Geeking Out

DeviceGuru writes "Researchers at the Biorob lab at Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), have announced a cat-like robot that is claimed to be the fastest quadruped robot under 30 kilograms. The Cheetah-cub Robot, which runs real-time Xenomai Linux on an x86-based RoBoard robot control board, mimics the biomechanics of a cat to increase the speed and stability of it quadroped legs, helping it achieve speeds of 1.42m/s. The goal of the still-early-stage project is to encourage research in biomechanics, with an aim toward building faster robots for search and rescue, or ground exploration. More info is available on EPFL's Cheetah page." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader writes "A German computer scientist is taking a fresh look at the 46-year old Amdahl's law, which took a first look at limitations in parallel computing with respect to serial computing. The fresh look considers software development models as a way to overcome parallel computing limitations. 'DEEP keeps the code parts of a simulation that can only be parallelized up to a concurrency of p = L on a Cluster Computer equipped with fast general purpose processors. The highly parallelizable parts of the simulation are run on a massively parallel Booster-system with a concurrency of p = H, H >> L. The booster is equipped with many-core Xeon Phi processors and connected by a 3D-torus network of sub-microsecond latency based on EXTOLL technology. The DEEP system software allows to dynamically distribute the tasks to the most appropriate parts of the hardware in order to achieve highest computational efficiency.' Amdahl's law has been revisited many times, most notably by John Gustafson." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

wwphx writes "According to Wired, 'German researchers have created a new DRM feature that changes the text and punctuation of an e-book ever so slightly. Called SiDiM, which Google translates to 'secure documents by individual marking,' the changes are unique to each e-book sold. These alterations serve as a digital watermark that can be used to track books that have had any other DRM layers stripped out of them before being shared online. The researchers are hoping the new DRM feature will curb digital piracy by simply making consumers paranoid that they'll be caught if they share an e-book illicitly.' I seem to recall reading about this in Tom Clancy's Patriot Games, when Jack Ryan used this technique to identify someone who was leaking secret documents. It would be so very difficult for someone to write a little program that, when stripping the DRM, randomized a couple of pieces of punctuation to break the hash that the vendor is storing along with the sales record of the individual book." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

From the twisted minds of producers Peter Farrelly (Hall Pass, Shallow Hal) and Charles Wessler (There's Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber), comes Movie 43 -- the outrageous new ensemble comedy starring some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Movie 43 is not for the easily-offended and contains jaw-dropping, sometimes shockingly disturbing, but always entertaining intertwined storylines you'll have to see to believe. The all-star cast includes Emma Stone, Kate Winslet, Justin Long, Jason Sudeikis, Kristin Bell, Gerard Butler, and Halle Berry. Special Features: BD & DVD Theatrical Trailer BD Exclusive Features Find Our Daughter And we're giving away two copies! Read more »

An anonymous reader writes "Today in a blog post, NVIDIA's General Counsel, David Shannon, announced that the company will begin licensing its GPU cores and patent portfolio to device makers. '[I]t's not practical to build silicon or systems to address every part of the expanding market. Adopting a new business approach will allow us to address the universe of devices.' He cites the 'explosion of Android devices' as one of the prime reasons for this decision. 'This opportunity simply didn't exist several years ago because there was really just one computing device – the PC. But the swirling universe of new computing devices provides new opportunities to license our GPU core or visual computing portfolio.' Shannon points out that NVIDIA did something similar with the CPU core used in the PlayStation 3, which was licensed to Sony. But mobile seems to be the big opportunity now: 'We'll start by licensing the GPU core based on the NVIDIA Kepler architecture, the world's most advanced, most efficient GPU. Its DX11, OpenGL 4.3, and GPGPU capabilities, along with vastly superior performance and efficiency, create a new class of licensable GPU cores. Through our efforts designing Tegra into mobile devices, we've gained valuable experience designing for the smallest power envelopes. As a result, Kepler can operate in a half-watt power envelope, making it scalable from smartphones to supercomputers.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Big week this week with several sleeper films including Jack the Giant Slayer, Stoker, and Quartet.  Plus Friend of FOG! Richard Griffin's latest, Exhumed.  Plus the latest seasons of Wilfred and Workaholics as well as the premiere season of Rectify. Plus, Movie 43, which might be one of the worst studio films ever released. As always, fire up that queue and prep that shopping cart and check out this weeks' latest releases!    Jack the Giant Slayer Warner • Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital Download 6/18 Jack the Giant Slayer tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack, into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend—and gets the chance to become a legend himself.  Cast includes Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy and John Kassir.  Extras include featurettes, deleted scenes, and gag reel. Last Word: Bryan Singer's refreshingly amusing family film reimagines the classic fairy tale with rousing success.  Mismarketed to an older audience, Jack the Giant Slayer is actually one of the few non-animated films that easily appeals to younger viewers and holds the attention of the adult crowd.  The acting is pretty terrific with standout performances by Hoult, and the especially rollicking McGregor who's energy is infectious.  Effects are solid and while the film certainly breaks no new ground, it's a fun diversion and well worth your time.  Recommended. Quartet  Starz / Anchor Bay • Released 6/18/13 The home for retired musicians will soon host a new resident. Word is, it's a star. But Reginald Paget (Tom Courtenay), Wilfred Bond (Billy Connolly) and Cecily Robson (Pauline Collins) are in for a shock when this former "star" turns out to be none other than their former singing partner - and Reggie's former wife - Jean Horton (Maggie Smith). Will the famous quartet let old wounds keep them from making music together again, or will they be able to patch up their differences in time for Beecham House's gala concert? Dustin Hoffman directs this moving, funny film about music, love, and second chances.  Extras include commentary and featurette. Last Word: Dustin Hoffman makes his directorial debut look effortless, with a warm, charming film featuring a spectacular ensemble of talented actors.  Like an elderly The Breakfast Club, Quartet takes a variety of personalities and sticks them in a location where, for better or worse, they're stuck.  Sentimental and comfortable, with outstanding performances and subtle direction, Quartet should be embraced and celebrated.  Highly recommended. Workaholics: Season Three  Comedy Central • Released 6/18/13 Slackers Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine and Anders Holm are living and working together as telemarketers at TelAmeriCorp. Dress codes, deadlines, and waking up before noon aren't things they're used to, though, so the crew spends their days scheming to avoid doing any real work and their nights looking for good times. In Season Three, the boys get a surprise visit from home, help a coworker spy on a cheating spouse, and welcome their newest roommates, and Jesus, into their bachelor pad. Extras include commentaries, bloopers, alternate takes, music videos and more.   Last Word:  Extremely entertaining, Workaholics is a lowbrow but very funny.  Strong chemistry, high rewatchability and overall ridiculous.  Recommended. Stoker Fox Searchlight • Released 6/18/13 Academy Award Winner Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode star i

In what I assume is a licensing loophole of some sort, NECA will be doing a line of Simpsons toys, but rather than giving us another set of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, we're getting Hef, Tom Hanks, James Brown, Yao Ming and Kid Rock. From the press release: Available to consumers in early 2014, the limited-edition boutique collection will feature diverse product roll-outs, highlighting the guest stars' animated likeness as depicted on The Simpsons. Additional celebrities showcased for the program will include other iconic music sensations, award-winning actors, actresses, sports heroes and more. New products will be introduced every two to three months, containing different groupings of guest stars, with limited quantities available at select pop-up shops and retailers worldwide. Twenty-five figures will be released in total. If I had to guess, I'd say that, like Minimates, this might be a partial end-run around likeness rights. In which case, the figure I most want from the deal is Clint Eastwood. Who do you hope to see in the 25? In semi-related content, here's a supercut of every Troy McClure movie title...

After the jump check out a list of which which comics, graphic novels, toys and other pop-culture merchandise will arrive at your local comic shop via Diamond Comics Distributors.   Please check with your retailer for availability. Read more »

The latest “Die Hard” movie goes under the sin-counter’s microscope. Take a look back at one of the year’s first action films, and remember why almost no one liked it. [Cinema Sins]

Lego movies get made every day by fans. But this one is actually coming to theaters, and you might say it's the Avengers of Lego Movies. I'm guessing that with this being a WB movie, we'll only be seeing DC superhero minifigs and not Marvel, but who knows? If this truly does play like a Roger Rabbit of construction bricks, I think it'll prove that Lego can do anything. Watch after the jump. Continue reading "Batman, Ninja Turtles, the L.A. Lakers, Michelangelo, Morgan Freeman Team up in First Trailer for The Lego Movie" >