Accurro Baby Stroller by Ciprian Andrus

Accurro Baby Stroller has been designed especially to be used while doing sporting activities such as jogging and cycling. This concept brings new elements in stroller design with its multi-functionality, ergonomics, safety and relaxation methods for both parents and children. This stroller is ideal for people who love outdoor activity and adventure.



Accurro Baby Stroller consists of 2 major parts: the shell and the frame. The shell shape resembles a motorcycle helmet which offers a great protection for the child inside. It uses the same materials used when making motorcycle helmets; therefore, it’s pretty lightweight yet resilient to impact. There’s a built-in sound system inside to entertain your baby, it’s been specially designed not to exceed certain decibel limit.
The smooth shape with no folds or striations very attractive therefore can actually become a decorative object in a room. Inside the shell there is an extensible and ergonomic seat which offers the possibility of seating the child in different positions weather it’s lying back or sitting up straight. On both sides of the shell there are two gripping systems which help attach the shell to a seat belt while it is accommodated inside a car.
The shell offers an increased comfort level through its animation and delight features. For the parent this element turns into a modern accessory which sets the tone for the stroller industry.
The Frame is equipped with an adjustable suspension system according to the child’s weight and according to the terrain. The front wheel has two spring systems which offer the stroller the possibility to run on an off road terrain like a bumpy trail or a forest path. The front wheel is effortlessly detachable from the frame through a simple and easy to use safety system. Likewise the back wheels are as simple to detach as the front ones therefore considerably reducing the amount of space occupied for storage. The snap-on grip system situated on the center of the frame has the role to grab and secure the shell on the frame. The handle of the stroller is ergonomically designed for running and it resembles the handlebars of a bike and offers support and a good grip for the person pushing the stroller. The frame can be equipped with a large variety of accessories corresponding to the costumers needs. Among the features we have wheel fenders, different styles of handlebars fit for speed, speedometer, signaling systems for those traveling at night etc.
The logo of the Accurro Baby Stroller is based on the word ACCURO which means in Latin ‘to run towards smt.’ exemplifying the purpose of this stroller- running (jogging). The packet if made up of two cardboard 100% biodegradable boxes, one for the shell and the other for the frame and the wheels.

Source  tuvie

Artificially Intelligent Gamer Bots Convince Judges They're More Human Than Humans

Two virtual gamers have convinced a panel of judges they were more human than the humans they competed with in a first-person shooter game, winning the five-year-old BotPrize and beating the Turing test of machine awareness. The game bots were video game characters controlled by artificially intelligent algorithms.
One was created by computer scientists at the University of Texas at Austin, and the other by a doctoral student from Romania. The bots faced off in a game called "Unreal Tournament 2004,” in which each player tries to eliminate its opponents. Along with normal character-killing weapons, each player also had a “judging gun,” which they used to tag characters as humans or bots. The bot that is judged as the most human-like is the winner. The bots created by the two teams both achieved a humanness rating of 52 percent — way higher than average human players’ humanness rating of 40 percent, according to the BotPrize. The two teams will share the $7,000 first prize from sponsor 2K Games.
Watch below as the UT Austin bot, UT^2, kills a human opponent.
The victory comes during the 100th anniversary year of the birth of Alan Turing, the mathematician and father of computer science, whose “Turing test” is still the definition of machine intelligence. The best measure of artificial intelligence is whether it can fool people into thinking it’s one of us, he said.
Why make machines seem more human? In video games as in real life, humans are unpredictable — we hold grudges, make illogical decisions, make mistakes and learn from them, and so on. Robots don’t do this very well, or very convincingly. The BotPrize is an effort to design algorithms that can do it better. Eventually, video games, helper robots and even training simulators will feel more real, using research like this.




Source  Eurekalert

LightSquared pitches new plans to FCC in attempt to end GPS interference hex

If you thought filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy was the final chapter in LightSquared's wireless network saga, you'd be wrong. Hedge-fund manager Philip Falcone is back at the FCC's doorstep with yet another proposal, which he hopes might snatch the maligned network from the jaws of GPS interference-related troubles. Two filings placed with the commission apparently outline plans to use its broadband network in a way that it believes won't interfere with GPS signals, along with the 5MHz of spectrum that are known not to cause any issues. Along with the proposed changes, LightSquared is reportedly set to ask for more time to have exclusive rights to propose a reorganization plan. If granted, this could finally mean some progress for the beleaguered project, but with investors worried that money being spent on this could be better-placed back in their pockets, Falcone will have everything crossed, while the FCC deliberates the situation.

Source  engadget

Maingear announces Nomad 17 gaming laptop, comes with custom paint job

Maingear certainly loves to turn out solidly specificated hardware, and today is no exception. Its latest offering? The Nomad 17. As the name suggests this is a 17-inch notebook for gamers on the go. (Nomad, get it?) The new addition will support third-gen Intel Core i7 chips (up to 3.8GHz) and a maximum 32GB of RAM, with a choice of hard drive configurations. It's not all about the under-the-hood grunt, though, with Maingear offering a choice of six colors for what it's calling "hand-painted premium automotive paint jobs." As for the other spec options? You can expect NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M or 680M graphics, a 1,920 x 1080 display, combo Blue-ray optical drive, b / g / n wireless along with USB 2 / 3, DVI-I, HDMI and Fire Wire ports. So, this definitely sounds like a ride you can make your own. Assuming you're good with the $1,599 starting sticker price that is.

Source  engadget

Cubify lets you skin, 3D print your own personal Android

Sick of letting everyone else skin your Android for you? 3D printing service Cubify is helping you fight back with Bugdroids, a customizable version of Google's lovable green mascot. You can change its colors, add accessories like hats, horns glasses, mustaches and bling (that's "bling," not Bing, mind), and then the service will 3D print one out and ship it to you -- well, after you drop an admittedly pricey $30 to $40, figurine size depending.

Source  engadget

US Cellular expands its Windows Phone catalog with the ZTE Render for $80

Most Windows Phone enthusiasts have their sights set on large trophy-like targets, but if you have more modest goals in mind, then US Cellular's latest acquisition might be just what the doctor ordered. If the device pictured above looks familiar, that's because it should. Rebranded as the Render, most of you know this handset as the ZTE Orbit, an entry-level device that features a 4-inch 800 x 480 display, a 1GHz Qualcomm processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, a 5-megapixel camera and Windows Phone 7.5 Tango. So, if US Cellular is your wireless carrier of choice and you're seriously crushing on Windows Phone, the ZTE Render will run you $80 after a $100 mail-in rebate.

Source US Cellular

Samsung wins reconsideration of Galaxy Tab sales ban

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that a lower court should reconsider a sales ban against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 won by Apple in a patent dispute with the South Korean electronics maker.
The injunction was put in place ahead of a month-long trial that pitted iPhone maker Apple Inc against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in a closely watched legal battle that ended with a resounding victory for Apple last month on many of its patent violation claims.
However, the jury found that Samsung had not violated the patent that was the basis for the tablet injunction and Samsung argued the sales ban should be lifted. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said she could not act because Samsung had already appealed.
In its ruling on Friday, the Federal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington said Koh could now consider the issue.
The decision comes just a month before the South Korean corporation is expected to unveil the second generation of one of its most successful devices, the stylus-equipped Note.
The Galaxy 10.1 is an older model, but the ban still hurts Samsung in the run-up to the pivotal holiday shopping season.
The world's top two smartphone makers are locked in patent disputes in 10 countries as they vie to dominate the lucrative market, which is growing rapidly.
A U.S. jury found during the just-concluded trial that Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages.

Source  reuters

Apple CEO apologizes for Maps flaws, recommends rivals

Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook apologized Friday to customers frustrated with glaring errors in its new Maps service and, in an unusual move for the consumer giant, directed them to rival services such as Google Inc's Maps instead.
The rare apology follows Apple's launch of its own mapping service earlier this month, when it began selling the iPhone 5 and rolled out iOS 6, the highly anticipated update to its mobile software platform.
Users complained that the new Maps service - based on Dutch navigation equipment and digital map maker TomTom NV's data - contained geographical errors and gaps in information, and that it lacked features that made Google Maps so popular from public transit directions to traffic data and street-view pictures.
"We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better," Cook said in a letter to customers released on its website, adding that the company "fell short" of its commitment to deliver "the best experience possible to our customers."
Unusually, he suggested that customers download rival mapping services available in Apple's App Store while the company improves the product.
"While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app," he said in the letter.
Apple is typically loathe to tout rival services and the contrite apology by Cook is an indication of how Apple is changing under the chief executive who took over last year from co-founder Steve Jobs just before his death. It also took the additional step of prominently displaying the rival services on its Apps Store.
"It is a bit unusual but at the same time, Tim is keeping Apple's commitment to provide the best user experience for customers," Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said. "A key reason for Apple's success is keeping customers happy so we think this is a good move."
"People forget that Google Maps started out inferior to Mapquest and Yahoo Maps," he added.
Apple's home-grown Maps feature -- stitched together by acquiring mapping companies and data from many providers including Waze, Intermap, DigitalGlobe and Urban Mapping -- was introduced with much fanfare in June by software chief Scott Forstall. It was billed as one of the key highlights of the updated iOS6 software.
But errors and omissions in the maps service quickly emerged after the software was rolled out, ranging from misplaced buildings and mislabelled cities to duplicated geographical features.
NEW APPLE
The last time Apple faced such widespread criticism was in 2010, when users complained of signal reception issues on the then-new iPhone 4 model.
A defiant Jobs at the time rejected any suggestion the iPhone 4's design was flawed, but offered consumers free phone cases at a rare, 90-minute press conference called to address those complaints.
While Apple fixed the issue, Jobs had apologized to users only after he was specifically asked if he was sorry. He also said the issue was shared by all the major manufacturers, naming rivals Research in Motion, Samsung Electronics and HTC Corp.
Cook himself played a key role in convincing Jobs to tackle the negative publicity that arose around that issue, something he was initially reluctant to do, according to his biographer.
"Finally Tim Cook was able to shake him out of his lethargy," Walter Isaacson said in his biography on the late Silicon Valley icon. "He quoted someone as saying that Apple was becoming the new Microsoft, complacent and arrogant. The next day Jobs changed his attitude."
It remains to be seen how fast Apple can fix the mapping glitches. Jobs had been in a similar position when he allowed email synchronization software MobileMe to launch in 2008, to deadly reviews. The mercurial CEO took the group to task for it and replaced the group's head. The service is now folded into the iCloud product.
Mapping is a complex process that takes a lot of resources and years to perfect, said Marcus Thielking, co-founder of Skobbler, maker of the popular GPS Navigation 2 app, built using the crowdsourced OpenStreetMap platform.
"It helps a lot if you have great data to start with," he said, adding that it appears that different database were thrown together in building Apple Maps. "They (Apple) can offer incremental updates and that's what they will do."
Cook said that more than 100 million iOS devices are using the new Apple Maps and that the more people use Maps, the better it will get. He also offered some hints on why the company decided to remove Google Maps.
Apple launched the Google-powered Maps "initially with the first version of iOS" and created a home-grown version of the service as it wanted to provide more features, Cook said.
"As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps," he said in the letter.
Google provides turn-by-turn navigation on Android-based devices but the popular feature was not available for Apple devices. Apple Maps replaced Google Maps in iOS 6 and the Google service is now only available through a browser.

Source  reuters

BlackBerry 10 L-series tutorial videos surface online, give a literal peek at the future (video)

Those of us who've used a BlackBerry PlayBook will be familiar with the inevitable first-boot tutorials showing how to navigate the swipe-driven interface before we're let loose. Thanks to a series of demonstration videos leaked by BlackBerryItalia, it's apparent that we won't escape that educational process on BlackBerry 10 devices, either. The four clips show the basics of what we know the gesture experience will be like on full-touch L-series phones, including the signature BlackBerry Peek to check notifications and the unified inbox. Anyone looking for a direct clue as to what production BlackBerry 10 hardware will entail might be frustrated, mind you -- the rendered phone appears to be a placeholder rather than the L-series or a Dev Alpha B, and the device name is censored in an attempt to protect the source. That said, the clips provide a very straightforward explanation of the new interface concept and give us one more indication that RIM is closer to launch.

 

Source  engadget