Tool usability and flow are important criteria for hobbyists, but cost is king. No one will pay several thousands of dollars for an EDK or SDK just to tinker around. In this case, Altera provides more tool-power for less money.

Altera gives users access to their entire software suite, which includes their system builder and SDK, as long as the user is targeting the Cyclone series and the lowest Arria II GX model–this includes most of the newest Cyclone V models, except for the highest densities. The cyclone supports gigabit transceivers, a few hundred DSP blocks, … Read More → "Tool usability and flow are impo"

Neutrino particles appeared to prove Einstein wrong by travelling faster than light, while the discovery of an Earth-like planet raised hopes of finding life on another world. 

via Guardian UK

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Scientists have discovered a new type of chemical bond thanks to the Abe and Ember supercomputers at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This may be insanely nerdy for our web-loving readers but for anyone investing in the future of technology this is big. Not only because new chemical bonds mean new materials or products that could change the world, but because … Read More → "Proof that supercomputers can see and build the future"

Tabstrummer is a guitar-like electronic instrument that has touch sensitive strips in lieu of strings, and programmable chord buttons instead of frets (demo video). Tabstrummer creates its guitar sounds through MIDI. It is not currently for sale. via Laughing Squid and Hack a Day

Light is one of the most promising carriers of quantum information. It is robust against decoherence because it does not interact with stray electric and magnetic fields and passes unscathed through transparent matter.

But this prized robustness is also a serious limitation. Photons do not easily interact with each other so processing the information they carry is tricky.

In recent years, however, physicists have worked out how to make photons interact using interferometers and to carry out … Read More → "Quantum computing with holograms"

More xkcd here

Wind-power has rapidly evolved over the last decade to become a key part of the alternative energy mix with towering rows of turbines now dotting horizons all over the globe. One of the drawbacks to the conventional windmill approach is that they are still low to the ground, so why not go to where the winds are stronger and more consistent – up. Like the Magenn Air Rotor System, KiteGen technology is aiming to do just … Read More → "KiteGen looks to get wind-power off the ground"

This is nice! Nowadays our phone is not just use for communication. There are now lots of apps that we can use in our phone. Gaming apps, for probably the most part, have one system – fingers on a touchscreen. Now, toy creator WowWee is producing applications with actual toys that connect or attach to smartphones. People could really like the new idea. (See: http://www.appisaurus.com/1691-wowwee-toys/

While driving through Birmingham, Alabama, Redditor alison_bee couldn’t help but notice the bizarre, repetitive wave shapes appearing in the clouds near the horizon. While these strange cloud formations look otherworldly, they’re an example of what’s called Kelvin-Helmholtz instability — which is a pretty awesome name for a spectacular phenomenon.

Here’s how Wikipedia describes what you’re seeing:

[…] when velocity … Read More → "Kelvin-Helmholtz waves appear over Alabama"

NASA’s new VIIRS—or Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite—satellite travels in a sun-synchronous orbit. So as it photographs the planet, each photo is taken at the same time ensuring that all the images have similar lighting.

It’s slowly being brought online and powered up, but this is officially the first complete photo of Earth it took on November 24, 2011. And if you’re wondering why the arctic is MIA, it’s … Read More → "The first image of Earth taken by NASA’s VIIRS satellite"