Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, May 10, 2010

Grab Free Vector Art Images at Love Vector Free [Design]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5535149/grab-free-vector-art-images-at-love-vector-free

Grab Free Vector Art Images at Love Vector Free Next time you're hunting for icons, buttons, or other images to mock up or finish off a design, give Love Vector Free a look. It's a decent collection of free images that scale to whatever size image you're working with.

It's nowhere near the scale of the previously mentioned repository Open Clip Art Library, but Love Vector Free is pitched more toward web designs, buttons, and other functional pieces that designers and dabblers might be looking to use or draw from. Got a favorite source for free vector art elsewhere on the web? Pitch in a link in the comments.

Love Vector Free [via etc.]

South Korea First Country To Broadcast 3DTV On Terrestrial Channels [3dTv]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5534935/south-korea-first-country-to-broadcast-3dtv-on-terrestrial-channels

South Korea was first to market with a 3DTV, but on May 19th the country will begin the world's first terrestrial broadcasts in 3D.

The Korea Communications Commission made the announcement that all four of the channels, KBS, MBC, SBS and EBS will start trialing it in a little over a week, with the first thing to broadcast in 3D being the 2010 Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting, on the KBS channel. Following that, SBS will show the FIFA World Cup in June, with 25 of the matches being shown in 3D. [Korea Times via Akihabara News]

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Word Finder Finds the Right Word When You Draw a Blank [Language]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5534168/word-finder-finds-the-right-word-when-you-draw-a-blank

Word Finder Finds the Right Word When You Draw a Blank Even serious crossword puzzle enthusiasts get stuck now and then—and if you've got nowhere else to go, free web tool Word Finder will help you figure out that missing word and save you hours of agonizing.

Word Finder is pretty handy for any situation in which you draw a blank and can't figure out a word—whether you're doing a word jumble, a crossword puzzle, or just can't put your finger on that word that you know is in your head but isn't coming to you. There are a few different search parameters, too; you can define the length of the word, what letters it starts with, ends with, or has somewhere inside it, and even unscramble them. You even get two dictionaries to choose from, one of which is the official Scrabble dictionary (though if you try to whip this out during Scrabble, that probably counts as cheating). Hit the link to check it out, and never wait for the next day's crossword answers again.

Word Finder [via Download Squad]

Surprise! Your iPad Camera Connection Kit Supports External Hard Drives [Ipad]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5533668/surprise-your-ipad-camera-connection-kit-supports-external-hard-drives

The iPad Camera Connection Kit may be selling itself short with its name; turns out you can also use it to hook your iPad up to an external hard drive. Here's how it's done.

The video above, from Maxwell Shay, walks you through part of the process. It only works after you jailbreak your iPad, something we wholeheartedly recommend you do anyway. Once you've done that, download the iFile app and the Nano terminal text editor from Cydia. That's the easy part.

The hard part involves all kinds of SSH and PLIST file editing. For that, check out Max's written step by step tutorial here. And seriously, this is tricky stuff, so be careful.

It's a neat proof of concept—and of what all iPads should be able to do right out of the box, if only Apple would let it—but once you get through all the grunt work it's also a handy way to share and store files.

HOWEVER: if you're not an experienced jailbreaker, your best option is probably to hold off for now. It wouldn't be surprising to see a much more streamlined approach packaged into an extension or utility in Cydia in the coming weeks. Meaning you'd be able to install this hack directly from the jailbreak store, saving you from a whole mess of potential problems. [Time-More via Wired]

Fujitsu breathes new life into color e-paper: brighter, faster, lovelier

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/07/fujitsu-breathes-new-life-into-color-e-paper-brighter-faster/

Fujitsu's been dabbling in the color e-paper market for years, showing off prototype readers during a time when the iPad was simply a twinkle in the eye of Steve-o. Now, the e-reader realm as a whole is having to reevaluate itself with the explosion of multifaceted tablets, but we're not giving up hope just yet -- Qualcomm's downright stunning color Mirasol display could turn the tables once more later this year, and Fujitsu's new and improved color e-paper might do the same later this month. Scheduled to debut at the Fujitsu Forum in Japan, this newly developed color electronic paper utilizes a redesigned panel structure and image re-write methods, and there's also an improved contrast ratio to boot. Unfortunately, there's no public commercialization plans just yet, but we're hoping it'll hit a few products sooner rather than later -- time's a wastin', Fujitsu!

Fujitsu breathes new life into color e-paper: brighter, faster, lovelier originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP TouchSmart tm2 getting Core i3 and i5 this summer?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/08/hp-touchsmart-tm2-getting-core-i3-and-i5-this-summer/

This is just a rumor at this point, but it's definitely one we'd file in the believable column. According to NewGadgets.de, HP's planning to update its 12.1-inch tm2 convertible tablet with Core i3 and i5 processors in June. Considering we've heard that Intel will be releasing its Core i5 ULV processors around then, this certainly makes sense --- after all, we'd expect HP to swap out the current Core 2 Duo ULV processors for something more powerful, yet power efficient. Time will tell if the new chips make it into the multitouch laptop, but it's good to know that HP's still working on at least some sort of Windows 7 tablet.

HP TouchSmart tm2 getting Core i3 and i5 this summer? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 May 2010 07:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo LePhone unboxed, exhaustively reviewed ahead of launch in China

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/08/lenovo-lephone-unboxed-exhaustively-reviewed-ahead-of-launch-in/

We're not sure how we missed this one, but it's better late than never -- turns out some lucky jerks in China were given a Lenovo LePhone to play with back in mid-April, and the guys at Sooyuu have just finished the fifth and final part of their lengthy review, just in time for the May launch. We weren't expecting any changes since our last encounter at CES, but apparently the 3.7-inch screen's now been upgraded from LCD to AMOLED, and like the Palm Pre, the LePhone also sports a gesture area below the screen. Of course, there's also the never-before-seen packaging that we totally dig, not to mention the bundled goodies such as a leather case, a noise-isolation handsfree kit (but sans music and volume control), plus a magnetic dock adapter. As for software, the reviewer praises Lenovo's snappy, heavily customized Android with its vast Chinese social networking service integration, music store, video apps, and an impressive Chinese turn-by-turn navigation suite. We almost want to adopt this baby, only to be let down by its 3.2-megapixel camera's mediocre quality, lack of flash, and inability to autofocus. Anyhow, you can be the final judge -- head over to Sooyuu for plenty more pictures.

Lenovo LePhone unboxed, exhaustively reviewed ahead of launch in China originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 May 2010 17:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, May 07, 2010

What Sites Future Employers Are Checking When Looking at You [Job Search]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5532404/what-sites-future-employers-are-checking-when-looking-at-you

As part of a Data Privacy Day report, Microsoft commissioned a study of over 1,200 hiring and recruitment managers. In one segment, they asked what kinds of sites they considered in researching applicants online. The short answer: almost everything.

As PC World put it—and as Jason detailed in his online identity primer—having a decent-looking personal web site, with blog-like material showing your grasp of topics and general up-to-date skills, is the best defense against anything and everything else a potential employer or contractor might find about you online.

Then again, take a look at how many online realms hiring managers peek into when peeking at you. It's reassuring, if you've put time into cleaning up your online image, and perhaps a wake-up call if you've still got LOLcats littering your photo service pages.

Have you hired someone, or turned someone down, based on their online presence? Been on the receiving end of that kind of judgment? Gripe or brag, as the case may be, in the comments.

Online Reputation Research [Microsoft via PC World]

Google Goggles Can Now Translate Foreign Text from a Picture [Android]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5532703/google-goggles-can-now-translate-foreign-text-from-a-picture

Google Goggles Can Now Translate Foreign Text from a Picture Android: Google's Goggles app for Android can now translate foreign text that you capture (and crop) with your phone's camera, potentially helping with signage, papers, and other text found while traveling. In a quick test, the results were, well, interesting.

In the update for Android's Goggles app, already in the Market, Goggles gets both new language translation skills and a crop function that makes Goggles a lot easier to use when pinning down something in particular. I lack for foreign-language documents around the house, so I loaded up the web site of Der Spiegel, the one German newspaper I know from memory, and started snapping and cropping.

Google Goggles Can Now Translate Foreign Text from a Picture The lead article in the Der Spiegel news magazine was, of course, about the Greek debt crisis. Using the screenshot I uploaded with Goggles, Google knew the text was in German, and offered a "translate" bar on the results page. It came back with some still-German text, then "A main road in the Plette." By actually typing the line I'd captured into Google, though, I found the actual translation of the cover line, done by humans: "A continent on the way into bankruptcy."

A picture of a laptop screen isn't, in fact, quite the best test case, and slightly metaphorical news cover lines aren't necessarily the best use of a literal translation tool like Google's. So assume that your mileage will vary, but that if you need to know whether a sign says a restaurant is open or closed, you're probably good to go.

Google says at this point that a few languages are covered both ways, and more can be translated to from there:

The first Goggles translation prototype was unveiled earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and could only recognize German text. Today Goggles can read English, French, Italian, German and Spanish and can translate to many more languages. We are hard at work extending our recognition capabilities to other Latin-based languages. Our goal is to eventually read non-Latin languages (such as Chinese, Hindi and Arabic) as well.

The Goggles update is available for Android phones running at least Android 1.6. Tell us what you think of Goggle's new image-based translation tool in the comments.

Translate the real world with Google Goggles [Official Google Mobile Blog]

PowerPoint Viewer Now Opens PowerPoint 2010 Files [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5532775/powerpoint-viewer-now-opens-powerpoint-2010-files

PowerPoint Viewer Now Opens PowerPoint 2010 Files Windows: PowerPoint Viewer, savior of those who need to open, but not create, Microsoft PowerPoint files, has been updated to open the PowerPoint 2010-formatted presentations you just know people are going to be sending soon.

If you don't plan to have Microsoft Office 2010 installed by this summer (when it's slated for release), you'll want to hold onto PowerPoint Viewer. This version of the program opens up the new PowerPoint 2010 file format, and includes all the bells and whistles, such as the new transitions and video effects of the next edition of the suite. There's a caveat: it won't support embedded online video.

Unfortunately, it's not a portable utility so you can't carry it on-the-go, but it's useful if you don't want to install all of Microsoft 2010. PowerPoint Viewer is a free download for Windows systems only. Are the new abilities in PowerPoint 2010 worth the upgrade, from what you've seen (or tried)?

PowerPoint Viewer [Microsoft via Digital Inspiration]

Instant Image Edit Opens Web Images in Picnik for Online Editing [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5533326/instant-image-edit-opens-web-images-in-picnik-for-online-editing

Instant Image Edit Opens Web Images in Picnik for Online Editing Firefox: Online image editor Picnik is pretty convenient, but you still have to manually upload image files or post their URLs to the site. Not so if you've got a new, Jetpack-powered extension that sends images to Picnik with a right-click.

It's an experimental extension, but even though it was built using Jetpack's no-restart-needed methodology, you don't need to have Mozilla's experimental platform installed to add Instant Image Edit with Picnik. After a standard install and restart, you'll see a new option when right-clicking images. It seems to just work, though there's one big caveat—the extension doesn't work behind password-protected sites, VPNs, or other restricted pages. Other than that, it's a convenient tool for those who sometimes need just a bit of basic crop/color/edit functionality.

Instant Image Edit with Picnik is a free add-on, should work wherever Firefox does.

Instant Image Edit with Picnik [Add-ons for Firefox via CNET]

Underwater Turbines Attached To Kites Could Save A Few Climate Problems [Energy]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5533384/underwater-turbines-attached-to-kites-could-save-a-few-climate-problems

Underwater Turbines Attached To Kites Could Save A Few Climate Problems While underwater kites might sound like another one of those crazy concepts we like so much here at Gizmodo, the company behind the design has already attracted €2 million in investors, with testing beginning next year for the next-gen turbines.

Underwater turbines is such a great idea I'm surprised it's taken this long to kick off. As they're hidden in the depths of the ocean, the land isn't dotted with unsightly creatures—a fact that Senator Dianne Feinstein would appreciate, after she blocked the Mojave Desert solar farm project last year.

Each turbine measures 12m in wingspan width, and is attached to 100m of cable, with a rudder tethered to the sea floor, generating 500 kilowatts of power. The first tests begin next year in Northern Ireland, but the company behind the project, Minesto, is hopeful that they'll be widely used within the next four years. [CNN via DVICE]

Zotac ZBOX HD-ID11 and its Ion 2 innards reviewed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/07/zotac-zbox-hd-id11-and-its-ion-2-innards-reviewed/

Small form factor? Check. Low power consumption married to 1080p video playback capabilities? Of course. Quiet cooling? Naturally. Those are the basic requirements for, and their fulfillment is the means by which we judge, a good home theater pc. They're also the highlights of Zotac's Ion 2-powered ZBOX HD-ID11 barebone (you have to add your own RAM, storage and OS) nettop, which recently visited AnandTech's labs for some old fashioned review action. It's a highly illuminating read, particularly for those interested in the differences between NVIDIA's Ion generations, which throws up a mixed bag of results. While you'll be quite alright watching Full HD Blu-rays on the ZBOX, Flash hardware acceleration -- yeah, that old nugget again -- is not yet implemented well enough, resulting in a maximum of 480p resolution before Hulu streams started glitching out on the reviewer. A June driver update from NVIDIA should rectify this issue, and we're encouraged to wait it out and see what we might see then. In the mean time, you can just delve into the complete analysis which awaits at the link below.

[Thanks, Wowzers]

Zotac ZBOX HD-ID11 and its Ion 2 innards reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Omni-Focus Camera Sees Everything Perfectly [Research]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5532765/omni+focus-camera-sees-everything-perfectly

Omni-Focus Camera Sees Everything Perfectly There are well-known methods to extend depth of field. There are even digital cheats to extend depth of field. But imagine shooting macro photography and telephoto photography, all in perfect focus, as one image. A new camera makes it possible.

The Omni-Focus Video Camera, by researchers at University of Toronto, can accomplish such a feat—and yes, it does cheat a bit, of course.

The camera is really many cameras, all focused at various distances. But what the Omni-Focus does really well (through collaboration with another related project) is map each pixel that each camera is shooting in 3D space, then combine these pixels appropriately into one image.

Obviously, photographers often enjoy blur. But I could see the benefits for 3DTV programming, in which anything out of focus can cause eyestrain. Plus, there's obvious utility for the industrial, security and pervy spycam sectors, too. [Physorg via PopSci]

What Does a 1 Kilowatt Hour Exactly Mean? [Infographics]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5533309/what-does-a-1-kilowatt-hour-exactly-mean

Did you know that 1 kilowatt hour will get 29 DVD movies or 100 toasts—with jam—or 15 days of talk on a cordless telephone or 5 hours of video games or 11 espressos or 400 blended Margaritas?

That's what this simple interactive graphic—created by GE and designer Lisa Strausfeld—will tell you: What energy really means in real life. Neat. [GE via Unplggd]

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