Lady Gaga's Born This Way Ball Kicks Off Amid Protests

Seoul, South Korea, set list heavy on new material, but Gaga's biggest hits come out to play.
By John Mitchell

Lady Gaga arrives in Seoul on April 20
Photo: Getty Images

Lady Gaga kicked off her hotly awaited Born This Way Ball at Seoul, South Korea's Olympic Stadium on Friday (April 27) in front of 45,000 fans, and despite protests from Christian groups saying Mother Monster was "obscene" and could "taint" young people with her performance, the concert appears to have gone on without incident.

Intrepid Twitter fans are already showing off pictures and video of the BTW Ball's enormous Gothic castle backdrop and myriad costume changes, making it clear that Gaga has outdone even her own Monster Ball in terms of spectacle.

While we wait for reviews to trickle in from halfway around the world, one thing is certain: No minors were corrupted at the show. Earlier this month, the Korea Media Rating Board decided to elevate the age rating for the concert from 12 to 18, prohibiting minors from seeing the concert. When the board notified Gaga's tour promotion company and a sponsor of the change in age restrictions, it did not offer a reason why the show — which at the time was still in rehearsals and has not been reviewed publicly — was considered unsuitable for children under 18.

The likely catalyst for the board's decision came more into focus as the concert neared and protests from a group of conservative Christians calling itself the Alliance for Sound Culture in Sexuality ramped up. The group covered Seoul with posters accusing Gaga of "spreading unhealthy sexual culture" through "lewd lyrics and performances."

The superstar and her fans, however, were undeterred. Though she tweeted her hopes that the Korea Media Rating Board would reverse its decision (it didn't), she continued on as planned. Many fans reportedly arrived at the show wearing versions of Gaga's most well-known flamboyant costumes, and there have been no reports of disturbances at the concert.

Before the show, Gaga tweeted, "I can you hear you Korea. I'm shaking."

Gaga's performance was heavy on material from her Born this Way album, though her biggest hits, including "Bad Romance," Poker Face" and "Just Dance," were represented.

Lady Gaga's Born This Way Ball set list:

» "Highway Unicorn"
» "Government Hooker"
» "Born This Way"
» "Bloody Mary"
» "Bad Romance"
» "Fashion of His Love"
» "The Queen"
» "Just Dance"
» "Love Game"
» "Telephone"
» "Just Dance"
» "Heavy Metal Lover"
» "Bad Kids"
» "Hair"
» "Yoü and I"
» "Electric Chapel"
» "Americano"
» "Poker Face"
» "Scheiße"
» "The Edge of Glory"
» "Marry the Night"

Did you see Lady Gaga's Born This Way Ball? Let us know what you thought of the show in the comments below!

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• Lady Gaga

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EyeRing finger-mounted connected cam captures signs and dollar bills, identifies them with OCR (hands-on)

Ready to swap that diamond for a finger-mounted camera with a built-in trigger and Bluetooth connectivity? If it could help identify otherwise indistinguishable objects, you might just consider it. The MIT Media Lab's EyeRing project was designed with an assistive focus in mind, helping visually disabled persons read signs or identify currency, for example, while also serving to assist children during the tedious process of learning to read. Instead of hunting for a grownup to translate text into speech, a young student could direct EyeRing at words on a page, hit the shutter release, and receive a verbal response from a Bluetooth-connected device, such as a smartphone or tablet. EyeRing could be useful for other individuals as well, serving as an ever-ready imaging device that enables you to capture pictures or documents with ease, transmitting them automatically to a smartphone, then on to a media sharing site or a server.

We peeked at EyeRing during our visit to the MIT Media Lab this week, and while the device is buggy at best in its current state, we can definitely see how it could fit into the lives of people unable to read posted signs, text on a page or the monetary value of a currency note. We had an opportunity to see several iterations of the device, which has come quite a long way in recent months, as you'll notice in the gallery below. The demo, which like many at the Lab includes a Samsung Epic 4G, transmits images from the ring to the smartphone, where text is highlighted and read aloud using a custom app. Snapping the text "ring," it took a dozen or so attempts before the rig correctly read the word aloud, but considering that we've seen much more accurate OCR implementations, it's reasonable to expect a more advanced version of the software to make its way out once the hardware is a bit more polished -- at this stage, EyeRing is more about the device itself, which had some issues of its own maintaining a link to the phone. You can get a feel for how the whole package works in the video after the break, which required quite a few takes before we were able to capture an accurate reading.

Gallery: MIT Media Lab: EyeRing

Continue reading EyeRing finger-mounted connected cam captures signs and dollar bills, identifies them with OCR (hands-on)

EyeRing finger-mounted connected cam captures signs and dollar bills, identifies them with OCR (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Incipio EDGE PRO Hard Shell Slider Case for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 only $15.95 [Daily deal]

For today only, the iMore iPhone Case Store has the Incipio EDGE PRO Hard Shell Slider Case for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 on sale for only $15.95! Get them before they're gone!

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DREAM On, Dude (talking-points-memo)

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Beats by Dr. Dre Beatbox Portable From Monster

In the space of about a year, Bluetooth and AirPlay wireless speaker docks have begun to replace old-fashioned wired systems. Bluetooth's streaming quality has improved so much that this isn't a bad thing. Now Monster has joined the fray. At $449.95 (direct), the Beats by Dr. Dre Beatbox Portable from Monster is just as expensive as its non-wireless sibling, the Beatbox by Dr. Dre from Monster ($449.95, 4 stars). It's not as powerful as the Beatbox, but it's smaller and portable. Unfortunately, one stipulation of its portability is the need for six D-cell batteries (yes, the big ones), and the Beatbox Portable also suffers from audible hiss when its volume level is high. But it otherwise sounds quite good, with a heavy bass presence and sculpted highs.

Design
The Beatbox Portable is sort of wedge-shaped, like a triangle missing one of its points. It comes in two colors: Black and red, or white and gray (our sample's color scheme). Both models feature the indented Beats logo on the front panel's metallic speaker grille. The top panel houses an iPhone and iPod dock, though you can also stream via Bluetooth from just about any modern mobile device or computer. Overall, it's a stylish-looking system, and its portability is at least aided by sturdy handles built into either side for easy carrying.

The system ships with eight adapter trays for various models of iPods and iPhones, a simple remote control for docked devices, and a power adapter, which connects on the back panel, near the 3.5mm Aux input. The remote doesn't navigate menus and only controls playback, but since this is primarily a wireless system that turns your mobile device into its own remote, we can let it slide.

As mentioned earlier, the system requires a whopping six D-cell batteries to power it on-the-go. That's going to make it a bit heavier, and it's not exactly environmentally-sound, either. It's the second portable system in recent memory to rely on six D-cell batteries?the significantly less expensive House of Marley Bag of Rhythm ($349.99, 3 stars) does as well. The Beatbox's battery compartment is on the bottom panel, and can be unscrewed with a coin or even a fingernail.

Performance
While the Beatbox Portable is without a doubt a powerful speaker dock, it's far from flawless. Like most Beats products, the bass?as well as the treble?is seriously tweaked, so audiophiles seeking flat response systems should steer clear. If you're looking for a great party system, however, the Beatbox Portable is an appropriate choice. Even so, it suffers from a minor hint of distortion at maximum volume on deep bass tracks like The Knife's "Silent Shout," so little that many people won't notice. At maximum volume on deep bass tracks, the system vibrates slightly, not unlike the aforementioned Bag of Rhythm , but not nearly as dramatically. This vibration can be easily mistaken for speaker distortion, but it's really a case of the speakers rattling the enclosure a bit.

Other issues are more obvious. Speaker hiss is a problem that a wireless speaker in this price range shouldn't have. At maximum volume, it's audible even when music plays?regardless of what volume level your mobile Bluetooth device is set to. Compared with the JBL OnBeat Extreme ($499.95, 4.5 stars), our Editors' Choice for wireless docks?which has no audible hiss?the Beatbox is quite noisy. If you lower the system's volume, the hiss becomes less of a nuisance, but it's still there. It's especially noticeable on quieter tracks, such as with classical music. Your best bet is to max out the volume from your streaming device and keep the volume on the system itself lower.

All hiss aside, John Adams' "The Chairman Dances" can sound a tad harsh at top volumes?the higher register instruments get quite a bit of boost, so the brassy highs and mids can be intense. It sounds better at moderate volumes, where the low frequencies are present but not overwhelming and the sculpted highs seem less exaggerated.

The Knife's "Silent Shout" has a deep bass thud that sounds extremely powerful on the Beatbox Portable. At top volume, there is the tiniest hint of distortion?not nearly as prevalent as it is on another recent wireless speaker dock, the Logitech UE Air Speaker ($399.99, 3.5 stars). Here, the bass barely distorts, and adjusting the volume just a hair solves the minor issue. Can it blast deep bass music at top volume and still sound good? Yes, but if occasional distortion is going to bother you?and at this price, that's a fair issue to have?you might be better off with the JBL OnBeat Xtreme .

If portability is a must and the six battery requirement seems like a drag, Bose's SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker ($299.95, 4 stars) is rechargeable and also streams via Bluetooth. It's smaller and slightly less powerful, but suffers no distortion issues at all. The Beatbox Portable is no slouch, but at a much lower price, Bose manages avoid the hiss and provide strong audio performance without the six battery arsenal.

More Speaker Reviews:
??? Beats by Dr. Dre Beatbox Portable From Monster
??? M-Audio AV 40
??? SMK-Link PadDock 10v2 (for New iPad and iPad 2)
??? Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air
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Google Drive is coming to Linux, tells users to 'hang tight'

As you may know, there is at least one out and proud Ubuntu devotee on staff. So, when Google Drive was announced, there were a few grumbles from those who noticed Linux was absent from the list of supported platforms. Especially in the wake of Picasa for Linux, many were afraid that Big G was slowly killing off it's (comparably) robust support of the open-source OS. But, rest easy, in addition to Dropbox and Ubuntu One, soon enough you'll be able to use Google's offering as well. Google Docs community manager Teresa Wu (we assume, soon enough, that will be Google Drive community manager) swung by a potential customer's Google+ profile to assuage his ire over the lack of Linux support. The message, while not very detailed, was quite clear: "we're working on Linux support -- hang tight!?"

Google Drive is coming to Linux, tells users to 'hang tight' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASA preps J-2X rocket engines for second round testing, SLS creeps closer to 2017 liftoff

Forty-year old tech taking astronauts into space? Sadly, that's been the current state of our space program. But in the spirit of making one extra, giant leap for mankind, our nation's best and brightest aeronautic minds have been quietly working on a propulsion system designed to power the SLS and its Orion spacecraft payload deeper into the cosmos. NASA's been testing these next-gen J-2X rockets since last year, proving their ability to "[achieve] full flight-duration firing of 500 seconds" at sea-level and, now, in a series of second round testing, the engines will be put through their paces at high altitudes. The first of 16 planned tests are scheduled to kick off this Wednesday at the agency's Stennis Center in Mississippi and should run through to year-end. Check out the official presser after the break for a fuller breakdown of this evolution in galactic travel.

Continue reading NASA preps J-2X rocket engines for second round testing, SLS creeps closer to 2017 liftoff

NASA preps J-2X rocket engines for second round testing, SLS creeps closer to 2017 liftoff originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 04:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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