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Having the right programs and hardware to keep the information on your display safe from prying eyes is never a bad idea, and new software from Oculis Labs offers a very interesting take on how to do just that. It’s called PrivateEye, and it utilizes facial recognition to automatically pixelate the contents of your display when you look away.

If you step away from your system and someone else decides to sit down and poke around, PrivateEye will present a confusing jumble of garbled text. It’ll even notify you if someone tries to peek over your shoulder — and display a picture of your peeping Tom, throw up an alert, or sound an alarm.

Check out the video embed after the break, and share your thoughts in the comments!

Continue reading New software uses facial recognition to defend against prying eyes

New software uses facial recognition to defend against prying eyes originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/new-software-uses-facial-recognition-to-defend-against-prying-ey/

Bar Refaeli Barack Obama Barbara Walters Barbra Streisand

Say you’re a misanthrope and you’re afraid of humans. What to do? Well, you could cower in the dark when people ring your doorbell or you could laugh derisively at their smug faces in the screen of your iPhone. I’m going for the derisive laughter. This DIY Arduino project involves a simple circuit, a webcam, and a few API calls to PushingBox to enable a truly enjoyable derisive experience. The system works by pushing images grabbed by the webcam through PushingBox to an app like Prowl or Pushme.to. When the doorbell is pressed, it sends a serial signal to the Arduino board which in turn notifies the various services. The webcam picture then gets sent over to you so you can decide whether to let whoever is outside in. It’s probably a little more complex than it needs to be, but if you’re totally into watching the world pass you by it’s a great solution and a fun weekend project. Project Page

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/cCkVTFHAb5Y/

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 A kitchen cabinet is just a kitchen cabinet, right? Well, not exactly. Next to buying a house or sending your kids to college, designing and installing a new kitchen will be one of the most expensive endeavors a homeowner will ever undertake.

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Source: http://www.bobyapp.com/blog/2010/03/kitchen-cabinet-quality

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As far as Tetris goes, most variations look quite similar. You’re usually looking at a “wall” of bricks directly from the front. Torus takes that notion and throws it away; as you might have guessed from the name (or screenshot), this Tetris clone is played on a ring-like 3D surface.

You rotate the ring itself with the arrow keys, while a Tetris-like piece slowly (excruciatingly slowly, in fact) descends from the top. As soon as you make a solid line, it disappears.

Not all pieces are Tetris-like; some of them wouldn’t really work with a regular Tetris game but are a good fit for Torus’ 3D format.

Torus is ideal for playing at the office, because it has absolutely no soundtrack. The game is dead-quiet. It’s also very very slow (slow enough for me to mention it twice in one post) so you can safely look away for a moment and then keep playing. Also, as soon as the game loses focus, it automatically pauses.

Bottom line: It’s an impressive demo of the power of HTML5; if it were a bit faster, it would have some serious addictive potential.

Torus is an impressive 3D Tetris game powered by HTML5 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/17/torus-is-an-impressive-3d-tetris-game-powered-by-html5/

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We've seen some pretty interesting Android promotions in our time, but Chili's latest takes the cake for sure. They have a new app out and they really want you to try it out. In fact, they want you to try it out so bad that they'll give you a free Android smartphone to do so.

The process is fairly simple of course, visit the Chili's website and order up $25 worth of food and you'll get be able to collect a free Android device and then download their app onto it. The fine print is where you may get caught up though, it shows it's with a new 2-year contract and subject to terms but that's just how it has to be. Interested? Check out the link below for the full details.

Source: Chili's; Thanks, Cory!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/u3hEpALF2zE/story01.htm

Amber Brkich Amber Heard Amber Riley Amber Tamblyn

Until just a few years ago, manned spaceflight was the exclusive sandbox of not just nations, but of the world’s select superpowers—the countries with enough disposable income to say, “F-ck it. Let’s go to the Moon.” Those days are over, sadly, slowly smothered by shrinking budgets and realigning priorities. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/nUyWwPGVCNU/spacex-falcon-9-the-future-of-commercial-space-flight-blasts-off-tomorrow

Barack Obama Barbara Walters Barbra Streisand Bee Schaeffer

While not a game per se, I found Mitoza intriguing enough to spend quite some time with it. You start off with a seed, and are then presented with two choices: you can either click a flower pot, or click a cute little birdie.

If you click the flower pot, a flower pot appears and the seed is planted inside. You’re then presented with two further choices — a water can or a bottle of fertilizer. Each choice you make causes your creation to morph, and presents you with two other choices.

There’s no winning or losing, really. Each “game” usually lasts around four or five choices, at which point the plant/animal dies in some creative (but not too gruesome) way. At this point you instantly start over with a new seed.

The graphics are captivating; the whole thing has a cinematic feel to it, with a bit of artificial camera shake added for style.

All in all, it’s a fun, peaceful way to spend a few minutes, and it might even make you think a little bit while you’re at it.

Mitoza is a fun, freaky Web toy with an artistic look originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/28/mitoza-is-a-fun-freaky-web-toy-with-an-artistic-look/

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Intel had already promised that it would avoid using conflict minerals, and now it’s giving itself a more concrete timetable for that to happen. It wants to have at least one processor that’s proven completely conflict-free across four key minerals — gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten — by the end of 2013. Lest you think Intel’s not taking swift enough action, it wants to reach the tantalum goal by the end of this year. The effort’s part of a wider array of goals that should cut back on the energy use, power and water use by 2020. Sooner rather than later, though, you’ll be buying a late-generation Haswell- or Broadwell-based PC knowing that the chip inside was made under nobler conditions.

Continue reading Intel wants to have conflict-free processors by the end of 2013

Intel wants to have conflict-free processors by the end of 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 19:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/17/intel-wants-to-have-conflict-free-processors-by-the-end-of-2013/

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Sticks is another one of those rare games where the intro is actually worth watching. It introduces you to office worker Bob, who is basically a wage slave fantasizing about a better existence.

Then, on his way back home from another grueling day at the office, he passes a huge sign which says “Sticks.” This is where the game starts.

Each level has a number of coins hovering in mid-air, and your goal is to place sticks that lead those coins to Bob — but you only have a limited amount of wood to play with. As soon as you’re done placing your sticks strategically, hit the big Play button and let nature, or rather gravity, run its course. The coins will drop down, and if you place your sticks correctly, they will roll all the way to Bob.

The soundtrack is soothing and playful, and didn’t get on my nerves even after playing for quite a while. All in all, a very cute game, especially for a day at the office.

Help Bob make money in Sticks, a fun physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/18/help-bob-make-money-in-sticks-a-fun-physics-game/

Bonnie Jill Laflin Bonnie Wright French Bono (Bono Bono) BooBoo Stewart

My wife Pat and I were recently at the 1866 Italianate brick home of some new friends. Their home is in good shape but has three interior, exposed brick walls in the kitchen. They showed me where all the mortar is crumbling, which in turn leaves this nasty grit all over their counter tops. “We would like to keep this old look. What should we do?” they asked.

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Source: http://www.bobyapp.com/blog/2009/09/bricks-re-pointing-french-bread

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