Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, March 25, 2013

Unreal Engine 3 adding Oculus Rift support this April, Epic Citadel demo packed in

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/25/unreal-engine-3-oculus-rift/

The engine that powered the vast majority of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3's hit games, Unreal Engine 3, is getting a development kit update to support the soon-to-be-released Oculus Rift VR headset. Of course, the model of the Rift that's soon-to-be-released is intended for developers, so the Unreal Engine 3 UDK update is right on time; it arrives at some point in "early April," soon after the headset itself arrives for Kickstarter backers. Beyond UDK integration, full UE3 licensees will also get an update for integrating the headset into their games.

That said, if you snagged yourself a Rift dev kit and have no intention of actually developing games with it, the upcoming UDK release also includes a "VR Mode" version of the software's sample Unreal Tournament game, as well as a summer version of the Epic Citadel demo we were shown at CES 2013. Paired with Valve's offering of Team Fortress 2 VR Mode, that brings the grand total of playable things with the Rift headset to ... five or six (depending on what you define as a "demo"). Upcoming PC mech shooter Hawken is also promising Rift support, though it won't launch until mid-December. The Oculus folks are saying that Rift dev kits will begin shipping to Kickstarter backers this month, with orders fulfilled by mid-April.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Software, HD

Jabra's Revo, Revo Wireless and Vox headphones get priced, now shipping

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/25/jabra-revo-wireless-vox-headphones-price-now-available/

Jabra's fresh batch of stereo headphones were first trotted out at CES, and now they've just been graced with price tags and are up for grabs. The Revo Wireless over-ear headphone rings up at $249, while the wired flavor will set folks back $199. Jabra's in-ear Vox hardware hits wallets with a little less force thanks to a $99 asking price. If you're in need a refresher, the gear was designed with durability in mind, sports Dolby Digital Plus tech and works with its manufacturer's Sound App for iOS and Android, which promises souped-up audio quality. Pining for a set of the cans? You'll have to head over to Amazon or Dell's online storefront to pick one up.

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video

Use Wolfram Alpha to Convert Obscure Technical Measurements Into Layman's Terms

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5992239/use-wolfram-alpha-to-convert-obscure-technical-measurements-into-laymans-terms

Use Wolfram Alpha to Convert Obscure Technical Measurements Into Layman's Terms If you've ever found yourself reading a science article and had no idea what the heck a measurement means than you know it takes away from your understanding of an article. Write Ben Young Landis suggests one way to deal with this is to use Wolfram Alpha to convert that measurement into something you can understand.

If you type a measurement into Wolfram Alpha, say, 50 microns, you'll get the usual unit conversions that you'd expect. However, you also get results like, ".04 x length of a dust mite," or ".46 x thickness of a US dollar bill." It's a lot more useful to most people to think of "about half the thickness of a dollar bill" than it is "50 microns." If you ever find yourself stuck on the measurements when reading an article, this quick search might be a helpful way to understand it a little more.

How to Describe Obscure Technical Measurements | Ben Young Landis

Google starts a TV white space trial in South Africa to wirelessly link schools

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/25/google-starts-a-tv-white-space-trial-in-south-africa/

Google has been a strong advocate of white space wireless as democratizing broadband access: its long-range nature can bring people online when the local internet framework isn't always reliable, if it exists at all. The company is about to illustrate that potential through a new trial in South Africa. A trio of base stations at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town will supply ten nearby primary and secondary schools with internet access to prove that white space access can work without affecting TV signals. To make sure it won't, Google is picking the safest frequencies from a database and is measuring the results for the sake of both nervous broadcasters and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. If all goes well, it should make a case for full approval of white space use across the country and deliver internet access to remote areas that risk being left by the technological wayside.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Internet, Google

Source: Google Africa Blog

Growler/Keg Combo Keeps Beer Cold and Carbonated, Thinks Of Everything

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5992185/growlerkeg-combo-keeps-beer-cold-and-carbonated-maximizes-awesome

Look, the majesty of nature is great and all, but camping would be a lot better if you had cold, carbonated beer at the end of a trek. And DrinkTanks has a growler on the way to help.

The double-walled stainless steel growler keeps 64 ounces of beer cold all day. It has two cap options, a normal wire bale cap and a keg tap cap that has a tap hose and lets you inject CO2 and release excess pressure. There's also a handle for easy carrying.

The DrinkTanks Growler has already collected more than three times its Kickstarter goal, with three weeks left, but we'll have to wait for hands on. The growler is $65 and up depending on things like color, and the keg tap cap is an extra $30, but with this setup you'll never be able to say keg tap cap correctly again, so it's probably worth it. [Kickstarter via Cool Material]

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Myriad Social TV brings social networking to your cable box (hands-on video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/23/myriad-social-tv-hands-on/

The marriage of social networking and television is nothing new, but Myriad recently launched Social TV, a white label solution which allows TV service providers to roll out their own custom social networking platform on your cable box. It complements services like Twitter, Facebook and Google+ by offering a more contextual way for viewers to interact with their friends while watching TV. Social TV provides an integrated HTML5 experience that's consistent across both television and companion devices (phones and tablets). Viewers can chose between receiving alerts on their TVs, mobile devices or both and can create show- or series-specific virtual communities that automatically expire when the program ends. The system is even mindful of time zones and time-shifts messages to prevent spoilers. More after the break.

Gallery: Myriad Social TV hands-on

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD

NVIDIA details how its Jetson development kit creates smart, seeing cars

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/23/nvidia-details-how-its-new-jetson-development-kit-creates-smart-cars/

Developing a high-end in-car infotainment system can present challenges that don't exist in other platforms -- you're juggling core car systems, a myriad of sensors and media playback in a testbed on wheels. NVIDIA has just explained how it's uniting those elements with its new, lengthily-titled Jetson Automotive Development Platform. While it looks like a single-DIN car stereo laid bare, the configurable kit incorporates a Tegra processor (for usual infotainment functions), multiple car-friendly interfaces and a Kepler-based graphics chipset that can power car detection, lane departure and other computer vision systems by using CUDA or OpenCV code. The net effect should be a much simpler development process: automakers can consolidate some of their test hardware in one Jetson unit that they can upgrade or swap out if newer technology comes along. NVIDIA isn't naming the handful of designers and suppliers that are already building car electronics using Jetson, although history offers a few possible candidates.

Filed under: GPS, Home Entertainment, Transportation, NVIDIA

Source: NVIDIA (1), (2)

Article: Panasonic 2013 Smart TVs wield Nuance Dragon TV for voice control, text-to-speech

Panasonic and Nuance have been close partners on TV voice recognition in the past; we now know that they're getting a bit cozier for Panasonic's 2013 Smart TVs. The company's newer LCDs and plasmas with voice recognition use Nuance's Dragon TV for voice-only control of basics like volume as well ...

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/23/panasonics-2013-smart-tvs-lean-on-nuance-dragon-tv-for-voice/

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Friday, March 22, 2013

AMD intros Radeon HD 7790 graphics card for $149, promises cooler and quieter 1080p gaming

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/22/amd-radeon-hd-7790/

We were half expecting AMD's next graphics card to be some sort of supercomputing colossus, given all the buzz around NVIDIA's GTX Titan. As it turns out, though, we're looking at something more subtle and just slightly more affordable: the new Radeon HD 7790. It slots into a cosy niche between the 7770 and the 7850, targeting gamers who want a good helping of 28nm silicon and potential for CrossFire expansion but who don't want to stretch beyond $149. Efficiency tweaks allow the 7790 to offer almost 50 percent more processing power than the 7770 while only demanding a smidgen of extra wattage (85 W instead of 80 W), which bodes well for cooling and decibels. Relative to the 7850, which can now be had for under $200, you'd be getting a card with half the power consumption, half the memory (1GB GDDR5), half the memory bandwidth (128-bit) and around 30 percent less processing power.

Compare it to the closest rival from NVIDIA, the GTX 650 Ti, which currently fetches upwards of $140, and AMD claims the Radeon HD 7790 offers an average 20 percent advantage in frame rates at 1080p -- enough that you shouldn't need to worry about games like Tomb Raider or Hitman: Absolution at that resolution. Check out the slide deck for further details and official frame-rate charts, and expect to see the card reach retailers starting April 2nd.

Galler y: AMD Radeon HD 7790 slide deck

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, AMD

Thursday, March 21, 2013

A Solar-Powered Hand-Cranked Digital Camera Laughs At Your Limited Battery Life

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5991746/a-solar+powered-hand+cranked-digital-camera-laughs-at-your-limited-battery-life

What this $200, three-magapixel digital camera lacks in features, functionality, and image quality; it more than makes up for in battery life. Because in theory, as long as you've got sunlight or at least one arm, you can keep it powered indefinitely.

As its namesake implies, what really sets the Sun & Cloud digital camera apart from its competition is the inclusion of a solar panel on top, and a retractable generator crank on the side. So with a lot of sunlight and/or elbow grease, you can perpetually keep its battery charged. Besides a microSD memory card slot and 15 built-in digital filters, the camera unfortunately mostly disappoints with its limited photo resolution and basic 640x480 video capabilities. So while the Sun & Cloud can in theory run forever, will you really want it to?

Visualized: Microsoft's homegrown 120-inch 4K television

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/21/visualized-microsofts-homegrown-120-inch-4k-television/

Samsung's $40k work of art has nothing on Redmond's non-existent TV division: Microsoft has built a 120-inch 4K display. Don't start pinching pennies, though -- this TV was created strictly for demo purposes, and won't be coming coming to stores any time soon. Check out Pocket-lint for all the details.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft

Source: Pocket-lint

Google Art Project adds nearly 2,000 works, from street art to prized photos

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/21/google-art-project-adds-nearly-2000-works/

The Google Art Project could be considered a safeguard for culture when it's preserving work that's not just difficult to see, but may disappear at the drop of a hat. Witness Google's latest addition of 30 partners, and almost 2,000 pieces of art, as proof. The collection includes 100-plus examples of high-profile graffiti and street art from Sao Paulo, some of which aren't guaranteed to survive unscathed; there's also 300-plus photos from Spain's Fundacion MAPFRE and a famous Hungarian poem whose original copy is usually too fragile to show. Although the digital expansion won't replace booking a flight to visit the artwork first-hand, it may prevent some urban masterpieces from fading into obscurity.

Filed under: Internet, Google

Via: Google Official Blog

Source: Google Art Project (1), (2), (3)

Thuraya's SatSleeve docks your iPhone onto its satellite network, charges it too (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/21/thuraya-satellite-iphone-satsleeve/

Despite the Gorilla glass, we're not sure if it's a great idea to bring that iPhone to K2. Still, if you can fire it up, you can now make satellite calls from Apple's iPhone 4 and 4s handsets thanks to Thuraya's SatSleeve. Always-on globetrotter types can slip one of those models into a cradle, dial their pals from virtually anywhere via the company's own satellite network and even place emergency calls without the handset. The device also includes a built-in battery pack to stretch call times by charging your phone -- though given satellite rates, you may get charged more than you think. Thuraya said that an iPhone 5 version's also in the works, but if you're okay with Cupertino's prior models, hit the break for more.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

HP Labs builds a glasses-free, portable 3D display with wide viewing angles (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/20/hp-labs-builds-a-glasses-free-portable-3d-lcd-with-wide-viewing/

Typical attempts at a glasses-free 3D display have trouble with viewing angles; we're all too familiar with having to sit in a sweet spot to get the effect. HP Labs might have just solved this last problem with a prototype 3D LCD that would better accommodate the real world. The display's backlight has nanopatterned grooves that send blue, green and red in multiple directions, letting the LCD show only the light that would be seen from a given viewpoint. Those positions are set in stone, but they're both abundant (200 for photos, 64 for video) and can spread across a wide 180-degree viewing arc. At a thickness of as little as half a millimeter, a production LCD could easily be thin enough for a mobile device, too. The catch isn't so much the screen as the content. Producers need an image for every possible viewpoint, which could create a fair share of logistical problems: even though footage wouldn't necessarily require 200 cameras, it could limit fully immersive 3D to computer-generated visuals or else consume a massive amount of bandwidth. If those are the biggest barriers, though, we're still that much closer to the holographic smartphone we've always wanted.

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Science, HP

Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: Nature

Canon unveils EOS T5i and Rebel SL1, the world's smallest DSLR (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/21/canon-eos-rebel-sl1-t5i/

If you haven't already come to grips with the fact that Canon won't be releasing a mirrorless camera with DSLR-like performance, you might as well cut your losses now. Instead of replacing the sluggish EOS M with a compelling shooter, the company has decided to focus on shrinking its DSLR. The result, the EOS Rebel SL1, is the world's smallest Digital SLR. SL stands for "super lightweight," which seems appropriate, given that it tips the scale at just over 14 ounces, yet the camera still accommodates EOS lenses, such as the new EF-S 18-55mm IS STM optic that ships in the box. There's an 18-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, DIGIC 5 image processor, a 1.04M-dot fixed touchscreen, a new hybrid autofocus and standard 9-point AF. It offers sensitivity ranging from ISO 100-25,600, can capture 1080p video at 30 or 24 fps, and it includes a built-in mono mic, along with a stereo mic input jack on the side. Jump past the break for our hands-on.

Gallery: Canon EOS Rebel SL1 and T5i hands-on

Filed under: Cameras, Canon

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