Cowon Q5W goes on sale in US, shows off its premium skills
PS. Check the Cowon America product page for some of the best machine translation pickup lines we've ever seen.
[Thanks, Gibran]
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Friday, November 30, 2007
PS. Check the Cowon America product page for some of the best machine translation pickup lines we've ever seen.
[Thanks, Gibran]
Verizon and Vodafone to launch LTE trial in 2008
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Objet Geometries set to unveil multi-material 3D printer
CAD fans, prepare to get stoked. Objet Geometries -- a "world leader" in photopolymer jetting -- has announced that it will debut a system capable of producing 3D parts and assemblies made from different materials in a single build. The device, known as the Connex500, utilizes the company's "PolyJet Matrix," which can create 21 composite materials and seven separate model materials. "The Connex500 opens a new chapter for the 3-D printing and rapid prototyping industry," said Adina Shorr, CEO of Objet. The machine is capable of producing both rigid and flexible material, and can create polypropylene-like surfaces. Honestly, the process the Connex500 uses is pretty complicated stuff, but you really only need to understand one basic fact: you will never again be missing a piece from your chess set. Hit the read link and get all the technical details on your next pricey purchase.Read
Mobile phone subscriptions hit 3.3 billion
Filed under: Cellphones
Just last month we heard that there were some 2.68 billion mobile accounts currently active in the world, but a new study by Informa has found that there are actually 3.3 billion subscriptions. This number is somewhat significant considering that it's approximately half of the world's population, but alas, not half of all Earthlings actually own a cellphone. Researchers found that 59 countries had mobile penetration over 100 percent, suggesting that some individuals actually accounted for numerous mobile subscriptions. Sure, the figures here could be picked apart in a myriad ways, but why not just raise your handset to commemorate hitting the big three point three? You are one of them, right?[Image courtesy of W3]
A TV Style Video Player for Watching Your Favorite Web Videos
If you love watching videos on the web, World TV is one service that you should bookmark.
Contrary to the name, World TV it is not about watching TV channels online, rather it lets you play your favorite web videos in a proper TV kind of environment.
You also get a full screen video player and can easily flip through videos using the onscreen controls.
You begin by creating a playlist of your favorite web videos that could be residing on any video sharing websites like YouTube, Blip, Daily Motion and more.
If a site is not supported, just type the direct URL of the FLV video file in the World TV editor.
Each of your web TV channel gets a unique URL that can also be changed if you like. Plus you can brand the video player with a custom background and your logo that will link to your own blog or website. Brilliant.
worldtv.com | My Channel | Thanks Scoble
Related: Watch YouTube in Full Browser Window
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Play Nearly Any Media File with MPlayer for Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile 5 & 6 only: Free open source media player MPlayer, long known to Linux fans for its format friendliness and streamlined operation, has been ported in somewhat rough fashion to Windows Mobile-powered smartphones. While that means formats like RealAudio/Video, Ogg, M4A and others are playable, users are reporting that the program is a monster when it comes to processor use (which also makes it a battery killer) and has only the most basic "open file" functionality. But if you've got a low-quality file or a powerful phone, it could make for a nifty toy to play with until it gets fixed. MPlayer is a free download for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 phones only.
Golden Triangle Suggests How People Scan Google Search Pages
from Digital Inspiration by
This visual heat map suggests how web searchers navigate scan the search results shown on Google pages and which areas on the Google web page tend to get the maximum attention.
The areas highlighted in red are noticed by almost Google user but the visibility decreases drastically for search results that show up below the fold (i.e., search results at position 5 or below).
Like the letter “F”, human eyes read the content at the top in a horizontal manner and then travel vertically along the left side of the results.
Most of the Google ads in the right sidebar largely go unnoticed (compared to the top organic search results) while the reverse is true for the horizontal Google ad unit placed at the top of search results - it probably offers the highest conversion rate for advertisers.
Full details of this Google Eyetracking study is available on Eyetools.
Related: How to Draw Heat Maps
Live Documents To Take on Google Docs and Microsoft Office
Sabeer has launched Office Live Documents - an online+offline Office suite of programs similar to Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
All your edits are automatically synchronized with all other copies of the documents.
And if you own a copy of Microsoft Office, you can download a Live Documents toolbar desktop client that makes it easy to upload documents from your Office programs to the Live Documents cloud (very similar to Office Live Workspace).
Other than uploading documents online, this Live Docs desktop client will also synchronizes all changes made to a document - either on the browser or on the desktop within Microsoft Office - to ensure that the most up-to-date document is available on both platforms.
Live Documents is done in Flex so should work on any system that has the Flash plug-in. Overall, Live Docs sounds like a good concept but they are definitely up against some heavyweights notably Google and Microsoft.
Request invite for Live Documents here. Official site: live-documents.com
Jajah, Jaxtr, Jangl - How Are These Skype Alternatives Different ?
Jajah, Jaxtr and Jangle make it possible for you to receive calls without revealing your phone number. They all work with regular phones without the computer. They provide widgets allowing readers and friends to connect with you without leaving your website. And none of them will require you to download or install any software on your computer or phone.
So what are some unique features that makes each of these "Ja.." (fill in the blanks) service different? Let's take a look:
Jajah will also let you send SMS text messages to any mobile phone in the world. And they have just introduced a new service called Jajah Direct which lets you make Internet calls even without a computer or an Internet connection.
You can add Jajah call buttons to your website, social networks or email signatures and receive calls without giving away your phone number. The call charges in this case will be paid by the person who is receiving calls through Jajah (i.e., you).
Jajah supports voice conference calls and call scheduling so you will never forget calling your aunt on her birthday as Jajah will automatically make the call for you.
Anyone on the web can can type his phone number inside this widget on your web page and Jaxtr will then connect his phone to your phone almost immediately.
When you register with Jaxtr, you also get a local phone number and any calls made to this number are automatically redirected to your main phone number.
The best part about Jaxtr is the simplicity - it doesn't require the caller to register before placing a call - they can just key in their own phone number and wait for Jaxtr to connect.
Jangl will then give you a local phone number, you call that and leave a voice mail message that will be delivered to the recipient over email. Once they agree to connect with you, the recipient receives instructions to get a number – local to them – to call you back. (read that line again, it may take a while for you to understand the Jangle concept but its actually quite simple)
The interesting feature here is that all phone numbers assigned by Jangl are always different - so if you have five friends who you have allowed to connect through Jangl, they will all be assigned unique phone numbers .
Jangl is quite popular on dating websites but unfortunately, India in not in their list of supported countries yet.
Blogs Can Download and Use Copyrighted Images from Corbis Legally
There exists dozens of stock photography websites offering royalty free pictures at no cost but the Corbis advantage is that they have tie ups with big news agencies like Reuters so you could gain "legal access" to photographs that are otherwise extremely expensive.
According to Reuters, you can download Corbis pictures from PicApp website (currently in private beta) and they will be tracked automatically. The photos will either include an ad overlay on part of the image, or embedded advertising that pops up when you move the cursor over the picture.
PicApp follows a CPC based model and shares revenue based on the number of clicks made my visitors on the image but it is not clear if Corbis has any plans to share advertising revenue with publishing sites.
Corbis is privately owned by the same person who started Microsoft - Bill Gates.
Universal Music CEO: Record industry can't tell when geeks are lying to us about technology
Universal Music's CEO Doug Morris did a Wired interview in which the 68-year-old man said that he didn't really understand technology, that the record industry couldn't respond to Napster in 1999 because it didn't even have the in-house expertise to figure out whether a technologist was lying or not -- also, he compares his industry to a character from the comic strip Li'l Abner (which, New York magazine reminds us, stopped running in 1977).
"There's no one in the record industry that's a technologist," Morris explains. "That's a misconception writers make all the time, that the record industry missed this. They didn't. They just didn't know what to do. It's like if you were suddenly asked to operate on your dog to remove his kidney. What would you do?"Link (via Michael Geist)Personally, I would hire a vet. But to Morris, even that wasn't an option. "We didn't know who to hire," he says, becoming more agitated. "I wouldn't be able to recognize a good technology person — anyone with a good bullshit story would have gotten past me."
CASH music, a platform for Radiohead-style digital distribution that makes fans into stake-holders
Chris sez, "One of my favorite songwriters, Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses, 50FOOTWAVE, and solo) has founded the Coalition for Artists and Stake Holders, on the assumption that both artists and fans are stakeholders in the production of music. She's built a framework to distribute music on the internet while taking donations (sort of Radiohead-style: pay what you want) and taking full advantage of the medium -- including offering ProTools tem files via BitTorrent so you can remix her song!" Link (Thanks, Chris!) Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Six-Person Video Conferencing with Meebo/TokBox [Video Conferencing]
Web-based chat application Meebo now lets you video conference with up to five other contacts from any instant messaging service through a team-up with TokBox. As with their regular video chat, you log in, open a chat window, hit the "rocket ship" icon and choose the "Group Video Chat" option. There's simultaneous text chatting in the same window, and the video quality looks to be about the same as the one-on-one setup. Not too shabby for a free, no-installation service.
Samsung's Thin 3-Megapixel SCH-u900 FlipShot Camera Phone Hits Verizon
Last time you saw the SCH-u900, it was fugly. Now, gussied up and ready for the holidays, the u900 makes its Verizon Wireless debut in red and black with a new nickname, the FlipShot. The 3.0-megapixel camphone replaces the now defunct a990 with a thinner body and a new rounded-edge look. It's got what you'd expect from a high-end feature phone: EV-DO, GPS with VZ Navigator, and Bluetooth—stereo audio, dial-up networking, serial port and object push for vCard, plus basic print and image profiles. The black version starts selling on Verizon's website today, while the seductive red model will only be available at Best Buy, beginning 11/26. Total cost for this baby will be $200, after you sign your life away for one-fifth of a decade, of course. [Verizon Wireless]
Compact Florescent Light Bulbs, Gone Crazy [Art Bulbs]
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