Friday, September 07, 2012

Sony Stitch merges footage from two 4K F65 cameras to create zoomable panoramic with HD output (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/sony-stitch-4k-hands-on/

Sony Stitch merges footage from two 4K F65 cameras to create zoomable panoramic with HD output handson video

Well, that's a mouthful of a headline. Going a bit more in-depth, a new professional solution from Sony allows broadcasters to capture side-by-side 4K video at, say, a sporting event, then use a standard camera zoom device to select small portions of each feed for 720p or 1080i output. On the receiving end, you'll see a live image that looks indistinguishable from something you'd capture with a moving camera, with a few extra benefits to boot. Sony demonstrated the system using feeds from an F65 4K camera earlier this year at NAB, but was only able to present a simulation at that point, with pre-recorded output cropped from larger-format footage.

Now, as we saw today at IBC in Amsterdam, the technique works in realtime, so an adjustable smaller portion of the video is pumped out seamlessly and instantaneously. The 4K video can also be recorded at full resolution simultaneously, letting you change the framing long after an event takes place. Sony only had the demo configured to pull live video from the left portion of the feed, but eventually the entire capture will be enabled, giving producers access to an entire football field, as you'll see in the hands-on video after the break. We wouldn't expect this solution to replace human camera operators anytime soon, but it's certainly a viable method for adding angles and placing a bit more control in the hands of production teams, even after the fact.

Continue reading Sony Stitch merges footage from two 4K F65 cameras to create zoomable panoramic with HD output (video)

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Sony Stitch merges footage from two 4K F65 cameras to create zoomable panoramic with HD output (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SwiftPreview Automatically Previews Links When You Hover Over Them [Chrome Extensions]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5940943/swiftpreview-automatically-previews-links-when-you-hover-over-them

SwiftPreview Automatically Previews Links When You Hover Over ThemChrome: If you want to quickly glance at a link within a news article but don't want to click on it, SwiftPreview is a simple way to do it. When you hover over a link, SwiftPreview shows a graphic preview of the page linked, and the extension is fully customizable so you can keep it from being annoying.

Right after you install SwiftPreview you're offered up a set of options to customize it. You can change the preview size, scaling, and block domains. You can also change its behavior so it only shows previews when you hold the shift key instead of every time you hover over a link. SwiftPreview is handy for avid news hounds that might want to get the rundown of a linked page without actually opening it up.

SwiftPreview | Chrome Web Store

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Airbus imagines 'smarter skies' by 2050: reduced emissions and shorter flight times

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/airbus-smarter-skies-reduced-emissions-shorter-flights/

Airbus imagines 'smarter skies' by 2050 reduced emissions and shorter flight times

Airbus has been crafting its plane of the future for some time now, and while earlier visualizations focus on see-through aircraft with shapeshifting seats, the aviation company's latest ideas have the environment -- and passengers' precious time -- in mind. Airbus just unveiled its "Smarter Skies" conceptualization of what air travel will look like in 2050, and all signs point to shorter flights and less energy consumption. For one, the aircraft manufacturer imagines an assisted takeoff, dubbed "eco-climb" mode, where smaller, lighter airplanes would depart from shorter runways and reach cruising altitude faster. Once in the air, planes could pinpoint the most direct route and travel en masse -- a la a flock of birds -- along "express skyways" to reduce emissions and arrive at their destinations sooner. (That idea's totally gonna fly, right?) And when it comes time to land, aircraft could descend into airports with engines running in idle, allowing for reduced noise and emissions. Take a look at all five concepts in action in the video below the break.

Continue reading Airbus imagines 'smarter skies' by 2050: reduced emissions and shorter flight times

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Airbus imagines 'smarter skie! s' by 20 50: reduced emissions and shorter flight times originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 05:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA Quadro K5000 GPU for Mac offers significant Premiere Pro performance boost, we go hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/nvidia-quadro-k5000-for-mac-hands-on/

Handson with NVIDIA's Quadro K5000 GPU for Mac Pro video

NVIDIA just announced that its new Quadro K5000 GPU will be available on Mac Pros, offering 4K display compatibility and support for up to four displays, not to mention 4GB of graphics memory and about 2x faster performance than the Fermi-based Quadro 4000. While the Kepler-powered chip won't actually hit Apple systems till later this year, we got a first look at the K500 on a Mac here at IBC. NVIDIA demoed Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro CS6 on a Mac Pro with dual K5000 GPUs.

As you'll see in the video below, with 11 streams of 1080p video at 30 fps in Premiere Pro (and one overlay of the NVIDIA logo), GPU acceleration handles the workload seamlessly, letting us add effects in real time without any processing delay. Switching to software rendering mode in the editing program shows a night-and-day difference: video playback is extremely choppy, and processing moves at a crawl. Even with two K5000 chips in this desktop, Premiere Pro utilizes just one, but After Effects takes advantage of both GPUs. In this program, NVIDIA showed us ray-tracing, a computationally intensive 3D imaging feature, which only became available in After Effects with the release of CS6. Like in Premiere Pro, the program runs smoothly enough to let us edit images in real time. Take a look for yourself by heading past the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA Quadro K5000 GPU for Mac offers significant Premiere Pro performance boost, we go hands-on

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NVIDIA Quadro K5000 GPU for Mac offers significant Premiere Pro performance boost, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 06:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Simple Explanation For Why Organic Food Is Destroying The World

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-simple-explanation-for-why-organic-food-is-destroying-the-world-2012-9

organic apple

Harvest season is upon us in New England and with it the opportunity to buy organic locally farmed produce for 2-4X what Costco charges to drag the same vegetable or fruit up from Mexico and dump it into your minivan in Waltham.

A variety of analyses on whether or not locally produced food is truly good for the environment have been made, e.g., http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/11/14/the-inefficiency-of-local-food/

I wonder if a simpler analysis would not apply. Let’s assume that every dollar we spend does a relatively constant amount of damage to the earth. If I give a person or a business an extra dollar, a fraction of that will be spent to buy gasoline, buy new manufactured products and discard old ones, buy electricity that will result in fossil fuels being burned, etc. There are some minor variations in how much damage will be done depending on the person or business that I give the dollar to, but in nearly all cases the more money spent the more damage will be done to the planet.

Thus if I buy local food for 4X the cost of food produced in Mexico, I am paying for New Englanders to drive around in cars, heat their houses with oil, purchase new smart phones and tablet computers, etc. Had I instead bought the produce from Mexico, I would have supported Mexicans who walk to work, heat just one room of their house and only when necessary, and make do with devices that they already own.

This analysis seems simplistic, but I am not sure that it is wrong. What do readers think? Is someone who buys local food at high prices hastening the destruction of the earth?

[Obviously there are other reasons to buy local food, such as taste, but this postin! g is pur ely about environmental damage.]

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Green House's lantern runs on salt and water, powers your gadgets via USB

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/06/green-houses-lantern-runs-on-salt-water-usb/

Image

Japanese company Green House Co Ltd has quite an eclectic product portfolio, what with its women-only camcorder and peripherals like a PCI Express interface card with USB 3.0 support. Its latest device falls under another category entirely: the rivetingly named GH-LED10WBW is an LED lantern that runs on just water and salt; no batteries required. The light source provides eight hours of electricity per dose of saline water, and the lantern comes with a dedicated water bag for mixing the solution. The salt / water combo acts as an electrolyte with the magnesium (negative electrode) and carbon (positive electrode) rods inside the lantern. Users can get about 120 hours of power with the Mg rod before they'll need to buy a replacement (the rod is sold separately to begin with). More than just supplying a battery-free source of light, though, the lantern can function as a charger, thanks to a USB port built into the casing. Pricing has yet to be announced, but the GH-LED10WBW will be available by mid-September.

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Green House's lantern runs on salt and water, powers your gadgets via USB originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 23:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MediawavePC's MW6110 is a multipurpose Intel Core i7-supporting media player

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/mediawavepcs-mw6110-media-center/

MediawavePC's MW6110 is a multipurpose intel Core i7supporting media player

Nettops and media-center PCs in many ways hang on opposite sides of the same saddle. MediawavePC's new MW6110 "Ultra Small Media Player" tightens the straps between these two types of machines, and adds an extra satchel with it. The 7.87 x 7.28 x 1.57-inch form gives it a discreet footprint, and supports Intel's Core i3- i5- and i7 chips. You can also add-in up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM, along with 1TB of storage. Connection-wise, you're well looked after with 6 USB ports, HDMI, LAN, plus Audio in / out and WiFi. So, plenty of scope to configure to suit your needs -- you'll just need the $499 base price to get started.

Continue reading MediawavePC's MW6110 is a multipurpose Intel Core i7-supporting media player

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MediawavePC's MW6110 is a multipurpose Intel Core i7-supporting media player originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIA EPIA-P910 stuffs 3D display support, quad-core into a Pico-ITX size

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/via-epia-p910-stuffs-3d-display-support-quad-core-into-pico-itx/

VIA EPIAP910 stuffs 3D display support, quadcore into a PicoITX size

If there's been a race in the Pico-ITX realm to catch up to full-size PCs, VIA just leapt ahead by a few bounds with the EPIA-P910. The tiny PC mates one of VIA's 1GHz QuadCore E-Series processors with a VX11H media core to handle the kinds of tasks that would break just about any other system its size: stereoscopic 3D displays and DirectX 11 3D graphics are entirely within the realm of possibility. Likewise, there's a surprising amount of expansion headroom compared to many of the P910's similarly small counterparts, such as the 8GB RAM ceiling and support for both HDMI 1.4a and USB 3.0. You'll need to get in touch with VIA if you want to find out how much it costs to work the new EPIA into an embedded PC, and it's more likely to be headed to corporate buyers than to homebrew projects. We're still looking forward to the shot of visual adrenaline, whether it's in a mini PC or a store display.

Continue reading VIA EPIA-P910 stuffs 3D display support, quad-core into a Pico-ITX size

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VIA EPIA-P910 stuffs 3D display support, quad-core into a Pico-ITX size origina! lly appe ared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 01:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA announces Quadro K5000 for Mac Pro, brings 4K support, 2x performance over Quadro 4000

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/nvidia-quadro-k5000-for-mac-pro/

NVIDIA announces Quadro K5000 for Mac Pro, brings 4K support, 2x performance over Quadro 4000

NVIDIA's Kepler-powered Quadro K5000 GPU will be making its way to Apple's Mac Pro systems, the company announced today at IBC. The professional graphics card made its debut earlier this summer and is slated to ship beginning in October for $2,249. Timing for the Quadro K5000 for Mac isn't quite so firm, with NVIDIA simply stating that it'll ship "later this year," though pricing is expected to be in line with the previously announced flavor. The next-gen GPU is said to offer up to 2x faster performance over the Quadro 4000, while also delivering 4K display support, quad display capability through two DVI-DL and two DisplayPort 1.2 connectors, and 4 gigs of graphics memory. Furthermore, each Mac Pro will be able to support up to two separate cards, should you need the extra power. You'll find full details in the press release after the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA announces Quadro K5000 for Mac Pro, brings 4K support, 2x performance over Quadro 4000

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NVIDIA announces Quadro K5000 for Mac Pro, brings 4K support, 2x performance over Quadro 4000 originally appeare! d on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, September 06, 2012

Kindle Paperwhite Hands On: What a Beautiful Screen [Kindle]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5941101/kindle-paperwhite-hands-on-what-a-beautiful-screen

Kindle Paperwhite Hands On: What a Beautiful ScreenThe Kindle Paperwhite's screen is so awesome you wouldn't believe it's e-ink. Hell, I just saw it and I still don't believe it. It combines the paper-like text of e-ink screens with the usability of LCD screens but none of the eye strain. No other e-reader even comes close to this right now.

It's not just the screen either; the new Kindle Paperwhite makes the old Kindle look downright cheap. The obscenely clean black buttonless bezel of the Kindle Paperwhite makes a mockery of the old Kindle's painted plastic. E-readers should have always looked like this. The new Kindle Paperwhite is ever so slightly smaller than the old Kindle but it's hardly noticeable when you hold it in your hand. The weight seems to be about the same too.

Kindle Paperwhite Hands On: What a Beautiful Screen But the screen. Oh, the screen. It's crisp, clear and delightfully bright without feeling like you're burning your eyes with liquid crystal daggers. The light is dispersed evenly throughout,, making it feel more like a LCD/E-ink love child than an e-ink screen trying to fake the funk. The front-lit display in the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight's looks like a splotchy birthmark in comparison.

The feel of the new Kindle is really great. There are no weak points, no creaky plastic—it's as nice as the older model but slightly better to touch. Using it is significantly more pleasant because the screen's refresh rate is so much faster and the touchscreen has been upgraded to capacitive. Not only that, but the screen itself even feels a bit like paper. Go figure.

It's not all biscuits and pudding, though; there's still a slight lag when you turn pages, because the E-ink screen still needs a little more time to refresh (when compared to LCD). And that ghosting that troubled the previous generations of Kindles has improved some, but will still haunt you every fifth page or so. There also doesn't seem to be a new headphone jack on the new Kindle, if you ever used one.

Amazon has also built, basically, an iPad Smart Cover for the Paperwhite. It uses a magnet to automatically wake it from sleep when the case is opened. And for what it's worth, it looks a lot nicer than the one that came with the touch last year.

Kindle Paperwhite Hands On: What a Beautiful Screen

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Amazon Announces New Backlit Kindle Reader For $119 (AMZN)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-announces-new-backlit-kindle-reader-2012-9

amazon kindle fire

Amazon announced a big update to its Kindle Touch reader today called Kindle Paperwhite. The new reader has a backlight for reading in the dark, and a higher resolution for crisper text.

It'll cost $119 and start shipping on Oct. 1. The 3G version will cost $179. 

The regular Kindle will stick around and now cost $69. That device starts shipping on Sept. 14 and you can order it right now.

Here's a breakdown of the Kindle Paperwhite's specs:

  • The backlight will work in direct sunlight.
  • 62% more pixels than the last kindle. Higher contrast between black and white colors.
  • Eight weeks of battery life.
  • 9.1 mm thin, 8 weeks of battery life.
  • Has a "Cover Mode" so you can see the covers of all the books you own, just like the Kindle Fire.
  • You can adjust the brightness with touch controls on the screen.
  • You can see how much reading time is left in a book at the bottom of your screen.
  • X-Ray feature lets you see which characters are in a book and where in the text they appear.

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Amazon Just Unveiled A New 7-Inch Kindle Fire Tablet That Costs $159 (AMZN)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-announces-new-kindle-fire-tablet-for-160-2012-9

amazon kindle fire

Amazon has unveiled a new, more powerful version of its Kindle Fire 7-inch tablet and cut the price to $159.

The biggest news in this update appears to be a price-cut, which undercuts Google's 7-inch tablet, the Nexus 7, by about $40. That makes it one of the cheapest tablets on the market, and a pretty good deal for the specifications.

The new device looks identical to the old one, but it sports better, more powerful guts, including a faster processor that makes the tablet run "40 percent faster."

The new tablet will be available September 14, and you can order it today.

The Kindle Fire runs a "forked" version of Android that has a custom interface built by Amazon, as well as other goodies like streaming from Amazon Prime.

It also has a longer battery life and twice as much RAM, which will make it better at multitasking and running apps.

Amazon also unveiled a newer, bigger tablet called the Kindle Fire HD, which appears to be more of a competitor with the iPad.

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Premier Farnell, Sony, team up to move Raspberry PI manufacturing to the UK

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/06/raspberry-pi-made-in-the-uk-by-sony/

Premier Farnell, Sony team up to build Raspberry PI units in the UK

One of the biggest holdups to owning a Raspberry Pi was its stuttering availability, so much so that it even prompted a few copycat boards. Creator Eben Upton and equipment makers Premier Farnell might have found the solution, teaming up with Sony to produce an initial run of 300,000 of the educational computers at the company's UK Technology Center, in Pencoed, near Bridgend in Wales. Upton hopes to keep the cost at $25 and $35 for two boards, thanks to employing Sony's "lean manufacturing techniques," and the Japanese company has already spent £50,000 ($80,000) on new package-on-package assembly equipment -- ensuring that we'll all be able to get our hands on one soon enough.

Continue reading Premier Farnell, Sony, team up to move Raspberry PI manufacturing to the UK

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Premier Farnell, Sony, team up to move Raspberry PI manufacturing to the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers take full control of cockroach's movement, turn it into a wireless sensor

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/06/researchers-guide-cockroach-wirelessly/

DNP Cockroaches

Built-in power supply? Check. Ability to survive anything? Check. Easy to control? Okay, anyone who's had a cockroach as an uninvited houseguest knows that's not the case. So, rather than re-inventing the biological wheel with a robotic version, North Carolina State university researchers have figured out a way to remotely control a real Madagascar hissing cockroach. They used an off-the-shelf microcontroller to tap in to the roach's antennae and abdomen, then sent commands that fooled the insect into thinking danger was near, or that an object was blocking it. That let the scientists wirelessly prod the insect into action, then guide it precisely along a curved path, as shown in the video below the break. The addition of a sensor could allow the insects to one day perform tasks, liking searching for trapped disaster victims -- something to think about the next time you put a shoe to one.

Continue reading Researchers take full control of cockroach's movement, turn it into a wireless sensor

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Researchers take full cont! rol of c ockroach's movement, turn it into a wireless sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Droid RAZR M and HD dev editions bring unlockable bootloaders to the Android party

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/droid-razr-m-and-hd-dev-editions-bring-unlockable-bootloaders-to/

Droid RAZR M and HD dev editions bring unlockable bootloaders to the Android party

Motorola just released three new consumer phones today, but the company didn't want to leave developers out in the cold, so it also quietly rolled out a pair of developer handsets. A mere $550 gets you on the list right now for a RAZR M Developer Edition set to be shipped next week direct from Moto, and you can sign up for updates on the availability of a forthcoming RAZR HD dev-friendly handset, too. Each phone will bring an unlockable bootloader and the promise of immediate software gratification, though Motorola hasn't set an availability date or price for the HD version just yet. You can get on the list for either device at the source links below.

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Droid RAZR M and HD dev editions bring unlockable bootloaders to the Android party originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 15:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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