Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook: 12/13/09

Saturday, December 19, 2009

I Must Get the Stunning Chiaroscuro PC and a Light Cycle to Match [DIY]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/UQcDqBvpcEU/i-must-get-the-stunning-chiaroscuro-pc-and-a-light-cycle-to-match

Nick Falzone at Bit-tech has created the Chiaroscuro PC. Made of wood and inspired by the Beijing Digital building, this computer is a true thing of beauty. Absolutely amazing, in fact. The best thing: You can do one yourself.

Seriously, I wish all computers came like this from the factory. Or at least mine. Check Nick's photographies and how-to documentation at [Bit-Tech]

What Is This? [Image Cache]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DnrvIKgAKSs/what-is-this

When I first saw this picture, I thought that the guy had gotten frustrated with some kind of weird do-it-yourself exercise equipment and was about to toss it into the woods. I was only right about the DIY part.

This strange contraption is a DIY plenoptic camera.

Still don't know what that is? I didn't either, but Make explained that "instead of capturing a flat, 2D array of pixels, a plenoptic camera uses an array of microlenses to capture 4D lightfield data. This data can then be processed to create a final image that is focused on any part of the scene." Basically, this means that it takes a lot of little images from different viewpoints and those can then be transformed into your ideal picture. If you want to get dreamy about describing this process, you could say that it lets you travel back in time and fix bad focusing mistakes of the past.

It looks crazy in action, too:

You can follow the links to Futurepicture and actually read all about how to make one of these camera rigs yourself. And if you do that: Please send along some images. I have a fascination with these trippy, crazy things. [Futurepicture via Team Droid via Make]

Friday, December 18, 2009

I Must Get the Stunning Chiaroscuro PC and a Light Cycle to Match [DIY]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/UQcDqBvpcEU/i-must-get-the-stunning-chiaroscuro-pc-and-a-light-cycle-to-match

Seriously, I wish all computers came like this from the factory. Or at least mine. Check Nick's photographies and how-to documentation at [Bit-Tech]

Tiki'Labs virtual keyboard for iPhone takes shot at Swype, one-handed typing wars commence

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/18/tikilabs-virtual-keyboard-for-iphone-takes-shot-at-swype-one-h/

One-handed touchscreen typing is the hip new thing, apparently, since mere weeks after getting our first whiff of Swype, Tiki'Labs has debuted its own free TikiNotes app for the iPhone with a proprietary "large target" sort of keyboard. We've seen the idea before, specifically with some accessibility devices, which lets the user drill down into one of six alphabet sectors, and then pick one of six characters. TikiNotes improves upon that by not only predicting the word you're currently typing, but also often correctly guessing the next word you were planning on typing. To be honest, we find that second feature just a little depressing -- all that money the government spent on our two years of high school education and we still form sentences like everybody else -- but certainly useful (Tiki'Labs claims a 40% success rate). We tried out the free app for a couple of minutes and found it more akin to a Brain Age-type exercise than a typing utility, but we're sure we could get used to it. What we can't get used to, however, is how hilariously great it is that Tiki'Labs spliced a Swype demo video (originally pitted against the iPhone keyboard) to serve as a typing race example... and still only barely squeaked through with the victory. It can be found after the break, naturally. The app will be available on Windows Mobile and Android soon.

Continue reading Tiki'Labs virtual keyboard for iPhone takes shot at Swype, one-handed typing wars commence

Tiki'Labs virtual keyboard for iPhone takes shot at Swype, one-handed typing wars commence originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gadget Venue | source

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Chromium OS lands on the Archos 9, doesn't do much

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/18/chromium-os-lands-on-the-archos-9-doesnt-do-much/

Trying to satisfy that browser-only touchscreen tablet urge? Well, you're sort of in luck. Those Atom-powered Archos 9 tablets are out and about, and the fine folks at UMPCPortal have slung a copy of Google's Chromium OS onto one. Unfortunately, since there's no touchscreen keyboard in the OS (yet), and the touchscreen input isn't even recognized, this is more of a "proof of concept" than a killer app. Still, we like where this is headed.

Chromium OS lands on the Archos 9, doesn't do much originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SlashGear | source

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RIM's optical trackpads: they weren't joking about the 'optical' part

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/18/rims-optical-trackpads-they-werent-joking-about-the-optical/

Thinking about how your phone's touchscreen operates, you might assume that the so-called optical pads that have been making appearances on recent BlackBerrys (among other devices) operate in a similar fashion -- but you'd be wrong. RIM's official BlackBerry blog is chiming in today to drop some knowledge on us dullards, and it turns out that "optical" isn't just a cute nickname -- the pads do actually operate in much the same way as modern desktop mice, using a low-res infrared camera to capture movement across the surface and translate it into movement. In practical terms, what this means is that you don't need a conductive surface to operate the pad -- you can use pretty much anything that the sensor can see, so a gloved hand (for instance) is theoretically good to go. That being said, don't expect to be snapping photos with your "camera" any time soon -- we're literally talking about a handful of grayscale pixels here, which should make it only marginally better than the Droid's cam.

RIM's optical trackpads: they weren't joking about the 'optical' part originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peregrine gaming glove modeled, calibrated, and demoed on video

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/18/peregrine-gaming-glove-modeled-calibrated-and-demoed-on-video/

Now that the Peregrine gaming glove is finalized and taking pre-orders, we had a chance to sit down with creator and company CEO Brent Baier, who guided us through the use of the military-spec'd mitt and gave us our first glimpse at the calibration / key-mapping software (PC only for now, Mac coming later). We're still fiddling with our review unit, and while the gaming aspect is intriguing, we're actually pretty interested in how it could be applied to production and design software. The one issue with that is a conscience decision to limit each finger press to activating only one key at a time -- macros are theoretically possible, but according to Baier that would disqualify the glove from being used in professional gaming competitions. Maybe down the line, perhaps? Video after the break.

Gallery: Peregrine gaming glove press photos

Continue reading Peregrine gaming glove modeled, calibrated, and demoed on video

Peregrine gaming glove modeled, calibrated, and demoed on video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Eee PC 1201N review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/18/asus-eee-pc-1201n-review/

Six months ago netbooks all had 10-inch displays, fairly cramped keyboards, and couldn't manage to play a 1080p video even if they trained with the best of marathoners. The world's a lot different now: the King of Pop has passed away, the unemployment rate has dropped, and netbook manufacturers have realized 11- and 12-inch displays provide a more comfortable experience -- especially when paired with more powerful hardware that adds multimedia prowess.

We'll stop there with the Netbook 101, but looking at the past is necessary in realizing what a game-changer the ASUS Eee PC 1201N really is. The 1201N's dual-core Intel Atom processor, NVIDIA Ion graphics, Windows 7 Home Premium, and 2GB of RAM make it the most powerful netbook to ever grace the purchase pages of Amazon. But does the $500 machine fix all the issues and frustrations we've ever had with netbooks when put to the test? Can it make us forget about cramped keyboards, strained eyes and sluggish video performance? Find out in our full review.

Gallery: ASUS Eee PC 1201N Review

Continue reading ASUS Eee PC 1201N review

ASUS Eee PC 1201N review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Targeting masses is soooo "old skool" - out with the old, in with the new - http://bit.ly/5aKbu4

26,031,250,000 Pixels Make This the Biggest Photo in the World [Image Cache]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/SbtZYevoEOY/26031250000-pixels-make-this-the-biggest-photo-in-the-world

It took 172 minutes on a rooftop to shoot 1655 overlapping 21.6 megapixel images and 94 hours to stitch them together. The result is not only a gorgeous 26 gigapixel view of Dresden, Germany, but also the world's biggest photo.

You can click on the image here for a slightly bigger version or follow the link for the super-dee-duper huge original which you can scroll and zoom through for the full effect. [Gigapixel Dresden via SZ Online via Slashdot]

Archos 9 Unboxing Video Shows Off Windows 7 Tablet [Tablets]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/t-39r5J2U-M/archos-9-unboxing-video-shows-off-windows-7-tablet

For those of you who just can't wait for whatever tablet goodness Apple is dreaming up, the Archos 9 running Windows 7 might be the answer. But wait—is that Windows 7 Starter Edition?

Unfortunately, yes, which means that this version won't take full advantage of Windows 7's tablet capabilities. Still, UMPC Portal reports a solid 3 hours of battery life, 60GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, and a 1.1Ghz Atom under the hood. Our initial hands-on impressions were generally favorable, and there's nothing really here to contradict that (although $500 is still pretty steep). UMPC will be giving more updates today that we'll keep an eye on. [UMPC Portal via Engadget]

ASUS Eee PC 1201N debuts early at Newegg

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/asus-eee-pc-1201n-debuts-early-at-newegg/

OK, kids, here you have it: the Asus Eee PC 1201N has arrived a little earlier than expected. At least we think that's what Newegg is trying to tell us. If you hop on over to the site RIGHT THIS MINUTE you can see that the thing is available for ordering, in black, with a limit of one per customer. It's better than waiting until sometime next month, eh? There's no telling if this is a snafu on the e-tailer's part -- everyone else in the western world has it available for pre-order, with a ship date of January 15 -- but if you feel like taking a gamble there is only one thing left to do: hit the source link.

[Thanks, Yoav E]

ASUS Eee PC 1201N debuts early at Newegg originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel Core i3, mobile Core i5 processors coming January 7

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/intel-core-i3-mobile-core-i5-processors-coming-january-7/

Intel's Arrandale chips haven't been the best-kept secret around, and today Chipzilla made 'em official: the Core i3 and mobile Core i5 will launch on January 7, and we'd guess a bunch of new machines come along for the ride. Although the desktop Lynnfield Core i5 is a quad-core, both the new Core i3 and mobile Core i5 are dual-core -- and in a first for Intel, both of the new chips have an integrated GPU core that's being branded "Intel HD Graphics." The new GPU is supposedly good enough for "high-end" HTPC use, but manufacturers can add switchable discrete GPUs, so don't fret too much. Both Arrandale chips have Intel's latest hyperthreading tech, and the mobile i5 also has the Turbo Boost core-overclocking feature found in the desktop i5 and i7, which redirects power to a single core to boost performance when needed.

We got to see a few Core i3 and i5 laptops and desktops in action at Intel's pre-CES briefing today, although we didn't get to run any tests. The mobile Core i5 systems on display were doing a fine job running Call of Duty 4, while the scaled-down Core i3 rigs were playing Blu-ray movies and World of Warcraft -- not a bad demo, but we'll let you know when we see some real numbers.

Gallery: Intel Core i3, Mobile Core i5 Hands-On