The Almost Completely Open Source Laptop Goes on Sale | WIRED


Andrew “bunnie” Huang and Sean “xobs” Cross want to sell you a laptop you can completely trust.

Earlier this year, the two Singapore-based engineers fashioned a laptop made almost entirely from open source hardware, hardware whose designs are freely available to the world at large. They called it Project Novena. Anyone could review the designs, looking for bugs and security flaws, and at least in theory, that meant you could be confident the machine was secure from top to bottom, something that’s more desirable than ever in the post-Edward Snowden age.

The original idea was simply to encourage others to build their own open source laptops at home. But now the pair are taking the project a step further. Starting today, you can order your own pre-built Novena laptop through the crowd-funding site Crowd Supply, and it will ship out in the coming months. Much like Kickstarter, Crowd Supply is place where you can put up money to help fund a company and then get a product in exchange.

The project is part of larger movement towards open source hardware. Open source software has become a mainstay across the web and inside many businesses, and now, open source hardware is beginning to find its own place in the world, not only among hobbyists but inside big companies such as Facebook. The idea is not only to improve security, but to help spur innovation. If you share designs, others can make them better. The new, commercial version of the Novena does include some parts that are closed source, such as the processor, but Huang and Cross have tried to minimize these as much as possible.

Read more: The Almost Completely Open Source Laptop Goes on Sale | Enterprise | WIRED.

Stay Dead Zombie LARPing Event


This is a cool event I heard about in Calgary, Alberta on May 3rd and 4th, 2014. Although I’m not into the zombie trend…too scary for me…I know zombie-themed movies and events are still very popular!

Its an 18 hour Zombie Apocalypse Survival marathon by Stay Dead Events. Here’s the details. Preview below.

I am an infophile. Are you? (Renaming this website.)


I have renamed this website to infophile from The Modern MLIS. The new name better aligns with being an established information services professional rather than the library and information services student I was when I first started the blog. I am an infophile (a person who loves information). Personally, I love advising, amusing and informing others about the stories, research and information I have come across. Professionally, I manipulate information for news monitoring purposes and to create classifications and taxonomies. It’s pretty amazing and validating to be able to do something you love every day…and even get paid for it!

I took a hiatus of a few months to decide whether I wanted to continue reposting future librarianship and technology-related news and resources to the LIS community. It can be challenging juggling the work/life balances thing, but I think I have it figured out now. So going forward, I will only be highlighted the coolest, most unique, worthy and must know news to the blog. I hope you will continue to follow me.

This Little-Known iOS Feature Will Change the Way We Connect | Wired.com


A new iOS app called FireChat is blowing up in the App Store. But it’s not the app itself that’s causing such a stir, it’s the underlying networking technology it taps into.

The idea behind FireChat is simple. It’s a chatting app. After registering with a name — no email address or other personal identifiers required — you’re dropped into a fast-moving chatroom of “Everyone” using it in your country. The interesting aspect, however, is the “Nearby” option. Here, the app uses Apple’s Multipeer Connectivity framework, essentially a peer-to-peer feature that lets you share messages (and soon photos) with other app users nearby, regardless of whether you have an actual Wi-Fi or cellular connection.

Read More: This Little-Known iOS Feature Will Change the Way We Connect | Gadget Lab | Wired.com.

Equinox, First Nation Superhero, Joins Justice League Canada | HuffPost


A 16-year-old First Nations teen from Moose Factory, Ont. is set to join an elite cadre of superheroes that includes Batman and Superman.

DC Comics unveiled Equinox as its newest character to CBC News on Friday. She’s the latest superhero to join Justice League United, a five-issue series penned by Toronto artist Jeff Lemire that will see its first issue released on April 23.

Read More: Equinox, First Nation Superhero, Joins Justice League Canada | HuffPost

The big steal: rise of the plagiarist in the digital age | The Guardian


Thanks to the internet, it has never been easier to steal other people’s work. There’s also a high risk you’ll be found out. So why do it? Rhodri Marsden goes in search of a little originality…via The big steal: rise of the plagiarist in the digital age | Technology | The Guardian.

Zuckerberg and Musk back software startup that mimics human learning | theguardian.com


San Francisco startup Vicarious aims to create ‘a computer that thinks like a person except it doesn’t need to eat or sleep’. via Zuckerberg and Musk back software startup that mimics human learning | Technology | theguardian.com.

A.I. XPRIZE: Can A Robot Deliver A TED Talk Worthy Of A Standing Ovation? | International Business Times


Imagine if Samantha from the movie “Her” could deliver a dynamic, engaging and totally human TED Talk. That’s what the nonprofit hopes will be a reality in the near future. TED wants to find out if an artificial intelligence can deliver a talk that wows the audience at a future conference.

During the TEDActive 2014 conference on March 20, Chris Anderson, curator of TED, and Peter Diamandis, founder of the XPRIZE, announced the formation of the A.I. XPRIZE where the winner will receive a lucrative award for delivering a talk that receives a standing ovation. READ MORE

LEGO Car Fueled by Air Drives Into History | PCMag.com


What started more than 60 years ago as a children’s building-block toy has turned into a technological tool, most recently used to design a plastic car fueled by air.

More than 500,000 LEGO bricks were used to build Steve Sammartino and Raul Oaida’s “Super Awesome Micro Project”: a drivable LEGO car. Read more: LEGO Car Fueled by Air Drives Into History | News & Opinion | PCMag.com.

Eye Cells Made with Ink-Jet Printer | MIT Technology Review


The ability to print retinal cells could lead to new therapies for retinal disorders such as macular degeneration…Researchers at the University of Cambridge used a standard ink-jet printer to form layers of two types of cells taken from the retinas of rats, and showed that the process did not compromise the cells’ health or ability to survive and grow in culture. Ink-jet printing has been used to deposit cells before, but this is the first time cells from an adult animal’s central nervous system have been printed.

Read more: Eye Cells Made with Ink-Jet Printer | MIT Technology Review.