domingo, 16 de junio de 2013

Jacqueline Goehner, Witchblade cosplay

Wichtblade
Jackie Goehner

Last Wondercon 2013 there was a costume that was covered more than any other: it was Jackie Goehner cosplay of Wichtblade. Impressive ^_^
El pasado Wondercon 2014 hubo un cosplay que triunfó más que cualquier otro: Jackie Goehner y su versión de Wicthblade. Impresionante ^_^

La historia del vendedor de cuchillos de Teruel que arrasa en Internet



Fue uno de los protagonistas del Inspiration Day, organizado por la red social Womenalia este jueves en Madrid. Trabajaba en el campo y en una panadería; un día decidió reinventarse. Empezó desde cero, sin saber nada de Internet... y triunfó en el comercio electrónico.

Lo hace desde de Teruel. Hoy tiene 40.000 clientes a través Aceros-de-Hispania.com, una tienda de comercio electrónico de cuchillos, navajas y espadas que da trabajo a 9 personas y vende en más de 100 países.

Se llama Ricardo Lop y es todo un fenómeno del ecommerce español. ¿Su web? "Tu pones 'cuchillos' en Google y la primera que te sale", respondió sin pestañear a la presentadora del Inspiration Day, Maria Escario. Sentido común y humor a partes iguales. Pero lo mejor es verle en acción, cortesía de Agoranews.

sábado, 15 de junio de 2013

The Elder Scrolls Online (preview)

Elder Scrolls Online





...a bit of History

It is a time of strife and unrest. Armies of revenants and dark spirits manifest in every corner of Tamriel. Winters grow colder and crops fail. Mystics are plagued by nightmares and portents of doom.

Four years ago, in 2E 578, an arcane explosion of energy in the Imperial City set off mystical aftershocks that swept across Nirn. Mages died or went mad. Supernatural abominations from the plane of Oblivion, the Daedra, appeared in greater numbers than ever before. The constellation of the Serpent grew so large that it dominated the night sky.



So began the grand scheme of Molag Bal, Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement. His Dark Anchors, vortexes of evil magic, weaken the barrier between worlds, threatening to merge Nirn and Oblivion into a single, nightmarish hellscape.



In the midst of this chaos, three alliances vie for control of the Imperial City and the White-Gold Tower. High Rock, Sentinel, and Orsinium stand as one, united under the rule of the High King in Wayrest. Valenwood and Elsweyr have forged an alliance of their own with Summerset, while Black Marsh, Morrowind, and Skyrim have formed a third, uneasy pact.
The Daggerfall Covenant. The Aldmeri Dominion. The Ebonheart Pact.
Three armies will take up arms against the Empire, and against each other, to wrest control of the Imperial City and White-Gold Tower from the dark forces of Oblivion itself.
Where do your loyalties lie?

The Alliance War

The drums of war have reached a fever pitch, calling the warriors of Tamriel to the field of battle.  The Daggerfall Covenant, the Ebonheart Pact, and the Aldmeri Dominion will take up arms and fight for control of Cyrodiil, the Imperial City, and the throne of Tamriel.Featuring three-sided Player vs. Player (PvP) gameplay, The Elder Scrolls Online supports hundreds of players on screen at once in an open world fight for control of Cyrodiil. Seize, hold, and control the resources of massive strongholds. Utilize massive siege weapons to crumble fortress walls and smash through fortified gates.  Conquer the Imperial City, and your alliance’s top player could even be crowned Emperor!
Get ready for the most intense online PvP experience ever created, with The Elder Scrolls Online.


The System

In The Elder Scrolls Online, players choose to become members of one of three alliances. Each alliance has a unique story and specific goals.
  • The Daggerfall Covenant is comprised of the two Provinces of northwest Tamriel: High Rock and Hammerfell, home to the Bretons and the Redguards. The Covenant has also offered the Orcs the opportunity to return to their ancient homeland of Orsinium in exchange for their support. Working together, the three races have formed a powerful alliance that aims to restore the Second Empire and bring peace and prosperity back to Tamriel.
  • The Ebonheart Pact is the most tenuous of alliances, consisting of former enemies turned allies in northern and eastern Tamriel. The Nords, Dark Elves, and Argonians of Skyrim, Morrowind, and Black Marsh fight to restore stability to the Empire and ensure their own autonomy.
  • The Aldmeri Dominion is composed of the three races of southern Tamriel: the Wood Elves of Valenwood, the Khajiit of Elsweyr and the leaders of the Pact, the High Elves of the Summerset Isles. The Aldmeri Dominion fights to stop the dangerous machinations of humankind, and restore the Elven dominance in Tamriel.

Massive, Epic Battles

The Elder Scrolls Online features the largest PvP battles seen in a major online RPG. The game supports hundreds of onscreen players in epic battles. Swords and axes collide, spells and powers illuminate the ground and sky, and fires rage on embattled stronghold walls. Will you survive these epic battles? Can your overwhelming force take the keep, or will you be forced to retreat?
The Elder Scrolls Online is built to accommodate hundreds of players onscreen at once.

Territory Gains

The three alliances do battle in the region of Cyrodiil, seeking to control the Imperial City and with it, the Ruby Throne of Tamriel. Each alliance must wrest control of strategic territories from the others, including massive fortresses, each with supporting farms, lumber mills, and other valuable resources.
Battles are concentrated around these resources and strongholds. Control of certain resources will extend the alliance’s influence in the region and help them take control of the Imperial City, and ultimately, control of the Ruby Throne itself.
Can you seize enough territory to control the Ruby Throne? 

Control Elder Scrolls

Elder Scrolls are artifacts of immense power that aid an alliance in the ongoing battle to control Tamriel by conferring bonuses to every member of that alliance. Each alliance has a special stronghold in Cyrodiil where their Elder Scrolls are kept and protected – but enemy alliances can break in and take them if they are not guarded properly. Once access is gained and a Scroll taken, it must be taken back across Cyrodiil and placed in the alliance’s stronghold. Only then are the bonuses of the Scroll bestowed upon all the members of that alliance.
Capture an Elder Scroll, protect it, and return it to your alliance’s stronghold to wield its power and gain bonuses.

Siege Weapons

The battles for keeps and resources require more than the clash of steel. Alliances must use massive siege weapons to break down walls, smash open doors, and obliterate the armies of their opponents.
Everything from trebuchets and catapults to ballistae and battering rams are available for players to capture and use, allowing them to demolish the stone walls of keeps and collapse massive gates to gain entrance to heavily defended strongholds. 

Become Emperor

In The Elder Scrolls Online, the highest-ranking player of an alliance is crowned Emperor when their alliance takes control of the Imperial City. You aren’t just fighting for your alliance; you’re fighting for the opportunity to be crowned Emperor, yourself.
Emperors gain special abilities that increase their prowess on the battlefield. They are true leaders of their alliance, and a force to be reckoned with.
An Emperor’s hold on power can be tenuous.  Can your alliance protect all of the strongholds necessary to maintain your dominance? How long will your reign as Emperor last before an ambitious foe cuts you down?

Participation & Scaling

Player vs. Player (PvP) in The Elder Scrolls Online is fun, rewarding, and accessible for PvP veterans or new players with no PvP experience. 
The collapse of the Second Empire has left a vacuum of power in the Imperial City, and three alliances battle for supremacy. Whoever controls the Ruby Throne will crown an Emperor, and their alliance will rule all of Tamriel.
The Elder Scrolls Online features a battle leveling system that temporarily increases a player’s combat effectiveness to compete against higher level players, ensuring that everyone enjoys the experience, from players who have never experienced PvP combat, to seasoned veterans demanding a deep, rewarding PvP experience. Players may join the PvP action as soon as they reach level 10, and jump right into the action without fear.
Whether you’re a veteran or a rookie, you’ll be able to fight as a valuable member of your alliance and perhaps even lay claim to the throne.


Leaderboards and Achievements

The Elder Scrolls Online features leaderboards and achievements. Keep track of your ranking and compare yourself, your alliance, and your guild to that of your friends and enemies.

Points and Gold



While fighting for an alliance in PvP, players earn points that can help them purchase siege weaponry and other bonuses to aid their allies in the heated pitch of battle.
Just jumping in for the first time? Don’t worry – you can still earn siege weapons and bonuses! If you have yet to play PvP and want to join, you can contribute immediately by using gold earned in Player vs. Environment (PvE) in lieu of points.

Our preview.



Elder Scrolls Online is a game created by Bethesda Studios and looks to be next generation´s MMO.
After Oblivion and Skirim experience, this game offer us a new experience in Tamariel´s world, this time by groups. I remenber last Skirim´s tale yet. Really, really it looks great, an impressive work. Keep an eye on it.

Y en resumen, para los que no sabeis ingles: Elder Scrolls Online parece mantener toda la esencia de Skirim y Oblivion en un mundo completamente abierto y diseñado para jugar en grupo. Avisado quedas.

domingo, 9 de junio de 2013

Flying drone controlled with mind power & an RC car and a quadcopter


Flying drone controlled with mind power

  Researchers in China have produced a system to control a quad-rotor drone with the mind

Researchers in China have produced a system to control a quad-rotor drone with the mind
Image Gallery (4 images)

Researchers based at Zhejiang University in China have produced a system for controlling a quad-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle with the mind. Dubbed "Flying Buddy 2", the system uses a standard, commercially-available Electroencephalogram (EEG) headset, a computer and a Parrot AR Drone. The computer processes the data received from the EEG and converts it into control commands which are beamed to the drone via a Wi-Fi connection. Judging by the video, the latency of the setup appears to be relatively low.
Controlling an airborne vehicle with the mind requires that one first learn some commands. For example, in order to make the drone take off or land, the user must think left hard, while rotating can be achieved by thinking left lightly - the drone was also configured to take pictures if the user blinked. This all sounds rather demanding, but like other mind-control systems we've seen such as the EEG-controlled wheelchair-mounted robotic arm, mastering the controls no doubt becomes much easier with practice.
In order to control the drone, one must first learn some commands






Various demonstrations of the Flying Buddy 2 technology were thought up by the scientists, including a "boxing match" which pitted a mind-controlled drone against one piloted with a typical remote setup. Each controller was tasked with pushing the opposing device out of the allotted area.
The mind-controlled drone research is aimed toward enabling the disabled to interact with their environment in new ways, however it does not take too big a stretch to imagine a more mature implementation of the tech being attractive to those in the consumer, transport, industry and defense sectors.
The Zhejiang University video below shows the research in further detail.
Via: New Scientist

A car and a quadcopter

B is a combination RC car and quadcopter, which can be driven or flown
B is a combination RC car and quadcopter, which can be driven or flown
Image Gallery (6 images)

Quadcopters are becoming more and more popular with radio-controlled model enthusiasts, but sometimes ... sometimes you still just want to remotely-control a car. If that’s the case with you, then UK-based product designer Witold Mielniczek has got you covered. His prototype vehicle, known simply as B, functions as both a quadcopter and an off-road racer.
The rear wheel-drive vehicle has a tough polycarbonate body, and four wheels referred to as driving rings. Each ring is driven not by a center-mounted axle, but instead by cog mechanisms at the bottom of the rim. This leaves the center of the rings clear for four 7-inch propellers, which allow the vehicle to get airborne on the fly (no pun intended).
The driving rings are flexible and removable, so they won’t snap every time B makes a hard landing. The propellers are also flexibly-mounted, adding to the vehicle’s crash-worthiness.
Power is provided by an 11.1-volt lithium-polymer battery, which reportedly provides up to 15 minutes of combined driving and flying per charge. Additionally, an onboard 720p video camera can record point-of-view footage to a Micro SD card.

Some of B's features

Mielniczek has a working prototype, and now hopes to add features such as full waterproofing (allowing it to also serve as a sort of boat), the ability to suck itself onto walls, and a smartphone control app. Eventually, he might even look into the possibility of building a full-sized passenger-carrying vehicle based on the technology, that could be used for humanitarian purposes.
Before any of that can happen, however, he needs to raise production funds, so he’s turned to a Kickstarter campaign. A pledge of £320 (US$484) will get you a ready-to-assemble B, when and if the funding goal is met. If you don’t want to supply your own transmitter and would like to get a fully-assembled model, you’ll need to pledge £400 ($605).
B can be seen in action in the campaign video below.
Source: Kickstarter