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Amazon's Alexa Together caregiver service is available today
Amazon's Alexa Together service is now available, helping you take care of aging family using smart speakers.
Snapchat's Time Machine lens lets you slide between young and old
Earlier this year, the FaceApp filter that made people look old and wrinkled in selfies went viral. Then we learned that the Russian-developed selfie-editing app was uploading users' photos to the cloud and that it required "full and irrevocable access to their personal photos and data." That temporarily killed the craze, but now, Snapchat is ready to introduce a new aging filter.
FDA: Infusing yourself with young blood is pointless, dangerous
The US Food and Drug Administration has stepped in to officially warn consumers against buying young blood in an attempt to improve their health. Yes, enough people thought it would be a good idea to infuse young blood -- an actual plot from The Simpsons' -- that the government had to intervene.
Singapore wants a self-driving wheelchair by 2017
Singapore is pushing for businesses to develop an autonomous wheelchair that'll convey people around without instruction. The announcement came from Mark Lim, the official in charge of the country's digital services and commercial development division. According to GovInsider, the project is going to run until March 2017 and will harness computer vision, robotics and machine learning to ferry patients around hospitals. The report quotes Lim saying that "we have limited health care workers," and that "nurses are more precious in doing their work [...] than pushing them around in the wheelchair."
Uber comes to Japan to help the elderly
Japan doesn't allow amateur drivers to offer rides, so Uber's had a rough time establishing itself in the country. But the nation's aging crisis might just provide the opportunity for the ride-sharing firm to gain a foothold, thanks to a quirk of the law. As Reuters explains, the ban on amateurs doesn't apply in areas where public transportation isn't readily available, like in the Tango part of Kyotango city. It's one of several "depopulated" areas in the city, with a population with around 40 percent of people over 65. Taxi services were withdrawn from the area eight years ago, and the only way to get around is by a around-town hopper bus that you have to book a day in advance. This dire transport situation has led regulators to give the thumbs up to Uber so that it can begin offering rides.
I became a cyborg to feel older, not stronger
I like to joke that I'm technically 33 years old, but on the inside I'm 65. I'm less inclined to make that joke after spending 20 minutes or so inside Genworth's "Aging Experience" exoskeleton. The R70i, which apparently is a barely coded reference to the fact that 70 percent of Americans will need some sort of long term care as they age, is a full body simulator that lets you experience what its like to lose your sight, hearing and even range of motion as the effects of aging creep in.
The incredible aging demographic
Let me put it on the line - LFR and Flexible raid sizes are the most important raiding experiences currently available in World of Warcraft, and the upcoming Mythic 20 person raid difficulty is an atavism, barely even an appendix, that only a vanishing few players will experience when it is current. It exists for a sense of achievement and prestige that only a few players really have the time for anymore, and every year, that group of players gets smaller. The reason for this is simple - as Tom Chilton put it, the demographic is getting older over time. People like me who played for the raid game back in classic are older. They have jobs, kids, schedules that don't permit the kind of time investment hard modes currently demand, the kind Mythic will demand. And it's not that you can't do cutting edge raiding in, say, six hours a week. I'm not arguing that you will have to put in 20 hours a week to do Mythic. I'm arguing that even scheduling one or two nights a week and being there reliably is actually really hard when you have other commitments that can often demand your time on a moment's notice - in essence. being able to go when you want/need to raid instead of when the group is scheduled to go is a huge boon to that aging demographic. For all the elitism, all the sneering, and all the slurs directed at the LFR player base, the feature allows people who love raiding but who can no longer commit to scheduled WoW play a place to do it. You can ask if this is healthy for the game as a whole - whether or not your answer is yes or no, though, there is no escaping this simple fact. WoW is a decade old. Many of us playing it have been here for years now. Even players who started in Wrath or Cataclysm have now been playing for years. This is an aging game with aging players, this is the reality of the situation. And this means that more adaptive raiding solutions are going to keep presenting themselves.
Scientists reverse aging in mice by giving them young blood
Plots from The Simpsons are rarely prophetic, but it appears as if, just as it did for Mr. Burns, the blood of the young could help to stave off the signs of aging. Competing teams at Harvard, Cambridge and the University of California have found that pumping the blood of juvenile mice into elderly rodents saw the latter suddenly able to run much faster, had more blood vessels in the brain and had much clearer thinking. Harvard researchers subsequently isolated a protein called GDF11, which helped both the operation of hearts and brains. Given the limits of the study, the teams are cautious about what this could mean for human biology, and there's plenty of trials still to be done, but maybe it'd be wise to start being nice to any juvenile relatives you've got -- you never know when you might be asking them for a transfusion.
Camelot Unchained Q&A talks PvP looting, physical growth, and crafting
There's a new community Q&A up on the Camelot Unchained site dealing with a wide range of topics concerning this up-and-coming RvR MMO. The topics in it range from hooded cloaks (yes, they're in) to just what players will be able to loot from enemy corpses and structures. Perhaps one of the most interesting pieces of information is that the team is putting in a physical growth system similar to the one that was promised but never delivered to Warhammer Online. Mark Jacobs confirmed the feature: "I'm happy to say that yes, certain races (I won't commit to all of them yet) will have meaningful changes happen to them, both cosmetic and gameplay. For example, our Dvergr might have more stone covering their body and their beards will grow. Other examples could be with our HelBound's faces, Hamadryad's tails, etc." The Q&A also addressed the role and importance of crafters, emphasizing that those players will be able to generate basic materials from their land and that they'll "contribute majorly" to battles.
The Daily Grind: Are MMO gamers aging out of the genre?
In a recent report, Resident Evil developer Capcom claimed that its playerbase's average age is inching upward and its core users are in their late 30s and 40s, making for the "increasing possibility that some percentage of the existing users will outgrow games altogether." The Resident Evil games aren't MMOs, of course, but journalists and commenters have been suggesting the same pattern for the MMORPG genre for years as a way to explain everything from the rise of "accessible" MMOs to the reduction of grindy time-consuming gameplay to themes seemingly catering to those darn kids on our lawn. Perhaps armchair demographers are wrong and the future holds the promise of retirement homes filled with gaming rigs and World of Warcraft IV. What do you think -- are classic MMO gamers slowly aging out of the genre? Is MMO gaming something we "outgrow," or is it something we're ultimately pushed away from? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Calico: a new Google company focused on extending life expectancy
Google's making a long-term business bet that, at first glance, may seem out of the ordinary: it's getting into healthcare. Its new company, Calico, will be focused on addressing the illnesses affecting the geriatric community, as well as aging in general. In Google CEO Larry Page's own words, the new enterprise, headed up by current Apple and Genentech chair Arthur D. Levinson, is geared towards "moonshot thinking around healthcare and biotechnology," so expect some pretty futuristic developments to come from the initiative. In an interview given to Time magazine, Page said that Calico will re-evaluate traditional thinking and approaches to healthcare, like cancer research, the advancement of which he concludes might "not [be] as big an advance as you might think." Page isn't dismissing that vein of research altogether, but claims any cures could only add about three years to a survivor's life -- a trivial gain in the long-run. Though he was willing to go on record with what's wrong with the current state of healthcare R&D, Page wouldn't elaborate as to what future products Calico could produce, saying only that Google, with its vast resources, should be doing more to contribute to the world's greater good.
The Daily Grind: Should characters age?
There are a lot of immersion-ruining elements of MMOs (probably too many to count, depending on how cynical you've become), but every once in a while I'm bothered by the fact that characters just don't age. Not only do we play in game worlds that are apparently after the child apocalypse, but everyone you meet is visually between the ages of 17 and 22. Maybe 23, if the player used the "age lines" that developers toss into the character creator on a whim. It makes me wonder if, to give us a true sense of living in these worlds, our characters should age. It was a big selling point of the first Fable game, although having never played it, I don't know how well it turned out. But I remember reading a preview of the first game and actually digging the idea that my character would mature and grow old, with all of the benefits and drawbacks that entails. Should characters age in MMOs? If so, how could it best be done so that it wouldn't ruin everyone's day? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Researchers find space travel prolongs the life of worms
We've seen research that suggests prolonged space travel could have some adverse effects on the human body, but it looks like there could be some real benefits as well. As BBC News reports, a new study conducted on Caenorhabditis elegans worms sent to the International Space Station has revealed evidence that the trip to space actually slowed their aging process. Specifically, researchers from the University of Nottingham and others institutions part of the ICE-First project found that the time in space reduced activity in a group of genes that have been shown to prolong the worms' lifespan when suppressed on earth. Of course, these are worms we're talking about, but this particular species is often used for such research due to its biological similarities to humans, so the discovery could well lead to more insight into how we age in space as well. Those curious can find the full paper linked below.
Harvard scientists reverse aging in mice, laugh maniacally at human possibilities
The reversal of aging has been one of the great dreams of humanity, but it seems like our rodent overlords have beat us to it. The Harvard Medical School has demonstrated "a dramatic reversal" in the aging process when reintroducing the enzyme telomerase into old and feeble mice. What happened was that their naturally worn out organs started to regenerate, instead of degenerating further, bringing them back to a youthful state of health. Sadly, while the results of this study are hugely important, there are a couple of caveats to make: firstly, the mice in question were genetically modified to suffer from a lack of telomerase, which might have inflated the results of the tests relative to regular mice, but more importantly, an increase in telomerase in humans is "a hallmark of most human cancers." So, if you want a shot of Benjamin Button brew, you'll have to be very patient indeed. For now, let's just be happy that Algernon and his buddies have found their fountain of youth. [Thanks, Vygantas]
The Daily Grind: How well is the game aging?
MMOs have a long lifespan, more often than not. Games that have lasted past a year will usually be around for many more besides, part of the reason why 2009's aggressive rate of death was so surprising. EverQuest and Ultima Online, both considered the twin pillars which started the modern MMO genre proper, are both alive and well several years later. While they're not perpetual, they're also fairly robust in their lifespans. Of course, just because the game isn't dead doesn't mean it's not on life support. Anyone who has played during Final Fantasy XI's glory days will be quick to point out how much more empty the game has gotten in recent years. Graphics advance, and minor improvements seem increasingly minor as time goes by -- City of Heroes is due for an upgrade with its next expansion, but that will only put a new coat of paint on an engine that is several years old now. How well is your favorite game aging? Does it still look pretty good despite its age, or is it showing definite signs of how long the whole thing has been running? Is it a minor hiccup, or does it make things much less enjoyable, even to the point of being unplayable?
TruFocals make steampunk glasses a functional, expensive reality
Glasses with an adjustable focal length -- sounds so simple, somebody must have already done it, right? Well, yes, but earlier efforts have looked more like diving goggles than something you could, you know, wear in public. The Harry Potter-esque TruFocals, on the other hand, are (only just) acceptable looking and operate via the golden slider you see above. By tweaking translucent fluids between a pair of lenses for each eye, it alters the distance at which the specs focus, sort of like having your very own zoom function. The price for such flexibility is $895, which inventor Stephen Kurtin considers a sterling bargain, and we've got video of him after the break explaining just how awesomely revolutionary his product is.[Via CNET]
GM designing car windshield that does the looking for us
Apparently not everyone at General Motors is toiling away in an attempt to get the Volt ready for its 2010 debut, as another sector of the outfit's R&D division is busy creating a windshield that will, at its core, enable us to stop running stuff over. The futuristic glass would utilize lasers, sensors and cameras in order to help drivers see the road's edge better, recognize obstructions and enhance things ahead of us so we'll theoretically react faster. Truth be told, the device is being designed with older drivers in mind, though we don't see why younger motorists won't benefit all the same. Unfortunately, it sounds as if you'll have to keep those toothpicks in your eyelids for a few more years, but at least we're one step closer to full-on autopilot.
The Daily Grind: Is combat necessary?
For most of us the term 'MMO' conjures up images of combat, whether within a medieval fantasy setting, or a science fiction milieu. Other images are mixed in there, too, of course, but I'd wager that fighting is the one that pops up most often. It's so common, in fact, that when a game deviates from this norm, attention is called to it. Take Mabinogi, for instance -- many of its features are non-combat-based, like the aging system, or the ability to create MIDI-based music, or the creation and management of a household with a spouse.I didn't realize how refreshing the thought of not having to constantly battle creatures to progress in a game was until Mabinogi offered me these alternatives. This makes me ask the question: is combat really an integral element of an MMO? Would you play a game that lacked it completely?
Fade resistance test takes a look at photo printers / paper
Although we've already seen that truly fade-free inkjet prints just aren't really attainable with modern technology, a thorough (albeit unscientific) review of some six photo printers and seven types of photo paper literally showcased how close we can come. The test consisted of hanging the prints on a window facing the sun for 11 solid months, whilst the control photographs stayed under wraps to use for comparison. In what was easily the worst performer of the bunch, Samsung's SSP-2040 (pictured above) was nothing short of dreadful, while Kodak's EasyShare PP-500 and Canon's Selphy DS810 delivered only marginally better results. Epson's Picture Mate 100 did a fair job of wowing the critics after looking at the previous attempts, but the real winners came when HP's PhotoSmart 385 and PhotoSmart Express kiosk stepped up to the plate. Of course, results were judged with mere eyes, but the folks at PixInfo couldn't tell a difference between the original and the sun-blasted copy on either of these machines, and while it does sound a bit too good to be true, make sure you click on through for the stunning proof. Still, it's doubtful that any of these devices can produce shots that last for decades on end without any hint of fading or discoloration, but if you're looking for the best money can buy this day in age, be sure and hit the read link for the full skinny.
PlayStation 2: thriving or failing?
With all the brouhaha over the new generation of game systems, what's to become of the 100-million-unit-selling lord of the last generation -- the PlayStation 2? Well, it depends on who you ask.On the one side is this Reuters report, which is positively bubbly about the system's enduring sales and impact in light of more powerful competitors. Indeed, the $130 system outsold the Xbox 360 and PS3 in January, and had two of the top ten selling games that month.On the other side, you have this post on Dubious Quality which notes that the big-five publishers only have ten combined games announced for the system from June onward this year. Electronic Arts alone has ten games listed for the PlayStation 3 in the same period, despite the newer system's much smaller installed base.So is the PS2's future rosy or ruinous? The determination really hinges on how many of those 100 million PS2 owners worldwide are still actively using their systems and how many have traded them in or boxed them up in the closet. The sales of God of War II, due to be released next week, will give a good indication of just how much oomph this aging system has left.Read - ThrivingRead - Failing
