Tag Archives: technology

RePhone Lets You Turn Anything Into A #Phone | TechCrunch + Finally, Game Cartridges You Can Plug Into Your #Smartphone | ARSTechnica #makerspaces

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RePhone Lets You Turn Anything Into A Phone | TechCrunch
The project is actually a tiny circuit board with a SIM slot and an optional screen. It also supports Bluetooth. You’re going to want to get the $49 Kit Create, a tiny watch-like system that includes a little case and all the modules. It’s like getting a tiny unlocked cellphone for under $50. This is obviously an experimental board but I checked it out a week ago and it seemed to work fairly well. It includes programming libraries in Arduino IDE, Lua and Javascript that allow you to connect the phone to the web and even IFTTT…

Finally, game cartridges you can plug in to your smart phone: Pico Cassette sends data through the headphone jack using audio signals | ARS Technica
Enter Pico Cassette, a Japanese outfit that says it’s bringing back “the next retro” with tiny game cartridges that plug in to a smartphone’s headphone jack. The tiny “cassettes” (the general Japanese term for cartridges) are built on PlugAir technology, which uses a specially designed iPhone or Android app to draw power from the headphone jack and send data using specially modulated audio signals…

See Book Availability from Your Local #Library while [ Web Browsing] | LibraryExtension.com #books #libraries #Internet #tools #browsers #catalogs

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As you browse books and e-books on Amazon.com, the Library Extension checks your library’s online catalog and displays the availability of that item on the same page. If the book is available at your library, you’ll know instantly – with a quick, convenient link to reserve the title! READ MORE: Library Extension – See book availability from your local library while you browse Amazon.com | Library Extension for Chrome

#Entrepreneurs Launch #Coding School for #Refugees in Germany | Mashable #education #war #tech #skills

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BERLIN — Weston Hankins, an entrepreneur in Germany currently juggling three startups, was complaining to a friend one night about the lack of computer programmers in Berlin, when they stumbled into an idea: What if they trained refugees to code? “It was just so obvious,” said Hankins, who, along with his friend Anne Kjær Riechert, reasoned that coding classes for refugees would not only offset a shortage of technical skills across Europe, but also help kickstart the students’ new lives. “We can help them integrate because we know the startup community and we’re well connected here,” Hankins said. Also, he pointed out, “they need something to do.” READ MORE: Entrepreneurs launch coding school for refugees in Germany | Mashable

Georgia Tech Uses #ArtificialIntelligence #AI to Crowdsource #Interactive #Fiction | GT #tech #crowdsourcing #storytelling #gaming #users

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Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have developed a new artificially intelligent system that crowdsources plots for interactive stories, which are popular in video games and let players choose different branching story options. READ MORE: GT | Georgia Institute of Technology | News Center | Georgia Tech Uses Artificial Intelligence to Crowdsource Interactive Fiction

New Platform Makes #Content Of #Videos As Searchable As Text | Fast Company #search #discovery #curation #data #contextual #analysis #machinelearning

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To make poorly labeled videos easier to discover, Manhattan-based video analysis startup Dextro is launching a platform that analyzes and tags the contents of publicly available videos, using algorithms to identify common scenes, objects, and speech. Mic, a news site aimed at millennials, has partnered with Dextro and will use the platform, called Sight, Sound & Motion (SSM), to discover newsworthy videos that may otherwise be difficult to find. READ MORE: This New Platform Makes The Contents Of Videos As Searchable As Text | Fast Company | Business + Innovation

A Librarian’s Guide to #OER in the Maker Space | School Library Journal | #makerspaces #resources #tech #digital #libraries

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OER Commons is a digital library where educators can find resources to develop, support and amplify their maker space practices. The site is searchable by subject, grade level or standard. Users can also filter results to include topics, such as activities and labs, games, videos, lesson plans, and interactive tools.

MAKER SPACE-RELATED RESOURCES ON OER COMMONS:

  • LEGO Robots
  • Hair and Snail Challenges
  • 3d Printing in the Classroom
  • Discover Engineering
  • High Tech Fashion
  • Maze Challenge
  • Construction and Destruction Using Castles and Catapults
  • What is a Robot?

READ MORE: A Librarian’s Guide to OER in the Maker Space | School Library Journal

Hands-On With the World’s First Flexible Wearable | WIRED #wearables #digital #tech #displays

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PHIL INAGAKI DOESN’T like to call the Wove Band a smartwatch. The CEO and co-founder of flexible electronics company Polyera would rather call his team’s creation a “device” or a “digital canvas” than evoke the mental image of a wrist-worn timepiece. READ MORE: Hands-On With the World’s First Flexible Wearable | WIRED

Will #Digital #Books Ever Replace Print? | Aeon #eBooks #reading #tech

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Digital books stagnate in closed, dull systems, while printed books are shareable, lovely and enduring. What comes next? READ MORE: Will digital books ever replace print? – Craig Mod – Aeon

The Evolving Landscape Of Recommendation Systems | TechCrunch #tech #products #digital #UX

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Everyday decisions, from which products to buy, movies to watch and restaurants to try, are more and more being put in the hands of a new source: recommendation systems. Recommendation systems are changing the very ways we make up our minds, guiding us through a new digital reality whose evolution is bringing us closer to exactly what it is that we want — even if we ourselves don’t know it yet. Recommendation systems (or RS for short) are intelligent information filtering engines that narrow the decision-making process to just a few proposals, and they’ve become an integral part of the user experience within some of our favorite platforms. READ MORE: The Evolving Landscape Of Recommendation Systems | TechCrunch

Hospital #Makerspaces Lets #Nurses Build Their Own #Tools | Engadget #tech #health #medical #DIY #makerhealth

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Makerspaces are great for bringing your gadget ideas to life, but they’re not usually much help to nurses who may want to invent (or improvise) tools needed to take care of their patients. That’s where the University of Texas’ new, permanent MakerHealth Space might just save the day. Nurses and other workers at the school’s John Sealy Hospital now have a dedicated area with 3D printers, laser cutters and other equipment that lets them create or modify devices (say, a pill bottle sensor) without leaving work. The facility sterilizes and reviews every product before it’s put into service, so you shouldn’t have to worry about a risky tool ruining your hospital stay. READ MORE: Hospital makerspace lets nurses build their own tools | Engadget