Saturday, April 28, 2012

Five Star Fridays (Theagitator)

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Sony patent suggests Xperia Play with dual keyboards, it's slidingly slidable

Sony patent suggests an Xperia Play with dual keyboards, it's slidingly slidable

Okay, so maybe physical keyboards were a bigger deal back in 2010 when this thing was filed, or maybe -- just maybe -- we'll one day see an Xperia Play smartphone with both a gamepad and a full QWERTY counterpart. A patent for such a contraption was just granted to Sony by the USPTO, which stakes its claim for a device with two sliding mechanisms in addition to the display. When the primary sliding mechanism is engaged, the second will come along for the ride -- and for those curious, it seems the default option is the keyboard. Once both are open, the sliding units may be disengaged from one another, so that when one of the units retracts, the other will remain accessible. It all sounds quite feasible, and if the mechanism works well enough, what's a few extra millimeters among friends?

Sony patent suggests Xperia Play with dual keyboards, it's slidingly slidable originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments


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MicroStylus Review

For 99.9% of the things you do on your smartphone you don’t really need a stylus. But if you’re as addicted to Draw Something as I am, you may find that a stylus is almost a necessary accessory (say that 3 times fast for bonus points). At least if you want your opponent to be [...]

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TheWhoot Co-Founders On Taking The Flakiness Out Of Social Planning

Screen shot 2012-04-27 at 11.07.40 AMBack in the day, before the cell phone, people had to be where they said they'd be. There was no such thing as flaking out, and if you did, you were just a bad person. But these days, even when we make a firm commitment, the convenience of cell phones makes it really easy to flake out at the last second. But co-founders Ryan Coyne and Will Quartner think that going out and having fun with your friends shouldn't have to be so difficult, and thus was born TheWhoot.

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Exclusive 'Battleship' Clip Sneak Peek: Rihanna Gets Fierce

Watch the full clip on Monday at 7:56 p.m. ET on MTV and an interview with the cast shortly after on MTV.com!
By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz


Rihanna in "Battleship" exclusive clip
Photo: Universal Pictures

By now you've probably heard that on Monday, April 30, the cast of "Battleship" will present a never-before-seen clip from the upcoming movie on MTV at 7:56 p.m. ET.

You probably know all about the 30-minute interview with the stars that will follow on MTV.com and how you can get your question answered by submitting a video or text to MTV.com or Twitter via @MTVNews, using the hashtags #MTVFirst and #askBATTLESHIP.

But that's probably not enough for you, since you simply cannot wait until the clip's premiere on Monday night. Luckily, we have a sneak peek at the exclusive scene, and it looks like things are going to get a little explosive.

"Battleship" is the latest adaptation from Hasbro, and boasts one of the hottest young casts of any movie this summer. Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna and Brooklyn Decker all star in the upcoming sci-fi action flick and will participate in the extended chat on MTV.com immediately after the clip airs.

Kitsch spoke with MTV News last fall about his latest collaboration with director Peter Berg, who gave the Canadian actor his big break on the television adaptation of "Friday Night Lights." "You don't know what to expect with 'Battleship,' especially when we team up, Pete and I. You're going to get a lot of laughs, guaranteed," Kitsch said. "And, of course, the action is going to speak for itself. It's huge."

Don't forget to join Taylor Kitsch, Rihanna, Alexander Skarsgard and Brooklyn Decker for "MTV First: Battleship" on Monday, April 30 at 7:56 p.m. ET on MTV!

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'Fifty Shades Of Grey': What's In It For 'Hunger Games' Fans?

As the E.L. James novel bumps the dystopian drama from the top of the bestseller list, we ask a few of Panem's faithful if fans should give it a read.
By Amy Wilkinson


Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth in "Hunger Games"
Photo: Lions Gate

Katniss Everdeen and her trusty bow and arrow can no longer fend off Christian Grey and his punishing whips — "Fifty Shades of Grey" has bumped "The Hunger Games" from its #1 perch on USA Today's bestseller list. And it's a contentious battle, to be sure. Seven of the top 10 are dominated by the various series installments by "Grey" author E.L. James and "Hunger Games" author Suzanne Collins.

It probably goes without saying that the content of these two sagas couldn't be more different: "The Hunger Games" is a teen novel chronicling a young heroine's fight for survival in a televised death match against 23 other kids, while "Fifty Shades of Grey" is an erotically charged page-turner detailing the sexcapades of a billionaire and his young paramour. Yet, both have managed to capture the attention of publishers, producers and pop-culture pundits.

While "The Hunger Games" was busy dominating the box office to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, Universal Pictures and Focus Features (perhaps inspired by Lionsgate's success with the book-to-film adaptation) snatched up the film rights to James' buzzy novel for an undisclosed sum. A few weeks later, the English author was named to Time 's 100 Most Influential People in the World list.

Full disclosure: I've been hesitant to pick up "Fifty Shades of Grey" owning to its "Twilight" fanfic roots and "mommy porn" reputation, but as someone who writes about both books and films, I'll eventually need to become familiar with the life and times of Christian Grey — for purely professional reasons, of course. But is there anything in it for "Hunger Games" fans looking for another high-profile novel to devour? I asked a few of Panem's faithful.

"I haven't actually read 'Fifty Shades of Grey,' but I confess that way back in the day, when it was called 'Master of the Universe' and was posted for free online as 'Twilight' fan fiction, I did read it," said Hunger Games Examiner's Sara Gundell. "It is a dirty, dirty story — but hey, sometimes filthy fan fiction is fun to read. And while there is plenty of 'Hunger Games' fan fiction online (and plenty of it is also dirty), I'm not sure 'Fifty Shades of Grey' will appeal to most fans of 'The Hunger Games' based on what attracted them to that series. There isn't really any way to compare the two. They don't have similar themes, and the characters don't share any similar traits. They really are nothing alike. That doesn't mean some 'Hunger Games' fans won't enjoy it, but I can't see it having any sort of universal, crossover appeal. They just don't have anything in common, really."

For MTV News staffer Christina Garibaldi, the saucy series served as a palate cleanser after the death and destruction of the dystopian drama.

"As a reader of both 'The Hunger Games' and 'Fifty Shades of Grey,' I have to admit I'm a huge fan of both," she said. "Both stories have taken their audiences by storm, but keep in mind that 'Fifty Shades of Grey' does skew a little older and to women, while 'Hunger Games' seems to please both male and female readers. Yet, if you are anything like me and enjoy mixing up your reading between love stories and action novels, then pick up both books! You will not be disappointed."

Then there's The Hob's Megan Scott, who says she sees at least one (tongue firmly in cheek) similarity: hunger.

"I have been sucked into the 'Fifty Shades' vortex and am enjoying it immensely," she said. "Anything that is getting a lot of hype and is considered controversial I'll pick up. There really is nothing that really comes to mind that would intrigue an "HG" fan other than the common theme of hunger, but let's face it, Christian Grey's hunger is the different sort."

Consensus: While the two best-selling series share very little in common thematically, odds are in your favor that "Grey" may be as hard to put down as "The Hunger Games."

Have you read or do you plan to read "Fifty Shades of Grey"? Sound off in the comments below and tweet me @amymwilk with your thoughts and suggestions for future columns!

Earlier 'Hunger Games' columns
+ 'Catching Fire': Five Reasons To Be Stoked
+ 'Catching Fire' Director: Who Could Carry The Torch?
+ 'Hunger Games' Postmortem: Five Lessons For 'Catching Fire'

Check out everything we've got on "The Hunger Games."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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Friday, April 27, 2012

Spinach-based solar cells get $90,000 development funds from EPA, Popeye delighted

Spinach-based solar cells get $90,000 development funds from EPA, Popeye delightedA biohybrid solar panel that substitutes expensive silicon components for a spinach protein has been granted some substantial Phase II funding from the EPA. Students from the Vanderbilt School of Engineering managed to stand out from 44 other university teams vying for funding at the National Sustainable Design Expo held in Washington DC. The team's large-scale panel only ekes out a small amount of electricity from the photosynthetic proteins at the moment, but according to Professor Kane Jennings, the cash injection from the EPA will help achieve higher energy conversion ratios over the next few years. Perhaps you could try wrapping them up into giant 3D cubes, Professor.

[Thanks Brandon]

Spinach-based solar cells get $90,000 development funds from EPA, Popeye delighted originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceVanderbilt School of Engineering  | Email this | Comments


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