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Sony’s break-apart DualShock controller brought to life, coming to Kickstarter

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Mad Genius Controllers believes it can make Sony’s idea of a break-apart DualShock controller a reality with its new splittable motion controller prototype. The Mad Genius Motion Capture System mimics an Xbox 360 controller in its current form, but is able to bring motion control and tracking to any game on Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, and PC using its camera-less sensor technology.

Mad Genius’ Motion Capture System brings Sony’s break-apart controller idea to life, and then some

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Author: Stacey Cook

Remember that break-apart DualShock 3 idea for motion control Sony had five years ago? A new company named Mad Genius Controllers has surfaced with a working prototype that shows such a contraption working in spades. The setup uses a splittable controller and a processing unit to enable seamless motion control and spacial tracking on any title and system. Because Mad Genius doesn’t use any accelerometers or cameras like the current consoles, its creator notes that accuracy of up to 1/100th of an inch is possible

In a video demo with an Xbox 360 version of Skyrim and a modified Xbox gamepad, certain gestures and movements even automate menu selections like a macro. One instance shows the controller being split and held like bow and arrow, highlighting that both sides are tracked in relation to each other — not to mention that the in-game character’s weapon automatically changes without any menu-digging by the user. The current version is merely a wired proof-of-concept, but Mad Genius plans to eventually make it wireless and hit Kickstarter for funding. In the meantime, you can build up anticipation for yourself by checking out the nearly 10-minute long video demo after the break. All that’s left is the inevitable Oculus Rift tie-in (like we’ve just done with this post).

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

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Source: Mad Genius Controllers (YouTube)

This Photo Of A Man Showering With Google Glass Will Haunt You For The Rest Of Your Life

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Author: jos

Two hundred thousand years of human development have culminated in this photo.

Source: plus.google.com / via: @laura_june

Unrelenting internet human Robert Scoble recently declared that, as one of Google’s Glass “Explorers,” he would never take the headset off, except to let strangers try it. Today he posted this picture. “You thought I was kidding,” he wrote alongside it.

Scoble is an indiscriminate evangelist; he embraces virtually any new technology with inhuman enthusiasm. This makes him useful as a sort of reductio ad absurdum product processor: he takes a new service or thing and gives himself to it, both testing it and inadvertently demonstrating the logical conclusion of its creators' visions.

This photo of a drenched middle-aged man recording himself as he screams into his shower mirror,* then, may the purest expression of the Google Glass concept yet (and perhaps of Scoble, too).

It may also be the first defining photo of the early wave of wearable electronics. Scoble has a knack for starring in iconic, micro-era-defining photos, by the way. In retrospect, this widely shared photo wasn't just absurd, but foretold an all-consuming Apple mania that American consumers and investors are just now shaking:

Via: fakesteve.net

If you want to see the future of consumer technology, it’s wise to keep an eye on people like Scoble. He is, by the nature of what he does, almost always wrong. But these occasional expressions of his id, whether they're opportune press photos or borderline not-safe-for-work posts on Google Plus, are some of the most useful media artifacts in modern tech history.

In other words, welcome to the future.

Scoble clarifies in the comments: the photo was taken by his wife.

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AT&T finally brings its Digital Life home automation service to 15 markets

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Author: Margo Tipton

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AT&T has been showing off and talking about its Digital Life home automation service for the better part of a year now, but after missing its March launch target, it’s finally making the service available in 15 markets this week. AT&T has been testing Digital Life in Dallas and Atlanta since last summer, and it plans to have it available in 50 markets by the end of this year.

Digital Life is very similar to Verizon’s Home Monitoring and Control service, with the major difference being that AT&T’s solution doesn’t require a customer to have an existing wireless or broadband service plan from the company to purchase it. The service gives customers access to things such as a security system that is monitored 24/7; the ability to see live…

AT&T launches Digital Life home automation and security platform

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Author: Randy Miller

It’s been a long time coming. Seriously. AT&T first teased us with Digital Life way back in February of last year. Now the home security and automation platform is finally ready for prime time. Starting today customers in the 15 launch markets (Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, LA, Miami, SF, Seattle, Austin, Philly, Riverside, St. Louis, Denver, Boulder and the New York/New Jersey metro area) can put in their orders, provided they live in a single-family, detached house. There will be two packages to choose from: Simple Security and Smart Security. The former is a pretty standard alarm system with sensors, an HSPA-based base station and a 24-hour backup battery, for $ 30 a month and a one-time installation fee of $ 150. Smart Security is where the real fun happens, though. The basic version starts at $ 40 a month, with a $ 250 installation fee, and includes your choice of three additional features including a motion sensor, carbon monoxide sensor, glass break sensor, smoke sensor or a takeover kit. From there you can add on additional packages, like energy management or a camera system, for between $ 5 and $ 10 a month, plus the cost of installation. Those costs can quickly add up too. Those two add-ons alone could push the price of installation as high as $ 650.

To go along with the launch AT&T is also releasing its remote control app, which will be available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8 and, “eventually,” BlackBerry. Through the app you can lock doors, adjust your thermostat, turn on and off lights or appliances and check your security cameras. The most powerful feature, though, is the ability to create programs that can automate tasks, send alerts and trigger events based on data from the sensors. For example, if the glass break sensor on the kitchen window is tripped, the system can be set to turn on the lights in the room and start recording a video. Eventually, AT&T even sees the ability to integrate with the location services on a cellphone for additional automation options. If you’re hankering for more details, check out the PR after the break.

Gallery: AT&T Digital Life hands-on

Filed under: Household, AT&T

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The Man Who Gave His Life To Bitcoin

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Author: Brittany Turner

“After I found Bitcoin, I dropped everything.” What it's like to live, breath, and work in Bitcoin.

Via: bitcoincharts.com

Erik Vorhees is what you might call a true Bitcoin believer: he is almost entirely invested in the currency, works at a Bitcoin-related startup, and spends a great deal of time in the Bitcoin “community,” as you might call it — he’s one of the best-known contributors to the /r/bitcoin subreddit.

Yesterday, just before the price of a Bitcoin shot past $ 200, he posted a short item on Reddit called “An insider's opinion on the crazy Bitcoin market,” explaining in detail why the price of Bitcoin was skyrocketing. It read like a dispatch from a different financial universe; in many ways, that's exactly what it was. But the most interesting aspect of the post was how deeply involved it revealed Vorhees, a hardcore libertarian, to be: he is betting on Bitcoin in a way that few of the people trading it today can claim.

BuzzFeed spoke with Vorhees over Skype on Tuesday.

BuzzFeed: So, first: You're both a Bitcoin user *and* professionally involved with the currency, correct?

Correct. Discovered Bitcoin in May 2011. Went crazy for it. Went to the first conference in NYC in August 2011, and from there met people with whom I developed some projects and one thing led to another and I joined BitInstant (a payment processor for Bitcoin exchanges) a few months later.

What were you doing at the time?

I was just doing freelance marketing work. I had been in Dubai for two years doing marketing for real estate. Came back to the US, didn't know where I wanted to be or do really, so freelance was my interim work. After I found Bitcoin, I dropped everything. It would be impossible for me to work on something not Bitcoin related now.

Because of your interest/dedication? Or investment?

Because it's my passion. I simply couldn't be interested in anything else.

So, the Bitcoin community was quite different in the earlier days. Smaller, for one. How else has it changed over the last couple years?

It hasnt change that much, really. It is always a mix of people. When it “feels” like it changes is when the price trend changes. After the first bubble in summer of 2011, many got very nasty and negative. I know the same will happen when the next bubble pops. Such people do not fundamentally understand why Bitcoin is so important, and thus their temperment shifts with the price. They are fair-weather Bitcoiners.

Were the theorists (for lack of a better term) more influential earlier on?

I think they were more common early on. The whole thing was more philosophical.
“Could this work, and why” was the question du jour. Now that it's in the real world, it's not a theory.

Do you worry about how this current price trend will affect the currency?

Not at all. It is good for a number of reasons. It brings a swarm of new interest.

But a lot of that interest is of the get-rich-quick variety.

Let's say 10% of that interest is “legitimate” or not just driven by price interest.

That 10% sticks around after a crash?

Yep exactly. And they start building new infrastructure.

As in retail, etc?

Well, could be anything. That's the magic of entrepreneurialism. If we knew all the new things that would be useful, we could build them ourselves

Are there any systemic risks involved with this level of attention?

I assume the price WILL precipitously drop at some point. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in 6 months. [But] the biggest systematic risk is government. After the FinCEN ruling, that cleared up a lot of worry. [It's] highly unlikely the US gov will attack Bitcoin overtly over the next couple years now. So there will be a period of rapid growth and expansion.

So, much of the coverage of Bitcoin now focuses on the investment angle. When will people sell, and so on.

Yeah, understandably. It's not every day that an asset goes up 4x.

Are you playing that game at all? Or is it a diversion to you?

I play the market a little, but it's more for entertainment and a fun challenge.

It presents a problem for someone ideologically commited to the currency, no? A temptation to cash out?

Predicting price movements is very silly. “Cash out” is misused. Those of us who understand this most have “cashed out” of the US Dollar.

Via: youtube.com

But unloading your wallet for USD after it increases in value 15x — it seems like that sort of prospect could shake a lot of people. Even believers.

Bitcoin is the asset we want to hold. We are not just holding it in order to “sell” later.

So there is no USD price you would trade at.

I trade often, just not for USD. I don’t want it. Traditional currency is garbage . Gold and silver are worthy currencies. Fiat is not.

You're more deeply commited to Bitcoin than many people who hold it. How does that work, practically? Are you paid in Bitcoin? How much of your regular spending is done in the Bitcoin economy?

I am paid in Bitcoin, yes. And yes I sell some for fiat to pay for food, rent, etc.

But there are some purchases — not just novelties, but things you might otherwise buy — that you purchase in Bitcoin?

We pay for all servers and hosting stuff in BTC. I pay contractors in BTC exclusively. I have a lawyer now whom I pay in BTC as well.

In a Reddit post, you offered explanations for Bitcoin's rapid rise in price. One of the most compelling reasons you offered for the rise is an influx of VC cash. Is this a suspicion, or do you have evidence? Or reason to believe other wealthy people are treating Bitcoin as a short-term investment?

Evidence. [But] more like long term investment — wealthy people who will buy a bunch and assume it'll either go to zero or become wildly expensive. They aren't investing with a six month time frame. More like 2-5 years.

Is this something you've heard about, or seen reflected in the exchanges somehow?

I know of people. But the VC thing is much less hidden. I know of three or four venture cap firms who are actively seeking BTC investments. The smart ones pick up a pile of coins while they're searching for the companies they like.

Exante's Malta-based fund is for investors who are buying a minimum of $ 100k worth. Tradehill's new platform is similar – only catering to “sophisticated investors” or people with liquid net worth over $ 1m.

Toward the end of your post, you seem at peace with a situation that, to someone who isn't familiar with Bitcoin, could sound scary. You write: “The price right now could be the highest Bitcoin will ever be from now on, or the lowest. Nobody knows!”

Yeah.

For people who would like to use Bitcoin as a currency, the prospect of severe changes in value might be a deterrent, and not just from an investment standpoint. Do you recommend, then, that people who might be ideologically interested in Bitcoin step back for a bit?

Well remember it's important to make a distinction between buying coins to speculate on price and building up infrastructure. Those who are into Bitcoin should do the latter, full time. The speculation is separate… it's for anyone who wants to take a gamble on the volatile market.

They should start companies, you mean?

Yeah. And basically, if you believe the Bitcoin narrative, that it will change the world, then buying them at anything below several thousand dollars is “worth it.”

Companies designed for an eventual scenario that looks like what, exactly: a full(er) service Bitcoin economy?

When the internet got started in the early nineties, nobody knew how it would unfold really. Many people said it was just a fad. Kinda silly geek toy. Nobody envisioned Facebook and Twitter back then, or even something like Amazon. Much less the crazier uses for websites that have occured — the fact that we're talking on Skype right now… that is a result of the internet which was not foreseen in the early days.

Bitcoin will be same. It will take thousands of entrepreneurs trying thousands of things over the coming years. We will look back and see all these great Bitcoin-based systems and we'll think “well that was obvious.”

You say in your post, “certainly, Bitcoin is the most important thing happening on the planet right now.”

Indeed.

Is there a massive caveat there, though? That a/the government could interfere?

No that's not a caveat, that's the point! The fact that government might (likely will) interfere is the entire point. Bitcoin is important for one reason: because it separates money and state. That is why it is the most important project on the planet. Because money and state must be separated… doing so will rid the earth of a number of evils.

There is no other project that I'm aware of which has such potential to help so many human lives and improve the prospects for humanity, than Bitcoin.

But the two are currently powerfully connected. And there are very powerful — the most powerful — and very interested parties who wish to keep it that way. Do you believe Bitcoin is resilient enough, anonymous enough, protected enough, to withstand pushback?

That's the grand experiment . And that's why nobody knows what the price should be.

Can you tell us the scale of your investment in Bitcoin? If not, then how much (in relative terms) have you gained since you started?

That's private, sorry . We can say I've earned enough to invest in some bitcoin projects.

But the market has been kind, obviously.

This is one of the nice things about this ecosystem — the wealth gained (some of it) gets used to build further infrastructure, in a virtuous circle.

So you really are all in.

I'm not “all in” quite… I have some metals.

So “all out” might be a better term. Any final words for readers who might just be hearing about Bitcoin in the news?

The price is a fun distraction. The real story of Bitcoin is about the manner in which it is changing money around the world. If you understand that, then the price will make more sense. And also this: people should expect a number of bubbles to occur. There was a big on in 2011; perhaps we're in another now. And there will be more.

If this is a bubble, and it pops, what do you expect you'll be saying that day?

Well unfortunately it won't just be “a day” on which it happens. The last bubble “popped/deflated” over a period of about 6 months, and during that time, it goes up and down… nobody knowing if it's “at the bottom” or not. So really it's a long psychological game. And during this period, whether it's a week this time or a year or whatever, the press will be ruthless in tearing into Bitcoin

But it's fine. Those of us who are building this stuff (including all the new people who are being attracted over the past few months of frenzy) will hunker down and keep building. So what will I tell people? If you don't want your coins, sell them! That's the beauty of a free market, each person is in control for themselves. Nobody is forced to use, or to hold, Bitcoin.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

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Japanese Teens Playing Quidditch In Real Life Pictures

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Author: Markus Smith

I spy a hoverboard.

First Dragon Ball relocates in reality, then Vader force-choking, and now some Quidditch in reality photos (although some just appear like witches). It’s strange how the net works, isn’t really it? It’s like, cyclical. Just one big turd-recycling collection of tubes. Think of it as a lazy river– no issue the number of times you explore, you always end up back at the exact same area. Anyone desire to guess exactly what next week’s photo meme will be? Due to the fact that I’m wishing for huge boobs with ‘I HEART GW’ composed on them. Now that would be brand-new and amazing.

Hit the jump for a couple more.

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Doctor Who’s Real Life Tech Toys

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Author: Brittany Turner

Doctor Who is coming back for a new season and he’s bringing along awesome technology straight from the future! But some of these gadgets are actually being …

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When Crowdfunding Is A Matter Of Life And Death

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Author: Rod Sutherland

With the health care system in crisis, a growing number of people are turning to crowdfunding sites to pay their treatment bills.

When Matt Fahey, a cameraman for the Deadliest Catch, was diagnosed with colon cancer last November, he didn’t have health insurance. He nonetheless went through with surgery and got stuck with a $ 51,000 bill. Facing six months of followup treatments and a six-figure total cost, bankruptcy seemed almost inevitable.

Instead, his cousin, Chuck Horton, a former professional fundraiser turned software entrepreneur, stepped in and set up a Rally.org campaign called “Dumb Ass Cancer” to help pay for Fahey's treatment.

“We wanted something up and running quicker than a traditional fundraiser,” says Horton. “Matt has a lot of friends on Facebook. We have a large extended family. We knew it was a good way to reach a lot of people really quickly.”

They came up with the idea on Friday. A week later it was live. Within two days they had raised around $ 7,000. (The fund is currently approaching $ 40,000.)

“People jumped in so we can have him focus on recovering rather than worry about where the money will come from,” says Horton.

Fahey with his chemo pump

Via: dumbasscancer.org

Fahey is not alone. An increasing number of people are turning to crowdfunding sites to pay for their health care costs, to the point that it’s becoming the number one category on some crowdfunding websites. Many campaigns — perhaps a majority — are for cancer treatment, but they also include help with HIV, gunshot wounds, organ transplants, and even infertility treatments. One campaign raised $ 171,525.00 for Farrah Soudani, who was critically injured in the Aurora shooting. Another hopes to raise $ 5,000 for an Iraq war veteran with Gulf War Illness.

Rally, which hosted DumbAssCancer, is at the center of the trend. Originally intended as funding tool for political causes, it is now a platform for a wide range of fundraisers. People have used it to raise money for the March on Washington for Gun Control, for scientific research on Great White sharks, and to bring the Buzkashi Boys actors to the Oscars from Afghanistan.

But over the past six months, healthcare has emerged as the site's top category, accounting for one in ten of their campaigns. “When we first conceived of Rally.org, we were acutely aware of walkathons and joint fundraising drives for various diseases,” a Rally spokesperson told BuzzFeed. “However, we did not anticipate the pent-up demand for a fundraising platform for individuals from all walks of life to pay their medical bills.”

“Given the seriousness of medical issues and related expenses, it makes sense that these campaigns generate the most support,” says a spokeperson for GoFundMe, another platform that has watched healthcare become its most popular category.

“People are turning to crowdfunding because they are much more connected socially through the internet, and the ability to crowdfund is becoming less complex,” YouCaring, another crowdfunding site, told BuzzFeed. Sixty-five percent of its campaigns are for medical issues. “Medical costs and the costs associated with sickness are completely out of hand. Many times when someone is sick they also cannot work, which causes even greater financial issues — even though they may have insurance.”

There are even some sites devoted entirely to raising money for healthcare, such as GiveForward. RareGenomics' charter is even narrower: it helps raise money for patients with rare genetic diseases to get genome sequencing tests.

Numbers are rising across the industry. In 2012, there were approximately nine times the number of healthcare campaigns on Indiegogo as the year before, pushing it up to the fourth most popular category on the site.

The rise of treatment-through-crowdfunding corresponds with other worrying trends in healthcare. Healthcare expenditures are the number one source of bankruptcy, according to a 2007 Harvard study published in the American Journal of Medicine. The majority of those filing for bankruptcy — seventy eight percent — had medical insurance when they first got sick.

“The best thing of the whole ordeal is seeing how much people love me and have helped,” says Fahey. “Obviously the money is reflection of that but besides that, I have had a ton of support from friends and family.”

As grateful as Fahey is for the campaign, he admits that fundraising while ill can be exhausting. Fahey says he was lucky that his family took on the responsibility.

“I went to one of the first fundraising meetings and I got frustrated. I was like, 'I have to go. I'm stressing out too much,'” says Fahey. “Cancer is a full time job, especially with all the bills and paperwork I get.”

Publicly asking for help also takes an emotional toll. “Personally I don't like being a charity case or asking for help,” he says. Fahey says it took him a while to reach out to people on his Facebook page — he was worried about how it might look.

Recently, Fahey signed up for a Preexisting-Condition Insurance Plan — aka ObamaCare — but is still facing tens of thousands in bills. “My fear is one asshole will repeal it before I finish treatment and then it will start racking up even more [costs],” says Fahey.

So far Fahey's campaign has raised $ 38,000 out of the $ 65,000 goal. A separate, real-world fundraiser raised $ 7,000 — paling in comparison to the online contributions. But they still don't have enough to pay for his chemotherapy and radiation treatment, which he is about to begin.

“The journey is not over,” says Fahey. “At this point, the financial part is harder than the treatment.”

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When Crowdfunding Is A Matter Of Life And Death

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Author: Brian McKinnell

With the health care system in crisis, a growing number of people are turning to crowdfunding sites to pay their treatment bills.