cubes

Apple's NYC 'cube' store remodel goes seamless

Apple is promising a prettier version of its Fifth Avenue retail store in Manhattan following the unwrapping of its well-hidden construction project.

In a sign posted outside the store this week, picked up by MacRumors, the company notes that it's "simplifying" the design of its iconic glass cube "by using larger, seamless pieces of glass." All told, the renovation--which Apple retail tracking blog ifoAppleStore estimated to cost some $6.6 million dollars--will bring the outside design down to 15 panels from the 90 it was using before.

New York-focused blog Gothamist, which reported on the … Read more

Rice Cube: Aussie gadget works like sushi Tetris

I have attempted to make sushi at home using a bamboo mat, seaweed, vegetables, sushi rice, and fumbling fingers. The resulting rolls bore a vague resemblance to the real thing, but they would have gotten me laughed off the set of any respectable cooking show.

The Rice Cube sushi maker promises relief for enthusiastic, but ultimately incompetent, home sushi chefs. This kitchen gadget looks like it was pulled from a game of Tetris and given 3D life in bright red plastic.

The small device squishes rice, fish, and other ingredients into perfect little squares that will make your potluck buddies envious. It works through a series of pushing and sliding motions. Check out the video below if you're having trouble visualizing that.

There's no reason to stop at sushi, though. Adventurous chefs can come up with all sorts of things to press into cubes. It's only a matter of time before someone slips some bacon in there.… Read more

Apple begins $6.6M overhaul on NYC 'cube' store

Apple has begun work on an overhaul to the facade of its iconic New York City store on Fifth Avenue that will involve taking apart and putting back together the glass cube to make renovations.

Work began on the store last night, the details of which were pulled up by Apple retail tracking blog ifoAppleStore. According to permits acquired by the site (PDF), the cost of the project tops $6.6 million, and is slated to be completed by November.

Before getting too excited, you should know the work being done is mostly behind the scenes as opposed to making … Read more

Robot does Rubik's Cube in 10 secs, claims crown

Robots are quickly catching up to humans in rapidly solving Rubik's Cubes, with an Australian machine now completing the puzzle in just over 10 seconds.

Ruby, developed by students at Swinburne University of Technology, can solve a scrambled cube in 10.18 seconds including scan time, which the university says is the fastest speed in the world for a robot.

The students want to apply for a Guinness World Record, but other machines may challenge the claim. CubeStormer, a Lego-built speed solver, appears to solve a cube in 9.2 seconds in this video.

Another machine developed at UC Berkeley appears to solve the cube in 6 seconds in this video, but it's unclear if that includes the time needed to analyze the puzzle before solving it. … Read more

SRI shows the benefits of shrinking tech

MENLO PARK, Calif.--If you've seen the Oscar-winning film "The Hurt Locker," you know how dangerous bomb dismantling can be. But researchers have developed a system that they say can allow military and police to disarm explosives without risking anyone's life.

The system, developed by scientists at SRI International, is known as Taurus, and it is a miniature robot that can allow a trained dismantler to remotely do the work that used to require getting up close and personal, often too close for comfort, to a bomb.

According to Tom Low, SRI's director of medical systems and telerobotics, Taurus will be in field trials this summer and is expected to be commercially available by early 2012. While he would not say specifically what the 14-inch wide robot would cost, SRI's goal is to sell it for "less than the price of a squad car," meaning that many police departments, as well as military agencies, could conceivably buy it.

I got a presentation on Taurus from Low yesterday during a visit to SRI as part of my Road Trip at Home series. I've been to SRI before and seen things like wall-climbing robots, but seeing the way that Taurus could potentially help save lives was a much starker reminder of the ways that robots can make a real difference.

Taurus is a cousin of some of SRI's previous efforts into remote-controlled telemanipulation robotics. For years, the institution has worked on systems designed to allow remote surgical procedures, such as a military doctor being able to operate from afar on a wounded soldier. Low explained that this work began in the mid-to-late 1980s, and was intended to allow highly-trained surgeons to work on such soldiers within minutes of them sustaining injuries.

Over the years, this technology led to the creation of more general-purpose robots, such as the M7 system, which could allow security personnel to remotely explore, say, an abandoned bag at an airport. Low explained that it was crucial that the system be easy to use and quick to learn. … Read more

Apple: Only App Store apps eligible for design awards

Mac OS developers who want their application to be in the running for an Apple Design Award now face an extra hurdle in that process: making sure the app is on the Mac App Store.

As part of this morning's dating and detailing of its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple quietly announced that only apps published to one of its two App Stores would be eligible for consideration as part of its annual design awards ceremony.

Developers who don't have their applications in Apple's nearly four-month-old distribution marketplace, either by choice or because their app did … Read more

The 404 786: Where we would really appreciate the tour (podcast)

The 404 Digest for Episode 786

Jeff spent all weekend making socially awkward penguin memes. A picture tour of the CNET office. Everything you need to know about Firefox 4. Setting the record straight costs celebrities $1,000 a year. European Union proposes legislation for "right to be forgotten." New app shields you from annoying celebrity news.

Morgan Freeman gaming box art from Eddy and Jason. The Oatmeal comic submissions by Justin, Attariq, and Cameron (pictured).

Episode 786 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Micron to reveal tech it says increases chip speed 20-fold

Micron Technology tomorrow is set to disclose a hybrid memory technology that it claims will boost performance 20-fold over the memory chips used in PCs today.

Micron, the largest manufacturer of memory chips in the U.S., says the "Hybrid Memory Cube" can tap into the full performance potential of DRAM--or dynamic random access memory--resolving a longstanding problem referred to as the "memory wall."

Targeted initially at networking and high-performance computers, the technology will be rolled out at an investor conference in Phoenix, Ariz.

"Where DRAM is positioned in the system, you really get into … Read more

Verizon iPhone 4 goes on sale, HP's WebOS event

It's iPhone 4 day for Verizon customers, and CNET TV was there to capture the somewhat underwhelming turnout. Apparently there's one thing that will keep die-hard Apple fanboys at bay, and that's subfreezing winter temperatures.

On today's episode of Loaded, we'll also give a rundown on HP's WebOS event from yesterday, which debuted the company's iPad competitor, the HP TouchPad. WebOS will also make its way to two new mobile devices, all of which we'll detail on today's show.