Bubl's 360-degree camera records Street View-like spherical footage (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/05/bublcam-360-degree-camera/

Many of the 360-degree cameras on the market will only shoot footage on a horizontal plane, which isn't very helpful if a subject sails overhead. Bubl's upcoming, baseball-sized Bublcam should provide a more complete view of the world. The gadget's four cameras are arranged in a tetrahedral layout that captures seamless, spherical images; software for Android, iOS and PCs lets viewers pan anywhere in the shot, much like they would with Google's Street View. It's also relatively internet-savvy thanks to its built-in WiFi, which lets owners both stream to a nearby device and upload their recordings to Dropbox, Google Drive and Younity. Bubl is crowdfunding the project, with pledges starting at $399 CAD ($383 US plus shipping) for those who want a Bublcam to call their own. Should the company reach its $100,000 goal, backers should get their extra-immersive cameras beginning in May. Check out a demo of the playback software after the break.

Filed under: Cameras

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Source: Kickstarter, Bubl

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Good news, fitness freaks: Nike's Move app, which brings Fuelband functionality to the iPhone 5s usi

Source: http://gizmodo.com/good-news-fitness-freaks-nikes-move-app-which-brings-1458662128

Good news, fitness freaks: Nike's Move app, which brings Fuelband functionality to the iPhone 5s using its M7 motion-sensing co-processor, is now available in the App Store.

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Square Enix's streaming service uses virtual supercomputers to kill game latency

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/square-enix-project-flare/

Streaming game services are nothing new, but Square Enix thinks they need a fix. Today, the company behind Final Fantasy and Deus Ex: Human Revolution (seen above) announced a new cloud gaming platform that it claims kills game latency dead. It's called Project FLARE, which it describes as a "technological breakthrough in cloud game architecture." It claims to harness the power of "virtual supercomputers" to offer powerful performance and incredible "Hollywood-level" animation that current streaming services just can't handle. Though Project FLARE is just exiting its R&D stage, Square Enix has already engaged Ubisoft as an early partner. It's currently shopping its technology around to other developers, and hopes to bring games to beta in about two years.

Jacob Navok, Square Enix's director of business development, tells us the secret sauce behind Project FLARE is a technology that lets them run CPUs and GPUs in separate servers to turn up the graphic potential and efficiency of any game. In a hotel room in San Francisco, the company showed several demonstrations of this, such as incorporating video streams into Final Fantasy gameplay, real-time camera switching in Agni's Philosophy and the ability to dramatically increase the number of objects on screen in Deus Ex without affecting the game's frame rate. Since developers can now fill the screen with lots of items, Navok hopes this will result in far more realistic battle and crowd scenes in the future.

Filed under: Gaming

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Source: Project Flare

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Nikon's $2,750 Df DSLR lets you shoot full-frame digital images like it's 1959 (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/nikon-df-camera/

Reincarnation is the new innovation -- the camera industry's latest salute to days gone by comes compliments of Nikon. The 16.2-megapixel Df blends a full-frame sensor and modern capabilities with a "timeless design." It may look like something you just dug out of your great grandfather's secret chest in the attic, but people on the other end of your images will assume those snappy shots are the product of a serious professional tool. And they'd be right -- even if pros prefer something more modern for their day jobs, the Df stands up extremely well on paper. In fact, it contains the same incredible sensor found on the flagship D4, along with the same level of weather proofing you'd get with the D800 -- all wrapped in a 710-gram (1.56-pound) body that feels great and is the lightest in Nikon's full-frame range.

Other key specs also stand up to scrutiny: the Df has an EXPEED 3 processor, a 204,800 top ISO, 39 AF points, a 2,016-pixel 3D matrix metering system and 5.5 fps burst shooting. In addition to the 3.2-inch, 921k-dot LCD, you can also frame shots using the pro-grade, glass pentaprism viewfinder, which has virtually 100 percent coverage and also lets you remove the visible AF points when shooting in manual focus -- something a lot of photographers will do if they're using very old lenses. Speaking of which, the Df is compatible with not only current AF, AF-S, DX and AF-D lenses, but Ai and non-Ai Nikkor glass going all the way back to 1959, the year in which the manufacturer introduced its first F-series SLR. This compatibility comes with enhanced functionality courtesy of a new metering coupling lever on the bayonet mount.

You also get a full array of dedicated dials, including EV, shutter speed and ISO, all of which have the same tactile gravitas you'd get on something like the 30-year-old Nikon F3. Additionally, Nikon is announcing a special edition 50mm f/1.8 lens, which is set to retail for $3,000 in a kit with the camera or $280 on its own. The Df will also be available individually in the US and ships later this month for $2,750.%Gallery-slideshow102871%%Gallery-slideshow103026%

Filed under: Cameras, Nikon

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Get $200 at Target with any iPad Trade-In, Even A First Gen Model

Source: http://lifehacker.com/get-200-at-target-with-any-ipad-trade-in-even-a-first-1458268904/@Shane_Roberts

If you've been thinking of upgrading up a new iPad Air, or if your old iPad is just gathering dust, Target is offering a rare opportunity to get decent trade-in value from your old model.

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