Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!


Contact
Ace:
aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck:
buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD:
cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix:
mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum:
petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton:
sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com


Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups






















« Zombie Documents the SF "Slutwalk" | Main | Chicago Teachers Leave Hundreds of Thousands of Kids Without An Education, For the Children, Or Something »
September 10, 2012

Robots & e-Readers

A few days old now, but DARPA has a new "cheetah" robot that can outrun a human.

Video under the fold.

@kenwheaton writes to note that this demonstrator, while neat, "cheats" because the power supply is external (note the power cords attaching to the "cheetah's" back). It's a neat demonstration, but obviously the thing will need power, and that's going to add weight.

One thing that occurs to me is that they keep finding that mimicking the actual movements of animals is both doable and very efficient. And it occurs then to me that the "cheetah" maintains the same movement the whole time it's running, and doesn't break into, say, the cheetah version of a charging gallop. I bet when they perfect this it will do that, changing the locomotion of its legs to kick in on the top speed.

Much closer to deployment out on the field is Boston Dynamic's "Mule" robot, which looks just like a mule, actually. (Well, you have to imagine a skin over it.)

Watch it follow the leader, navigate hills and rocky terrain, and get up from its belly:


Little noisy. Sounds like it's blowing the leaves off my sidewalk. Otherwise, darned thing is almost ready to start schlepping ammo and water.

And here's that cheetah:

Meanwhile, in consumer tech, Amazon is releasing a new Fire tablet, as well as its newest ereader, the Kindle Paperwhite, so called because they've ditched the dark-gray/tin-colored screen (optimistically called "Pearl") in favor of a pure white one.

Plus, it's got integrated lighting. Front-lit -- it's very clever. It has a bunch of microchannels printed into the underside of the top screen, which permits it to distribute light all over the page, more or less evenly, even though it's all coming from the same point-source or four.

And they've apparently updated the interface. The interface used to be (is, currently) very utilitarian. It does what it's supposed to do, but it looks pretty crude.

Meanwhile, for anyone thinking about buying into this technology, they've made improvements to their old model and dropped the price to $69, which ain't bad at all. You don't have the touch feature, or the lighted page, but otherwise it's a Kindle.

I had thought about getting the Barnes and Noble Glowlight (also with integrated front-lighting) but based on early reviews hands-on demos, the Paperwhite seems superior.

In fairness, no one has reviewed the Paperwhite yet -- Amazon just let people play with them at an unveiling ceremony. it's not really fair to compare a brief playing-around with a full hands-on review.

That said... Yeah, seems the Paperwhite beats the Nook. I'm trying not to be a fanboy here but at least based on the pre-reviews, the Paperwhite distributes light a bit better than the Nook. Plus, the white screen.

I think the white screen has been tough until now for technical reasons. That said, I don't think a pure white page is best. Now that they've demonstrated bright white can be done -- which is their big show-off thing here -- I bet later models will go to an off-white or light cream color.

Sometimes I don't like the dingy tin of the current screen, but I'm not sure I want the high contrast of bright white.

Meanwhile, Apple is probably releasing the iPhone 5 later this week, and maybe something else, like maybe another iPad or mini-iPad.


Bonus: Discussion of the next potential step in drone technologies -- an "ethical governor" that would permit it to make its own lethal decisions.

digg this
posted by Ace at 04:26 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
JackStraw: ">>Yeah, right AfD wants safety and security for it ..."

grammie winger - cheesehead: "He wasn't a Muslim, then? Just a guy who liked to ..."

fd: "Mostly peaceful Muslim. Mostly. ..."

FenelonSpoke: "He wasn't a Muslim, then? Just a guy who liked to ..."

FenelonSpoke: "Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at ..."

Gary Cooper: "Timeanddate is very good, you can put your exact l ..."

Ciampino - Except exceptionally exempting exhalted examples: "The NZ launch reminds me that on last night's ONT ..."

publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb): " The German elite want to ban the AfD party. Th ..."

Mary Jane Rottencrotch: ">>My ass smells like my ass. Meh.. ..."

grammie winger - cheesehead: "Apparently the Christmas Market murderer was a Sau ..."

publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb): " "Noon" comes from Latin. The Romans originally ..."

Ciampino - Except exceptionally exempting exhalted examples: "139 Not the best employees will never be found on ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64