Template Editor in Blogger

Remember the new template designer in blogger?

Now you can watch how it works in the following video - and I can assure you will never want to go back to any other template designer/editor. :)

Augmented Reality Laser Windshield by GM

GM is looking into a augmented reality laser windshield that will assist your driving in hazardous situations (like during the night or other low-visibility situations like fog.)

Unlike current automotive head-up displays, which use just a small portion of the windshield, GM's laser system can use the full extent of the windshield and takes into account the drivers head and eyes position and orientation to provide a accurate projection of the information over the "real world."


I want one of these in my next car! :)

Why DRM Doesn't Work

Windows Phone 7 on HTC HD2

Microsoft showed no intention of allowing existing devices to run their new mobile OS.

But now, after we've seen it running Ubuntu on the HTC HD2, and after several official statements saying the new mobile OS from MS wouldn't run on it, it's time for us to see the new Windows Phone 7 running on the HTC HD2!

Of course, this was done by a hacker, and the official stance remains - but at least it offers a glimpse of hope for all those that felt abandoned by MS and wanting to try the new OS in their HD2's.

Win Tricks

When you're looking for secret Windows Tips and Tricks, most of the times you'll come across a site revealing just a couple of them for a particular subset of the Windows operatins system.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a complete library where all these windows tricks were carefully organized and at hand?

That's exactly what you'll have with this Win Tricks.
No longer will you have the need to hunt down windows tricks - and it even includes tricks for other programs, like Firefox.

Definitely a must have.

Ubuntu Tweak

While Ubuntu (and Linux, in general) allows for endless customization ability, sometimes it's not easy for a newcomer to find the right settings to change.

Now, if you're using Ubuntu, you can do it in a much easier and friendlier way, simply by using this Ubuntu Tweak.

With regular updates and a busy development cycle, this is one tool you'll want to keep in your Ubuntu system.

Megapixel Interactive Display with 28 Projectors

Students at the University of Tromso, Norway, have stitched together an impressive 22 megapixel interactive display - though we should better call it a video wall!
It uses 28 projectors to achieve its 7168 x 3072 pixel resolution, and relies on 16 webcams to allow "multitouch" (though touchless) operation.

To create a truly impressive demo, they've used a 13.3 gigapixel image, that can fluidly be moved around and zoomed in/out at will.

Watch it in action:

Photoshop CS5 Patch Match Intelligent Fill

After the amazing seamcarving technique, it was just a matter of time for it to be further expanded into things like the incredible patch match in Photoshop CS5.

This intelligent fill analyzes the texture of the selected areas, and allows you to easily remove elements from an image:

And, even more incredible, allows you to recreate missing parts of a picture based on its surroundings - which is really incredible when applied to panoramic stitched photos:

Here's a video showcasing these features in the upcoming Photoshop CS5:

Cable-Less Computer

For a lot of people, the inside of a computer is a messy affair of cables and wires dangling around in precarious way.

But... it doesn't have to be that way. Ever wondered if it would be possible to build a clean and tidy computer with no messy cabling?

Here's one such example of  a "cable-free" computer. Although it obviously has all the required cables for perfect operation, it's all neatly hidden away from sight.

Hope that will inspire everyone assembling their own computers.

3D Book flipping Scanner

How about a book scanner capable of digitizing a book as you flip through it?


That's what prof. Masatoshi Ishikawa at Tokyo University has done in his lab, using a high speed camera, strobe lighting and a laser iluminator in order to detect the 3D shape of each page as it turns, so it can then be reconstructed in a "flat perspective."

Popular Science Archive

The entire 137 year archive of the amazing Popular Science magazine is now freely available!

This alone should be enough to justify buying an eBook reader or tablet computer, for browsing all those amazing once-futuristic articles that now make us smile for its retro looks.

If you're feeling nostalgic and want to re-read some of the articles that inspired you as a kid, or just want to spend a couple of hours exploring the vintage technological achievements of the past century... Dive into this amazing archive.

Table Cloth back on the Table - Magic Trick

For years we've seen magicians removing a table cloth from a table full of stuff. But... why don't we ever seem them put the cloth back on the table?

Well, Mat Ricardo seems to have mastered a secret technique that allows him to do just that, as you'll be able to see near the end of the following video.



Care to brake some stuff trying it out yourself? :)

(Though you can also consider taking it off with a... motorcycle?)

Speed Typing on the iPhone

Some people still argue the lack of physical keyboard on the iPhone is one major drawback. Though I can understand it, I've never really missed a physical keyboard on a mobile device, even less on such a touch-friendly device like the iPhone.

If you think such a touchscreen virtual keyboard is slow to use, nothing like putting it to the with this iTextSpeed, available in both paid and free versions.

After you've tried your best, see how fast one can really type on the iPhone:



... it makes my skin crawl!

Pin Zoom in xScope

With Apple enforcing their multitouch patents, nothing like a fresh and original idea that does away with the pinch-to-zoom method used on the iPhone.

I present you xScope's Pin Zoom.

Although xScope also supports pinch to zoom in multitouch android devices, this Pin Zoom function looks a lot better: not only working even without multitouch support, but also allowing for single hand operation - something that's almost impossible to do with the pinch to zoom (just try it out, go on.)

It's quite simple:

1. Tap on the screen
2. Tap and hold on the same place
3. Slide your finger to zoom in/out

You can see it in action in the following video:


If you aren't ready for a touch screen mobile phone, then you'll better start worrying, as these type of devices are becoming harder and harder to find..

Asus Eee Keyboard 2

Ever since it first appeared, I've been a strong supporter for the Asus Eee Keyboard concept. A computer in a keyboard (reminds me of the old C64/MSX days) with an integrated touchscreen display - what could possibly go wrong?
Well... not being able to find one in an actual store pretty much ruined it for everyone.

Since then, I've already told them countless times: "By the time you actually get this to the stores, it will be obsolete."

Guess, they've listened. At Cebit, Asus showcased their Eee Keyboard 2!



Lets hope this one actually gets to the stores before next years' Cebit showcasing the Eee Keyboard 3!

Interactive Floorplans in Google Maps

You've already used Google Maps to find an address... but what if you could go even further and use it to find where in a builiding a person is?

That's what can be done as show in this Google map mashup example with interactive floorplans .

In this case each person location is updated manually, but nothing stops you from using RFID tags to track and update each individual in real time.



The possibilities are endless, from locating cargo or parts in a warehouse, or even to locate a grave in a cemitery (though in this case you could do without RFID movement tracking. ;)

Ubuntu in HTC Touch Pro 2

Remember the times where your desktop computer had a CPU running in the few dozen Mhz range, and had just a few Megabytes of Ram?

Even so, it still ran a full graphical OS and every program you could need back then.

So, no matter how amazing it might seem, running Ubuntu on a HTC Touch Pro 2 which has far superior specs... just serves to prove that point.

Openshot 1.1.0 Video Editor

One of the most popular open-source video editing programs, OpenShot just reached 1.1 and is now better than ever.


OpenShot 1.1.0 Released! from Jonathan Thomas on Vimeo.

Here's what you can expect from this new version:

• Speed, speed, and more speed improvements. Over 1300% faster rendering previews after an edit. 1000% faster launching OpenShot. Seriously though... it's way faster.
• Undo / redo (with history panel)
• Improved export screen. Only your installed formats and codecs are listed. Improved notifications after the export has finished (using libnotify). One of the most common crashes of OpenShot was selecting an export format that was not installed. So this should provide much more stability.
• Multiple copies of effects can be added to clips. A common scenario would be using 2 chroma key effects, each with a different shade of green or blue.
  
  
  
  
• Dynamic tiling of overlapping clips (Brady Bunch style). This can take an unlimited number of clips (that are all on separate tracks playing at the same time), and tile them across the screen. OpenShot does all of the math, and the user only has to click 1 menu option (in the Layout menu). Just imagine the possibilities.
• New effects have been added: Contrast, Edge Glow, Saturation, and Cartoon.
• Fade in / out menu has been added. This is the quickest and easiest way to dissolve / fade a clip (including audio).
• Edit titles with ease. Use our simple title editor or Inkscape. Just right click on a title, and select "Edit Title". Also, when you duplicate a title, it will now create a new SVG and add it to your project.
• New keyboard shortcut to cut / slice clips. Just press the "c" key, and it will cut clips at the position of the play-head (i.e. the red line).
• Improved localization and translations. Many labels, buttons, and tool-tips were missing from our translation system. Also, numbers on the export screen (such as bit rate) would not work in other languages. These have been fixed, and OpenShot works much better in other languages.
• Timeline scrolling has been improved to better support lots and lots of tracks. The left and right side of the timeline will always stay in sync now.
• H.264 support has been improved to support Debian.

Impressive Ad Video

Publicity is usually boring. But every once in a while, something different comes along... something that really makes us admire the people involved in it.

Check out this amazing video:

And Then There Was Salsa

Online Audio Conversion (MP3, Ogg, etc.)

Ever had to convert an audio file from one format to another? No time to fool around searching for the best program for the job, installing it, and learning to use it?

Search no more: Media.io gets the job done in the easiest way possible. No installs, no set ups, just upload your audio file (mp3, .wav, .ogg, .wma, .m4a, .mp4, .aac) and select the format you want to convert it into: MP3, OGG, WAV, or WMA, with four quality settings.

Samsung Super AMOLED

The new Super AMOLED displays by Samsung are proving to be some of the most amazing in the world.

Here's a video showing why and how they did it:



Will we be able to see one of these Super-Amoled screens in this year's iPhone update? ;)

Blogger gets Template Designer

Looks like Google is finally taking its Blogger blogging platform seriously.

After years without any relevant updates, and some major flaws that were slowly addressed and fixed, Blogger gets - out of the blue - one feature that may very well turn it into an instant favorites for most blogger: an easy-to-use interactive blog template designer!

Editing a blog template was never an easy thing to do, with most bloggers simply opting to choose a pre-made template and forget about it.
Though, it's just a matter of time until they realize they would probably like one extra column or sidebar, or simply changing the colors of some elements - tough they lack the skills to do it, and therefore keep delaying it for as long as possible.

With this template designer Blogger takes the lead in easy customization of any template. Even a new found blogger will be able to click through all the available options and adjust the template to his/her liking.

Thanks Google and Blogger team! That this might be but the first of a long series of improvements that will make Blogger even better in the coming months.

Dell Streak Android Mini Tablet

Dell's Android mini tablet has a name, and it's called: Dell Streak.

Formerly known as Dell Mini 5, it has a Snapdragon CPU, 5" touchscreen with 800x480 resolution, 5Mp autofocus camera (with flash) in the back, a front looking VGA camera, touch sensitive buttons, and a 30 pin dock connector for expansion.

Dell is also planning a partnership with Amazon, so you can count on eBooks, music and videos, easily accessible from that source.

I think the critical aspect for the success or failure of this mini-tablet will be the interface they'll add on top of the base Android. It really must be something that will appeal to customers and make us want to own one, or else...

iPad with Camera and cheap eBooks? [Rumor]

The rumor that the iPad might have a camera has gained traction once again, after some people decided to dig deep into Apple's iPad ad video shown during the Oscars cerimony.

In one frame one can see "something" in the place you'd expect it to have a camera - though it might be only a light sensor, or something else.

More interestingly and "real" are the prices for the eBooks, making Kindle's life after the iPad launch even harder.
In onde example, a book costing $23 in hardcover and $19.25 for Kindle was available for a much more appealing $14.95 on the iPad.

I think that would prove to be a very big blow to Kindle's user base.

YouTube Auto-Captions

Remember that amazing project Google was developing that would allow the automatic creation of captions on YouTube via voice recognition?

Well, this auto-caption service is now available to all english spoken videos.



I just hope we don't have to wailt long for other languages to be included.
(And just imagine all the "data" this will give them, in order to provide an instant voice translation service in the future! :)

Cisco Unveils a 322Tbps Router for a Faster Internet

It's not everyday someone makes an announcement "that will change the internet forever", but I guess Cisco has delivered with their new CRS-3 router.

Not for the home user, these routers are required for managing the internet dataflow across the world. And with people getting ever faster internet connections at home (100Mbits and even 1Gbit will become increasingly normal in the next years) this CRS-3 offer three times the performance of the previous models and is capable of routing at speeds of up to 322Tbps!

To give you a better idea this speed would allow you to:

• donwload the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress in just a second
• deliver 1Gbit to every household in San Francisco
• enable every man, woman, and child in China to make a video call - at the same time!
• deliver all movies ever made in just 4 minutes

That's what I call speed!

Diagrams and SVG Add-ons for Firefox

As you're probabaly aware, one of Firefox's greatest strengths is its infinite ability to learn new tricks via extensions and add-ons. Today, I present you three Firefox add-ons that will simplify your drawing and animation tasks.

Ever had the need to draw some diagrams? You should give this Pencil a try.

If you're more into fast SVG editing, then maybe svg-edit will suit your needs better.

And if static images don't cut ir, how about using Animat to create some animated PNGs in the APNG format?

Nvidia Optimus Power Demo

If you recall Nvidia Optimus you'll know this is a system that allows your computer to dynamically switch between graphic cards depending on process at hand.

This time, I bring you quite a clarifying video that shows that the external - more powerful - graphic chip is completely powered off when not needed (not just in a suspended standby state.)

How can we be sure? Well... how about actually removing and re-attaching the graphic card while the rest of the system is still powered on, is that enough for you? :)

HTML 5 - a Video Introduction

Still haven't had the time to get onboard the new HTML5 bandwagon? Worry not; here's a nice intro video that will show you some of its new (and amazing) features, with nice examples to get you started:

• Web vector graphics with the Canvas tag and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
• The Geolocation API
• HTML 5 Video
• The HTML 5 Database and Application Cache
• Web workers

Introduction to HTML 5 from Brad Neuberg on Vimeo.

Written Gesture Search in Android

Tired of looking down to your Android screen whenever you want to find something? Too noisy to use the voice search?
How about using written gestures to search in your Android device?

Though it is still an experimental Google Labs feature, I hope they'll soon make it standard for everyone.

Image Reconstruction

Looks like those incredible image enhancements we see on TV are becoming increasingly real.
What if someone told you it was possible to reconstruct an image from a noisy or incomplete source?
No matter how impossible it sounded, someone applied some advanced math to it and... the results were amazing.

Be filling the empty spaces using the known pixel as reference, they were able to get crystal clear images out of incomplete MRI scans. And the same applies to most other kinds of images and even sounds!

And this is not all: how about compressing an image by deliberately throwing away the needless pixels that can be rebuilt using this algorithm? As you can imagine, the possibilities are endless!

Time of Flight Cameras - How Project Natal Works

I have to admit: ever since I first saw Microsoft's Project Natal, I was wondering what they were using "under the hood".

It's no secret there are a lot of "pseudo-3D" technologies out there, but for MS to be announcing it as a truly revolutionary experience, they had to be using something... amazing.

Well, at last - and actually, by chance - I found what they're using: it's a technology called "Time of Flight", and it allows the creation of a real 3D camera!

Forget everything you knew about 3D technologies. This is no "tricked" 3D image analysis or stereoscopic wizardry. I'm talking about real 3D information from a camera, where each pixel represents a well know 3D point in space.

It uses the same principle of SONAR (with sound) and LIDAR (light), emitting a modulated light pulse and waiting for the time it takes for the reflected signal to get back. Unlike those, however, which require mechanical "swiping" methods to create an "image", time of flight cameras use thousands of receptors - each pixel acts as a tiny range finder - allowing to capture a full 3D image in real time speeds.

And, as each pixel is tuned to look only for a specific modulated light spectrum, it doesn't require - nor is affected - by other light sources.
In the end you get 3 images: one where each pixel intensity represent the distance to that point, one showing a "grayscale" image of the scene, and one other showing a "distance accuracy probability" that tells you how "certain" the camera is of each pixel measurement.

Câmara ToF da MESA Imaging

This kind of technology has therefore nothing to do with "simple" image processing done via regular webcams like the EyeToy. Stuff that is very hard to do with a regular camera (like recognizing overlapping moving objects) suddenly becomes possible, in a much easier way.



The only "issue" is that these cameras currently go for well over $5000 USD (though it's quite feasible to make it a lot more affordable once you built it in mass scale as MS intends to do with its Project Natal.)

If you think all the projects the Wiimote enabled enthusiasts to do... Imagine what an affordable sub $100 ToF camera would allow us to do!


Sean G. x Project Natal from Matthew Pantoja on Vimeo.

LG OLED TV is Coming

The 15" OLED TV by LG is already being sold in Korea, and is now making its way to Europe and the US.

The LG 15E9500 is due in Europe next May and will cost...€2000.
It should arrive at the US a couple months later.

Besides the astronomical contrast ratios of 10,000,000:1 and lightning speed response times of 0.001ms, it will serve its purpose of showing us what the future OLED TVs have to offer.
Although it is a lot of money, it's quite a bit less than the smaller SONY XEL-1.
Maybe that's why Sony has opt out of the OLED business - at least for now...

Wacom Cintiq 21UX

Wacom fans have a new reason to want to ditch their old digitizer screens, the new Wacom Cintiq 21 UX has everything you'd expect it to have... and more!

Besides all the obvious improvements: more ergonomic pen (now with 2048 pressure levels, and working at the slightest pressure) it also has 8 programmable buttons on each side of the screen as well as some inovative touch sensors on its backside.

Its functiona varies according to the program you use, and allow you real time control of several aspects - you might, for instance, adjust the airbrush spread as you're painting on the screen.

Canon 550D / Rebel T2i

Looks like Canon is about to have another winner. Theirs Canon 550D / Rebel T2i seems to deliver everything you would might expect for it.

For all those wanting to create videos with a cinematic look in Full HD 1080p at 24/25/30 fps, this model will offer an unbeatable quality/price ratio (when compared to a 5D/7D for instance.)

While we'll still have to wait a couple more weeks for it to reach to market, you can check the following video in full HD 1080p glory in YouTube, to see what this pre-production model 550D is capable of: