Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Someone Please Make This Solar Camera Strap [Concepts]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5572829/someone-please-make-this-solar-camera-strap

The modern DSLR requires so little power that, unaccustomed to the habit, you can forget to charge its battery. But this concept by Weng Jie would solve the problem. It's simply a camera strap with solar paneling.

I know—anyone could have mocked this up, but that doesn't make the idea any less great.

Consider, for instance, the USB-based cellphone solar chargers we've reviewed in the past. Ultimately, they're good in concept but a bit disappointing in practice. Cellphones simple pull too much power too quickly to make solar worthwhile in scenarios beyond emergencies.

This strap would be more useful as DSLRs require less power. But on top of that, the solar rig here has a lot more surface area (I'm guessing double or triple) than that of your average pocket solar adapter.

So with less power requirements and more power output, a solar camera strap seems like a pretty brilliant idea in my book. [Yanko Design]

1-888-FACETIME Might Be The Future of AppleCare [Facetime]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5573063/1+888+facetime-might-be-the-future-of-applecare

The line Apple set up for users to test out FaceTime is a great idea, but it might be leading to something bigger. The rep I spoke with mentioned that this is a trial for video calls with AppleCare.

If feedback is positive, I was told, you might soon have the option to call tech support using Facetime. Apparently they've been toying with the idea for some time. I don't always feel like getting dressed every time I pick up the phone, but this could be incredibly useful, especially when Apple finally gets around to integrating Facetime with iChat. Imagine being able to show someone exactly what you mean by "my iMac's screen is STILL yellow."

1-888-FACETIME has been live since yesterday, and demand has gone from one call every couple of hours to phones ringing non-stop. Everyone I spoke to expected demand to grow tremendously as more and more people receive their iPhones. The staff are using a mix of iPhone 4s and pre-production units to make the calls. When asked if they had encountered any Chatroullete-like indecency, one rep replied, "I haven't had anything yet, but I wouldn't be surprised. I knew the job was dangerous when I signed up."

There are also some privacy issues to consider. Calling into 1-888-FACETIME already includes a warning not to record the conversation. Tech support calls are often recorded, but this probably needs to change for video calling. The relevant privacy laws all vary by state, so Apple definitely has some legal hurdles to clear before you can start video chatting with tech support regularly.

This Picture Was Taken 24 Miles In the Air With A Crappy Camera Attached To A Balloon [Photography]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5573131/this-picture-was-taken-24-miles-in-the-air-with-a-crappy-camera-attached-to-a-balloon

What do you get when you combine a styrofoam box, duct tape, orange paint, a weather balloon, and 2 old Canon cameras? Apparently, images that look like they're from NASA.

The Pacific Star II Project was conceived by Colin Rich. He set up 2 cameras, insulated them in a styrofoam box and attached the box to a weather balloon. The cameras were programmed to take 3 pictures every 3 minutes and then shoot a minute of video and this video is what came out of it.

Some people say the best camera is the one that's with you, I guess we should also include the camera that's 125,000 feet up in the air, as well.

Video by Colin Rich

The iPhone 4 Voice Command Cheat Sheet [IPhone]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5573166/the-iphone-4-voice-command-cheat-sheet

You probably know you can make your iPhone do stuff using your voice. "Play music!" Old hat, but there's a few new commands for iOS 4, like "What time is it?" [ATMac]

HTML5 speed test finds IE9, Firefox 3.7 lead the pack in Windows, Chrome a distant last

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/html5-speed-test-finds-ie9-firefox-3-7-lead-the-pack-in-windows/

Curious to see how the latest preview release of Internet Explorer 9 stacks up against the competition when it comes to HTML5 performance in Windows? So was Download Squad, and it's now revealed its findings in some vivid, if not entirely scientific tests. The end result is that Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox 3.7 were well ahead of the pack in the 1,000-fish stress test (with Firefox about 5 or 10 percent ahead of IE), while Opera was stuck somewhere in the middle, and Chrome placed a distant last (and maxed out the CPU) -- all with hardware acceleration enabled, of course, although that had to be done via command line switches in the case of Chrome. Head on past the break to check out the four-way showdown for yourself, as well as an earlier test with just IE9 and Chrome.

Continue reading HTML5 speed test finds IE9, Firefox 3.7 lead the pack in Windows, Chrome a distant last

HTML5 speed test finds IE9, Firefox 3.7 lead the pack in Windows, Chrome a distant last originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source