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First impressions of Facebook's Instagram camera app clone

Raymond Wong — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:18:17 -0500

]]>As Facebook gets larger, the amount of spin-off apps grow, too. Released today, Facebook Camera is the social network's third iPhone app. Facebook Camera borrows heavily from Instagram, despite the fact that it was created before the now infamous $1 billion acquisition.

So, how does it stack up?

The nightlight reborn: consider the toilet light sensor

Eileen Marable — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:32:10 -0500

]]>As you know we are always on the lookout for the most cutting edge, useful devices to bring to your attention. Surely a light-up sensor, that comes on in a gentle, non-judgmental glow when you have to hit the bathroom at two in the morning, fits this description perfectly.

MIT invents painless, programmable hypospray

Evan Ackerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:47:47 -0500

]]>We've got phasers. We've got tricorders. And now, thanks to MIT, we've got a hypospray that works just like the real thing, delivering programmable doses of drugs painlessly right through your skin without any needles.

ISS crew spots Dragon stalking them from low orbit

Evan Ackerman — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:03:20 -0500

]]>The tiny little black dot in the lower left of this picture is the SpaceX Dragon capsule with its solar panel unfurled, performing a "fly-under" about a mile beneath the International Space Station. After Tuesday's flawless launch, Dragon is now maneuvering for berthing with the station on Friday.

Sony might announce cloud gaming service at E3 gaming convention

Raymond Wong — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:18:48 -0500

]]>E3 is just around the corner and you know what that means! Game publishers and developers are prepping all of their new gaming announcements. With no PlayStation 4 announcement expected, a new rumor suggests Sony could be preparing to bet big on cloud gaming.

Getting started with crowdfunding for the average geek

Rusel DeMaria — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:34:26 -0500

]]>Editor's Note: Author Rusel DeMaria recently turned to Kickstarter to fund the third edition of his book, High Score: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games. Here, we turn to him as co-author of The Crowdfunding Bible for tips on how geeks without funding from Silicon Valley can make their dreams come true through crowdfunding.

"Simply put, crowdfunding is the process of asking the general public for donations that
provide startup capital for new ventures." — The Crowdfunding Bible

Speaking as a grateful recipient of crowdfunding and contributing author of "The Crowdfunding Bible," I want to speak to you directly. My name is Rusel DeMaria. I had an idea. I needed money. I turned to Kickstarter and I got the money I needed and more. How did I do it?

I'll offer some hints on how I did it, but first, let's talk about you. What's your idea? Do you have a product, invention, event or vision you want to realize, and all you need is money to make it so?

If your answer is no, read on anyway. You might get inspired to change your answer.

Here are two Apple patents we hope never see the light of day

Raymond Wong — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:49:57 -0500

]]>Well, looky here: Apple, the company that's been so adamant about the stylus being a symbol of why past tablets have failed just received two patents for a pair of styli that work in conjunction with the iPhone and iPad. Take a deep breath, and click in for the full explanation.

Gallery: Hong Kong's colorful high-rise apartments captured as patterns

Raymond Wong — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:03:55 -0500

]]>Hailed as the most business-friendly city in the world, Hong Kong is also one of the densest places man's ever built. With a population of 7.07 million people, where do they all live? The answer: in the sky (sorta).

Teens achieve awesomeness as detailed BSG Viper sim takes off

Eileen Marable — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:18:05 -0500

]]>At the end of March we reported a story about a bunch of teens that got together to build a Battlestar Galactica Viper simulator. Okay, that's a bit of an undersell considering these guys weren't building some desktop cardboard cut out or Lego model. Theirs is a serious full-size, 360-motion sim.

Print a barcode on every baby, sci-fi author says

Kevin Hall — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:34:56 -0500

]]>As part of the BBC's "60-second idea" series, science fiction author Elizabeth Moon is making a case for slapping a barcode on every person at birth. In a digital world where a good majority of our interactions are anonymous, it's a stifling thought. So, why's she for it?

Steve Jobs at the Smithsonian: 312 amazing patents on display

Travis Andrews — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:49:00 -0500

]]>This May, the Smithsonian's S. Dillon Ripley Center opened up "The Patents and Trademarks of Steve Jobs: Art and Technology that Changed the World." The traveling exhibit, which features the many, many patents of Steve Jobs, was designed by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum and is fairly breathtaking for being 312 pieces of paper.

Consisting of 30 display panels that are each four feet wide, eight tall and shaped like the face of an iPhone, the exhibit displays facsimiles of 312 of the 317 different patents that Steve Jobs acquired. It also has a case with an a 1984 Apple Macintosh Computer; a 1992 NeXT monitor, sound box, microcomputer, keyboard and mouse; and a 2003 Apple iPod, which was the first to feature a discrete touch-sensitive click wheel as opposed to one with distinct mechanical buttons.

We chatted with Richard Maulsby, Associate Commissioner for Innovation Development at the U.S. Patent and Trade Office, who told us: "I think what we endeavored to do with the exhibit is capture not just the quality but the breadth of this man's innovation genius."

Warehouse-sized sculpture weighs just under ten pounds

Eileen Marable — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:45:39 -0500

]]>This massive bench now on display at the Industry Gallery in Washington, D.C. stretches over the warehouse space like an oversized coiled snake. Incredibly, the sculpture — called "Spun" — weighs just under ten pounds thanks to a unique carbon fiber construction process.

Video of the Day: Marvel Comics creates superhero for 4-year-old

Megan Wollerton — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:00:00 -0500

]]>New Hamphire 4-year-old, Anthony Smith, has a hearing disability that requires the use of a blue hearing aid. When Anthony decided that he didn't want to wear it anymore because, "Superheroes don't wear blue ears," his mother contacted Marvel Comics. And Marvel did something pretty incredible: they created a superhero just for Anthony.

Touchscreen kiosk can duplicate your keys in just one minute

Adario Strange — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:06:15 -0500

]]>File this one under devices that make so much sense we thought they already existed. Someone finally invented what might be the most practical kiosk ever: an automated key duplicator.

Maglev bed lets you sleep on a cushion of air

Michael Trei — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:23:25 -0500

]]>Lots of mattress advertisements talk about their beds as feeling like you're floating on air, but they're all just pretenders compared to this maglev bed that really does keep you up above the ground.