Drive Thru Nanotech

Last of the McDonald's NanoBlock series. A little delayed but here you go:

Tips and Tricks for People with Glasses

Very useful tips from Mashable for people with spectacles, especially this one:

Cyborg Plants

If you think the Terminator days are still far away or even just pure fiction, think again. It's all happening, just that not the way depicted in the movies...

first, the the researchers introduce a synthetic polymer called PEDOT-S into the rose through its stem. The plant sucks up the polymer using the same vascular system (xylem) that transports water. Once inside xylem channels, the polymer self-assembles into an “wire” that conducts electrical signals, while still allowing water and nutrients to move around. By connecting these wires with naturally-occurring electrolytes in the plant’s tissue, the researchers are able to create an electrochemical transistor, as well as a digital logic gate, a basic component of computer systems.

Every story has a beginning...

via Gizmodo.

Sausages on Paper

I was wondering if FiftyThree will ever add 3D Touch sensitivity to Paper's drawing tools and was I glad that they did! The pen, marker and water colour produce wider strokes on a deeper touch. A neat trick for the pencil - light touch gives light strokes while deeper touches produce darker ones. I did the sausages above with the marker: Thinner lines with a typical touch while the sausages were created with a deeper touch - all done without lifting my finger.

I was also glad that they did away with the restrictive two step zoom and replaced it with a continuous mechanism (this feature along with the next one was introduced prior to the recent 3D Touch update).

Paper's "Undo" had gone through a few iterations - from spinning two fingers anti-clockwise to just tapping the undo button to the current (which I think is its best yet!) tapping with two fingers. Continuous tapping will further undo more steps.

Paper is still by far my favourite sketching app (despite my poor skills). However, one big complain from me would be the sync capability between devices. At this current advanced stage of cloud storage I don't see why the Paper in my iPhone can't sync with the Paper in my iPad.

On my wish list would be giving non-Pencil (FiftyThree's own stylus is called Pencil - not to be confused with Apple's version) users blending capability and the ability to zoom in further won't hurt at all. Besides that how about the capability to choose canvas size?

My 5 Seconds with the iPad Pro

My moment with the iPad Pro was really brief but it left quite an impression. It was huge but it was light, almost like a toy. The screen was like anything Apple - great. Unfortunately, the price also had Apple's DNA built-in: Premium.

A Glimpse of the Future

From awesome free and unlimited cloud storage to the presence of the internet of things in everything, to printing everything with 3D printers and the imminent rise of blockchain tech, to the return of the shrinking mobile phone as implants and more that I couldn't begin to comprehend, the future can be exciting... and scary.

Based on what I've seen on CSI: Cyber, it will also be easier for dark forces to rule the future.

via The Business Insider.

Travel Photography and the Reality We Don't Quite See

All those lovely photos of tourist locations we browse through everyday online (in the case of this article it's Instagram) have a not so pleasant side to them. Those with billions of views have something real cropped out or intentionally framed out. What we don't see are the long queues, the overcrowded landscapes, etc. A disappointing reality indeed.

via The Telegraph.

The Two Towers

Last week's McDonald's nanoblocks featured McCafe and Cold Cup, both of which reminded me of ancient defense towers.

Another Day, Another 4" iOS 9 Device Rumour

View image | gettyimages.com

We've heard it before - a 4" version of the latest iPhone way back when the iPhone 6 was THE phone. Now, we're hearing it again - a 4" version of the 6s (without 3D Touch) and it will come as an upgraded iPhone 5s. Maybe this time it WILL happen because the prediction is coming from Ming-Chi Kuo, analyst with a high success rate of Apple predictions. Or maybe because of the appreciating US dollar which is turning even contracted iPhones in Malaysia to cost more than a Dell laptop.

I wonder if the smaller phone will go the way of the 5c because people are already used to the larger 4.7" but it's hard to say, especially when it comes in a cheaper package during these difficult economic times.

While we're at it, why not rumour about the 7, too? A10 processor with a bigger differentiating factor between the 7 and 7 Plus by RAM - 2GB and 3GB, respectively.

via MacRumors.

The Case of the Chromed Android

View image | gettyimages.com

The talk of the Android world recently was all about Google working towards a unified OS by combining Chrome OS and Android. Sounds really like a good thing. And then, Google mentioned they will still be developing Chrome OS for awhile more. Confusing.

But what really made me cringe was all these reminded me of the fate of Google's many apps, particularly Google Reader. Nothing is permanent, that I know but will certainly leave a bad taste. I hope the integration will be done well, especially for the sake of Chrome OS users.

James Bond Snubs "Smartphones"

The James Bond gang had turned down smartphone product placement offers in the tens of millions because those phones were just not good enough for his latest outing. Pity, I'd love to see Bond use a lovely rose gold fruit branded phone but there was no mention that the fruit company approached him. :(

via Cult of Android.