Digital Technology for Digital Living.
May 31, 2007
YouTube Coming to Apple TV
Wish you could watch YouTube videos on your Apple TV? Sometime in June, all Internet connected Apple TV boxes will accept a free software patch that will enable wireless streaming of YouTube videos. YouTube is making thousands of clips available each week until thier full catalog is accessible later this fall.
You’ll be able browse the YouTube content on your Apple TV in a variety of ways including: featured, top viewed, recently viewed, history, and even by search. I’m dreading the search option. If you haven’t used the Apple TV yet, there’s a USB port in the back of the device, but you currently can’t use a keyboard for some reason. Entering text on the Apple TV is the equivalent of typing in your initials for the high score screen in an arcade game. Very painful without a keyboard.
So how chewy will these compressed YouTube videos look on your HD TV? I’ve already ripped a bunch of music videos off YouTube, converted them to MPEG-4 videos and saved them in iTunes. Honestly, the Flash encoded YouTube videos look like crap on a HD TV. YouTube doesn’t even look good when stretched out to its default 480 x 360, let alone 640 x 480 or HD. But YouTube does have thousands of clips and can provide endless hours of entertainment. Fuzzy, but fun.
Apple also announced a new Apple TV model with a 160 GB hard drive for $400. You’ll still be able to buy the old 40 GB version for $300, but personally, I think $100 for 4x the storage is a great deal.
You can read more about the Apple TV here: Apple TV Review
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Broadband, Video, Digital TV
Google Adds Facial Recognition to Image Search
It looks like Google’s 2006 acquisition of Neven Vision, a company specializing in facial recognition software, is finally starting to pay off. Google Blogoscoped, a blog dedicated to everything related to Google, got a tip from a Google engineer that Google had secretly added some facial recognition abilities to its image search this week.
The feature remains unofficial and unannounced, but you can add a small query string to the end of your Google Image search URL to see the facial recognition software in action.
For example, do a normal Google image search for “Starbuck Battlestar” and your image results should produce images from the American SciFi TV show Battlestar Galactica. Then try adding “&imgtype=face” to the end of the URL. Your new search results will only contain photos of people and tight shots of their faces. Cool right?
Last August, Google Picasa product manager Adrian Graham had this to say about Google’s acquisition of Neven Vision in the official Google blog:
“Neven Vision comes to Google with deep technology and expertise around automatically extracting information from a photo. It could be as simple as detecting whether or not a photo contains a person, or, one day, as complex as recognizing people, places, and objects.”
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Broadband
May 30, 2007
Apple Launches iTunes Plus
On Wednesday, Apple released an update to iTunes (US) that added DRM-free AAC music files to the iTunes Store. Dubbed iTunes Plus, the new version of iTunes will allow you to either download DRM (Digital Rights Management) files for the standard $0.99 or spend $1.29 on DRM-free songs.
In addition to iTunes Plus, Apple added a new section to iTunes 7.2 called iTunes U, where you can download lectures from various universities around the US free of charge. In addition to lectures, many Universities are offering language lessons, lab demonstrations, sports highlights and campus tours. Participating schools currently include Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Duke University and MIT.
It’s probably only a matter of time until someone claims that they graduated from “iTunes U.”
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Animated Google Korea Page
Google has launched a new home page for Korea that departs from Google’s “classic,” minimalist home page approach. The new look features animated product buttons below the search box and will become the default home page in the country, a move Google is comfortable with given the near universal presence of broadband.
The new, animated Google Korea home page is intended to help Google better compete in the country where it seeks to gain market share.
When you roll your mouse over the colored dots, icons appear. You can see the animation on the live Google Korea page.
“It was important where our classic minimalism wasn’t working that we adapt,” Marissa Mayer, Vice President, Search Products & User Experience at Google, said in a briefing earlier today.
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Broadband
May 26, 2007
Sky News moves to Second Life
It seems everyone is jumping on the “lets move to Second Life” bandwagon. The latest to do so is Sky News who will be the first news channel to take up a permanent presence in the 3D virtual world when it launches on Sunday May 27 at the Hay festival.
A replica of the Sky News Centre will be built in the virtual world and users will be able to have an interactive look at its newsroom and be able to sit in presenter chairs, read the autocue and visit the gallery.
Sky News’ Sunday Live with Adam Boulton programme will come live from The Guardian Hay Festival on Sunday May 27, and segments will be simulcast on TV and on Second Life from 11am.
Reference for posting: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk
AndyD | Comments (0) | General
May 25, 2007
Lazy Segway Mom
Wow, sometimes people are lazy. Here’s a picture of a woman pushing her baby with a Segway. Besides being lazy, isn’t that kind of dangerous anyway? Because of the way the Segway works, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to reverse quickly or move out of the way with the stroller in case of an emergency.
Click here for a bigger image
Question of the Day: Should you need a license to drive a Segway, or a license to be a mother?
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Geek
May 23, 2007
How Your Cursor Works
Ever wonder how your mouse connects to the cursor and moves it around your screen? Believe it or not, I found a website that explains this technical process clearly thanks to a giant digital magnifying glass.
Go to this website http://www.1-click.jp/ and then move your cursor around.
Who knew?
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methodshop | Comments (2) | Geek
Cingular Brand Killed Before iPhone Launch
After purchasing the remaining 40 percent of Cingular last year, AT&T has begun the process of rebranding some 1,800 Cingular stores. The telecom, which will be the sole carrier of the iPhone in the U.S., is undertaking the rebranding move just weeks before Apple’s hotly anticipated smartphone hits the market.
“Our branding Email Marketing Software - Free Demo campaign is performing at and above projected levels, and customer response has been very positive,” Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s chief operating officer, said.
The San Antonio-based phone giant is accelerating its rebranding efforts of one of the best-known brands in the market, and will make the orange “Jack” logo and Cingular name disappear from new devices being sold.
The decision to move to this phase of the branding campaign is based on research that indicates that consumer awareness of AT&T — one of the best-known, most durable and iconic brands in the world — is high and ahead of expectations, the company said.
[Via technewsworld.com]
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May 22, 2007
Mario Brothers USB Mouse
Are you stuck in the past? Still listening to Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth on cassette and trying to beat your high score on Donkey Kong? These stylish Mario Brothers and Golden Star mice I found on GetUSB.info might get you that retro mojo you need to actually do it!
Both offer a retro 8-bit appeal and feature the original mechanical mouse ball mechanism that you probably forgot existed. Push one of these beauties across your desk and imagine that you are playing Super Mario Brothers… rather than filling out those boring TPS reports.
[Via GetUSB.info]
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May 21, 2007
Watch YouTube on Your Apple TV
Here’s a YouTube video showing off a new Apple TV plug-in called “A Series of Tubes.” The plug-in allows you to browse YouTube videos on your Apple TV. Sure, the Flash encoded YouTube videos look like crap on a HDTV. YouTube doesn’t even look good when stretched out to its default 480 x 360, let alone 640 x 480 or HD. But YouTube does have thousands of clips and can provide endless hours of entertainment.
Not ready to start tinkering around with plug-ins for your Apple TV? You can still save videos off YouTube and convert them for your iPod/iTunes. Check out this tutorial: How to Copy Videos Off YouTube.
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Video
May 19, 2007
Google Universal Search
This past Wednesday, Google unveiled a new “universal search” function that integrates text, photos, video, news, scanned books and blogs in a single list of results. The search engine will automatically check Google Video’s archive and allow users to click on a “watch video’ link that will embed the video right on the search results page.
Other video sites publishing clips or full-length versions also appear. Several companies have been working to improve video search on the net, but none with Google’s pedigree or market share.
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May 18, 2007
5 Outrageous Inventions
Many inventions are quite useful in everyday life, but these 5 (link) could quite possibly be the most outrageous ever…
Then again, there’s always Japanese Chindogu.
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Geek
FCC Approves iPhone
The Federal Communications Commission approved Apple’s iPhone, clearing the way for the combined phone and music player to hit the shelves. Apple expects to begin selling the iPhone in late June.
Some of the FCC documents confirm a few features of the phone, including it will have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and will operate in the 1900MHz and 850MHz frequency bands.
That means that despite the phone’s high price, users won’t be able to roam with it into Europe, where operators use different frequencies. The phone uses GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) technology and the EDGE (Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution) wireless data standard. Apple has said the phone will ship initially only in the U.S. but many GSM phones today, even on the low end, are capable of operating in both Europe and the U.S.
Eager potential users who hoped for a faster data connection will be disappointed that the approval is only for EDGE. Many operators, including Apple partner AT&T, have upgraded their networks to deliver download speeds of about 500K bits per second or more, more than twice as fast as EDGE.
[Via PC World]
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Nintendo Wii Outselling Sony PS3
Yesterday, the NPD Group released video game hardware sales data for April. Nintendo’s Wii and DS consoles were again the big winners, as both platforms dominated all competitors. This marks the 4th month in a row that Nintendo has nabbed the top spots with its respective systems on the hardware sales charts.
The Nintendo DS was the overall best-selling system of April with approximately 471,000 units sold — more than twice that of the Sony PSP, which only managed to sell 182,000 units.
Despite being in limited supply, the Nintendo Wii was the best-selling console for the month. More than 360,000 new consumers purchased Nintendo’s home console in April. The second best-selling home system was the Sony PlayStation 2 with 193,000 units sold. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 managed 174,000 units sold and Sony convinced only 82,000 people to purchase a PlayStation 3 for the month, lower than all analyst estimates.
Nintendo was also the #1 software publisher for the month, releasing the top 4 best-selling games — Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl for DS, and Super Paper Mario and Wii Play for Wii. The Pokemon titles sold a combined 1.7 million games in about a week.
According to VG Chartz, the Nintendo Wii has sold 2.5m consoles in Japan, 2.8m in the US and 1.79m in the rest of the world since its official launch late last year.
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May 16, 2007
Human Joysticks - NewsBreaker Live
Tired of the boring movie trivia slide shows that theaters play before the movie? How about an interactive game that the entire theater can play at the same time?
MSNBC.com has this live video game experience called NewsBreaker Live that has entire theaters acting like Human Joysticks.
NewsBreaker Live is modeled after the classic video games like BrickBreaker and Arkanoid. The game combines live msnbc.com RSS newsfeeds, the movement of the audience as a human joystick, and the big screen as a game board. Groundbreaking motion-sensor technology dubbed “CrowdGaming” tracks the entire audience’s collective movement (watch video clip). Audience members control the game by moving in sync to smash up msnbc.com’s colorful brick spectrum of news with a bouncing ball and paddle.
As far as I know, this is the first in-theater, audience participatory video game. And honestly, I think it’s pretty cool. Way better than being forced to stare at slides of movie trivia and ads for local used car dealerships. You can play an online version of NewsBreaker Live at newsbreakergame.com.
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May 15, 2007
Sex Offender Data Sought From MySpace
Top law enforcement officers from Connecticut and seven other US states on Monday asked MySpace.com to turn over the names of registered sex offenders who use the social networking Web site.
In a letter, the attorneys general asked MySpace to provide information on how many registered sex offenders are using the site, and where they live. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper signed the letter, along with attorneys general from Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In a statement, Cooper’s office said media outlets in 2006 “reported almost 100 criminal incidents across the country involving adults who used MySpace to prey or attempt to prey on children.”
[Via wnbc.com]
methodshop | Comments (0) | General
Simpsons Movie Behind Schedule
It premiers in 10 weeks, but the writers, animators and director of “The Simpsons Movie” are still working out the basics… including the storyline. It’s hard to believe, especially since they first started working on the screenplay in late 2003. The deadline is going to be pretty tight, but the writers and animators of “The Simpsons” have assured audiences that “The Simpsons Movie” will be released on July 27 (US) no matter what.
What can we expect to see in the movie? Judging from snippets of movie trailers, news releases and Internet chatter, the plot seems to involve the town of Springfield dealing with an environmental disaster that Homer accidentally starts. Further details are scarce, but look for a giant mob scene that will include every Simpsons character ever. Also, apparently Homer has a pet pig in the movie.
It will be interesting to see what they come up with before July 27th.
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How NOT to Ship a HDTV
The person who packed up and shipped this TV must have been a professional… idiot. They might as well have shipped this HDTV using bowling balls or, I dunno, hammers as padding.
For future reference, here’s a photo tutorial on how NOT to ship a Plasma or LCD HDTV.
More Photos: How NOT to Ship a HDTV
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methodshop | Comments (0) | Digital TV
May 14, 2007
Beatles-iTunes Deal Imminent
According to Billboard magazine, a deal to make The Beatles’ back catalogue available for sale online with iTunes is “virtually settled.”
Paul McCartney told Billboard, “I don’t want to pre-empt anything, but we’re well on the way to something happening there, which is very exciting.”
Some reports say McCartney is rumored to be making over £200 million from the deal.
Efforts to clear The Beatles’ music for digital distribution have been previously held up by a long-running feud between Apple Inc and The Beatles’ label, Apple Corps. Both sides finally settled the dispute in February, paving the way for distribution via iTunes and other digital retailers.
McCartney is doing a press tour for his new album, “Memory Almost Full,” his first to be made available for download and streaming on PCs and mobile phones. The album is due June 5 on Starbucks’ new Hear Music label. Starbucks previously announced that the McCartney album will be available on its Hear Music section of Apple’s iTunes Store.
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Nintendo Wii Owners Making CelebriMiis
One of the new features of the Nintendo Wii, is the ability to create avatars (a virtual representation of a person) using the platform’s “Mii Channel.” The avatars can be used in various Nintendo games and even shared with other players. But creative Nintendo Wii users aren’t just creating Miis of themselves. They’ve started making avatars that resemble famous people. Wii users have dubbed the celebrity avatars “CelebriMiis.”
Many Mii creators share their CelebriMii techniques online so others can duplicate the effect and use their avatars in games and Mii parades.
The image below is Hiro Nakamura from the NBC TV series Heroes.
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