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Iain Sharp’s Vibrati Punk Console (VPC) is my choice for the Gift Singularity. The VPC (£20) is a spinoff of Forrest Mims’ legendary Atari Punk Console, an elegantly simple 555-based synth that has caught on as one of the legendary DIY projects of yore. The VPC mixes it up by adding a Low Frequency Oscillator (hence the ‘Vibrati’) to the mix creating a much more diverse set … Read More → "One-up Mims with the Vibrati Punk Console"

If you want to build a great startup outside Silicon Valley, finding great talent is all that matters. There are really only three ways to get talent: You can grow it from scratch, you can train it or you can poach it. Your ability to do any of these three — especially the third — is driven largely by your company’s culture. via Venture Beat

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Iraqi insurgency groups and Silicon Valley startups may not appear to have a lot in common, but according to Quid‘s Chief Technical Officer Sean Gourley, the mathematics underlying innovation and conflict are not that different.

“The dynamics of an insurgency are actually quite similar to startups disrupting an established market,” says Gourley.

Data analysis is becoming ever more important within tech companies but Quid allows corporate strategists to manipulate a data-driven “map” of an entire technology sector’s past, present and even future. The … Read More → "Quid makes million-dollar maps of technology’s past, present… and future"

Palantir is security software that helps CIA analysts take innocuous events (man comes to U.S. on temporary visa, man takes flight training classes, man buys one-way ticket from Boston to California) and put them into a context where potential threats can become more apparent (the one man is actually several, and they’re all on the same flight).

The technology is based on a system developed by PayPal, and it’s interesting because it’s one of the few examples of counter-terrorism work that is actually proactive. Instead of adding increasingly elaborate … Read More → "CIA threat-tracking technology is fascinating, creepy"

“Jetman” Yves Rossy, outfitted with a sturdy wing and four jet engines, jumped off a helicopter to begin his flight. He flew alongside the two L-39C Albatros jets using only his body movements to execute the midair maneuvers. The jets and their pilots are part of the Breitling Jet Team, a civilian aerobatics team. via The Daily What

… Read More → "Jetman flies in formation with two jet aircraft"

Microsoft’s next-generation Kinect device may be accurate enough to read your lips. It has also been stated that future Xbox consoles will ship with Kinect 2 built in.

Sources speaking to Eurogamer have claimed that the unannounced Kinect 2 will be able to read facial expressions and detect a variety of emotions through the user’s tone. Improved motion-sensing and voice-recognition technology are expected to be installed.

The depth sensor in the … Read More → "Kinect 2 may be so accurate it can lip read"

Applied Materials has announced a new tool for reducing the power consumed by chips, thereby enabling a new generation of powerful new gadgets with longer battery life.

The innovation is built into the chip equipment manufacturers newest tool, the Applied Producer Onyx film treatment system being announced today. Each semiconductor chip — which serve as the brains of electronic gadgets from laptops to iPhones — has miles of microscopic electrical wiring built into it … Read More → "Applied Materials launches a breakthrough tool to reduce chip power consumption"

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Have you ever wondered how Google’s search got so good? An insightful new video released by Google uses employee interviews and engaging graphics to show how Google’s core search product has evolved since it began in 1997.

While it’s easy to focus on evolving Google products like Gmail and … Read More → "Google chronicles the evolution of search"

Montblanc and Leo Burnett Milan pay homage to the chronograph — which recorded time to the accuracy of a fifth of a second — with a short film challenge. The Beauty of a Second is a contest curated by Wim Wenders which asks users to demonstrate beauty in a second of film. via Boing Boing

… Read More → "One second film festival"

via Boing Boing

… Read More → "World’s smallest V-12 engine"