Kobo has a new e-reader out that actually could shake up the market, since it offers waterproofing as a standard factory feature on a $179.99 e-reader, with a high-res, 265 DPI 6.8-inch e-ink display. The Kobo Aura H20 basically takes the already-impressive Aura HD, makes the design thinner and lighter, and adds IP67 environmental resistance, which is a tough package to beat.
via Kobo’s Aura H20 Makes The High-Res E-Reader Waterproof – Your Move, Amazon | TechCrunch.
SPLOID is my new favourite blog “a new blog about awesome stuff”. Awesome is right. SPLOID recently posted about this stop-motion video of a bookcase being made (originally posted to YouTube March 2014). Out of this world cool and hypnotizing. Watch the whole thing without trying to plug your ears!
Magic bookcase makes itself in neat stop-motion video | SPLOID
Related: The Magic Behind Stop-Motion Animation Revealed [VIDEO] | Mashable
The very best ways to learn Ruby, Ruby on Rails, and the art of building dynamic web applications, including free and paid tutorials, instructor-guided courses, community support, reference materials, and the tools you need to get going. Learn Ruby: 29 of The Best Online Educational Resources to Learn to Ruby and Ruby on Rails | SkilledUp.
[A] new app might be able to break through that passivity by meeting the Touchscreen generation where their fingers live. ScratchJr is a new iPad variation of the Scratch programming language, a tool created at MIT to help teach kids to code. The premise for both is the same: instead of text, Scratch uses interlocking colored blocks to mimic the logical structures and functions of a typical grown-up programming language. Scratch scripts allow their creators to direct and interact with “sprites”—cartoonish characters on the screen. By introducing kids to coding without the hurdles of arcane syntax and bug-prevention, the hope is that they’ll become engaged enough with the process that their sensibilities will shift.
READ MORE: Finally, a Way to Teach Coding to the Touchscreen Generation | WIRED.
ISIS, the Sunni militant group wreaking violent havoc in Syria and Iraq, is fast extending its reach, claiming Iraqi cities as far southward as Ramadi. That dark shadow didn’t stop Iraqis in nearby Baghdad, 80 miles to the southeast, from turning out in droves last week for the re-opening of the National Museum of Iraq, closed for over a decade. According to Reuters, the museum was “packed with visitors eager to glimpse relics from happier times.”
READ MORE: National Museum Of Iraq Reopens As ISIS Threat Casts Dark Shadow | Co.Design
The show’s worldwide debut will come within 24 hours of the U.S. premiere on TNT in December. Based on the TNT TV movie franchise “The Librarian,” the 10-episode drama series features “Falling Skies” actor Noah Wyle reprising his role from the movie series alongside Rebecca Romijn and a cast that includes Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin — who appeared in the original series — as well as John Larroquette, Christian Kane, Lindy Booth and Matt Frewer. The show centers on an ancient organization hidden beneath Gotham’s Metropolitan Public Library, dedicated to protecting an unknowing world from the secret, magical reality hidden around them. via ‘The Librarians’ TV Series to Premiere Worldwide With Universal Networks International | Variety.
Related: TNT greenlights ‘The Librarians’ franchise as a series | EW.com | April 15, 2014
There are a few places where we dream of curling up to read a book. Mostly, these include treehouses, cozy attics and the Gilmore residence in Stars Hollow. But now there’s another: artist Beatrice Glow’s floating library. Who said water and books don’t mix?
Docked off Pier 25 in New York City beginning September 6, the library-slash-art-installation will include an outdoor reading lounge on the upper deck that will, according to its website, be “conducive to fearless dreaming.” Glow’s project will be taking over the Lilac Museum Steamship, a decommissioned steam-powered ship that once carried supplies to lighthouses and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
READ MORE: This Is A Floating Library. Every City Should Probably Have One | HuffPo
If youre a regular user of Photoshop, Illustrator, or do general web development, you probably find yourself drowning in a flood of keyboard shortcuts. Cheetyr helps make sense of them with a searchable database of keyboard shortcuts for several common apps and services. Currently, Cheetyr contains shortcuts for Photoshop, Illustrator, CSS, Git, and Vim. The site is accepting submissions and assistance, so the database is likely to grow over time. You can search for any function in the search box for each product to find the shortcut youre looking for.
via Cheetyr is a Searchable Shortcut Cheat Sheet for Designers and Devs | LifeHacker
Why bother having to learn HTML5, JavaScript, PHP, CSS and XML, when you could just learn one? Well, thats exactly what an NSA-funded project at Carnegie Mellon University seeks to achieve.The “polyglot” programming language is called Wyvern—the name comes from a a mythical dragon-like reature with two legs instead of four—and is designed to help unify the way apps and websites are created.
READ: The NSA Is Funding a Project to Roll All Programming Languages Into One | Gizmodo
People now buy songs, not albums. They read articles, not newspapers. So why not mix and match learning “modules” rather than lock into 12-week university courses?
READ: Are Courses Outdated? MIT Considers Offering ‘Modules’ Instead | The Chronicle of Higher Education.
infophile 