Distro Issue 38: a peek at the Navy's Robotics Laboratory and an interview with MSI's Jeans Huang

Ah, yes. The end of the week is upon us. Of course, this means that the latest installment of our tablet publication has arrived. Stepping up to the plate this time around, Brian Heater takes a look inside LASR, the Navy's Robotics Lab, and Richard Lai chats with MSI co-founder Jeans Huang. After a strong debut last week, Ludwig Kietzmann is back with Reaction Time and his take on Journey. Our brand spankin' new hands-on section looks back at Spotify's Android preview, Alexandre Herchovitch's HP Pavilion DM1, MIT's Arduino-powered DrumTop and Google Drive. We spend some quality time with the T-Mobile HTC One S, LG Viper, ASUS TF300 and MSI GT70 while Switched On tackles Kickstarter project funding. Looking for something more? IRL reveals our personal gadget stash, the Stat takes a look at tech jobs, Tapbots co-creator Mark Jardine handles the Q&A and Box Brown offers the Last Word on Facebook's recent purchase. Go ahead and hit your favorite link below to snag your copy of this week's e-magazine.

Distro Issue 38 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Google Play Store
Distro APK (For sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

Distro Issue 38: a peek at the Navy's Robotics Laboratory and an interview with MSI's Jeans Huang originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  iTunes, Google Play  | Email this | Comments

lindsay lohan playboy cover shooting at virginia tech shooting at virginia tech harry morgan john lennon death john lennon death c.j. wilson

A MicroReview Of The Fantastic $9.99 MicroStylus

This just might be the best stylus ever made. I'm completely serious. The problem with most styli is that there is never one around when needed. Besides that, the pen form factor is often not conducive for use on a small screen. But the MicroStylus, well, it's so tiny but yet functional that's perfect for the task. Plus it's only $9.99 and stores neatly in a 3.5mm headphone jack.

barry sanders john scott jimmie johnson juan pablo montoya crash chardon high school shooting mark martin cleveland news

Jessica Simpson Baby Shower Video: Shared By Pregnant Star Herself

We've posted many Jessica Simpson quotes about pregnancy as she goes through this life-altering process. Now she's offered a look inside her March 18 baby shower!

The pregnant Fashion Star mentor uploaded a video to her official website. In the video, fiance Eric Johnson sits beside her as they open up gifts for their little girl.

Jessica is, contrary to Internet reports, still pregnant and due within weeks. The event celebrating her was inspired by the children's story Charlotte's Web ...

Jessica Simpson Baby Shower Video

"Creating a family is the best thing I've done in my life," she wrote in one photo caption. "I really hope I can be half as good of a mom as my mom has been to me."

Organized by celebrity event planner Mindy Weiss, "it was a kid friendly shower with many of her friends bringing babies," a source said of the event back in March.

As guests like Jessica Alba and Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo noshed on Jess' favorite Southern foods, the pregnant star "seemed completely ecstatic."

Imagine when little baby Maxi is actually born.

katie couric barista university of kentucky ncaa oakland news alec baldwin alec baldwin

Tripit update now shows trips you've already taken

I've long raved about the merits of Tripit for those of us who travel frequently. It's indispensable for keeping track of flights, hotels, car rentals -- everything, basically. (And it's available in free or paid form, which is a plus.) But until now it's only really kept track of upcoming trips. And that's certainly the most important thing to keep track of. But there are plenty of times when I'd like to look back on past trips and know where I stayed and how I got there.

Tripit's taken care of that in its latest update. You can now see past trips and all of the attached itineraries. So if you stayed in a great hotel but can't remember the name, you don't have have sort through e-mails. Or maybe you want to give kudos for a particularly good flight. (Or maybe you just can't remember what city your were in. It happens.)

Me? I'm totally going to use it for bragging rights. But hopefully your use will be a little more humble.

More: Tripit Blog

read more

walking dead finale nascar bristol narwhal st louis university mario manningham mario manningham williams syndrome

Nicki Minaj's 'Starships' Video: All Hail The Queen

Young Money rapper throws a futuristic beach party in Anthony Mandler-directed clip.
By Rob Markman

Nicki Minaj in her "Starships" music video
Photo: Universal Music Group

Yes, starships were meant to fly, and rap's reigning queen was clearly meant to don a bikini and throw raving beach parties. Nicki Minaj finally released her "Starships" video Thursday night (April 26), and all her Barbz were invited to an electric beach party.

The Anthony Mandler-directed clip begins with a computer-generated UFO circling a tranquil Hawaiian island looking for a soft spot to land. While the natives lie on the beach, Ms. Minaj gets beamed down into the shallow waters sporting green hair and a sexy pink bathing suit.

It was back in March when pictures from the set first made their way online, and now that the video is finally here, it was clearly worth the wait. To see the Young Money starlet in motion is a thing of beauty. Not only does the curvaceous rap star frolic in the water, she then crawls through the sand on all fours creating a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue sort of moment.

The Minaj idol worship is in full effect as buff and tattooed male servants carry her around the island like the queen she is, but as the beat on the RedOne-produced dance hit picks up, so does the video's action. By the time the song's electro breakdown kicks in, the party gets jumping and Mandler employs a groovy kaleidoscope visual effect, which precisely captures the track's energy.

The clip climaxes as bonfires are set, flaming staffs are twirled and body paint is tossed about. Nicki parties hard with her flock jumping up and down, fist-pumping and dancing the night away. There's no grand story line or deep, hidden meaning; instead the Harajuku Barbie simply offers up a good time. The "Starships" video isn't exactly rocket science, it's just fly — exactly how it was meant to be.

What do you think of Nicki Minaj's "Starships" video? Share your reviews in the comments!

Related Videos

• Inside Nicki Minaj's 'Starships' Video

nba lockout news gifts for mom gifts for mom pepper spray storage auctions storage auctions les miles

Josh Barnett: ?I was born for this?

On May 19, Josh Barnett will take on Daniel Cormier to decide the winner of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix. When he walks into that cage, he'll bring with him the experience of 36 fights, including eight wins in his last eight bouts. In the video above, he says he was born to fight, and has a mean streak no one else has. Will that make a difference against Cormier, who has elite wrestling and knockout power? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

state of the union sotu boehner john boehner jorge posada maurice sendak demi moore hospitalized

Science Explains Why So Few People Are Left-Handed [Science]

Left-handers aren't very common. In fact , they only represent about 10 per cent of the human population. But a new study suggests that the reason lefties are in the minority isn't anything suspect—rather, it boils down to the fact that the human race cooperate more than they compete. More »

sopa blackout protect ip act jim caldwell internet blackout jessica capshaw seattle times seattle times