Chicken-based camera stabilization more effective than the human head mount (video)

As you're undoubtedly well aware, the chicken's vestibulo-ocular reflex and gaze stabilizing function (Google it!) is highly evolved, making it just the thing for steadying your camera. Of course, you need access to live poultry, a tiny camera, some sort of rubber band, and the patience and skill to befriend a rooster and bring him to your film shoots. You've already seen one loyal Engadget reader's fledgling attempts at the Chicken Powered Steadicam[TM], but you can rest assured that this fowl gadget (groan) is constantly in development. Check out our friend Jeremiah's video after the break to see comparison shots between a rooster cam, a handheld camera, and one just sort of strapped to Jeremiah's head.

Continue reading Chicken-based camera stabilization more effective than the human head mount (video)

Chicken-based camera stabilization more effective than the human head mount (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 14:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/30/chicken-based-camera-stabilization-more-effective-than-the-human/

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Firefox Friday: On life after Aza, making your own browser, beta 8, bigger bug bounties, and more!

The open source community shudders with equal measures of saddening loss and anxious anticipation. Mozilla Firefox, one of the most important open source projects, has lost a very big player, and no one quite knows how extensive the repercussions will be.

Aza Raskin, the creative lead behind most of the magic in Firefox 4, resigned earlier this week to pursue the humanization of health care with startup Massive Health. Few details of the new venture have emerged yet, but Aza has reassured me that he is leaving "on great terms" with Mozilla, and he's positive that his beloved Panorama will be well looked after.

As for what Raskin's leaving means for the long term health of the open source and open Web movements, it's hard to say. Mozilla, in general, has always been one of the most important, humanist Web advocates, and Firefox 4 was a major proponent of this year's frantic we're-more-hardware-accelerated-than-you cockfight between Mozilla, Google and Microsoft. Without Aza to drive innovation in Firefox 5, will Google and Microsoft be left to battle it out for the crown -- and will the Web as a whole be less innovative?

Continue reading Firefox Friday: On life after Aza, making your own browser, beta 8, bigger bug bounties, and more!

Firefox Friday: On life after Aza, making your own browser, beta 8, bigger bug bounties, and more! originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/17/firefox-friday-on-life-after-aza-making-your-own-browser/

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Metrodome is a metronome for Google Chrome

So the Chrome Web Store is upon us, and I decided to cover my first Web Store application for Download Squad. Rather than aiming for something high-profile like the Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online app, I decided to go with Metrodome!

Yes, it's just a humble metronome, but it's graceful. It comes with three different sound options (a "tick", a "beep" and a "tock"), all quite pleasant-sounding. But what I like best about it is that it shows a huge dot right in the middle of the window, that goes on and off to the beat. This makes it possible to play by eyesight rather than by listening to the metronome, so you can jam with your headphones connected to your amp and just watch the metronome on-screen.

You can set the BPM, of course, but only by clicking the up/down arrows. This means you're in for a lot of clicking if you want something drastically different than the default (120bpm). This is actually the only extra feature I wish this metronome had. Other than that, it's a beaut!

Metrodome is a metronome for Google Chrome originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/09/metrodome-is-a-metronome-for-chrome/

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How Do You Weigh Wild Penguins? [Video]

This clip is a brilliant way to round out a year in cute animal videos. Scientists built a special bridge to weigh wild Adelie penguins, so their feeding habits can be studied. Watch as the penguins wait their turn, below: More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/gV-1u7B7-Cw/how-do-you-weigh-wild-penguins

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Your Stapler Doesn't Have To Be Boring [Video]

I was one of those kids who always got excited about the start of the school year because it meant a bounty of new office supplies. To think how different 7th grade would have been with these fabulous Zenith staplers! More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/O11QvMKsE68/your-stapler-doesnt-have-to-be-boring

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Angry Birds 'level skip' Mighty Eagle in-app purchase now available -- costs $1!

Those cheeky, purse-squeezing capitalists over at Rovio have released yet another Angry Birds update. Not only does the latest version include some new levels ("Ham 'em High"), but you can now buy the Mighty Eagle. It's an in-app purchase, and it'll cost you either $1, a few British pennies, or a handful of Euro cents.

The Mighty Eagle is a new item that lets you skip the current level, and unlock the next. Despite paying $1 for the luxury, you can only use the level-skip once per hour. There will undoubtedly be a $5 Mightier Eagle in 2011 that removes the 1-hour limitation. The Mighty Eagle also introduces a new Eagle Feather achievement, which you can get by filling up a "destruction gauge." Chrikee.

In other news, if you haven't been following the Angry Birds industry, 50 million copies of the game have now been sold. Rovio promise that 2011 will be exciting, too: Angry Birds will be released on even more platforms, including every major video game console.

Buy Angry Birds 1.5 for $0.99 [iTunes]

Angry Birds 'level skip' Mighty Eagle in-app purchase now available -- costs $1! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/23/angry-birds-level-skip-mighty-eagle-in-app-purchase-now-availa/

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Rumor: iPad 2 Has Bigger Speaker, Flat Back, Smaller Body

Today’s iPad rumor comes courtesy of Japanese blog MacOtakara. According to “sources in China,” the iPad 2 will be smaller, flatter and have a bigger, beefier speaker.
Even MacOtakara is skeptical of the rumors, but ? true or not ? they sound plausible. The new iPad will shave 3mm off the screen’s bezel, making for a [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/12/ipad-2-has-bigger-speaker-flat-back-smaller-body/

DIODES INORATED

Boattail Racer, the $350 Wooden Toy Car

There’s no doubt that the Boattail Racer is gorgeous, its “aerodynamic” lines recalling automobiles designed before the wind tunnel, built to look fast rather than be fast. What is also certain is that it takes a lot of promotional bullshit to get away with selling a wooden toy car for $350. Yes, $350.
Let’s decode the [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/12/boattail-racer-the-350-wooden-toy-car/

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SoundHound Music Recognition App Now Comes With Unlimited Song IDs [Apps]

The free Android and iOS version of the SoundHound app has been updated, bringing unlimited track IDs to smartphones. It'll make money via ads and a few of you buying songs through linked retailer Amazon, hopefully... [SoundHound via UberGizmo] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/wO9JHA81SU0/soundhound-music-recognition-app-now-comes-with-unlimited-song-ids

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Cosmic Bathroom Reading [Retromodo]

Want to fly a Saturn V rocket? Easy! Just pick up one of these bad boys and get learnin'. Having an actual Saturn V rocket, launch pad and government clearance for such things also helps immensely. [Reddit] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/iR4FMCnKOrk/cosmic-bathroom-reading

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Salesforce CEO Benioff Praises Ozzie, Pokes Microsoft

Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff issued some high praise for Ray Ozzie during his Oct. 19 keynote talk at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2010 in Orlando, Fla. Calling Ozzie "one of the great leaders of the industry," he described the departing Microsoft executive's work on Lotus Notes as "pioneering."

That being said, Benioff couldn't resist using Ozzie's resignation to poke at his rival. "Happened much faster than a Microsoft upgrade, that's what I'm saying," he told the audience, to laughter.

Microsoft's "all in" cloud strategy in some aspects threatens Salesforce.com's customer base and SaaS (software-as-a-service) model. Earlier in the year, the two companies also fired tit-for-tat patent-infringement lawsuits against each other, a fracas in which Benioff compared Microsoft to "alley thugs." Despite the mutual accusations of intellectual-property violation, Salesforce eventually agreed to compensate Microsoft for its patents.

But Benioff is enamored of what he calls "Cloud 2," the evolution of the cloud into a more mobile- and social-networking-centric form, and sees Microsoft--in fact, many of the country's larger tech companies--as more emblematic of an outdated paradigm. Salesforce recently unveiled Chatter 2, the next version of its Chatter collaboration platform, which allows employees to post comments and share files in a Facebook-style environment.

"Groupware, collaboration, LotusNotes--I love it, but it was conceived before Mark Zuckerberg," Benioff told the audience during his keynote. "I've been using this for like 20 years ... and then we have this kid who has 500 million users going on a billion. Can we learn something from that?"

The thing is, Ozzie seemed to have learned from the rise of social networking. As Microsoft's Chief Software Architect, he pushed initiatives such as FUSE Labs, a unit focused on software related to social connectivity, real-time experiences and rich media.

One of the products out of FUSE Labs, Docs.com, allows Facebook users to create and share Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents with .PDF support and full-text search.

Microsoft may be pushing an "all in" cloud strategy--look no further than this week's Office 365 announcement for evidence of that--but the company still has to shift its corporate mindset to wholly embrace that evolving vision. Ozzie was a figurehead of that cloud-centric evolution. Now Microsoft needs another one.

Source: http://feeds.ziffdavisenterprise.com/~r/RSS/MicrosoftWatch/~3/upYE9cDLDQk/salesforce_ceo_benioff_praises_ozzie_pokes_microsoft.html

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