By Jesus Diaz, Gizmodo – October 14, 2012 at 02:32PM
He did it! That crazy awesome Felix Baumgartner jumped off the edge of the space, from 127,000 feet of altitude all the way back down to Earth, breaking some world records and getting vital information for NASA in the process. Watch as he jumps out of the capsule. It’s a frightening, adrenaline-fueled, historic moment. More » 
By Bakari Chavanu, MakeUseOf – October 13, 2012 at 07:30PM
Google has partnered with 17 museums and cultural foundations to establish what is called an online Cultural Institute that showcases over 40 online historical exhibitions displayed in a multimedia format. The historical timelines draw on a mixture of archived letters, manuscripts, first-hand video testimonials, and other primary documents.
The Cultural Institute will be a powerful resource for classroom instruction and history buffs. Users can scroll through the timeline at their own pace, and click on individual resources and documents for additional details. The exhibitions weave together short paragraphs, photos, and videos to help make stories easier to understand and explore.
The Cultural Institute is made up of over 40 timeline exhibitions, including A Tragic Love at Auschwitz, the June 5, 1944 D-Day, the August 8, 1956 Women’s Anti-Pass March, the May 20, 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, and a chronicle of the South African leader Nelson Mandela and his release from prison in 1990.
These and other stories can be read in over a dozen different languages, and the content is searchable. Google has also posted a video tutorial for how to make use of the Cultural Institute site.
The Cultural Institute, Google says, is an extension of other similar projects, including its Art Project, World Wonders, and the Nelson Mandela archives. This vast library of historical content is accessible worldwide and will continue to grow.
Interested users can follow the development of the Institute on its Google+ page, which highlights the stories that make up the growing exhibition. And any institutions that would like to contribute to the exhibitions can fill out this form.
Source: Google Blog
By noreply@blogger.com (How to Carve Roast Unicorn), How to Carve Roast Unicorn – October 11, 2012 at 05:59PM
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| “Dead Ewok action figure” seen via Boing Boing |
Hehe, goes nicely with Aunt Beru & Uncle Owen action figures 😉
By Rip Empson, TechCrunch – October 11, 2012 at 05:30PM
Early last year, fabled satirical news source The Onion launched a sports TV show called “Onion SportsDome” that aimed to parody SportsCenter, ESPN’s long-running daily news show about all-things sports. Unfortunately, the show was short-lived. But now The Onion is turning its satirical gaze to TED and its TEDTalks, with a new show called “Onion Talks.” And it’s gonna blow your mind.
The Onion Digital Studios tweeted the news this morning, linking to a preview of the new show, which is set to air next Wednesday, October 17.
Onion Talks: the most important ideas from greatest thinkers on the planet. youtu.be/hEzMNp2d6Bk
— OnionDigitalStudios (@OnionDigStudios) October 10, 2012
The TED Conferences have been around for two decades now, originally getting their start in Silicon Valley. Today, the conferences take place in multiple locations all over the world, featuring keynote presentations by the best and brightest in their fields. But the conference (and talks) really hit the tipping point beginning in 2006, when they began posting videos of the talks on YouTube.
Since then, more than 1,000 videos have been posted, which have collectively attracted hundreds of millions of views. Now even your grandmother sends you TEDTalks. This year, Netflix began offering streaming TEDTalks as well, which just goes to show you.
So, with TED having reached the tipping point, and with some having accused it of being stuffy and succeeding in turning scientists, philosophers and thinkers into “low-level entertainers,” clearly there will be plenty of fodder for The Onion to satirize.
To confirm The Onion’s subversive plans, we spoke with Sam West (if that’s his real name), the head writer for Onion Digital Studios, which consists of a group of Onion writers assembled to create supafly content for the brand’s YouTube channel, as part of YT’s original content initiative. Sam confirmed that “Onion Talks” is indeed a real series and that the team will in fact be releasing a new video every Wednesday, beginning on the 17th. So far, they’ve got “about a dozen” all lined up and ready to touch your mind in weird and unwholesome ways.
For now, the show will live exclusively on YouTube, but who knows what will happen if no mind is left unchanged. “There’s no telling what will come next,” the head writer said. Personally, I’m hoping they launch a newspaper next.
TEDTalks, you’ve just been put on notice.
By Ryan Dube, MakeUseOf – October 11, 2012 at 03:01PM
When you work at any job that requires long hours sitting at a computer – programming, accounting, writing – it is very easy to stay in that one position for eight to nine working hours every day.
Sure, you might get up for a drink of water, a bathroom break, or for lunch, but I’m sure you can remember days when, before you knew it, you’d been sitting in that chair for two to four hours at a time. Deep down you know that sitting for such long period of time can’t be good, but really, how bad can it be?
I really started the long stretches at the computer starting at a very young age. I played video games as early as grade school, and did so for long hours into the night when I was in high school. Sitting for four or five hours straight during the weekend while playing an RPG was not unheard of. Time flies when you dive into those virtual worlds – it’s surreal sometimes.
I never really stopped to think what sort of damage I was doing to my body as a teenager. And once I graduated college and went to work as an engineer, I didn’t even consider what would happen to my body once I started sitting at a desk for almost eight hours every day – usually a couple of hours at one stretch before doing any walking.
Sure, the increasing waistline and tightening shirts after a year of full-time professional work gave me some clue what might be happening, but I figured once I started hitting the gym every day for an hour after work I could quickly handle that little problem.
Little did I know until many years later that not only was I making it biologically more difficult to lose weight later, but by allowing myself those long stretches at the desk, I was shortening my life by nearly seven years.
You’re probably rolling your eyes and thinking to yourself, “Oh great, another article telling me how unhealthy it is to be sitting here reading this article.”
Look, I’m not about to start preaching turning off the computer and going for a long walk this very moment. I love computers. I don’t think I’ll ever quit sitting in front of a computer – but when you really start looking at the facts, it isn’t so much the fact that we’re all sitting in front of a computer, it’s the fact that we’re doing it for such long stretches of time without any break.
It’s important to understand just how seriously this behavior can affect you, because the threat is very real and it’s significant. There are four categories of health that studies show sitting too long can impact – cancer, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Countless studies show time and time again that being physically inactive leads to a whole list of health problems that will kill you. Taking everything into account, the World Health Organization reports that being physically inactive comes in fourth as a leading risk factor for death. That’s Death with a capital D.
Just how much of a difference can it make? Well, a study published in the March 26th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine found that after taking a sample of 200,000 people into account, there was a clear “association” between the act of sitting and “all-cause mortality”. Bottom line – sitting over eleven hours a day results in a 40 percent higher chance of dying from any cause at all. That’s crazy.
The WHO report mentioned above solidifies this finding. Inactivity was found to be the main cause of about a quarter of breast and colon cancers, 27 percent of diabetes cases, and 30 percent of heart disease cases.
The study in the Archives of Internal Medicine came from researchers at the University of Sydney, who reported that going to the gym or taking a walk is important, but prolonged sitting may actually be counteracting the health effects of that workout entirely.
It seems like everything causes Cancer these days. Cellphones. Microwaves. Cat scans and X-Rays. But sitting?
Yup. Sitting increases your risk of getting cancer in a very big way. The American Institute for Cancer Research held its annual conference early in 2012 and highlighted at that conference were specific research findings showing that 49,000 cases of breast cancer and 43,000 cases of colon cancer in the U.S. could be linked to inactivity.
It seems like such a cop-out doesn’t it? Like, researchers can’t find a specific correlation so they point at the fact that most of the people that got cancer sat around a whole lot. Well, good guess Sherlock, right? Well, not quite. Researchers, such as Dr. Christine Friedenreich, PhD, the leading epidemiologist at Alberta Health Services-Cancer Care who presented at the AICR conference, reported research results that physical activity may actually reduce inflammation linked to increased cancer risk.
The good news is that experts give you a very clear path to wipe out the risk starting right now. Take a break. The AICR responded directly to the research by urging readers to take a break from sitting every single hour – taking a couple of minutes to walk around, stretch, get a drink – whatever – can literally save your life.
There is a solid, proven benefit to taking those breaks. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) published its research findings in the European Heart Journal showing that for 4,757 participants in the study, short periods of light activity – even just a minute at a time – could reduce waistline, increase levels of good cholesterol, and even increase insulin resistance. This is really serious stuff.
Okay, so you know if you don’t give yourself at least a minute break every hour or so, you could be in for some trouble down the road with the C word, but is cancer the only concern (as though that’s not bad enough on its own)?
Well, unfortunately, Diabetes is the other risk factor when it comes to sitting around for hours at a time.
One study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, took into account published scientific studies dating from 1970 all the way to 2011 and found that collectively, the data from those studies reveal a clear correlation between more than two hours of TV viewing time and risk factors for type 2 diabetes, as well as cardiovascular disease. The risk of heart disease increased by 15 percent. For diabetes, the risk increased by 20 percent for people that watched TV more than two hours a day. 20 percent!
Yet another published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in August of 2011 revealed that when people lower their activity from over 10,000 steps a day to less than 5,000 steps a day, physical changes in the body directly increase that person’s risk of type 2 diabetes.
Obviously, the opposite must hold true. If you get up from from that desk every 40 minutes and take a good 10 minute walk, and then take a nice 60 minute walk after work, the odds are pretty good that you could achieve a daily goal over 10,000 and significantly reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes.
There are many other studies, like the one out of the University of Mass at Amherst that showed that “1 day of sitting elicits large reductions in insulin action”, and another study from the University of South Carolina that found a direct correlation between time spent sitting and riding in a car, and cardiovascular disease death.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that if you sit too long during the day, you’ll get fat. So I’m not going to bore you with research that proves that, it’s pretty obvious. However, there was one particular study related to obesity and sitting too long that really threw me for a loop.
Clearly, the inactivity of sitting burns fewer calories and most people likely are not cutting down on calories just because they’re sitting so long (in fact, they’re probably snacking more), so that positive calorie balance will go directly to your bottom – or for some people, their spare tires.
But did you know that the mechanical pressure on your backside itself literally forces the cells in your fanny to transform into larger fat cells? Crazy right? It’s true.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University found that the preadipocyte cells, which are the cells in your body that turn into fat cells, will actually transform into fat cells faster when they are put under long periods of “mechanical stretching loads”.
This means – my dieting friends – that you can try and cut calories, but if you plan to continue sitting behind that desk for three or four hour stretches at a time without a single break, the odds are pretty good that you’re going to have some major junk in the trunk.
Unfortunately, the list doesn’t stop there. During my escapades through literary journals and University research websites, I discovered studies showing links between sitting too long and everything from increased risk of kidney disease, to a high risk for blood clots in the legs. In fact, the blood clot issue related to excessive computer use is becoming known in medical circles as “e-thrombosis”.
So, now that you know sitting on that chair for several hours at a stretch is nearly as bad for your health as smoking, what are you going to do? I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to install an Android timer on my tablet, set it to go off at work every 40 minutes, and take a 5 minute walk. It may not sound like much, but those breaks could literally save your life.
Do you have any ideas how to take some pressure off your backside during the day? What do you plan to do – if anything – to make a change? Share your ideas with everyone in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Fat Businessman via Shutterstock, Fat and Lazy via Shutterstock, Sitting Too Long via Shutterstock, Fat Driver via Shutterstock
By Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica – September 26, 2012 at 11:30AM
Last year, when Ars published our two-part DroboFS review (Part 1, Part 2), one of the requests we kept hearing was for a similar in-depth review of other home-oriented network attached storage (NAS) products, particularly those from Synology. A few months ago, I purchased a Synology DS-412+ to replace my DroboFS (which I have since passed on to my parents) and I’ve been living with it since.
Other contenders in the home NAS space include QNAP, NetGear, and Iomega, but I went with Synology chiefly due to their reputation for performance. The DroboFS was the very definition of “easy to use,” but after more than a year the slow read and write speeds just became too much. After scouring forums and reviews to find a replacement, I kept coming back to the then-newly released DS-412+.
Synology breaks down its models across several lines, and each device’s intended target market can be divined by dissecting the model designation. Units beginning with an “RS” are “RackStation” models, intended to be mounted in standard data center 19-inch racks; “DS” units are “DiskStation” models, which sit on the floor or on a desk rather than in a rack. The first number after the DS or RS is the maximum number of disk drives the device supports (though reaching that number for some models requires an external expansion bay). The next two digits are the year the model entered production, with all models on sale today having either 11, 12, or 13 (yes, a few models now carry a 13—don’t ask). The final character indicates anything special about the model—a “+” if it’s a business-class unit with extra oomph, a “j” for entry-level models which prioritize affordability over performance, or a “slim” for units which accept 2.5″ hard disk drives.
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By Casey Chan, Gizmodo – March 13, 2013 at 08:30PM
Google’s killing off Google Reader which means hordes of abandoned RSS users will need a new home to get their news fix. So what’s the best RSS reader not named Google Reader? Is it Reeder? Or NetNewsWire? Maybe Feedly? Or should we all just ditch RSS and get with Twitter? More » 
By Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica – March 13, 2013 at 08:25PM
Google’s latest “spring cleaning” may be the company’s most heartbreaking since Google Wave. Google Reader, the RSS reader of the masses, will shut down on July 1.
A surprising number of Ars staffers still use Google Reader, so the conversation in the Orbital HQ immediately turned to alternatives. “Oh, what about FeedDemon?” Errr, the service depends on Google Reader. “What about Reeder for iOS?” Same story. My personal alternative, NetNewsWire… ugh.
Twitter quickly became a suggestion box. CNET compiled a quick list and Ars alum Ryan Paul was quick to sing the praises of NewsBlur. (Though that service’s website was quickly rendered unresponsive. “I expect https://www.newsblur.com to be unresponsive as 1000s of new users flee Reader,” NewsBlur’s Twitter handle quipped.)
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By Sarah Perez, TechCrunch – March 13, 2013 at 07:48PM
Don’t be evil? If that’s the unofficial Google motto, then the company has failed to deliver today. Among the products Google just announced it plans to sunset (read: kill off), beloved feed-reading service Google Reader is now on the chopping block.
“*$%#” wrote at least one TechCrunch staffer upon hearing the news. “What will feed my Reeder app,?” asks another. “Super sad,” says a third. “I AM SO MAD ABOUT THIS I WILL KILL,” screams a fourth.
These reactions will be echoed among a legion of Google Reader fans, and loudly, as the news spreads. And yes, many of them are bloggers and journalists – edge cases in our news consumption behaviors, I’ll admit, but self-important ones.
Google Reader never made it as a mainstream product, which is why Google is giving the ax. But allowing it to sit out there, neglected and abandoned yet still functional, was at least a comfort to this niche crowd, where Google Reader still serves as one of the company’s most-used apps of all time, right up there with Gmail.
We got a taste of what life without Reader was like in February, when the service became unusable for nearly two days. Feeds went haywire, showing old things as new and not respecting the “mark as read” functionality. Google eventually stepped in to fix the problem, and in the meantime, we had a chance to explore the alternative products out there. None of them were up to Google Reader quality, whether because they’re still an early stage startup, or because they’re older, desktop software tools with outdated interfaces.
I guess that’s good news for those early stage startups though. NewsBlur, here’s looking at you. Better go buy some more servers. (And hey, look guys, source code!) Also HiveMined, launch already. It’s been time. The Old Reader, get busy. Feedly, we’re ready. .
Google has been gradually destroying Google Reader for over a year now. In fall 2011, it announced it would remove the built in social integration and integrate the service with Google+. Hundreds of angry commenters posted their grievances at the time – including what seemed to be the entire online population of Iran, which had used Reader as an under-the-radar service – a way to get uncensored, unfiltered news outside of government control.
There were even movements like the “we are the (1000+)” #occupyGoogleReader meme, from Google Reader’s original creators, no less! Now there are new petitions for Google to ignore.
But that doesn’t matter to Google, which is now systematically shutting down products which don’t fulfill its core missions: search, social, ads. On these fronts, Google Reader just doesn’t deliver.
After all, who uses it but bloggers anyway, right? Bloggers who write 6,000 word+ tributes to Google Reader, explaining in detail not only everything that went wrong with the service over time, but how it eventually came to be steamrolled by Google+. Bloggers – oh and developers, too – who are now collectively pouring one out for you, Google Reader.
You were loved.
RIP.
Update: So Wrong, Yahoo, So Wrong –
Google Reader is going away: yhoo.it/15Np9A0 There’s still my.yahoo.com
— Yahoo!(@Yahoo) March 14, 2013
By Whitson Gordon, Lifehacker – March 13, 2013 at 07:45PM
Google announced today that it’ll be closing Google Reader’s doors on July 1st of this year, meaning you’ll need to find a new way to get your news fix. Here’s how to export all your feeds and put them into a new reader.
RSS is the mechanism by which Google Reader subscribes to web sites, and lets you know which articles you’ve read. Luckily, it’s far from the only RSS reader out there, so chances are you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding one you like. In general, they fall into two categories. Here are your options.
If you read your RSS feeds in more than one place (that is, if you want to read them at home, at work, or on different devices), you’ll want to try a web-based RSS reader, similar to what Google Reader is now. NetVibes (pictured above) is one of the most popular web reader, offering a Google Reader-like interface as well as a snazzy iGoogle-like homepage.
NewsBlur is also a great option, with an interface that’s very similar to Google Reader (and arguably a little more polished). You create an account with them, subscribe to your favorite sites, and can read them on any computer. They even have Android and iOS apps that’ll sync your feeds, too.
Feedly is popular, but definitely different than Google Reader. Its interface is less traditional and a bit more “newspaper-like,” but it’s very pretty. You need to download a browser extension for Chrome or Firefox to use it, but you’ll be able to sync your feeds between browsers and even to Feedly’s mobile apps. Update: Feedly has also said that they’ll have a “seamless” transition method in place when Reader goes down.
Your other option is to go with a desktop app. Desktop readers often offer many more features than their web-based counterparts, but with one big downside: all desktop apps currently sync with Google Reader. That means, unless the developers get it syncing with a different service, you’ll only be able to read your feeds on the machine you used to subscribe to them. Of course, Google Reader doesn’t shut down until July, so there’s enough time that we could actually see that happen.
For Windows, we really like FeedDemon (pictured above) for its high level of customizability. Check out our App Directory entry to read more about it and get some alternatives. Mac users should check out the beautiful, feature-packed Reeder and its alternatives. If you do most of your reading on your phone or tablet, you might try some of the Android- or iOS-based feed readers as well.
Once you’ve found a new RSS reader, you should import your Google Reader feeds so you don’t have to re-subscribe to everything. Luckily, migrating your feeds from Google Reader is very simple. Here’s what you need to do:
Reader folder, you should see a file called subscriptions.xml. Extract that to your desktop.subscriptions.xml file you just extracted. All of your feeds should appear in your new reader.This won’t import your starred items or know which articles you’ve already read on Google Reader, but at least you’ll still have all your subscriptions. Alternatively, you can download a desktop reader that syncs with Reader—our favorite ones for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS all do—let it sync, and then turn off Google Reader syncing once it’s done. That way, you should at least be able to pick up where you left off.
You’ve still got until July to figure out which RSS reader you want to move to, so try a few different services out and see what you like. Hopefully, by the time July rolls around, some of the desktop apps might even have other options for syncing to the cloud. In the meantime, join us in the discussions below and share your favorite non-Google RSS reader.
Title image remixed from MARSIL (Shutterstock) and sspopov (Shutterstock).