Honda's ASIMO robot sheds a few pounds, gets all autonomous on us (video)

We've already seen it dance, sing and read minds, but Honda's ASIMO humanoid has now taken that one great leap into decidedly more dystopian territory. The revamped bot, pictured above (and apparently doing its best Herman Cain impression), was unveiled today in Japan, sporting a streamlined physique and scarily adept mind. In fact, Honda claims that its bot is now less "automated" than it is "autonomous" -- all thanks to new behavior control technology that allows it to move and make decisions on its own, independent of human operators. Its external recognition capability and set of onboard visual and auditory sensors enable it to rapidly process information about its environment, which the ASIMO then uses to plot its next move. Combining long- and short-term sensor data, the droid can predict human movements and automatically recognize voices or gestures. Because of this, Honda says, the ASIMO could be more easily integrated within social environments, and peacefully coexist with its human prey counterparts.

Physically, meanwhile, the robot's looking svelter than ever, having shed a full six kilograms. It can now run at a maximum speed of 9 kilometers per hour, jump up and down for as long as it wants, and even hop on one leg, should it ever need to. Plus, its hands are now more dexterous than ever, thanks to new independent finger control functions that allow it to handle the most delicate of tasks -- like pouring you a stiff one after work, or before your inevitable demise. Check out more images in the gallery below, or hop past the break for a video and accompanying press release.

Gallery: Honda Robotics ASIMO robot

Continue reading Honda's ASIMO robot sheds a few pounds, gets all autonomous on us (video)

Honda's ASIMO robot sheds a few pounds, gets all autonomous on us (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 02:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/08/hondas-asimo-robot-sheds-a-few-pounds-gets-all-autonomous-on-u/

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Social Loyalty Platform PunchTab Raises $4.4 Million

PunchTab, a startup that offers a social loyalty platform for consumers, publishers, and businesses, has raised $4.4 million in Series A financing, led by Mohr Davidow Ventures. The startup previously raised $850,000 in seed funding from Mohr Davidow Ventures, Embarcadero Ventures, and angels Venky Harinarayan, Anand Rajaraman, and Nick Sturiale. For background, PunchTab allows publishers to give reward points to users who check in to a site or blog every day. Visitors, which authenticate via Facebook Connect, can earn points for Facebook comments, WordPress comments and Facebook likes. Once a publisher rewards a user, the visitor can redeem the reward through the PunchTab rewards catalog.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/bvjdnR0OvoY/

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Hollywood comedy writer Hal Kanter dies at 92 (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Hal Kanter, an Emmy-winning comedy master who wrote for Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, directed Elvis Presley in "Loving You" and created Diahann Carroll's ground-breaking TV sitcom, has died. He was 92.

Kanter died Sunday, according to the Writers Guild of America, where he had been a member since 1950 and served on the union's board of directors. Daughter Donna Kanter told the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/vXH8Ck) he died from pneumonia complications at Encino Hospital.

His three Emmys included back-to-back wins for 1991-92 as a writer for the Academy Awards, a ceremony on which he contributed material on 32 separate shows over the decades.

Kanter also won an Emmy in 1955 for "The George Gobel Show," and he received four other nominations, including one as executive producer of "All in the Family" in 1976 and another for outstanding comedy series for Carroll's "Julia" in 1969.

"If there was a funnier writer than Hal I never knew him," said "All in the Family" creator Norman Lear. "The irony is laughing at him added time to my life."

"Julia" was a television landmark, depicting a black professional woman as a series lead in an era that generally cast black actors as domestic help.

"If I could do a television show that depicted blacks as people and not as black people, it might do some good," Kanter recalled in a 2002 interview.

Kanter also wrote the 1952 Hope and Crosby adventure "Road to Bali," and his 1950s big-screen work also included Hope's comedies "My Favorite Spy" and "Casanova's Big Night." In 1976, Hope hired Kanter as his head writer.

Born Dec. 18, 1918, in Savannah, Ga., Kanter broke into show business as a gag writer, contributing material to Crosby's radio show, "The Danny Kaye Show" and other radio programs before moving into television as a writer on "The Ed Wynn Show" in 1949.

Kanter wrote for another big-screen comedy team, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, on 1953's "Money from Home" and 1955's "Artists and Models." He ventured into drama with the 1954 film adaptation of Tennessee Williams' "The Rose Tattoo."

As he moved into directing in the late 1950s, Kanter initially was reluctant to take on one of the era's biggest stars.

"Somebody had asked me if I wanted to do a picture with Elvis Presley. I said, `Oh God, no. Why?'" Kanter recalled in 2002. "And my three daughters said, `Daddy, Elvis Presley!' And I realized I was in big trouble if I didn't do that picture."

Kanter wound up directing and co-writing 1957's "Loving You," which featured the title track and Presley's hit "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear." He later wrote another Presley musical romance, 1961's "Blue Hawaii."

Among Kanter's other credits were Marilyn Monroe's "Let's Make Love" (1960), Bette Davis' "Pocketful of Miracles" (1961) and Doris Day and James Garner's "Move Over, Darling" (1963).

In 1999, Kanter published an autobiography, "So Far, So Funny: My Life in Show Business."

Kanter is survived by his wife of 70 years, writer Doris Kanter; his daughters Donna Kanter, Lisa Kanter Shafer, and Abigail Kanter Jaye; his sister, Saralea Emerson; and a granddaughter.

___

Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obits/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111108/ap_on_en_tv/us_obit_hal_kanter

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Mariah Yeater Debuts Justin Bieber?s Alleged Love Child (Photos/Video)

Mariah Yeater Debuts Justin Bieber’s Alleged Love Child (Photos/Video)

Mariah Yeater, the 20-year-old woman claiming Justin Bieber fathered her 3-month-old son, has appeared in a television interview and is sticking to her story. In [...]

Mariah Yeater Debuts Justin Bieber’s Alleged Love Child (Photos/Video) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2011/11/07/mariah-yeater-debuts-justin-biebers-alleged-love-child-photosvideo/

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China Automotive Systems Inc. Earnings Cheat Sheet: Net Income ...

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China Automotive Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CAAS) reported its results for the third quarter. China Automotive Systems is a holding company that, through joint ventures in China and a wholly-owned subsidiary, manufactures power steering systems and other component parts for automobiles.

Investing Insights: Here?s Why Chipotle?s Stock Keeps Winning.

China Automotive Systems Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Third Quarter

Results: Net income for the auto parts company fell to $9 million (10 cents per share) vs. $13.8 million (26 cents per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 35% from the year earlier quarter.

Revenue: Fell 1.4% to $75 million from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: CAAS fell short of the mean analyst estimate of 15 cents per share. It fell short of the average revenue estimate of $82 million.

Quoting Management: Mr. Qizhou Wu, Chief Executive Officer of China Automotive Systems, commented, ?The third quarter?s results continue to show a head wind in the Chinese auto market. The Chinese government has sharply restricted its incentive policies and tightened monetary policy to curb inflation, significantly slowing China?s auto sales. In January, China resumed its sales tax of 10% from 7.5% on vehicles with engines of 1.6 liters or smaller. Subsidies given for trade-in vehicles and to rural residents to buy vehicles were also phased out. Tightened loan availability, paired with continued slowing of the general economic environment in China, depressed overall sales from previous highs.?

Key Stats:

The company has now seen net income fall in each of the last two quarters. In the second quarter, net income fell 49.1% from the year earlier quarter.

The company has now fallen short of estimates in the last two quarters. In the second quarter, it missed expectations by 10 cents with net income of 22 cents versus a mean estimate of net income of 32 cents per share.

Revenue has fallen in the past two quarters. In the second quarter, revenue declined 3% to $82.5 million from the year earlier quarter.

Looking Forward: The outlook for the company?s results in the upcoming quarter is unfavorable. The average estimate for the fourth quarter is 22 cents per share, down from 32 cents ninety days ago. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved down from $1.14 a share to 74 cents over the last ninety days.

Competitors to Watch: Sorl Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ:SORL), Tenneco Inc. (NYSE:TEN), Wonder Auto Tech., Inc. (NASDAQ:WATG), Meritor Inc (MTOR), TRW Automotive Hldgs. Corp. (NYSE:TRW), Tower International (NYSE:TOWR), Dana Holding Corporation (NYSE:DAN), American Axle & Manufact. Hldgs., Inc. (NYSE:AXL), and Federal-Mogul Corporation (NASDAQ:FDML).

Investing Insights: Here?s Why Chipotle?s Stock Keeps Winning.

(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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Source: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/earnings-trading-markets/china-automotive-systems-inc-earnings-cheat-sheet-net-income-wasnt-what-wall-street-wanted.html/

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PSA: New video feeds for the Android Central Podcast

Just a quick heads up that the Greatest Android Podcast in the World is getting even more great, with the addition of video RSS feeds. Now you can watch us as well as listen, thanks to the magic of moving pictures.

Hit up all the feeds below, and be sure to check out our most recent episode.

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Why fingernails-on-a-chalkboard is so horrible

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Why fingernails-on-a-chalkboard is so horrible
Screeeeeeeech. Even imagining the sound of a person's fingernails scraping down a chalkboard is tortuous. Now, new research helps suggest why the noise is such a special kind of awful: psychology and the very shape of your ear.

Source: MSNBC
Posted on: Monday, Nov 07, 2011, 7:49am
Views: 7

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/114987/Why_fingernails_on_a_chalkboard_is_so_horrible

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