When Al Gore first created the internet (hard wink, everybody), we’re pretty sure the plan was for Big Brother to collect your data, not Silicon Valley titans. Now Google, the company that mainly tends the gates to the web’s vast array of information, is stepping up to its “Do No Evil” motto, and making encryptedsearch the norm — for account users. While Gmail’s long had SSL set as a default login, good ol’ Joe Public’s had to specifically access Mountain View’s dedicated encrypted search page for anonymous surfing privileges. No longer, as Gmail users signed in to Goog’s suite of web services will be automatically redirected to https://www.google.com where their searches and results will be hidden from prying eyes. The protection doesn’t extend out to web advertisements, so those specific clicks will deliver the same metric-relevant info that helps marketers optimize their hyper-targeting. Any of that put you conspiracy theorists at ease? Good, now you can open those curtains again.
Just in case that plastic shell you picked up has run its course and you’re not looking to alert Al Gore with your next purchase, Root Cases offers a wee bit more environmentally friendly alternative. Now you can outfit your iPad 2 with either North American Walnut or eco-friendly, South Asiatic Bamboo. Both cases will protect your slate in book-like fashion, securing the tablet at the corners and sticking shut via magnetic closure. If you’re ready to pull the trigger, you can grab both of these via the source links below for $79 each — or hit the gallery for another peek at the pair. At least you won’t regret splurging for a wood case like you did if you shelled out cash for one of these.
When it comes to gaming, the more realistic the better, right? Sure, it’s all fun until we start talking about being virtually sliced with a battle axe or pelted with a rocket launcher — exactly the idea behind a new technology dubbed “phantom sensation.” Researchers at the University of Electro-Communications know that to virtually recreate the feeling of touch, they need to apply vibrations to two points of skin. Taking the idea one step further, they applied the stimuli to either side of the body to mimic what it might feel like if the object actually passed through. Using a tweaked Wii, as an item in the game travels through the player’s hand, the top sensor vibrates intensely at first, then subsides to zero. At this point, the bottom probe kicks in, going from zero to strong until the object is cleared — leaving the player feeling slightly violated and virtually gored. Check out the (relatively) painless demonstration video after the break.
Facebook gone and done some serious damage to the company credit card, but thankfully, it’s being used for more than replacing chimneys and repairing pool liners. Zuck’s prized possession has just snapped up Push Pop Press and Beluga, with the former being best known for creating interactive digital books, most notably gadget junkie Al Gore’s “Our Choice” book for iPad. Beluga on the other hand, gained lots of attention for its group messaging app built for iOS and Android. Push Pop Press co-founders (and former Apple engineers) Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris were quick to say that Facebook has no plans to publish digital books; they did confirm, however, that “the ideas and technology behind Push Pop Press will be integrated with Facebook, giving people even richer ways to share their stories.” Mysterious. Could the Push Press Pop acquisition be the key to the fantasmical iPad app we’ve yearned for since the dawn of the new millennium? Beluga confirmed the future of Facebook mobile messaging when it said, “we’re excited to build our vision for mobile group messaging as part of the Facebook team.” Equally mysterious. Unfortunately, no concrete details are being made available, with each site’s homepage simply confirming that It’s Complicated.
Come on down! You can be the next contestant on the Prizes site. That was overkill, we know, but it’s a necessary introduction into a new world of online solution-based social gaming pioneered by the Slide team. Acquired by the Goog back in 2010, the low profile entertainment-driven app developer has been hard at work making the web ‘more social’and filling its Big Daddy’s pockets. Debuting in classic Google beta form, Prizes takes your Twitter or Facebook accounts and signs you up for cash prize-winning, user-created contest shenanigans. In case you missed that fine point, we’ll reiterate — users design the challenges, you post a solution (or vice versa). Like the $40 “Give my Dad a makeover!” competition we’re completely unqualified to enter, or the $30 “Comprehensive ‘get healthy’ plan for living in a large, polluted city” game we’re sure Al Gore could win in his sleep. It’s a kooky idea, but we can definitely see the service having widespread appeal. Let’s be frank here: Google + social gaming + prize money = solid user gold.
Automatic oven meets robot chef with a memorized cookbook, together they form the iChef. Gorenje, an European appliance maker, ships their oven model together with a computer brain that’s capable of fully automizing nearly every culinary task. And it’s all touch-controlled.
At its most simple, you estimate the type of food you’ve put in, and its weight, and the computer does the rest. But more complex things can be achieved as well. With MyBake, ProBake and StepBake modes, you can program up to three steps into the process. There’s defrosting, baking, holding warm, multi-stage tempratures, and saving of programs and recipes.
Shipping this spring in Europe, an oven with smarter programs than a microwave will be a thing to behold.
Automatic oven meets robot chef with a memorized cookbook, together they form the iChef. Gorenje, an European appliance maker, ships their oven model together with a computer brain that’s capable of fully automizing nearly every culinary task. And it’s all touch-controlled.
At its most simple, you estimate the type of food you’ve put in, and its weight, and the computer does the rest. But more complex things can be achieved as well. With MyBake, ProBake and StepBake modes, you can program up to three steps into the process. There’s defrosting, baking, holding warm, multi-stage tempratures, and saving of programs and recipes.
Shipping this spring in Europe, an oven with smarter programs than a microwave will be a thing to behold.
Automatic oven meets robot chef with a memorized cookbook, together they form the iChef. Gorenje, an European appliance maker, ships their oven model together with a computer brain that’s capable of fully automizing nearly every culinary task. And it’s all touch-controlled.
At its most simple, you estimate the type of food you’ve put in, and its weight, and the computer does the rest. But more complex things can be achieved as well. With MyBake, ProBake and StepBake modes, you can program up to three steps into the process. There’s defrosting, baking, holding warm, multi-stage tempratures, and saving of programs and recipes.
Shipping this spring in Europe, an oven with smarter programs than a microwave will be a thing to behold.
Automatic oven meets robot chef with a memorized cookbook, together they form the iChef. Gorenje, an European appliance maker, ships their oven model together with a computer brain that’s capable of fully automizing nearly every culinary task. And it’s all touch-controlled.
At its most simple, you estimate the type of food you’ve put in, and its weight, and the computer does the rest. But more complex things can be achieved as well. With MyBake, ProBake and StepBake modes, you can program up to three steps into the process. There’s defrosting, baking, holding warm, multi-stage tempratures, and saving of programs and recipes.
Shipping this spring in Europe, an oven with smarter programs than a microwave will be a thing to behold.
We’ve no doubt that Gorenje’s iChef oven can bake, and bake well — but as you’ve probably guessed, we’re more interested in the appliance’s finger-friendly controls. Kitchens of the future often come complete with touchscreen panels and home automation settings, but you aren’t just keying in the time and temperature here — it’s got sixty-five preset dishes it can cook autonomously, 150 slots for you to program your own, and a option that lets you bake in three separate stages for perfection (or bitter disappointment, depending on your choices) inside and out. It’s all controlled through a colorful filled with pictures of loving-prepared food, and though we’re afraid we can’t find a video of it in action, you’ll find screencaps and descriptions at our source link below. The oven launches in Europe this spring and if you have to ask how much it costs, you probably won’t have enough left over to afford a robotic manservant anyhow.
