So this is a bit more refined version of the P(h)ixel. For one, the structure is now laser-cut plexi and way less embarrasing than before. Second, it allowed for the test with the latex, which, is already giving me nightmares. I’m calling this thing my-own-private-videodrome.
[flv:phyxel5.flv phixel5.jpg 500 375]
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A zoom inside a CPU. I *knew* this was how they all worked…
So it seems like Kurzweil’s dreams/predictions are getting a few steps closer to being fulfilled. Wired has news of scientists at Columbia University, designed “Adam” a ‘robot scientist’, capable of “carry[ing] out the entire scientific process on its own: formulating hypotheses, designing and running experiments, analyzing data, and deciding which experiments to run next.”. At pretty much the same time, a computer program developed by researchers at Cornell, managed to ‘discover’ the laws of physics in 1 day without any previous input (or knowledge?).
Mate these two and you’ll get a pretty smart cookie.
I recently found out that Rhino is in current development for Macs, and the WIP version can be downloaded for testing.
Download it here and go do that, test it!
Smart Cities vehicle prototype.
We just got back from Boston after being invited by MIT to give a lunchtime lecture. My good friend Daniel Cardoso, a PhD candidate there was kind enough to show us around the media lab, where a few -very generous- people showed us some of their work. We had a chance to see the fabrication labs and some of the robotic work being currently done there, and it was absolutely mesmerizing. Dimitris Papanikolaou gave us a full presentation on his Mobility on Demand (MOD) project for the Smart Cities group, not only was that incredibly generous, but an amazingly interesting solution to urban mobility. What I think was among the most interesting thing -not only of his project but of the lab in general- is the reality of it all. A lot of the research being conducted there is for real applications / products / solutions, which is very refreshing to see after having been involved in architecture school for some time now, where a very small percentage of what is produced has real-world implications. We had as well the opportunity to meet up with our friends Carlos Rocha (ex-Media Lab and current Honda scientist) and Skylar Tibbits.
View a few more images after the jump below.
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This is as futuristic as the past can be…
Besides, who said that 100k Euros won’t make you look cool?
via [engadget]
So last night, in utter frustration about the broken key on the new Macbook Pro, I’m finally starting to gaze into what seems to be the infinite depth of Apple’s technical support the black hole.
Went back to the Apple store last night and, after being helped by one of the concierges there, had a dickish genius at the “Moron Bar” tell me that this type of damage is NOT covered by the warranty, the reason: You would need ‘excessive’ force to do this type of damage. This is a 1 week old computer don’t forget, and everyone knows that any rational human being who has spent more than $1,000.00 on some laptop would type with a hammer for the first week. There is NO possible way that 1 key out of the gizillion keys they manufacture is defective right? And how much is excessive force anyways? 1 psi? 10? 500?
Sam, the genius there, of course must have tried to jam the key in or something (I don’t know what he did because he was out back) but insured that the hooks, which were cracked, are now fully broken. This means that now I’m not able to put it in the keyboard and have it stay for more than 1 click (which it did before).
Update 021409: Finally, resolution… The girls and guys at the 14th street Apple store finally pulled it through. After a week of much frustration with the absurdity of the issue, you won’t hear about it again. Until the next key breaks that is…
That quick? My old Dell lasted 4 years without a hitch. 1 week and the MacBook Pro has already begun to fall apart… (singing the alphabet, as per the previous post).
Update 021209 9:40 am: I just got in from the Apple store @ 59th Street. I was told I basically had to leave the laptop in for repair, 5 – 7 days…FOR A BROKEN KEY! So far I’ve spent 1 hour on this, we’ll see how much longer this takes.
Repeat with me: this will be the first and last Apple computer I will ever purchase.
Update 021209 1:06 pm: Got off the phone with someone at Apple Support…No dice. Apparently the only option is to either send it back to Apple or take it in to the store/service providers for repair. Am I crazy or is this just insanely stupid? How about just mailing me the damn keycap? I SWEAR I’ll mail the broken one back! This was pretty fast, so it took about 15 mins total.
Update 021209 3:42 pm: Just came back from Tekserve…had a very helpful guy help me out, but once again, no dice. Well, he did give me a (different semicolon) key from a different (older) computer, so I could definitely put it in its place, but that seems like so reasonable after shelling a chunk of change on this thing doesn’t it? I guess I’ll have to take it in, have it’s keyboard be fully replaced and be without a computer for a whole week.
Pff.
It has been a long time, loooong time since I’ve been using dear p.c’s. About 2 months ago my Dell Inspiron expired so I figured, if I’m going to cling to the idea that pc’s are the bestest thing since sliced bread, I’d have to give Macs a try. I’ve never owned a Mac before, and I’m not afraid of admitting that I’m absolutely a Mac dummy: I have NO idea how to go about the most mundane tasks…
So, in order to change that, I ordered a 15″ Macbook Pro which I received today, and, the sexiness factor I’d say is about a 10 (out of 10). The laptop is absolutely gorgeous, and Apple’s packaging is oh-so-beautiful. I’m also loving the trackpad, it’s incredibly responsive, intuitive and easy to get used to. So far, I’m not really sure what to think of it performace-wise: I’m sure it’s perfectly fine, but I haven’t gone beyond opening the browser to log into my blog and post some of the pics.
View more of them after the jump below.
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I’m apprehensive as to what to post here, but super excited to be getting my hands dirty with the arduino. I’ve just researched so many fascinating projects, everything is so new and amazing to me. I’m planning on developing my arduino research through some iPhone programming, and I’ll try to share up a bit of both as I go along.
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