Edward Snowden sits down in a world-first interview

Anthony Garreffa | Current Affairs | Jan 28, 2014 5:46 PM CST

German TV station, NDR, sat down with NSA whisleblower Edward Snowden, in a world-first interview. The interview itself was reportedly a 6-hour stint, but the video was cut down to just 30 minutes.

Germany's broadcasting laws are different from the US, which is reportedly the reason behind this slice down of the interview. You can watch the 30 minutes above, where Snowden has some scary things to say such as "Every time you pick up the phone, dial a number, write an email, make a purchase, travel on the bus carrying a cell phone, swipe a card somewhere, you leave a trace and the government has decided that it's a good idea to collect it all, everything, even if you've never been suspected of any crime. Traditionally the government would identify a suspect, they would go to a judge, they would say we suspect he's committed this crime, they would get a warrant and then they would be able to use the totality of their powers in pursuit of the investigation. Nowadays what we see is they want to apply the totality of their powers in advance - prior to an investigation".

One of the major points of the interview, is the power that President Obama has to stop all of this, where Snowden says "But what (the review boards investigating the illegal NSA programs) found was that these programs have no value, they've never stopped a terrorist attack in the United States and they have marginal utility at best for other things... The National Security agency operates under the President's executive authority alone. He can end of modify or direct a change of their policies at any time".

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3D printed food will help push 3D technology to the next level

Companies are testing the potential of 3D printed food in what could evolve into one of the biggest 3D market segments moving forward. During the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, a number of different companies showed off 3D printing technology, including several food-based products.

There are a number of different types of 3D-printed foods currently in various phases of development, and it will be an industry to watch in the future.

Chocolate maker Hershey's also teamed up with a 3D company to produce 3D printed chocolate, which will be a major draw for the company's gift shop. Cornell Creative Machines Lab has developed printers that can dough-based corn chips, while sugar candies also are available courtesy of 3D Systems' Chefjet.

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Cooler Master rolls out the CM Storm Trigger-Z gaming keyboard

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jan 28, 2014 2:38 PM CST

PC enthusiast company Cooler Master has announced the Trigger Z mechanical gaming keyboard, a fully programmable keyboard able to support up to five custom gaming profiles. The keyboard includes 128KB onboard memory and includes a detachable wrist rest with a non-slip rubber coating to increase comfort.

The keyboard can register up to 64 button presses at a time, so users don't have to worry about the keyboard responding with any lag. The Cooler Master Trigger Z Gaming keyboard will launch globally next month. It will launch in Cherry MX Brown, but Cherry MX Red or Blue will become available later this year.

Mechanical gaming keyboards are still more expensive than a traditional gaming keyboard, but continue to prove popular among gamers.

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Fight against veteran brain injury going high tech to change lives

Medical researchers and military veterans are increasingly teaming up to study traumatic brain injuries (TBI) that U.S. personnel are dealing with after returning home from the battlefield. An estimated 15 to 23 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer TBI, which equates to about 300,000 to 460,000 soldiers in need of various levels of medical treatment.

Researchers are developing new objective imaging testing methods that provide better insight of brain scans and cognitive testing - and while progress is accelerating - there are a large number of veterans that aren't receiving proper medical treatment. However, using a new diffusion tensor imaging helps indicate nerve track fiber damage and provides better guidance to detect mild-TBI episodes that can be more easily corrected if discovered quickly.

"Traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress is a different kind of wound," noted Arnold Fisher, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund staff member. "It's unseen. Apparently, because it's unseen, very many people don't understand it."

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Japan thinks smart Bras are the future of tech for women

Charles Gantt | Wearable Computing & Fashion | Jan 28, 2014 9:50 AM CST

Back in 2013, we saw wearable tech really take the center stage and bloom into an entire new industry, with smart watches, exercise bands, and even smart glasses launching. 2014 is poised to take wearable technology to the next level, and if a new product being developed in Japan is any indication, wearables are going to get much more personal in the very near future.

Pictured above is the "True Love Tester" bra, a piece of smart lingerie that is designed to thwart off sneaky companions who might try to unhook its clasps covertly while its wearer is distracted. Unfortunately, that task is much harder with a smart-bra than it is with traditional underwear. The True Love Tester bra features sensors that feed back information on its wearers heart rate to a smartphone which analyzes the data and will only release the clasps if the heart rate signature indicate "true love."

The accompanying app is able to discern from other strenuous, heart rate elevating activities such as running, shopping, eating spicy food, or even getting frightened while watching a scary movie. While this all sounds cool, the app does not simply release a locking mechanism on the bra, it apparently flings the cups open with much gusto, which means that technology like this could provide for some interesting scenarios when worn in public with ones significant other near by.

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Nokia's Android smartphone, Project Normandy, leaks in benchmarks

Charles Gantt | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | Jan 28, 2014 8:48 AM CST

An Android-based smartphone was the last thing anyone thought they would ever see from Nokia, especially with its handset division recently being purchased by Microsoft, but all indications point to a Nokia Android phone being in existence. Dubbed "Project Normandy," the smartphone's release seems imminent if the increasing rate of leaks is any indication.

This morning we spotted the Nokia RM-980, Project Normandy's model number, in Rightware's online benchmark results, and while the numbers leave much to be desired, the fact stands that and Android-based Nokia smartphone is in existence. In the results, the RM-980 falls below the now dated HTC Incredible S, and just above the HTC OneX which all but confirms the low-end specs that leaked recently from @evleaks.

The infamous leakster says that Project Normandy will feature a very low-end 4-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 480x800 and will be powered by a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked in at 1GHz. Just 512MB of RAM will be packed in along side 4GB of storage and a 5-megapixel generic imaging sensor. The leak did mention a 1500mAh battery as well as Android 4.4 KitKat, so at least it has that going for it. The more info that comes in on Project Normandy, the more I begin to believe rumors that this is actually the next-generation of the Asha line of feature phones. With MWC 2014 not far away, I am sure we will have a definitive answer on Project Normandy soon.

Continue reading: Nokia's Android smartphone, Project Normandy, leaks in benchmarks (full post)

Far Cry 4 gets one step closer to an announcement

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 28, 2014 5:28 AM CST

The last time we heard about Far Cry 4 was when an ex Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer teased it - but now we're back, with the latest tease of the upcoming first-person shooter from Ubisoft.

The latest comes from Xavier Plagnal, who is Ubisoft Shanghai's Studio Design Manager, where his LinkedIn profile teases that he worked from September 2013 to present as Content Director on "the next Far Cry." This isn't 100% yet, but it is getting awfully close. I'm hoping for a reveal sooner rather than later, myself.

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Google, Samsung ink new 10-year patent licensing deal

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jan 28, 2014 1:02 AM CST

Google and Samsung have just shown how a certain fruit logo company the way it's done in the patent game, by signing a massive deal to license their patent portfolios to one another.

The new deal sees existing intellectual property covered, as well as patents filed over the next ten years.Samsung's Seungho Ahn says "Samsung and Google are showing the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from cooperating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes". Google's Allen Lo chimed in with "By working together on agreements like this, companies can reduce the potential for litigation and focus instead on innovation".

This is how the industry should be acting, with two of the biggest players cooperating with one another. Samsung is a massive partner for Google, but could be a potential competitor with Tizen on the horizon. Google on the other hand, is simply unstoppable right now with the amount of hardware and services it provides to the world.

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Valve's next-gen Source 2.0 engine shown off in a leaked presentation

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 28, 2014 12:21 AM CST

Uh, so this kinda came out of nowhere, but the Source 2 engine has been shown off in a post on NeoGAF by 'CBOAT'. The user posted a screen cap from what appears to be a leaked Valve slideshow.

The slideshow shows off Source 2.0, which is Valve's next-generation graphics engine. The presentation in question shows Left 4 Dead 2's plantation level, rebuilt in the new engine. If this is real, it might open up older games to be re-painted under Source 2.0, which would be incredibly awesome. We should hopefully hear and see more info on Source 2.0 as time goes on, especially with the lead up to E3, and of course SteamOS, Steam Box, Steam Machines and more.

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Stratasys unveils Object500 Connex Color, a multi-material 3D Printer

Charles Gantt | Modding | Jan 27, 2014 5:00 PM CST

Today Stratasys launched what it is calling the worlds first multi-material, multi-color 3D printer that can print in several different materials and colors simultaneously. The new Object 500 Connex 3 3D Printer allows for "virtually unlimited" combinations of rigid, flexible, and color rich printing to be completed all on the same machine at the same time, and will allow engineers and designers to test multi-material prototypes right in the lab almost instantly.

The printer features six palettes for the new rubber-like Tango color lone which includes opaque, transparent, and solid variations. Stratasys says that the new Object Connex 3 is designed with the automotive, consumer, sports, and fashion industries in mind, and the addition of flexible materials will only serve to make 3D printing an even more valuable process in every design and engineering workflow.

"Stratasys' goal is to help our customers revolutionize their design and manufacturing processes," says Stratasys CEO David Reis. "I believe our new Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material 3D Printer will transform the way our customers design, engineer and manufacture new products. In general and with the Connex technology in particular, we will continue to push the envelope of what's possible in a 3D world... Now we produce bicycle parts that look and feel like production parts. We are particularly excited about 3D printing our models directly in color. This gives our designers the ability to graphically display color contact pressure map data on rider contact parts like seats and grips. We are also working on doing the same with FEA & CFD stress data on structural bike components," adds Zeigle.

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