and sub rosa reblog
Archive for January, 2012
What Humans Want: More Domestic Robots [STUDY]
Posted on January 31st, 2012 • Filed under Learn • No Comments
People would like to have their own Rosie the Robot — think The Jetsons — and would even borrow money to buy a robot that could complete domestic chores.
A survey from the marketing analytics firm Persuadable Research shows that 68% of people surveyed would like to use a robot for domestic purposes such as cleaning windows, washing dishes and doing laundry. “Moving things” topped the list of desired robot tasks, with 55% of respondents saying they would like a ‘bot to help with this chore.
Others said they would like a robot to act as personal assistant, reminding them of appointments and errands to run. Also, babysitting children or the elderly was a task many people would like to designate to a robot.
The majority of survey respondents said they’d want a robot that looked human-like, with a voice that was neither masculine nor feminine, and with customizable features.
Thirteen percent of people who said they would pay for such a robot said they would fork over more than $15,000. But the majority said that they’d pay a maximum of $999.
The fantasy of a robot to take your place at work or complete difficult tasks is an idea that people began tinkering with decades ago.
Scientists and researchers are already creating and perfecting robots to do dangerous work, for example enter war zones or demolished buildings. Some robots can already be used for environmental monitoring.
Robot owners can already activate their machines from remote computers with MyRobots, a self-described “Facebook for robots.” Which is kind of like messaging your very own Rosie the Robot and asking her what she’s doing at that moment. Some robots can even mimic your emotions.
But there’s yet to be an all-in-one, chore-completing, personal assistant robot. For now, though, the Roomba can let you check “clean floors” off your to-do list.
Would you like a robot to help you with tasks? What would you have it do and how much would you be willing to pay for it? Tell us in the comments.
Read the original post on Mashable!
Barnes & Noble faces setback in Microsoft antitrust complaint
Posted on January 31st, 2012 • Filed under Learn • No Comments
Microsoft may have scored an early victory in its legal tussle with Barnes & Noble. The two companies are engaged in parallel battles, one via the Department of Justice, another via United States International Trade Commission. In March 2011, Microsoft accused Barnes & Noble of patent infringement with its NOOK and NOOK Color products; in retaliation, Barnes & Noble made a broad complaint claiming that Microsoft is being an abusive monopoly and that the patents are in any case irrelevant. That antitrust complaint looks likely to be rejected by the ITC, a decision that favors Microsoft.
The document dismissing the antitrust complaint is under seal; however, its title, “Initial Determination Granting Microsoft’s Motion for Summary Determination of Respondents’ First Affirmative Defense of Patent Misuse,” is public, with intellectual property analyst Florian Mueller certain that this means rejection of the claim. Mueller has been commissioned by Microsoft to conduct a study on the worldwide use of FRAND patents.
Microsoft has welcomed the ITC’s decision. “Today’s action by the ITC makes clear that Barnes & Noble’s patent misuse defense was meritless,” said deputy general counsel David Howard. Redmond remains open to offering licenses to the bookseller, adding it to the growing list of Android-using companies that pay a fee to Microsoft, with Howard adding, “We remain as open as ever to extending a license to Barnes & Noble, and invite them to join the many other major device makers in paying for the Microsoft-developed intellectual property they use in their devices.”
Barnes & Noble’s antitrust complaint was made as an affirmative defense against Microsoft’s action. Dismissal of this defense has looked likely since June, when ITC staff pointed out that patent law in general creates no obligation to offer licenses or make those licenses freely available. The Department of Justice may arrive at a different conclusion to the ITC.
The ITC action is still on-going, and with the antitrust defense dismissed will focus on the validity and applicability of the patents in question. Earlier this month, Microsoft removed one patent from the suit entirely, and also dropped several of the claims relating to the four remaining patents. In dropping the claims, Microsoft stipulated that the action was “not an admission as to the merits of any claim,” but rather was meant to “simplify the Investigation, streamline the hearing, and converse the Parties’ and Commission’s resources in consideration of the amount of time allotted for the hearing.”
The ITC trial will start on Monday, February 6th.
Read the comments on this post
Read the original post on Ars Technica
Video: My Drunk Kitchen Makes Pizza
Posted on January 29th, 2012 • Filed under Taste • No Comments
“Pizza, unlike old coca-cola, is best served flat.”
Hannah Hart of the always entertaining My Drunk Kitchen tackles pizza and proves once again that it’s really really hard to mess up a pizza. Or as she says, “even when it’s all f&*ked up, you still love it.”
How many of you use pizza as your go-to drunk food?
About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Managing Editor of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.
Read the original post on Serious Eats
Philippe Verheyen Dissecting His Amputated Limb, ca. 1715
Posted on January 29th, 2012 • Filed under Learn • No Comments
Philippe Verheyen (1648-1711) Dissecting His Amputated LimbBy an anonymous artist, ca. 1715. Postmortem painting in honor of a famous Dutch anatomist and surgeon.
Medium: Oil on Panel. Size: 16.3”X16.5”
From the collection of Pieter Deheijde.
Image and text via 100% Spleen.
Read the original post on Morbid Anatomy