Category Archives: Technology

LG goes retro with CRT-based Classic TV

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LG travelled back in time to bring us the LG Serie 1 Classic television, their latest creation that radiates a retro design.  Yup, it packs good ‘ol CRT technology (that’s cathode ray tubefor you younglings) with a traditional 4:3 aspect ratio in a 14 inch diagonal screen.  It even comes complete with rabbit-ear antennae, knobs for channel surfing and volume, and chrome legs!  LG pulled out all the stops–you have the option to switch between full color, black & white and sepia tone modes.  Due to obvious technical reasons the Serie 1 does include a modern digital tuner, composite video ports, and a wireless remote.  It’s available for purchase in Korea for about $215 in black and red renditions.  Additional images below.

[Via Technabob; Engadget]

Pictionaire touchscreen surface merges the physical with the digital world

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Out of Microsoft and University of California Berkeley comes the Pictionaire touchscreen table.  It uses integrated overhead cameras to capture physical objects and convert them into digital ones to be manipulated.  The Microft Surface-esque table is almost six feet long, begging for an intuitive collaborative experience.  Creating digital copies of “physical artifacts” couldn’t be simpler.  You place an object (say, a notebook with doodles) onto the surface, the table recognizes its presence, the overhead camera snaps a picture of it, and all you have to do is drag and drop the corner edge of the object to a new area on the table.  Viola–now you have a digital copy of the notebook that can be manipulated in a variety of ways.  You can drag the digital copy onto paper-sized whiteboards and use a marker to add annotations.  The surface can even act as a light table to create hand-drawn copies of things.  Wireless keyboards and mice are supported for text imput and image search.  Though Pictionaire remains a research project, it’s good to see Microsoft and company working towards a more practical experience with the Microsoft Surface table.

[Via New Scientist; Gizmodo]

3D wall projections appear frightenly realistic

Architecture, Technology, Video, , , ,

From NuFormer Digital Media comes intruiging wall projections on buildings.  They’ve created these “high-skill 3D video mapping projections” that can be custom-made to fit a variety of buildings.  My favorite projection is the one that makes the structure look like water is shooting out from all crevices.  What’s yours?

[Via KPeriera twitter page; YouTube]

Solar-powered ‘mobile lounge’ rocks my world

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The MercuryHouseOne, designed by Architecture and Vision, is built from Carrara marble and the rooftop is fitted with solar panels to power the interior space.  This bubble home can be occupied as “a portable pavilion, an outdoors office, a room, or even an off-grid natural retreat.”  I can totally see myself using it as a “blogger’s pad,” a place to retreat when times get busy.  The roundess and space-age theme add to the modern touches that I have become accostomed to.  Well done, A & V, well done.  Additional images below.

[Via Inhabitat; Gizmodo]

“The Virtual Revolution” documentary explores the effects of the Internet

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This is a teaser clip from the upcoming BBC documentary titled “The Virtual Revolution.”  It’s a four part series about how the Internet is changing the world.  This teaser has got me looking forward to the series not only due to its tech-related content but also because of its impressive lineup of interviews.  Tim Berners-Lee (the inventor of the World Wide Web), Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Al Gore, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and Stephen Fry share their thoughts about how the web has altered (and continues to change) the world around us.

What’s also neat is that the creators and producers of the series left it up to us to decide the name (and some of the content) of the series.  Tentitively titled “Digital Revolution” the series will officially be named “The Virtual Revolution.”  The producers continue to hear opinions, thoughts, and experiences from around the web so that they can make the most relevant documentary possible.  “The Virtual Revolution” airs next week on BBC2.  If you do not receive this channel, I will update this page in the coming days with other outlets to watch if you’re interested.

[Via Gizmodo; The Virtual Revolution]

Watch this 23 minute behind-the-scenes video of Avatar

Movies, Technology, Video, ,

Go behind-the-scenes and learn all about the magic of Pandora in this video titled “Creating the World of Pandora.”  It touches upon the secrets behind the 3D motion capture technique and other design elements of the film.  It also includes interviews with director James Cameron, producer Jon Landau, Cameron’s creative crew, and actors Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver.  If you enjoyed Avatar and if you are at all curious about James Cameron’s vision this is a must-watch video.  It should hold you until the Blu-Ray release drenches us in tons of extras.

[Via SciFiWire]

Apple invites us to see their “latest creation”

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Apple will be holding a special event Wednesday, January 27 at 10AM PST at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco.  I think we all know what the big announcement will be: the oft-rumored Apple Tablet (aka iSlate aka Magic Slate aka iPad).  The latest speculation believes Steve Jobs may announce one or more of the following: the tablet, a new iPhone, iPhone OS 4.0, and the next iLife suite.  Obviously I have my money on the tablet announcement.  The recent slew of rumors surrounding the tablet (including talks of Verizon and various book and magazine publishers involvement) has me really excited about this event.  Be sure to check back here Wednesday evening for full coverage and a rundown of all pertinent announcements.

PlayStation Motion Controller delayed until fall 2010

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Last we heard the tentitively titled PlayStation Motion Controller was due out this Spring.  But that was too good to be true, am I right?  Sony has gone ahead and delayed the mystical motion controller until “fall 2010” globally.  The delay affects the following countries: Japan, Asia, North America, and Europe.  Why the delay?  Kaz Hirai, President and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.: “We have decided to release the Motion Controller in fall 2010 when we will be able to offer an exciting and varied line-up of software titles that will deliver the new entertainment experience to PS3 users.”  They gotta pump out the games before the accessory is let out into the wild.  Makes sense.  With Microsoft’s Project Natal slated to release “Holiday 2010” the final quarter of this year looks like it’s going to be an exciting one for gamers.  Full press release after the break.

[Via Engadget]

Continue reading PlayStation Motion Controller delayed until fall 2010 →

Rock Band Network beta opens to Xbox 360 users, allows rockstars in training to show off their talent

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Rock Band Network to enter public beta testing. Gaming, Rock Band, Music, Music games, Harmonix, MIDI 0

Harmonix wants to breathe new life into its Rock Band series by allowing gamers to upload their own music to the game for others to play.  It’s being positioned as a way for unsigned artists to show off their talent in video game form.  All artists have to do is create a MIDI file of their song, record it with quality audio levels, and submit it for a peer review.  If a song is selected for the service, the artist will be prompted to pick a price point (ranging from $1 to $3) and then the song will be posted to the network for millions to download and play.  However, there is somewhat of a catch.  Artists must pay to place their songs on the network and the pricing is pretty steep, ranging from $999 for an entire track to $500 per minute of music.  This being said, it is likely that only serious artists will be willing to take the leap into the Network.  And if you ask me, this is a good thing; we shouldn’t run into showing-singing tweens.  So far many larger bands have expressed deep interest in lending some of their tracks to the service.  They include  Jonathan Coulton, The Shins, Ministry, Evanescense, The Stills, Creed and All That Remains.  Also, SubPop has announced that Nirvana, Sleater-Kinney, Flight of the Conchords, and the Postal Service will share tracks as well.  Harmonix stipulates that they will not enable the service  “until we accrue a good base of content.”  So you think you got what it takes?  Head on over to Rock Band’s official site to join the beta and get started!

[Via Pocket-lint; Engadget]