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Bokode

Tired of looking at bar codes? With this new Bokode you'll no longer have to worry about out-of-focus cameras... In fact, it relies on out-of-focus to work properly.

Besides being much smaller (it's that tiny led in the middle of the other classic barcodes) it holds much more information.

How does it work? It's not a secret: instead of relying in a focused image, the Bokode can only be read by a camera with its focus set in infinity - and it can be read even if you're meters away.

I know it sounds complicated, but the following video will explain it all in a way everyone can understand.



Now we just have to wait and see if it will succeed in this RFID world of ours...

How Much is a Trillion Dollars?

We often hear talking about trillions of dollars like it was... nothing.

Here's a short video that might help putting that amount of cash into perspective:


... and it's no secret who's actually paying for all that... right?

Biometric Fingerprint Locks

As they say: "better safe than sorry". You may find these $699 biometric fingerprint locks expensive, but how much do you think the safety of your house/office is worth?

Besides never having to worry about forgetting your keys again, you can easily program these lock for access control: you can allow an housemaid to enter just at her preset schedule, for example.

And, of course, you can review a detailed log of who went in or out and when.

Manipulating Time with a Time Fountain

High-speed cameras are in. Lots of you have been playing around with digicams able to record video at 300fps (or even faster) which allow for super-smooth slow motion video playback.
But, what if you want to achieve the same effect in something occurring in real time, something you want to interact with?

That's why Nate True created its Time Fountain, a fountain where - thanks to the stroboscopic effect of LEDs - you can freeze water droplets in mid air, and even "go back" in time.

I know it sound weird... better see it for yourself.



Really impressive...

Boxee Media Center

If you haven't found a Media Center software that made you forget about all the others - and it's no secret there are too many to mention out there - I'd recommend you try this Boxee.

As always, it's free and open-source, as most software should be.
Here's a short video highlighting the basics:


quick intro to boxee from boxee on Vimeo.

And if you happen to have an iPhone, just grab the Boxee Free App and you won't even need an extra remote to control everything from your couch.

World's Faster... Everything?

Since the dawn of time people have craved speed. And it's no secret some people were born for it.
Check this amazing video of the World's fastest people in different activities.
A video that will make you enjoy living life at a much slower pace... :)



My jaw dropped at the world's fastest stamper... What's your favorite?

DVDisaster - Recover Data from Damaged DVDs

How many of you store your holiday and family photos and movies on DVDs?
My guess is: a lot of you.

Well, it's no secret DVDs can begin to show reading errors after some years... and how would you like - 10 or 15 years from now - to try and get some photos from some old DVDs just to find out there were a lot of them you couldn't read?

That's why I'm writing to tell you about DVDisaster.

DVDisaster is an error recovery program that can work in different ways:

For the most "paranoid" of you, wanting to keep all your CD/DVDs as safe as possible, it allows you to create error recovery ECC partity files for your existing "good" DVDs. If those DVDs happen to get some bad sectors in the futures, this smaller ECC file will be used to recreate the missing data.
(Keep in mind it wouldn't allow yo to recover a totally damaged DVD - for that you'd still need a full backup - but it will suffice for the more likely "bad sector" errors.)

On the other hand, most likely you'll experience a DVD error from a disc you haven't made an ECC file.
In this case, DVDisaster will copy all the good sectors, and then try to grab as much data as possible from the bad sector by doing multiple readings. It's a lot less likely to recover usable data (you really should have created that ECC file while you had the chance) but... maybe you'll get lucky.

DVDisaster is completely free and available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Augmented Reality Business Cards

It's no secret first impressions count... a lot!
So, if you work in augmented reality (or are trying to) then you better have an original business card... Maybe something like James Alliban did with his own cards:

How about having a 3D video version of you saying everything you couldn't possibly put on your business card. That's one of the most ingenious ways to advertise augmented reality! :)


AR Business Card from James Alliban on Vimeo.

TuneWiki realtime Lyrics

You've probably heard about those apps that can listen to a song and identify it almost instantly: on the iPhone we have Midomi and Shazam, for instance.

But, what about an app that can display real-time lyrics over any song you're playing?

That's what you can do thanks to TuneWiki, and you use it on several platforms: Android,  iPhone, Blackberry and even Firefox and Internet Explorer.

The following video is from an earlier beta version, but it's enough to show you how it works.

NASA Max Launch Abort System (MLAS)

It's no secret launching a rocket into space is an incredible dangerous thing, and NASA takes its astronauts safety very seriously.

That's why they're always developing new ways to get the crew back to earth safely in case something goes wrong during the launch procedure - the most critical step of the way.

Take a look at their incredible MLAS Max Launch Abort System in action:




However, the Orion Capsule will still be using its more "traditional" abort system:

Jay Leno Future Garage

What would you do if you need a part for an old classic car?

I wouldn't know where to find it; but Jay Leno is a different kind of person: not only he doesn't worry; e doesn't even have to leave his garage!
The famous car-fanatic TV host has a much better solution: he just scans the old parts and prints out some new ones!

Using a high resolution object scanner (160 dpi) and a 3D printer, Jay Leno can easily recreate whatever part his cars need.



And, by the way, in case you've missed it, here's Jay Leno in UK's Top Gear. :)

USB LED E-mail, Twitter and Pidgin Notifier for Eee PC

Not for the faint of heart, but... how do you feel about adding a multicolored LED notifier to your Eee PC netbook that can signal you whenever you have new emails, instant messages, or twitter messages?

It's one of those thing that should come as standard in every netbook, but as it isn't, you'll have to take care of it yourself.

Using an ATtiny microprocessor, a USB port and few extra components, it isn't that complicated - though it requires you to know what you're doing (as most other mods.)

But, considering many of you bought your netbooks to play around with... this might actually be a nice project for you to try it out.

Projecting Video on Glass

Ever seen those shop windows running video ads? Ever wondered how they do it?

It's no secret it's kind of mesmerizing watching a video projected on a transparent glass screen.

If you ever tried doing it yourself you've probably noticed your video gets projected right through the glass, so... how can they get their video to "stick" to the glass?


Well... you just need a little help from a friend called 3M and their 0.3mm thick Vikuiti rear projection film.

The results, are simply amazing:



This rear projection film does allow for some impressive in-vitro ads. :)

NZXT Touchscreen Fan Controller

If you a modding kind of person, you'll love this new 5.25" bay fan controller.

Not only it will add to your PC "showoff-factor"; but this NZXT Sentry 2 allow you to control up to 5 independent 10W fans with its button less touchscreen panel.

With a wide range of manual and automatic settings, the only thing we need to know is how much it will cost... that's the only secret remaining.

Amazing Stop-Motion Animation Video

Want something to do during your holidays?

How about taking 60,000 photos, 9,600 prints, a lot of creativity, and create a 1800 frames video like the one below?



Simply amazing!

(apparently it was inspired by this video, using the same concept, that popped up a few months earlier)

3D Video Stabilization

No matter how much I could write about it... this is something that must be seen to be fully understood.

It's an amazing 3D digital video stabilization that warps the video and allows you to program a 3D path over irregularly captured video, and was developed by theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison: Content-Preserving Warps for 3D Video Stabilization

If you think this is "just another video stabilization" package, just bare with me for a little longer and watch the video. :)





Quite a step up from the "regular" image stabilization algorithms, isn't it?

Remote Control your PC via Twitter

While on holidays, wouldn't it be nice if you could keep an eye on your computer back at home?

Sure there are lots of options to do it, via Remote Desktop, VNC, and the likes... But what if you don't have a computer around to do it with? What if you only have a cell phone? Wouldn't it be nice to do it via Twitter?

Indeed you can. With the TweetMyPC you can remotely control your PC via Twitter.

That means you can send commands via web, SMS, and also email or even chat! (Which may require you to use some extra services - but it's possible nonetheless.)

From then on, you can send commands to your computer, make it shut down, take a screenshot, have it download or upload a file, and lots more.

If you're interested, you can read a more detailed guide to using TweetMyPC here.

HD World - F16 Flight Simulator

Do you enjoy  military flight simulator games?
Well... then you can drool over this HD World flight simulator.

This custom made F16 flight sim uses 120 Dual-core PCs, each with a high-end $400 3D graphic card, all working together to create an ultra-realistic world experience.

The resulting images are projected into a 180º spherical field of view using 9 high-definition projectors.

And just so you know it, this sim also runs the exact same control software real F16s use, so that you can be sure the planes handles just like the real thing.

Well, I have 1 PC and 1 graphic card... only 119 to go.

Procedural Generated 3D City

Remember the procedurally generated PixelCity?

Well, although quite interesting, it isn't the only project using math to save artists some time by generating entire cities from scracth. Even Nvidia has its own precedural city, using OpenGL and PhysX



In this case, they're not only generating the buildings, but everything inside as well: stores, rooms, stairs, furniture... and you can even interact with it, and destroy everything.


But, if you think these tools can only be used to create "square" modern-looking cities, just have a look at what Procedural is doing; perfectly recreating a mediterranean-looking city.
(You can even use a street and height map as basis for the generated city.)




And another example comes from Introversion:



via [Digital Motion]

Hubble Deep Field Photo

It's no secret space still holds a lot of... well... secrets!
Here's a short video explaining how the Hubble space telescope took that amazing photo known as Deep Field, from the darkest spot in the sky... where we can see thousands of galaxies that make us feel... tiny.

20 Most Ridiculous Tourist Complaints

It's no secret tourists can be... odd at times.

Here's the top 20 of the most ridiculous complaints made by tourists to their travel agents.

1. A tourist at a top African game lodge overlooking a waterhole, who spotted a visibly aroused elephant, complained that the sight of this rampant beast ruined his honeymoon by making him feel "inadequate".
   
   
2. A woman threatened to call police after claiming that she’d been locked in by staff. When in fact, she had mistaken the “do not disturb” sign on the back of the door as a warning to remain in the room.
   
   
3. "The beach was too sandy."
   
   
4. A guest at a Novotel in Australia complained his soup was too thick and strong. He was inadvertently slurping the gravy at the time.
   
   
5. "Topless sunbathing on the beach should be banned. The holiday was ruined as my husband spent all day looking at other women."
   
   
6. "We bought 'Ray-Ban' sunglasses for five euros (£3.50) from a street trader, only to find out they were fake."
   
   
7. "No-one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled."
   
   
8. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England it only took the Americans three hours to get home."
   
   
9. "My fiancé and I booked a twin-bedded room but we were placed in a double-bedded room. We now hold you responsible for the fact that I find myself pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked."
   
   
10. "I compared the size of our one-bedroom apartment to our friends' three-bedroom apartment and ours was significantly smaller."
    
    
11. "The brochure stated: 'No hairdressers at the accommodation'. We're trainee hairdressers - will we be OK staying here?"
    
    
12. "There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners."
    
    
13. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as yellow but it was white."
    
    
14. "We had to queue outside with no air conditioning."
    
    
15. "It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel."
    
    
16. "I was bitten by a mosquito - no-one said they could bite."
    
    
17. "I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."
    
    
18. "It's lazy of the local shopkeepers to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time - this should be banned."
    
    
19. "On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food at all."
    
    
20. "We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels."

Virtual Firework indoors

It's a pity it became available after the 4th of July, but if you're a big fan of fireworks you won't be able to resist this virtual firework prjector from Sega Toys?


You'll be able to create your own fireworks shows choosing from the 55 existing explosions.


It works with AAA batteries and is quite small - so you can carry it with you whenever its needed.

It costs about $160... which may or may not be worth it depending on how much you love fireworks.

One thing's for sure... it certainly is a lot safer than handling real firework!

Maglev Toy Train

Back in my day trains used to run with its wheels on the ground, but thanks to the mysterious secrets of magnets and superconducting materials, trains can now not only run without any wheels... they don't even need to touch the ground, levitating just above its rails: these are known as MagLev trains.

Just watch it on video:



I don't know why, but I suddenly feel the urge to unpack some toy trains from my younger days. :)

via [Boingboing]

Robotized Self-portrait

How are your artist skills? Can you draw your self-portrait? No...?  Don't worry, you'll be able to surprise everyone with a little robotic help.

You just place your hands on it and let the robot do the walking (or in this case, drawing.)
When its finished, you'll be able to tell anyone: it was drawn by me!

Here's a video:



Personally, I still find it a bit scary to place my precious hands in the "hands" of a robot - I'd rather let it do all the work by itself... :)

Kopin Microdisplay LCD - VGA in 0.26"

When we talk about LCDs we all imagine the latest and largest 50 or 60" model in our wall at home. But, proving that bigger isn't always better, Kopin is working on the opposite range of the spectrum, creating the smallest high resolution LCD ever, with 640x480 VGA resolution measuring just 0.26".

These kind of micro-displays are usally found in digital and video cameras, as viewfinders; as well as virtual reality/video glasses.

Their goal is to create a stamp sized 2048x2048 microdisplay, something that was now proven technically possible with the microsized pixels used in this tiny LCD.
However, before we can have that, Kopin will ramp up a few other models, SVGA (800 x 600) at 0.34", XGA (1024 x 768) at 0.44" and SXGA (1280 x 1024) at 0.56"; before going to the 2k x 2k microdisplay.

Now all we need is to wait for its price to become as small as its size. :)

Virtual Holograms in the iPhone

Ok... it's not actually real holograms, but if you want an App to show off you iPhone to your friends this Holograms might do just right.



Using the acelerometers in the iPhone, it shows a 3D effect in images making look like it pops out of the screen.

You can even take your own photos, and then "paint" the height map over it - something you can do quickly and easily in this app.

Then... just have fun showing your your eye-popping 3D holographic photos in your iPhone. :)

Funambol - Backup and Recovery of your Phone Contacts

Lots of people use the holiday season as an excuse to upgrade or replace their cell phones. Maybe you're just tired of your old one; maybe you've just dropped it in a swimming pool while refreshing yourself..

Can you imagine that, losing all your cell phone contacts?

For many, they already have their contact synced with their computers, and will quickly transfer those contacts back into a new phone. But there are those who think that's too complicated.

So, I present you the easy to use Funambol which is ready to use on a considerable amount of devices
(including -but not limited to- the iPhone.) This service allows you to easily keep a synchronized contact list backup online; which you'll be able to recover should anything go wrong.

Unlike some other backup programs/services, it even stores your contact photos; and you can manage it all through your my.funambol.com account.

Funambol does lots more, as you'll be able to see in the following video (though I use it only for the contact backup thing.):

EZTV is Back

For all you doubters out there: EZTV is finally back online.

So, no more worrying about conspiracy theories and dark things going on with this reference site that allows people all over the world to follow their favorite tv series!

Welcome back EZTV!

Map your Visited Countries

Perfect for this holiday season, the site World66 allows you to create a personalized map showing off all the countries you've ever visited.

In my case there's still a lot of traveling to do, but... I try to do my best, one country at a time. :)

DIY Eee Keyboard

While the fabled Asus Eee Keyboard is delayed over and over again, what do you think about getting a plain'old regular Eee PC and place it inside a keyboard?

It's not the same... but it sure looks nice just the same - and it's available *now* (if you're into the do-it-yourself modding spirit)!

ASUS Eee Keyboard - Delayed Again?

Asus promissed to launch it in May/June, but months have gone by, and we're still waiting for Asus Eee Keyboard which is now expected this August (though I wouldn't keep my hopes up.)

It's a pity ASUS frequently misses it's announced launch dates. (Do you still remember the successive delays and price hikes that plagued the original Eee PC?)

No matter how much I'm fond of the Eee Keyboard, I'm sure I won't be that attracted to it if it comes out in a time where we already have other options (like Tegra netbooks offering much better video performance, for example.)

At the very least, it would be much better if Asus announced a realistic launch date and sticks to it!
(Instead of alienating its future customers with successive delays, month after month, or no concrete info at all.)

Photograph Tourist Remover

Nothing like some good tips for the Holiday season.

Don't you hate it when you can't get a clear shot because tourists are always passing by?

Well, I present you Tourist Remover, a web service that will "erase" them from your photos.

You just need to take several photos of the same place, and this webapp will automatically remove the unwanted tourists from your photos.

Quick and easy. :)