Video: President Obama Meets the Robots of Japan

Along with meeting heads of state and talking free trade, President Obama made some new friends at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit last week. Before entering a meeting in Japan, he met a Geminoid F robot and a group of yowling robotic seals.

In the video below, Obama bemusedly listens to a speech by a Geminoid, as robotic seals are heard mewling in the background. He talks to Takanori Shibata, the creator of Paro, and acknowledges the seal 'bots could be helpful in hospitals or other places in need of a pick-me-up. Is the commander-in-chief stressed out? He seems particularly taken with the seals.
Finally, Obama takes a spin in Toyota's i-REAL personal mobility vehicle. He drives about an inch forward and almost leaps out when the machine suddenly tilts back.
We don't care how much the trip cost — video of Obama caressing plush robotic seals is priceless.
[NECN via IEEE]

Taiwan To Build Tree-Like Skyscraper With Moving Exterior Observation Pods

This translucent tree of a building seems like something that might grace the cover of an old Popular Science as a concept for the very distant future. In fact, construction is set to begin in 2012. The design was selected out of 237 entries in the contest to design the Taiwan Tower, which, at 984 feet, will be the tallest structure in Taichung, Taiwan’s third-largest city.

Its pod-like leaves are mobile observation decks that glide up and down the trunk of the tower. The tree theme stems from the fact that Taiwan is shaped like a leaf, according to Romanian architect Stefan Dorin. He says the observation pods were also influenced by “sci-fi computer gaming culture,” and are made of lightweight materials “borrowed from the spacecraft industry.”

Dorin, of DSBA, in collaboration with upgrade.studio, received four million Taiwan dollars (approximately $130,000) in addition to the right to design the new landmark, financed by the Taichung government.

Not unlike a tree, the Taiwan Tower was designed to be eco-friendly. It has a small footprint at land-level, collects rainwater and purifies it for use as well as generating power from turbines and photovoltaic panels. It also uses a chimney-like system for natural ventilation, and has a geothermal power station in the basement for heating.

Upon completion, the tower will be the focal point for the Taichung Gateway Park, an area being developed after the relocation of the former Taichung Airport.

[PlusMood, EarthTimes]

Popular Science

Password Memory Keeper – Because some things are too easy to forget

How many passwords do you have. Do you remember all of them or do you use same password for all? The disadvantage of having one password for all is if someone hacks one password they have access to all your logins. Thats why it is always recommended and safe to have different passwords. If you are like me who can never remember more then i password then you need to get this Password memory device. It is secure and you can safely save and encrypt all your passwords. Its small and easy to carry around in your pocket.

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve sat in front of my computer trying to pay my electric bill and a few credit cards and realize with horror that it’s due by midnight, it’s 11:59 and I can’t remember the password. Some sites require a capital letter and at least one number and others do not, so my brilliant, albeit, not very secure idea of just using the same darn password for everything has come back to haunt me more than it has helped.
Available on November 19th is the Password Memory Keeper, a little handheld device that easily fits in your pocket or purse that lets you store your usernames, PIN numbers and passwords for up to 50 accounts. I like it better than the numerous downloads available to keep track of passwords, because I never know what computer I’ll be using in order to take care of business. With the Password Memory Keeper on hand, I can take care of my bills anytime, anywhere.
All I am required to remember is one password and I have access to everything I will ever need. Battery operated and secure I can get rid of the 40 post-its I have all over my desk with passwords scribbled on them. For only $29.50 from Frontgate. Excellent!


Taken from: Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Password Memory Keeper – Because some things are too easy to forget copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Facebook Vs Google....The War Of The Web Lords...

Everyone loves to read about the war between the Internet Giants "Google Vs Facebook". It is one of the most entertaining news in the internet. The fight to win has been escalating with continuous slaps as replies to each other which reminds us of the aggressive competitions between Virgin Media and Sky in the UK openly lashing each other. The heat between the web giants has been quite high in last few weeks.
It all started when google tweaked their Terms Of Service about importing Gmail contacts by Social Networking Sites. Google turned off the feature to import gmail contacts. Google thinks facebook is not being fair about sharing its users with other networks, whereas they freely import all google contacts during the time of registration. Without any doubt the fingers are directly pointing Facebook rather than any other Social Networking site.
In few hours Facebook responded back with a new method to get Gmail contacts of a user (the download contacts option). 

Google then expressed its "disappointment," as if Facebook were an old friend who had made poor choices in life. Then a facebook engineer slammed back Google in a heated TechCrunch post. The story doesnt end there..Yesterday Google added the digital equivalent of a cigarette-pack warning to the Gmail export contacts page which directly ask users to raise a complaint about their data loss and privacy. Check the hysterical message:

This was done yesterday and we are still expecting a better a reply from Facebook. 

The battle is not just limited to contacts and privacy, its also continued in acquiring talents and retaining employees. It is also believed that 25% of Facebook employees are former Googlers. The most recent attrition for google is the creator of Google Wave Lars Rasmussen who quit Google and Joined Facebook. Rasmussen was also one of the cretors of google Maps. 

Facing tough competition Google internally announced plans to boost salaries by 10 percent next year in a move widely viewed as an effort to stanch a stream of engineers and managers leaving the search giant for fast-growing rivals like Facebook...

Another field that is threatening Google is their Advertising market. Facebook's chase in advertisement world has been increasing tremendously with just few steps behind google. Facebook's recent contracts with Yahoo and Microsoft also ignited tension for Google who would definitely not like any competition in the world of Search Engines...