Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

drag2share: 150 Megapixel Image Sensor Won't Power Your Nikon, Might Save Your Life

Source: http://gizmodo.com/150-megapixel-image-sensor-wont-power-your-nikon-migh-1547113979

150 Megapixel Image Sensor Won't Power Your Nikon, Might Save Your Life

Two Chinese companies, TowerJazz and Gpixel, have teamed up to develop the GMAX3005, a new massively high-resolution 150 megapixel CMOS image sensor. The goal is to use it for medical and industrial applications, so don't expect it to see it in your next DSLR.

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drag2share: The One Thing Apple TV Needs to Take Over Your Living Room

Source: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/if-apple-makes-this-apple-tv-they-will-win-the-living-1546416165/1547314110/+barrett

The One Thing Apple TV Needs to Take Over Your Living Room

Apple has already stopped calling Apple TV a "hobby." It's too important now to the company's future, and too successful in its own right. But the thing that pushes Apple TV into your living room won't be any one box redesign or killer app. It'll be the remote.

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drag2share: Toshiba details 4K laptop arriving before summer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/19/toshiba-details-4k-laptop-arriving-before-summer/

Toshiba has just dished most of the important details about its intriguing 4K Satellite P50t that we saw at CES 2014, along with some other new models. Unfortunately, it's left some info hanging -- namely the all-important prices. For the most part, the Satellite 50t model sounds pretty fine, considering the sleek 2.2kg (4.8 pound) weight. There's that exotic 282 pixel per inch 3,840 x 2,160, 15.6-inch touchscreen, driven by 2GB AMD Radeon R9 M265 graphics, for starters (1080p is optional). It's also packing an Intel Core-i7 CPU, 16GB DDR3L RAM, 4 USB 3.0 ports, an SD/SDHC slot, Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11ac WiFi and Windows 8.1. Oddly, the otherwise well-spec'd device only features a 1TB mechanical disk option, when it's clearly screaming for SSD speed -- hopefully Toshiba will rectify that prior to release. Availability is listed as sometime in Q2, but again, there's no clue about pricing. Meanwhile, Toshiba's also detailed a few other models after the break.

Slipping down the scale are Toshiba's S50 (15.6-inch, 4.5 pounds) and S70 (17-inch, 5.9 pounds) laptops. Those eschew 4K for 720p, 900p or 1080p displays with optional touch, and use either Intel HD or AMD's Radeon R9 discreet graphics. Except for fewer USB 3.0 ports (two instead of four), the CPU and other features are the same as the P50t. The Satellite C50/C70 and L50/L70 models round out the new range. Each is available in 15.6-inch and 17-inch models, but the L50/L70 maxes out at 1,920 x 1,080, while the 15.6-inch C50 packs a 1,366 x 768 screen and the 17-inch C70 can do 1,600 x 900 (touch is optional for most models). As for the rest of the specs, there's a dizzying array of options. Depending on the size and model, you can get Intel Core-i7 or AMD chips, 8-16GB RAM max, up to a 1TB hybrid SSD and Blue-ray drives. There are too many configurations to detail here, but if you're still intrigued, check the galleries or sources below.

Filed under: Laptops

Source: Toshiba (1), (2), (3), (4)

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drag2share: Headset combines virtual and augmented reality with holodeck-like results

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/19/holodeck-headset-sulon-technologies/

Two months ago, Sulon Technologies broke cover with a video showcasing a bulky augmented reality and virtual reality system. Fast-forward to today. The chunky backpack and headset combo has been replaced by a much, much smaller second prototype -- it's just a headset with a power cord coming out the back. Oh, and it's got a name: The Cortex. If you're a tinkerer, you can pre-order the dev kit version to follow this new prototype -- the company claims this more polished hardware will be shipping out in Q4 of 2014. It'll cost you $500 to get this particular peek into the future, though, so read on to find out what it's like wandering around with the dev kit's hacked-together portable predecessor on your melon.

When I first laid eyes on Sulon's new headset, it was immediately apparent that I'd be demoing a very rough prototype. The eye cups (but not the optics) are ripped straight from an Oculus Rift, and much of the electronics attached to the headset's straps are wrapped in black gaffer tape. A custom-made spatial scanner sits up top and is stuffed with LIDAR, ultrasonic scanners and cameras. That combo's what maps its surroundings, thereby ensuring proper graphics placement both during augmented reality and virtual reality sessions.

The brain of the spatial scanner is a bit of silicon called a spatial processing unit -- it's dedicated solely to tracking everything the system needs to work, and that info gets beamed to the phone on your face through Bluetooth. And, while the spatial scanner maps the room the Cortex is in, it locates your hands by working with Razer's Hydra wireless nunchuck controller.

Once Sulon's software has interpreted all that info, it can overlay graphics onto your surroundings. Rather than using see-through displays like Meta, Epson or Google Glass, however, the Cortex augments reality in the same way that your smartphone does -- by using a camera and overlaying graphics atop the video feed it captures. In fact, the system actually uses an Android smartphone as its display.

The face of the prototype is actually a housing where you slide in a jumbo phone -- with a 6-inch, 1080p screen and a Snapdragon 800 -- that serves as both the display and the graphical brains of the thing. It's also got a camera stuck to the front of it. To counterbalance those bits, a power pack is situated around the rear of your skull. The prototype's version is tethered to an outlet, but company CEO Dhan Balachand assured us that the dev kit would pack a rechargeable battery that'll provide at least four hours of use.

The weight of the Cortex prototype is noticeable, but it didn't become uncomfortable during the five minutes we wore it -- we expect the dev model to be lighter.

As with the hardware itself, the software still has a ways to go, too. When you first slide the Cortex onto your head, it takes a few seconds to get adjusted as the headset calibrates its optics to suit your eyeballs. After some initial disorientation, we were looking at our empty hotel room and a few digital objects, and then noticed that the video feed was magnifying our view as compared to actual reality. Aside from taking some getting used to, it served to generally keep us aware that we were staring at a phone's screen instead of the real world.

That said, the shift from augmented to virtual reality is relatively seamless -- we stepped into a digital portal and suddenly the hotel room was a covered terrace overlooking a lake and some mountains. Graphical quality is what you'd expect when a mobile chip's providing the grunt: about as good as a PS2. And during our demo, there was significant flicker and chop to the animation. We were told that the system also works with PCs, in which case the graphics are much smoother. We didn't get to see such a setup.

Walking around a physical and digital space simultaneously was definitely an interesting experience while being tethered to a power outlet. But, we had helpful Sulon employees keeping the cord out of our way, and the headset itself has a warning system that beeps when you are reaching a physical boundary in the real world.

I played a zombie-shooting game, using the Razer Hydra to blast the undead as I ported from digital room to digital room (all the same size, of course), and found myself sitting still and turning in one place instead of traipsing around blasting walkers. While the digital world was mapped very closely to the real one, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was blindfolded, and so moved around with trepidation. Perhaps with more practice, I'd feel more comfortable. But, I feel safe saying that for the tech to catch on with the public, it'll have to be much more immersive. More accurately placed, smoother graphics might have provided me more confidence.

Bottom line? The hardware we wore was a hacked-together prototype, but warts and all, still managed to deliver a cool and somewhat immersive VR experience. It's still not wireless... yet, and we'd really like to see it with the new, faster spatial scanner that the company tells us will be in the dev kit -- as Balachand tells us it'll solve many of our graphical gripes. Still, what we saw is far from the holodeck enjoyed by the crew of the starship Enterprise, but there's potential in the Cortex. We'll be looking forward to finding out if it can fulfill it.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Wearables, HD

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drag2share: This DIY Device Turns Your Table Into a Psychedelic Music Maker

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-diy-device-turns-your-table-into-an-psychedelic-mu-1546599462

This DIY Device Turns Your Table Into a Psychedelic Music Maker

It's not so simple to become an electronic musician. The equipment is expensive. There's not a good how-to book. It's sometimes a little unclear what exactly electronic music is. That's why the Contact musical interface is so intriguing.

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drag2share: Every City Should Have This Ingenious "Library of Things"

Source: http://gizmodo.com/every-city-should-have-this-ingenious-library-of-thing-1546663306

Every City Should Have This Ingenious "Library of Things"

It's happened to us all. You're planning for some big project and suddenly you're in need of a power drill... Or kitchen stand mixer... Or hiking gear. Now, you could just shell out for it, but when are you going to use it again? Enter Leila, a genius little "borrowing shop" in Berlin that saves you money while putting the dusty things in your closet to good use.

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drag2share: Mod Puts Your Paper Notebook Doodles Into the Cloud

Source: http://gizmodo.com/mod-turns-puts-your-paper-notebook-doodles-into-the-clo-1546699400

Mod Puts Your Paper Notebook Doodles Into the Cloud

Sketching, jotting, or doodling in a paper notebook is one of life's simple joys, but more often than not we end up just tucking those notebooks away and never looking at them again. Mod Notebooks wants to change that, with a setup that digitizes your dead tree designs.

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drag2share: Haha, these super short 3D animations about a tiny world are so cute

Source: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/haha-these-super-short-3d-animations-about-a-tiny-worl-1546947580/@caseychan

Haha, these super short 3D animations about a tiny world are so cute

I wish these 3D animation shorts were a full movie. Called Tiny Worlds, it shows miniature sized characters and machines solving normal sized problems. Cigarette flicked on the ground? A tiny submarine will blast it away. Matches left on the street? A mini semi truck will haul it away. Gum on the sidewalk? Let's call the small bulldozer. It's super cute.

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drag2share: Unity 5 game engine brings advanced lighting, physics and audio effects to mobile, PC and now the web

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/18/unity-5-game-engine/

At the Game Developers Conference, or for those in the know: GDC, we got a taste of the new Unity 5 game engine. For most of you, a new engine doesn't mean much, but in the hands of the right people, it can mean more beautiful and realistic games. Unity, which powers any number popular titles, especially on the mobile front, is getting a host of new features for version five. Most notably is a new physics-based shader system and integration of Geomerics Enlighten illumination tools -- that means more realistic lighting and shadows as well as console-caliber visual effects. The engine's audio pipeline has also been rebuilt from the ground up for better performance and more flexibility when it comes to mixing sound and adding effects. But perhaps the biggest addition is early access to WebGL support, which means you'll be able to build titles that work on iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, OS X, Windows, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, WiiU and any modern web browser. As an example, Unity will be demoing Dead Trigger 2 running on WebGL at their booth at GDC.

Filed under: Gaming

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drag2share: Samsung's interchangeable-lens NX mini sports 1-inch sensor, fits in your pocket (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/18/samsung-nx-mini/

Hey "style-conscious" men and women in your 20s and 30s, Samsung's got a new camera just for you. The electronics giant is touting its NX mini as the world's thinnest and lightest interchangeable-lens camera, and while it technically falls at the low end of the company's NX line, this new cam comes along with a 1-inch (smaller) sensor and a scaled-down lens mount, which means new lenses, though you can use larger NX glass with a $150 adapter. Without a lens, the camera weighs 158 grams (5.6 ounces), making it lighter than "some bananas" (the fruit), as Samsung demonstrated with a PowerPoint slide during a presentation earlier today. There's a 20.5-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, WiFi, NFC, a 1/16,000 max shutter speed, 25,600 top ISO, 6 fps burst mode, 1080/30p video, a battery that can capture up to 650 shots with a full charge and a 3-inch HVGA flip-up touchscreen.

We spent a few minutes poking around the mini's menu system and taking some sample shots (which we were required to leave behind). The camera performed well, with speedy focusing and accurate exposure (based on reviewing images on the LCD). It's hardly the fastest mirrorless ILC on the market, but Samsung's making no such claim -- performance was what we'd expect from an entry-level model. Both the 9mm (24.3mm equivalent) f/3.5 pancake lens and 9-27mm (24.3-72.9mm) f/3.5-5.6 zoom are incredibly compact and lightweight. With the prime lens attached, the mini will fit in a jacket pocket. There's also a 17mm (45.9mm) f/1.8 lens in the works, which should ship in July. The camera, meanwhile, will be available black, white, brown, green and pink sometime next month. A 17mm kit will retail for $450 while a version with the zoom lens instead (that also includes a tiny external flash) will be available for $550. Both pairings ship with a free copy of Adobe Lightroom 5.

Filed under: Cameras, Samsung

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drag2share: Oppo Find 7 is the world's first phone that can take 50MP photos (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/19/oppo-find-7-50mp-camera/

We've seen the teasers and we've seen the leaks, so it's about time to see the real thing. Oppo has finally unveiled the Find 7 in Beijing just now, and as promised, this Android 4.3 device really can take 50-megapixel photos! But as with many things in life, there's a catch here: the sensor is actually a 13-megapixel Sony IMX214 CMOS, so it's a software trick. Still, the results we saw earlier were surprisingly good, so read on to check out how it's done and what the rest of the phone is like.

The Find 7 comes with Oppo's latest image signal processor dubbed Pure Image 2.0, and this is what enables the 50-megapixel "Super Zoom" creation: the camera takes 10 consecutive shots very quickly, and then it automatically picks four best shots to combine them into a 50-megapixel still. Our 8,160 x 6,120 sample shots ended up being around 10MB large each, and as you can see above, there's a lot of detail preserved even up close, which puts the Xperia Z1's 20-megapixel camera to shame. While Super Zoom is a software-based feature, the 1/3.06-inch IMX214 sensor also deserves credit for its 480 megapixel-per-second bandwidth, which is 33 percent faster than the 13-megapixel CMOS chip on the Find 5. And of course, the bright f/2.0 aperture helps, too.

Other notable camera features include 4K video recording at 30 fps, slow-motion video at up to 100 fps, long exposure for up to 32 seconds, HDR-capable GIF creation and RAW mode. You'll also be able to use some of these features with the 5-megapixel f/2.0 front-facing camera.

The 5.5-inch Find 7 will come in two versions. The $499 Find 7a (aka Find 7 Lite in China) packs a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 2,800mAh battery and a 1080p display. The more premium $599 Find 7 features a faster 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 3,000mAh cell plus a quad HD (2,560 x 1,440) display. This makes Oppo the second manufacturer to offer a quad HD phone, following sister company Vivo's Xplay 3S.

Apart from the above points plus the different back covers (the Find 7's has a carbon fiber texture), the two models are otherwise identical. You get Gorilla Glass 3, microSD expansion (up to 128GB), micro-SIM slot, LTE radio (for Chinese, European and US models; 3G only for Indonesian model), a pulsing "skyline" notification light underneath the chin, award-winning MaxxAudio plus Dirac HD audio enhancement and "VOOC" rapid charging (you go from zero to 75 percent in just half an hour). About the last point, you apparently won't have to worry about potential heat issues while charging, as the Find 7 is built with five layers of thermal protective coating, and the solid titanium-aluminum alloy frame -- crafted with nano-injection molding -- also helps dissipate heat.

The Find 7 will be shipped with Color OS 1.2 based on Android 4.3, and it'll come with many familiar features that are already on the N1. These include weather animation on the home screen, gesture shortcuts (including torch and camera activation even when the screen is off) and themes. Do look up our N1 review if you want to know more about Oppo's custom ROM. At the time of publishing this article, we have yet to hear any news about CyanogenMod development for the Find 7, so stay tuned.

Interested folks outside China can order a Find 7a both online and offline come mid-April (there will be a $50 early bird discount from some retailers), or you can wait for the advanced Find 7 due May or June. If you happen to be in Beijing, CEO Tony Chen will be personally selling some units in one of the local shops tomorrow. Now that's a hands-on boss.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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drag2share: Microsoft's Project Spark beta now open to all wannabe game makers (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/19/xbox-one-project-spark-open-beta/

If you haven't had the chance to make the Flappy Bird or Minecraft clone of your dreams just yet, Microsoft is removing the final barrier to Project Spark's entry. The game-creation title's been in open beta for a bit, but now you can download it directly from the Xbox One dashboard -- no waiting required. Should you need something to, ahem, spark your creativity, the embedded trailer's montage of user-creations set to a Linkin Park song might do the trick. If that somehow doesn't help, Major Nelson will be joining the dev team on its Twitch stream this week, and you can pick his brain for ideas there. Or, maybe just kick back while Xbox's blogger plays the game (where he'll presumably make a game) on your game console. It's all up to you!

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft

Source: Major Nelson

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

drag2share: Moto 360: This Is Motorola's Slick Android Wear Powered Smartwatch

Source: http://gizmodo.com/moto-360-this-is-motorolas-android-wear-powered-smart-1546422737

Moto 360: This Is Motorola's Slick Android Wear Powered Smartwatch

We just learned about Android Wear for the first time , and now we're already getting inundated in new hardware. Here's a hot piece of gear from Motorola, the Moto 360. Billed as a more contemporary smartwatch thank the clunky wrist-bricks we've seen before, the Moto 360 will supposedly be available this summer.

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drag2share: Neon Lights Make These NYC Water Towers Into Inter-Dimensional Portals

Source: http://gizmodo.com/neon-lights-make-these-nyc-water-towers-into-inter-dime-1546461413

Neon Lights Make These NYC Water Towers Into Inter-Dimensional Portals

Have you ever stuck your head up a water tower? Wait, what? You haven't? Well, here's your chance. On display at Madison Square Park in New York right now are three water towers, each illuminated with neon lights and mirrors. Even if you're not in New York, you can take a look at these trippy photos.

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drag2share: Scientists Discover the Key to Making Paint That Never Fades

Source: http://gizmodo.com/scientists-discover-the-key-to-making-paint-that-never-1546474602

Scientists Discover the Key to Making Paint That Never Fades

It seems like scientists are all about immortality these days. It's not just plants and people that are getting the treatment, though. A team of Harvard engineers are developing a way of producing color that could produce paint that never fades, and displays that never go dark.

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