Saturday, July 03, 2010

The Making of Tony Stark's Incredible Interfaces [Ui]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5578966/the-making-of-iron-man-2s-incredible-interfaces

More than his vast fortune or rocket-soled boots or even Pepper Potts, the thing I envy most about Tony Stark are his computers. Here's a video of how motion design company Prologue perfected Tony's fantastic holographic interfaces.

Motionographer has a veritable treasure trove of photos and video from Prologue, showing how every element of Stark's UI in Iron Man 2 was tirelessly tweaked.

And it shows. Alongside those of Minority Report and maybe Quantum of Solace, the interfaces in Iron Man 2 are among the most thrilling and memorable I've seen in any movie. These types of interactions are still the stuff of the future—though maybe not as distant a future as you'd think—but it makes them no less exciting to see on the screen.

It's not just that it's fun to watch, either; these types of imaginative interfaces push us to consider that the way we interact with computers can have a profound impact on what we do with computers. As Justin Cone at Motionographer says, "Yeah yeah, it's "just" fiction, but it's edifying nonetheless. It points to the very real fact that many of the challenges facing contemporary society today can benefit from-or perhaps even by solved through-graphics." Check out more of Prologue's beautiful work for Iron Man 2 over to Motionographer. [Prologue via Motionographer]

iBuyPower's Magic makes any game playable through multitouch (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/03/ibuypowers-magic-makes-any-game-playable-through-multitouch-vi/

So, you just sprung for a multitouch-enabled Battalion CZ-11, eh? Too bad there's hardly any software out there for you to take advantage of. Er, was out there. iBuyPower -- a company most often associated with new hardware -- has just flexed its software muscle by creating a new system that will enable any game to played via multitouch, regardless of whether the game's creators gave it so much as a thought. Magic, which is short for Multitouch Advanced Gaming Interface and Control, is a proprietary piece of code designed specifically for the company's own touch-enabled laptops, and it works by linking a multitouch gesture to a command the game already understands, emulating multitouch commands by mapping keystrokes or mouse clicks. Best of all, it's available now as a gratis download, and we have little doubt that the hackers in attendance will have this working on Dells, Alienwares, Lenovos and HPs before you can spin around twice and add another smudge mark to your LCD.

Continue reading iBuyPower's Magic makes any game playable through multitouch (video)

iBuyPower's Magic makes any game playable through multitouch (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jul 2010 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, July 02, 2010

3-D Map-Making TanDEM-X Satellite Returns First Images, Showing Fine Detail of Earth's Surface

Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-06/map-making-satellite-returns-first-images-showing-fine-detail-earths-surface

TanDEM-X Madagascar Charting the ups and downs of waves in the Indian Ocean, represented by the pale yellow area, is one example of the TanDEM-X satellite's capabilities. This picture shows northern Madagascar. The water in Diego Suarez Bay (the blue area) is calmer, so it reflects the TanDEM-X's radar signals more uniformly. DLR

The super-accurate Earth-mapping satellite TanDEM-X has beamed back its first images, and they're detailed enough to show waves breaking in the Indian Ocean.

The German satellite is in excellent health and ready to team up with the TerraSAR-X satellite to create the most precise world maps ever made, BBC reports.

TanDEM-X's first images show the runways at Moscow's airport; a cubist-looking grid of forests and fields in Ukraine; and the difference between choppy and calm waters off Madagascar.

The spacecraft is flying over Earth at roughly 4 miles per second, and will join its partner satellite in a tight dance by this October.


The duo will bounce microwave pulses off Earth's surface and time the return signals, allowing them to map the entire land surface of the planet in extreme detail. TerraSAR-X has already mapped the surface within an accuracy of about 30 feet. The tandem satellites should be able to map the variation in height of the Earth's surface to within about six and a half feet.

This digital elevation information could enable military jets to fly ultra-low, or it could help relief workers spot damage wrought by natural disasters.

The satellites will orbit in a complicated dance that brings them within 700 feet of each other. They'll start making 3-D maps sometime in January, and it will take about three years to create a seamless map of the globe.

[BBC]

Facebook's Oversized Economy Visualized [Facebook]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5578544/facebooks-oversized-economy-visualized

Facebook's Oversized Economy VisualizedWhat if Facebook were a country, and all its apps and fan pages were its fiefdoms? It would look a little something like this. Oh, and it would be filthy, filthy rich.

Because Facebook's a private company, it's impossible to know how much the site itself makes. But the value of fan pages alone is staggering, to say nothing of app giants like Zynga and CrowdStar.

Me? I'll just take some oceanfront property in Causes. I hear the winters are incredibly mild. [Visual Economics via The High Definite]

This Week's Best Apps [Apps]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5578615/this-weeks-best-apps/gallery/

This Week's Best AppsThis week's best apps!? You must mean the week's best iPhone apps, right? Nope, from here on out it's just the very best apps, every week, for iPhone, Android, and iPad.

If you want to read this in one very, very long post, click here. In fact, I'd recommend it.


iPhone


This Week's Best AppsLandFormer: Puzzle games come a dime a dozen, and to have some staying power they have to be truly fun to play or exceptionally nice to look at. LandFormer is both. Basically you have to level a plot of land with increasingly complex sets of maneuvers, which starts off pretty simple but quickly runs into that classic Rubiks Cube problem of having one tile that needs shifting but only having tools that also alter the three squares around it. If the mountain look doesn't do much for you, you can purchase different themes in-app, as well as additional levels. The app is free to start, and an additional package of levels is free through July 5. Also works on the iPad


This Week's Best AppsPredators: Kudos to Chillingo for understanding, with their companion game to the new Predators movie, that I don't want to play as a Predator-hunting Adrian Brody but rather an Adrian Brody-hunting Predator—and that's just what they made me. The new game, which also works on the iPad, looks gorgeous on the iPhone 4, and lets you slash your way through people with all of Predators tech: wrist blades, cannons, net-guns, as well as transparency and thermal vision—that one's particularly awesome. Good controls, great gameplay, and all-around excellent human-slaying action. $3 Also works on the iPad


This Week's Best AppsIncrediBooth: IncrediBooth, a iPhone 4-only project from the makers of the much-lauded (and frustratingly not-yet-updated) Hipstamatic, turns your front facing camera into a beautiful, pocketable shopping mall-style photo booth. Remember how much fun you and your friends had mugging in front of Apple's Photo Booth when it came out? This is kinda like that, but anywhere. You snap shots in rapid succession, and then you can mail your snazzy black and white strip to friends, post it to Facebook, or save to your photo roll. At $1, it's worth having on your iPhone just to facilitate some drunk PDA down the line, if nothing else.


This Week's Best AppsPulse News Mini: The wildly popular visualized RSS reader for the iPad has been shrunk down for a palm size version on the iPhone. Their mosaic style of sorting through news isn't quite as compelling as it is on the iPad, and heavy RSS users will scoff at the 20-feed limit, but if you're just a casual RSS-er looking for an attractive way to sift through some image-heavy favorites, this is the way to do it. $3 Also available for the iPad


This Week's Best AppsOddy Smog's Misadventure: Help Oddy, a little ball of smog, escape from a factory by jumping and double-jumping from gear to rotating gear. The gameplay's simple but difficult enough to keep you involved, and the whole premise and aesthetic make this seem like some sort of weird spin-off starring those little dust dudes from Spirited Away. Obviously that's a good thing. $1


This Week's Best AppsDiacarta: I imagine there's a huge group of people, like me, who don't keep fastidious hour-to-hour calendars on Google or Outlook or whatever but whose days could benefit from a little more organization. Diacarta, a visual day planner, offers that type of organization (and offers it beautifully). The main screen of the app is a small clock that can be populated with icons for all manners of activity—sports, sleep, gold, dry cleaning, working out, etc. Just pick what you need to be doing and drag it to the time of day when you need to be doing it. It might not be quite full-featured enough for people who pack their days with activities like Tetris blocks, but for those who have just been managing by trying to remember where they should be, Diacarta's a beautiful way to stay on top of things. $2


This Week's Best AppsHulu Plus: OK, ok, Hulu hasn't started dishing out the $10/mo. beta invites just yet so your selection is limited to the fistful of free stuff they've coughed up for this early release—an episode each of 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and a few others, a Carl Sagan special, the entire movie of Super Size Me, etc.—but still, it's Hulu! On your iPhone! With commercials! Bummer on that last bit, but worth checking out to see if this whole mobile devices aspect of this Hulu Plus thing is something you personally could get excited about. Free. Also available for the iPad


This Week's Best AppsPixelPipe: Here's Mark:

The 720P video capabilities of the iPhone 4 are fantastic-really calling into question the need for a camcorder-but there's one gimpy limitation. You can't upload HD videos wirelessly….Pixelpipe is a free app that will upload your videos and pictures in full resolution to "over 100 supported destinations." Pretty much any social networking bloggish overshare service you could possibly use looks to be compatible. And you can even upload your files in the background while you check your email or something.

HD cat videos, directly to YouTube, straight from your iPhone 4. Free!


This Week's Best AppsRemodelista: Everyone wants cool stuff in their place, but when you're faced with redecorating it's easy to just get a bunch of decent stuff from Ikea, make a quick stop at Crate and Barrell and call it a day. Remodelista looks to at least inspire you to aim a little higher, showcasing everything from sofas that are too expensive for you to ever even consider owning to DIY projects that are actually decidedly doable. The interface still has some kinks to be worked out, but it's updated daily with new content and it's free, so it's at least worth checking out so you can feel less guilty when you do end up at Ikea. Also works on the iPad


This Week's Best AppsGetGlue: Take it away, Kat:

Instead of checking into pub after bar after pub, show your friends you're not just a boozehound on Foursquare, but quite the literary creature on GetGlue's free iPhone app, which lets you "check-in" to whatever media you're consuming.
This can be a book, film, TV show or even music-with the updates being shared across Twitter and Facebook (if necessary). Instead of earning badges, you can earn stickers for the amount of check-ins you make, with various partners such as Warner Bros, Random House, Universal Pictures, Wired and so on offering up rewards.

Free


iPad


This Week's Best AppsMoviesNow HD: A few weeks ago I wanted to check out movie times and had an awkward moment where I deliberated which device to go to—my iPad or my laptop. I ended up checking out the iPad app offerings for this sort of thing and couldn't find one that quite gave me what I wanted: a slick, simple interface to access movie times by time, location, or film. MoviesNow does just that, and I give it two thumbs up. Its uncluttered interface will take you all the way from browsing movie posters to watching trailers, finding a theater, and buying your tickets. $2 Also works on the iPhone


This Week's Best AppsNFB Films: The National Film Board, Canada's public film producer and distributor, has a new app that lets you tap in to their expansive library of over 1000 films, documentaries, and animations, and the stuff you pick is stored on your iPad for 48 hours so you can watch offline. So next time you have a long flight somewhere, peruse through the NFB's listings, find a few you like, and get to know what Canada's really like. Free!


This Week's Best AppsThe Colbert Report's the Word: Every "The Word" segment from every episode of the Colbert Report ever aired—you either know you need to get this right now or will figure out you need it at some point in the future. A little crashy at the moment but presumably Colbert himself is slaving away over the code to fix it for an update. $3


This Week's Best AppsCompass HD: The iPad doesn't come with a standard compass app, which is a shame, because as Compass HD shows, having a huge slate of a compass can be a pretty awesome thing. In addition to the four swish designs, Compass HD has Google Maps integration, tagging, and distance calculation. OK, I'm not sure exactly when or what I'll use it for, but all I know is that I'm not going to be the one kicking myself when I'm short an iPad compass. $2


This Week's Best AppsKindle: Kindle on the iPad ain't nothin' new, but this week's update brought support for embedded audio and video, putting Kindle on the same level as iBooks for reading multimedia texts on the iPad. Looks like Matt was right: Amazon's more concerned with where you're buying your ebooks than what device you're reading them on. Free


Android

This Week's Best AppsIMDB: Who's that guy? Where's he from? Should I even watch this movie? Solve all your movie questions with Android's official IMDB app. The IMDB app is basically IMDB's website optimized for your phone—that's a good thing. Along with all the movie info, you can also watch trailers, see the top 250 movies of all time, find local movie and TV listings and even add IMDB to Android's universal search. Free. Android 1.6+


This Week's Best AppsWunderRadio: WunderRadio, a beloved radio streaming app on Windows Mobile and the iPhone, gives you access to over 36,000 radio stations on your Android phone. You can tune in to AOL Radio, Bloomberg, BBC, or search for more stations manually or by your location. It's different from Pandora, in that you're actually listening to real stations and not customized playlists. $6.99. Android 1.6+


This Week's Best AppsKindle for Android: As Matt says:

One of the last major apps I've been waiting for on Android is finally here: Kindle. It syncs all of your Kindle books, as you'd expect, though it's missing features like full text search and in-app purchasing.

Free. Android 1.6+


This Week's Best AppseBooks by Kobo: Kindle's not the only ebook game in town. Kobo, Border's horse in this race, is now offering its 2 million ebook library to Android users. You can tweak font types, change background colors, and buy books in the app. If you're anti-Kindle, this is the one to get. Free


This Week's Best AppsSoundhound: Like Shazam, it's an awesome music recognition app that'll tell you what song is playing on the radio. Unlike Shazam, you can also sing or hum a song and it'll give you the results complete with videos, lyrics, and a link to the Amazon MP3 store. Sadly, the free version limits you to 5 song tags a month. If you need more than that, you'll need to pony up $5 to get the unlimited version. Free, $5.


This Week's Best AppsSlingPlayer Mobile: Slingbox can now stream whatever is on your home TV to your Android phone. With the Android app, you get full control over your at-home DVR box and remote, so you can pause, fast-forward, rewind the live and recorded shows you're watching, and even schedule DVR recordings. Works over 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi. $29.99. Android 1.5+


This Week's Best Apps Mark the Spot: AT&T is (slowly) getting more Android phones so it's as good a time as any to release their "tell us where we suck" app. Mark the spot lets you pinpoint the exact location of your dropped your call, failed call, slow data, and other areas of suck. The app itself is kind of ugly, but pointing out where AT&T fails can feel oh so good. Free.


This Week's Best AppsWi-Fi Analyzer: It shows you the quality of the Wi-Fi hotspots around you in a nice little graph. So you know which Wi-Fi is speedy and which one has too many people connected to it. Sadly, you can't connect to the Wi-Fi network from the app.


This Week's Best AppsKellog's Recalled Products: KNOW YOUR CEREAL (and other Kellogg's products). Kat says:

It lets you scan the barcodes on Kellogg's items, with the results compared against a recalled products database-so you know what's edible and what may contain traces of glass/metal/human skin.

Apps! We love 'em, and we know you all do too. So we're going to try to bring you the best apps, for every platform, every week, right here. If you come across any—or are a developer who's making your own—that you think we should check out, post 'em in the comments here or shoot me an email. That goes for WebOS and Blackberry apps, too!

HP ePrint really works: eMails and attachments printed from the cloud (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/hp-eprint-really-works-emails-and-attachments-printed-from-the/

We don't blame you if you missed this the first time round, but HP's ePrint service is probably best seen in action anyway. Fortunately, our brethren over at Engadget Chinese had the opportunity to play with these new web-connected printers recently. The idea is that each ePrint printer gets a unique email address, meaning you can send in a document from any email-enabled device to get it printed, thus eliminating the hassle of finding a computer and drivers or installing an app on certain smartphones and tablets. So how does one go about setting up this bad boy? According to our sister site, you must first register your printer on HP's ePrintCenter website to obtain a randomly-generated email address (don't worry, you can always get a new one if necessary), and then you're good to go, literally. Read on to find out if ePrint's as straightforward as it sounds.

Continue reading HP ePrint really works: eMails and attachments printed from the cloud (video)

HP ePrint really works: eMails and attachments printed from the cloud (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brite-View launches CinemaGo BV-5005HD Mini CG HD media player

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/brite-view-launches-cinemago-bv-5005hd-mini-cg-hd-media-player/

Brite-View's CinemaTube may have sufficed just fine for your home entertainment needs last year, but there's nothing like a little "Special Edition" to really get the gears turning in 2010. Launched today, the CinemaGo BV-5005HD Mini CG is mostly a revamped version of the CinemaTube BV-5005HD, boasting an eSATA interface, USB 2.0 socket, inbuilt WiFi, a BitTorrent manager and access to MUZEE internet radio channels. As you'd expect, the box is built to handle 1080p output and a cornucopia of file formats including MOV, WMV, MKV, AVI, VOB, DIVX, FLV and RMVB, and content can be delivered via locally attached hard drives or a home network / web connection. Best of all, the $149.99 MSRP is being trumped by a $109.99 pre-order price if you get in now, so really, you should probably get in now. Unless you hate saving money.

Continue reading Brite-View launches CinemaGo BV-5005HD Mini CG HD media player

Brite-View launches CinemaGo BV-5005HD Mini CG HD media player originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Music Launching Alongside Android 3.0 This Fall/Winter [Google]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5578456/google-music-launching-alongside-android-30-this-fallwinter

Google Music Launching Alongside Android 3.0 This Fall/WinterAccording to Android product manager Gaurav Jain, Google Music will be launched concurrently with Android 3.0 (Gingerbread) at the end of this year. Presumably just in time to battle iTunes Live.

Apple and Google's race to stream content from the cloud has never really been a question of if so much as of when, and today's report from Israeli financial paper Calcalist gives us the clearest indicator yet of when we'll actually start being able to take advantage. Nevermind that mSpot already beat Google to a cloud-based Android music service; mass penetration won't happen until the big dogs step up with their own platforms.

Jain unfortunately didn't offer up any other details about what form Google Music would take, although we've got our own hunches. We do know, though, that we're just a few months away from finding out. [Calcalist via Know Your Cell]

HP Mini 110 and 210 netbooks get Atom N455 and N475 accoutrement

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/hp-mini-110-and-210-netbooks-get-atom-n455-and-n475-accoutrement/

HP Mini 110 and 210 netbooks get latest Atom N455 and N475 accoutrement
Looking for a Mini that has a little more to offer in the processor department? HP has thoughtfully upgraded the Mini 110 and Mini 210 to offer your choice of Intel's N455 or N475 Atom processors. Those chips bring DDR3 memory compatibility to the table, which both netbooks now offer by default, while the optional N475 brings either one up to 1.88GHz -- though you'll have to pay an extra $25 as proof of your commitment to handle that sort of blazing performance. The default 110 with 1GB of memory starts at $280 right now, while a base 210 will set you back $330.

HP Mini 110 and 210 netbooks get Atom N455 and N475 accoutrement originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbooks.com  |  source! Mini 110 , Mini 210  | Email this | Comments

Intel set to overhaul desktop CPU range with new models, lower prices

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/intel-set-to-overhaul-desktop-cpu-range-with-new-models-lower-p/

This might be about as shocking as sunny weather in España, but Intel appears set to slash some prices and bump some speeds in its desktop CPU portfolio this quarter. According to DigiTimes and its beloved motherboard maker sources, the desktop dominator intends to introduce a six-core Core i7-970 chip, at a $885 bulk purchase price that should bring the hexacore entry price down from the i7-980X's $999 perch, along with a 2.8GHz i5-760 priced at $205, and -- intriguingly -- a quad-core i5-870S designed specifically for small form factor machines and costing an appropriately inflated $351 a piece. Finally, there's word of a most welcome price tumble for the 3.06GHz i7-950, which moves down to the $294 slot currently occupied by the 2.8GHz i7-930. All this crazy talk seems to reiterate earlier suggestions coming out of HKEPC, so we advise hitting both source links and drawing your own conclusions.

Intel set to overhaul desktop CPU range with new models, lower prices originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDigiTimes, HKEPC  | Email this | Comments

Droid Incredible OTA update said to be bringing mobile hotspot, 720p recording

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/droid-incredible-ota-update-said-to-be-bringing-mobile-hotspot/

Well, it looks like Droid Incredible owners might soon be rewarded with more than a $25 gift card -- Droid Life is reporting that the phone is set to get an OTA update that will add some of the most oft-requested features. That includes mobile hotspot functionality, 720p video recording and, last but not least, the familiar Droid red eye boot animation that's been curiously absent. No word on a rollout date just yet, but Droid Life's tipster has provided some pics, and a video of that boot sequence (check it out after the break).

[Thanks, Dustin]

Continue reading Droid Incredible OTA update said to be bringing mobile hotspot, 720p recording

Droid Incredible OTA update said to be bringing mobile hotspot, 720p recording originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google acquires ITA for $700m, dives headfirst into airline ticket search

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/google-acquires-ita-for-700m-dives-headfirst-into-airline-tick/

Look out, Kayak / Bing Travel -- you both are about to have your respective worlds rocked. While Google has managed to stay on top (or close to the top) when it comes to almost everything search related, the company has curiously allowed smaller niche brands to handle the travel side. Even amongst the hardcore Googlers, avid flyers typically head to a place like Kayak to weigh their options, while vacation planners either do likewise or turn to Bing Travel. In a few months time, we suspect some of that traffic will be diverted back to El Goog. The company has just announced plans to acquire Cambridge-based ITA Software for a cool $700 million, which will put one of the world's most sophisticated QPX software tools for organizing flight information into the hands of the planet's most dangerous search ally. According to Google, the pickup will allow consumers to search and buy airline tickets with less hassle and frustration, though it's quick to point out that it has "no plans to sell airline tickets [directly] to consumers." For the travel junkies in attendance, there's a high probability that you won't find any better news coming your way today than this.

[Thanks, Matthew]

Continue reading Google acquires ITA for $700m, dives headfirst into airline ticket search

Google acquires ITA for $700m, dives headfirst into airline ticket search originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gadling  |  sourceOfficial Google Blog, Google  | Email this | Comments

1&1's 7-inch SmartPad is the most unlikely Android tablet you'll ever see

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/1and1s-7-inch-smartpad-is-the-most-unlikely-android-tablet-youll/

We knew at Computex that tablets were on track to completely take over the world, but now it's official: a German internet provider has just revealed that it'll soon be offering a branded tablet PC of its own. You heard right -- a German ISP is making a tablet. The delightfully named SmartPad is a 7-inch, touchscreen-based slate that'll eventually support Android 2.2 (v1.6 will be pre-installed), and there's also inbuilt WiFi and an optional 3G module for those looking to "stay connected." It seems as if the company is still hammering out the final specifications, but we are told to expect an SD card reader (2GB will be included), a USB socket, a 500MHz ARM11 processor, 256MB of RAM and a proprietary app store that'll undoubtedly enrage you. According to the promotional video hosted just past the break, it should ship later this month for precisely nothing so long as you pick up a data plan to go alongside of it. 'Course, getting one outside of Deutschland is another challenge entirely...

Continue reading 1&1's 7-inch SmartPad is the most unlikely Android tablet you'll ever see

1&1's 7-inch SmartPad is the most unlikely Android tablet you'll ever see originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chase Bank Customers Can Deposit Checks Using an iPhone App [IPhone Apps]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5578069/chase-bank-customers-can-deposit-checks-using-an-iphone-app

Chase Bank Customers Can Deposit Checks Using an iPhone AppYeah I know, checks—antiquated money-form. I closed a bank account recently, and they sent me a check with the remaining balance—but £2.16 just doesn't seem worth the effort involved. If I banked with Chase, though...

Well, I wouldn't be banking with Chase, as I'm in the UK (where we call checks "cheques"), but for anyone who has a Chase account their updated iPhone app is definitely worth your download. Or it would be, if you can find it on the App Store—there seem to be some issues at the moment with people not being able to find it.

Once Chase/Apple irons out any bugs preventing it from showing up, you'll then be able to take a photo of the check with your iPhone, and deposit it through the app reportedly, with 9to5Mac's Seth saying that it worked perfectly for him, but it only allows deposits of $1,000 a day, and $3,000 a week.

The technology isn't exactly new, as USAA (a privately-held bank and insurance company) added the functionality to its app last year. Chase, to my (UK)-knowledge, is a much larger bank (part of the "big four," along with Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo), so therefore it's a pretty big step and could really help out their customers, who like me, are too lazy to walk to the bank to deposit a $3.28 check. [iTunes via 9to5Mac]

Japanese Not Excited About Being Told to Buy 3DTVs [3dTv]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5578115/japanese-not-excited-about-being-told-to-buy-3dtvs

Japanese Not Excited About Being Told to Buy 3DTVsA survey of 8,957 Japanese consumers found they're not thrilled about the entertainment industry demanding they upgrade TVs again, with nearly 70% saying they have "no plans" to buy a 3DTV for their homes.

"Television makers' expectations for 3D are high but looking at the degree of interest among consumers, there is a big gap with the enthusiasm of manufacturers" said Tsuyoshi Kamada, from survey-taker Kakaku.com. The main reasons given for the negativity were the expense, the silly glasses, the expense of the silly glasses and the clear current lack of 3D content. [Reuters via VG247]

Image Credit: LG's Flickr (yes, we know LG is Korean, but that's a lovely photograph)