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Prana: an LED exhibit that breathes with you
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-462590{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-462590, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-462590{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-462590").style.display="none";}catch(e){} As you step into the shimmering globe of 13,000 LEDs, a sensor detects your presence. It reacts to the rise and fall of your lungs and illuminates the sphere of suspended lights called PRANA. The signal from the chip works its way to a computer that's loaded with custom javascript. The program triggers a variety of light effects – from pitch dark to sparkling lights – that fall in sync with your breathing to wrap you in a hypnotic glow. "Breathing is something that powers the body but you can't see it or detect it in very many ways," says Ben Hughes, managing creative director of B-Reel New York, the creative agency that created the experience. "PRANA is an attempt to visualize the unseen energy of our bodies and augment it in a really interesting way."
Garmin's Varia radar warns cyclists about traffic they can't see
Six months. That's apparently how long it takes to buy a company, retool their product, and sell it under a new name. Garmin's new Varia Rearview Bike Radar is a rear light that scans up to 140m behind a bicycle for traffic. It then hands that data on to either a compatible Garmin Edge system or a standalone handlebar-mounted unit with an array of lights to warn riders of what's behind them and how fast it's approaching. If you're a keen cyclist, this idea may sound a little familiar. Startup iKubu made a little splash last year with Backtracker, which was essentially the same thing but a little rougher around the edges. Garmin bought the company back in January, and apparently wasted no time turning the Backtracker into what you see above.
NASA picks the scientific tools it'll use to study Europa
NASA is convinced that Jupiter's moon Europa is worth visiting, and for good reason: its icy surface could be hiding a giant ocean friendly to life. The agency is going to need the right equipment if it's going to verify its theories, however, which is why it just chose nine instruments that will go aboard a Europa mission in 2020. The tools will use a mix of imaging, magnetometry, radar and spectrometry to study the frozen world's chemical composition and learn more about what's lurking out of view. While these gadgets won't completely eliminate the need for underwater probes and other landers, they could save scientists a lot of trouble (and expense) as they search for signs of organic material.
2 new weather apps just in time for your holiday sojourns
Apalon has released two weather apps that could make your holiday travel more predictable. Weather Live (US$1.99) features animated, customizable backgrounds that look great and a widget for quick access to your most important weather info. You can set a number of different cities, and swipe between them. The main screen offers in-depth weather stats, along with sunrise and sunset times, and 7 day forecasts. Tap on the radar icon and you'll get animated weather radar, and you can set up alerts for freezing temperatures, and for when the temperature drops below zero. The app also features sharing options so you can brag or complain about your weather to family and friends. The app looks very striking, and is about as full-featured as a weather app can be. It also gives you an icon badge with the current temperature, something Apple and Yahoo weather have failed to offer for reasons that escape me. The second app in the set, NOAA Radar Pro ($1.99) is more oriented toward radar. You get a rain map that provides rain forecast for the range of next 24 hours right on the terrain map, satellite cloud cover maps shows real-time cloud cover, and detailed Weather info for any location including current conditions, 24-hour and 7-day forecasts, plus active alerts for practically any location in the USA. Both apps are excellent, but have a pretty large overlap of info. Having one pretty much makes the other unnecessary. NOAA Radar Pro does have more radar data, but I think most people will find the radar display just fine in Weather Live. Both apps look great, and are certainly among the top weather apps I've seen for iOS. Weather Live and NOAA Radar Pro are both universal apps, the requires iOS 7 or later and they are optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 series of phones. Recommended.
Wthr Complete is a weather app with details and a nice desgn
There are so many weather apps out there... As a general rule, I often find that the pretty ones don't have a lot of information, and the ones with more information provided have worse user interfaces. Wthr Complete (US$1.99) breaks that rule by adding a lot of depth and a beautiful interface. It has all the usual information, but adds things I like such as sunrise/sunset times and moon phases. It also adds 150 U.S. NOAA weather stations to give you audio forecasts and alerts. There are also detailed radar maps with animation, earthquake maps and the maps have layers so you can see a basic map or satellite view. Perhaps the most unique feature is a database of the last four years of weather information for any location for any particular day. I find that really useful, as people are always wondering what the weather was on this date last year or the year before. No more guesswork on that subject. The app has notifications of course, for severe weather and flooding. You can add any number of other cities, and when the app launches you can select the city you want. Weather conditions have nice animations, and there is nerdy stuff like ultraviolet intensity and dew point as well. All in all, Wthr Complete is a really nice weather app. Although it is universal, it runs only in portrait mode so many iPad users who spend the day in landscape mode will be unhappy. I'm amazed that developers haven't figured this out. I see new apps almost every week that are locked into the portrait orientation. Dumb. In the wild, almost every iPad I see is in a case or on a stand in landscape mode. Aside from that failing, Wthr Complete is one terrific little app. It requires iOS 7.1 or later, and it's scaled properly for the iPhone 5 and 6 phones. There are nice weather apps for free, including Apple's and the well-designed Yahoo weather app, but Wthr Complete goes deeper and is just as pretty.
BeWeather 2 is a very customizable app with a widget
BeWeather 2 (US$1.99) is an attractive collection of weather information that can be customized both in the data presented and the look of the app. It as features similar to many other weather apps, but BeWeather's overall presentation still makes it compelling. You get detailed current conditions, a seven-day and 24-hour forecast with sun and moon times, animated radar (US, Canada and Europe), severe weather notifications (US and Europe), very localized rain forecasts, and storm and hurricane tracking. With a swipe down, the weather map with animations goes full screen, and left and right swipes lets you change to your pre-set locations. The app also supports widgets, with customizations for current conditions and forecasts. You can also switch locations from the widget. Setting up additional cities is easy, just hit the + button from the settings menu. There are a variety of colored themes for the app. I liked the darker themes which seem to make everything more legible. The data provider is Weather Underground, so you also get access to several local weather stations, which might make your local forecast even more reliable. While there are plenty of free, and paid apps for weather, I like BeWeather for its depth and easy to use presentation. It requires iOS 8 and it's optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 series iDevices. BeWeather 2 is going to be handy with the upcoming winter weather, and will be valuable all year too.
Live Weather Forecast app adds weather radio and HD Radar
Even with lots of weather apps to choose from, including excellent free apps from Apple and Yahoo, I'm always interested to see something new come along in the weather category that has a unique feature set. Live Weather Forecast (US$0.99) is a graphically pleasing universal app that packs a lot of information into an uncluttered user interface. Of course you get temperature, wind speeds, humidity, feels-like temperature, and a nice ten-day forecast, but you also get the Ultraviolet Index for your chosen location and an interactive map with radar and satellite maps for cloud cover, precipitation, snow and more. It allows unlimited cities to be added for review, and there is a nice, unobtrusive animated background reflecting the weather in each city. Swiping down provides more detail for the current location, while swiping left to right displays any other cities you have added. A circular swipe on the current temperature shows predictions of temperatures for many hours ahead. I think the nicest feature of Live Weather Forecast is full access to NOAA Weather Radio. NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) comes from stations that are set up by the U.S. government to broadcast timely forecasts and alerts for bad weather. It can also provide information during severe incidents like oil spills or other disasters like earthquakes. It's handy to have NWR built into the app. It can play in the background while you do other things with your iDevice, and as a bonus, the app supports AirPlay. Live Weather Forecast does not provide dedicated weather alerts, but if you want audio notifications of significant events that feature is built into your iPhone. Most U.S. cellular carriers support this feature. To turn it on, navigate to Settings > Notifications, then scroll to the bottom of the screen and you can turn on (or off) AMBER alerts and Emergency Alerts. I think the only thing Live Weather Forecast lacks is text-based weather notifications. Moonrise/set times would be also nice considering all the other information that is provided. This is a nice app for under a dollar, and the NOAA Weather Radio service is a solid addition. Live Weather Forecast requires iOS and is optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 series of devices.
Samaritans pulls its controversial Radar Twitter app
After facing a tidal wave of negative publicity and staying quiet for almost a week, counselling charity Samaritans has decided to suspend its controversial Twitter app. Radar was designed to remotely listen in on Twitter conversations and warn users when a person they follow might need some friendly support. The idea was noble, but its anonymous (and automated) nature and potential to be abused by online trolls led many to call for Samaritans to pull it offline.
Ford's next cars will brake by themselves to avoid collisions
Automakers like Subaru and Volvo have had automatic anti-collision braking for a while, but what if you're a Ford fan? You won't have to wait long. The Blue Oval has revealed that it's adding its own smart braking system (Pre-Collision Assist) as an option for new cars, starting with the 2015 Mondeo sedan's launch in Europe this year. The technology is familiar, but it should be enough to prevent or mitigate collisions during the daytime. A combination of a camera and radar helps recognize upcoming cars and pedestrians; the vehicle will warn you about potential accidents, and will also brake as much as necessary if it believes you're in imminent danger. While the assistant isn't a true substitute for a keen eye and quick reflexes -- at least, not right now -- it's good to have that additional safety net.
WeatherBug for iOS has been revamped with better real-time lightning features
WeatherBug (free) has long been a top choice for people serious about weather. Yes, Yahoo Weather is beautiful and useful, but WeatherBug has always let you dig deeper into weather data. Now, Earth Networks has released an update with enhanced Spark Lightning detection. As before, you'll get a warning when lightning is less than 10 miles away, and now you can zoom out to see lighting anywhere in the world in real time. The look of the map has been improved over earlier versions, too. The company claims its Total Lightning Network is the most advanced system in the world, and it's used by NASA, the National Weather Service and the U.S. Air Force. This latest version now lets you share lightning info with others. Other changes include expansed user-submitted galleries, a cold and flu section, and additions to what are called Lifestyle Forecasts. That includes golf forecasts, outdoor nature forecasts, pollen alerts, and a national flu update. You also get hourly and 10-day forecasts, plus a variety of weather map overlays for radar, clouds, wind speed, pressure, humidity, wind chill and heat index. WeatherBug's look is still a bit busy, but now it lets you choose background colors or a background picture. There are pop-up ads that show up at the bottom of the screen. I looked around for lightning, but when I checked there was nothing going on in the U.S. There were some pretty active storms in South America, and WeatherBug displayed the lightning flashes as they happened. WeatherBug now supports 64 bit operation, and requires iOS 6.1 or later. It's a universal app and it's optimized for the iPhone 5.
Four weather apps, four radar experiences
Other than checking the temperature or the forecast, I often use the radar function of weather apps. I like seeing radar in motion, so I can guesstimate what's going to happen in the future. In the video below, I tried the radar experience in four apps: The Weather Channel, Weatherbug, Yahoo Weather and My Radar Pro. The only app you'll pay for up front is My Radar Pro at US$1.99, and I feel it's worth it. Let me know your favorite weather radar app in the comments.
Sygic offers free Speedometer app to log trips, watch for speed cameras
Sygic makes some very popular navigation apps, and now the company is branching out a bit with a free app called Speedometer. It uses your iOS device's GPS receiver to provide your current speed and trip mileage, as well as warn you of fixed speed and red-light camera locations. The app also provides a way to warn other drivers of police radar, traffic incidents and other dangers. I tried Speedometer on a short commute this morning and the app immediately listed the closest known speed cameras, although none were on my route. I also set a maximum speed so the app would warn me if I was going too fast. Everything worked as expected. Some other navigation apps offer similar information -- sometimes requiring an in-app purchase -- but Speedometer is completely free. The trip log may be helpful for people who need to keep track of mileage for business or for tax purposes. You can set units of measure to metric or US standards. My only wish is that the app worked in landscape as well as portrait mode. When I'm in my car, there is a convenient space on the dash to lay my phone down, and Speedometer won't work if the phone is in portrait mode. Speedometer by Sygic is a handy little driving assistant. The screen is very uncluttered, and if you are plugged into power, it's a perfect driving companion. Speedometer requires iOS 6 or greater. It's not a universal app, but it is optimized for the iPhone 5.
Apple redesigns 'Radar,' its bug reporting tool
Developers, take note. Apple has launched a significant redesign to its bug reporting tool known as Radar. The new Bug Reporter tool actually went live for a few days after this year's WWDC, but was quickly pulled as it was -- ironically -- riddled with bugs. Now it's live again for all developers with an Apple Developer Account. Among the new changes, as noted by 9to5Mac, are improved searching for bug reports, auto-saving of bug reports every five minutes, more intuitive ways to attach files and a utility that does a better job of informing developers if their bug has already been reported.
EVE Evolved: Colonising deep space
If you were watching the news coming out of this year's EVE Online Fanfest, you no doubt heard Senior Producer Andie Nordgren's incredibly ambitious five year vision. The past few expansions have been mostly filled with bug fixes and improvements to existing gameplay, but the goal is now to begin delivering an epic vision of deep space exploration, colonisation, and PvP raids on enemy infrastructure. The five year roadmap toward this goal includes the addition of player-built stargates and completely uncharted solar systems to locate, explore and build an empire in. If the very idea of that doesn't make shivers go down your spine, something may be wrong with your central nervous system. CCP has opened new space before with the addition of the drone regions in nullsec and some new lowsec systems for faction warfare, but it wasn't until 2009's Apocrypha expansion that we saw a true exploration and long-term colonisation effort get underway. I think the intoxicating draw of wormhole exploration was primarily due to the fact that the new systems were hidden and the information on them wasn't public. Just adding new solar systems to the existing stargate network wouldn't have had the same effect. Nordgren's vision may take up to 10 expansions to fully realise, but what kinds of features will we need in those expansions to recreate true exploration and deep space colonisation? In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at some of the challenges CCP will have to overcome to make deep space colonisation a reality and what small steps could be taken in each expansion to get us there.
Daily iPad App: FlightRadar24 lets you spot planes using your iPhone
Every once in a while, I travel to the big city of Portland, Maine, and swing by the airport to watch a plane or two. I have a radio to listen to the control tower, so I know when planes are landing or preparing to take off. It's fun listening to the radio chatter, but these FAA-sanctioned conversations tell me little about the plane itself and its flight. To fill in these blanks, I recently started using FlightRadar24 Pro. FlightRadar24 Pro is a universal app so it runs on the iPhone and the iPad. It's convenient on the iPhone, but I prefer the slightly larger screen of the iPad mini, which is perfect for a visual, mapping app like FlightRadar24. When it launches, FlightRadar grabs your location and shows you the planes that are near you. The app is regional so you can see planes even when there are none directly overhead. It's also a real-time view so the planes move along their flight path while you have the app open. When you tap on a plane, a pop-up window shows information about the plane model, the flight and the plane's current speed and altitude. Besides the map view, FlightRadar24 Pro includes a 3D view that lets you peer through the cockpit of the plane. It's rendered for a mobile device so the land and water textures are decent, but not great. It's no Microsoft Flight Simulator. There's also a handy flight path view that shows the entire flight of the plane. Since I live on the Eastern seaboard, there are a lot of international flights overhead and it's fun to see how the planes fly over from Canada, the Middle East and Europe. FlightRadar24 Pro is available for the iPad for US$2.99. There are a few in-app purchases that'll let you add on flight model graphics for 16 planes, arrival tables and unlimited alerts. If you want to try out FlightRadar, you can download a feature-limited free version that lets you track overhead flights, but lacks the details on the plane and its flight. If you prefer not to buy an app, you can also just Ask Siri about those planes overhead.
Ballpark Weather for iPhone is handy and timely
What could be more helpful during baseball season than a weather app aimed at conditions around your local ballpark? Ballpark Weather comes to the rescue with all sorts of helpful information to make game day more enjoyable and help you prepare when Mother Nature throws you a curve. Ballpark Weather is based on information from the highly regarded Rain Aware app. There's a wealth of information within the app. You can look around the National and American Leagues and see where it's raining and when it will stop. There's also radar images, wind and sunset times, extended forecasts and more. You can even save your favorite teams for quick access. %Gallery-186165% This is the kind of app a baseball fan will love. Everything loads quickly, and I didn't have any unpleasant surprises using it. Ballpark Weather is very worthwhile for $0.99. While you can get some of the weather information from other apps, the targeted baseball information is extremely useful. Ballpark Weather is an iPhone app, but it looks OK enlarged on the iPad. The app is optimized for the iPhone 5 and requires iOS 4.3 or later.
UK investigating passive radar system to detect aircraft location, free up 5G spectrum
Ready for a new radar system? The UK could be, if a new study is deemed a success. Thales, a French aerospace company which manufactures traditional radar systems, has received funding from the UK's Technology Strategy Board to study the feasibility of using TV signals to locate planes and choppers through a technology called "passive radar." According to the BBC, the system would monitor the timing of TV signals reflected from aircraft, which would enable equipment to display an exact location, while measuring the Doppler effect would provide speed and direction information. Though it's not based on GPS, the new system would reportedly be more accurate and efficient than what's in use today, while also serving to free up spectrum that could be used for an upcoming 5G network. Unconvinced frequent fliers need not worry, however -- the country's existing radar infrastructure would remain intact throughout the test period, and air traffic control officials won't be switching to the new system unless it's sanctioned, which, considering the significance of such a move, could take some time.
Scientists demonstrate unjammable radar based on quantum imaging
Unfortunately for those in the enemy tracking game, sophisticated aircraft-equipped anti-detection systems can outfox radar by intercepting the signal and sending back a false image, as shown above. However, researchers from the University of Rochester have figured out a technique to defeat such a jamming system that harnesses the quantum properties of light. By polarizing photons before sending them toward objects to be scanned, any attempt at modifying the returning photons caused quantum interference that was easy to detect, in the form of the very high polarization errors shown in the second false image. According to the team, such a a system could "easily be realized and integrated into modern optical ranging and imaging systems," with a little work, making it infinitely more difficult to defeat radar systems. Check the source for more "light" reading, provided that quantum mechanics doesn't break your brain.
Duke University creates 'perfect' one-directional microwave cloak, might lead to stealthier vehicles
Most attempts at cloaking, no matter the slice of spectrum, usually leave clues as to what's there -- even microwave cloaks can spoil the surprise through reflections. At Duke University, researchers have licked some of those past problems with the first instance of a flawless microwave cloaking scheme. By crafting a special diamond-shaped cloak where the light properties stay consistent at the corners, the school's Nathan Landy and David Smith have successfully shielded a 3-inch wide cylinder from microwave detection without a hint that something was amiss. The gotcha, as hinted by the shape, is a two-dimensional nature that gives away the secret at less than ideal angles. Duke suggests that it still has the groundwork for something that could be vital for communications or radar -- we can imagine a stealth aircraft or ship in the far-flung future that could actively mask itself from radar signals. It's not quite the optical illusion we're looking for, but a refined version of the Duke project might be enough for a rare practical use of cloaking when fantasies are much more common.
AccuWeather launches for Windows 8, lets you know if it's dry outside the Metro
So you're finally getting that Surface tablet (or a Windows 8 PC of choice) and have decided that a basic weather app just won't do it justice. AccuWeather agrees with you -- after months of supporting the Windows 8 preview editions, it's formally launching a weather app that takes advantage of Microsoft's completed Metro Windows 8 interface in all its widescreen glory. The title both provides near-obsessive detail about the climate as well as the requisite live tile for an at-a-glance check. You also won't have to resort to the web to find out if it's raining in your neighborhood: a Bing Maps radar overlay shows if it's safe to leave the umbrella at home. The app is free to download, which makes it entirely too easy to check the weather through Windows instead of the window.
