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The British are known for things like putting milk into hot tea and adding extra vowels to words. They are not, however, known to bring back nostalgic nameplates just for the marketing of it, which is why I test-drove the Land Rover Defender.
Category: Automotive, Transport
Tags: Jaguar Land Rover, SUV, Tea, British, Off-road, Aluminum
Directly applying red-light therapy to a damaged spinal cord protects and regenerates nerve cells, leading to a return of motor and sensory function, according to new research. The treatment could expand the currently limited treatments available to people with spinal cord injuries.
Tags: Light, Spinal, Neuroscience, University of Birmingham
DrEureka, a new open-source software package that anyone can play with, is used to train robots to perform real-world tasks using Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT 4. It's a "sim-to-reality" system, meaning it teaches the robots in a virtual environment using simulated physics, before implementing them in meatspace.
Category: Technology
Tags: GPT, Robots, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Unitree, Machine Learning
Bridging fashion and functionality, SpaceX has revealed what its astronauts will be wearing on the first-ever private spacewalk in 2024. In a new video, the company details the futuristic features of the suit that will be space-tested on the Polaris Dawn mission.
Tags: Space Suit, SpaceX, Textile, Space exploration, Elon Musk, Polaris, Astronauts
The last time we looked in on Austrian vehicle tuner ABT, it was taking a break from high-speed cars to put its unique set of skills to work on one of 2023's sleekest (and most overpriced) Volkswagen camper vans. It's now emerged out of the forest to try its hand in the nascent electric boat market, teaming up with Marian on a pure-electric 603-bhp (450-kW) 26-footer capable of speeds up to 53 mph (85 km/h).
Tags: Electric Boats, Boats, Boat, Outdoors, Volkswagen, Electric Boats
Boeing's attempt to put two astronauts into orbit has been scrapped. At 8:33 pm EDT, the launch of the Starliner spacecraft was called off due to engineering problems with the oxygen release valve of the Centaur second stage of the Atlas V rocket.
Tags: Boeing, Starliner, Space exploration, Launch
Feeling limited by your smartphone's puny light? If so, you might want to check out the phone-mountable Wuben E1. It's currently on Kickstarter, and puts out up to 300 lumens as compared to the iPhone 15's measly 50.
Category: Mobile Technology, Technology
Tags: smartphones, iPhone, Light, Magnetic, Kickstarter
A new sensor could soon allow hospital patients' blood oxygen levels to be checked via their breath. The technology is claimed to be more reliable and less painful than existing traditional methods.
Tags: Fraunhofer, Bloodstream, Oxygen
It's unusual for us to publish both a review and then follow up with an opinion piece. So why am I doing it here? Our reviews do their best to act as a guide for the 'typical' user of a product, and to provide enough information for you to make your own mind up.
Recent VideosBut we all have different needs and expectations, myself included. I don't believe my own personal perspective represents the 'typical' user, so didn't want to weight the review too heavily towards it. Instead this is just my opinion, based on my experiences with the X100VI and how it worked for me.
So don't you like the camera?I really like the Fujifilm X100VI. It's the best version yet of the kind of camera that we always hoped someone would make. Photographers who looked back longingly at the likes of the Contax T series or Olympus RC rangefinders were overjoyed when the X100 was launched, and the cameras have just got better. Hence the Gold award.
I understand that there are people who'd like a camera that's smaller, or one with a lens that's wider, or who don't see the appeal when interchangable lens cameras exist. But, just as with the Ricoh GR cameras: the X100 is what it is and it isn't (and isn't supposed to be) anything that it isn't.
And armed with this perspective, I don't feel there's any contradiction between giving the X100VI a positive review for what it is, and then saying what I wish were different about it. Because I'm not asking for it to be something it's not, but instead that I wish it were even more what it's trying to be.
In short, I feel that the X100 borrowing so much from Fujifilm's other models risks detracting from its X100-ness.
Loss of focusAs the X100 series has continued, it's gained the dual clickable dials from the other cameras in Fujifilm's range, along with a using the focus ring as a control ring. This means there are more possible ways of controlling it but risks it taking longer for you to settle on your preferred way of doing so.
Noticeably, when you first switch the camera on, there are three settings assigned to the front dial, none of which actually does anything unless you hand-off control from the dedicated dial for each of those settings.Given the number of direct controls on the camera, it seems odd to have four exposure parameters also assigned to the front and rear dials. And while I appreciate being able to use a press of the rear dial to punch in on the camera's live view, I feel that one or both dials being non-clickable dials would still allow for most people's preferred way of controlling exposure while also giving a higher-quality feel and less chance of accidentally pressing a dial and changing the function.
A control point that does do something out-of-the-box is the manual focus ring when you're not in MF mode. It's a free-rotating ring, ill-suited to the stepped variables that can be assigned to it, and it's all too easy to knock and only later wonder why you've spent the last two hours shooting in an unexpected Film Simulation mode or Small image size.
The X100's manual focus ring now acts as a far-too-easy to nudge control ring. I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea to make it so easy to accidentally change film simulation or switch to Small image size, but I doubt we'd get along.Of course, it's quite possible that this only stands out to me because, as a camera reviewer a) it's my job to explore the ways in which the camera could be used, rather than just picking one and getting on with it and b) because I've used all the other cameras its UI resembles, such that I recognize that the X100VI feels like the do-everything X-T5 but can't do as much. Upon tapping the front dial, I found myself having to think about how to configure and use the camera before I could start to fall in love with it.
Inappropriate features The hybrid X-H2 models, which are designed to cover a wider range of photo and video pursuits than the X100VI, have fewer dedicated dials, yet don't have clickable command dials. So why does the X100VI need them?From a development (and cost) perspective, it makes sense for Fujifilm to offer as much commonality across its cameras as possible. And there's no-doubt some added concern about appearing to be withholding features if you omit something that the hardware is capable of offering. But does the X100VI need all the X-T5's features?
The X100VI has the same machine-learning-trained subject recognition system as the X-H2S and X-T5, but its much slower-moving lens means it can't focus on moving subjects with anything like the hit rate they offer. Likewise, do enough people capture pictures of birds with a 35mm equivalent lens to make the presence of bird detection AF worthwhile? Maybe other people are better at quietly approaching birds without disturbing them, but even with a 40MP sensor, I think I'd need to crop extensively to get anything useful.
And, even as someone who's written about why virtually all cameras include video, I'm not sure the X100VI would be any worse for not being able to capture cropped, rather rolling-shutter prone 6K video. Though I accept it may be more expensive, if it meant establishing parallel development streams for its firmware.
Overlooked quirksFinally, I worry that carrying over so much code from other models means that the unique properties of Fujifilm's rangefinder-style cameras aren't as fully developed as they could be.
Take, for example, the behavior of the pop-up tab in the optical viewfinder, onto which an electronic preview can be projected. This retracts every time you nudge the AF joystick, then pops back up when you try to focus. But it only does this with the joystick's default behavior. If you set the joystick to simply position the AF point, rather than moving and letting you change its size, then the pop-up tab remains engaged.
This is a little odd, but becomes even stranger when you remember that it's not actually possible to change the AF point size when you're looking through the OVF. So why doesn't the joystick simply switch to position-only mode, when your eye is up to the finder?
Similarly, the pop-up tab can show a magnified version of the chosen AF point, for confirming critical focus position and accuracy. But only in AF-S mode. If you set the camera to AF-C (though why would you?), the tab shows a tiny version of the entire scene: the thing you're already seeing through the viewfinder itself. Both of these are really, really minor oddities, but could they have been better if Fujifilm had time to focus solely on what the X100 can do, rather than sharing firmware more widely?
And yet? For all of my nit-picking about the X100VI, I think it's a superb photographic tool.To be clear, none of this stops the X100VI being an excellent camera. But part of me misses the simplicity and, perhaps, inflexibility of the early models. If you've decided to straightjacket yourself with a slow-to-focus camera with a fixed focal length, would it be so terrible to have to adapt to the way it's designed to be used, rather than even having to think about how to configure it and deal with its foibles? And would a few fewer features in any way diminish the appeal?
Perhaps Leica, whose SL cameras are full of functions but whose niche manual-focus rangefinders have had their video capabilities excised, is onto something.
Glioblastoma is one of the most deadly cancers, with few treatment options available. Now, a small human clinical trial has demonstrated an mRNA vaccine that quickly rallies the immune system to fight off the tumors, with promising results.
Tags: Cancer, Brain cancer, Vaccines, RNA, University of Florida
Israeli company BaroMar is preparing to test a clever new angle on grid-level energy storage, which it says will be the cheapest way to stabilize renewable grids over longer time scales. This innovative system lets water do the work.
Tags: Compressed Air, Grid-Level Energy Storage, Renewable Energy, Underwater
Doctors treat a multitude of patients daily, with needs ranging from simple to very complex. To deliver effective care, they must be familiar with each patient’s health record and keep up-to-date with the newest procedures and treatments. And then there’s the all-important doctor-patient relationship, built on empathy, trust, and communication. For an AI to come close to emulating a real-world doctor, it needs to be able to do all of these things.
Category: Technology
Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Health, LLM (Large Language Model), Google.org, Google DeepMind, clinic, Diagnostic devices
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, farther away than the Sun, has sent data through a laser over a record-breaking distance, and done so even faster than expected.
Tags: NASA, Communications, Communicate, Laser, Light, Data, Transmission, Psyche, Spacecraft, Optical
Somebody better break it to the Ewoks: crafty log tricks aren't gonna cut the mustard. LimX Dynamics has released video of its P1 Biped – heavily inspired by the AT-ST walker from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, taking an absolute pounding with ease.
Category: Robotics, Technology
Tags: biped, Robotics, Robots, star wars, Artificial Intelligence, LimX
Oregon startup Cube Series debuted a few years ago with a lifting hard-wall pickup camper unlike anything else on the market. At the time, it mentioned plans to bolt its lifting hard walls to a trailer, and it's now launched the trailer as a rugged all-weather shelter that tows low but lives tall. Inside those composite walls, the Cube trailer furnishes adventurers with a full four-sleeper floor plan complete with dining area, kitchen and available collapsible bathroom.
Category: Automotive, Transport
Tags: Trailer, trailers, RV, Off-road, Off-grid, Camping, Outdoors
BMW Motorrad has announced a new Automated Shift Assistant (ASA) technology that operates the clutch and gearbox of a motorcycle to offer a smoother, faster, more precise gear shift. If you’re thinking “what for”, then you’re probably an existing motorcyclist. That was my first reaction when I saw BMW’s press release, but as I read onwards, I changed my mind.
Category: Motorcycles, Transport
Tags: BMW Motorrad
The Earth’s magnetic field is vital for life – without it, the Sun’s radiation would sterilize the planet. But a new study suggests we wouldn’t be here at all if that magnetic field hadn’t almost completely collapsed half a billion years ago.
Tags: Earth, Magnetic, Magnetic field, Life, Evolution, University of Rochester
Huge advances in medical technology have led to increasingly advanced implanted neurological devices, such as deep brain, vagal nerve, and spinal cord stimulators. Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a wireless brain-computer interface (BCI), is one of the more well-known devices. China recently unveiled its own BCI implant, indicating that it’s quickly catching the US in the neurotechnological space.
Category: Technology
Tags: Brain-computer interface, Retinal Implants, Implant, Deep Brain Stimulation
If there's one thing that needs to be antibacterial, it's the public touchscreen displays that everyone paws at with their filthy fingers. Well, help is on the way, in the form of a newly developed copper coating.
Tags: Antibacterial, Corning, Touchscreen, Coatings
Even though snails are slow and slimy-bottomed, they've inspired a new type of robot that could be quite useful. Groups of these bots can operate independently or join together in order to perform tasks that would otherwise be impossible.
Category: Robotics, Technology
Tags: Chinese University of Hong Kong, Biomimicry, locomotion, Swarm Robotics
