The ‘Mass Effect’ theme park attraction opens in May
Mass Effect is traveling to a strange new world: California's Great America theme park. The Mass Effect attraction opens on May 18th at California's Great America in Santa Clara, featuring an interactive 3D presentation with 4D effects, all hosted by a live performer. Riders will travel to "a distant planet" to make a stand against "larger-than-life foes," though there's no word on which characters will make an appearance in the experience. The ride is made in conjunction with Mass Effect publisher EA, and developer BioWare announced it back in September.
Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/29/mass-effect-theme-park-attraction-opens-in-may/
Cord-munching weasel temporarily knocks the LHC offline
Just weeks after coming online from a series of crucial upgrades, CERN's Large Hadron Collider was knocked back offline overnight after a weasel (potentially a Marten) chomped through the wrong power cable. "We had electrical problems, and we are pretty sure this was caused by a small animal," CERN spokesman, Arnaud Marsollier, told NPR.
Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/29/cord-munching-weasel-temporarily-knocks-the-lhc-offline/
Google patents smart lenses you inject into your eyes
Per the patent filing, the device is meant to replace your eye's natural lens and is injected in a solution that congeals and attaches to your lens capsule. While the intra-ocular device is mostly intended to correct poor vision, it is so much more than just an permanent set of contact lenses or an alternative to surgery. As Forbes reports, the device includes an electronic lens as well as storage, sensors, a battery and radio components meant to communicate with a separate, external device that has some additional processing power. The internal battery, the one that will apparently live inside your eyeball, will draw power from what the patent calls an "energy harvesting antenna."
Google's focus on eyeballs started in earnest back in 2014, when the company filed a patent for smart contact lenses that included a very tiny wireless chip and the ability to monitor a wearer's glucose levels. That patent moved closer to becoming a reality when Google partnered with healthcare company Novartis to help develop the technology. As for the competition, Sony has also jumped into the game with a patent for a smart contact lens that comes complete with a camera, zoom and aperture control.
Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/29/google-patent-injectable-smart-lenses/
Celebrate 50 years of ‘Star Trek’ at NYC’s Intrepid museum
The exhibit is set up like a future Career Day with tours rotating attendees around the various ship-based specialties: Language, Medical, Navigation, Engineering, Command and Science. At the end of the tour, attendees are sorted into their own Starfleet house (thankfully, nobody will end up a red shirt). The exhibit simulates the tricorders, phasers and other iconic Star Trek tech with RFID sensors, planet projection mapping, holograms, and other modern gadgetry.
New York is the first stop on the Starfleet Academy Experience's tour. During its stay, the Intrepid Museum will hold themed events like movie nights, two Trek-focused summer camp weeks, Astronomy nights, and Operation Slumber overnights.
Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/29/celebrate-50-years-of-star-trek-at-nycs-intrepid-museum/
Watch a 360-degree video of SpaceX’s rocket landing at sea
If you've ever had any doubt whether SpaceX's Falcon 9 really touched down on a barge, you should watch this YouTube video. It shows a 360-degree view of the drone ship as the rocket was landing, which means you can drag the video around to watch it from different angles or view it using a VR headset. SpaceX successfully landed its reusable rocket at sea for the first time in early April after several failed attempts. The historic booster was transported back to the Kennedy Space Center to make sure everything's working properly. If it's still in perfect condition, the commercial space company might launch it again at a later date.
Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/30/spacex-360-degree-rocket-landing/
Roaming within the EU has just become cheaper
The new roaming caps introduced today, alongside stricter European net neutrality rules, will also be the last such reduction. That's because from June 15th next year, the concept of roaming will cease to exist, at least among EU carriers and their customers. In the UK, Tesco Mobile is giving its users a transient taste of this level of freedom over the summer, by scrapping roaming charges across Europe until early September.
Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/30/eu-roaming-charge-caps/
ICYMI: Barely hoverbiking, new hair dryer tech and more
Photographer Levon Biss worked with Oxford University to take incredibly detailed, microscopic photos of bugs, which were then blown up and printed into large posters. And Dyson has released its first personal care device and it is a re-imagined hair dryer, called the Supersonic, which is far less noisy and heavy compared to modern day dryers. They will cost $400.
Make sure you can talk with some authority about the military's digital strike against ISIS, but also know all about why a teenaged girl is being sued (along with Snapchat) after crashing while going more than 100 miles per hour in her daddy's Mercedes. As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/30/icymi-barely-hoverbiking-new-hair-dryer-tech-and-more/
Recommended Reading: Why can’t we stream more black TV shows?
Why Are so Many Great
Black TV Shows Missing
From Streaming Services?
Alyssa Rosenberg,
The Washington Post
Streaming services are great for providing a seemingly endless supply of movies and television shows. However, there are a ton of notable black TV series missing from those subscription plans. If you're looking for The Jeffersons, Good Times, Living Single or Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, you'll be disappointed. The Washington Post's Alyssa Rosenberg set out to discover why that's the case.
Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/30/recommended-reading-4-30-16/
Six robots inspired by real-life animals
By Cat DiStasio
Many scientific and engineering developments were lifted right out of nature, but none more so than robots built to act like real-life animals. Biomimicry is the term for innovations like these, which draw inspiration from the power of nature to solve the toughest human problems. Robots can take on some pretty unlikely tasks, from pollinating flowers as bee populations decline to detecting pollution in waterways. Other robots are designed purely for fun, like this 12-legged robot that walks like a crab and is powered by the sun.
Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/30/six-robots-inspired-by-real-life-animals/
Garmin’s ‘Varia Vision’ headset is the Google Glass of cycling
The Varia Vision is Garmin's recent addition to its ANT+ cycling accessory collection, ANT+ being the proprietary wireless standard that Garmin's various devices leverage to share data with one another. The Vision is a heads-up display that pairs with select models in the company's line of cycling computers. I tested the Varia Vision with the Garmin 520 computer, though it's also compatible with the flagship model 1000. There's also the possibility that other ANT+ community members will integrate it with their own bike computers in the future. Plus, if you're already using Garmin's Varia Rear Radar device, the Vision will also display incoming-car warnings in addition to the standard mix of speed, distance and performance metrics from the computer itself.
The device weighs a scant 1.1 ounces, lasts about eight hours on a charge and can be mounted on most any pair of sport-style sunglasses using a strap-on base plate that the HUD twist-locks into. The 428-by-240-pixel screen automatically reorients itself whenever the device powers on, and it can be mounted ambidextrously on either the left or right temple of your glasses. I did find that putting it on the left side, however, completely blocked my peripheral vision on that, side which made it difficult to glance over my shoulder for cars while overtaking other cyclists.
Also, the Vision really does need a set of sport glasses. I initially installed it on my Ray-Ban Wayfarers and, while the Vision did work, the placement and orientation of the screen was less than ideal. I mean, the screen arm bends in only about 80 degrees, and there's no way to really angle it up or down, so if the glasses arm sits high compared with the lens itself, part of the screen is blocked by the bottom edge of the display's mount.
The color LED display itself is impressive. The clarity is great, as are the brightness and the interface navigation. You control the screen's display by swiping a finger forward and back across the Vision's body. Even through dark or polarized lenses, I was able to easily see the Vision's readout. It is a bit weird to get used to, though, because when you have both eyes open, the image ghosts and you wind up seeing a semi-transparent data screen overlying reality. That said, it's not particularly distracting once you acclimate.
I ran into some minor hiccups while setting up the Vision. As with most connected devices, the Vision was an utter brat when I paired it with my cycling computer. I spent a half hour alternately swearing at it and begging it to just pair already before figuring out that the HUD needed a firmware update in order to talk to the 520. I then spent another hour tracking down the necessary Garmin Connect desktop software (and the Android mobile app), creating a Connect account, registering devices and updating firmware before finally getting the cycling computer and HUD to get on speaking terms. That's a lot of work just to get two companion devices from the same manufacturer -- and using the same pairing scheme, no less -- to do what they're supposed to do out of the box.
That said, the Varia Vision system is good at what it does. I often find myself squinting at my cycling computer during rides, and that issue is even worse in the morning, when I'm wearing sunglasses to counter the glare of the sun. This combination of myopia, screen reflection and dark lenses can make accurately reading the computer -- while dodging absentminded drivers and entitled hipster cyclists, natch -- a lot harder than it should be. But with the Varia on my face, all I need to do is wink my off eye closed for a second to see exactly how my splits are stacking up, and without taking my eyes off the road.
As impressive as the Vision is, I should point out that it's not the sort of accessory you toss into your shopping cart while waiting in the checkout line. The Vision does not lend itself well to the stop-and-go action of city commutes. Rather, it's better suited for longer open-road training rides. It's a serious training tool that requires a serious budget.
As mentioned, the Vision alone will set you back $400. That's more than I paid for my 40-inch TV and is on par with what you'd pay for a next-gen gaming console. What's more, the Vision is useless by itself; it really is just a Bluetooth screen that straps to your glasses. In order for it to display information, you have to pair it with a $300 to $500 cycling computer and mount it onto glasses that start at around $50. You're looking at an initial startup cost of $750 to $900 -- which is about the difference between that Huffy and a pretty decent road bike. Would you rather get the best bike you can afford, or ride the Huffy with a tiny screen attached to your temples?
Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/30/garmin-varia-vision/