December 2011
54 posts
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Wired Daily Digest
Accelerating Learning Among Autistic Children, There Are Apps for That Using tablet computers, children with autistic spectrum disorder can make remarkable cognitive and behavioral improvements, report their parents and teachers. To help adults select the good apps, among the thousands available, several websites are now publishing reviews.
The Energy Future: iPads vs. Typewriters With Guns ...
November 2011
38 posts
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News Reviews
HOUSEHOLD Get a Tweet When Your Basement Floods The Twine, an iPhone-sized plastic cube that runs for months on a AAA battery, has wi-fi, a temperature sensor, accelerometer, magnet switch, and moisture sensor. Set it to send you a text when laundry is done, or open a door via Tweet. The programming software is deliberately simple so anyone can use it. Via @kickstarter Panasonic Nails...
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Culture Counter
This probably won’t actually be produced in Scranton either, but now paper from Dunder Mifflin will be available at Staples. Gale Anne Hurd developing Area 51 series Hurd’s production company optioned the Annie Jacobsen book, Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base, for a potential series. It’s set to be an hourlong show written by Karl Gajdusek (who will double as...
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Reviews News
HOUSEHOLD Urinal Gaming Makes a Splash in the UK, Puns Ensue A tablet-sized screen (covered in toughened glass) sits above the urinal, and infrared sensors track the player’s stream as he tries to hit the targets. Since all the mechanics are in the device, any urinal can be retrofitted without having to touch the plumbing. Via @BBCnews Vacuum Suitcase Lets You Overpack with Ease The Pumpack...
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Wired Daily Digest
Shale, Fracking & the E.P.A. The latest natural gas boom is lining the pockets of some and ruining the drinking water of others. Fracking companies, exempt from review under the Safe Drinking Water Act, do not have to tell the public what chemicals they use. But chemicals suspected to be in fracking fluid are showing up in drinking water. And, as Elizabeth Kolbert reports, water can be...
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Reviews News
OUTDOORS Nike, Acuvue Develop Eye Exercise System The Vapor Strobe trains athletes’ eyes for rapid recognition of changes in light and shape. Via @cnet For the Temperature-Sensitive Motorist, an Interior Preheater Program it to turn on before your scheduled morning commute and the dashboard-mounted heater, after a full four-hour charge, defrosts the windshield and makes the leather...
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Wired Daily Digest
Wine Fluid Dynamics: Sip and Swirl While swirling red wine, mixing in oxygen and enhancing its flavor, three factors determine if the wine will splash, slosh, or form multiple-crested waves, report Swiss scientists with an appreciation for the vine. Comes with video but not, alas, a glass of pinot. Pepper Spray Reviews on Amazon.com Cleverly Occupied “Accept no substitutes when casually...
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Culture Counter
Not the most convenient, but certainly creative business cards from the musical duo Ritornell (via Wired UK) Joe Strummer biopic on the way Earlier in the year both Elton John and Steven Tyler biopics were planned, now the frontman of The Clash is next. The film is called The Right Profile (a song off London Calling) and it’ll focus on Strummer’s post-Clash years (‘82 through his 2002 death,...
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Today's News
New York Times: Separating You and Me? 4.74 Degrees Adding a new chapter to the research that cemented the phrase “six degrees of separation” into the language, scientists at Facebook and the University of Milan reported yesterday that the average number of acquaintances separating any two people in the world was not six but 4.74. The new research used 721 million Facebook users, more than...
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Culture Counter
Regis Philbin ended his run on morning television last Friday. SNL jumped on the chance to audition new cohosts Saturday (Bill Hader does Garrison Keillor, Abby Elliot does Zooey Deschanel and Jay Pharoah brings back Denzel Washington): New Arrested Development will be on Netflix in 2013 When the show announced it would produce new seasons, many outlets were teased as the potential home. Late...
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Wired Daily Digest
Caffeine Amps Up ‘Hot Spot’ in The Brain Activity in a small nook of the hippocampus — the CA2 region — spikes when rats eat the equivalent of two cups of coffee, report scientists in a Nov. 20 study. The hippocampus has a role in forming spatial memories. Not much is known about the CA2 region, though, which seems to be especially sensitive to caffeine, in rats at least.
Pack...
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Reviews News
OUTDOORS A Minute of Sun Powers Weeks of Night-Vision A new type of night-vision material uses a special complex oxide compound to absorb a charge from a smidgen of sunlight, and make it into weeks of near-infrared lighting. Plans for use in the military and in medicine are underway, and a consumer version is likely to follow. Via @BBCNews
New Bike Saddle Sits you Proper The Fizik Kurve is...
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Wired Store Buzz
Here’s a roundup of some of the buzz surrounding the launch of the Wired Store:
ZDNet: The WIRED Store is a gadget lovers dream
PopSugar: First look at the “geek-chic” WIRED Store
The Next Web: WIRED and Sonar team up to create the “retail experience of the future”
MTV Style: Theophilus London in ‘Back to the Future’ Nike MAGs at WIRED Store opening
InStyle: Nikki Reed attends the...
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Reviews News
SMARTPHONES/TABLETS Amazon Looking to Smartphones Citigroup published a research note tracking Amazon’s expenditures, and it looks like they’ll be launching something big in fourth quarter 2012. Android likely. Via @physorg_tech OUTDOORS Sharpen Your Knives Anywhere, Any Weather The Work Sharp Retractable Honing Rod has a four-inch ceramic rod that pops from the handle to restore or create...
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Culture Counter
Nintendo collaborated with West Coast Custom, creates two vehicles for LA Auto Show Includes Mario’s Standard Kart and Luigi’s Bumble V Kart. Details emerge for Kid Cudi’s rock album Cudi’s desire to form a rock group and make an album now has concrete details. The group (him with producer Dot Da Genius) will be called W Z R D and their album (to be named) will drop on 1/30. When asked to...
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Wired Daily Digest
Volcanic Maps Make for Gorgeous Geological Art A stunning collection of maps shared by the Geological Survey of Japan reveals the complexity of soil and rock types around the island’s volcanoes. The maps, detailed in pastel colors, are lovely to look at to boot.
Broken Heart Syndrome: The Lady Sings the Blues People really can die from a broken heart, women especially. The first large scale...
reaganing asked: I love that you all got a Tumblr! Thought you'd want to know that your posts today kind of look like gibberish on the Tumblr dashboard (which is how the majority of Tumblrs read posts) -- might want to look into that.
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Reviews News
Wired Store is Fully Operational Tonight is the big blow-out for the Wired store in New York City. Liquor by Patrón and Knob Creek, beats and rhymes from Theophilus London. Sorry, you’re not on the list, but check out the inventory of this year’s best gear. Via @Wired SOFTWARE/APPS Sound Boost for the Hard of Hearing The ACEHearing app diagnoses a smartphone owners’ form of hearing loss and...
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Wired Daily Digest
Breaking Through the Barrier: Why We Need A Hole in the Head The blood-brain barrier stops prevents many medicines from accessing the brain and potentially treating the diseases we would love to fix: brain cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other disorders. Carl Zimmer rounds up a few experiments developing ways to get through this wall.
The Problem With Poop...
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Culture Counter
Trailer: Mirror, Mirror Kristen Stewart and the Hunstman stuff came out this week, it’s only fair the other Snow White movie made sure to release a trailer too. Mirror, Mirror hits theaters first (March 2012) but takes a more traditional approach to the fairy tale. Julia Roberts as the queen instead of Charlize Theron, Lilly Collins instead of Kristen Stewart. The trailer looks to be more...
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Reviews News
TOYS The RC Car for the Young R. Lee Ermey The Steam Trike, with studded tires, armor plating, and all-terrain suspension, runs on steam provided by two boilers. Video after the jump. A Folding Ukelele for Impromptu Luaus He also make a super-mini version with squared edges for more compactness. When closed, it’s about the size of a small Amazon box. SOFTWARE/APPS Google Sells Music...
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Wired Daily Digest
EU Bans Airport X-Ray Body Scanners The European Commission banned the use of X-ray body scanners in airports on Monday, over concerns about passenger health. Earlier this month a ProPublica/PBS NewsHour investigation highlighted studies that concluded a small number of cancer cases would result annually from the TSA’s use of the scanners.
Radioactive Farmland Mapped in Japan A study...
