Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Microsoft's Rock and Rails touchscreen lets you massage your photos with both hands

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/microsofts-rock-and-rails-touchscreen-lets-you-massage-your-pho/

If you ever get tired of poking away at your smartphone's screen like a doorbell, you're not alone. The forward-looking folks over at Microsoft Research have been working away at a new touchscreen system designed pick up on more natural, whole-hand movements, effectively allowing users to break free from the finger-based paradigm that governs most tactile devices. Developed in coordination with engineers at Microsoft Surface, the company's Rock and Rails interface can detect three basic hand gestures: a balled fist, which holds items on the screen, an extended hand that can align objects (see the cell marked "d," on the right) and a curved paw, around which users can pivot images (see cell b). This taxonomy opens up new ways for users to crop, re-size or generally play around with their UI elements, though it remains unclear whether the display will trickle down to the consumer level anytime soon. For now, it appears to operate exclusively on the Surface, but more details should surface when the system's developers release a paper on their project, later this year. Hit the source links to see a video of the thing in action.

Microsoft's Rock and Rails touchscreen lets you massage your photos with both hands originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 00:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

CrunchGear | source

Microsoft Research (1), (2) | Email this | Comments

ZiiLabs outs dual-core ZMS-20 and quad-core ZMS-40 for Honeycomb tablets, clocks 'em at 1.5GHz

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/ziilabs-outs-dual-core-zms-20-and-quad-core-zms-40-chips-for-hon/

For now, the HTC Flyer can console itself for not having a second core (like all the other guys) by noting that its 1.5GHz clock speed is faster than any other tablet. Pretty soon, however, the choice between speed and core count might not have to be made at all, as ZiiLabs has just announced new dual-core and quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 systems-on-chip that run at the same 1500MHz speed as the Flyer. Dubbed ZMS-20 and ZMS-40, respectively, they're taking the ZMS-08 legacy of focusing on HD video decoding even further, while also throwing in specific optimizations for Android Honeycomb tablets. The earlier-gen SOC was only picked up by parent company Creative, who inserted it in its ZiiO tablets, so let's hope the new silicon proves compelling enough for us to see it in more manufacturers' slates. Full PR and an intro video follow after the break.

Continue reading ZiiLabs outs dual-core ZMS-20 and quad-core ZMS-40 for Honeycomb tablets, clocks 'em at 1.5GHz

ZiiLabs outs dual-core ZMS-20 and quad-core ZMS-40 for Honeycomb tablets, clocks 'em at 1.5GHz originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 04:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

epiZENter | source

ZiiLabs | Email this | Comments

Sharp Aquos Phone SH-12C has 3D cameras, qHD resolution, Gingerbread filling

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/11/sharp-aquos-phone-sh-12c-has-3d-cameras-qhd-resolution-gingerb/

The HTC EVO 3D and LG Optimus 3D just got themselves a new buddy in the three-dee picture-taking arena in the shape of Sharp's Aquos Phone SH-12C. We know, that name just rolls off the tongue. What's remarkable about the 12C is that the dual cameras on its back go all the way up to 8 megapixels (to the EVO 3D's 5), which will be creating quite the tasty workload for the 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 chip contained within. A qHD (540 x 960) screen resolution also keeps up with HTC's latest, though the 4.2-inch, 3D-capable display on the Aquos offers more pixel density and less in absolute real estate. Android 2.3, replete with some evident customizations, will serve as the OS, and 720p video recording in 3D will also be available when Sharp launches the 12C in Japan on May 20th. Rest of the world? Well, we can dream about it right now.

Sharp Aquos Phone SH-12C has 3D cameras, qHD resolution, Gingerbread filling originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 05:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Impress Watch | source

Sharp (JP) | Email this | Comments

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Ballmer And Bates Sell The Skype Deal: We Think We âCan Reach Everyone On The Planetâ

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/10/ballmer-bates-skype/

In the wake of today’s news that Microsoft is buying Skype for $8.5 billion, CEOs Steve Ballmer and Tony Bates just held a press conference to explain the deal and sell it to investors. The reaction has ben tepid, with Microsoft shares down about 1 percent so far today. As I’ve pointed out, Skype is a great company, but there are concerns that Microsoft paid too much.

In today’s press conference, Ballmer did a good job couching the deal in terms of Microsoft’s mission to bring people closer together through technology and make their lives better. “We will move beyond email and text to rich experiences. Talking to colleagues across the world will be as seamless as talking to them across the table,” he predicts.

From Skype’s point of view, the Microsoft deal could make it even more ubiquitous—from PCs to mobile phones to connected TVs. “This allows us to extend from hundreds of millions to billions of people,” says Skype CEO Bates. “We think this is a set of services that can reach everyone on the planet.”

Skype will become a new division of Microsoft, with Bates reporting to Ballmer. The product and brand will continue to exist, and Ballmer promised to “continue to support non-Microsoft devices.” So all of you Android and iPhone Skype users can breathe easy. But Skype will also become integrated into a variety of Microsoft products: Windows Phone, XBox Live and Kinnect, Outlook, Lync, Messenger, Hotmail.

It is clear that Microsoft sees Skype as more than just voice calls and IM. They made a point to note that 40 percent of Skype traffic is now video. (For instance, Ballmer imagines Skype and Xbox becoming “like a home video conferencing system, but one that costs just a few hundred bucks.”) Skype is being positioned as sitting at the nexus of mobile, social, and voice. Social is a bit of a stretch, but it does connect you to that “inner circle” of people you tend to talk to the most often.

In terms of why Microsoft did the deal, Ballmer confirms my earlier speculation that it was really bidding against the upcoming IPO and figured it was cheaper to buy it now. “Skype was on a path to IPO,” says Ballmer. “From our perspective it was better if we owned this company.” The offer was unsolicited, and went to SIlver Lake Partners, the lead investor of the syndicate that bought Skype from eBay 18 months ago.

Some Skype stats that were shared:

170M users, growing 40% year over year
600K new registrations every day
207B calling minutes in 2010
30M concurrent users on average
40% of traffic is video
$860M revenues in 2010, grew 20%
$264M EBITDA in 2010, grew 40%
EBITDA margins expanded from 20% to 31% FY08 to FY10

video chat is now 40% ofSKyep use

CrunchBase Information

Skype

Microsoft

Information provided by CrunchBase

Google Finally Delivers On Promise Of Admin-Free Chrome Frame Installs For IE

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/10/google-chrome-frame-ie-admin/

Today at Google I/O in San Francisco, Google developers Amit Joshi and Alex Russell took the stage at a breakout session to announce an important milestone: a version of Chrome Frame that doesn’t require admin rights to install.

While this might not jump out at you as a huge thing, it’s big news for millions of users stuck working at offices or schools with older machines where admins won’t allow them to upgrade to newer, modern browsers. And some 30 percent of these users were not even able to install plug-ins for IE. Now there’s a way around that with the new dev build of Chrome Frame. You can install this within IE without needing admin access.

Huge.

Google has actually been working on this problem for months. While Chrome Frame was always a great idea for helping the world ween itself off IE6, 7, and 8, the admin issue remained a large one as users couldn’t do much without this access to install the plug-in. Google has finally figured out a way around that.

Russell was quick to note however that they also offer a range of tools for admins to use if they choose to, in order to set boundaries for Chrome Frame. But the admin issue was “a major roadblock” to the quick iterations that the entire Chrome team loves to do.

So how did the team get around this problem? “Let’s talk backstage,” Joshi said with a big smile when asked this question. He said it’s a bit of a technical discussion. Russell said at a high level it was just about getting the technology to work in the browser itself rather than being seen as a traditional plug-in.

When asked what Microsoft thought of this, neither Joshi nor Russell would comment. That probably says all you need to know right there.

Again, this new feature is a part of the new dev build of Chrome Frame right now. It will be tested here and then roll out to the beta channel and then the stable channel eventually.

CrunchBase Information

Google Chrome

Information provided by CrunchBase