Earlier in January we wrote about a quirky new trend: cryptocurrency mystery boxes you can order online to get a random selection of digital coins. We finally got our hands on one of these, but before you do – there are some things you want to keep in mind when buying one. CBlocks – the company we spoke with for our previous piece – offered to ship us one of its mystery boxes so we can check out its service firsthand. So without further ado, here is what we got in our very first cryptocurrency mystery box.
Microsoft has developed an AI to draw entirely original images based on nothing more than text. You type it, a computer draws it, and we’re one step closer to a world where using software like Photoshop and Illustrator is a hands-off experience. Researchers created a text-to-image bot that spits out pretty amazing images when fed a series of descriptive words like “this bird is red with white and has a very short beak.” This was accomplished through the creation of neural network called an Attentional Generative Adversarial Network (AttnGAN) that creates the image pixel-by-pixel. Like any other artist or designer, it does both broad strokes and fine details in layers.
Bell Helicopter revealed its Air Taxi concept at this year’s CES, showing a mock-up of the passenger cabin. Visitors got a look at what travel in it would look via a VR headset. What is it? The taxi itself is a four-seater cabin that looks exactly as space-age as I’d imagined my flying car would look. The actual flight mechanism wasn’t featured on the event floor, only the cabin. Users who put on a VR headset would see how the flashy dashboard looks in the air.
Who else can’t wait for level 5 autonomous vehicles to race at breakneck speeds through public streets? Just me? What is it? Roborace is a racing and development platform for autonomous race cars. It’s essentially a set of guidelines and hardware specifications that companies can develop AI for. According to the company: Roborace’s open A.I. platform allows companies to develop their own driverless software and push the limits in an extreme and safe environment. The series is designed to be a competition of intelligence so all teams will use the same “Robocar” to ensure all efforts will be focused on advancing the software for everyday road cars to adopt.
It’s going to be hard finding a cooler use of AI than fully-electric flying multicopters that autonomously carry people around cities on demand. What is it? It’s Volocopter’s X2, which is basically a giant drone with seats. Did we mention it’s autonomous? That’s right, the X2 will eventually be summoned with an app to arrive at whatever designated location it’s able to land at. At which point you’ll simply hop inside, strap in, and enjoy a quiet and relaxing ride to your destination. Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, had this to say after taking the Volocopter’s innaugural flight:
Slidenjoy’s “Le Slide” gadget, a computer accessory that adds a screen to each side of a laptop display, is on the floor at CES this year. What is it? Le Slide takes your portable laptop and makes it more cumbersome by adding two additional monitors to it. This may sound a little counter-intuitive at first, but let’s break it down: It comes in 13, 15, and 17 inch (33, 38, 43 cm) modelsFull HD (1920 x 1080) 16:9 LED display with 60hz refresh rateRuns on a single USB 3.0 /USB-C port or two USB 2.0 portsUses DisplayLink to power graphics
It could all be game over for BitConnect. The Texas State Securities Board has handed the bullish cryptocurrency lending investment platform a cease and desist letter, ordering them to shut down its operations and its BitConnect Coin (BCC) within 30 days of receiving the notice. The letter, which is addressed to a company branch registered in London under the British Companies House, essentially demands that BitConnect stop selling its BCC assets in Texas “until the security is registered with the Securities Commissioner” or is granted the necessary exemptions to do so. It also accuses BitConnect of fraud on several different counts, including failure to properly disclose the identity of its principals, its physical address and place of business, its assets and liabilities, as well as the true risks involved in such investment schemes.
One of the best things about Android is how flexible its interface is: customizing your home screen to suit your usage habits and preferences only takes a few taps, and the possibilities are endless. Here are just a few choice examples of custom home screens from the Android theming community on Reddit:
Surfing through the web back in October, I stumbled upon an odd but genuinely fascinating contraption: a Russian cryptocurrency miner that leverages the heat it generates from stacking Ethereum to keep your room warm. Shortly after I wrote about this unusual device, Comino – the Russian-based startup behind this invention – reached out to us and kindly offered to ship one of its miners for us to test this winter. We gladly took them up on their offer, and a couple of weeks later, the Comino was already installed at our cozy office in Amsterdam.
