by David Montgomery on July 23, 2009
by David Montgomery on July 23, 2009
by David Montgomery on July 23, 2009
by David Montgomery on July 23, 2009
by David Montgomery on July 23, 2009
by Techno Witch on July 23, 2009
I really wish that I was at Comic-Con now, as this worldwide showcase of comics often displays some new gadgets, not to mention the 411 on the comic-book movies of next summer.
For example, Mattel has introduced a new line of action figures based on the long-awaited James Cameron film Avatar. This is not to be confused with The Last Airbender, a film based on a Nickelodeon series that coincidently had Avatar in its title.
These Avatar toys use augmented reality, something that I have referred to as the Coolest Gadget ever. It works when one of the toys is placed in front of a webcam. Software provided by Total Immersion then takes over, and the monitor will display information about the character, 3-D animations of the character, and even more pictures.
There is also a plan for bonus features for the ?deluxe figures?. These are figures with a 3-D tag, or i-TAG, on the back of them. Scanning these guys will cause them to come to life on the user?s monitor, and placing two i-TAGs together will have them interact.
I believe that I discussed Augmented Reality being used on baseball cards before, but this is the first time that I have seen it used on action figures. I?m surprised that no one else has tried this before, this could be the beginning of a new wave of action figures that actually spring into action.
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by Techno Witch on July 23, 2009
Sick and tired of going to the grocery store and return only to find out from the missus that you have forgotten to purchase a couple of essential items, getting a mouthful in the process? Well, Hammacher has something to help all you beleaguered guys out there who have yet to come up with a grocery list all their lives – the Voice Recognition Grocery List Organizer.
This device stores and prints grocery lists generated from the items you speak into its microphone. Using an integrated voice recognition system, the shopping list manager matches a spoken item with one of the 2,500 food, beverage, household, beauty, and office products in its database. Each spoken product appears on the LCD and you can add it to the list and print an alphabetized record with the touch of a button. The device recognizes words as specific as swordfish, emery boards, and lawn bags, and identifies errands, such as going to the bank, library, or veterinarian. You can create and manage two different lists simultaneously, add products to the database (up to a maximum of 5,000 items), and customize the sequence in which the products print to correspond with the layout of your grocery store. Attaches magnetically to a refrigerator or mounts to a wall with the included kit. Includes one roll of paper.
Powered by a quartet of AA batteries, the Voice Recognition Grocery List Organizer will set you back by $99.95. We suppose you’ll be able to pay it off in due time after saving on all the gas of making return trips to pick up something you’ve forgotten.
by Techno Witch on July 23, 2009
Remember the Eye-Fi card that made waves some time ago with its ability to offer Wi-Fi connectivity alongside a sizeable amount of memory whenever you plug it into a non-Wi-Fi-capable device? Well, technology has advanced to a point when Wi-Fi connectivity is shoved into something much smaller – a microSD memory card this time round. Just in case you just crawled out from a rock or something, a microSD memory card is no larger than your fingernail, which makes this feat all the more amazing. Available from KDDI Corp., it comes mounted with a wireless LAN IC compliant with IEEE802.11b/g, a transceiving antenna, passive components and so on. There is no word on a release date as at press time though.
Source: Tech-On
by Techno Witch on July 23, 2009
Okay, I?ve been covering 3D items like mad since CES, and I think we are at the point where we are either sick of 3D or will demand it as our new standard.
Today?s 3D offering is the V-Screen. Just to let you know, it is not designed to screen out any violence on any screen, but it is an attachment that, when placed over a PSP screen, can bring the action to the next dimension.
Actually, I believe the actual quote is ?enhances the perceived depth of the 2D screen image?. So will any glasses be needed? I hope not, because I?ve discovered that wearing goggles while playing a portable gaming system in public places makes you look really geeky. This is why video goggles aren?t really selling like hotcakes, even though the technology is getting better.
Unless you have to press this up to your face in order to get it to work. Please, no, not again. We already tried that with Virtual Boy, remember? It didn?t sell, and people weren?t interested in 3D gaming with that contraption.
Well, we shall see how the V-Screen fares, but this is the only information that I have on it right now. I don?t even have a price or availability date.
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by Techno Witch on July 23, 2009
I?m sure all of you have seen Ghostbusters, a movie with jokes that never get old, even after 25 years. There was one line I remember that isn?t quoted as often as ?He slimed me?. It?s when Bill Murray says to Harold Ramis: ?Hey, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole in your head, remember?? To which Ramis replies: ?That would have worked if you hadn?t stopped me.?
That?s all we hear of that incident during that film. Still, the idea of drilling someone in the head to cure them of ills goes back to ancient times. Fortunately, High-intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) beams can do the same thing, with less, ahem, penetration.
All one needs is an MRI machine and ultrasonic device, and doctors have a way of pinpointing malignant areas with soundwaves and burning them off. It has already been used to remove benign tumors in the uterus, and it appears that it can do the same for the breasts and the brain.
Of course, the biggest problem with using ultrasonics on a patient?s head is that they tend to overheat his or her brain. I realize that wouldn?t be comforting to any patient with a brain tumor, but InSightec has developed a head harness so that cooler heads will prevail.
HIFU could also be used on other conditions, such as Parkinson?s disease. I?m guessing Team Fox is going to be looking into this one.
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