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Dog microchipping becomes mandatory in the UK
If you own a dog, it's over eight weeks old and it's not fitted with a microchip, you'll be breaking the law as of tomorrow. Compulsory microchipping regulations were introduced in Northern Ireland four years ago, and come into force across the rest of the UK on April 6th. And if, somehow, the police or a local authority find your pooch lacking an electronic tag, you'll be given 21 days to get it chipped or face a £500 fine. The same is true for dogs that are chipped, but where the owner's details are out of date.
Dear Veronica: A dialog for doge
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-90783{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-90783, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-90783{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-90783").style.display="none";}catch(e){} At long last, the Internet has gifted me with another Dear Veronica question about dogs! I try to help out a couple dealing with a particularly mouthy doge... sorry, Shiba Inu. However, most of this advice will be applicable to any breed! Also on the show today, Conrad Muan helps answer a question about how coders check their work. With so many lines of code, there's gotta be a quicker way! Speaking of time, I also get into why alarm clocks use the nine-minute snooze. There's a real reason! Keep sending those questions in using the hashtag #DearVeronica! Subscribe in iTunes, RSS or YouTube!
Psychedelic love arrives on PS4 in time for Valentine's Day
Let's say you were gazing longingly at your PC and Xbox One owning friends when Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime released on those platforms last year. Despite all the killer couch co-op games at your disposal on PlayStation 4, none could quite fill the niche the gorgeous and altogether psychedelic indie game about eradicating all evil in the universe would. Well, fear not Sony fans: The laser-filled outer space adventure hits PS4 on February 9th. And even if you can't find a co-op date by then, you can always play solo with an in-game space-cat (or dog) picking up the slack.
The adorable dog in this PlayStation 4 game better not die
Sure, we already have Tokyo Jungle, Nintendogs, Valiant Hearts, Fallout and plenty of other franchises starring adorable pups, but there's always room for more. Home Free is about a dog living on the streets of various cities, searching for food, friends and shelter while trying to stay out of trouble. It features more than 12 dog breeds with customizable colors and markings, and the environments are all randomly generated, so they're unique to each player. As creator Kevin Cancienne puts it, "Shape the story of one dog's survival through your choices and actions. Experience the the world from the perspective a creature who will never quite understand why that world acts the way it does." (Seriously, Cancienne, if the dogs die in this game we're going to be heartbroken.) Home Free just got picked up for PlayStation 4 alongside a planned launch on PC and Mac in fall 2016. Cancienne launched a $50,000 Kickstarter for Home Free on September 30th and it was funded within five days; the campaign is still live now.
Dog emoji keyboard encourages you to adopt real pups
There are plenty of cute emoji keyboard add-ons out there, but one from the UK's Dogs Trust is going above and beyond to raise awareness for a good cause. The charity has released a dog emoji keyboard where every icon is based on a dog available for adoption. Load it up and you can show your fondness for specific breeds, such as Huskies and Greyhounds, while remembering that there's a real pup looking for a home. The keyboard is free on both Android and iOS, so it won't hurt to give this a shot and spread the word... especially on National Dog Day.
Smart dog collar tracks your pooch's diet and location
There are a lot of devices out there that you can use to keep track of your pets, but the Buddy collar is akin to several types rolled into one. The LED collar makes sure Fido's visible in the dark, but it's also a temperature sensor, an activity tracker, and location monitor. This waterproof device was created by Australian startup Squeaker, which is now trying to raise AU$385,000 (US$285,000) via Kickstarter to begin production. It connects via Bluetooth to an accompanying iOS (Apple Watch version included) or Android app where you can draw geofences on maps. And yes, it alerts you if ever your pet steps out of the zone you designated.
Dear Veronica: Your brain on code
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-909457{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-909457, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-909457{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-909457").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Welcome back to the show, everyone! In case you missed it, we now have an iTunes and RSS feed for the show, so you can subscribe to it however you like. Thanks for your patience on that! As for the episode, we've got some great questions this week. We tackle how and when you should call out companies on Twitter for bad behavior (if it gets really bad you can always take the nuclear option like my husband and I did, but I don't recommend it). My friend Anthony Carboni of 3 Scientists Walk Into a Bar pops in to answer a fascinating question about how our brains work when we code, and I take on yet another dog question. Because dogs are awesome. Don't stop sending those questions in! You can email them to me, or post online using the hashtag #DearVeronica. Have a great week!
Caturday: Oliver, Dice, and Apple products vie for owner's attention
While we're on a bit of a holiday hiatus, here are some happy photos of cats and dogs living in harmony together to remind you of the season. That fellow above using screen cleaners as a pillow is Oliver, a handsome cat who owns his human Benjamin Ramm. Benjamin starts off by pointing out something that's been quite perplexing to me as well... I am constantly bewildered by how tidy the desks in the typical Caturday pictures are. Not mine. I'm sure anyone can spot the two iPods and the iMac, but can anyone find the iPhone 4S? Like most cats who own humans with a lot of Apple gear, Oliver not only owns the space around the equipment, but his owner's lap as well. That's why he's not too happy about his sister, a pup named Dice, taking up residence in Benjamin's lap: No problem, though - Oliver finally grabs the choice real estate (to quote Benjamin), and in keeping with the holiday season, the lion (or cat) lays down with the lamb (ummm, dog): We'd love to see photos of your favorite feline soaking up the warmth of an Apple product, chasing a Magic Mouse, or just being a general nuisance while you're attempting to work on your Mac, iPad, or iPhone. Please let us know via our feedback page and please remember that your cat photo has to have some sort of connection to Apple or its products. For security reasons we can't accept inbound attachments, so you should host the photo (Dropbox, Flickr, iPhoto Journals, etc.) and send us the link. Many thanks to Benjamin Ramm, Oliver and Dice!
Derby the dog got 3D-printed paw prosthethics, now watch him run
Derby was born with deformations in both of his front legs, making movement and any kind of speed difficult, if not impossible. Now, he can run. The husky mix was fitted out with two prosthetics, custom-made on 3D sculpting software to fit his forearms. With some help from 3D Systems and several iterations later, and the curved prosthetics you see above became the final build. "The great thing about using 3D technology in Derby's case, is having these images on file on a computer, and being able to print them. [It] is a lot quicker than having to hand sculpt every single mold and rebuild these braces five to ten times," explained Kevin Atkins, 3D Systems' Freeform Product Manager. The team settled on these curved designs because there was the fear that more pointed iterations (like running blades seen on humans) would get caught in softer ground.
Researchers use wearable sensors to better communicate with dogs
Sometimes it can be difficult to get your canine companion to get the commands you're giving, but there could be an easier way in the future. Researchers at North Carolina State University are working on a means to improve those communication skills with the help of a smattering of gadgets. The team developed a harness that carries tech for two-way chatting, packing sensors that monitor posture to pick up on a dog's behavioral cues. There are also haptic items built in to enhance the human portion of the equation with software that interprets speech into easily understood signals.
Barely Related: Twin Peaks returns, so does Ghostbusters
Hello, weekend! It's so lovely to see you again. Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Dog Days of Summer: Step away from the iMac and nobody gets hurt
Reader Lee Richards was taking care of a friend's Jack Russell Terrier a few years back, and as you can see from the photo above, the pup had no qualms about making sure that Lee was playing with him and not the iMac. Says Richards, "Here is a picture of Bono, my friend's Jack Russell when I was looking after him back in the days of Mountain Lion. As you can see, he doesn't like to be ignored." If you have a Dog Days nominee to share, let us know via our feedback page (and please remember that the photo has to have some sort of connection to Apple and its products -- don't just send us a photo of your canine buddy). For security reasons we can't accept inbound attachments, so you should host the photo (Dropbox, Flickr, iPhoto Journals, etc.) and send us the link. Thanks, Lee!
Dog Days of Summer: Look at me! I'm a YouTube star!
While some dogs like last week's Dog Days subject Zandra work hard every day, others are busy checking themselves out on YouTube. TUAW reader Kim Frandsen sent us a photo of standard poodle Louie doing just that. Kim says that Louie's "a big fan of YouTube videos ... especially ones starring him." It looks to me like Louie is just about to go for the trackpad on that classic white MacBook to click the play button! If you have a Dog Days nominee to share, let us know via our feedback page (and please remember that the photo has to have some sort of connection to Apple and its products -- don't just send us a photo of your canine buddy). For security reasons we can't accept inbound attachments, so you should host the photo (Dropbox, Flickr, iPhoto Journals, etc.) and send us the link.
Dog Days of Summer: Zandra, hard at iWork
It's summertime, which means that weekend TUAW readers get a respite from Caturday and get to see what the canine Apple community is up to. Our first woofer is Zandra, a hard-working guide dog who hangs out with Alex Jurgensen up in Vancouver, BC. Zandra's all decked out in an iWork jacket, not only referring to Apple's productivity apps but her status as a working dog. She also has an iPhone 4 on her harness, and appears to be setting up this 2006 education model iMac for better accessibility, since she's opened System Preferences. Zandra, who also goes by "Z", was raised by Ann in Tucson, Arizona. Alex and Z work together on a number of projects. Alex just launched an Indiegogo fundraising campaign for Solo-Dx, a project that is asking business owners to promote their businesses as part of a program to create and distribute audio description files for popular movies. The current crop of audio description files can be found on the reader-friendly Solo-Dx website. Z and Alex also work on a volunteer project together at Camp Bowen, a summer camp program for visually impaired Canadians. Read more about Camp Bowen here and be sure to donate to this worthy cause. If you have a Dog Days nominee to share, let us know via our feedback page (and please remember that the photo has to have some sort of connection to Apple and its products -- don't just send us a photo of your canine buddy). For security reasons we can't accept inbound attachments, so you should host the photo (Dropbox, Flickr, iPhoto Journals, etc.) and send us the link. Thank you Alex and Z! Description of photo for the visually impaired (since our ALT tags stop at 90 characters): Zandra is lying on the floor, wearing a black jacket. On the side of the jacket, the word "iWork" is written in white writing. This refers both to the Apple productivity apps and her status as a guide dog. On her harness is a black strap with a white Apple logo on it. The strap is holding an iPhone 4. Between her front paws is an Apple bluetooth keyboard and to the left is a Magic Trackpad. In front of her is an education model 2006 iMac CD with System Preferences open on the screen. She is looking left, towards the camera.
CleverPet makes every dog Pavlov's dog
Psychologist Ivan Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate by ringing a bell, but maybe he should have made them play Simon instead. That's the idea behind CleverPet, a device that plans to train your dog to solve simple problems while you're at work. When it begins, all the pooch has to do is push a button to get food, with subsequent puzzles growing in difficulty until it's playing whack-a-mole with the light-up pads. It's the second smart pet device we've seen on Kickstarter in the last few weeks, with Kittyo offering a similar piece of kit for cat owners. CleverPet is currently half-way toward its $100,000 goal, but you can save $100 off the retail price if you make an early pledge of $160. Just be warned that it won't launch until February 2015, so best make sure your dog will still be in the "young and able to be taught tricks" bracket by then.
Adorable Japanese gadget saves canines from becoming hot dogs
It's almost that time of year, y'all: dog season! "What's dog season?" you ask? Well, duh: it's the time of year when we spend as many waking hours as possible outside with our pooches, throwing balls and frolicking. No snark here, folks -- we've got nothing but love for man's best friend. And if you're anything like us, you know that it can get awfully hot out there for an excited dog covered in a year-round fur coat. Dog lovers in parts of Japan have it especially hard this time of year, with oppressive heat and humidity dominating the summer months, which is where Petline's Heat Index Checker for Dogs comes in. The device attaches to dog collars or cages, and monitors the environment where it's placed. Should the situation get too hot under the collar (or cage), the device lights up and buzzes to alert owners. There's even a human mode for monitoring your own environment.
Who's your daddy? Sprint and Softbank depict bizarre family portraits
With its Framily plans, Sprint wants you to convince friends, family and possibly outright strangers, to join the carrier and chip a few bucks off your bill. It's even created a new ad series to show just how broad its definition of "framily" is. The dad's a hamster, while the daughter speaks only in French, accompanied by three animated birds. However, Sprint's Frobinsons have to go a long ways to match the sheer offbeat-ness of Softbank's answer to "framily," the Shiratos in Japan. That framily consists of a talking dog as patriarch, a wife who has the real power, a daughter played by popular actress Aya Ueto and a non-Japanese son played by Dante Carver (a Softbank commercial mainstay). The core family unit is then augmented by bit-parts from 'Uncle' Quentin Tarantino, Manchester United's Shinji Kagawa (and his dolphin father) and Tommy Lee-Jones, the live-in-maid-from-space. Ad-Age wasn't a fan, but we hope the Frobinsons are just getting started. We've pulled together a few English-subtitled Softbank ads and added them, alongside Sprint's interpretation, to the video gallery below.
PS Vita Pets plays fetch on June 3
PlayStation Vita Pets, the pet simulation-meets-adventure game from Spiral House, will launch June 3 in North America and June 4 in Europe. In the game, players choose from four different dogs, care for them, then explore Castlewood Island to "uncover the long lost legend of a king and his dog." Sony's answer to Nintendogs was announced in August, at which point it was revealed that the animals in the game talked like humans. PlayStation Blog noted today that the game features roughly 10,000 lines of spoken dialogue, which is around 10,000 more lines than you'd expect to hear out of any animal. [Image: SCEE]
Inhabitat's Week in Green: doggie translator, full-size Lego hot rod and skyscraper cemeteries
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Do you ever wish you knew exactly what your dog is thinking? A team of designers from the Nordic Society for Invention and Discovery is playing Doctor Dolittle -- they've developed a doggie headset that can read animal brainwaves and translate them into human speech. That's just one of the many amazing scientific breakthroughs we've witnessed this week. South Korean scientists developed the world's first nanobot that can both detect and treat cancer. Rawlemon unveiled a gigantic crystal ball that can magnify solar energy 10,000 times -- that's enough to harvest light from the sun, moon and clouds. For the first time, researchers at the University of Cambridge used an inkjet printer to print living retinal cells, which could be used to replace defective eye tissue. And this week, Inhabitat interviewed Natural Machine's Chief Marketing Officer Lynette Kucsma to talk about an amazing new 3D printer that can cook up edible designs.
The 12 Days of iMas, Day 8: An iPad your dog can really sink its teeth into
Today is the eighth day of a 12-day feature where we'll show you the strangest Apple-flavored gifts we can find. Check out the previous days here: Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Day 8: Who needs an iPad when you can have an iPawd? Normally, if man's best friend gets his mighty jaws around your pricey Apple tablet, it would end in tears. But not so with the iPawd! The iPawd is a plush dog toy modeled after everyone's favorite tablet, and it's guaranteed to be more gentle with your canine's gums than any chunk of glass and aluminum ever would. Oh, and did I mention it comes with a bunch of free "apps" installed on its home screen? It's true! You'll be treated to built-in versions of "SaFurri," "FaceBark," "DogTube" and "Bark Street Journal." OK, so the puns are pretty bad, but the toy itself seems to be pretty high quality. The iPawd has fantastic reviews on Amazon, and at just US$9.80, it's currently being sold at less than half its normal price.
