News of technology and games

Robots continue to develop and advance

2009-04-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

Robots continue to develop and advance - and at Festo - they have been doing some amazing things. While Festo has disabled embedding, you can watch the YouTube Video by clicking here.

Festo has made some incredible advancements, including free-flying air birds - which control their own movement - the swimming penguin - amazingly smooth and natural looking in the water. These advances could allow development of more useful and military products in the future.

Future iPhone may detect when you are truckin' like the doodah man, offer video chat

2009-04-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

Macrumors has a detailed breakdown of a couple of new iPhone patent applications, but here's the gist: Apple is looking at how to trigger events based on movements (or gestures), and one patent filing shows a front-facing video camera. The camera is easy -- there's your 2-way video chat (we hope). The motion stuff? Well, Apple could go in several directions with that. According to the indications in the patent filing, Apple is suggesting the interface on the iPhone could change under certain conditions. Specifically, contacts would get larger if you are running. That makes them easier to tap when you aren't able to be as accurate. This is just one example, but I think the more the iPhone can correctly guess the context of its use, the better. We were all a little excited when we saw the auto-orientation of (some) apps, and the relatively minor miracle of a proximity sensor which turns off the screen when you raise the phone to your face. The motion-sensing stuff takes this way beyond all that. While this stuff won't likely make it into the next iPhone revision, it does show you where Apple is headed: more features, better usability. Although I do notice the power button seems to have moved to the right, away from the top. Will that be part of the next iPhone? There's mention of everything from a stylus to a scroll wheel (like BlackBerry), but I think that's just patent chatter (covering the bases, as it were). Here's alink to the patent filing.

Ingredients List for Apple’s New iPhone Published

2009-04-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

Normally DigiTimes is content to just let the information leak out in a slow but steady stream leading up to the WWDC, but this time the Taiwanese news and rumors site has completelygiven up the goat in one fell swoop, instead of pacing themselves. They’ve published a list of various part makers for the upcoming iPhone revision from Apple, in a convenient, easy-to-digest table form no less. They’ve done everything but build the thing, basically.

As was previously reported, Samsung and Toshiba will be supplying the massive volumes of NAND flash required for the “iPhone 3.0”, and OmniVision will provide the 3.2-megapixel CMOS image sensor for the new iPhone camera. Missing from the list of components is that key ingredient, the processor(s?). The components are meant to be assembled into an initial order of 5 million iPhones and shipped by May 2009, which would give Apple ample buffer time to get things ready for WWDC on June 7.

DigiTimes may not have a perfect track record when it comes to Apple rumors, but at this point the amount of evidence piled up on the side of a new iPhone is pretty much insurmountable. In fact, the nature of the list revealed yesterday by DigiTimes seems to suggest that Apple is not unaware that supplier details are being leaked, and probably supports some evidence being spread around in order to build consumer anticipation for the new device. The key omission of information regarding the most hotly anticipated hardware component, the CPU, which some speculate could be dual-core, and the rumored GPU indicates to me that Apple is very much in control of what information is and isn’t made available for public consumption.

Teens Love iPod and Don’t Have or Are Just Ashamed of Zune

2009-04-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

As if you couldn’t already tell by the sheer number of white earbuds you see slouching youths with backpacks and baby mustaches wearing, iPods are popular with the teen crowd. Very popular, according to a recent survey of teen consumer spending by investment banking firm Piper Jaffray. The survey, the results of which were reported byAppleInsider, found that Apple was actually nearing the saturation point with its survey respondent sample, which, if true, is both good and bad news for Cupertino.

Of the students surveyed, 92 percent reported that they did in fact own a portable media player, and of those, 86 percent own some variety of iPod. Contrast that with Zune owners, who represent a whopping 4 percent of those who took part in the survey. Or at least, 4 percent admitted to owning Zunes. I’m willing to bet some of that 86 percent have had Zunes foisted upon them by misguided parents, so they just say they have an iPod to avoid the social stigma.

This is good news because it means that the iPod is by far the most popular brand among teens, which is a crucial demographic for electronics manufacturers. It’s bad news because it means Apple may be close to reaching the saturation point with the market, which could negatively affect sales. The key to taking advantage of their overwhelming lead among teens is to translate iPod sales now into iPhone sales later, and the iPod touch is the cornerstone of their ability to do so. Introducing enticing new features like a camera and Bluetooth might be enough incentive to convince teens it’s time for an upgrade.

iTunes users also rose, with 97 percent of teens surveyed using Apple’s digital music download service and 82 percent of those who buy music online through legit channels. Of course, that number is pre-variable pricing structure, so it’ll be interesting to see if the recent price hikes change things in the next installment of the bi-annual survey.

The worst news in the survey came in the area of iPhones, where teen owners remained at 8 percent, the same as last time the survey was conducted. Intent to buy actually dropped from 22 to only 16 percent, with Piper Jaffray speculating that the lack of interest has to do primarily with AT&T’s pricing for cellular plans. It probably will remain a market where Apple has trouble until they can offer a device not tied to a data plan or strong-arm AT&T into introducing far more reasonable data subscription prices. It’s hard to imagine they won’t try to capitalize on the growth potential represented by their iPhone numbers among teens, especially with their selling opportunities with iPods dwindling, at least for the short term.

The app store almost hit 1 billion

2009-04-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!! The app store almost hit 1 billion downloads . They have some great prizes to offer :

"As of today, nearly one billion apps have been downloaded around the globe. So we just want to say thanks — a billion. Download an app and you’ll automatically get the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro. Just go to the iTunes Store, browse the App Store, and download your best app yet."

If you are lucky to be in on of the countries they support the prizes good luck!!

App Store Picks

2009-04-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone. It’s time for the very apex of everyone’s Easter weekend, the all important revealing of this week’s picks from the App Store.

But it’s not all about the latest fresh pickings from the App Store, before we get in to all that, I’ve collated the week’s news in handy bite-size form — think of it as factual Easter egg, especially for your brain.

The week was kicked off with rumors and speculation surrounding the next iterations of the iPod touch and iPhone. An official job posting by Apple suggested that the next generation iPod touch will feature a camera. Plus, it’s looking almost certain that video recording and FM transmit/receive will be coming to the next iPhone hardware update.

With the added potential for apps that the forthcoming 3.0 iPhone software update will bring,budding coders can now learn about development via iTunes. Stanford University is now running app development courses for download, available for download now and, what’s more, totally free.

Apple gains solar power, iPod classic patents

2009-04-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted Apple a collection of new patents, allrevolving around the company's portable devices. Unusual amongst these is a patent for solar power circuitry, which could in theory be used to power iPods, iPhones and MacBooks when away from a wall socket. The patent was applied for in 2006 however, and has not been used in any commercial products.

Apple has also gained an assembly method patent for the iPod nano, and a design patent on the iPod classic, despite the latter's similarities with earlier video-capable iPods. Also patented is the look of the App Store logo, mainly as seen on the iPhone and iPod touch. The Classic patent is attributed to a number of Apple engineers, as well as CEO Steve Jobs and senior industrial design VP Jonathan Ive.

Yahoo Music to aggregate iTunes, rivals

2009-04-06T13:56:00.000-07:00

Yahoo today unveiled a reworked, public beta version of Yahoo Music that significantly changes the company's philosophy on content. The new version serves as a central hub for third-party music services and will let users buy songs from a number of sources, including Amazon and iTunes. It likewise collects Internet radio streams from Last.fm and Pandora as well as music videos on YouTube.

In addition to highlighting content itself, Yahoo also has a recommendation engine and has individual artist pages that put all relevant music and videos in a single area. About 500,000 artists will receive this treatment, or roughly twice as many as the previous version of the site.

Skype intros iPhone app, may get video chat

2009-03-30T14:10:00.001-07:00

Skype today formally launched both iPhone and future BlackBerry versions of its VoIP calling app. The two editions will both support free calls and chat between fellow Skype users as well as calls to or from real-world numbers at Skype's normal paid rates. The service requires Wi-Fi for its voice functions but will consequently let second-generation or later iPod touch owners make calls using an in-line microphone.

The software developer promises both an interface specific to Apple's touchscreen devices as well as specific features. Owners will have access to their own iPhone contact list in addition to their Skype friends; they can also assign photos to contacts and have support for muting calls as well as placing them on speakers. Early versions will require that users launch the web to add more SkypeOut time and will only allow joining conference calls rather than creating them.

Skype hopes its software will be live on the App Store as of Tuesday; the BlackBerry app has received fewer details, but should be available in May.

In addition to restoring some of Skype's features with future updates, company COO Scott Durchslag also hints that the firm is may bring video chat to the iPhone as well as other devices. The implementation would depend on visual quality. "If we do it we will have to do it incredibly well," Durchslag says.

For the iPhone, a video conferencing feature would require a new device with a forward-facing camera as well as either a self-developed or new Apple-supplied video engine. While devices from many European and Taiwan-area manufacturers already have the hardware, Apple so far has limited the iPhone to a rear camera with support only for still photos.

Study: In-Game Video Advertising Trumps TV Advertising In Effectiveness

2009-03-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

A study commissioned by NeoEdge Networks, a Mountain View, CA-based casual gaming advertising network, says (surprise, surprise) that video advertising within online games is more effective than TV advertising. Preliminary results of the study, which will conclude at the end of this month, seem to indicate online gaming audiences are more inclined to remember and positively percieve brands who experiment with pre, mid and post-roll video advertisements inside Web-based games.

OnLive the future of gaming... the end of hardware upgrades

2009-03-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

OnLive is a revolutionary, on demand video game platform delivering the latest and most advanced games instantly, on any TV via a sleek, inexpensive MicroConsole, or on almost any PC or Mac. OnLive is supported by many of the top names in the video games industry including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive Software, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, THQ Inc., Epic Games, Eidos, Atari Interactive and Codemasters.

“OnLive is the most powerful game system in the world. No high-end hardware, no upgrades, no endless downloads, no discs, no recalls, no obsolescence,” said Steve Perlman, Founder and CEO of OnLive. “With OnLive, your video game experience is always state-of-the-art.”

Designed for gamers of all skills and ages, the OnLive Game Service is easy to use. The elegantly designed OnLive MicroConsole—about as small as a deck of cards—easily connects any TV and home broadband connection to the OnLive Game Service and is operated by an OnLive wireless controller. Gamers can enjoy the same experience on almost any Internet-connected PC or Mac via a small browser plug-in from OnLive.com—even entry-level computers will play the highest performance games. Whether on TV, PC or Mac, OnLive provides instant access to the most advanced games in the world, solo and multiplayer.

Apple contemplating biometric locks for iPhone?

2009-03-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

Apple may be considering integrating some form of biometric security for iPhones, as well as Macs, a newly-published patent application hints. While iPhones and Macs can currently be locked with passcodes and passwords in turn, the patent filing suggests that a more secure option is desirable. Biometrics are the leading candidate, and could potentially come in the form of a fingerprint or finger vein scanner slipped underneath a touchscreen, capable of unlocking a phone in a single step.

An alternate option could be the inclusion of a forward-mounted camera, which would recognize faces or retinal patterns. Such a camera might theoretically render a phone useless in low-light situations, but could also be used for video calls if supported by carriers. The presence of 7.2Mbps broadband would make the technology more feasible. Macs could duplicate some or all of these security features via integration with trackpads, palmrests and/or webcams; also mentioned is the possibility of voice or even DNA recognition, though the latter is likely unfeasible for a phone or notebook.

Graphene could replace silicon, make 500GHz chips

2009-03-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

A recent report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is naming Graphene, a form of pure carbon founded in 2004 that could be applied to microchips to make for faster processing speeds than is possible with current silicon chips. Researchers outside of MIT have created prototype transistors and similar simple devices using one-atom thick Graphene, but the newer MIT findings could make for more advanced applications. The researchers built an experimental Graphene chip that acts as a frequency multiplier, capable of doubling the frequency of an electromagnetic signal, or effectively doubling a CPU's clock speed.

Frequency multipliers based on other material are already used in radio communications and other applications but they produce noisy signals that require energy-consuming filtering.

According to Tomás Palacios, assistant professor in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, who headed up the research and Graphene project, the new technology could result in practical systems that produce frequencies in the 500GHz to 1,000GHz range, or about 100 to 200 times faster than the current 5GHz in conventional set-ups. Palacios further believes developing the technology to a commercially-viable one should take about a year or two at the most, as it's based on standard chip processing technology.

Currently, the research is being partially funded by MIT's Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology and by the Interconnect Focus Center program, other funds may come from other offices in the federal government and major chip-making companies, who remain unnamed but have shown interest, Palacios says.

The mobility of Graphene, which is a measure of how easily electrons can start moving in the material, is about 100 times higher than that of silicon, making it suitable for use in electronics.

Match.com introduces iPhone app

2009-03-26T08:09:00.001-07:00

Match.com has released an iPhone application that provides access to most of the popular features from the main website. The app enables communication with other Match.com members, along with access to profiles, images and search results. Users can also edit their profile or upload images. An option allows location-based technology to automatically find other singles in the surrounding area.

The Match.com app is compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch and can be downloaded for free from the App Store.

Flying Car Takes Off

2009-03-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

I do believe that, when we were little, many of us dreamed of driving a flying car at some point in our future, because every sci-fi movie seen promised us that this particular concept would become reality at some specific point. Hold and behold, that moment has finally arrived, since Terrafugia has just announced the successful development of such a moving contraption, dubbed the Transition.

The Transition is a two-seat aircraft designed to take off and land at local airports and drive on any road. Transforming from plane to car takes the pilot less than 30 seconds, the company informs us. Plus, the vehicle is capable of cruising up to 450 miles at over 115 mph, can drive at highway speeds on the road, and fits in a standard household garage. The vehicle has front wheel drive on the road and a propeller for flight. Both modes are powered by unleaded gasoline from a regular gas station.As a double-duty vehicle, the Transition has to be light enough to get off the ground, yet sturdy enough to pass government regulations for crash safety, which translated into reducing the amount of material wherever possible and years of careful engineering.

Carbon nano-muscles

2009-03-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

For the next installment of the Terminator franchise, Hollywood might skip the polymimetic liquid alloys — they're so 2003 — and turn to the laboratory of Ray Baughman, who has created a next-generation muscle from carbon nanotubes.

Baughman and his colleagues have produced a formulation that's stronger than steel, as light as air and more flexible than rubber — a truly 21st century muscle. It could be used to make artificial limbs, "smart" skins, shape-changing structures, ultra-strong robots and — in the immediate future — highly-efficient solar cells.

"We can generate about 30 times the force per unit area of natural muscle," said Baughman, director of the NanoTech Institute at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Natural muscles, said Baughman, contract at a maximum rate of 10 percent per second. In the same amount of time, his latest nanotube sheaths can contract by 40,000 percent. Because it responds to an electrical current rather than ion movement in electrolytic liquids, it's far more efficient than his old formulations.

The nanotube bundles retain their properties at temperatures ranging from the -320 degree Fahrenheit of liquid nitrogen to the 2800 degree Fahrenheit melting point of iron.

The first applications, said Baughman, will likely be as wrappers for solar cells, with nanotubes conducting electricity and rapidly changing shape in order to produce optimally light-sensitive arrangements.

"We've characterized the activity and performance," he said. "Now we want to use them."

New, matte iPhone revision leaked?

2009-03-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

A leak on Thursday suggests Apple may be producing a newer iPhone with at least cosmetic differences. A source forMac Observer has snapped a photo of an iPhone with the model number A1303, which isn't believed to have appeared on existing iPhone 3G models; a 16GB iPhone 3G owned by Electronista, for example, carries the number A1241. The device also has a matte black finish instead of the glossy black used on the existing model, but also retains the FCC markings and other text which would be covered up in a treatment by ColorWare or other custom-paint firms.

Nothing else about the phone is mentioned in the leak, including whether or not the back still uses plastic or has switched to another material. The site cautions that, while its previous sources have been "reliable," the image has yet to be corroborated and may still be doctored.

Apple is known to occasionally introduce minor revisions of existing products with different model numbers, though a change in finish implies a more significant change. Both Apple and third parties have implied that a major revision is due in or near June and thus that any case leaks now are of early prototypes rather than imminent models.

Readers are encouraged to compare the model numbers for their iPhones to verify the accuracy of the report.

Barcodes can now hold entire video and games

2009-03-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

A team at Edith Cowan University sims that they've discovered a way to store data on printed barcode. They're taking about huge amounts of data , like on a A4 paper it can be "written" 10 GB of data.

Lead scientist Dr Alfred Tan said, "The MMCC is a colour 2D barcode designed for storing high capacity data on printed media and displays, tailor made for camera mobile phone applications.

"Using the MMCC, the user can retrieve digital content to their camera mobile phone directly from the barcode by capturing an image of the barcode and decoding it on their mobile."

According to the scientists, by taking a photo of the barcode, users can download complex information, such as videos, voice recordings or text, directly to their mobile -- this information will be transferred to the mobile regardless of whether it is connected to the Internet or a mobile.

"The system is particularly suited for use in areas with limited Internet access. The MMCC can encode and store multimedia content such as ring tones, video clips and games, so that these can be delivered to any camera mobile phones anywhere without the need for mobile connectivity. "

"It could also encode and store multimedia tourism contents in foreign languages so that tourists with a camera mobile phone can listen to the commentary at remote tourist sites, without the need to read English," Dr Tan said.

The new Iphone 3.0 software

2009-03-17T14:31:00.001-07:00

The apple keynote just ended and they presented some cool stuff, and I will try to put them in order how it goes :

1. Some developers have asked Apple for subscription-based purchases to be able to sell new game levels, or ebook chapters, from within an app so now they're adding that: In-App Purchase. In-App Purchase will prompt you from within the software to buy an update.

2. The new APIs include tools to bring up nearby iPhones or iPod touches so it automatically identifies running apps and creates an IP connection.

3. Maps on 3.0. Developers want to use mapping in their own software, so Apple have made the "heart" of the Maps app an API which can be embedded into third-party software. Plus they're now enabling core location API access for turn-by-turn directions, but devs have to bring their own maps, as licensing issues mean apple can't let them use the existing maps.

4. Push service. So what they're doing is having running apps connect to a server, and syncing their latest status when you close them with the Apple Push system listening for updates in the background.

5. Also getting a new API for streaming video and audio, plus an API for in-game voice communication.

6. COPY & PASTE! Over 100 new features for customers, starting with copy & paste. Double-tap on text and it auto-selects, then you get grab-points at the end of the selection and a cut/copy/past bubble above. Happily it works across all applications and on web content.

7. They're taking landscape keyboard into all the key apps, starting with Mail as well as Notes.

8. They've added MMS support well as ability to forward and delete individual messages.

9. Calendar, iPod and Notes all get search - the latter you can search title and body text .

10. STEREO BLUETOOTH!

That would be all the major changes!!! But the biggest disappointment is that the Iphone 3.0 software will be shipped "this summer"!!!!

Scan Torrent app for Android

2009-03-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

Scan Torrent is an app for Android phones that uses your camera to scan a barcode to identify a product. But rather then comparing prices at different retailers it actually search on torrents site the product (of course software) and initiate a pirated download on your home computer. That is so immoral that I love it :)):)). I really hope to see an Iphone version soon (of course jailbreak Iphone). Here's a link if you want to see it in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJUf3COPUFQ&feature=player_embedded

Apple unveil iPhone 3.0 software at March 17th event

2009-03-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

Apple on Thursday announced plans to hold a special media event for journalists on its Cupertino-based campus that will offer a sneak preview of the next-generation iPhone operating system dubbed iPhone 3.0.
The event will take place at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time on Tuesday March 17th in the intimate setting of the Apple Town Hall -- the same venue used to introduce the company's new unibody MacBooks last fall and the original iPhone Software Developers Kit (SDK) last March.

OLED Wallpaper

2009-03-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

Engineers at Toshiba in Japan are on their way to making OLED wallpaper. What this technology allows you to do is paper your wall in a very thin OLED screen. If Toshiba manage to achieve this, which I assume they will as the only limiting factor seems to be expense at the moment, then they could create floor to ceiling screens that cover every wall in your room. The OLED paper could be used for setting the mood in a home, changing the scenery as well as giving you a massive TV to watch when needed.Regular OLED screens are what is holding this project back though. Those types of screen are currently inefficient for this type of application and to tackle this problem Toshiba will be using nanotechnology.

“The wallpaper uses light that has been redirected by an ultra-fine grating that is fabricated by self-assembled nano particles.” It would seem that the effect might be similar to that of a Fresnel lens like those used in traffic lights, amplifying the intensity without requiring additional energy.”

Toshiba are still several years away from making this an available product to buy. My guess is 2013 it will be launched.

Apple new Ipod shuffle

2009-03-14T02:13:00.000-07:00

Apple just released the new Ipod shuffle, which seems to be the smallest mp3 player on the market. Here's a link if you want to see it http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/features.html. Thou they released also the 17 inch MacBook Pro from the beginning of the year with its tremendous 8 hour battery life, we're still waiting for the big announcement like at the beginning of the last year, but it seems that until summer we'll have nothing. I've heard some roomers about a NetBook that will have multi-touch technology like the Iphone and there is a possibility of release in July of this year. Again is only roomers, but if I remember correctly it was the same with the Iphone, so I'm betting that the roomer is truth. And speaking of Iphone for all you Iphone or Ipod-Touch lovers out there, if you didn't played with this app (IFun) I suggest to look at it in the app store, and some information at these link http://sgn.com/ . An amazing app that allows you to use your Iphone like a Wii remote... These would be all in tech for today..... end transmission.