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Shi Daoxin is not your average Chinese Buddhist monk, and we’re not just talking about the hipster glasses. He uses an iPhone, takes copious pictures of himself, has a blog and a music career, and is very popular with the ladies. And he may be the new face of Chinese Buddhism. And, oh yeah, everything he does pretty much flies in the face of the traditional, almost clichéd, image of the Buddhist monk as a quiet, thoughtful, humble man of piety, poverty and peace. And as you might expect, Shi has created some controversy within China over his very public, almost flamboyant, approach to being a monk. Shi is 29 and has been a Buddhist monk since he was 17. His position is that as the world grows more modern and technological, so must Buddhism embrace technology and modernity. Who knows? Perhaps the man is right. Or perhaps this is another example of personality-cult building, a craving for celebrity from an unlikely source. It is pleasing to note that Shi donates all the proceeds from the sales of his music to charity. But as for what this unusual monk truly represents, go to the link, have a look around, and judge for yourself. (21CB – Modern Hipster Buddhist Monk)
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The outside perception of North Korea is understandably pretty grim. Backward, agrarian, repressive, war-like, hard-line communist, these are all terms which can legitimately be used to describe North Korea, at least if the political refugees who have escaped and the foreign journalists allowed to enter the country are to be believed. Yet there is, apparently, another side to North Korea, a technological side, which does have some interaction with the outside world through the internet. And it is a technological side which has actually done business with countries in the Middle East and other nations in Asia. North Korean technology companies have even, reportedly, developed video games for Japanese gaming giants Nintendo and Sony. At the link, you’ll be able to read a piece which gives further details on the state of computer, gaming and online technology in North Korea. Because while it is easy to disdain and vilify Kim Jong Il and the dictatorial nightmare he has perpetuated for his countrymen, it is also easy to feel pain and sorrow for the innocent, everyday people who are trying to make a living and provide for their families under harsh government oppression. But as this story suggests, there may be qualified hope for some freedom for North Koreans through the development, implementation and use of online computer technologies. (Asian Correspondent – North Korean Tech Evolution)
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We can’t imagine the hassles to which photographer Eric Lafforgue must have been subjected when he traveled to North Korea to shoot photographs. And yet he did so four times between 2008 and 2010. The result is a virtual tour of over 1,100 images which Fotopedia has collected and synthesized into a free application now available for your iPhone or iPad. We’ve seen some of the images in this app, and they’re stunning. They show moments of color and happiness which one might not expect from within a country known to be so secretive, repressive and dangerous. (The Next Web – North Korea iPhone App) We originally read about this story on North Korea Tech, which is a very interesting website if you have any interest at all in knowing more about the so-called “Hermit Kingdom”. And the app itself is available for free on iTunes.
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“It uses at 9.9 megawatts of power, running up an electricity bill of about $10m a year — that’s enough electricity to power about 10,000 homes a year.” It boasts a processing speed of 8.16 petaflops, which translates into 8.16 quadrillion operations per second. Wow, that is a LOT of inaccurate weather pattern forecasts. Still, the K, as it is known, is now the fastest supercomputer on the planet. In fact, it is three times faster than the Chinese Tianhe-1A, which had been the most powerful computer on the planet for the last seven years. The K is a collaborative effort between technology giant Fujitsu and a Japanese government-funded research think tank called Riken. And in an ironic twist, K’s development was hindered just a bit by the Marth 11th disaster in Japan, where the machine with the computing power equivalent of one million desktop PCs will be used to create models to predict the impact of earthquakes and tsunamis. Pretty noble goals for this very powerful computer. Still, we can’t help but wonder if some little part of this computing monster is being used as a server for multi-player games of Left 4 Dead 2 (The Guardian UK – Japan’s New Supercomputer)
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“All of the pieces, closures included, are made directly by 3D printing and snap together without any sewing.” At the link, you’re going to learn more than you ever thought there was to know about creating a wearable bikini manufactured using 3D printing technology. If you have read anything about 3D printing, it is kind of a natural progression, really, from using the technology to create models for architecture and special effects to wearable clothing. The 3D bikini is the creation of a company called Continuum Fashion, which was founded by Mary Huang and Jenna Fizel. The bikini itself is made from a special type of waterproof nylon, and digitally mapped in a computer using body scans of the intended wearer for a very precise and comfortable fit. We can foresee a time in the near future when forgetting your favorite swimsuit at home won’t be too big of an inconvenience, if you can just insert some cash into a booth by the beach and have a perfectly-fitted garment scanned and printed our for you. (Next Big Future – 3D Body Scan Bikini) Continuum calls its bikini the N12, and you can read more about it and the company here: Continuum Fashion
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