Kinect sensor wants to guess astronauts' weight, tell them to hit the space gym

How do you weigh yourself when there's no gravity keeping you down? Well, you can calculate your mass by sitting on an oscillating spring and comparing its standing frequency to your riding frequency (NASA's current method), or you could rig up a Kinect sensor to tell you when you're getting fat. Carmelo Velardo, a Eurocom computer scientist in Alphes-Maritimes, France, is developing the latter option. Working with colleagues at the Italian Institute of Technology's Center for Human Space Robotics, Velardo paired the Kinect sensor's 3D modeling digs with a database of weight to body measurements of 28,000 people -- the resulting system can guess your weight with a 97 percent accuracy.

NASA scientist John Charles notes that while the rig works well on the ground, it might hit some snags in space. Microgravity can shift water around in an astronaut's body, changing their density and potentially throwing off the Kinect setup's readings. Still, Charles says the technique "appears feasible," and suggests pairing it with the existing weight measurement tools might "provide insights into changes in body density that might be illuminating." Velardo hopes to test the system in parabolic flight soon. If he succeeds, not even outer space will protect us from the shameful judgment of video game peripherals. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some squat-thrusts to get to.

Kinect sensor wants to guess astronauts' weight, tell them to hit the space gym originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jennifer O?Neill: Lady Gaga?s Assistant Suing For $380,000

A former assistant to the woman who single handedly saved pop now wants a huge chunk of change to be paid for what she calls ?unpaid overtime.? A woman named Jennifer O?Neill (no relation to Shaq) says that she worked her butt off for Gaga and was not paid what she was owed for a period of 13 months. What?s worse, the woman says she was subjected to some pretty tough workplace conditions. You know, like having to bring a towel to the singer when she was finished showering, or helping to make sure she was on time to places. Isn?t that what a personal assistant is supposed to do? Anyway, the lawsuit claims that the woman should be paid nearly 400K in overtime that she was not paid to begin with. And just where did all of this (alleged) unpaid overtime work take place? Well, TMZ writes that it was in stadiums, on private jets, and even?GASP? on yachts and ferries. I am really starting to feel sorry for her now, aren?t you? TMZ even did the math for us. If you divide up the hours of overtime owed it is roughly 7,168 hours of work. That means this [...]

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Photos | MTV Buzzworthy Blog: Celebrities In Ridiculously Cheesy Halloween Costumes

Mariah Carey Shows Off Slim Figure in New Jenny Craig Ad

Back in April she gave birth to her twins Moroccan and Monroe, and now Mariah Carey is in fabulous shape after dropping more than 30 pounds.

As for how she did it, the ?Always Be My Baby? songstress used the Jenny Craig weight lost system to shed some weight and get healthy.

In fact, Mariah?s weight loss was so successful that she agreed to become a new brand ambassador for the newly-renamed Jenny company.

Featured in a new ad available for viewing in the player found above, Carey shared, 'I'm proud of how hard I worked to get my body back. I had to do this for me. As an artist, I use my voice to entertain. But, today I want to use my voice to draw attention to a serious matter. Two-thirds of the country is placing themselves at risk for heart disease and diabetes. Largely, that is due to unhealthy eating patterns and lack of physical activity.?

?I obtained a greater understanding of this when I was pregnant with my twins and dealing with my own health issues. That's why I feel so strongly about working with Jenny and the American Heart Association to help Americans get serious about their health as it pertains to these issues which are so important.?

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/mariah-carey/mariah-carey-shows-slim-figure-new-jenny-craig-ad-572011

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Matthew McConaughey & Camila Alves Are Gettin? Hitched!

Congratulations are in order for Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves because the after a few years and a couple of children together, the pair have decided to get married! Matthew posted the news on his official Twitter profile yesterday along with a cute engagement photo on his official WhoSay account. Click below to see the [...]

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First Firefox 6 build next week, Firefox 7 by May, and aurora channel introduced

Firefox 5, 6, 7 and release channels
Mozilla's Engineering Project Manager, Christian Legnitto, has detailed the release schedule for Firefox 5, 6 and 7. If all goes to plan, Firefox 6.0a1 will be released next week, April 12, and Firefox 7.0a1 in the middle of May. The final build of Firefox 5 should be released on June 21, exactly three months after the release of Firefox 4.

Along with the faster 6-week release cadence, Firefox's new Chrome-like release channels have also been given names and anticipated update frequencies. The most notable change is the introduction of a new alpha channel -- which is analogous to Chrome Canary -- that will be called 'aurora' and will update nightly. Aurora will be where fixes and features are tested, and either approved for Beta, or backed out to Central. Aurora will have a new icon, too.

The Nightly (mozilla-central) channel will remain unchanged in name and frequency, but it will gain a new 'nightly icon.' The Beta (mozilla-beta) channel will remain as-is, with new builds rolling out weekly. The Release (mozilla-release) channel will also remain as-is, with security and stability updates coming every 6 to 12 weeks.

It should be noted that the names (including 'aurora') are not necessarily final, but it's unlikely that they'll change. We're also awaiting the arrival of the new 'channel switching' technology, which should arrive in the next few days -- in time for the release of Firefox 6 aurora!

First Firefox 6 build next week, Firefox 7 by May, and aurora channel introduced originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 05:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/first-firefox-6-build-next-week-firefox-7-by-may-and-aurora-ch/

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'Dark Knight Rises' Buildup Brings Year Of Questions, Expectations

Despite trailer, Christopher Nolan's Batman film is shrouded in secrecy.
By Eric Ditzian


Christian Bale in "The Dark Knight Rises"
Photo: Warner Bros.

The "Dark Knight Rises" trailer left the MTV News movie staff with a whole fresh set of questions: Is Robin really in the movie? Why is Bruce Wayne walking with a cane? But in a way, there was something very familiar about our state of mind after checking out the new footage.

That's because, since the beginning of the year, we've been consumed with burning questions about Christopher Nolan's third Batman film. And at every turn, we'd tried to get answers to those questions, hitting up the film's stars time and time again. Sometimes, we came away with new insights. Sometimes, answers only led to another set of queries. There's something exasperating about this whole endeavor — but also something awesome. And the movie doesn't even hit theaters for another seven months.

When it does finally arrive, will the film deliver a definite end point to the story line Nolan and his cohorts have been spinning since 2005's "Batman Begins"? After all, Nolan himself promised us back in February, before production even began on the project, that it would: "We're very much excited about really finishing a trilogy and giving a conclusion to our story," he said. "And that's what we're doing."

By the end of the year, after shooting had wrapped, co-star Gary Oldman assured us Nolan had stuck to that promise. "There's a conclusion," he said. "[Nolan] brings and he touches on the first [film, 'Batman Begins'] and he weaves it in, and it resolves. And I think it's a trilogy, but it's just great. The story is terrific. I mean, it's just epic."

So, a tiny bit of confirmation there. Yet Oldman also laughed afterward, "I can't say anything!" That was a theme we heard repeated again and again during the year. When we asked Joseph Gordon-Levitt if his character was Robin, he answered, "You know I can't have this conversation!" When we pressed Tom Hardy about his role as the villain Bane, he exclaimed, "I can't [talk about it], so let's have another question!" And when we wondered whether Marion Cotillard was telling us the truth when she claimed her character, contrary to rumor, would not in fact turn out to be Talia al Ghul, the daughter of "Batman Begins" villain, Ra's al Ghul, the actress responded with a sly smile, "I am!"

We're not sure what's more impressive: Nolan's oeuvre or his ability to keep his actors' lips sealed. They would, however, say one thing without worrying about giving up a "Dark Knight Rises" spoiler: Everyone loves Nolan. "It's genius, what he does," Hardy shared. Cotillard told us, "It's amazing to work on Christopher Nolan's set," while Nestor Carbonell added, "He's one of these amazing storytellers."

If anyone could sum up the year in "Dark Knight Rises" news, though, it was Liam Neeson, who may or may not actually be in the movie (though we're pretty sure he is) and who told us simply that he doesn't have "a f---ing clue what it's about!"

Well put, Mr. Neeson. Us too. But we can't wait to find out.

Check out everything we've got on "The Dark Knight Rises."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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Heidi Klum And Her Family Head To Aspen For Snowy Fun

Heidi Klum, Seal, and their four children Leni, Johan, Henry, and Lou, headed to Aspen to enjoy some winter activities. Heidi and Lou had some fun scooting around the snowy ski hill in a sled.  Leni tried out skiing and … Continue reading

Source: http://www.imnotobsessed.com/2011/12/26/heidi-klum-and-her-family-head-to-aspen-for-snowy-fun/

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Conrad Murray Sentence 'Not Enough,' MJ Fans Say

But other Michael Jackson supporters outside L.A. courthouse tell MTV News 'justice has been served.'
By Katie Byrne, with reporting by Vanessa White Wolf


Conrad Murray looks on during the final stage of Conrad Murray's defense in his involuntary manslaughter trial in the death of singer Michael Jackson at the Los Angeles Superior Court on November 1, 2011
Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES — During the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's fans have been as much a fixture at the courthouse as the Jackson family. When Murray was sentenced to four years in jail Tuesday (November 29), MTV News spoke with those loyal fans outside the court to see if the maximum sentence was an apt punishment.

"Four years — not enough, but at least something," said one fan, sporting a red jacket in tribute to MJ. "And where I come from, a little something is always better than nothing."

One pair of friends might have been wearing matching Thriller T-shirts, but their opinions on Murray's sentence certainly didn't match. "If four years is the maximum and he got the maximum — I know she's not happy, but I'm happy," one of the women said, gesturing to her less-than-pleased companion. "I feel like justice was served and that L.A. can now be proud and stand tall."

"It's better than nothing, but it's not even close to justice," said another fan, wearing Jackson's trademark fedora and sequined glove. "Not only was [Murray] negligent; he let the man die. It's unconscionable. He didn't even try. How would a heart doctor not know how to give CPR? It's insane."

The cardiologist, who was found guilty of one felony count of involuntary manslaughter November 7, was facing up to four years in state prison in the death of the pop icon, but due to recent changes to alleviate overcrowding in California prisons, the judge in the case said he was unable to send the doctor to state prison for his crime. On top of that, legal expert Mike Cavalluzzi told MTV News that Murray will likely serve less than half of his four-year sentence.

Those legal loopholes concerned a female fan outside the courthouse, but she was also happy that the maximum punishment was doled out.

"The only thing I'm worried about now, with the overcrowding of the jails, he might get one year and house arrest," she told MTV News. "I'm just hoping it'll be four years, that's what I'm praying. I'm just glad that justice has been served today, and I'm glad justice can be served to the family and to the fans, and everybody around today will be happy and celebrate that justice has been served. And I'm sure Michael's looking from heaven right now."

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