Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Solar flares set to wreak havoc on GPS signals

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/10/solar-flares-set-to-wreak-havoc-with-gps-signals/

The sun's activity isn't usually a hot topic around these parts, but when it threatens to derail satellite navigation services around the world, it must surely take center stage. UK researchers have corroborated Cornell's 2006 warning that our solar system's main life-giver is about to wake up and head toward a new solar maximum -- a period of elevated surface activity and radiation. It is precisely that radiation, which can be perceived in the form of solar flares, that worries people with respect to GPS signaling, as its effects on the Earth's ionosphere are likely to cause delays in data transmission from satellites to receivers and thereby result in triangulation errors. Still, it's more likely to be "troublesome than dangerous," but inaccuracies of around 10 meters and signal blackouts that could last for hours are being forecast in the absence of any intervening steps being taken. So yes, you now have another reason not to trust your GPS too much.

[Thanks, Mike]

Solar flares set to wreak havoc on GPS signals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Sketchpad Is a No-Flash-Required HTML5 Painting App [Webapps]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/L-8IAm7_OLk/sketchpad-is-a-no+flash+required-html5-painting-app

Chrome/Firefox/Safari/Opera: Want proof that HTML5 is the way of the future? Try Sketchpad, a surprisingly robust online painting app that doesn't require Flash, Shockwave, or any other plug-in—just a modern browser and your fingers.

Run by a team that dubs themselves Colorjack, this "Sketchpad" demo shows off the capabilities of modern JavaScript and HTML5 support. You can paint any color in any shade or opacity, take on patterns and "Spirographs," and use all the tools you're likely familiar with from Microsoft's older versions of that old Paint standby.

Sketchpad also offers a handful of control windows you can move around and keep open. If the app supported drag-and-drop file imports, as Firefox 3.6 does, this would be a truly robust, and almost desktop-replacing, webapp.

When you're done with your efforts, hit the save icon and your image pops up in a new tab, ready to be saved. Sketchpad is free to use, and works on any browser that supports HTML5—including, it's been suggested, in some mobile devices, though we had very little luck actually painting with an iPod touch and Android device.

Sketchpad [Colorjack via DZone]

Displax multitouch film actually developed by Visual Planet, frowny faces all around

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/09/displax-multitouch-film-actually-developed-by-visual-planet-fro/

Ready for another dustup in multitouch land? Turns out that cool Displax multitouch film we saw a few days ago is actually called ViP Interactive Foil, and was developed in 2004 by a company called Visual Planet -- Displax was just showing it off to promote their new touch controller, but didn't tell anyone about the source of the film when that's where all the interest was. Naturally that's got Visual Planet in a bit of a tizzy, especially since it's developing a touch controller of its own for release down the line; the two companies have been partners in the past but there's no agreement now. Displax says it's looking at several suppliers for the film as it rolls towards that promised July ship date -- we'll see if any of this gets sorted out by then.

Displax multitouch film actually developed by Visual Planet, frowny faces all around originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google's Street View snowmobile takes your voyeurism to the Olympic slopes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/09/googles-street-view-snowmobile-takes-your-voyeurism-to-the-olym/

There's something deliciously futuristic about the fact that Microsoft and Google are patrolling our roads, documenting their every nook and cranny with large multidirectional cameras strapped to SUVs. But what about the unpaved wilderness? Well, Google's after that too now, with its new Street View snowmobile it's unveiled just in time for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Sure, it's a bit of a gimmick, but also it's surprisingly thrilling to chase down the various slopes in use for the Olympics, and Google Earth even has most everything mapped out in 3D for your aerial viewing pleasure. Check out a video of the snowmobile in action after the break, or hit up that source link to "hit the slopes." If something gets in your way, turn.

Continue reading Google's Street View snowmobile takes your voyeurism to the Olympic slopes

Google's Street View snowmobile takes your voyeurism to the Olympic slopes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Buzz takes mobile location services to the next level

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/09/google-buzz-takes-mobile-location-services-to-the-next-level/

Google just announced that it's bringing some serious location-based integration to its services, all centered around the new Buzz social networking tool built into Gmail. Google's going to do location better than the usual latitude / longitude coordinates -- it's able to snap those to actual place names and then take context-aware actions depending on where you are. The new location services is integrated into the main mobile Google.com search page and the new buzz.google.com page for the iPhone and Android, and into maps for Android, S60, and Windows Mobile. Buzz is rolling out starting today, and it should hit everyone within "the next few days."

Continue reading Google Buzz takes mobile location services to the next level

Google Buzz takes mobile location services to the next level originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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