| TED launches 'TED-Ed', hopes to make lessons worth sharing Mar 13th 2012, 14:12 Who doesn't love filling an idle hour with a good ol' bit of TED? Now, the people behind those share-worthy ideas are bringing us TED-Ed: a new lesson-based YouTube channel. Aimed primarily at high-schoolers, the initiative invites teachers to submit their "best lesson" in a youthful mind-friendly ten minutes or less. If chosen, TED will ship out a "portable recording booth" -- which look suspiciously like an iPad in a sound-absorbing flightcase. Once the knowledge has been preserved, it's sent over to a team of animators to bring it to life. If you know a great teacher, or animator, you can also nominate them to the TED-Ed team if they're too humble to put themselves forward. The TEDEducation YouTube channel is up and running right now, but the new original content won't land until a dedicated site is launched next month. There's a typically heartwarming and informative video about the project after the break. Continue reading TED launches 'TED-Ed', hopes to make lessons worth sharing TED launches 'TED-Ed', hopes to make lessons worth sharing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Fastcompany |  TED | Email this | Comments | | Pain Gun vs. Reporter round two, reporter left feelin' hot, hot, hot (video) Mar 13th 2012, 13:41 You may not recall when 60 Minutes' David Martin took a shot at the Pain Gun, but it didn't end well for the fleshy anchorman. Now Wired's Spencer Ackerman's having a go, with similarly one-sided results. The Pentagon's sanguinely-named Active Denial System turns electricity into millimeter-wave radio frequency, silently pumping out 95GHz of searing hot agony from distances of 2,500 feet. The project's still got a few issues, namely that it takes 16 hours to boot up, uses a heck of a lot of energy and stops working if it's raining, snowing or dusty. But, you know, it'll be back when the air clears up, and you probably don't want to be around when it arrives. If you'd like to see the score go 2-0 to the weaponized microwave, head on past the break. Continue reading Pain Gun vs. Reporter round two, reporter left feelin' hot, hot, hot (video) Pain Gun vs. Reporter round two, reporter left feelin' hot, hot, hot (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Wired | Email this | Comments | | Samsung Galaxy Player 70 Dual Core hands-on (video) Mar 13th 2012, 13:02 Everything Samsung seems to be just a touch better in Seoul, and the South Korean giant's Galaxy Player 70 is no exception. For starters, it ships with a dual-core 1GHz processor -- a first for the WiFi-only Galaxy Player series. The 5-inch capacitive-touch LCD offers 800 x 480-pixel resolution, and can display whatever the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS throws its way, but it also packs a unique Korea-only punch: a DMB TV tuner, for pulling in terrestrial programming only available in Samsung's home country. There's also a requisite 8-inch retractable antenna, in addition to the standard micro-USB port, microSD card slot, headphone jack, built-in mic and stereo speakers around back. Like most Samsung portables, it's also photo friendly, with a 5-megapixel camera with flash on the rear and a VGA cam up front. The 2500mAh battery isn't easily swappable, unfortunately, since the PMP's backplate is screwed to the housing. Considering that the Player is only going to be available for purchase in Korea, the only opportunity to go hands-on at this point is at Samsung HQ, which we just happen to be visiting this week. We spent some time with the device today, and while there's no chance of this iteration ever making an appearance on U.S. shores, we certainly wouldn't mind if it did. The plastic housing has the same look and feel as most other Galaxy devices, so there were no surprises there. It does bear a striking resemblance to the Galaxy S II, though the LCD here doesn't offer contrast or color reproduction that's anywhere close to the Super AMOLED Plus display on that record-breaking smartphone. Navigating the TouchWiz interface felt snappy, as it should given the processing duo on board, and the DMB television viewer worked flawlessly -- at least once we had a chance to take it away from the rumored-frequency-jamming R&D facility. Join us past the break for a closer look at the Galaxy Player 70 -- for those of you living outside of Korea, this may very well be your only chance. Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Player 70 Dual Core hands-on (video) Samsung Galaxy Player 70 Dual Core hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
