Interview with Qubais Reed Ghazala, father of circuit-bending

Via MAKE comes this fantastic interview, wherein:

Gearwire sits down for a talk with Mr. Qubais Reed Ghazala, widely regarded as the father of circuit-bending. Ghazala speaks at length as to…

Interview with Qubais Reed Ghazala, father of circuit-bending

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With the acquisition of Jabber, Cisco is now well positioned to start pushing XMPP into firmware, not just for dedicated messaging routers but also for more generalized routers and systems … including mobile chipsets and network adapters. Firmware routing of XMPP in turn could proved a radical boost to the idea of using XMPP as a key protocol for just-in-time communication systems, such as emergency first-responder networks (police, EMTs and rescue services). Moreover, since XMPP can gateway into most existing IM networks, such a system provides an interesting bridge between IM, SMS and similar messaging services (such as twitters).

Cisco Gets the XMPP Message, Buys Jabber – O’Reilly Broadcast

which means more smart but dumb cheap networked objects in our near future.  WIN!

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Sex doll “homicide” in Japan.

Via Pink Tentacle comes word of another bit of the future leaking through: the case of the “murdered” sex doll; a doll so realistic that it wasn’t until “forensic pathologists began to unwrap…

Sex doll “homicide” in Japan.

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Jeremy Mayer’s wicked Typewriter Robot sculpture

From WIRED:

This standing humanoid was commissioned by a Star Trek fanatic and friend of Mayer’s who wanted a sculpture with robotic capabilities and trolled eBay for parts.

Mayer…

Jeremy Mayer’s wicked Typewriter Robot sculpture

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