NYS 5:07 NYT 3:23 LAT tba CS tba Still another crossword debut in the New York Times, it looks like—the byline reads Rob Cook. The theme entries are five words that start with RE, broken into two words that are pronounced differently: The noun [Talk in one’s sleep?] is a REST ORATION. [Building the Berlin Wall?] was a RED ACTION. An [Equestrian addiction?] is a REIN HABIT. (”Whoa, I can quit any time I want.”) The [Back burner?] is a REAR RANGE. And a [Literacy campaign?] is a READ MISSION. Th
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VLC has long had the oddest choice of icon. It’s a traffic cone, something that I suppose references to the fact that originally VLC was used to stream video around a network. The fact that it has usurped Quicktime as the most versatile media playing app has not been reflected in its icon choice. So, the task falls on the many talented icon designers out there to take this little traffic cone and make it into something a bit more interesting. Sunday saw the release of two very different appr
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As usual, I went to bed last night around 1 a.m. And, as usual, Max tried to get me out of bed for the first 20 minutes of every hour or so after 5. At 9, he finally succeeded. I wandered down and played with his train set for a while, at his insistence. Then I had to fix the Scooba so it could do some floor-cleaning. I needed to meet someone at the shop at 10:15, but every time I moved toward the bathroom, another problem came up. I finally got a shower about 10:15, and then ran around lookin
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Military robot controlled via iPhone By Jeff Smykil | Published: June 24, 2008 - 12:30PM CT iRobot may be best known among the general public as the company that makes robotic vacuum cleaners, but the company does have a military contract to create several different models for military use. While the robots aren’t quite up to John Connor’s nightmare standards as of yet, who knows when your vacuum cleaner might become sentient and terrorize your cat on its own whim. Until that day comes, we
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State police investigate burglaries Utica Observer Dispatch, NY - 19 hours ago A Tempo Aquabot pool cleaner was stolen from a shed between October 2007 and June at 9973 Johnnie Cake Road in Camden. • A Zoom MRS 802CD Multi Trak …

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The “Readybot Challenge” team have released footage of their domestic robot, intended to demonstrate the feasibility of a home-help robot capable of performing up to 80-percent of routine chores.  This current Readybot prototype - which resembles a dishwasher with a bin-lid dome and outstretched “hug me!” arms - can tidy up mess left on the floor, empty trash and, thanks to a flip-down garage at the back, release a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner. Check out the video of Readybot in action, aft
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It’s hard not to watch this video of DIY robot Readybot and think “sweet… what’s the next version like?” Looking like everyone’s favorite trashcan-shaped sci-fi droid has collided with a dishwasher, Readybot’s intended to be a home-assistant ‘bot doing a maid’s job, cleaning your house. It may be slow and primitive now, but it looks pretty adept at grabbing stuff from the floor. And deploying a Roomba to do the vacuuming is genius. Actually an on-going development by makers The Readybot Robot
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Readybot is a Robot Maid for Cleaning Your Stuff, Version 0.1 It’s hard not to watch this video of DIY robot Readybot and think “sweet… what’s the next version like?” Looking like everyone’s favorite trashcan-shaped sci-fi droid has collided with a dishwasher, Readybot’s intended to be a home-assistant ‘bot doing a maid’s job, cleaning your house. It may be slow and primitive now, but it looks pretty adept at grabbing stuff from the floor. And deploying a Roomba to do the vacuuming is genius.
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