Author: Stace Johnson

Seattle, WA.

CMU Builds Poker-Playing AI

Posted by Stace Johnson Categories: Misc. Tech, Science, Software

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a Texas Hold ‘Em playing poker program, and they plan to enter it in the American Association for Artificial Intelligence Computer Poker Competition in July.  Unlike most poker algorithms, this program, called GS1, bases its strategy on hand analysis rather than taking its cues from human-inspired poker heuristics.

Texas Hold ‘Em Poker is believed to be a better test of artificial intelligence than chess, in which computer players have …

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Sony In Hot Water Over Seemingly Racist Ads

Posted by Stace Johnson Categories: Design, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video, Rumors

Not one to run from controversy (as evidenced by the last year’s DRM scandal), Sony has placed billboard ads like the one above in Holland.  Though the ad appears to carry a racist sentiment against black people, Sony responds to criticism by stating that it has numerous photographs in this ad series focusing on the contrast between the new ceramic PlayStation …

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Retro Phone Handset

Posted by Stace Johnson Categories: Accessories, Cell Phones, Design

Gone are the days of real telephones, with real handsets.  It used to be that a telephone handset had real heft, and could double as a hammer in a pinch.  Forget about trying to do that with cell phones, with their flimsy flip covers and see-through plastic cases.  You might as well be holding a tissue to your ear.

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LibraryThing: MySpace For Books?

Posted by Stace Johnson Categories: Household, Internet, Software

Remember the naysayers of years past who said that computers would kill books?  The ones who said that Ray Bradbury’s apocalyptic visions in Fahrenheit 451 would come to pass?  Yeah, I don’t remember them, either; I don’t run in those circles.  But if those people ever did really exist, they are being proven wrong by a new killer app:  LibraryThing.

Think of LibraryThing as …

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Stonehenge Watch

Posted by Stace Johnson Categories: Clothing, Design, Misc. Tech

There are those among us who just can’t get enough of Spinal Tap, particularly the Stonehenge sequence.  For those people, we present the Stonehenge watch.  Flip open the lid, erect the gnomon (that’s something you don’t read every day), orient yourself using the included compass, and let the shadows tell you the time.  Or just flip it over and look at the analog watch dial on the back.

Impress your …

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Seidio Shield 2 Holster for Treo 650/700

Posted by Stace Johnson Categories: Accessories, Cell Phones, Handhelds

Remember last winter, when you dropped your Treo 650 on the ground and the SD card popped out and got lost in the snow?  Oh, wait ... that wasn’t you, that was me. Sorry.  Well, neither of us have to worry about that any more.  Seidio was kind enough to develop a Treo 650/700 holster called the Shield 2, which allows easy insertion and removal …

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Variax 700 Electric Guitar by Line 6

Posted by Stace Johnson Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Music

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry is lucky.  If he’s working on a track at his home studio and he needs a particular sound, he can just go grab another guitar, plug in, and another classic track is born.  Those of us for whom money is still an issue have it a little tougher.  Sure, we know that “Sweet Child O’ Mine” should only be played on a Les Paul (or …

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Gibson Digital Guitar

Posted by Stace Johnson Categories: Design, Music

The Gibson Digital Guitar, demonstrated last month at Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle, is the first electric guitar to feature an Ethernet port on-board.  Using onboard electronics, the Gibson Digital allows players to send output from different strings to different amps or effect loops, as well as opening up the guitar’s traditionally analog signal to digital applications, like Internet streaming and single-string-per-track recording.

The real …

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