Featured Archives - Page 12 of 29

January 29, 2015January 29, 2015

Apple Watch Scheduled to Hit Shelves This April, According to Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook finally released information that many people have been waiting for — when can consumers get their hands on an Apple Watch?

Cook recently announced during a quarterly earnings call with investors that the watch will be released this April, marking the first major new product release by Apple since it debuted the iPad back in 2010.

Apple teased tech lovers with their first look at the watch in September and promised it would be the company’s “most personal device ever.”

With buzz around the watch already stirring, Apple certainly has to deliver on its promises, but that’s something Cook isn’t worried about.

Cook is confident about the smartwatch’s development as well as the value app makers are already adding to the device.

“We’re making great progress in the development of it,” Cook said, according to The Verge.

He then added that the response from developers and app makers has been quite impressive.

“We’re seeing some incredible innovation,” he said.

Cook also had to defend the company against some anxious consumers who felt like April wasn’t quite early enough.

Some people claimed that the CEO’s decision to refer to April as an “early” part of 2015 was misleading.

According to the tech mogul’s calendar, however, “early” is exactly where April would fall.

He explained that Apple separates the year into three, fourth-month periods. The first period would be considered early, the next represents the middle and the last would be described as late.

Based on those terms, April would indeed be considered early 2015.

While some users wish the watches were coming out earlier, other consumers are still saving up for the device. The smartwatch will come with a pretty hefty price tag, starting at $349.

Three versions of the smartwatch will be available, with the most expensive option being the “ultra-premium Apple Watch Edition.”

This version of the watch has the potential to reach up to $1,000, with some people estimating a price even higher than that.

Of course, these are just speculations as Apple has not officially released any new pricing information or other news about what consumers should expect from the new product.

January 28, 2015January 28, 2015

Watch How Microsoft’s New HoloLens Will Change the Way We Use Computers Forever

Microsoft’s new holographic headset can be used to play Minecraft, make video calls, do your work, and more.

Source: IGN

January 26, 2015January 26, 2015

For The Dark-Skinned Girls Who Were Never Casted For The Role Of X-Men’s Storm

The Nerd community is a really tough bastard to please. The Black Nerd community, maybe even more so. Still, because we rarely get what we want, throwing us a really big bone is often a good way to buy yourself some goodwill and keep our adamantium claws firmly in our hands a bit longer. Storm is probably the biggest get out of jail free card that may never get played. This week, Bryan Singer announced that they had found their next Cyclops, Jean Grey and Storm for the X-Men: Apocalypse film.

Now, you’ll probably notice…they are young. Like, could be Famke Janssen’s kids young. But that was to be expected, considering that the Apocalypse Film was essentially going to be set in the “First Class” timeline with no wonky time travel going on this time (new powered up Kitty Pryde not included). So, we weren’t going to get the old Scott, Jean and Ororo in their Hollywood Geriatric state and that’s fine cuz bruh, that’s actually a good thing. So, we can talk Sansa Stark playing Jean Grey (I’m going to need more convincing) or Tye “You might remember me from Mud, actually naw, you probably don’t” Sheridan playing Cyclops, but come on, fam. You’re on Black Nerd Problems right now…you know we’re gonna talk about Ororo Da Literal Gawd.

I do not come to bury Alexandra Shipp. I don’t know Alexandra Shipp. I like her politics though. I like that she likes President Obama as more of my Black friends complain about him (*cough*Omar Holmon*cough*).

I like that she is willing to take on big iconic roles that resonate specifically with the Black community. But I also know that the Aaliyah biopic was a derailed train into a forest fire. And when movies are that bad, but the lead actress or actor is amazing, that becomes the narrative. Like, Chadwick Boseman in Get On Up. Or most small films that Tom Hardy stars in. Or Viola Davis starring in this planet Earth. None such came out of that Lifetime Feature except it might take a Lifetime to erase that from Aaliyah’s legacy. None of this is really about Alexandra Shipp though. Which really sucks for her. But it isn’t.

What this is about is the way that Hollywood continues to pretend that no impact or history lies in the darkness of someone’s skin. Well, when I say Hollywood, in this case I mean Bryan Singer. And when I say “someone’s skin,” I really mean Black Women. “What’s the real issue, it’s not like they cast a white woman as Storm, does it really need to be this complicated?” Yeah, it kind of does. Even as a fictional character, Storm is a feminist symbol for Black Women the way that most assume Wonder Woman has been for women all these years. Storm has always been powerful, goddess-like and African. And no, not Charlize Theron, South African. Her dark complexion has always been part of her appearance and it’s not by accident. The same way it isn’t an accident that Storm has become a beacon and symbol for women with darker skin for decades now. The unwillingness to recognize that is just another thunderbolt in the side of a demographic of women who frankly, are plenty used to it by now. Still not understanding the public contempt for this casting choice? Ok…

(Actress Alexandra Shipp)

Read More from William Evans at Black Nerd Problems

January 23, 2015January 23, 2015

The Technology Behind This Gadget That Can Actually Make You Invisible Is Amazing

Researchers at the University of Rochester create a 3-D, transmitting, continuously multidirectional cloaking device.

Source: CNN

January 22, 2015January 22, 2015

Microsoft’s HoloLens to Make It Possible for Scientists to Walk Around on Mars From the Comfort of Their Offices

Microsoft’s latest collaboration with NASA will give scientists the ability to explore Mars without actually stepping foot on the Red Planet.

While many people assumed the future of space exploration involved getting more astronauts to land on other planets, Microsoft’s HoloLens has opened the door for virtual space exploration.

The HoloLens headset makes the most out of 3-D simulations and virtual environment projections to create a detailed holographic image of Mars.

NASA’s Pasadena, California-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing the new platform called OnSight, and the developers are hopeful that the new device could significantly accelerate space exploration.

“OnSight gives our rover scientists the ability to walk around and explore Mars right from their offices,” Dave Lavery, program executive of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory, explained in a press release.

With NASA’s help, the HoloLens will go beyond creating your average Mars look-a-like.

Instead, the device will use actual images and data from NASA’s Curiosity rover.

This means the researchers will also be able to see live readings and data come in over the headset as well as getting a live, virtual look at the planet.

As they explore the planet, the scientists will also be able to assign activities for the rover to complete and see simulations of what the results will likely be.

The project is truly extending the possibilities of the HoloLens, which many tech-lovers anxiously awaited for gaming purposes or for better ways to interact with loved ones from miles away.

If OnSight proves to be successful, the headset will be much more than a breakthrough in communication and entertainment; it would pioneer the future of remote space exploration.

“Previously, our Mars explorers have been stuck on one side of a computer screen,” said Jeff Norris, the OnSight project manager. “This tool gives them the ability to explore the rover’s surroundings much as an Earth geologist would do field work here on our planet.”

Later this year, NASA plans to use the OnSight technology for multiple rover operations and embark on a remote Curiosity mission.

January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

DIY Musician Gathers Sounds From the Past to Create Soundscapes for the Future

Kanye West; Jay Electronica; David Banner; A$AP Mob; Tyler, the Creator and OFWGKTA; and Jay Z have experimented with and manipulated the concept of God and other unknowns in their lyrics, all to the backdrop of beats and melodies that are often considered dark and heavy, with an undercurrent that may very well be AfroFuturist at heart. Although this may not be the first time this theme has appeared in hip-hop, it seems to be gaining resonance with this generation.

Zoom and focus in on Camae Defstar, also known as Moor Mother Goddess (#MMGZ for short), a multidimensional musician based in Philly. DefStar sings, spits, writes and creates “dark ish… low fi, chill step, Black girl blues, witch rap, whatever you want to call it.” Having “emotionally sensitive receptors,” DefStar connects with energies, leans toward the unseen and pays homage to those who remain nameless. She shares the collective songs of women, children and elders.

Although DefStar isn’t into labels, she can see how she fits under the AfroFuturist umbrella. She figures that the baseline of AfroFuturism is “gathering the past and assembling a future. It should be D-I-Y [Do It Yourself], where the focus is not on having, but creating.” This is why DefStar’s production for Moor Mother Goddess is unplanned, sometimes spontaneous, and all done by (her) hand. She believes that she is able to tap into energies, and draw from the wisdom of Black elders as Moor Mother Goddess, allowing her to acknowledge and remember those of the past in order to imagine a future, all by way of melody. She believes elders are essential in defining Blackness, which is why ageism doesn’t sit well with her. It is no secret that emcees tend to age-out of mainstream hip-hop, usually seen as irrelevant to younger generations.

“Preta Velha,” one of Moor Mother Goddess’ 12 EPs, calls on these elders, and the names of other mystical people. Tracks spanning over a minute or so, DefStar relays experimental soundscapes, layered with freestyles. A few of these tracks, as well as over 100 others produced by her, can be heard on the #MMGZ Soundcloud and BandCamp. Her latest mixtape release, “Asunra Sunya Sifr,” offers another example of a signature sound that steadfastly fuses past and future to a present experience. Through metaphysics channels and travels, Moor Mother Goddess created a soundtrack where every note originates from Sun Ra and his Arkestra, with no added instruments. She uses different pieces from different Sun Ra albums, creating new equations from his work that can be executed again and again, timelessly.

Add to Moor Mother Goddess’ portfolio an avant-garde music video, featuring apocalyptic scenery on an abandoned, dilapidated space, where DefStar deftly engages with taboo imagery. Filmed and directed by D1L0 DeMiLLe and The L. Park Project, scenes include Moor Mother Goddess smearing blood along walls, physically rising from floorboards, and being suffocated by plastic bags. The narrative is a visual monologue, a stream of consciousness. Much of this imagery may make folks uncomfortable, and that’s kind of the point. “Blood represents womanhood, sacrifice. Blood is taboo,” says DefStar. The intention of the music video was to experiment with the aforementioned ideas, as well as suffering and death. However, throughout the narrative, Moor Mother Goddess willfully navigates this dangerous space, and she rises through it. These sentiments often silenced in larger society and culture, are relevant to the past, definitely the present, and possible the future. The video asks us to face these fears, and to think long and hard about what makes us uncomfortable.

When DefStar isn’t channeling sounds through Moor Mother Goddess, she is an educator, event curator, and poet. She also organizes Rockers!, an event that has been running in Philadelphia for nine years, showcasing POC and lgbtq artists from across the country and providing a home to her political punk rock band, The Mighty Paradocs. Her creative work also includes writing poetry about life in Philadelphia, and she has self-released several poetry zines, and two collaborative zines dealing with domestic violence and quantum metaphysics. She has created workshops for children and adults about creative writing as a way to learn about one’s community, history and future.

The bottom line is that Moor Mother Goddess is Pro-Black, Pro-Woman, and Pro-Man. In that, DefStar believes that there is a mythical past that must be conjured. And as it concerns a people, Black people, the mythical energies that all genders bring are important the evolution of culture and the human race. Black people, who she refers to as Moors, are “the mothers and fathers of mankind and we are an essential part of restoring the balance of energies on Earth.”

Photography by Nema Etebar.

Rasheedah Phillips is a Philadelphia public interest attorney, speculative fiction writer, the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair, and a founding member of Metropolarity.net. She recently independently published her first speculative fiction collection, “Recurrence Plot (and Other Time Travel Tales).”

January 20, 2015January 20, 2015

Elon Musk Hopes to Revolutionize Public Transportation With Hyperloop Transit System

Elon Musk made a commitment that could move the country one step closer to futuristic transportation after he pledged to build a test track for his Hyperloop high-speed transportation system.

From self-driving cars to handy jetpacks, tech-loving consumers have finally been seeing futuristic modes of transportation come to life.

While these futuristic devices are still being tested and aren’t available for the public to openly purchase as they wish just yet, they are still serving as glimmers of hope that soon we will be traveling in futuristic ways that we once only dreamed about.

The latest major step toward this goal is Musk’s announcement that a Hyperloop test track is on the way.

The tech-savvy serial entrepreneur took to Twitter to announce that he “will be building a Hyperloop test track for companies and student teams to test out their pods. Most likely in Texas.”

He also announced that he has hopes of launching an “annual student Hyperloop pod race competition, like Formula SAE.”

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO described the Hyperloop system as a “cross between a Concord, a rail gun and an air hockey table” back in 2013 and explained that it could revolutionize the way we travel.

If successfully built, the Hyperloop system could allow people to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in only 30 minutes, traveling at speeds close to 800 mph.

That same journey currently takes about five hours for commuters.

The design plans for the Hyperloop are complex and took up more than 50 pages when Musk shared the design online.

In short, however, the Hyperloop will be a long elevated tube with a near vacuum.

This would significantly cut down on all friction and allow pods to travel through the system at incredible speeds.

Musk’s plans also reveal that he will try to mount a large fan on the front of the pod in order to re-direct high pressure to the back of the traveling capsules.

If it sounds like an expensive project to you, that’s because it absolutely is.

The project has an estimated price tag of at least $6 billion with many estimating that it will likely land around the $7.5 billion mark.

It’s also important to note that this is for the test track alone.

Musk said he doesn’t plan on taking on the responsibility of building a complete Hyperloop system.

Instead, he hopes that a third-party will step in if he is able to prove that building the track is indeed feasible and safe.

While Musk is clearly a man who loves his technology, he also is known for recognizing the dangers of quickly advancing devices.

Many science, engineering and tech experts warn that advancements with things like artificial intelligence can come with a large variety of downfalls.

The most severe of those possible downfalls is the idea of a hostile invasion.

It may sound crazy to some, but Musk has already donated $10 million to the Future of Life Institute so it could further its research on how to keep artificial intelligence safe.

January 19, 2015January 19, 2015

6 Ways Technology Can Help Improve Autistic Children’s Development

Video Taping/YouTube

Videos may help children with autism by holding their attention. YouTube has a variety of videos suitable for all age groups, and it is free to access. Video recording is a step further. Parents can record themselves and create engagement, enhance social skills and develop language skills when the child sees the video. These videos can help especially when the parent is at work or away.

Touch Devices

For children with autism, iPads can help increase their patience, focus and attention. There are so many different apps out there. Games and puzzles are some of the best tools to help your child.

Pages: 1 2 3

January 16, 2015January 16, 2015

Blerds’ Big Holiday Weekend: Black Comic Book Festivals – on Both Coasts – to Bring Creators and Fans Together

Comic book festivals and conventions are where faithful fans, creators, artists and writers meet. They are also a place where people can discover something new. Black comic book festivals carry an additional purpose — to focus on an underserved market. This Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, Blerds on both coasts will have an opportunity to geek out over the latest in offerings from creators, artists and writers of color.

In Harlem on Saturday, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture hosts the third annual Black Comic Book Festival from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. In San Francisco, the historic NorCal Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation Celebration added the Black Comix Arts Festival [BCAF] to its list of activities, with events kicking off Sunday and continuing through Monday. Both festivals are free to the public.

John Jennings, co-founder of both events, will spend much of his weekend in an airplane — a sacrifice he’s happy to make to support Black comics creators and fans.

“Images are extremely important and so are the lack of them,” Jennings said. “It is very empowering to see ourselves reflected in the culture and society in which we participate. On the other hand, it is just as debilitating to not see ourselves. Our invisibility is sometimes deafening. It is vital for Black creators to have a voice and a space or resistance to this erasure. There’s a small contingent of Black creators in
the mainstream, but never as many as there should be. However, there’s an alternative, and now
with the access to various modes of publishing, there’s a movement happening.”

Jennings, an associate professor of art and visual studies at the University at Buffalo, has made comics his lifelong study, both as an academic and as a creator and artist and is quick to point out that the involvement of creators of color in comics is nothing new.

“For the last 20 years or so, there has been an independent Black comics culture brewing just beneath the surface. There’s now a loosely connected network of Afrocentric, alternative, diverse cons that are mostly situated on the East Coast, the Midwest and Southeast.” The network includes Yumy Odom (ECBACC), Joseph Wheeler III (OnyxCon), Alexander Simmons (Kids ComicCon), Andre Batts (Black Age Motor City), Maia Crown Williams (MECCA), and Preach Jacobs (ColaCon).

Jennings and colleagues Dr. Jonathan Gayles, Jerry Craft and Deirdre Hollman of the Schomburg Center pooled their resources together and created the Black Comic Book Festival at the Schomburg Center in Harlem. The festival has been very successful in bringing thousands of people from around the city to Harlem to see the work of a variety of comics creators and illustrators of color, including Mshindo Kuumba, Jennifer Crute’, Chuck Collins, N Steven Harris, Tim Fielder, Micheline Hess, Nigel Carrington, Shawn Alleyne, Stacey Robinson and Alitha Martinez.

“It’s a joyous event, however, there’s a lack of true connection with Black creators on the West Coast,” Jennings said. “That’s why we wanted to make a ‘sister’ event. We wanted to make MLK weekend a Black Comix weekend and have a bicoastal connection centered around comics and Black subjectivity. What better time to celebrate the power of dreams?”

Jennings cited San Francisco’s long history with comics, especially underground and independent comics and its longtime commitment to celebrating the legacy of King through the MLK NorCal Foundation, as important reasons why the city was perfect for the inaugural event.

“[San Francisco is] home to one of the best comics stores in the country — Isotope: The Comics Lounge, and Aaron Grizzell, director of the MLK NorCal, puts on one of the largest MLK Day celebrations in the country and brings in around 30,000 people a year to celebrate the legacy of King and the Civil Rights Movement. [The event] has a bevy of inspiring and entertaining festivals that all happen after a large commemorative march during the day.”

Jennings, Grizzell and additional co-founders Colette Rodgers, Ayize Jama-Everett, David Walker and Shawn Taylor put their heads together and came up with BCAF. Even though this is the festival’s first year, the stars and the comic book industry have already taken notice.

“I am so excited to see the creators of “Concrete Park” — Tony Puryear and Erika Alexander,” Jennings said. “They are just marvelous and generous artists. The amazing Kevin Grevioux, writer, producer and actor. He is the co-creator of the “Underworld” franchise and also the creator of “The Blue Marvel.” I am super excited to meet Eric Dean Seaton, the writer/creator of the high-flying adventure book “Legend of Mantamaji.” In addition to that I am stoked to meet the publisher and writer, Sebastian Jones, who is doing a new book with Amandla Stenberg, the young actor best-known as the character Rue from the Hunger Games film. I’ve never met Fred Noland. He’s a Bay Area indie artist and he’s on my panel! So, I am looking very forward to getting to know about him and his work. Nancy Cato. I’ve never met Nancy face-to-face and I can’t wait to do so. Also, the Love Brothers, Jeremy and Robert from Gettosake Entertainment. It’s always a pleasure to hang with them. Honestly, I am super excited to see everyone!”

Eric Dean Seaton, longtime television director, chose the BCAF to launch the 2015 leg of his book tour for his new graphic novel series, “Legend of the Mantamaji,” with an author conversation and book signing event at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Creativity Theater.

“The addition of the Black Comix Arts Festival to the selection of NorCal MLK events is an important one,” Seaton said. “Comics and graphic novels are touching every corner of pop culture, and while African-Americans are large consumers of the media, too often they are marginalized or left out of the story altogether. This event highlights the significant contributions creators, artists and writers are making, bringing true diversity in the medium. I’m very excited and proud to be a part of the inaugural event.”

Jennings sees the events as simply evidence of longstanding Black tradition.

“Alternative Black Speculative spaces like Afrofuturism, AfroSurrealism, EthnoSurrealism and others have been on the rise worldwide. We don’t have to beg the mainstream to represent us. We can do it ourselves and put it out there. We exist and we dream. The Black imagination is what helped our ancestors survive. What was Dr. King if not a Black Speculative creator? That mountaintop he spoke of wasn’t in this dimension, or time, or space. It was somewhere else waiting for us to find it.”

Source: Terreece M. Clarke at LifeSlice Media