Micro: Bit Device to Help Children Learn Computer Programming

One million English schoolchildren will be able to learn computer programming due to a new portable device.

According to Techcrunch.com writer Matt Burns, “this web-based tool allows users to program and simulate tasks before transferring the data to the device. And since it runs in the browser, users can program the Micro:Bit on nearly any device.”

The device has red LED lights, a motion sensor, two buttons that allow users to simulate computer programming. The students will be able to make letters and numbers with the 25 LED lights. The device can also connect to other computing kits for more advanced tasks.

Tony Hall, BBC’s director general, believes that the device could help tackle the fact children were leaving school knowing how to use computers but not how to program them.

“We all know there’s a critical and growing digital skills gap in this country and that’s why it’s so important that we come together and do something about it,” Hall said at a launch event in London July 7.

This new tech initiative is slated to be released in October. To see how it all works, watch the demonstration below.

Source: YouTube

 

DC’s Cyborg Gets His Own Solo Title

Cyborg has had a long history in the DC Comics universe. He first served as a key member of the Teen Titans in the 1980s, and in the New 52 he became a founding member of the Justice League. But Cyborg became extremely popular after the early 2000s animated Teen Titans series.

While all of his fellow JL founding members had a solo title, Cyborg was left without, even though he had fans. However, all of that changes this week when Cyborg #1 is released.

The title is written by David Walker with art done by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado and Adriano Lucas. Cyborg aka Vic Stone will be on his own trying to balance being half-man and half-machine.

CYBORG01_600_553850febdf1e9.89050505

In an interview with comicbook.com, Walker talks about the theme of the new title.

“I’m surrounding him with a cast of characters that some pull him in one direction and others pull him in another direction, in that sort of man-versus-machine,” he said. “Who are the supporting characters who make him feel more like a machine, and who are those that make him feel more like a man?”

screen-shot-2015-05-27-at-85238-am-137432

There will be new villains called the Tekbreakers and the Technosapiens who are original creations by Walker.

This title is part of DC Comics post New 52 lineup that has shaken up the entire universe for the better. Titles like Midnighter, Black Canary, Dr. Fate and others are energizing the DC brand. Hopefully, the book will introduce an exciting rogues’ gallery for Cyborg and a new host of fans.

5 Major Problems That the Marvel Cinematic Universe Needs to Address

The Marvel cinematic universe has become a gold standard in cinematic world building. However, it isn’t perfect. For fans who waited years to see their favorite super heroes on the big screen, the MCU is perfect and can do no wrong, but for others, it is a pool of mediocrity. With all of the good there is also bad. Here are some problems that need to be addressed.

HeimdallPeople of Color 

Watching Marvel movies can be a painful experience for people of color. Actors like Idris Elba, who is a Golden Globe winner, has been relegated to a divine doorman. He may get five minutes of screen time per Thor film, even though he is a dynamic actor who starred in his own TV show.

Oscar winner Don Cheadle plays the sidekick to Robert Downey, Jr., a man who was nominated for an Oscar portraying a Black man in Black face. There has to be a reason Terence Howard jumped ship. These talented Black actors have climbed the mountain top of their craft and they get no real respect or significance in these films.

Honestly, Anthony Mackie has a decent role and some actual importance in the Captain America films. Also, Nick Fury is vital to the universe but what will happen after Infinity War? People are banking for Black Panther, but will he be relegated to a bit player in the team up films? It is possible. Marvel has a lot of diverse characters. It would be nice to see more Hispanic and Asian heroes as well.

Ava DuVernay Explains Why She Passed on Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ Flick

During the 2015 Blogher Conference held in New York from July 16-18, filmmaker Ava DuVernay talked the ins and outs of the film industry. The director also dished on why she passed up Black Panther.  

“For me, it was a process of trying to figure out, are these people I want to go to bed with? Because it’s really a marriage. It’d be three years of not doing other things that are important to me,” she explained. “So it was a question of, is this important enough for me to do?”

In Blerds continuing coverage of DuVernay’s journey into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there had been news about the director possibly directing the Black Panther film since the last week of June. The blogosphere went bonkers with anticipation and some websites were reporting that she took the job.

However, in the first week of July it was revealed in an interview with the Huffington Post that DuVernay turned down the job over creative differences.

“This is my art,” DuVernay told the crowd of bloggers. “This is what will live on after I’m gone. So it’s important to me [to] be true to who I was in this moment. And if there’s too much compromise, it really wasn’t going to be an Ava DuVernay film.”

 

‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Comes to Life in Set Photos

Many fans have worried about how X-Men: Apocalypse will look after seeing a leaked and blurry trailer of the film from San Diego Comic Con.

On July 16, Entertainment Weekly released high-resolution, behind-the-scenes images of the cast in full costume.

The film will take place in the ’80s where the ancient Egyptian mutant Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) returns to gather his four horsemen. So far, he will gather Pyslocke (Olivia Munn), Storm  (Alexandra Shipp), Angel (Ben Foster) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender). This gathering of powerful mutants will put Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) on high alert to defend humanity.

In addition to the regulars, there will be new mutants premiering in the franchise and younger versions of mutants who were prominent in the earlier films.

The film is set to be in theaters May 27, 2016.

Apocalypse3

 

Sophie Turner as Jean Grey
Sophie Turner as Jean Grey

 

Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler
Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler

,

Tye Sheridan as Cyclops
Tye Sheridan as Cyclops

,

Lana Condor as Jubilee
Lana Condor as Jubilee

New Horizons Spacecraft Reveals New Details About Pluto

This week has been a remarkable time for astronomy after NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft reached Pluto.

The spacecraft traveled 3 billion miles in order to capture high-definition photos of the former last planet in our solar system and its moons. These photos provided new insights into the mysterious Pluto that NASA scientists have long wondered about.

Possible water mountains on the dwarf planet's surface.
Possible water mountains on the dwarf planet’s surface.

According to Alan Stern, principal investigator for NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, “the steep topography means that the bedrock that makes those mountains must be made of H2O — of water ice,” said Stern. “We can be very sure that the water is there in great abundance.”

150714084003-01-pluto-horizon-0714-exlarge-169
Where are the craters?

The photos also revealed that the dwarf planet did not have any craters even though it is in close proximity to the Kuiper Belt. This belt has many icy bodies that could have crashed into Pluto at some time or another.

“That lack of craters means the surface of Pluto is young, less than 100 million years old, the researchers said. That’s a small fraction of the age of the solar system — 4.5 billion years, ” reports Amanda Barnett for CNN.

As New Horizons flew by Pluto, it also captured images of Charon (Pluto’s largest moon) and four other smaller ones. The spacecraft is estimated to have about 20 years of power left, so there is more information to come.

Amazingly, the information gathered from the Pluto flyby will take 16 months to download by NASA.