What the World has Searched in 2010

The year 2010 is approaching its end, and Google shows us what searches made the world turn in the past 12 months, in what is know as Zeitgeist 2010.

Fuji Hybrid Viewfinder

No matter how good a camera might be, its viewfinder is often a deal-braker.

Optical viewfinders offer the best image quality and clarity, but are unable to show the wide array of information photographers want when shooting photos; electronic viewfinders offer such features, but at a cost of reduced image quality and color rendition.

That's why FUJI has tried to come up with a better solution, and created the Hybrid Viewfinder for the Finepix X100.


The X100 offers tow viewfinder modes, easily selectable at the flick of a switch: a optical viewfinder, and an electric viewfinder

However, th trick it that instead of an illuminated optical viewfinder, they use a complete high-resolution LCD screen to create a digital information layer that is overlayed on the optical image itself - offering the best of both worlds.

Hard to imagine no one had come up with this idea before! :)

Faster Progress Bars

Did you know you can speed up your downloads by about 11%... without actually speeding up anything?

The trick is the way progress bars are shown. This is just another form of optical illusion, and serves to make something apparently faster or slower.
Bars pulsing faster appear to move faster, and ripples travelling opposite the bar motion also make it feel faster.

No point in not using these techniques to make users 11% less annoyed whenever they have to wait... :)

Playing WoW with Kinect

There are a lot of projects using Kinect for much more than simple game playing, but today I present you a project that uses the Kinect to do just that: playing games - more precisely using Kinect to play World of Warcraft.

Using OpenNI, the system can precisely monitor a person's movement and position and assign virtual key presses to any movement/position you wish. So, not only can you control your Warcraft avatar without touching a keyboard or game controller, allowing for a much more immersive experience, you could even use the same system for any other game or program of your liking.



[via Engadget]

How to Transform your Radeon HD6950 into a 6970

If you have an AMD Radeon HD6950 graphic card, you're now entitled to a completely free and unexpected surprise. What if I told you that you have, in fact, a soon-to-become Radeon HD 6970?

Indeed it's true: you can actually transform your Radeon HD 6950 into a fully fledged Radeon HD 6970.

It's no secret that manufacturers often use the same chips to create more affordable models at the desired price ranges. Usually that means capping/limiting the hardware so it performs slightly worse than it actually is capable of.

But fortunately, in the case of the AMD Radeon HD6950, the capping was done purely via software; meaning you're jsut a BIOS flash away from unlocking your Radeon's true potential! :)

As always, with anything relating to formware flashing, you're on your own should anything go awfully wrong (though, it shouldn't be that scary, as you even have a recovery mode to flash your backup firmware back into your graphic card...)

Android in Space

If you ever wondered if a plain Android smartphone would actually work in the edges of space, you'll now be able to find out: as a Google tem decided to take Android into Space.

And they did it with nothing less than 7 high-altitude balloons, each carrying a special payload that included the newest Google Phones: yes, thats right, seven Nexus S floating into space, and using every embedded sensor to log data: GPS, gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometer... the works!

The result was lots of interesting data to analyze: one of the payloads reached an altitude of 107,375 ft., over 20 miles high, and another reached a speed of 139 mph (that's pretty fast for a balloon, courtesy of the friendly jetstream currents :)

They also found that the Nexus S GPS worked just fine at altitudes up to 60,000 feet (which will serve to prove that you can actually track your transcontinental flight using it while flying in an commercial airliner).


If you're in Portugal and want to see how this kind of stuff works, I invite you to keep an eye on the Spacebits team. They're might not be shooting Nexus S's into space, but I can guarantee the fun is just the same. :)

Notion Ink Adam Details

It's no secret that Notion Ink's ADAM is one of the most antecipated and wanted tablets on the market today (particular the one with the amazing Pixel Qi multi-mode LCD display).

In the following video they step back from showing off their custom EDEN Android interface, and show more practical stuff like: using HDMI video out to play Vimeo (flash) videos.
Showing off the USB powered ports; their true stereo speakers (not just one like in most tablets), and even using it as a digitizer tablet, sending touch information to a remote computer (in this case a Windows PC running Blender).



[via Notion Ink]

Beluga Pods

If you can't figure out how to manage your groups of friends on Facebook, or find the lack of groups in Twitter... lacking; then you should try this new Beluga group chat app.

Available for iPhone and Android, this project was created by three ex-Googlers, and aims to simplify group chat/sharing.

The idea is to easily create any groups you may want: family, coworkers, close friends, sports buddies, hobby buddies, movie buddies, etc. Making it a lot easier to manage group conversation with only the people its intended for.

Be sure to give it a try, as you'll love its simplicity (as opposed to the "mess" FB currently is when it comes to manage groups of friends.)

Why the other Line Moves Faster

If you ever had to wait in line for something, you already know that no matter which of the lines you choose, the other lines always seem to move faster.

That's no secret - but you might be tempted to think: "That's just me imagining things!"

But unfortunately... it isn't. It is indeed more likely you'll end up in the slow lane, as the following video will prove, once and for all.



So, why are they waiting to make the single waiting line method "mandatory" everywhere?

Free Swype Beta for Android

While some users can benefit from the amazing Swype keyboard as a factory installed feature in their Android devices, lots of others are left with nothing but the standard factory default Android keyboard - which is rather nice, but fails to amaze in regard to Swype.

Well, now you'll be able to install Swype for free on your Android, providing you're willing to help catch some bugs and improve it even further: by joining the Swype beta program.

Just head to Swype Beta, register your email, and you'll receive a download link to install Swype in your Android device.


This beta version expires in 3 months, but as there are regular updates coming out, you'll be able to keep using Swype for a very long time.

Of course, if you already have Swype pre-installed, you won't be needing any of this! :)

iPad 3-in-1 Camera Connection Kit

No matter how useful your iPad might be, there are a lot of people that are constantly annoyed whenever they need to connect it to their cameras or USB, memory card devices..

Sure, you can (must) spend some extra dollars for Apple's own "Camera Connection Kit" to get USB and SD card connections.

But, what if you could use just a single adapter for both tasks, and even get a freebie microSD slot in there?

That's exactly what you get with this 3-em-1 USB, SD and microSD adapter for iPad.

Can be yours for $29.90 and will surely be a lot easier to carry around.

XBCM 10 Dharma

Long time XBMC users - and everyone else looking for one of the most complete and useful media center software for their living rooms - can now see what the XBMC development team has been working on so hard for the past months: XBMC 10.0 Dharma.

There are many new features: such as the easy to use add-on system that allows you to enhance your media center experience with just a few clicks; new codec support (including WebM/VP8); improved ahrdware acceleration in both windows (DXVA2) and Linux/OS X (CrystalHD); blu-ray support; and much more.

Holographic 3D Videoconference with Kinect

Glad to see Microsoft's Kinect keeps being put to good use in many "hack" projects, such as the one I bring you today: realtime holographic 3D videoconference.

This allows us any of the participants to freely move around a 3D space, as you can see in the video.

So... what are they waiting for to make "kinect" cameras standard in any and every device? Just imagine all the possibilities. :)

Google Body Browser

After mapping the earth, the skies, the moon, and even the ocean depths, Google makes a 180º turn and offers us the chance to explore the human body with the Google Body Browser.

In order to use it you'll need a WebGL compatible browser,  that allows 3D object creation via javascript - taking OpenGL's power to your browser.

Considering that WebGL is now available in Chrome Beta - it seems like Google is pushing this technology forward at a faster pace than ever..



Besides the Google Body Browser, there are a lot of other great WebGL examples you should check.

Word Lens for iPhone

If you think reality can beat science fiction, you need to check what Quest Visual has been doing. Theey've just launched an iPhone App that will blow your mind away, and it's called Word Lens.

What if you could point your iPhone camera to any text or sign, and see its text immediately translated?

Sure, there are already several Apps doing similar stuff, like Google Goggles, but not like this. With this Word Lens you don't have to carefully align your camera, wait for the photo to be converted and the text recognized and then translated: you just point it and see the results immediately!

Can you imagine how useful such an App can be, especially if Quest Visual adds languages like Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Hindu, and such? Truly mind blowing!

Mobile Templates for Blogger

Just the other day I was talking to some friends, regarding the lack of easy to use mobile template in blogger/blogspot, when today, as I logged in to my account, I'm surprised with the following announcement:

Yes, it's true: Blogger now has Mobile templates!

You just need to head into your blogspot/blogger blog settings, and enable the mobile template. It's that easy.

Whenever you access your blog via a mobile device, you get a simplified version of your site:

And at any time, you can still access the full web version, by cliking a link in the bottom of the page.

Great job by the blogger team! We all appreciate it!

Word Lens for iPhone [Fixed]

By mistake (my dyslexia making itself noticeable once again) I incorrectly used "World Lens" instead of the correct "Word Lens"; and as Blogger doesn't allow us to correct wrong titles once a post is published, I had no alternative but to write a new post: here's the updated Word Lens post.

10 Years of 3D Graphics Evolution

With the latest arrival of 3D Mark 11, showcasing everything DirectX 11 has to offer and taking it to the limit, I think it would be interesting to see how much we've come along in the past 10 years, from DirectX 7 to Direct X11.

It's no secret graphic cards have evolved greatly in this decade, more so than regular "CPUs", and this serves to prove it:



(I still remember watching these demos run - or should I say, crawl - over the years... :)

With 3D Mark 11, never have we seen such realistic and life-like images rendered in our computer screens.

Low Cost CNC Machine

I've already talked about interesting 3D Printer projects that are trying to make this technology affordable enough for everyone to use (and initiate a new revolution in the way we use/make things).
This project is similar, and aims to create a fully functioning CNC machine for under $400.

Their goal is to gather $15,000 in order to get funded, and everyone is encouraged to contribute even if with just a single dollar.
As you pledge higher amounts, you'll also get better treatment, including a complete CNC machine when you pledge $390 (ready to work for those donating $520) - and for $2,500 you'll get the full VIP treatment with everything you could ever hoped for.

Google Calendar gets Time Zones

It might look like it's a simple thing... but time often has a way of messing things up... especially if you're dealing with multiple timezones.

Thankfully, Google Calendar can now manage timezone, making sure your 3 o'clock meeting in Paris will definitely be at the intended 3 o'clock.
Also, it finally takes care of those airplane rides where you arrive at your destination at same (local) time you've departed.

Any method that helps manage time is good for me, and thankfully Google Calendar is doing its best to make that a reality.

Gawker Sites Compromised Passwords

Proving that you should never really trust any site asking your for a password, Gawker Media websites have been compromised and their user's accounts info is out in the wild.

Pretty serious considering it includes sites like:

• Lifehacker
• Gizmodo
• Gawker 
• Jezebel 
• io9
• Jalopnik
• Kotaku 
• Deadspin
• Fleshbot

Meaning, if you ever registered in any of these sites with a common password you use in other places - go change it now!

For future reference, this means not even a "great password" is foolproof. You should use a single, different password for any and every site/service you use - so this kind of thing doesn't compromise any other account you have elsewhere.

Real-Time 3D People Tracking with Kinect

Here's one more example of how the Kinect can be put to good use in many other areas besides entertainment.

By using multiple Kinects, it's possible to track multiple people in 3D space, even when they overlap each other. Just watch the following video, arriving us from the École Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne in Switzerland.

Can you imagine shops using dozens of Kinects, to track everyone and analyze their paths and behavior from the moment they step inside to the moment they leave?

Cardboard Hydraulic Robot Arm

If you're into robotics, and want to introduce the basics of hydraulic robot arms to children, here's a project you won't be able to resist!

This cardboard hydraulic robot arm doesn't even give you the chance to say: "oh, it's too hard to find the metal pieces to build it!" as it is assembled entirely out of cardboard and duct tape.

Definitely a project to keep you entertained (as well as your kids) for a while.

Kinect allows Minority Report Interface

I'm glad to see Microsoft's Kinect becoming the kind of tool I always hoped to be. Just like Nintendo's Wiimote allowed the creation of many interesting projects, the Kinect it taking it to the next level.

In this MIT project, we see how the Kinect can ve used to recreate the "Minority Report" hand interface, without the need for any special gloves - like those needed for the Wiimote versions.
The software can detect not only the position of your hands in real-time, but of your fingers as well!

Really impressive, and proves how this kind of 3D cameras can become a feasible interface in the future for many devices:

Plus Sign Operator in Google Search

While most people will know what the minus sign (-) operator does in Google Search - allowing you to exclude elements from your search , for instance "jaguar -cars" returns pages with jaguar but not car - most people wrongly assume what the plus operator (+) does.

Logic would say it did exactly the opposite of "minus"... but you'd be wrong. That is already what the default Google search does searching for all the words you've entered.

So, what does this mysterious plus sign does when you include it in your search query?
And the truth is: it allows you to search for the exact word you've entered.

It's no secret Google likes to correct us and point us to the results it thinks we mean; but sometimes we really want to search something about an odd (or even misspelled)  word; and it that case, the "plus" operator will become your best friend.

Photographing at the Speed of Sound

It sounds a bit strange to talk about sound when photgraph is all about light, but sometimes... sound is the exact trigger we need to capture that exact photo we're looking for.

With a little help from a friend - in this case a trusted Arduino - we can easily create our own sound sensitive high-speed photo trigger that will allow us to capture the exact moment something goes... pop/bang/crash/blam/etc. :)

Disney Animation Studio on the Amiga

Because it's often easy to forget how far we've come along in the past decade, today I'll show you how things were in 1990, back in the day when the Commodore Amiga was king in the graphics department. Although I was a big fan of Deluxe Paint, the following Disney Animation Studio video shows why so many people spent countless hours in front of their computer screens, animating still frames like there was no tomorrow.

Those were the days... :)

Google Nexus S Uncovered

Right after Android 2.3 Gingerbread has announced, Goole revealed their new flagship Android device: the Samsung manufactured Google Nexus S.

Surprisingle, besides the slightly curved Super AMOLED display, and the new NFC communication system, this Nexus S is quite... modest. A 5MP rear camera which can't even record HD 720p video (besides a VGA front-facing camera), the 4" Super AMOLED with "just" 800x480 resolution, a Cortex A8 CPU at 1Ghz, and no mention of RAM... which leads me to believe it will be 512MB.



Nexus S will go on sale on Dec 16th in the USA, and on the 20th in the UK.

The only reasons I can think of for such a modest hardware device, is either Google wants to launch this device at a very competitive price; or it wants for developers to optimize their Apps in order to run in this soon to be "overtaken" hardware (dual-core CPUs are just around the corner, with 1GB Ram, etc.)

Kork - iPad Case made of Cork

If you're looking for the perfect case for your iPad, something that will make its cold glass and metal more comfortable to hold, here's something you'll want to try out: the Kork  by aprodukt.com - a made in Portugal iPad case, made entirely in a natural product... cork!

Not only it adds that special "natural touch" to your iPad, it also allows you to use it without compromise:

• Recycled and Recyclable Natural Cork 
• Easy access to all Buttons and Inputs 
• Ergonomic Natural Shape and Feel 
• Angled Audio Output for Front Projected Sound 
• Larger Dock Connection Extra Space for Connectors 
• Extra Space for Bigger Jack Input 
• Angled Mic. Wall for User Directed Sound Caption 
• Very Light Weight

You can find it in its official web store for €49,95 with free shipping.

Google Beatbox

Who would have thought... you can use Google translation voice service to make Google beatbox to any rhythm you want! :)

If you want to try out your own beat, here are the secret phonemes that make Google beatbox:

• zk = suspended cymbal
• bschk = snare
• pv = brush
• bk = bass
• tk = flam1
• vk = roll tap
• kt = flam2
• kttp = flam tap
• krp = hi hat tap
• pv = short roll
• th = better hi hat
• thp, ds = instant rimshot

Auto-Correcting Mishaps

If you have a smartphone, chances are you already sent a message that was unforgivably mis-corrected by your iPhone/Android/etc auto-correcting system.

Sometimes those auto-corrected words might not be anything special... but, as you would expect, chances are it will go badly in the worst possible moment, making it even more awkward.

Well... I want to let you know you're not alone: Damn You Autocorrect is a site that compiles some of the funniest auto-correction conversations on the internet.

I'm sure you'll be laughing out loud... and maybe you can even send in some of your own. :)

Google Reader App for Android

It took them a while, but you can now get your hands on an official Google Reader App for Android. A valuable for all those relying on RSS feeds to be updated on what's happening.

I find it a bit strange to see Gooogle launching this App, considering their mobile Greader version is amazing, and they are one of the most "pro-WebApps" companies out there. But... I guess it's better to have the choice: whether to keep using the web mobile version, or the actual App; than being forced to use one or the other.

Just a last remark: you can use the volume up/down keys to navigate through the RSS items. That's not a secret, but will most likely go unnoticed for a lot of users.

Recently Used Emoticons on Gmail

I know how you all love all those secret Google emoticons you can use in chat and Gmail.
But, until now, using those emoji/emoticons in Gmail was kind of... frustrating, having to sift through all those emoticons in search for the ones you frequently use.

Well, now it's bound to get a lot easier, thanks to the recently used emoticons feature available in the Labs section.

All your recently used emoji will be instantly available, making it a lot easier to use (and abuse! :)
Hope you put it to good use!

Google Earth 6 with 3D Trees

Time to say goodbye to your old Google Earth, and embrace the new improved Google Earth 6 version, which will certainly make you "waste" even more hours wandering around the globe.

This first thing that you'll notice is how things will look a lot more lifelike, with the brand new 3D trees! It's hard to imagine just how different things look with it, a lot more lifelike.

We also get integrated streetview - at last - instead of simply going from "bubble to bubble".

The historical maps are now a lot easier to access (as Google found out a lot of people didn't even know it was there).

All this and more, already available in the new Google Earth 6.