Recently I noted an interesting video at Channel 9: Inside MultiTouch: Team Demo, Lab Tour which shows an interview with members of the MultiTouch Research team at Microsoft Research in Cambridge UK.

Microsoft is exploring the use of IR technology over the traditional approach of using capacitive touch panels. The iPhone, for example, uses a capacitive touch panel built into the display.

Find out more about the technology used in the iPhone at

http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/index.html#technology

and

http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/index.html#touch

The Microsoft Surface Computing technology uses a rear projection / sensing system that enables a high sensing resolution but is bulky and expensive. The Microsoft MultiTouch approach, however, uses a number of small infrared transceivers mounted on the rear of LCD panels to enable a more compact solution but at a lower resolution (but still sufficient for detecting multi finger touch).

A prototype, developed at MSR Cambridge consists of an array of IR emitters and IR detectors arranged on a tile which is pressed against the back of the LCD display. IR light passes thru the LCD panel and is reflected back to the IR receivers after bouncing off objects such as fingers. The tile consists of an array of 5×7 emitters and receivers to provide effectively a 35 pixel camera element over an area covered by the size of the tile.

Multiple tiles can be combined to cover the whole screen.

The video shows how off-the-shelf LCD displays can be modified to provide the necessary proof of concept of this approach.

Watch the video (approximate 30 minutes) at

http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=350838

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Rumours and chatter abound about a recent move by Google to release a system for developers called OpenSocial, a new, open, Web API.

There is an in-depth article by Marc Andreessen on his blog at

http://blog.pmarca.com/2007/10/open-social-a-n.html

and further discussion on googlesystem.blogspot.com

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/…/opensocial-googles-apis-for-social.html

In essence, Google appear to be presenting a set of common APIs for building social applications across the web. OpenSocial is aiming to provide the framework that will enable developers to develop social applications which can be used on any web-site or social network that supports the OpenSocial standard.

Although there has been no official Press Release to date you can view an article containing an unofficial notice at John Battelles Searchblog

http://battellemedia.com/archives/004058.php

Looks as though a formal announcement from Google will be made in the next day or so.

It may be worth noting mention of the web address (ready for when it becomes available - currently its not live)

http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial

The Philips Simplicity Event, from the electronics giant Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands, held recently at Earls Court in London is a showcase for new and innovative design concepts aimed at delivering solutions for the anticipated needs of their cutomers today and in the future and is based on their “sense and simplicity” brand.

The theme at the 2007 Simplicity Event of “caring for people’s well-being” builds on ongoing societal trends that Philips has been tracking closely: populations are getting older, healthcare is increasingly consumer-driven and business travel is now more extensive and hectic. In light of these trends, Philips employed the creativity and expertise of anthropologists, sociologists, designers, engineers and business leaders to come up with design concepts that address these converging trends. The result: Philips will present concepts that take a holistic approach to healthcare, in which health and wellbeing touch on all aspects of a person’s daily life. Focusing on relaxing, healing and providing enjoyment, design concepts at the show explore the role of simplicity in Philips three core businesses – healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle.

All the details are available in a press release available at

http://www.newscenter.philips.com/…simplicity_event_release.page

and further background information is available at

http://www.newscenter.philips.com/…simplicity_event_backgrounder.page

Daylight explores natural, rewarding ways for hotel guests to experience light and ambience in the comfort of their rooms. One item shown is the window where you can control the view and the amount of light that enters the room simply by moving your hand. A pattern superimposed over the window will become denser by moving your hand to the left (blocking the light), moving to the right makes the pattern less dense allowing more light to enter the room.

A collaboration with the Citizen M hotel group provides a prefabricated hotel room packed with gadgets

Also on show was the new Aurea Ambilight LCD TV.

I noticed a video recorded at the event; Episode 23 from megawhat.tv can be viewed at

http://megawhat.tv

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Dassault Systèmes and Microsoft have recently announced the release of a Technology Preview of Microsoft Virtual Earth - 3DVIA, a web-application which allows you to create 3D models, such as buildings and other structures and share them through Microsoft Virtual Earth.

Details about the technology preview and download link is available at

http://maps.live.com/Help/en-us/VE3DVIADownload.htm

Details and a download link for Virtual Earth is available at

http://maps.live.com/Help/en-us/View3DInstall.htm

A comprehensive set of tutorials are provided to help you get the most out of Virtual Earth - 3DVIA. To create a model you simply start with 2D shapes such as lines, rectangles and cirlces and pull these shapes into 3D boxes and cylinders, combining them to make the 3D models of houses or other buildings. Colours and textures can be applied to the models to achieve a more realistic finish.

When you’ve finished creating your model you can publish it to one of you Live Search Maps collections by simply using the publish button and signing in with your Windows Live ID.

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rsizr is a flash-based web application that allows you to resize images.

http://rsizr.com/

It is a free on-line service that uses seam carving to allow you to change the size of an image without distorting areas of interest.

Simply upload an image file (JPG, PNG or GIF) which must be less than 2880 pixels in width or height.

and you’re good to go…

When you’re finished you can save a copy of your edited image on your computer.

Full documentation is available at

http://help.rsizr.com/index.html

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P.S. I wrote an earlier article about seam carving and you can read all about it at:http://www.kf12.com/blogs/techno/?p=750

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