Walyou |  |
- Nevermind the vuvuzelas! Introducing Brazil’s annoying caixirolas
- Watchdogs Gets The Commodore 64 Treatment In This Video
- Lomo’Instant Makes Artistic Instant Photography Affordable
- A Dragon Hunter’s Trophy, Maleficent Style
- Toyota Rehabilitation Robots Train Balance and Leg Swing
- Steam Machines Delayed to 2015
| Nevermind the vuvuzelas! Introducing Brazil’s annoying caixirolas Posted: 04 Jun 2014 11:17 AM PDT  Some people will remember the last World Cup as the first one Spain ever won. Some others will remember the vuvuzelas. We’ll remember the beginning of a new tradition. That is, to be as loud as only football/soccer fans can while playing a made up instrument in the world cup. Everyone meet the caixirola, the Brazil World Cup 2014 official noise-maker. Everyone and their mothers might have complained about the vuvuzelas in the last World Cup, but when it came down to FIFA looking for business opportunities, they decided this World Cup needed a new noise maker. An officially sanctioned one. Enter the caixirola, the creation of Brazilian musician and artist Carlinhos Brown (no, really, his name is literally “Charlie Brown”). We’re basically speaking of a rattle-shaker which Brazilian president Rousseff called “way more beautiful than the vuvuzela”, which isn’t saying that much to begin with! The good news for the watchers is that it’s definitely not as loud: a group of researchers at Brazil’s Federal University of Santa Maria proved that it’d take 30,000 caxirolas to equal the sound pressure of a vuvuzela. Fans at home, rejoice! FIFA themselves followed the process that led to the caixirola’s creation, labeling each one with an official seal and selling them through their website. These cost $14 USD on FIFA’s official website, and can be bought in Brazil’s yellow and green, or themed after whichever country you decide to support during the matches. These have already become the third best-seller on their website, so clearly there’s a demand for it. There’s just one setback (you know, just in case you’re so excited you’re already rushing to buy yours): they won’t be allowed inside the stadiums, as the organizers realized the fans have a certain propensity to just fling things at the players when things aren’t going their way. Brazil’s Ministry of Justice decided the caxirola was to stay out from World Cup stadiums. Good call? Bad call? You tell us. Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at The Vuvuzela Alarm is the New Kyrptonite for Burglars and Annoy Your Friends During the 2010 World Cup with the iVuvuzela iPhone App.         |
| Watchdogs Gets The Commodore 64 Treatment In This Video Posted: 04 Jun 2014 07:00 AM PDT  The open-world hacking game gets mock support on the most relic of PC platforms.
What’s a Commodore 64? Wikipedia tells me it was an 8-bit home computer from the early 1980s – way before my time. Heck, way before anyone’s time, really, if we’re measuring by Internet years. So what could possibly make an ancient PC relic from the stone age totally relevant for today’s multitasking, selfie-driven hip crowd? Easy, by roping in one of the biggest, multiplatform releases of late, Ubisoft's open-world hacking game Watchdogs. Animator Balász Kalocsai created this rad video concept of the game based on what it would look on the C64 – complete with its own tape-deck cartridge. Yes, at one point tape-decks were used as computer software, it’s crazy, I know. As for the C64 version of Watchdogs by Kalocsai, it’s about as bare bones both graphically and, well, everything else. He does manage to translate the core, espionage-ish trappings of the real game, but being based on very primitive technology, there’s only so much you can strip away. Thankfully, Kalocsai manages to create a perfect balance in this awesome video below. VIDEO TO ADD [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml3jjWssiCs] Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at https://www.facebook.com/Walyou and https://twitter.com/walyou.    |
| Lomo’Instant Makes Artistic Instant Photography Affordable Posted: 04 Jun 2014 06:30 AM PDT  The emergence of digital photography caused instant cameras to become a long-forgotten dream, but Lomo’Instant wants to bring that back, and what more, at an accessible price. New York-based Lomography developed a camera that takes instant photography to the extreme. Unlike Polaroid cameras, which at some point became a synonym to instant photos (and that no thanks to the “Shake it like a Polaroid picture” lyric from Outkast’s Hey Ya!, something that the American camera manufacturer actually advised against, while at the same time using the song to revitalize its products), Lomo’Instant is equipped with more lenses, more shooting modes and various types of exposures. This one-of-a-kind instant camera comes with an advanced lens system that includes a built-in wide angle lens with the closest focusing distance set at 40cm. Photographers who want to shoot more artistic photos can easily attach the Fisheye or the Portrait lenses that come with the camera. The three shooting modes promoted by the developers of this camera refer to the use of flash, which can be automatically triggered or can be manually set to fire up or not. As far as the exposure is concerned, photographers can opt for unlimited multiple exposures (that are meant to give birth to interesting experimental shots) or for infinite long exposures, for low-light conditions. Color gels represent yet another way of transforming the pictures taken with Lomo’Instant. Not at last, you should probably know that this instant camera uses Fujifilm Instax Mini Film, the most widely available instant film in the world. Lomography’s camera also features a tripod mount and cable release thread, but I think that preparing for too long to shoot a picture takes away from the instant factor. After all, you want to surprise spontaneous reactions with this sort of camera. On the other hand, for infinite long exposures, you might want to use a tripod, unless you want the pictures to be shaky. Lomo’Instant is currently featured on Kickstarter, where Lomography has raised almost 7 times the initial goal of $100K. Considering that there are 23 more days to go in this campaign, I expect that number to go even higher. Since all the Early Bird spots are gone, you’ll have to back the project with at least $79 if you want to own Lomo’Instant. In that case, you should receive yours around November 2014. Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Polaroid 300 instant analogue camera and the rejuvenated Polaroid cameras.    |
| A Dragon Hunter’s Trophy, Maleficent Style Posted: 04 Jun 2014 06:00 AM PDT  Forget about Skyrim, you can get your own dragons and trophies in real life, even themed after Disney’s Maleficent, from Sleeping Beauty. Believe it or not, paper mache is incredibly versatile when it comes to creating props. Dan Reeder has proved so by creating this commisioned $2000 USD piece, ready to hang in any wall. The piece represents the original Maleficent dragon as seen in the 1950s movie Sleeping Beauty, and it’s so detailed it even uses LEDs to light up the eyes, because it’s just not a dragon unless it gives you nightmares. Check more pictures just below these lines! Source: Technabob Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at Book Sculptures: Bringing Literature Into The 3D World and Amazing And Tasty: Geeky Meat Sculptures.    |
| Toyota Rehabilitation Robots Train Balance and Leg Swing Posted: 04 Jun 2014 05:30 AM PDT  Medical gadgets have gone a long way, especially because of the advancements in assist robotics, a field that Toyota has been exploring in the past few years. The Japanese company has started testing the bionic leg and balance-gamification system back in 2011, and it’s now rolling out new versions of these in hospitals from its homeland. Called the Walk Training Assist and Balance Training Assist, these pieces of hardware will help paralyzed or recovering patients walk again. Toyota initially planned to launch the two versions of assist robotics last year, but 2013 came and went away without the Walk Training Assist or the Balance Training Assist becoming commercially available. Of course, the company is interested in selling these to as many hospitals as possible, and that’s actually the main goal now. The purchasing power of hospitals from around the world, correlated with the price of such robots, will determine the adoption rate. Ideally, every hospital that’s dealing with the recovery of function and mobility of paralyzed patients should own Toyota’s bionic leg and balance-gamification system, but unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world. The Walk Training Assist is basically a brace that covers the knee and the lower-leg. Some of the things this robot can help recovering patients with are knee-straightening, body-weight support and adequate leg-swing. Variable resistance levels have been added so that the Walk Training Assist adjusts to the wearer’s progress. Joint-angle and walking data are transmitted to a screen for visual feedback, but audio queues are also available. The Balance Training Assist might have well be inspired from the Nintendo Wii Balance Board game, as it displays a character on a screen that can be controlled by the patient. This robot consists of a Segway-resembling device that helps patients maintain their balance. As mentioned before, this system is based on games that train balance, and besides the tennis task, Toyota is thinking about adding skiing and rodeo. Obviously, the difficulty levels are correlated with the patient’s rehabilitation progress. Honda, the maker of ASIMO, is also working on robotic prosthetics and assisted-walking devices based on research regarding the humanoid robot. In other words, Japanese companies seem to give this field a lot of thought, and since many of the events leading to paralysis cannot be avoided, I believe it’s good that someone is considering solutions for restoring the mobility of patients with such problems. Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about ViScope MD, the visual stethoscope with murmur signal wave display, and the SmartMio wearable sports muscle stimulator.    |
| Steam Machines Delayed to 2015 Posted: 04 Jun 2014 05:00 AM PDT  Set to bring PC gaming to the living room, Valve have now announced that their Steam Machines will be delayed until 2015.
Try as they might to deny it, game console manufacturers just can't compete with PC gaming. Not only is PC gaming a more lucrative slice of the gaming pie than that of consoles, it offers a more diverse range of games and it can also beat out the consoles that we know and love (yes, even the PS4 and the Xbox One) on technical specs and raw power. That's due to the limitations of a closed off machine as with consoles it's not feasible for everyone to buy a brand new console with upgraded specs every single time and for those who could afford it, the ones who couldn't would be left out and you would have to factor in all of the different versions of a game that would have to be made. With computers, you can upgrade them at cheaper prices and games can be optimised for all sorts of specs. The problem is, PCs can be heavy, clunky and they don't fit under your TV quite as nicely. Bring on Steam Machines then that offer PC gaming in a console box. The idea with Steam Machines is that if you buy one, you'd be able to buy parts to upgrade it as you wish, meaning that even if you don't want to play PC games with the best level of graphics, you don't have to, and if you don't want superb, sleek visuals, you can pay for them should you so choose. Too, Steam Machines would run on Valve's Steam OS (operating system) and you'd get access to the thousands of games on the Steam Store. While this sounds like an incredibly smart premise, Valve have explained that their "number one priority is making sure that when you do, you’ll be getting the best gaming experience possible" and so as a result they're delaying the release of Steam Machines until next year. An additional explanation from a blog post from the Steam Machines team says that,
Nonetheless, most wouldn't want to compromise on quality and Steam Machines look set to deliver on that so we'll keep you posted once we know more. Source: Valve Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories, Steam In-Home Streaming Exits Beta, Brings Gaming to Every Room You Have, Valve's New Steam Controller Sports a D-Pad and Regular Buttons    |
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