Kinect used to make teleconferencing actually kind of cool (video)

No matter how hard Skype and others try to convince us otherwise, we still do most of our web communications via text or, if entirely unavoidable, by voice. Maybe we're luddites or maybe video calling has yet to prove its value. Hoping to reverse such archaic views, researchers at the MIT Media Lab have harnessed a Kinect's powers of depth and human perception to provide some newfangled videoconferencing functionality. First up, you can blur out everything on screen but the speaker to keep focus where it needs to be. Then, if you want to get fancier, you can freeze a frame of yourself in the still-moving video feed for when you need to do something off-camera, and to finish things off, you can even drop some 3D-aware augmented reality on your viewers. It's all a little unrefined at the moment, but the ideas are there and well worth seeing. Jump past the break to do just that.

Continue reading Kinect used to make teleconferencing actually kind of cool (video)

Kinect used to make teleconferencing actually kind of cool (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 03:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceKinected Conference (MIT Media Lab)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/04/kinect-used-to-make-teleconferencing-actually-kind-of-cool-vide/

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Osborne 1 celebrates its 30th birthday, and that of the portable computing revolution

On April 3rd, 1981 -- thirty years ago today -- Adam Osborne unveiled the Osborne 1 at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco. It had a 4 MHz Zilog Z80 CPU, two single-sided floppy drives, 64K of RAM, and a five-inch monochrome CRT display. Nothing particularly special there, even back in the day. No, what made the Osborne 1 extraordinary was the fact that the 24-pound plastic machine had a carrying handle on the back -- and at the bargain price of $1,795 with software included, it became one of the first mass-produced portable computers to succeed. Which, of course, spurred competitors to create an army of even more luggable, loveable machines. Shortly after helping to change the course of history, Osborne and his computer fell into a spiral of pain, but the next time you admire the way your ultralight slides into a manila envelope, you'll know who to thank. Find a short but sweet chronicle of the Osborne 1 at our Technologizer link.

Osborne 1 celebrates its 30th birthday, and that of the portable computing revolution originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RadioShack tweets that the T-Mobile Sidekick 4G will be available April 20

T-Mobile-Sidekick-4G

If you have been eying the T-Mobile Sidekick 4G ever since its official announcement a few weeks ago, you have probably been anxiously awaiting some release date information. While T-Mobile has still yet to come forward with a release date, RadioShack has tweeted that the device will be releasing at The Shack on April 20, about 3 weeks from now. So, with a release date coming up its almost time to decide if this will be your next device. Be sure to hop in the Sidekick 4G forums and chat it up! [@RadioShack]

RadioShack tweets that the T-Mobile Sidekick 4G will be available April 20 posted originally by Android Central

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Google working on a face recognition app that leads to your personal info? (update: Google says 'no')

Before we all get in a huff about this, Google has been very eager to point out that the facial recognition app it's developing will work on a strictly opt-in basis. That means if you don't want it to scan all of Facebook, Flickr and the rest of Google's vast hoards of internet knowledge to find you, identify you, and collate your name, phone number and email address into a handy data sheet, it won't. Okay? So relax now, everything's fine. Seriously though, Google's latest research venture sounds like a dashing stride into a minefield of privacy concerns as it aims to use people's faces to instantly identify them and provide any salient info about them. Project leader Hartmut Neven, whose company Neven Vision was gobbled up by Google in 2006, says the team is being very cautious in how it addresses people's rather apt apprehension, but he insists there's actually great value in having a face-recognizing and data-mining app. Great value for the app's user, perhaps, but we'd rather just stick to business cards, if you ask us.

Update: Google has reached out to clarify that there are no plans to introduce functionality of this sort yet, not without "a strong privacy model in place." More importantly, however, the linking of facial recognition to personal data is described as "inventions of the reporter" rather than something the company's actively pursuing.

Google working on a face recognition app that leads to your personal info? (update: Google says 'no') originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo T420s and W520 notebooks hit the streets, one with Quadro Optimus graphics

You knew they were coming, but today it's time to choose -- will you withstand the temptation of a tricked-out ThinkPad W520 workstation or T420s thin-and-light with Sandy Bridge CPUs? Yes, Lenovo's rolling out the red eraserheads this month for Intel's new chips as fast as it possibly can, with these latest two models hot on the heels of the ThinkPad T420 and T520 and ThinkPad Edge E420s. The $1,199 14-inch T420s distinguishes itself with slightly slimmer construction, a 1600 x 900 resolution and a 2.5GHz Core i5-2520M CPU in a package that weighs less than four pounds -- strangely, there's no Core i7 or discrete graphics here -- while the $1,449 W520 workstation comes standard with a 2.7GHz Core i7-2620M chip and an NVIDIA Quadro 1000M GPU with Optimus graphics-switching tech. Of course, the W520 base configuration comes with only a 15.6-inch, 1366 x 768 screen, but don't you fret -- an additional cash infusion can get you a 1600 x 900 or even a full 1080p display to render your video with. Go ahead, spec them out to your heart's content, while we wait for an even more groundbreaking rig to drop from the ThinkPad heavens.

Lenovo T420s and W520 notebooks hit the streets, one with Quadro Optimus graphics originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 05:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceLenovo (T420s), Lenovo (W520)  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/_oibgzWAUQU/

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Dell dude says only they can offer imaginary, over priced technology to Enterprise

Dell dude says only they can offer imaginary, over priced technology to Enterprise Andy Lark, global head of marketing for Dell — and we assume the dude who used to tell dudes they were getting Dells, dude? — decided to talk a little Apple and iPad 2 at CIO Australia. We’d make fun of what he said but unfortunately he beat us to it: ?Apple is great [...]

Dell dude says only they can offer imaginary, over priced technology to Enterprise is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Sceptre Launches the Luna Pocket Video Projector and MP3 Player

The Luna pocket video projector and MP3 player from Sceptre is small enough to fit in your hand, but it packs a punch.  It has a 100W, 5 lumens projector that has 640 X 480 maximum resolution and can project a 5″ to 55″ image up to 99″ away.  It has a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/03/24/sceptre-launches-the-luna-pocket-video-projector-and-mp3-player/

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Audible.com Audiobooks Now Available (For Real) On Kindle

You can now download more than 50,000 Audible.com audiobooks on your Kindle via your Wi-Fi connection. You've always been able to download Audible audiobooks from the site itself, then transfer them to your Kindle via a USB, but now you can do so wirelessly.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/oBDP6NPFq_8/

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Xobni for Android coming soon - Sign up today for Alpha testing

Although Xobni has made a name for themselves on the BlackBerry platform that doesn't mean they don't have love for Android as well. As a matter of fact, they have lots of love to spread around. Most recently, they've updated their blog to let everyone know that Xobni is coming to GMail, Android and yes, even iPhone.

Xobni for Android will launching in Alpha form, and Xobni is hoping to take managing your contacts to a whole new level by offering such things as the ability to sort and organize your contacts, see recent emails and mutual contacts as well offer faster contact searching.

If you're interested in better contact organization and don't mind a few bugs within an app here and there then Xobni is looking for you. You can sign up now to get on their Alpha testing waiting list and as soon as it becomes available for testing you're in. Hit the source link to get stared. [Xobni]

Xobni for Android coming soon - Sign up today for Alpha testing posted originally by Android Central

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/3SddVSj706g/xobni-android-coming-soon-sign-today-alpha-testing

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Specialized's McLaren Venge Aero Road Bike Will be a Winner This Weekend [Bikes]