Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, July 20, 2009

The World Through My Eyes

How would images look if we captured them on a camera that was based on the Human Eye? Taking into consideration our field of vision, optical sensory and the brain's perception of images, George Milde has developed the Human Eye Camera. This device combines modern technology with digital postproduction. When the light hits the "eye" of the camera, it is spread via a prism onto three arrange-able sensors. And like the digitalized version, this one too offers the RAW format, which is variable in focus and focal length. The outcome of images is like a stitching or overlay of pictures. Like a panorama picture that’s been curved and distorted coz the brain did not flatten the peripheral view.

Designer: Georg Milde

Human Eye Camera by George Milde

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This is a James Dyson Award Entry, You can vote for it here.

VLC 1.0 Records Video from DVDs [Ripping]

Have you ever wanted to save a segment of video from your favorite DVD for watching later without fast-forwarding all the way through the movie? VLC 1.0 adds a new "Record" feature to help you.

Over at the How-To Geek web site (my home away from Lifehacker), blogger Mysticgeek writes up how to enable the new recording features: just use the View -> Advanced Controls menu item, and then you can record videos by hitting the record button to start saving the video, and then pressing it again when you are done. You'll find the segment of the video in your Documents folder, saved in MPG format.

This isn't quite the same as ripping a DVD, which we've covered many times before—but you could use it for that purpose if you wanted to, especially if you wanted to cut out the stuff at the beginning of a movie that isn't necessary. Readers should note that it doesn't seem to work with just any video, but we've successfully tested it with a number of DVDs and even AVI files that seemed to work without problems.

Hit the link for the full walk-through, read up on how to turn your PC into a DVD-ripping monster, or check out the five best DVD ripping tools.

How To Copy a DVD with VLC 1.0 [How-To Geek]

TextDiff Compares Your Documents and Files for Changes [Downloads]

Windows only: TextDiff is a simple and portable tool for quickly comparing and merging changes in documents and files.

Plug in a pair of documents and TextDiff will quickly highlight all the differences by line and by the portion of the line which has changed. You can ignore spaces and special characters, edit the text from within TextDiff, and generate reports highlighting the differences. For file comparisons you simply point TextDiff at the two different folders and it will highlight which files share names but otherwise fail to match each other.

For another text comparison tool, check out our guide to WinMerge. TextDiff is freeware, Windows only.

TextDiff [via The Portable Freeware Collection]

UTube Ripper Saves and Converts YouTube Videos [Downloads]

Linux only: Video downloading utility UTube Ripper saves a copy of your favorite YouTube videos for your offline viewing pleasure, even converting them into a non-flash format.

Installation on Debian-based versions of Linux like Ubuntu is a breeze—just download the .deb file from the downloads page and double-click to install everything. You'll want to make sure that you have Adobe Flash and the ffmpeg library installed as well, or the utility won't end up working properly.

Once those steps are completed, you can launch the utility, paste in a link to a YouTube video and click the Download button to retrieve a copy. The Convert FLV section of the application will let you convert into MPG or AVI format, or you can use the "Rip audio only" option to convert a YouTube video into an MP3 file.

UTube Ripper [SourceForge via Addictive Tips]

How Modern Processors Are Made [Science]

I knew that processors—like castles—are made of sand. But I didn't know they required stuff like ion implantation at more than 185,000mph, electroplating, and the creation of up to 20 metal layers of transistor connections in 500nm.

Thankfully, Intel has put together a slide show to tell how the little things are made, from sand grains to the final packaging, going through all the dicing, the slicing, and the dancing. [Intel via Dark Roasted Blend]

YouTube Experiments With 3D Video; Supports Multiple Headache Technologies [YouTube]

One cross-eyed Googler has been spending his 20% on a 3D video display system for YouTube, which is open for experimentation/testing/goofing off right now.

It's a little rough right now, but it's already plenty of fun to play with, at least until your inevitable migraine sets in. The interface lets you switch between a fairly long list of viewing options, be it a particular type of glasses—red/cyan or amber/blue—or a simple cross-eyed option, all rendered from a single source file. It's incredibly obvious, simply mashing two-panel source video together in a variety of ways, but it's a surprisingly elegant way to deal with fragmenting 3D technologies. Details about how to activate and upload for the feature, as well as some samples, are available here. [SERoundTable]

AMD's Neo to hit nettops, all-in-one PCs soon

AMD's Neo ultra-portable platform was seen as something that just might rival Intel's mighty Atom in the oversaturated netbook space when it debuted back in January, but up until now, the system has remained largely in the background. Indeed, it has only found its way into a select few machines, none of which have managed to gain any sort of traction beside the sea of Atom-based alternatives. Now, however, it seems as if the chips -- which were originally engineered for ultraslim, thin-and-light laptops -- may find themselves shoved into an array of nettops and all-in-one PCs. Here lately, a slew of underpowered SFF-type desktops and PC-in-a-monitor type units have found favor with bargain hunters, and Bob Grim, the outfit's director of client marketing, isn't looking to miss a golden opportunity. To quote:

"We've known all along that this type of technology would really work well in multiple platforms and multiple types of form factors. These CPUs perform better than the Atom processor, and the graphics are superior. These things... can play Blu-rays, they can play games."

There's still no word on who exactly plans on equipping their future machines with this here platform, but considering just how tired we are of Intel's sluggish N270 and N280, we'll take all the competition we can get.

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

AMD's Neo to hit nettops, all-in-one PCs soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:18:00 EST. Please see our ter ms for use of feeds.

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Gateway gives Intel a go with Atom N270-equipped LT2000 netbook

After giving AMD the first crack, Gateway is issuing its second bona fide netbook with an Intel Inside(R) sticker instead. The LT2000 is a 10.1-inch machine with a list of specifications that any avid netbook follower could spout off in their sleep. For everyone else, here goes: a 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, LED-backlit 1,024 x 600 resolution display, 1GB of DDR2 memory, 160GB 5400RPM hard drive, GMA950 graphics set, a card reader, built-in webcam, twin stereo speakers, a trio of USB 2.0 sockets, three-cell battery and a chassis that tips the scales at 2.62 pounds. Gateway's making these available as we speak for $299.99, with the LT2001u receiving a NightSky Black coating and the LT2021u arriving with a Cherry Red outfit. The full release is after the break.

Gallery: Gateway gives Intel a go with Atom N270-equipped LT2000 netbook

Continue reading Gateway gives Intel a go with Atom N270-equipped LT2000 netbook

Filed under: Laptops

Gateway gives Intel a go with Atom N270-equipped LT2000 netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba coating NB200 netbook in silky pink and blue

The Dynabook UX / NB200 netbook has only been out for a few months now, but already Toshiba's looking to score a few more buyers with two new hues. Originally launched in white, brown and black, Tosh has decided to queue up a pair of fresher, brighter colors for those looking for something a bit different. Now, you can expect the lappie to start making the rounds in "silky pink" and "blue," though we get the feeling these will hit the UK first. Head on down to the read link for a hands-on gallery, but don't expect any exciting new hardware -- it's still the same ole 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM and 160GB hard drive that we're so painfully used to seeing.

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba coating NB200 netbook in silky pink and blue originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BeamBox Essential G2 projector is tiny, available for pre-order

Remember when 190 grams felt feathery light? BeamBox wasn't satisfied with that, and has put its pocket projector on a strict diet, cutting its weight all the way down to 75 grams. The Essential G2 promises VGA resolution on up to a 73-inch projection, though we'd expect the listed 20 lumens to produce usable images closer to 7.3-inches. Alas, you have to expect sacrifices when moving to such miniature dimensions. USB connectivity takes care of both power and image source, though there's 1GB of integrated memory if you don't feel like lugging a comparatively monolithic laptop or netbook along. If this has piqued your interest, a remote control comes as part of the deal and pre-orders are being taken now -- £220, $250 or €240, depending on your local currency -- with general availability set for July 29.

Gallery: BeamBox Essential G2