Computed·Blg

Via Big Think

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With the arrival of the July 4^th weekend, now is a good time to consider the types of  individual rights that the U.S. constitution continues to make possible, even against the backdrop of a rapidly-changing information-based society. We have the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly - but do we also have the freedom to connect in a mobile, networked world? Does the Internet already encompass many of the fundamental rights outlined by our Founding Fathers, or is the Freedom to Connect a new type of inalienable right?

As TIME magazine points out in its cover story on the U.S. Constitution (One Document, Under Seige), the Founding Fathers could never have even imagined a whole host of modern innovations – including, but not limited to, the modern-day Internet: "George Washington didn't even dream that man could fly, much less use a global-positioning satellite to aim a missile, so it's hard to say what he would think." So, the question is not how the Founding Fathers would have felt about the Internet, but rather, whether the documents they created were flexible enough to accommodate for the phenomenal growth of the Internet and its impact on every facet of our lives, both here in America and globally.

In the wake of the popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia and across the Middle East, it is clear that the Internet represents more than just economic empowerment - it is a fundamental underpinning of a democratic society. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined in her “Freedom to Connect” policy speech on Internet freedom, “an open Internet fosters long-term peace, progress and prosperity.” And a closed Internet? The consequences are almost too dire to consider: “An Internet that is closed and fractured, where different governments can block activity or change the rules on a whim—where speech is censored or punished, and privacy does not exist—that is an Internet that can cut off opportunities for peace and progress and discourage innovation and entrepreneurship.”

While we consider the Internet to be fundamental to the flowering of democracy abroad, what about here in America? The Founding Fathers could never have imagined an Internet "Kill Switch" bill passing through the Congress, or the government-mandated seizure of domain names, or the decision of the government to selectively shut down certain parts of the Internet. They also could never have imagined Wiki-Leaks or Anonymous or LulzSec, and the limits to what type of information governments should have to divulge.

At a time when the Internet makes possible so many economic and social benefits that derive from a networked society, we sometimes forget just how important “the Internet” – including access to our mobile devices - is to the way we communicate, share and demonstrate our democratic values. People sometimes talk about the Internet as a commodity, as if it were something like electricity or water or air. In an era of Internet Kill Switches, the ability to "shut down" the Internet would be like turning off our water supply.

The “freedom to connect” in America needs to be held to a higher standard than we hold it elsewhere in the world. Given the role that the Internet plays in our everyday lives and the way it helps to distribute information and data, we need to be vigilant when elected U.S. government officials start talking about taking away our fundamental right to the Internet, or when leaders in Silicon Valley begin to acquiesce in the face of government requests to censor or limit information. At some point, We The People becomes We the Internet.

Via ReadWriteWeb

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Google launched an experimental tool called Swiffy in its Labs today, allowing developers to convert Flash (SWF) files to HTML5. That means you can reuse Flash content on devices without a Flash Player, even iPhone and iPads, explains Google on the project's Labs' page. And Swiffy's output works in all Webkit browsers, including Chrome and Safari.

The idea for the tool came from Google engineering intern Pieter Senster, who joined the mobile ad team last summer and later become a full time employee. Senster wanted to address the challenge of running Flash-like animations on non-Flash devices, specially for mobile ads.

Now, with Swiffy, that's possible. To use the program, you simply upload a SWF file and Swiffy returns HTML5 output. Swiffy is still in its early stages, though, so it won't convert all Flash content, only ads and simple animations for now.

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Swiffy

Via TechTree

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Personal comment: This kind of "hybrid" hardware demonstrastes perfectly how "new" the so-called "concept" of tablet is! Starting from a laptop, removing the keyboard and installing a lightweight OS... in order to install back a keyboard less than two years later. Now, thanks to all hardware constructor's tablets and hybrid models, one can easily think and admit that any laptop can be "transformed" to a tablet and reverse, and, as end-user, we may now request this kind of feature for all laptops without any power of functionality drawback... making mobile computing hardware converging again to one global solution valuable for any kind of use.

Eee Pad Transformer

Via Android Community

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It’s very clear that in the smartphone world the Android OS is dominating when it comes to the number of phones selling and popularity with buyers. The Android smartphone is also dominating when it comes to the number of people surfing the web on the OS, at least in some countries. The latest numbers from metrics firm comScore are in and they show the amount of non-computer device internet traffic based on OS. The stats are broken down by iOS, Android, other smartphones, and feature phones.

In the US, Android smartphones are generating 35.6% of the traffic to the web from a smartphone. The iPhone is generating 23.5% of the traffic in the US. Interestingly in the UK, iPhone generated 29.9% of web traffic with the Android platform at 15.1%. Some of that is likely the fact that the iPhone is on all carriers in the UK and only two in the US.

When it comes to the tablet market, the iPad makes 21.8% of web traffic with all Android tablets accounting for 0.6% of traffic from tablets. The numbers in the UK looks similar on the tablet front with 21.3% for iPad and 0.3% on Android tablets.

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comScore

Via TechnoLookers

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Amenbo Mouse

If you want to feel different sensations are not just a classic mouse, which is pretty cool, his name is Amenbo Mouse, a mouse equipped with a touch of beauty to five fingers with a shape similar to a human hand. A study conducted by the Japan Twin Research & Development Co. has successfully developed a mouse is truly revolutionary.

And now, they’ve officially showcased his creations mouse with Amenbo name, a new input device is a mouse that will not waste the function of one finger but will give a touch sensor for the fifth finger. Each finger will get the mouse pad itself with sensors, which are all connected to a single base with a flexible material that allow movement. The device can detect pressure and finger movements, and is ideal for many uses.

“We put sensors on each fingertip mouse, and can enter the coordinates for each finger as well as downward pressure from each finger means actual hand movements are being fed into a PC .. For example, is allow the PC to receive data for the various needs of the toes “said the Japan Twin Research & Development Co..
One example application for this system is to manipulate the data in 3D CAD. Sometimes in order to manipulate the data in 3D CAD or rather need to use a 3D mouse and normal mouse using both hands, but in this Amenbo mouse system functions can be combined and operated with one hand, and much more usefulness depends on the user’s needs.

As we can see from the demo video below, mouse Amenbo able to perform with good movement to move the 3D object, the mouse Amenbo own work through connection to a computer USB port connection, unfortunately for more complete information including the marketing has not been disclosed.

Via Slashgear

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The endoscope has been the go to tool for doctors that need to look inside the digestive tract of a patient since the 1980?s. These things are generally long, black cables that are forced through the mouth of up the bum of people when the doctors need to check for things like colon cancer or stomach issues. In 2008, we talked about a new development in endoscope tools that placed the camera into a small pill shaped capsule that the person swallowed to get a look at their innards.

The problem with that camera capsule was that it could only follow along and take photos inside the body using the muscle contractions of the patient’s body. Some Japanese researchers have taken that endoscope capsule to the next level and attached a small propulsion system to it that allows the camera to swim through the digestive tract. The new capsule has what appears to be a flagella type mechanism on the back that uses a magnetic propulsion system.

The doctor is able to control the capsule using a joystick to get it to take photos of whatever part of the digestive track is needed. The device has been nicknamed “mermaid” and it would have to feel strange moving around inside the body. It is certainly better than a four foot long tube crammed down your throat.

Via Slashgear

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Mozilla has just released Firefox 5 today after only a few short months since the previous version launched. The predecessor was deemed as the last major release version before Mozilla embarks on a Google Chrome model that will bring shorter faster release cycles. Rather than having new features sit waiting for a major release, now smaller bundles of new features will be pushed out as they become ready, making for new releases as quick as every six weeks.

This latest update brings over 1000 new features for both desktop and Android versions of the browser. Firefox 5 isn’t a major overhaul outwardly, but does bring a lot of change under the hood that includes performance and stability enhancements as well as privacy improvements and new CSS animations and improved JavaScript support.

Performance wise, Firefox 5 uses new HTTP optimizations that accelerates content and makes it much faster than before. The “Do not track” option that was introduced in Firefox 4 is now more visible to users and appears as an interface item for users to select whether or not they want websites to track them. New CSS animations support will allow for “Flash-like” dynamic content.

Via slashgear

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Microsoft has released the Kinect for Windows SDK beta, as expected, allowing PC developers to use the motion-tracking accessory. A free 100MB download, the SDK offers support for the depth sensor, color camera and quad-microphone array, along with all the clever skeletal-tracking systems that Xbox 360 game developers have had access to.

There’s also integration with Windows’ speech recognition API. That potentially means developers will be able to use the microphone array – which can pinpoint which user is talking thanks to beam formation – to transcribe speech to text, open and control applications, and more.

Microsoft has thrown in plenty of technical documentation, samples, all the drivers you’ll need and support for C++, C#, or Visual Basic. This current iteration of the SDK is only for non-commercial purposes; Microsoft says it will be releasing a commercial version later on. You’ll obviously need a Kinect sensor, too, which currently costs around $140.

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Kinect for Windows SDK beta

Via Lambda the Ultimate

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See one of his example tests on Github.

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Rule 110 (Stephen Wolfram)