Nice OLED tech article over at arstechnica

Deep blacks, bright future—where OLED screens go from here

Can OLED screens move beyond TVs and smartphones?

Comment on Fake news

Regards fake news,  I find this, which is not just mass media censorship but an attempt at net censorship, and apparently with attempts to carry fines and legislation to back it.  I find this offensive, this is the most condescending movement I've seen in quite a while.   So rather than carry an information campaign to educate the public, perhaps attach valid counterpoints to debatable news in social media and mainstream sites.

No rather than attach meaningful arguments and evidence against any one controversial news piece, we're told not only are we not capable of telling truth from fiction, but we're implicitly labelled willfully ignorant basically going against the facts and not being able to accept the facts even when presented with such.   In essence saying one side is wrong without any debate, to censor the topic and prevent it from being brought up for discussion.   IF the public is incapable of informed voting, of informed action, heck this is basically claiming the faculties of a large segment of the general public are so compromised they're basically incapable of becoming informed.

I think this is wrong headed move, this shows a total lack of respect and patronizing tone with the general population, we should not be sponsoring censorship on a global scale, we should instead focus on an education campaign.  HONESTLY how little faith must you have on the common people, to say they've to be kept from certain topics, as if they were small children, rather than debated on these controversial topics?

Who gives an entity or group the AUTHORITY to be the arbiter of TRUTH, to say what's real and what's not, what's true and what's not?   Even the most backed of scientific findings is open to questioning, the idea of a solid incontrovertible truth, there is simply too much noise to derive this in such a complex system, especially by entities of such limited capacity.   

black friday deal's article over at Arstechnica

Black Friday features $250 consoles, $700 VR headsets, and more

Plus a $100 Nintendo 3DS bundle and Steam Machines as low as $225. -news source link

news aspartame| nutrition | 2016

Aspartame may prevent, not promote, weight loss by blocking intestinal enzyme's activity

-news source link

Comment:

It seems aspartame might lead to greater weight gain upon high fat consumption, glucose intolerance and other issues.   Whether sucralose, has   similar issues remains to be seen, but for now it seems that sucralose would be a better no calorie sweetener.

PS I think I heard somewhere that aspartame interferes with some sirtuins function, if that is so, it'd interfere with things like resveratrol and pterostilbene.

Ipad pro recommended drawing apps article link

Whip out your Apple Pencil and try out the 11 best iPad Pro drawing apps -source link

The ipad pro has been seen with price cuts recently, and some say it has one of the best if not the best stylus for a tablet.   There are rumors the next half of next year there will be an upgraded version.  But for now the price is quite good with the rebates.

  

tech news | biotech news| paralyzed monkey restored thanks to implant | medical news | med news | 2016

http://gizmodo.com/brain-implant-allowhttp://gizmodo.com/brain-implant-allows-paralyzed-monkey-to-walk-again-1788716230s-paralyzed-monkey-to-walk-again-1788716230

Intrinsic information comment on october 26 2016

Brief comment on the concept of intrinsic information.

We can observe two types of intrinsic information:

one is within an explicit or an implicit pattern within the structure of the pattern.   This may imply or transmit a multitude of meaning depending on the eye of the beholder, the algorithms or context upon which the signal , or pattern, is present and its internal structure, which is observable or derivable.  But this first kind depends on richness of structure, there must be some structure that contains the information, and this structure can either be observed or derived from the pattern.

Another kind of intrinsic information, which may be called symbolic intrinsic information, black box information, can occur from a single, in some cases, virtually structure-less or minimal structure signal, which may be indistinguishable from similar signals used to transmit arbitrary information.   The structure of that which is represented or how the signal was obtain can be considered hidden and might not be easily derivable at least solely from the signal without context.

The content or intrinsic information of a symbolic nature, is one that emerges as a result of causal relations or correlations.    The signal might have correlation with an event, signal, pattern of arbitrary complexity.    Though possibly simple in nature, due to its correlation or causal relation that may result from hidden internal computational structure able to perform say complex pattern recognition, this black box element may transmit a clear signal indicating say the present, timing or other characteristic of an arbitrary complexity element.   By virtue of its causal relation or correlation with something else, it is a symbol and it represents something, the spatio-temporal correlation with something(be it a pattern or reality), grounds the symbol.

3 interesting neuroscience news articles

STUDY CHALLENGES WIDELY HELD VIEW ABOUT CHILDREN’S MORAL JUDGEMENT

NEUROSCIENCE NEWSSEPTEMBER 23, 2016

Researchers argue that a child's ability to make a moral judgement has often been substantially underestimated.-source link

HOW DOES OUR BRAIN DECIDE WHETHER A SITUATION IS PLEASANT OR NOT?

NEUROSCIENCE NEWSSEPTEMBER 23, 2016

Researchers have identified a mechanism that allows us to judge whether a difficult social situation is emotional negative or positive.-source link

HUMAN NEURON TRANSPLANTS TREAT SPINAL CORD INJURY IN MICE

NEUROSCIENCE NEWSSEPTEMBER 23, 2016

Researchers have successfully transplanted human neurons to treat symptoms of spinal cord injury in mice. The researchers believe this could pave the way for eventual treatment in humans.-source link

Neuroscience news emotion decision making

This finding expands the known decision-making circuit so that it encompasses the prefrontal cortex, striosomes, and a subset of dopamine-producing cells. Together, the striosomes may be acting as a gatekeeper that absorbs sensory and emotional information coming from the cortex and integrates it to produce a decision on how to react, which is initiated by the dopamine-producing cells, the researchers say.-source link

Eventually as the brain mechanisms behind decision making are elucidated people will realize that behind every decision lies a mechanism, and just like the elan vital faded before the mechanics of molecular biology so too will free will fall before our knowledge of neural mechanisms.

This YouTube star makes $1,800 a month reviewing fast food

Sitting in his parent's living room in suburban New York, Youtube food reviewer "ReportOFTheWeek" skeptically eyes his newest subject: Burger King's Cheetos Chicken Fries.-source cnn link

 

I would agree that that would be a very good way to make money, that is youtube reviews of foods, that I also like sampling new food, but I believe fast foods should be both healthier and bolder in their new plates, offering more exotic experiences.

space research news earth origin

New discovery shatters previous beliefs about Earth’s origin

Date:

September 14, 2016

Source:

Western University

Summary:

A new study demonstrates that the Earth and other planetary objects formed in the early years of the Solar System share similar chemical origins -- a finding at odds with accepted wisdom held by scientists for decades.-sciencedaily

Bank of America Analysts Say There's A 50% Chance We Live In The Matrix

Bank of America analysts have suggested that there is a 20 to 50 percent chance that the world around us is a "Matrix-style virtual reality." The report stated, "It is conceivable that with advancements in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and computing power, members of future civilizations could have decided to run a simulation of their ancestors." The idea is certainly nothing new, as many influential visionaries have come to similar theories. What some may find most unusual about the report is who issued it. According to Business Insider, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America's wealth management company, sent out a briefing to investors outlining their Matrix theory.-source slashdot

Thankfully there are more matrix movies coming, or so I've heard.

snowden article on arstechnica

Snowden to President Obama: I deserve a pardon
"Things that may seem unlawful on a page... these were vital things."... "Yes, there are laws on the books that say one thing, but that is perhaps why the pardon power exists. For the things that may seem unlawful in letters on a page but when we look at them morally, when we look at them ethically, when we look at the results, it seems these were necessary things, these were vital things."-arstechnica

Someone shouldn't be punishable for the sharing of ideas and information, especially information that concerns the security and privacy of the nation.

new european rules

New EU rules promise 100Mbps broadband and free Wi-Fi for all
Controversial copyright reform package also unveiled along with new "YouTube rule-arstechnica

cool pacman news

Now Pac-Man can run into the ghosts?! Behold, the new Championship Edition 2
Video: See new twists in latest version of "modern retro" Pac, now on PC.-arstechnica

Interesting new product from amazon

Amazon's Echo has been a surprising hit product for smart home integration and its Alexa feature-rich Assistant has definitely grown since its introduction to become more capable and more interesting. Today, along with the announcement that the Echo is coming to the UK and Germany and is now available in white, Amazon has unveiled a new Echo Dot, the tiny puck version of the Echo.-androidpolice

Very cool tech from amazon, I think the voice recognition is said to be very good.

Link to article on cool technology, dash cams

-"No one gets into their car thinking they're going to get into an accident—that, is until they do. Luckily, we now have dash cams, in-car technology that can be helpful to drivers in the event something goes wrong while they're behind the wheel. If you don't have one in your car already, you've probably heard about dash cams on the news when footage from a tense police encounter or from a foreign country like Russia has been featured due to an unusual situation. However, you likely won't encounter meteorites and crashing airplanes as often as you will annoyingly aggressive drivers."-source arstechnica

Possible alien life signal found

-SETI has observed a “strong” signal that may originate from a Sun-like star...

It remains only the barest of probabilities that astronomers have just found evidence of extraterrestrial, intelligent life. Nevertheless, in the community of astronomers and other scientists who use radio telescopes to search the heavens for beacons of life there is considerable excitement about a new signal observed by a facility in Russia.-arstechnica source

Bad cybersecurity news

New attack that cripples HTTPS crypto works on Macs, Windows, and Linux

Hack can be carried out by operators of Wi-Fi hotspots, where HTTPs is needed most.-source arstechnica

cool Nintendo NX rumors

Nintendo's upcoming NX will be a portable, handheld console with detachable controllers, a number of sources have confirmed to Eurogamer.

On the move, NX will function as a high-powered handheld console with its own display. So far so normal - but here's the twist: we've heard the screen is bookended by two controller sections on either side, which can be attached or detached as required.

Then, when you get home, the system can connect to your TV for gaming on the big screen.

A base unit, or dock station, is used to connect the brain of the NX - within the controller - to display on your TV.-Eurogamer quote from neogaf

It is said to be more powerful than the Wii U so there's potential for a cleaner and smoother running Zelda Breath of the Wild on NX.

I love portables, and this is what I wanted from NX, hope it's true, cartridges back and the ability to play on both tv as well as on the go.  My only fear was that going the portable route might result in weaker than Wii U hardware but it appears that is not the case, at least going by these rumors.

As for my suggestions regarding software, I think it would be very good if it didn't only feature gaming apps but more general apps.  Netflix, Hulu, perhaps Open Office,  Chrome or firefox, etc.   Already many portable devices allow you to do lots of different things with them, and this device by being a portable is also competing with all other portables.   GPS is a must, so I hope they've put one so it can get a port of pokemon go, if it doesn't have a gps that'd be disappointing.   But all of that is up to nintendo.  Ideally it'd also have phone functionality, but I doubt they'd go that far.