Andrew Bird: Pulaski at Night

Casimir Pulaski is a big deal in the Midwest. In Chicago, the Polish-nobleman-turned-Revolutionary-War-hero's birthday is still widely celebrated; he has parks, streets, and schools named after him, and Obama made him an honorary citizen in 2009. His name has also been commemorated in song on more than one occasion—most recently by the Chicago-born Andrew Bird.

Bird's 2013 EP, I Want to See Pulaski at Night, isn't actually about the Polish hero. It's about a street in Chicago named for him which, as Bird explains in this live performance on YouTube, Pulaski Road is "not a pretty sight." But crooned in Bird's warm voice, it sounds like somewhere wonderful to which we're being invited. Bird isn't the first songwriter to mention Pulaski, though—Sufjan Stevens' 2005 album Illinois includes a track named Casimir Pulaski Day.

Who was Pulaski? He started off life as Polish royalty—but through a succession of events including exile from Poland and a meeting with Benjamin Franklin, he ended up in Philadelphia in 1777, recruited to help America in its battle for independence. After helping Washington develop a functional cavalry, he died from wounds sustained at the siege of Savannah, years before the war would end.

But most of us, more than 200 years later, know Pulaski not as a war hero but as a place name—or, in this case, a song title. [Spotify]

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from Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com/andrew-bird-pulaski-at-night-1653678550

Five Things You Didn't Know About Eclipse Infocenter

Holger Voormann has an interesting series on his blog, Eclipse Howl, about some nifty info regarding the Eclipse Infocenter. Here's a quick review.



from dzone.com: latest front page http://www.dzone.com/links/r/five_things_you_didnt_know_about_eclipse_infocent.html

Google Ingin Memudahkan Perkongsian Fail Antara Android Dan iOS Melalui “Copresence”

Perkongsian fail antara peranti seperti Android dan iOS boleh dikatakan agak sukar, dan pihak Google dilihat ingin memudahkan perkara tersebut melalui sebuah fungsi baru yang dikenali sebagai "Copresence" buat masa ini.



from Amanz http://amanz.my/2014/11/google-ingin-memudahkan-perkongsian-fail-antara-android-dan-ios-melalui-copresence/

Watch Apple's Old Newton PDA Try To Keep Up With an iPhone

It's been almost two decades since Apple shuttered its Newton platform, which included handwriting recognition support for personal digital assistants. But it's surprising to see how well the long-forgotten product line has stood the test of time, if not the test of consumer demand.

In this fun little video, we see a contemporary iPhone type the same sentence as a Newton-era MessagePad 2000, with which users could jot down notes using a stylus. The Newton isn't so far behind the iPhone, which is a tribute to its 28-year-old software. Of course, while Newton was cool, it had its downsides. In the original product announcement, Apple proudly proclaimed that "this small wonder weighs under a pound and a half!" And you had to hook it up to your computer manually to transfer information between it and your computer.

Still, it's cool to see how even as far back as the mid-1990s, the groundwork for the iPhone was already being laid. [r/Gadgets]

from Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com/watch-apples-old-newton-pda-try-to-keep-up-with-an-ipho-1653606765

U.S. government: Ebola is safer than the flu; high-risk carriers free to mingle with the public

(NaturalNews) When it comes to infectious disease, the medical contradictions practiced by the U.S. government are nothing short of staggering. Consider the striking contradiction between the government's policy on unvaccinated schoolchildren vs. its policy on allowing possible Ebola...

from NaturalNews.com http://www.naturalnews.com/047478_Ebola_carriers_medical_contradictions_bad_science.html

Explore the Deck of the Largest Floating Object Ever Created

No one knows quite what to call the Prelude, the floating behemoth that Shell engineered to extract natural gas from below the ocean floor and liquify it for use. It's hard to describe Prelude because it's so much bigger than any other floating structure humans have ever built—which is also what makes it difficult to photograph.

In an amazing story in The New York Times Magazine yesterday, photographer Stephen Mallon managed to capture the entirety of Prelude thanks to a crane he used to shoot (and combine) more than 1,000 separate photos of the vessel, which is still under construction. Lucky for us, Mallon has uploaded his enormous composite photo to Photosynth—check it out:

the prelude by jonhuang on photosynth

If Prelude seems like a class of vessel unto itself, never to be replicated, you'd be wrong. As we reported earlier this year, at least 30 other city-sized ships just like it are currently being planned by other companies. [The New York Times Magazine]

Lead image: AP Photo/Shell International.

from Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com/explore-the-deck-of-the-largest-floating-facility-ever-1653657309

What's Your Dream Smartwatch App?

Today we learned that Sonos is beta testing integration with Android Wear, good news for anyone who ever dreamt of switching the song via wrist. But for many of us, the lure of the smartwatch doesn't end with being able to control a playlist from your watch.

So tell us: What's your dream app? If you're already deeply committed to Team Smartwatch, you probably already have something awesome in your mind's eye (see: These Android Wear apps). If you're a skeptic, tell us what kind of app would convince you to strap a chunk of metal to your person. We'll republish the best comments next week.

from Gizmodo http://gizmodo.com/whats-your-dream-smartwatch-app-1653642059