Meet WildCat – Robot on Four Legs Gallops Like a Gazelle (Video)

Applications could include military battle, but while the common person feels slightly frightened just looking at this incredible creature running in an empty parking lot with no murderous motives, the sight of this smoking steel robot bounding toward a target with the intent to kill would be absolutely horrifying.

via Robot on Four Legs Gallops Like a Gazelle (Video).

Star Wars anyone?  You have to watch this video.

When the scientists figure out how make this thing underwrite, we’re all toast.

Mind the Gap – Dangerous Weight Loss Goal

Studies suggest that peer pressure from social media plays a significant role in eating disorders. A 2011 study at the University of Haifa found that adolescent girls who spent the most time using Facebook had a greater chance of developing a negative body image and an eating disorder.

via Social media fuel dangerous weight-loss goal » The Commercial Appeal.

How Coursera, A Free Online Education Service, Will School Us All | Fast Company | Business + Innovation

Coursera courses are 6 to 10 weeks long, with an hour or two of videos per week. In addition to the snap quizzes, they feature weekly exercises, ranging from problem sets to spreadsheets to design projects or essays, and sometimes a final project or exam. For all quantitative courses, the platform uses artificial intelligence to evaluate each longer exercise, with instant results. Students can keep trying until they get the right answer. For humanities courses, Coursera is testing a form of peer grading.

via How Coursera, A Free Online Education Service, Will School Us All | Fast Company | Business + Innovation.

Great article about a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course).  HT – Mish.

TaskRabbit Confirms Layoffs – TechCrunch

The company started as a purely consumer-focused product to let regular people outsource their odd jobs and tasks to others, but it has indeed been increasing its focus on the enterprise space in recent months.

via TaskRabbit Confirms Layoffs As It Realigns To Focus On Mobile And Enterprise | TechCrunch.

https://www.taskrabbit.com/

Regular people don’t outsource errands and odd jobs.

Expense reduction will only postpone the inevitable.

E-books Now Make Up 1/5 of U.S. Book Sales

E-books Now Make Up 1/5 of U.S. Book Sales.

A reader questioned why I did not read E-books several years ago.  I grew up in a dead tree book world and preferred paper books.  This despite a growing dependence upon computers and the internet for work where most of my reading was done.

I am now equipped with a smart phone and an E-book reader.  When reading a book I now have my choice of four different devices.  I like this a lot.  So while I continue my love for paper books, E-books have found a place on my digital shelf.

 

Medical Apps – Tipping Point?

There are cheap dongles that can do sonograms good enough for office use, sensors and apps that can do blood tests, sweat tests and other chemical diagnostics. One type of pill has been developed that reports when the patient has swallowed it. When the pill encounters stomach acids, it sends out a tiny electronic pulse. The pulse is picked up by a small adhesive patch the patient wears on his or her abdomen. The patch, in turn, detects when the patient’s smart phone is on and close by, and sends out a Bluetooth signal. An app on the phone picks up the Bluetooth signal and sends an instant message to the clinician who is tracking the use of the drug.

via Medical apps: We are approaching the tipping point.

Interesting article.