Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Apple Patent Shows Ordering, Paying by iPhone (And Queue Skipping) [Patents]

from Gizmodo by Jason Chen

Nothing except a 2nd-gen iPhone with GPS and 3G would make us happier than if Steve pulled out this invention at MacWorld 2008 next month. This patent, which details a cashless payment system via the iPhone, will allow people to order stuff on their phones via Wi-Fi, pay for it, and skip everyone in line that doesn't have an iPhone. It's like calling ahead to place an order, except you have to wait at the store and you don't have to talk to anybody. Great for the type of person who enjoys being in the company of other people but not communicating with them in any way. [Forbes - Thanks for the image, Zatz!]

WTF: Buy 2 HD DVDs Get a Blu-ray Disc Free? [Image]

Augustine: marketer's mistakes (or strokes of genius) can be amplified (spread around the world) in no time.

from Gizmodo by Mark Wilson

Well played, Mr. Blu-ray fanboy. Well played.

*Image taken in the Virgin Music section of Myer Sydney City store on 26 December 2007. [phlog] Thanks Derek!

Microsoft Leaves Comments Open on YouTube (oops) [Marketing Mishap]

Augustine: moral of the story? make a better product first by listening to customers, THEN start a web 2.0 marketing campaign

from Gizmodo by Haroon Malik

Foot%20Shot%20MSFT%20GI.jpg Microsoft's PR department are attempting new and innovative ways to get Windows products to the masses. Their latest effort involves the launch of a YouTube channel with various promotional content. Unfortunately for Microsoft, their PR team decided to leave the comments open. Bad move.

The videos are sure to get your pulse slowing down in no time, but the comments the Microsoft haters have scrawled about the place shall give you all a mighty chuckle. The image above has some of the classics we found, but we are quite certain you guys are going to want to have your say. Microsoft fanboys and fangirls, take heed; this is your hour of worth—deflect the slander that taints Microsoft's YouTube channel thus...or join in, whichever makes you happiest. As long as you're happy, that's all that matter to us. [Microsoft YouTube Channel via TechCrunch]

Hidden Water Tank Windproofs San Francisco Condo Tower Against Bay Gusts [Water Tech]

Augustine: good to know they think about these things

from Gizmodo by Adrian Covert

Want to prevent your own condo tower from bending back and forth like a stick of rubber? Easy, hide a 50,000 gallon water tank at the top and cover it up. That's exactly what developers did for San Francisco's One Rincon Hill, the tallest residential building west of the Mississippi River. The building uses a 416,000-pound water-filled tank to create tuned liquid damper (a first for the Western U.S.), thus preventing the building from moving around if a strong enough wind comes in from the San Francisco Bay.

Though experts say it's unlikely such a situation would arise, a lack of protection against such a wind could cause feelings of motion sickness and discomfort in residents. The nearly-completed building is the largest structure built in SF in over 30 years. [SF Chronicle via Curbed SF]

Axiotron's Modbook Now Shipping [Macbook Tablet]

from Gizmodo by Haroon Malik

Axiotron%20Modbook%20GI.jpg We previously brought you news of Axiotron's brilliant Modbook, which is essentially the first real Macbook tablet. Although it's Apple authorized, it is not an official Apple product, obviously. Nevertheless, the guys at Axiotron have gone to work on an item all fanboys are lusting after, and the end result is looking rather tasty.

The main draw of the Modbook is the Wacom digitized pen-sensitive LCD slate-style display, which is combined with either a 2.0 GHz or 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a built-in iSight camera and an integrated 24x DVD Combo drive or 8x DVD SuperDrive. We have not tried it out properly yet, but if you have $2,290 saved away for a Macbook tablet, the Modbook maybe the solution to your weighty wallet woes. [ Axiotron]

Armani Hotels and Resorts

from CubeMe by Chantal

Giorgio Armani S.p.A. and EMAAR Hotels & Resorts LLC are pleased to announce that their respective Chairmen, Mr. They have today executed the formal contractual agreement between the two companies for the development of a unique international collection of 'Armani Hotels and Resorts'.

Giorgio Armani has been one of the world's most influential designers who is now set to extend his design sensibilities into the arena of hospitality. Armani Hotels & Resorts will be places that offer the same kind of welcome to guests as the designer would privately extend to his friends and family. The website will continuously update the new Armani Hotel & Resort developments which now includes the Armani Hotel Milano and the Armani Hotel Dubai.

Link Via [AME info]

Live Cooking Table by pmg

From http://cubeme.com/blog/2007/12/13/live-cooking-table-by-pmg/#more-3901

December 13th, 2007 by Hans

It has a surface made of SCHOTT Ceran glass-ceramic panels which can be decorated individually with your choice of metallic prints. The control elements are hidden within the table: This is how the “Live Cooking Table” is able to keep its sleek aesthetic without cables or buttons and dials.

Due to its modular property the “Live-Cooking-Table” can be extended to a length of up to 6 metres and accommodate about 16 dinner guests.

Via [Dexinger] Via [Designtaxi]

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Creative's InPerson WiFi video phone outed by FCC

voice over WiFi (data channel)

from Engadget by Thomas Ricker

Tough luck Creative, good news Type A consumers. The FCC just outed Creative's unannounced, inPerson wireless video conferencing solution. Not only that, but they've loosed the user manual, external photos, and even splayed the device wide to reveal a VGA camera, built-in dual microphones, and TI DaVinci graphics chip. Here's what they've got coming: 802.11b/g WiFi and Ethernet, 76-degree wide-angle lens with "excellent low light performance," H.264 video with SIP support, rechargeable/removable Li-ion battery, remote control, headphone jack for privacy, and TV-out to view callers on a larger display. The battery can be charged in 5-hours for a 2-hour run when using the built-in, 7-inch, 16.7 million color LCD at 50% brightness. That lifespan increases to about 5 hours when sending the display to the TV. It's also fully integrated with SightSpeed accounts. As such, it features automatic SightSpeed account login, speed dials, call history and contact list management as you'd expect. So is this the device / service mashup that will finally bring ubiquitous distribution of the dedicated video phone promised since the '50s? No. Of course, even the first generation brown Zune can garner buyer hysteria when the price is right. So go ahead Creative, tell us, how much and when?

Gallery: Creative's InPerson WiFi video phone: unannounced, just for you

Stanford's nanowire battery leapfrogs Li-ion

from Engadget by Paul Miller

Stanford claims its latest advances in silicon nanowires have it building batteries with 10 times the capacity of existing Li-ion cells. Apparently people have been trying to stuff silicon -- which has a much higher capacity than existing materials -- into a battery for decades, but since it swells when charged with positively charged lithium and shrinks during use, the silicon has a tendency to "pulverize." Who knew batteries could be so dramatic? Oh, right. The advancement at Stanford, led by Yi Cui, builds the battery in the form of silicon nanowires, giving the silicon room to grow and shrink without damage. A patent is being filed, and Yi Cui is already considering forming a company or licensing the tech to a manufacturer.

DisplayLink's new VGC 4.3 supports Vista Aero 3D

from Engadget by Paul Miller

Since simply having a USB-fed monitor would not be bleeding edge enough for you, DisplayLink has updated its Virtual Graphics Card software to support the Windows Vista Aero 3D interface. The update, version 4.3, is available to all DisplayLink-based systems, including USB graphics adapters, docking stations and monitors. DisplayLink claims it's the first implementation of Aero in a network display technology, and since you can plug in up to six displays with VGC, certain maths would say that adds up to a whole bunch of Aero.

Intel foresees less controllers, more flailing arms in video games

from Engadget by Donald Melanson

It looks like Intel has some fairly big ideas of its own about the future of video games, at least if some comments Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner recently made to BusinessWeek are any indication. As the magazine reports, he said that Intel imagines that "some future generation of [Nintendo's] Wii won't have hand controllers," adding that, in their place, you'd "just set up the cameras around the room and wave your hand like you're playing tennis." Naturally, that mythical system would also be based on Intel processors (specifically, ones that can perform more than 1 trillion calculations per second), which Intel has apparently already talked to some unspecified video game console makers about using. No word if they've had any takers, of course, though we suspect at least some of them may be a little hesitant about the prospect of folks flailing their entire body around the room instead of just a controller. [Via Joystiq]

Sony unveils new optical multi-touch LCD display tech

from Engadget by Nilay Patel

Multi-touch LCD displays are suddenly all the rage, and it looks like Sony's planning on joining the party soon -- the company is touting a new 3.5-inch multi-touch LCD that uses optical sensing technology today. The 640 x 480 screen is made of what Sony's calling "low-temperature polysilicon thin-film transistor" tech, and it supports recognition of up to five fingers at a time, as well as pen input. Of course, there's no word on when we might see these screens pop up in actual devices, but let's hope Sony's product designers find a better use for them than chicken-scratching holiday greetings like the press photos. [Via Engadget Japanese]

Apple prepping devices based on Intel's Silverthorne chip

from Engadget by Paul Miller

We suppose it was always inevitable, but things are about to get quite interesting at the intersection of cellphone and laptop processors. According to Intel, Apple has apparently committed to using the company's 45nm Silverthorne chip in multiple products slated for 2008. The chip offers the processing power of second-generation Pentium M processors, with the power consumption of a cellphone chip. Of course, it's not just the processor. Apple is expected to emerge as a major supporter of Intel's whole "Menlow" Mobile Internet Device platform, which packages processor, graphics and connectivity into a small enough bundle to give iPhone-powering Samsung a run for its money in ultra mobile products -- and Intel has made it clear that it has its sights set on that very member of Apple's lineup wit. The best news for dreamers that've been holding out for a true Newton successor all this time is that the chips provide plenty of juice for a UMPC-type device should Apple choose to go down that path.

[Thanks, Mark]

Unofficial Wii Opera SDK let loose

from Engadget by Donald Melanson

It looks like web browsing on the Wii is about to get a whole lot more interesting, as an entirely unofficial Wii Opera SDK has now been released to the general public, opening up the possibility for all sorts of browser-based games, among other things. What's more, the SDK allows developers with the necessary know-how to take full advantage of the Wiimote, including the ability to detect the remote's distance from the sensor bar, along with any button presses, and movement along the Z-axis. That makes things like the familiar-looking "2 Play Ship Demo" pictured above fully playable using the Wiimote, as well as more basic things like drawing and 3D rotation. Those looking to get started on a homebrew game of their own can hit up the read link below for the necessary files, while the rest of us can try out a handful of ready made demos at the same link. [Via Joystiq]

NYC taxis simply running mapping app over unsecured Windows

from Engadget by Nilay Patel

It's always interesting when electronic billboards, kiosks, and other installations go haywire and show you the dark heart of Windows lurking underneath, but it's even more fun when you can actually start poking around -- and it looks like there's a fair bit of poking to do in all those NYC taxis with backseat screens . According to Billy Chasen, dismissing the error message will allow you to get to the Start menu, from which it's trivial to run the Windows Connection Wizard, set up the Sprint broadband card, and start surfing away. Billy could also browse the filesystem -- which may or may not contain credit card data -- and it looks like he even had enough access to install any software he could find online. Hmmm, looks like there's 1000 experience points waiting here for the first person to send in a photo of Engadget on one of these screens -- with a 5000 point bonus if it's in Firefox.

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