determined in bringing the independent vehicles to the streets as soon as possible, and Google is hard at work.

Although there is no clear information on whether Google I/O will feature autonomous cars, we have a few hints pointing in this direction. First of all, the company avoided accessible and popular auditoriums like the ones in San Jose or San Francisco in favor of the Shoreline Amphitheater. The reason for this is that the venue in Mountain View has much more outdoor space including a huge parking lot. Secondly, it is very close to the Google campus, which would make transportation easier.

However, the choice of Shoreline Amphitheater also underlines the infrastructure and inequality issues of both San Jose and San Francisco, which exist in part because of tech companies. We are currently witnessing big tech firms based in smaller towns that are trying to remain suburban, while implementing larger levels of employment.

Shoreline Amphitheater can be considered an unpractical venue, because there is no public transportation leading straight to it. The closest bus station is located about half a mile from the venue, while the closest train station is at a distance of three miles. Furthermore, there are no restaurants or hotels nearby, and lodgings are quite expensive, reaching $300 per night. Apparently Google has found a solution for transportation that will consist of a series of special Google buses, the same buses that were the target of protests in both 2013 and 2014. The purpose of the manifestations was to highlight the fact that some towns do not build enough houses and apartments for the workers of corporations.

Many guests are expected to rent cars or use services like Uber, which will undoubtedly lead to traffic jams on both Shoreline Road and the 101 freeway. Furthermore, the Bay Area is a bayfront depression in the form of a bowl which can flood from heavy storms, as it happened in 1998 because of El Niño, a phenomenon that will take place this year as well.

Even though we are all excited to witness the progress of technology and these self-driving cars, the prospects of the new date and venue for Google I/O 2016 are not too bright. Let’s hope that Google will be able to properly organize and manage the conference.

Image Source: 1

Apple News App Underestimated Its Popularity

January 11, 2016 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

It seems that the Apple company does not know the real number of people who are using one of its newest features, as Apple News app underestimated its popularity. The news app was launched in September last year and has since partnered with over one hundred publishing companies. However, Apple does not know the number of people who are reading the news via its application, and neither do media companies.

More precisely, Apple has underestimated the popularity of its application and has thus passed incorrect information to the publishing partners, including The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, the New York Times, Time Inc., the Washington Post, Vice Media and Business Insider. As the company has stated, it is always better to undercount traffic rather than overcount it. Is this a disaster? Not really, but knowing the numbers helps publishers manage their resources, as well as sell advertising accordingly. This does not affect them financially because they do not pay Apple in order to post to Apple News. How does this work? Publishers have to sell personal ads into the application. However, they can keep a percentage of 70% of revenues in case Apple sells the ads in their place.

Internet Services and Software senior vice president, Eddy Cue, has stated that Apple has overlooked the error because it paid more attention to other aspects. He did not explain why or when the issue will be corrected, but he informed us that the company is working on fixing the error.

On the bright side, Apple is pleased with the performance of its new application, and it has received positive reviews from most publishers. Several publishing partners have expressed their concern regarding the measurement of the audience, but also the uncertainties revolving around the serving and selling of ads. Others like Business Insider have stated that they expected more users to read their content posted on Apple News. The Atlantic is worried about the ability of both publishers and public to extract revenues for ads. Apple is trying to solve all the remaining problems, but the company remains positive with both the traffic of the app and the relationship with the publishing partners.

Apple News is now available in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. It runs on iOS9 devices which are equipped with the most recent version of the Apple operating system. According to Eddy Cue, there are about 40 million people using the app at the moment. The fact that Apple News app underestimated its popularity can be considered both a good and a bad sign: good because more people than expected are using it and bad because Apple seems unable to track them, and large companies cannot make such errors.

Image Source: 1

Categories