J.J. Abrams on Star Wars: 'You Have to Force Yourself to Start Over'

By Chris Taylor2013-05-03 15:47:36 UTC

They were supposed to discuss their new movie Star Trek: Into Darkness, but J.J. Abrams and actor Simon Pegg can't resist geeking out about their shared passion for Star Wars in this just-released video.

Pegg, who plays Scotty in Abrams' rebooted Trek franchise, makes a rather pointed compliment about Abrams and Star Wars: "I feel like it's in safe hands now ... you get it. You get it like a Star Wars fan gets it." Translation: the guy who directed the last three movies may not necessarily have gotten it the way a fan gets it.

And in case Pegg's take on the Star Wars prequels isn't clear, this scene from his UK comedy show Spaced might give you a clue:

Abrams, meanwhile, is as circumspect as we've come to expect from the director when it comes to discussing Episode VII, tentatively due in 2015. (When asked multiple questions about it in a Playboy interview published last week, Abrams' answers were repeatedly rendered as follows: "[smiles].")

But Abrams does talk about how he's approaching Star Wars in a different way from the Trek movies. Trek, he explains, was easier because he was never really a fan. He could approach the franchise fresh. Not being a fan was "a safety net" when it came to directing.

Since Abrams, like Pegg, was blown away by the original movie as a child in 1977 — indeed, he recalls reading about it and being enchanted before the release, in 1976 — Abrams recognizes he has to take a different approach.

"Part of the challenge of anything you come to pre-loving is you have to force yourself to start over," Abrams says, "and not assume anyone's going to care or be impressed."

Pegg then teases Abrams with the deadpan assertion that the title of the as-yet-unnamed movie will be The Further Adventures of Jar Jar Binks. Abrams' reaction could be best described as "[smiles]".

Thumbnail courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore

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Now You Can Buy 3D Printers From Staples

By Seth Fiegerman2013-05-03 15:06:53 UTC

Staples just became a little more cutting edge.

The office supply chain announced Friday that it is now selling 3D printers through its website and will start selling 3D printers in select stores by the end of next month. Staples is touting itself as the first "major U.S. retailer" to sell the product.

Staples, which announced in November that it planned to bring the devices to its European stores, will be selling the Cube 3D Printer from 3D Systems for $1,299. The printer has built-in WiFi and comes with more than two dozen 3D design templates, with more available to download online. Staples will also sell accessories for the 3D printers like plastic cartridge refills.

Selling 3D printer at Staples will likely help the technology to reach more of a mass market, although the printers may end up losing some of their cool factor when placed in the same store that sells fax machines and surge protectors.

Would you consider buying one of these 3D printers for $1,299? Share in the comments.

Image courtesy of 3D Systems

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Become a Superhero With a Homemade Thor Hammer

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Thermometer Delivers Diagnosis, Calls Doctor

Ross Brooks for PSFK 2013-05-03 19:32:09 UTC

The thermometer is a timeless medical device, but you often need to be familiar with common symptoms and what to do if you have them for it really come in handy. The Kinsa Smart Thermometer offers a new way of taking the effort out of diagnosing and dealing with everyday illness.

Its design is straight-forward. There’s no battery, processor or display in the device itself. You just plug it into your iPhone headphone jack, and the Kinsa app will display the patient’s temperature.

It can also provide treatment advice and what to watch for when it comes to more serious symptoms. If you feel your condition is dire, the app can even call your doctor or book appointments at your local medical clinic.

In less serious circumstances, the Kinsa app can be used to access local groups to check if there are any seasonal illnesses circulating. It’s also possible to create user profiles and keep track of your temperature over a longer period of time, perfect for those who like to keep a close eye on their health.

The Smart Thermometer is part of a larger plan to turn the general public into a frontline of defense when it comes to preventing illness. If you’re interested in getting your hands on one, all it takes is a $25 pledge on Indiegogo.

Image courtesy of Kinsa Smart Thermometer

This article originally published at PSFK here

Topics: Apps and Software, health, Health & Fitness, illness, indiegogo, Lifestyle, thermometer PSFK is a Mashable publishing partner that reports on ideas and trends in creative business, design, gadgets, and technology. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.

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Add Wi-Fi to Practically Anything With This Arduino-Compatible Chip

By Vignesh Ramachandran2013-05-04 00:50:55 UTC

You can add it to a motion detector. You can add it to a security camera. Heck, the creators of a tiny new Wi-Fi board even joke that you can add it to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The Spark Core board, from Spark Devices, can make any of your projects Wi-Fi-enabled and thus connected to the Internet, as explained in the video above.

For techies and do-it-yourselfers out there, the Core board features a 72 MHz ARM Cortex M3 processor, a Wi-Fi module, wireless programming, pin outs and peripherals. Best of all, the board is Arduino-compatible and you can even code wirelessly. To set up the Core, you use a companion app for Wi-Fi configuration.

In the creators' Kickstarter campaign video, co-founder Zach Supalla said they tackled the problem of adding Wi-Fi to a product, which he says is usually either very difficult, very expensive or both.

The possibilities for making hardware Internet-connected with the Core are infinite, according to its creators. Sample projects they suggest include a robot you can control with your phone and an LCD fridge magnet that displays your favorite Twitter feed. If you want to design more complex projects with the Core, the company has an available battery shield, relay shield, JTAG shield and a "shield shield" to work with.

Spark Devices' Kickstarter campaign has gained serious momentum: With 29 days still left to go, the Kickstarter project had far surpassed its $10,000 goal, reaching over $96,000 in pledges by Friday afternoon. Backers can get a Spark Core for a $39 pledge.

The creators developed the Spark Core at hardware startup accelerator HAXLR8R in Shenzhen, China.

What sorts of creative uses can you think of for a board like this? Share your ideas in the comments.

Thumbnail and images courtesy of Spark Devices via Kickstarter page.

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How to Really Delete Reddit Posts

Leslie Meredith for TechNewsDaily 2013-05-04 00:28:30 UTC

Even when you're using a fake name on a social media site, your comments can come back to haunt you. Just ask notorious Redditor violentacrez, who was unmasked last fall by Adrian Chen, a reporter for Gawker.

Is it possible to protect your privacy online? Some say no.

"Trying to take something off the Internet is like trying to remove pee from a swimming pool," wrote Redditor steste.

Unlike Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others, Reddit asks for no personal information to create an account. However, it still records and retains the IP address from which the account was made, which can be enough for law enforcement to help establish a user's identity. And in the case of violentacrez, an ambitious reporter could find his identity through his comments and associations with other Redditors.

Violentacrez, aka Michael Brutsch, became a target for his very offensive posts. Your posts may be just a bit embarrassing — in hindsight.

You can delete a regrettable comment or your entire account on any social media network, but your data can remain on a site's servers indefinitely. Whereas other companies, such as Google, have declined to say how long they keep users' content and associated IP addresses, Reddit is explicit in its new terms of service.

"This means that, by default, the [IP addresses] are not deleted from our servers — ever — and will still be accessible after your account is deleted," states the new privacy policy, which takes effect on May 15. Reddit also keeps copies of the entire site on its servers, which are refreshed every 90 days.

However, Reddit is working on an option that would allow users to completely remove all of their posts when they delete their accounts. In the meantime, here's a workaround for removing old posts for good.

Deleting posts removes them from public view but not from Reddit's servers. Instead, Redditors  should overwrite them.

So, the trick is to go back into your Reddit account and replace old comments that you want to erase with something innocuous, such as "I like turtles."

Image courtesy of Flickr, TORLEY

This article originally published at TechNewsDaily here

Topics: How To, reddit, redditors, Social Media TechNewsDaily is a Mashable publishing partner that is an exciting new and accessible source of technology news and information for non-geeks seeking to learn about the cool gadgets, powerful software and unavoidable technologies of everyday life. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.

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Bad Lip Reading Makes 'Walking Dead' Even Weirder

By Sam Laird2013-05-03 21:07:42 UTC

With humans engaging in a mega-violent battle against flesh-eating zombies in a post-apocalyptic hell-scape, AMC's The Walking Dead could definitely be classified as weird. But it's not exactly what you'd call funny.

Dub in some ridiculous dialogue, however, and the show suddenly becomes both hilarious and more strange. YouTube channel Bad Lip Reading takes The Walking Dead from weird to weirder with a few tweaks to the show's audio.

It's understandably popular, with nearly 500,000 views since going online Thursday. Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments.

Homepage image courtesy Flickr, Grmisiti

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