Innovationaltech

Sony's Rolly

2009-01-06T04:29:00.000-08:00

Rolly is an egg -shaped digital robotic music player made by Sony , combining music functions with robotic dancing. It has several motors that allow it to rotate and spin, as well as two bands of LED lights running around its edge and cup-like "wings" (or "arms" according to the Sony sonystyle USA website) which can open and close on either end, all of which can be synchronized to the music being played.
Sound-sensitivity components detect beat, rhythm, voice and pitch, which can be used to have the device automatically react to music. It also has a G force sensor (accelerometer ) which detects if the player is moving up or down. Preprogammed movements along with music can be downloaded from personal computers using Bluetooth , having been composed on the computer or obtained from Sony's repository of user-made movement schemes. It has two gigabytes of flash memory to store music files.^[1]
On August 20, 2007, Sony launched an initial teaser advertising campaign for the product.^[2] By September 2nd the advertisement was the 3rd most popular video on YouTube , with 123,000,000 views.. The product was unveiled on September 20, 2007, and went on sale in Japan on September 29, and its currently for sale at the Sony sonystyle USA website^[3] for $399.99 USD. Its available in black and in white. Sony offers the "Engrave it." option for this item, and a number of accessories, including "arms" in different colors.

Mars rover mission reaches 5th anniversary

2009-01-04T04:16:00.000-08:00

PASADENA, Calif. – Five years after the NASA rover Spirit landed on Mars, the six-wheel robotic geologist and its twin Opportunity are still on the job.
Expectations were far lower when Spirit made a bouncing landing in a cocoon of air bags on Jan. 3, 2004, followed 21 days later by Opportunity: The goal was to try to operate each solar-powered rover for at least three months.
"That's an extraordinary return of investment in these challenging budgetary times," Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in a December statement.
Combined, the rovers have made more than 13 miles of tracks on Mars' dusty surface and sent a quarter-million images back to Earth. Their instruments have uncovered evidence that Mars was once a far wetter and warmer place than the frigid, dusty world it is now.
An accumulation of dust on the rovers' electricity-generating solar panels was expected to be one of the most likely causes of their eventual deaths, but wind has occasionally cleaned the panels.
Spirit, however, has an 18-month buildup of dust and its panels were barely able to provide sufficient power during Mars' just-ended southern hemisphere winter. At one point it failed to receive commands, and its status fell to "serious but stable" condition.
The winter was a "squeaker" for Spirit, John Callas, the rover project manager at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, said in the NASA statement.
"We just made it through," he said.
Mission managers are pressing ahead with plans for more exploration even though NASA says either rover could fail without warning.
Spirit has begun stirring after sitting immobile for most of the autumn and winter, JPL spokesman Guy Webster said Saturday. Plans are being made to drive it about 200 yards to a pair of sites that have drawn interest.
Opportunity, which is closer to the equator and has cleaner solar panels, has been driving toward a 14-mile-diameter crater, stopping on the way to examine interesting rocks.
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On the Net:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html

Google's Android on the Asus Netbook

2009-01-04T04:14:00.000-08:00

Could Google's Android be positioned as a viable netbook operating system? Freelance writers Matthäus Krzykowski & Daniel Hartmann think so, and in about four hours have compiled the mobile device platform to run on an Asus EEEPC 1000H netbook. The Android Open Source Project and its push to use the platform and applications on more devices could extend well to netbook's.

"For Silicon Valleys myriad of software companies, it means a well-backed, open operating system that is open and ripe for exploitation for building upon. Now think of Chrome, Google’s web browser, and the richness it allows developers to build into the browser’s relationship with the desktop — all of this could usher in a new wave of more sophisticated web applications, cheaper and more dynamic to use."

Krzykowski and Hartmann run a startup called Mobile-facts and believe that "getting an Android netbook to market is doable in as few as three months. Of course, the timing depends as much on decisions by the partners in Google’s OHA alliance and other developers contributing to Android, as it does on Google itself. It is these partners — including device makers and carriers — who decide how and when to adopt Android for different devices and markets."

Google's OHA (Open Handset Alliance) partners include numerous companies that could easily, if given the greenlight, push the Android platform to netbook's, and beyond. Intel, Asus, Broadcom, Nvidia, and Samsung are just a few of the notable members that could be key to this movement.

In the Android-Porting Google Group you can find step by step instructions to compile for an ASUS Eee 701 for those wanting to experiment.

Industry insiders say that the probability of a production Android Netbook might not be viable until 2010.

Netbook's are designed to be a small form factor, very portable, mobile computer with a lightweight operating system and a sub $500 price. Combine this with an open source operating system like Android that is heavily backed by Google with (hopefully) a large selection of consumer friendly applications available in the near future and you will have a portable processing package that could very well be a Microsoft killer on this front.

Google, Microsoft, Apple sued over preview icons (CNET)

2008-12-27T06:45:00.000-08:00

A Michigan-based networking company on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Google, Microsoft, and Apple alleging that all three tech giants violated a patent it owns on the use of document-preview icons--or thumbnails--in operating systems.
In the suit (PDF), Cygnus Systems targets Google's Chrome, Microsoft's Vista and Internet Explorer 8, and Apple's iPhone, Safari, and Mac OS X as patent infringers. Apple uses the patent-protected technology in its Finder and Cover Flow Mac OS X features, the lawsuit claims.
Cygnus describes the technology covered by the patent as "methods and systems for accessing one or more computer files via a graphical icon, wherein the graphical icon includes an image of a selected portion or portions of one or more computer files."
E-mails seeking comment from Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Cygnus' attorney were not immediately returned.
The case was filed in Arizona District Court, where company owner Gregory Swartz lives, according to PCWorld.
Cygnus was granted the patent in March 2008, according to the lawsuit, although it first applied for it back in 2001 as a continuation to a 1998 application, according to Ars Technica, which appeared first to report the case.
Cygnus is seeking damages and a permanent injunction preventing further infringement. It's also indicated that it might go after other companies as defendants.

Cool Tata Sky+

2008-10-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

To put it simply, it is a service that will change the way you watch television forever. Tata Sky+ is a premium set-top box with a personal video recorder that allows you to record up to 45 hours of live TV. Tata Sky+ gives you the power to record one programme while watching another, pause a live telecast and even rewind a TV programme that you are watching.

For more info, refer to TataSkyPlus.com

Google Earth now on iPhone

2008-10-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

Google on Monday brought the popular Google Earth application to Apple's iPhone, allowing users to fly around the globe with just a touch of the screen.
Google Earth for the iPhone and iPod Touch is available for free in 18 languages and 22 countries through the iTunes App Store, Google said in a posting on the official blog of the Mountain View, California-based company.
"With just a swipe of your finger you can fly from Peoria to Paris to Papua New Guinea, or anywhere in between," the posting said.
"It may be small, but it brings all the power of Google Earth to the palm of your hand, including all of the same global imagery and 3D terrain," it added.
Just by touching the screen, a user can move from point to point around the world, zooming in or out by pinching the screen and tilting the device to get a 3D view of mountainous terrain.
The "My Location" feature instantly shows a user's real world location while Google Local Search helps locate nearby places, businesses and landmarks.
More than eight million photos pictures of landmarks and scenery are integrated into the phone allowing users to take a "virtual tour" of the world.
The Google Earth application also includes links to Wikipedia articles.

PSP 3000 Series

2008-10-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

The PSP 3000 Series is the third installment of the PlayStationPortable Series, followed with PSP and PSP Slim & Lite.PSP 3000 is unofficially nicknamed as PSP Brite.It was released on 15th October,2008 in Europe, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

The PSP 3000 when compared with the PSP 2000 series has added up much more to it with new titles Buzz!: Brain Bender and LocoRoco 2 on the horizon.It has imporved LCD screen with an increased colour range, five times the contrast ratio, half the pixel response time to reduce ghosting and blurring effects, and anti-reflective technology to improve outdoor playability. The screen draws more current than the screen for the PSP-2000, initially causing a reduction in the console's battery life by "about 20 minutes" according to SCEA director of hardware marketing John Koller.

It has been added with a Microphone as suggested by a user, which enables more flexiblity with Go Messenger and Skype.

Nokia's touchscreen 5800 XpressMusic

2008-10-04T02:03:00.000-07:00

Armed with a roomy touch display, stereo speakers, and—eventually—a year's worth of free music, Nokia's long-awaited touchscreen phone (formerly known as "The Tube") will make its debut in London today. Can it compete with the iPhone and T-Mobile's Google-powered G1?

First, let's cover the specs: Measuring 4.4 by 2 by 0.6 inches, the 3G- and Wi-Fi-enabled 5800 (set for global release by the end of the year, but not in North America until the "early part" of 2009) is more or less the same size as the iPhone 3G and the G1, although at 3.8 ounces, it's significantly lighter than both of its touchscreen competitors (the iPhone is about 4.8 ounces, while the G1 weighs in at a hefty 5.6 ounces).

So, how's the 5800's 3.2-inch touchscreeen? I haven't had a chance to try it in person, but the Symbian-powered display looks (from the press images, at least) reasonably sleek—somewhere between the clunkier interface on the G1 and the iPhone's eye-popping UI. No multitouch (so no "pinch"-type gestures), mind you, but the 5800 has an accelerometer that lets you turn the phone sideways for a virtual, landscape-oriented QWERTY keypad. You'll also be able to enter text using a half-size, portrait QWERTY keypad (with a stylus, if you like), T9 text prediction, or handwriting recognition.

Nokia promises a couple of key one-touch interface features, including a "Contacts Bar" that gives you quick access to your "favorite" four contacts, along with a "Media Bar" that'll let you tap into your music, videos, and images. Not bad, although I'd also like to see a status/alerts toolbar like the G1's.

As its name implies, the 5800 XpressMusic is more about tunes than productivity, so don't expect out-of-the-box support for BlackBerry or Exchange servers (although this being a Symbian phone, there's nothing stopping third parties from filling the void). Instead, the 5800 comes with stereo speakers, support for stereo Bluetooth headsets, a 3.5mm headset jack (which doubles as a TV-out port), and up to 16GB of microSD memeory expansion for your tunes.

The 5800 will also support Nokia's much-touted "Comes with Music" service, which will let you download all the free tunes you can stand—but just for 12 months, with a helping of DRM on the side. (CNET has details on all the restrictions right here.) Also, keep in mind that the cost of all those "free" tunes will be passed along via an inflated price tag for upcoming "Comes with Music" handsets (the Nokia N95 and 5310 XpressMusic phones will also be getting "Comes with Music" support), although Nokia reps didn't have details on how big the surcharge will be. Still, the music catalog looks to be pretty solid, with all four of the major labels (as well as some indies) signed on.

Back to the 5800 itself: The phone also comes with a 3.2MP camera, complete with Carl Zeiss optics, a dual LED flash, and video recording (up to 30fps). GPS and Nokia Maps are included for navigation. Sorry, gamers—no N-Gage support on the 5800, at least for now.

Nokia hasn't released U.S. pricing details—or carriers, if any—for the 5800 yet. (Since the 5800 is a GSM handset, it'll only work with GSM-based carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile.) In Europe, however, the phone (minus "Comes with Music," for now) will sell for 279 euros, or about US$385—not bad, considering the sky-high price tag of Nokia's N-series beauties.

How does the 5800 XpressMusic stack up with the iPhone and the G1? Well, hard to say until I see the phone itself in action—and especially whether the 5800's touch interface measures up to the two touch heavyweights.

My initial impression? I'm a bit underwhelmed, frankly; it's almost as if Nokia is wading cautiosly into the touchscreen pool with the 5800. What I'm really waiting for is a full-on, touchscreen Nseries handset, complete with a revamped interface designed specifically for touch. In any case, I'm reserving any final judgement until I get an actual unit in for review. (Update: Gizmodo just published a quick hands-on report, and so far, the touchscreen sounds pretty lackluster: "On the prototype we played with briefly, it's much harder to get touches to register, and far less accurate than the iPhone's capacitive screens. The 5800 packs a built-in stylus for this reason—you'll be using it a lot." Ouch.)

So, what's your take? Like what you see? Disappointed? Fire away!

Source:http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/27936/nokia-bows-touchscreen-5800-xpressmusic/