ARTICLE INDEX

  • Happy New Year

    Happy New Year to all readers. I’m looking forward to see what the New Year will bring. Yet again I’ve missed out on attending CES, but will still trawl around the web trying to capture snippets on interesting announcements as they become available  - coverage is usually quite good I think, this year could be [...]

  • Dual Sim Mobile Phone

    I always wanted to try out a dual sim phone and I’m not sure why this concept isn’t more popular. I’m interested in separating Business calls from Personal calls and when abroad possibly using a different Sim in addition to my usual one. This low cost, basic phone would appear to fit the bill for [...]

  • iTunes in the Cloud – Cannot enable automatic downloads on iPad

    If anyone else has a similar problem, you may find the following snippet useful. My iPad 2 was not showing (on my Mac) as a device associated with my iTunes account . On closer investigation, I appeared to have  trouble enabling the automatic download feature on the iPad using Settings…Store. Each button for Music, Books [...]

  • EXOdesk

    EXOPC have released a video to demonstrate the EXOdesk. The device is a tabletop computer slate that provides a 40-inch touch sensitive display. More details will be available at CES2012 and other news sites are reporting a price of $1299. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dlUi3DnrzA The company web-site is at http://www.exopc.com/ (but is currently not showing any further detail)

  • Virtual Mirror with Kinect for Animation

    Take a look at triMirror’s first virtual mirror experiment. It uses a Kinect for the skeletal animation and is combined with triMirror’s avatar customization, real-time cloth simulation and animation, and fitting technologies. The OpenNI drivers from PrimeSense are used with the kinect.

  • iOS5 and iCloud

    iOS 5 includes more than 200 new features for your iPad (1 and 2) , iPhone (3GS, 4 and 4S), or iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation). It has been available from 12th October and initial reports indicated the Apple servers were suffering from the deluge of download requests – hopefully it is better now. [...]

  • Brain Computer Interface – A New Feature for Smart TV

    While still on the subject of head mounted displays, I recently noticed that NeuroSky announced a partnership with the Haier Group to integrate NeusroSkys brainwave detection technology into their latest “Cloud Smart” TV, due for release later this year.. http://company.neurosky.com/neurosky-press-release-haier-group-to-release-the-world%E2%80%99s-first-cloud-smart-tv-powered-by-neurosky/ As neurons in the brain interact, for example  as a result of thoughts or changes [...]

  • Personal 3D Viewer Head Mounted Display

    Perhaps the Personal 3D Viewer from Sony can pick up from the apparent fall off in interest for 3D TVs, as it provides you with your own personal, immersive, cinema experience. The HMZ-T1 head mounted display features dual OLED screens that provide HD quality viewing, and integrated headphones to deliver virtual 5.1 surround sound. It’s [...]

  • Windows 8 – Developer Preview

    BUILD2011 is a Microsoft Conference (from 13-16 September at the Anaheim Convention Centre) intended to show hardware and software developers how to take advantage of future versions of Windows. Windows 8 has been tagged as “Windows Re-Imagined”  and has been designed to provide better security features, faster startup, and longer battery life. It will run [...]

  • The Evolution of SolidWorks 3D CAD software

    If you’re interested in SolidWorks you can watch Fielder Hiss, VP of Product Management at SolidWorks, describe the evolution of the SolidWorks 3D CAD System from 1995 to 2012 through 20 releases. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vbY5arqxZA) You can read more about SolidWorks, including new features introduced in SolidWorks version 2012 on the SolidWorks Blog, available at http://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblog/

  • Musion Eyeliner

    Red or Black is a new “quiz show” on UK TV – Ok, I reluctantly admit to watching this program on Sunday, but it became more interesting when I happened to notice that the stage set for Pixie Lott was using 3D holographic images produced using the Musion Eyeliner system. Musion Eyeliner is a high definition [...]

  • Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple

    Apple’s Board of Directors announced yesterday that Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO and his replacement  will be Tim Cook, previously the COO. Read the Resgination Letter at http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Letter-from-Steve-Jobs.html and the Apple Press Release at http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/08/24Steve-Jobs-Resigns-as-CEO-of-Apple.html Jobs has been elected as Chairman of the Board and will continue to provide Apple with “his unique insights, creativity [...]

  • HP Touchpad … going … going

    Following the recent news from HP of its decision to …  discontinue  operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones … Read all the press releases at http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2011/index.html There was a fire sale of the HP Touchpad in the US over the weekend where the 16GB model could be obtained for $99.00 A similar [...]

  • 123D Sculpt

    Yet more good (free) stuff from Autodesk, who have released a 3D sculpting and painting app for the iPad called 123D Sculpt. Users can select from a number of pre-defined shapes as a starting point and use a variety of tools are available that enable the user to “tweak” the model into the shape that [...]

  • Apple Patent – Projected Display Shared Workspaces

    Ever since I first explored the use of Pico Projectors, I’ve mentioned that it was only a question of time before Apple looked to incorporate the technology into their iOS devices, and here is a patent application from Apple which goes some way to proving that theory. United States patent application US 2011/0197147 was originally filed in Feb 2010 [...]

  • Autodesk 123D

    123D is free 3D Modelling Software from Autodesk aimed to provide 3D modelling for everyone. It is designed for the hobbyist market to enable users to create physical objects from their designs using 3D printing or CNC technology. Currently available as a Beta release (v 5.0), it can be dowloaded from the Autodesk web-site at [...]

  • Evoluce Two

    In the past, I’ve separately experimented with both the Microsoft Surface and the Kinect sensor, so was interested to see that Evoluce have recently combined the two technologies with the release of the Evoluce Two device. It consists of a 46 inch multi-touch LCD display and a Kinect sensor positioned 100cm above the screen. Evoluce [...]

  • Siggraph 2011

    The 38th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques also known as Siggraph, is on from 7-11 August (NOW) at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The Emerging Technologies program, presents interactive demonstrations of technologies applied to a wide range of applications, and this year features 23 of the latest innovations selected from more [...]

  • .NET Gadgeteer

    The .NET Gadgeteer is an open-source toolkit from Microsoft that enables you to build small electronic devices programmed using the .NET Micro Framework and Visual Studio or Visual C# Express. Even without any knowledge of electronics, you will be able to quickly construct devices from a kit of peripherals such as sensors, lights, switches displays and [...]

  • Aurasma

    Aurasma is an Augmented Reality (AR) application created by Autonomy, a company based in Cambridge (UK). It is currently available for the iPhone 4, iPad 2 and Android devices and a Lite (free version) can be downloaded from the App Store or Android Market. Rather than having to recognise barcodes or other visual tags, such [...]

  • The Google+ Project

    Google has introduced the Google+ Project which is it’s latest offering in social networking. In the past they have made various attempts to enter this area with products such as Google Wave, and Google Buzz which both failed to attract the necessary worldwide enthusiasm to compete against the likes of Facebook and Twitter but will [...]

  • Qualcomm Augmented Reality (QCAR)

    The Qualcomm Augmented Reality (QCAR) SDK helps to create Augmented Reality (AR) applications for mobile devices and is now available for iOS devices. It can be downloaded from the Qualcomm Developer Portal (although you will need to register first if you don’t already have an account) at https://ar.qualcomm.at/qdevnet/sdk/ios The SDK enables applications to superimpose virtual [...]

  • iOS 5 – Coming Soon

    Over 200 new features are incorporated into the next version of iOS 5 which is due for release in the Autumn 2011. See all the details prior to the release at http://www.apple.com/ios/ios5/ New features include: The Notification Center allows you to manage all your notifications in one place iMessage is a new messaging service for [...]

  • OS X Lion

    OS X Lion is the next version of the OS X operating system from Apple. http://www.apple.com/macosx/ It introduces more than 250 new features some of which appear very similar to what you can see on iOS devices. In summary, some of the available features include: Improved support for Multi-touch gestures, as long as you have [...]

  • Kinect for Windows SDK (beta)

    The eagerly awaited SDk for developing applications using the Kinect game controller with Windows PC applications is now (finally) available. The Kinect for Windows SDK is a programming toolkit for application developers. It allows access to the Microsoft Kinect device connected to computers running Windows 7. Previously, access was possible using a variety of toolkits [...]

  • Xcode 4 and iTunes

    For others who may experience a similar issue … I’d just got my iPad 2 and connected it up to my Mac machine running the latest Mac OS X v 10.6.7 and started iTunes as instructed. Things seemed to be going fine through registration and setup when I received the abrupt warning iTunes was unable [...]

  • Microsoft to Acquire Skype

    In a recent press release, Microsoft announce that they have entered into an agreement to purchase Skype for $8.5 billion in cash. http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2011/may11/05-10CorpNewsPR.mspx The Press Release mentions that Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, [...]

  • iPad2 – It’s Here

    A colleague of mine finally got his hands on a new iPad 2 after waiting in line at the Apple Store in Cambridge on Friday. He kindly loaned it to me this morning for a quick look. He also obtained the Smart Cover which has a magnetic hinge that aligns and snaps into place giving [...]

  • ASUS WAVI Xtion

    ASUS announced innovative new motion-sensing control technology at CeBIT 2011, the first ever for the PC. WAVI Xtion combines full HD wireless media streaming with a PC-based motion-sensing interface to bring an exciting new approach to home entertainment. High definition movies, games and photos stream smoothly to HDTV over 5GHz wireless with a 25m range. [...]

  • iPad 2 on Sale Today (US)

    The 2nd Generation Apple tablet computer is on sale from today in the US. It should be available in a number of other countries including the UK on March 25th. Slimmer than the original  at 9.5in x 7.31in x 0.34in (241.2mm x 185.7mm x 8.8mm)  and lighter too at around 1.33 pounds (600g) that’s 33% [...]

  • Kinect – Sales Record

    As sales of the Kinect pass 10 million, http://www.xbox.com/en-US/Press/archive/2011/0308-Ten-Million-Kinects Guinness World Records has recently confirmed that Kinect for the Xbox 360 is the fastest-selling consumer electronics device, selling an average of 133,333 units a day from Nov 04th 2010 to Jan 03rd 2011 for a total of 8 million units in its first 60 days [...]

  • iOS 4.3 Software Upgrade

    The iOS 4.3 Software Update from Apple, has been released a couple of days before the iPad 2 hits the streets. Main enhancements to iOS4.3 include: Faster web browsing with Safari incorporating the new Nitro JavaScript engine. This will run JavaScript up to 2x quicker than the speed of Safari in iOS4.2. iTunes Home Sharing [...]

  • TouchPad Tablet

    The TouchPad Tablet is one of 3 webOS based products announced by HP earlier this week and is aimed directly at the market currently dominated by the Apple iPad. It has a 9.7-inch diagonal capacitive multi-touch display with a resolution of 1024×768 supporting 18-bit color, and is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. [...]

  • Far side of the Sun

    The Sun is spherical  and now its official. In the NASA mission STEREO, 2 space probes were launched back in October 2006 and sent on orbits around the sun in different directions. On Feb 6 2011 the probes arrived in position on opposite sides of the sun and will provide 360 degree observation data for [...]

  • HP Pocket Whiteboard

    HP recently announced the HP Digital Learning Suite. http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2011/110202a.html One item mentioned, as a component of this suite, is the HP Pocket Whiteboard. It consists of a receiver and wireless stylus and allows almost any flat surface to become a digital whiteboard (I’m not sure it will work on glass). The receiver is connected to a PC using a [...]

  • Google Art Project

    Google Street View moves inside art museums around the world to let you experience art in a completely new way with the Google Art Project The Art Project from Google enables you to explore inside galleries and view the available artwork in high resolution. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GThNZH5Q1yY) The Art Project is available at http://www.googleartproject.com Other Links A [...]

  • Adaptive Hardware

    A project to explore Adaptive Hardware and Context Aware Interfaces is detailed by the Microsoft Applied Sciences Group at http://www.microsoft.com/appliedsciences/content/projects/AdaptiveHardware.aspx The article describes the history of the project from the initial notes, through various different prototypes to a device which was made available to students participating in the 2010 Student Innovation contest at the ACM [...]

  • The Glif

    The Glif is an iPhone 4 accessory designed by Tom Gerhardt and Dan Provost. It is used for Mounting your iPhone onto a tripod Propping up your iPhone at various different angles. It’s made from recyclable plastic and has a standard thread to fit a standard tripod or camera mount. (http://player.vimeo.com/video/15493382) Visit the Glif site [...]

  • Gmail Updates

    Desktop Notifications This allows Gmail to display popup notifications on your desktop when new chat and email messages arrive. To enable this feature simply click the Settings option in the top right-hand corner of Gmail and select your required options (Chat and/or Mail notifications) in the Desktop Notifications section. The feature uses HTML5  to display [...]

  • Google APIs & Developer Products

    An interesting visual representation of the available Google APIs and Developer Products presented in the form of a periodic table Interact with the real thing at http://code.google.com/more/table/

  • 3D Food Printing

    In the fictional TV series Star Trek a replicator is used to create the food of your choice. This Science Fiction device could be closer to reality following a project by a team from the Computational Synthesis Lab at Cornell University. http://ccsl.mae.cornell.edu/node/194 Its based on the Fab@Home 3D Printer platform, using hydrocolloids (xanthium gums and gelatin) [...]

  • Mozilla Concept Series: Seabird

    Part of the Mozilla Labs Concept series, Seabird is an exploration of how user interfaces could evolve following advances in motion tracking and projector miniaturisation technology. This is purely a concept and there are no plans to produce an actual device based on this concept. Read about the project at http://mozillalabs.com/seabird/ The Mozilla Concept Series provides [...]

  • Google URL Shortener gets an API

    The Google URL Shortener is a service that takes long URLs and squeezes them into fewer characters to make a link that is easier to share, tweet, or email to friends. The service was launched back in September of 2010 ( see http://goo.gl/ ) and now has an accompanying API which will allow developers to access [...]

  • Trimensional

    Recently spotted this 3D Scanner application for the iPhone. Not sure whether there is any practical use but found it  fun nonetheless… More detail at http://www.trimensional.com/

  • Image Composite Editor (ICE)

    The Image Composite Editor from Microsoft Research is a panoramic image stitcher program. It is used to join a set of overlapping images together from a set of photos of a scene taken from a single camera location. The program uses advanced algorithms to create a seamless, high resolution image which can be saved in [...]

  • CES 2011 – Keynotes

    The Consumer Electronics Show is the worlds largest tradeshow for consumer electronics. This year there were more than 2700 technology companies presenting their products to more than 140,000 visitors (with 30000 attendees from outside the US) . Keynote addresses were presented by 22 CEOs including Steve Ballmer from Microsoft, Boo-Keun Yoon from Samsung and many [...]

  • Cinemin Slice

    WowWee were showing a Pico Projector iPad Dock at CES 2011. The Cinemin Slice is a portable Pico Projector that will project an image up to 60 inch high from a media player. The Slice has an Apple connector that allows you to directly connect an iPod, iPod Touch, iPad or iPhone. It also provides Mini-HDMI [...]

  • iBluek Keyboard

    Do you want to turn your iPad into a laptop ? I’m not sure why you would want to but you can – with the iBluek Bluetooth Keyboard from Dexim. The keyboard is made of premium leather for durability and superior protection.The sleek ABS keys turn the iPad and keyboard into one seamless unit. http://www.dexim.net/us/products/Home-Office/DXA010.html [...]

  • Microsoft Surface 2

    At the recent International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (CES 2011) Microsoft and Samsung unveiled the next generation Microsoft Surface. Samsung collaborated with Microsoft to produce a new thin LCD based design named the SUR40. The device has a slimmer form factor than the original Surface ( now its only 4 inches thick! ) [...]

  • Google Body

    Body Browser is an application from Google Labs that allows you to interactively explore a 3D model of the human body in a web browser. Google Body is a detailed 3D model of the human body. You can peel back anatomical layers, zoom in, click to identify anatomy, or search for muscles, organs, bones and [...]

  • Light Lining

    A couple of  interesting videos showing Architectural Projection Mapping The LightLine of Gotham http://vimeo.com/15887314 and another ACDC Vs Iron Man 2 – Architectural Projection Mapping on Rochester Castle http://vimeo.com/11160666

  • Microsoft Montage

    Montage is a web-based service from the Microsoft FUSE labs. It allows you to create and share a visual album of the web on your choice of topics. You design your Montage by simply choosing a topic and arranging the layout for the information pulled from a variety of sources, including RSS feeds, Twitter, Bing [...]

  • Jolicloud

    I’m looking to re-purpose my Dell Mini 9 Netbook and a I thought I’d take a look at Jolicloud following a suggestion by a colleague. Jolicloud is an Internet Operating System built on top of Ubuntu Netbook Edition. Jolicloud transforms your netbook into a sophisticated web device that taps into the cloud to expand your [...]

  • Panoptic 3D Camera

    Researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have invented a camera that can take pictures in 360 degrees and reconstruct the scene in 3D. Inspired by the eyes of most insects, such as the common house fly, the device uses micro cameras mounted on a spherical surface. The purpose built hardware can compute [...]

  • Browser-based Stereoscopic 3D

    No, it’s not your eyes, a 3D stereoscopic system from General 3D allows users to view 3D stereoscopic content in a web browser. http://general3d.com/ The web-based service allows members to stream 3D stereoscopic content such as video and still images and follows HTML5 and WebGL standards for playback in the browser. http://www.3df33d.tv I only managed to [...]

  • Wave in a Box

    Due to a general lack of interest from users, Google announced their intention to discontinue development of their Wave concept earlier in the year http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/update-on-google-wave.html However the technology could live on as Wave In A Box an Open Source Reference implementation of the various Wave technologies and protocols. Find out more at http://www.waveprotocol.org/wave-in-a-box

  • Microsoft Security Essentials

    Having recently got a new machine (Dell XPS15 Laptop), I thought it was about time I re-visited the question of anti-virus software. Up until now, I’ve  used anti-virus software from AVG  and been reasonably happy ( in spite of a few false positives ! ) but felt it was becoming a little intrusive. Looking around [...]

  • Google Earth 6

    Cannot see the wood for the trees – well somebody had to say it The latest version of Google Earth includes the integrated Street View functionality. In addition 3D models for dozens of species of trees have been planted in a number of places such as Athens, Berlin, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/introducing-google-earth-6the-next.html [...]

  • Inspiron Duo

    Is it a Laptop or is it a Tablet ? Actually it’s both. Using an Intel Atom N550 processor, it comes with 2GB Ram and a choice of 250GB – 320GB hard drive. It has a 10.1 inch Widescreen HD WLED display providing a resolution of 1366 x 768 and, of course, with Multi-Touch. pre-installed [...]

  • Kinected

    It’s arrived out of the box and ready for action More to follow …

  • It’s Bananas

    We have Joysticks, Light Pens, Digital Pens, various types of Game Controllers, Keyboards, Mice, Touch Devices, Image Scanners, Barcode Readers, Smart Cards, Speech Control devices and now … the Kinect. But why can’t you use anything as an input device? To explore the concept further, I chose an item I found lying around in the [...]

  • Kinect – What can it see ?

    through the eye(s) of a Kinect

  • Beautiful Modeler

    Beautiful Modeler is a software program that enables Gestural Sculpting using a multi-touch controller such as the iPad. Fingers are used to move touch points in the model. The view of the model can be changed and controlled by moving the iPad. Details at http://www.interactivefabrication.com/projects/beautiful-modeler/

  • Kinect – How Does It Work ?

    Sensor Component Technology The Kinect appears to incorporate PrimeSensor Reference Design technology from PrimeSense. The technology enables a computer to perceive the world in 3D using Light Coding. This works by coding the scene volume with near IR light and uses a sensor to read the coded light back from the scene ultimately producing a depth image [...]

  • Inside Out – Kinect

    I thought it wasn’t available yet (at least in the UK  due to get one on the 10th though), but here is a look at what goes together to make the  Microsoft Kinect a peripheral for the Xbox 360 that provides a controller-free experience for playing games. The Kinect is a horizontal bar of sensors [...]

  • Online Shopping – Boucheron

    Another example from a company trying to enhance your on-line shopping experience by allowing you to try out their ring and watch collections from your home. By using a webcam to recognise a printed symbol, and using Augmented Reality (AR) techniques, the rings or watches are superimposed on your finger(s) or wrist in real-time. The program is a standalone [...]

  • Singularity University

    Interesting … Singularity University is an interdisciplinary university whose mission is to assemble, educate and inspire leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies in order to address humanity’s grand challenges. With the support of a broad range of leaders in academia, business and government, Singularity University hopes to stimulate [...]

  • CEATEC 2010

    CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) is the largest annual electronics show in Japan and took place recently (Oct 5 – Oct 9). I enjoyed watching a report on the show presented by the IDG World Tech Update series and available on YouTube via Macworlds YouTube Channel. The report takes a look at Dual-screen cell [...]

  • Vuzix iWear – Wrap 920AR

    Vuzix manufacture a range of Video Eye-wear and personal display devices for mobile video, entertainment, defence and commercial markets. The concept of using glasses/goggles with an embedded video display to watch TV or play video games isn’t a new idea, but my interest was re-ignited when I noticed their augmented reality eye-wear … the Wrap [...]

  • Samsung Galaxy Tab

    The Samsung Galaxy Tab was launched at the recent consumer electronics show IFA 2010 held in Berlin and Samsung have now released an official video to show off this new device in more detail. The Galaxy Tab is a smart media device and is destined to compete with the iPad. Overall the dimensions are 19 [...]

  • Leonar3Do – The Virtual Reality Kit

    Leonar3Do is an interactive desktop VR system that consists of a spatial input device with 6 degrees of freedom, 3D glasses and monitor mounted sensors. With Leonar3Do, you are able to control how you move within space – you can create and pull objects out from the monitor with the cursor. To enjoy the benefits [...]

  • Kymera Magic Wand

    Here’s something that Harry Potter could find useful for replacing his remote control(s). The Kymera Wand is a device that you can program to replace the remote control used by your TV, DVD player or Hi-Fi etc. Use a gesture of the wand to send an infra-red signal to your device. It uses a 3-axis [...]

  • Virtual Fitting Room

    A story from the BBC reports on a shape-shifting mannequin that has been designed to help shoppers to get the right fit/look when buying clothes online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10687701 After entering your measurements, the mannequin takes the shape and size of your body. You can let the mannequin try different sized clothing and choose the one that [...]

  • Meta Cookie

    Demonstrated at the recent Siggraph 2010 Conference and Exhibition, Meta Cookie combines augmented reality technology with olfactory display technology to create an interactive gustatory display. Eh ? Meta Cookie is the world’s first pseudo-gustation system which induces cross-modal effect to let humans perceive various tastes without changing chemical substances by changing only visual and olfactory [...]

  • Sony Autostereoscopic Display (Raymodeler)

    A 360 degree, auto-stereoscopic,  3D display prototype from Sony was showcased in the Emerging Technologies section at the recent Siggraph 2010 Conference/Exhibition. The cylindrical unit measures 13cm in diameter and 27cm in height. It can be connected to a PC, or other device, through a digital video input port. No special glasses are needed to [...]

  • RearType – Text Entry for Mobile Devices

    RearType is a project from Microsoft and others, that explores a text entry system for mobile devices using normal keyboard keys that are placed on the back of the device. This approach helps to resolve the problem where a users fingers and hands occlude the touch point(s). http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=135609 Earlier work in this area includes Lucid [...]

  • Beyond – Direct 3D Manipulation

    Beyond is a research project by Jinha Lee (and Hiroshi Ishii) from the MIT Media Lab. http://tangible.media.mit.edu/person.php?recid=81 The full title of the project is Beyond  - A collapsible Input device for Direct 3D Manipulation beyond the Screen. http://tangible.media.mit.edu/project.php?recid=139 It explores a technique for drawing in 3D on a 2D surface using an input device which collapses [...]

  • MacPaint

    MacPaint was written by Bill Atkinson, who was a member of the original Macintosh development team. He based it on his earlier LisaSketch (also called SketchPad) for the unsuccessful Apple Lisa computer, so he originally called it MacSketch. He started work on the Mac version in early 1983. Why am I telling you this ? [...]

  • App Inventor for Android

    App Inventor allows you to build applications for Android if if you have no experience of programming. Instead of writing code, simply design how you want the application to look and use pre-built blocks to specify the application behaviour. There are blocks for almost everything you can do on an Android phone as well as [...]

  • SIGGRAPH 2010

    Thr 37th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques takes place from the 25th – 29th July at the Los Angeles Convention Center. A video preview of Technical Papers to be presented is available with some more details at http://www.siggraph.org/s2010/for_attendees/technical_papers Emerging Technologies presents interactive demonstrations of technologies applied to a wide range [...]

  • Internet-Connected TV

    Is Internet-connected TV the future of home entertainment and the gateway to the internet ? Manufacturers are making more sophisticated TVs which you can simply connect to your home network to provide access to the internet. The TV will help to accelerate the growth of the internet as a platform and easy access to the [...]

  • Kin – No More

    Back in April I said The Kin is a new Windows phone from Microsoft designed to broadcast and navigate your social life and is aimed at the Social Generation who want to share their journey (through life) every day with their network of friends. http://www.kf12.com/blogs/techno/2010/04/kin/ and now ? Microsoft recently announced that the Kin will [...]

  • Tip – Read PDF files using iBooks

    A simple tip that allows you to create your own library of PDF files and read them on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad using iBooks. From iTunes, select File…Add to Library, navigate to the PDF file(s) and pick Choose. This will load them into the Books section of your iTunes library and syncing with [...]

  • Nintendo 3DS

    The 3DS is a new hand-held game console from Nintendo which can provide 3D effects – no glasses required. Announced during the recent E3 exhibition conference and scheduled for general availability before March 2011. See it in 3D in a YouTube 3D video ( glasses required ) at The 3DS has two screens – the [...]

  • Outside In – iPhone 4

    Promised on June 24th and arrived on June 25th so not too bad … the iPhone 4 is here. Includes the iPhone 4, Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic, Dock Connector to USB cable and USB Power Adapter. Transfer from an existing iPhone 3G to the new one was straightforward. Pop down to the O2 [...]

  • Inside Out – iPhone 4

    Its fitting, on the day of general availability of the iPhone 4 in the UK,  that you can take a look inside. iFxit provides full details of their iPhone 4 teardown at http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone-4-Teardown/3130/1

  • Toshiba Libretto W100

    Toshiba have recently announced a new Ultra Mobile Device (UMD)  to celebrate  Toshiba’s 25th Anniversary of Laptop Innovation. The libretto W100 Demonstrates a Next-Gen Ultra-Mobile PC Design With Full Windows 7 Functionality. http://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/libretto/W100 It seems similar to the Courier tablet concept (which was recently cancelled by Microsoft) http://www.kf12.com/blogs/techno/2010/01/microsoft-courier/ The libretto W100 consists of 2 hinged [...]

  • Microsoft Office – Web Apps

    Microsoft has launched a free on-line service that allows you to create and edit documents created using Word, Excel PowerPoint and OneNote. If you already have a Microsoft Live ID its simply a case of connecting to your account at http://www.live.com If you don’t have a Live ID, you can register and be editing documents [...]

  • Mac Mini

    Apple has recently released an updated version of its Mac Mini computer. The first thing to notice is the ultra-compact nature of the device with overall dimensions of  3.6cm x 19.7cm x 19.7cm  The power supply is built-in eliminating the need for an external PSU brick. Also provided is a removal panel on the base that [...]

  • Live Mesh … going … going

    It looks as though the demise of Microsoft  Live Mesh (beta) is not that far away following recent announcements on the Windows Live blog http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_live/ in particular in the article “Windows Live Sync beta blends the best of Sync and Mesh” http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_live/b/windowslive/archive/2010/06/10/coming-soon-windows-live-sync-beta.aspx It looks as though the best bits of Live Mesh (beta) have been [...]

  • Kinect

    Just before the opening of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, Microsoft revealed Kinect for the Xbox 360 – previously this was known under the banner Project Natal. Kinect makes you the controller by sensing your body movements and using these to control the application running on your Xbox. You can simply [...]

  • iPhone 4

    The new iPhone 4 was announced during the Apple WWDC 2010 Keynote Address http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/wwdc10/index.html With more than 3 years of experience behind them, the designers were able to build on what they’d learned so far in creating the latest and greatest iPhone offering. In brief, hardware features include: size, 4.5in x 2.31in x 0.37in (115.2mm [...]

  • Bonfire

    I thought I’d already written about this but cannot find a reference to it anywhere. Bonfire is a project that uses 2 micro projectors to project an interactive display image on either side of a laptop keyboard. Cameras are used to enable hand gesture tracking and object recognition within the projected display area. Presented in [...]

  • The iPad is here

    Finally, the iPad has been released and is available in the UK. On release day, I called into PCWorld on the way to work and lo and behold there it was … 10 minutes later I had one in my grasp together with some “extras” a case and screen protector. I obtained the 32GB wi-fi [...]

  • Cambridge (UK) Tour Guide

    Researchers from the Open University (http://www.open.ac.uk/) have created an application for the Microsoft Surface that can be used by visitors to Cambridge (UK) to plan their trip. Up to 4 people can use the system at the same time to choose the attractions in the city that they want to explore during their visit before [...]

  • Novatel MiFi

    The MiFi device from Novatel converts any 3G signal into WiFi so that you can create your own Mobile Hotspot. Simply insert a 3G Sim and you can connect up to 5 wifi enabled devices simultaneously within a range of 10m. It includes a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery that provide up to 4 hours continuous [...]

  • Dell Streak – Android Device

    Dell are now talking in more detail about their 5-inch Android Tablet device. At 5 inches it’s slightly bigger than an iPhone, but does that make it a tablet? Features include: 5-inch capacitive multi-touch display Fast 1GHz Snapdragon ARM-based mobile processor from Qualcomm 5 MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash VGA front-facing camera A [...]

  • Dell S300wi Interactive Projector

    The Dell S300wi is a short throw projector that will provide an image at a size of 24.5 ft from a distance of 10.8 ft  (or a size of 5 ft from a distance of 2.2ft away) at a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The projector provides wifi (b/g/n) in addition to the normal wired connections [...]

  • Realtime Hand Tracking

    Researchers from the MIT Computer Science and Artifical Intelligence Lab have designed a system that can recognise gestures made with a multi-coloured gloved hand. You can see the accuracy and latency of the tracking in the following video One feature of the system is an algorithm which was developed to rapidly search graphics data in [...]

  • Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7

    The Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 is a collection of games and applications that are made available to computers with multi-touch enabled displays running Windows 7 and is now available from the Microsoft Download centre at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b152fadd-82e4-4ddb-a46a-aebe49944428&displaylang=en The Touch Pack includes: Microsoft Blackboard, an intricate game of physics in which you solve a puzzle [...]

  • Maxwell and Paintshop

    Next Limit (http://www.nextlimit.com/) are authors of the Maxwell Rendering software and recently announced the availability of a plugin for Paintshop that supports images generated by Maxwell, in the .MXI format and allows them to be “tweaked” in the familiar Paintshop surroundings. The plugin allows you to modify light intensity and the color of emitters, which [...]

  • iPhone OS 4.0

    Apple recently announced the next major software update for the iPhone, namely OS 4.0, currently scheduled for release in the Summer (2010). Claimed to contain more than 100 new features for iPhone and iPod users to enjoy but not if you’ve got an iPod Touch 1st generation (I’ve got 2) which does not seem to [...]

  • iPad “clones”

    It had to happen, Apple release the iPad and clones start appearing from nowhere, or should that be everywhere. There has been speculation about a number of “slate” style devices for some time, and here are a few I’ve seen mentioned HP Slate The HP Slate was announced back in January as a spoiler prior [...]

  • Kin

    The Kin is a new Windows phone from Microsoft designed to broadcast and navigate your social life and is aimed at the Social Generation who want to share their journey (through life) every day with their network of friends. An analysis of Facebook users determined that Social Connection and Self Expression defined the primary use [...]

  • Pivot

    Pivot is a Microsoft Live Labs project that tries to make it easier to interact with massive amounts of data on the Internet. http://www.getpivot.com/ At the heart of Pivot are “Collections.” Collections combine large groups of similar items on the internet, so we can begin viewing the Web as a “web” rather than a series [...]

  • Office Talk – Tweeting in the Enterprise

    Microsoft is currently testing a product concept called Office Talk from the Microsoft Office Labs. Ever wish you could share information broadly within your organization without emailing everyone? Ever wish you could keep the pulse of what people in your organization think is interesting? Microblogging has that potential. OfficeTalk is a concept test to explore [...]

  • tweetguv

    With the forthcoming General Election in the UK, this couldn’t have been timed better. There is an exercise undertaken by students during the second term of the second year of their Undergraduate Computer Science degree course at Cambridge University called the Group Design Projects. A number of projects are undertaken, and videos of the final [...]

  • CATIA for Design

    A couple of interesting videos I came across recently. The first is a promo video for CATIA V6 posted in August 2009 The next one demonstrates conceptual modelling using CATIA Live Shape posted in January 2009.

  • The Cloud Mouse

    If you come out with a new product should it always contain the word Cloud? Microsoft have described a technology called the “Cloud Mouse” at their recent TechFest 2010, demonstrating a novel hardware and interaction design that illustrates the properties of a general-purpose user interface for cloud computing. Eh? The scenario the team envisions is [...]

  • Mobile Surface

    Demonstrated at Microsoft Techfest 2110 by Chunhui Zhang from Microsoft Research Asia Mobile Surface is a novel interaction system for mobile computing. Our goal is to bring the Microsoft Surface experience to mobile scenarios and, more importantly, to enable 3-D interaction with mobile devices. We will demonstrate how to transform any surface, such as a [...]

  • Printing Body Parts

    A 3D bio-printing machine has been developed by Organovo, and is intended for use in the manufacture of human tissues and organs. “Scientists and engineers can use the 3D bio printers to enable placing cells of almost any type into a desired pattern in 3D,” said Murphy. “Researchers can place liver cells on a preformed [...]

  • Moving Trees

    Dr Peter Hall ( http://www.cs.bath.ac.uk/~pmh/start/home.html) and Chris Li from the Department of Computer Science (http://www.bath.ac.uk/comp-sci/) at the University of Bath in the UK have developed a system that enables the generation of lifelike animations of trees from real video footage. Read the Press release at http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2010/01/25/cgi-trees/ and more details of the research work at http://www.cs.bath.ac.uk/~pmh/Research/Animated_Foliage.html

  • Inspiration from Steve Jobs

    From his Address at the Stanford University 114th Commencement on 12 June 2005, Steve Jobs CEO and original co-founder of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios urges us to pursue our dreams and to see the opportunites in life’s setbacks. There is a transcript of the address available from Stanford University at: http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

  • PhoneGap

    PhoneGap is an open source development framework for creating mobile applications using HTML and JavaScript. As simple as HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Software development is hard work. Device integration should be simple so you can focus on the application you are building instead of authoring complex compatibility layers. PhoneGap aims to solve device integration by [...]

  • Concept Research

    Oblong Industries (http://oblong.com/) is the developer of the g-speak spatial operating environment (SOE) . The SOE’s combination of gestural i/o, recombinant networking, and real-world pixels brings the first major step in computer interface since 1984; starting today, g-speak will fundamentally change the way people use machines at work, in the living room, in conference rooms, [...]

  • Augmented Reality Mapping

    A talk by Blaise Aguera y Arcas at the recent TED 2010 showed some new augmented reality mapping technology from Microsoft. Blaise Aguera y Arcas is an architect at Microsoft Live Labs, architect of Seadragon, and the co-creator of Photosynth, a monumental piece of software capable of assembling static photos into a synergy of zoomable, [...]

  • Lifelike Robots

    Talks from the TED Archives 2009 – David Hanson: Robots that “show emotion”

  • Apple Patents

    Here’s a blog worth following if you want to watch what may be on the horizon from Apple … http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/ The most recent articles include: New Media Player Armband Revealed for Attachable Accessories Will Liquid Cooling be Coming to the iMac? Apple Design Wins: Animation GUI for iPhone & LED Cinema Display Apple Granted a [...]

  • iPad or PADD ?

    With the recent burst of enthusiasm for the iPad it suddenly occurred to me that I’d seen it all before. Just seems remarkably similar to the PADD – Personal Access Display Device that I’d seen in the mid 1990′s (or more accurately that hails from the year 2374) as seen on Star Trek: Deep Space [...]

  • Gesture Cube

    Just wave your hand to access music, web, your family and friends on the Gesture Cube. The Gesture Cube uses 3D spacial movement tracking using underlying GestIC® technology to detect the approach and movement of your hand. GestIC® electric field sensing technology makes 3D spatial hand or finger movement tracking possible. GestIC® detects movements and [...]

  • Mixed Reality Technology from Canon

    Canon’s MR technology uses a head-mounted display (HMD) and shows CAD (computer-aided design) data in a real space. There’s also an interesting article about the system at http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20100204/179912/)

  • Face Tracking

    faceAPI is a toolkit for developers that provides head-tracking for all three axes. No special hardware is required – you simply use a standard webcam. In addition you can also use the toolkit to detect changes in facial expressions The software can automatically find the face in the current scene, and reacquire it if the subject [...]

  • Pen, Keyboard or iPad?

    Everybody else is writing about it (I detected 75000 news articles within minutes of the announcement yesterday!) so here’s the info/pictures. Looks like a big iPhone to me. The screen is a 9.7 inches (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-touch display  and supports a resolution of 1024×768 at 132 ppi. Touch technology is capacitive – same [...]

  • Microsoft Courier

    In the light of strong rumours that Apple is about to launch a slate (tablet) device – to be revealed at the end of January for general availability from March – is there a new Tablet PC in the offing from Microsoft ? First mentioned in September 2009, Gizmodo showed details of a device puported [...]

  • Apple Patent 3D Viewing with Multitouch

    A recent article in WorldCAD Access is reporting a recent Patent application from Apple for manipulating 3D models on multi-touch displays. http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/blog/2010/01/apple-appears-to-have-patented-multitouch-zooming-and-moving-3d-objects.html Read the patent application in its full glory at http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220090303231%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20090303231&RS=DN/20090303231

  • 3D Sketching

    With the current burgeoning interest in everything 3D – Films, TV, Ar, Immersive VR etc. how about this application for sketching in 3D? Put on your red-blue 3D glasses and go to the website provided at Neave.com and try it out for yourself. http://www.neave.com/anaglyph/

  • Apple Rumours

    Noticed a couple of recent articles which add fire to the usual Apple rumour mill about the imminent release of an Apple Tablet. http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/12/analyst-apple-tablet-launching-in-spring-to-crush-kindle.ars http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/12/09/tablet_rumors_february_production_start_10_inch_lcd_screen.html These have been sparked by Yair Reiner an analyst with Oppenheimer who indicated …the manufacturing cogs for the production of a tablet are creaking into action and should begin to [...]

  • Paper Batteries

    “Ink” made of carbon nanotubes, silver nanowires and paper are the ingredients necessary to create a battery according to research led by Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, and his team at Stanford University . http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/december7/nanotubes-ink-paper-120709.html Yi Cui had previously created nanomaterial energy storage devices using plastics. His new research shows that [...]

  • Microsoft Web Platform

    The Microsoft Web Platform provides a framework, web server, database and tools needed to build and run web-sites and applications on Windows. One of the problems has always been the difficulty in configuring IIS to use tools such as PHP and MySQL so that you can easily use applications such as WordPress. Now, the Web [...]

  • Bokode – A New Visual Tag

    Bokode: Imperceptible Visual Tags for Camera Based Interaction from a Distance A paper presented by members of the Camera Culture Group from the MIT Media Lab at the recent Siggraph 2009, a Bokode is a new kind of small barcode. Current optical tags, such as barcodes, must be read within a short range and the [...]

  • Picasa – Add name tags to your pictures

    In the latest version of Picasa, there is a feature that uses face-matching technology to organise your photos according to the people in them. Picasa 3.5 scans all the photos in your collection, identifies the ones with faces, and groups photos with similar faces together. It’s easy to add name tags to dozens of photos [...]

  • 3DVia Mobile – 3D on your iPhone

    3DVIA Mobile is an application from Dassault Systemes that allows you access to your 3DVIA account from your iPhone. Features available include: the ability to view (pan, zoom and inspect) 3D models in real-time using the in-built 3DVIA player. search through all the available models on 3DVIA posted by users and premiuum content partners, access [...]

  • How many Phone Chargers do you have?

    The days when you buy a new phone and get yet another phone charger may be numbered. In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently submitted to the European Commission, 10 companies have signed up to providing a universal charger which can be used to charge any of their devices via a micro USB connection. The companies have agreed [...]

  • Morph

    Morph is a concept that explores how nanotechnology might be used in the future for next generation mobile devices – utilising features such as flexible materials, transparent electronics, self-cleaning surfaces and more. High resolution image (JPEG file, zipped, 1.5 MB) The concept has been developed by the Nokia Research Center (NRC) in partnership with the [...]

  • iPod Shuffle

    Ah yes, I remember it well – my very first iPod, I first mentioned back in March 2005 (has it really been 4 years?) with 512Mb for £69. http://www.kf12.com/blogs/techno/2005/03/audio-documentation/ Moving the controls off the iPod to the earphone cord allows it to become smaller at 1.8 x 0.7 x 0.3 inches. and now it talks [...]

  • Learning to Program

    Remember Scratch – a drag and drop programming paradigm from MIT? If not refresh your memory at http://www.kf12.com/blogs/techno/2007/11/drag-and-drop-programming/ or http://scratch.mit.edu/ Well, now there’s something else, in a similar vein, Kodu from Microsoft Research. (Based on Boku – here’s a Boku report from March 2007) http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/03/microsoft_resea.html Kodu is a a visual programming language which has been [...]

  • COOLPIX P90

    Noted the recent announcement about the soon-to-be-available Nikon COOLPIX P90. I don’t normally write about cameras, but was amazed to see how technology has evolved, since I got my Canon EOS 400D, and the amount of functionality that now gets packed in. Ignoring, for a moment, the vast range of features such as the 24x [...]

  • Microsoft Tag

    The High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB) is a barcode system developed by Microsoft Research. http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/hccb/ It’s not a brand new technology though, having been under development for some time – you can read a news item about the technology (dated 19 April 2007) on the BBC website at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6570871.stm It has become more prominent, however, [...]

  • SHOW WX

    SHOW WX is the codename for a full colour laser based pico projector from Microvision, which is likely to be launched under another brand name. WX stands for Wide Experience which refers to the wide image format, wide colour range and wide, always-in-focus operation. A pre-production model was shown at the recent Macworld Conference and [...]

  • Mindflex

    Have you ever dreamed of moving an object with the power of your mind ? Mindflex, one of the products shown on their booth at CES 2009, claims to make that dream a reality. A lightweight headset containing sensors for the forehead and earlobes measures your brainwave activity. When you focus your concentration, a small foam [...]

  • Pico Projectors

    WowWee is showing  a number of different Pico projector models at this years CES 2009. The models on display include the Cinemin Swivel – offering 3 hours of battery life and a resolution of 480 x 360 and can be bent in the middle to provide ceiling projection. The Cinemin Stick incorporates an SD card slot [...]

  • Grippity Keyboard

    One problem with touch interfaces is the way that a users fingers hide (or occlude) the target point at the critical moment just before touching the screen. Also, the touch area of the finger is  much larger than a pixel on the display. Lucid Touch is a project from Microsoft Research which tries to eliminate occlusion [...]

  • New Year, New Stuff

    First up, what about the Scanning Digiframe from the Skyla  division of Lite-On. Yet another digital photo frame you say, but this one will also scan existing printed photographs using its built-in scanner and display them on the screen The LiteOn Skyla Memoir digital frame provides 1Gb of memory and a resolution of 800×600. The scanner portion [...]

  • Microsoft PDC

    There are lots of reports on the web related to the recent Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC). This conference atracts leading-edge developers who want to learn about the future direction of Microsoft products. Here’s my take on a couple of the topics and the location of some useful links for further information. Microsoft Azure is [...]

  • Your Dream PC

    So you’ve always had this brilliant idea for the perfect PC but nobody would listen ? Perhaps they will now. ASUS and Intel have created wepc.com where you can go and share your ideas – ASUS will evaluate your concepts and possibly incorporate features into a future notebook PC. if you’re interested contribute your ideas [...]

  • NASA Image Gallery

    NASA, in conjunction with the Internet Archive, has recently launched an online image gallery. The site offers public access not only to images but also to the video and audio collections from NASA. http://www.nasaimages.org/

  • IDG-600 Motion Sensing from InvenSense Inc.

    InvenSense Inc recently announced that its IDG-600 multi-axis MEMS rate gyroscope has started shipping in mass production quantities to Nintendo for its Wii MotionPlus accessory. http://www.invensense.com/news/071508.html The addition of this multi-axis rate gyroscpic solution to the Wii MotionPlus accessory allows for high precision 3D tracking of rapid gaming gestures. For example, the ability to throw [...]

  • Wii MotionPlus

    The Wii MotionPlus is an accessory for the Wii Remote (Wiimote) controller. Nintendo’s upcoming Wii MotionPlus accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote controller again redefines game control, by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space. The Wii MotionPlus accessory attaches to the end of the Wii Remote and, combined with the accelerometer [...]

  • ZCam

    Gesture based controls are starting to change the way users interact with computer applications – as seen, for example, with the Wiimote a remote control used with the Wii games console. Wouldn’t it be great if the system could detect what was happening by interpreting movement and gestures directly without  the need for any input device? [...]

  • Firefox 3.0

    Firefox 3 is now available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X as a free download from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/ Lots of news reports about the release of Firefox 3.0 with apparently more than 8,000,000 downloads in the first 24 hours, and to-date the number of downloads stands at 10,557,198 (9:30 GMT) http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/ With over 14,000 improvements, [...]

  • Open University joins iTunes U

    iTunes U is a service, from the Apple iTunes Store, that provides access to a collection of educational course materials from hundreds of leading Universities across the world and is available to anyone with a Mac or PC (and of course iTunes). Users can download and play course content just like they do for music, [...]

  • PicLens

    Developed by Cooliris Inc, PicLens combines a “Cover Flow” style with a 3D Image wall to present a novel way for viewing photos and videos across the web via your web-browser. Plugins are available for Internet Explorer and Firefox and PicLens works with a number of websites. A search feature is built-in to the viewer [...]

  • Windows SideShow Technology

    Windows SideShow is a technology in Windows Vista that supports a secondary screen on your mobile PC. With this additional display you can view important information whether your laptop is on, off, or in sleep mode. Windows SideShow is available in Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, and Windows Vista Ultimate. [...]

  • VAVE100 Remote Control with Windows SideShow

    Ricavision develops consumer electronic products with embedded Microsoft technology for the OEM, retail, custom integrators and hospitality markets. The VAVE100 Universal remote control has a 2.4 inch color QVGA LCD display, features Class 1 SPP/A2DP Bluetooth and is upgradable through the built-in mini USB. It is combined with Microsoft SideShow to deliver digital information to [...]

  • Inside the iPod Touch

    An old article, but I was interested to have a look a the inside of an iPod Touch. Details at http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/First-Look/iPod/iPod-Touch

  • Story behind the WiiFit

    Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo has conducted a series of interviews with his people involved in the development of the Wii Fit. Read the stories so far: A New Creation The Wii Balance Board The Wii Fit Software Sound, Design and Planning

  • Worlds First PMP Projector

    Sunlink International Holdings Limited and iView Limited have announced the worlds’ first handheld Personal Media Player (PMP) and presenter which incorporates pico projection technology. Unveiled at the recent Hong Kong Electronics Fair 2008 (from 14-17 April), the product will be the first such product to hit the market. The pocket-size device is powered by the [...]

  • Concept Camera

    The Gadget Show – a TV program on Channel 5 in the UK – recently collaborated with Curventa a design and development consultancy also in the UK, to create a new design concept for a compact digital camera. Using emerging techology including a flexible OLED screen, wireless (induction) charging and DLP projector the resultant design [...]

  • Optimus Upravlator

    A touch screen with tactile feedback. Optimus Upravlator is an input device which features a 10.8 inch color LCD (800 ×600 pixels resolution) with 12 see-through buttons occupying its surface. Each of them has five contact points—center, top, bottom, left and right—freely assignable to user interface elements in the software of your choice. Upravlator uses [...]

  • Robotics Developer Studio

    I noted that Microsoft has recently announced the first CTP (Community Technical Preview) of the Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio. Microsoft Robotics products and services enable academic, hobbyist and commercial developers to easily create robotics applications across a wide variety of hardware. Overview The goal of the Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 is to supply a [...]

  • Electronic Bubble Wrap

    Do you like to pop bubble wrap? Then why not try out this electronic version. From Japanese toymaker Bandai, Puchi-Puchi (which is the Japanese for the sound of a little pop as well as for bubble-wrap) is a hand-held keyring attachment designed to simulate the look, feel and sound of popping bubblewrap. After every 100 [...]

  • Fab@Home

    Fab@Home is another project for making and using 3D printers, or rapid prototyping machines, and provides all the information necessary to build or buy your own machine that you can use to print 3-dimensional objects. http://fabathome.org Total estimated cost for all materials required for the whole build is around $2300.00

  • RepRap – The Replicating Rapid-Prototyper

    3D printers are used to create 3-dimensional objects by depositing drops of plastic, or a similar material, layer by layer to build the object. RepRap is a project to design and make a 3D printer that could copy itself. The project was started in February 2004 by Adrian Bowyer from Bath University and is made [...]

  • Sessions from MIX 08

    MIX is an annual conference for developers, designers and business professionals to learn all about the current and forthcoming technologies from Microsoft, particularly targeted at the Web and Web applications. This years conference was held from March 5-7, 2008 in Las Vegas. Sessions presented at MIX 08 can now be found at http://sessions.visitmix.com/ together with [...]

  • Microsoft Surface(s) at AT&T Stores

    AT&T are bringing the Microsoft Surface™ to their stores in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco on April 17. The Microsoft Surface™ is the first commercially available computer from Microsoft that allows the user to interact with the device by using touch or gestures and the placement of other devices on the display [...]

  • NVIDIA APX 2500

    Recently announced, at the Mobile World Congress 2008, the APX 2500 is the first processor from NVIDIA aimed at the next generation of smartphones. Based on an ARM chip (the ARM11 MP core running at up to 750Mhz) and combining GeForce graphics (a new ultra-low power (ULP) GeForce core) with nPower Technology, the APX 2500 [...]

  • The noBounds Research Project

    noBounds is reportedly a research project from the Nokia Research Center in Germany that is looking to provide access from Nokia Smartphones and Internet Tablet devices to higher resolution external displays such as High Definition (HD) LCD panels, projectors and near-to-eye-displays using WiFi or USB connections. noBounds is a Python-based application and can also be [...]

  • Silverlight for iPhone

    Following on from the recent announcement of a deal between Nokia and Microsoft to run Silverlight on its handsets. There are rumours that Microsoft will build a version of Silverlight to work on the iPhone. Microsoft is aiming to take a share of the RIA market from Adobe Flash and this approach would certainly provide [...]

  • Silverlight Tools – Beta 1 for VS 2008

    Microsoft have provided the first Beta version of their toolkit for developing Silverlight applications with Visual Studio 2008. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E0BAE58E-9C0B-4090-A1DB-F134D9F095FD&displaylang=en This package is an add-on to the RTM release of Visual Studio 2008 to provide tooling for Microsoft Silverlight 2 Beta 1. It provides a Silverlight project system for developing Silverlight applications using C# or Visual [...]

  • Internet Explorer 8 (Beta 1)

    Just announced … Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 is a developer preview and is intended for web designers and developers to help prepare their websites for the launch of the next version of Internet Explorer. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/…/ie/ie8/default.mspx CAUTION This is version 1, BETA software and you should treat it accordingly. You may want to consider carefully before [...]

  • Eye-Fi

    Have you always wanted the ability to upload your photos directly from your camera to your PC, or online photo-album, without having to go through the hassle of connecting the camera to your PC with the supplied USB cable or removing the memory card from the camera and inserting it into a media-card reader attached [...]

  • FogScreen™

    The FogScreen™ projection screen, produces a thin curtain of “dry” fog that serves as a translucent projection screen, displaying images that literally float in the air. http://www.fogscreen.com/en/company/ Using nothing more than tap water and ultrasonic waves, FogScreen projection screen machines employ a patented technology (U.S. Patent 6,819,487) to create a smooth foggy airflow that captures [...]

  • Digiscribble – Mobile NoteTaker

    As with the previous article, I also noted this device recently – Mobile NoteTaker is a portable handwriting capture device that enables you to write in comfort on ordinary paper and then upload your handwritten notes and diagrams to a PC. Developed by Pegasus, a leader in Digital Pen Technology more details can be found [...]

  • WowPen-Digi

    The WowPen Digi is a multi-purpose wireless device which can operate either as a digital pen or, simply at the flick of a switch, it can provide mouse functionality. It seems to have been around for a while but it’s something I’ve only come across recently. The pen comes with a USB receiver which is [...]

  • Brain Computer Interface

    A Brain Computer Interface (BCI) is technology that monitors brain activity and uses those observations to control external devices or computer applications. Emotiv Systems have recently launched the Emotiv EPOC™. This consists of a headset with sensors for monitoring brain activity together with an SDK (software development kit) that will enable Application Developers to incorporate [...]

  • Wireless Power

    With the growth in Mobile Phones, MP3 players, Laptop computers and other similar devices wouldn’t it be great if you never had to recharge them? Well perhaps they still require re-charging, but what if the whole process could be simplified and they could obtain the required power without the need for wires and cables Patents [...]

  • Super Cilia Skin

    Super Cilia Skin is a tactile and visual system inspired by grass blowing in the wind. It has the ability to record and playback dynamic gestures over time which could provide a valuable tool for haptic communication – the gesture can be seen or felt (by the movement of the membrane). More details are available [...]

  • Topobo

    Topobo is a 3D constructive assembly system with kinetic memory, which provides the ability to record and playback physical motion. By snapping together a combination of Passive (static) and Active (motorized) components, people can quickly assemble dynamic biomorphic forms like animals and skeletons, animate those forms by pushing, pulling, and twisting them, and observe the [...]

  • Research Labs

    I’ve recently added a list of links to various Research Labs so be sure to check them out from the Research Labs menu. But be warned, they can become quite absorbing and you could be hooked for hours. Meanwhile, Microsoft have recently announced plans to create a new research lab in Cambridge Mass. that will [...]

  • Essential Software

    I recently got a new laptop, Dell Latitude D430 dual-core and 32Gb Solid State drive, and needed to install the necessary essential software i.e. the software I just can’t live without. Here is what I noted installing (but not necessarily in this order) Software Notes URL Picasa for viewing, organising and editing digital images http://picasa.google.com [...]

  • Expression around the Clock

    I came across this on-line chat recently. A global designer conference, Expression around the Clock http://www.microsoft.com/canada/expression/events-training/globalevent/default.aspx took place on October 4th, 2007 in Toronto and this link provides you with a recorded talk by Bill Buxton – Above and Below the Surface: A Perspective on Interactive Experience http://www.microsoft.com/expression/events…Experiences

  • Lucid Touch

    Multi-touch interfaces are all the rage at the moment. Patrick Baudisch, from Microsoft, and others are exploring the problem of using a touch interface on a small screen, such as a mobile phone, where your fingers obscure what you are actually trying to do. Through a joint venture between Microsoft Research and Mitsubishi Research Labs [...]

  • Head Tracking using the wiimote

    In another project from Johnny Chung Lee http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/ find out how to use the wiimote and a head-mounted sensor bar to track the position of your head. Using the infrared camera in the Wii remote and a head mounted sensor bar (two IR LEDs), you can accurately track the location of your head and render [...]

  • 3DIcon

    3DIcon is currently developing 3D projection and display technologies that produce full colour 360 degree volumetric images. http://www.3dicon.net One of the possible applications envisaged for this technology could be the implementation of an Air Traffic Control system that allows a user to view the entire 3D airspace and its contents in real-time. CSpace http://www.3dicon.net/technology/cspace.html The [...]

  • iView pico-projector

    … just to complete the round-up of micro-projector news, iView Limited is using the LightView LDP-SVGA microdisplay from Displaytech for their pico-projector. http://www.iviewdisplay.com http://www.displaytech.com/ Recent articles suggest the market for these projectors will begin with the embedding of pico-projectors into mobile communication devices, cell phones, digital still and video cameras in 2008-2009 and is a [...]

  • 3M Micro-Projector

    3M have announced their LED illuminated micro-projector which is designed for use in a mobile phone or other personal electronic device. Approximately the size of an earpiece, the 3M mobile projection engine uses an advanced Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) imager in conjunction with proprietary 3M optics technology to project an image at 40 inches, [...]

  • Panasonic at CES

    Panasonic, the leading brand from Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co. Ltd  are showing the worlds biggest TV at CES 2008, a 150 inch plasma television with a resolution of 4096×2160. Press Release: http://www2.panasonic.com/….Content01072008044330094 They have also announced the ability to browse and watch videos from YouTube  and view photos from Picasa Web Albums from the VIERA [...]

  • Human Tetris
  • Windows Mobile 7

    An "exclusive" report about some of the features to be made available in Windows Mobile 7.0 is detailed at InsideMicrosoft (part of the Blog News Channel) http://microsoft.blognewschannel.com/archives/2008/01/06/exclusive-windows-mobile-7-to-focus-on-touch-and-motion-gestures/ The emphasis for Mobile 7 is claimed to be the use of multi-touch and motion gestures as an indicator of the attempt by Microsoft to counter the threat [...]

  • CES 2008 is open for Business

    Lots of reports appearing on the web coming out from CES 2008. I’ll note some of those that catch my eye while browsing around. Fujitsu -  A Fabric PC, based on ideas around electronic paper, is literally a PC made out of fabric … … reports Engadget at http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/06/fujitsu-intros-a-handful-of-concept-designs-at-ces-2008/ and a report from Gizmodo at [...]

  • Worlds Smallest Projector

    At the forthcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2008, Microvision (http://www.microvision.com/) is due to reveal an ultra-thin, handheld, battery powered, full colour, laser projector which is possibly the worlds smallest. Press Release at: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=114723&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1090397&highlight= This version, with the codename SHOW, is an advanced, standalone, fully functioning prototype using the proprietary miniature PicoP (TM) display engine – [...]

  • Watch out for … the Wireless Monitor

    I thought I’d comment on an item which could be set for potentially big things in 2008. Technology required to support a wireless monitor was first shown at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), since then DisplayLink(http://www.displaylink.com/) technology has been combined with technology from Alereon (http://www.alereon.com/) to create an adapter set that will allow existing [...]

  • Best of …

    It’s that time of year when we start to read a lot about "the best of 2007" and "things to watch for 2008". One of my own favourites, which I noticed during 2007, is the 3D printer from Desktop Factory. http://www.desktopfactory.com/ This is a printer which "prints" 3D models (to a maximum size of 5x5x5 [...]

  • Microsoft Windows XP – Service Pack 3

    Microsoft is preparing for the release of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP by making available a Release Candidate (RC) version. (18 Dec 2007) Currently intended for testing purposes only, it is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center (although Microsoft does not recommend installing this software on primary or mission critical systems and [...]

  • Multi-Touch using a Wii Remote

    Recently noticed a project which explores how to create a multi-touch whiteboard using a Wiimote (The remote input device that is supplied with the Wii game console). Essentially you create an LED flashlight that you use as a pen and this is detected by the infrared camera in the wiimote. The wiimote is positioned so [...]

  • Volta – from Microsoft Live Labs

    Microsoft Live Labs Volta helps developers who build distributed applications on the .NET platform, using the Microsoft development stack (programming languages, libraries, and Visual Studio). The Volta technology preview is a developer toolset that enables you to build multi-tier web applications by applying familiar techniques and patterns. First, design and build your application as a [...]

  • 3DVIA Composer

    Dassault Systèmes have recently announced the release of 3DVIA Composer.   The application is a useful tool in the product documentation publishing marketplace and provides technical illustrators with the ability to quickly produce product documentation associated with 3D CAD model data. Various CAD systems are supported directly including SolidWorks, CATIA V4 and V5 and Pro [...]

  • iPhone Remote

    The telekinesis project at Google Code, allows you to access your Mac through a collection of mini web applications, on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Although still a developer prototype, which is intended only as a demo, it is available to download from the project home page at http://code.google.com/p/telekinesis/ This provides an application iPhone Remote [...]

  • Live Documents

    Sabeer Bhatia, famous for co-founding Hotmail and selling it to Microsoft for US $400 million, has recently announced the release of Live Documents, an online Office service. http://www.live-documents.com Although not quite live yet, the site will accept requests for an invitation to join the private beta program of its technology preview. Live Documents is a [...]

  • Useful links for iPhone and iPod Touch

      The unofficial Apple Weblog http://www.tuaw.com/ The iPhone Dev Wiki http://iphone.fiveforty.net/wiki/ Inside the iPhone http://www.eetimes.com/news/design/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=200001811 iPhone Framework Documentation updated to version 1.1.2 http://ericasadun.com/iPhoneDocs112/ A number of related articles including http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2007/07/13/iphone-os-x-architecture-the-mach-kernel-and-ram/ The Apple iPhone dissected http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=3026 A document describing how to create native iPhone applications www.lucasnewman.com/phonedev.pdf Discussion about various topics at ajaxian http://ajaxian.com/by/topic/iphone/ various code samples [...]

  • Drag and Drop Programming

    Scratch is an application that makes the process of creating interactive stories, animations and games etc. as simple as dragging and dropping pre-defined program blocks/modules into order. Scratch is aimed at children between the ages of 8 and 16 years old (but can be used by anyone). It was developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group [...]

  • Your desktop at your fingertips

    Files2Phones is an application that allows you to access your desktop PC (or Mac) directly from your iPhone or iPod Touch. http://www.myf2p.com/ It is not necessary to install anything on the iPhone or iPod Touch, all the functionality is available through the Safari web browser. The software installs the Files2Phones Access Server on your desktop [...]

  • Windows Live – Photo Gallery

    A first look at Photo Gallery from the Windows Live suite. This test is trying out the ability to upload images in Live Writer. If everything worked OK, you should see the image below.  

  • Testing Windows Live Writer

    I’m writing this using Windows Live Writer which I’ve just downloaded. This is one of the applications which is part of the Windows Live series and is available, at the time of writing, from http://get.live.com/ Other items include: Hotmail: Stay connected anywhere with your Web e-mail account Mail: Access your multiple e-mail accounts in one [...]

  • VectorMagic

    VectorMagic is an online tool from Stanford University, for converting bitmap images to vector art images. http://vectormagic.stanford.edu/ Upload an image, follow the simple instructions and the vector representation of your image will be created for you. The system currently supports JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP and TIFF formats for input and will produce EPS, SVG and [...]

  • Open multiple tabs when starting IE or Firefox

    You can open multiple home page tabs when starting IE or Firefox as shown below: In IE Open the General tab from the menu item Tools…Internet Options and simply enter the address of each page you want to open in a separate tab on a different line in the Home Page list box, as indicated. [...]

  • First Impressions – iPod Touch

    After a fairly long wait, I finally got hold of an iPod Touch. I know a lot has already been written about this device, but here are my first impressions. It was interesting to note the initial comments I got from 2 independent sources who both thought it looked like a bottle of perfume! However, [...]

  • Inside Multi-Touch

    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 [...]

  • Google OpenSocial API

    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 [...]

  • Philips Simplicity Event 2007

    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. [...]

  • Virtual Earth – 3DVIA

    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 [...]

  • On-Line Intelligent Image Resizing

    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 [...]

  • Adobe Share

    Adobe have recently announced on on-line document sharing service called Adobe Share. The easy to use web-based service is provided through the type of “slick” User Interface we’re coming to expect from Adobe. It allows you to upload and share files. You can send a URL for the file to a selected number of users, [...]

  • Adobe purchase Buzzword

    Adobe recently announced their intention to acquire Virtual Ubiquity, the developers of the on-line word processor Buzzword and joins the ranks of Google who have a similar on-line word processing capability with Google Documents.

  • Serenata

    A nice looking new phone, the Serenata, has recently been announced. The Serenata Music-Phone is a joint development by Samsung and Bang & Olufsen.

  • Source Code for .NET will be available

    A recent article by Scott Guthrie http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/…/releasing-the-source-code-for-the-net-framework-libraries.aspx reports that the source code for the .NET framework libraries will be made available with the releases of .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio VS2008 scheduled for later this year. It will be released under the Microsoft Reference License (licence details here). Dynamic loading of the .NET framework debug [...]

  • Farseer Physics Engine for Silverlight

    An easy to use 2D Physics engine, originally designed for the Microsoft XNA framework, is also available for Silverlight. Side Note: Microsoft XNA is composed of industry-leading software, services, resources, and communities focused on enabling game developers to be successful on Microsoft gaming platforms. Features provided by the Farseer Physics Engine include: Collision Support for [...]

  • TVnima

    Have you always wanted to create your own virtual TV news program?

  • A Silverlight Project Template

    A full description of what you need to do to add Silverlight to a web page is described in the Silverlight QuickStart Guide at http://silverlight.net/quickstarts/silverlight10/FileSetup.aspx I used the default Silverlight Project item in Visual Studio (Visual Studio 2008 beta 2 and Silverlight 1.1 Alpha Refresh) to generate the following example files which I’m calling a [...]

  • Amazon MP3

    Noticed that Amazon have recently launched their own music downloading service, to compete with iTunes from Apple. http://amazon.com/gp/dmusic/… Will Amazon succeed when companies like Virgin Digital recently decided to close their doors? The Virgin Digital site will finally close on October 19 see more detail at http://www.virgindigital.co.uk The point of note, with the new Amazon [...]

  • ShakeIT

    I was interested to come across this media player, from PASEN which can be shaken (but not stirred), to shuffle through pictures, music and menu items. In addition to the usual features expected in todays media player devices, the ShakeIT uses a motion sensor that detects the “shake” that allows you to select menu items [...]

  • A Minimal Plugin for WordPress

    I recently found a need to access data held in a WordPress database. Although I could have written code that accessed the database directly, I decided to write a plugin so that I could use the in-built WordPress functions. Writing a WordPress plugin is fairly straightforward and I would recommend reading information provided at wordpress.org [...]

  • Windows Live ID – Web Authentication

    The Windows Live ID Service is the identity and authentication mechanism provided by Windows Live. Currently there are over 380,000,000 users that have Windows Live ID credentials. Mentioned during a session at the recent MixUK, the Windows Live ID Web Authentication 1.0 SDK provides an easy-to-use authentication system that allows that allows the Windows Live [...]

  • iPhone available in the UK – Nov 9

    If you’ve not heard about it already, the new iPhone from Apple will be available in the UK from Nov 9. With the iPhone, you make a call by simply tapping on a name or number in your address book, using only your fingers on the currently unique multi-touch display. The embedded technology also incorporates [...]

  • Wacom – the next 25 years

    As Wacom, the developer of pen-tablet devices and related technology, celebrates its Silver Anniversary it has recently announced a new direction for the future. Wacom recently announced its new brand concept for the next stage in its growth, building on the vision which has inspired it to create tools that have put high technology into [...]

  • Google Presentation

    Google provides the ability to create business presentations using a recent addition to its office software suite. In addition to Documents and Spreadsheets there is now an option to create a Presentation. The functionality provided is sufficient to create reasonable presentation material but without all the bells and whistles offered by the current version of [...]

  • iPod Touch

    The Apple iTouch media player. or more properly called the iPod touch, was recently released. perhaps it can also be called the iPhone without the phone. Some of the features include: multi-touch interface 3.5 inch widescreen display wi-fi web browsing Available with an 8Gb (or 16Gb) flash drive and can store up to 1750 songs [...]

  • Windows Live Quick Applications

    A session at the recent MixUK by Rob Blackwell, Una Walsh and Jonathan Greensted discussed various examples of what you can do with Windows Live Services. These include the Contoso University and the Contoso Bicycle Club. The sites themselves (which require you to install Silverlight) can be seen at http://contosouniversity.mslivelabs.com/ and http://contosobicycleclub.mslivelabs.com/ and are used [...]

  • IronPython and Silverlight

    Michael Foord (known about the Python community as Fuzzyman) presented a session on Python in your Browser with Silverlight at the recent MIX:UK. His blog is available at http://www.voidspace.org.uk/python/weblog/ The presentation was made using the S5 slide show format http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/s5/ which is a format based on XHTML , CSS and JavaScript. The presentation can be [...]

  • MIX:UK

    I’ve been experimenting with Microsoft Silverlight for a few months now and have just returned from the MIX:UK conference held in London Sep 11-12 to a “sell-out” crowd of 500. This is a Microsoft sponsored event where people get the opportunity to learn more about new and forthcoming technologies. I found the talks by Scott [...]

  • Ajax View

    The Ajax View proxy provides the ability for remotely monitoring client-side wep application performance and behaviour. This is currently an early research prototype available from Microsoft Research. The Ajax View project at Microsoft Research aims to give developers easy visibility into their web apps’ performance and behavior as the apps run in end-users’ browsers. Ajax [...]

  • Fiddler

    A web debugging proxy which is used to log traffic between an application and the internet. It allows you to “fiddle” with the in-coming and out-going data. Available for Internet Explorer and Firefox amongst other applications. Details available from http://www.fiddler2.com/fiddler2/

  • IE Developer Toolbar

    The IE Developer Toolbar provides a number of features for extracting more detail from web pages. http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=92716 You get the ability to Explore and modify the document object model (DOM) of a Web page. Locate and select specific elements on a Web page through a variety of techniques. Selectively disable Internet Explorer settings. View HTML [...]

  • Take off in Google Earth

    The Google Earth Blog http://www.gearthblog.com/ reports on the ability to fly around Google Earth (v4.2) in a Flight Simulator mode. To get started, hit ctrl-alt-a (or ctrl-a in the UK) to get the plane selection menu All the controls are listed at http://earth.google.com/intl/en/userguide/v4/flightsim/index.html Read hints and tips at the Google Earth Blog http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2007/09/google_earth_flight.html

  • Seam Carving for Content-Aware Image Resizing

    A paper was presented at the recent Siggraph 2007 which describes a technique that allows the resizing of images while retaining important features without distortion. ABSTRACT Effective resizing of images should not only use geometric constraints, but consider the image content as well. We present a simple image operator called seam carving that supports content-aware [...]

  • Siggraph Reports

    Another collection of video reports from Siggraph 2007 Siggraph 2007 Demo Reel Part 1 of the Softimage SIGGRAPH 2007 Video Series Part 2 of the Softimage SIGGRAPH 2007 Video Series Part 3 of the Softimage SIGGRAPH 2007 Video Series

  • Gesture control using a webcam

    A project from Microsoft Research shows how it is possible, using a simple webcam and some specially developed gesture recognition software, to control a computer using single and multiple gestures. Could be almost considered as similar to on-screen multitouch functionality, but the remoteness from the screen may prove a limiting factor. This item is taken [...]

  • Google Earth and Gigapixel Images

    Talking about Gigapixel Images, it looks like there is a new feature in Google Earth that incorporates photos into the Earth Environment. You can try it for yourself by switching on the “Gigapxl Photos” layer beneath the “Featured Content” layer. This will show placemarks for the available locations with gigapixel images. There’s a sample video [...]

  • Explore the sky in Google Earth

    Came across this short video demonstration of Google Earth – Sky Mode Here’s a link to the Google Channel on YouTube which you may find useful. http://uk.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=google

  • Tafiti – A New Search Experience

    One of the more interesting applications using Silverlight to appear recently. Tafiti, which means “do research” in Swahili, is an experimental search front-end from Microsoft, designed to help people use the Web for research projects that span multiple search queries and sessions by helping visualize, store, and share research results. Tafiti uses both Microsoft Silverlight [...]

  • Best Emerging Technology

    The Best Emerging Technology prize at Siggraph 2007 has recently been awarded to ICT Research. Researchers at the USC (University of Southern California) Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) along with their collaborators have devised a reproducible, low-cost 3D display system that requires no special glasses, and is viewable from all angles by multiple users. This [...]

  • Microsoft PowerShell

    Microsoft PowerShell is a command-line environment for Windows and is available for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista (links below) Windows XP x86 Windows XP x64 Windows Server 2003 x86 Windows Server 2003 x64 Windows Vista x86 Windows Vista x64 A pre-requisite is the .NET Framework Version 2.0 There is a free eBook [...]

  • Google looks to the Sky

    The latest version of Google Earth provides an option that allows you to flip around and see the sky from that location. But it’s a bit more than blue sky and clouds. The Sky option enables budding astronomers to browse Space and provides the ability to search through and view over 1,000,000 stars and 200,000,000 [...]

  • Multi Touch Tablet PC

    Jazzmutant showed a new prototype device for computer graphics involving multi-touch control at the recent Siggraph Conference and Exhibition in San Diego. This solution will go beyond mere finger-drawing and clearly illustrate a new way to interact and improve productivity with drawing and video editing software. Furthermore, the solution presented will be the very first [...]

  • Capturing and Viewing Gigapixel Images

    A technique for capturing and viewing “Gigapixel images” was described at the recent Siggraph 2007 Conference and exhibition. Gigapixel images are very high resolution, high dynamic range, and wide angle imagery consisting of several billion pixels each Here are 3 views from a gigapixel image: Read more details at http://www.johanneskopf.de/publications/gigapixel/index.html watch a video or read [...]

  • AutoCAD 25 Up

    AutoCAD reaches its 25th birthday. First demonstrated at the COMDEX trade show in Las Vegas in 1982, its still going strong today. Take a nostalgia trip at http://www.autodesk.com/autocad25 Try out the 15 question AutoCAD history trivia quiz at http://lp.adskhost.com/index.php/1391_trivia.html

  • C# and .NET Programming

    Some useful, if possibly dated, notes from a course at Stanford on C# and the .NET Framework http://cs193n.stanford.edu/

  • The Autodesk File

    The Autodesk File tells the history of Autodesk and its principal product AutoCAD through a collection of documents edited by the Autodesk founder and former CEO John Walker. Tracing the history from the original idea through to 1994, the document is available in various formats from http://www.fourmilab.ch/autofile/ and is available locally as a PDF document [...]

  • Free Download Manager

    Something that I use on a daily basis, Free Download Manager (FDM) is a powerful and easy-to-use download accelerator and manager. It is open-source software distributed under a GPL license. http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/index.htm Version 2.5 has been released recently – details of all the available features can be found at http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/features.htm

  • Sketching User Experiences

    Bill Buxton is a designer and a researcher concerned with human aspects of technology. His work reflects a particular interest in the use of technology to support creative activities such as design, film making and music. Buxton’s research specialties include technologies, techniques and theories of input to computers, technology mediated human-human collaboration, and ubiquitous computing. [...]

  • XWand

    The XWand is, or was, a research project by Andy Wilson of Microsoft. It is a wireless sensor package that enables styles of natural interaction with intelligent environments. For example, a user may point the wand at a device and control it using simpe gestures. Project details (last updated April 2004) are available from the [...]

  • Category Cloud

    version 1.6 is the latest release of Category Cloud, a WordPress plugin that shows categories as a tag cloud which can (optionally) be coloured. Available from http://www.mapelli.info/web20/category-cloud-16 Based on the original weighted categories plugin from http://www.hitormiss.org/projects/weighted-categories

  • Zsurf

    Browsed past Zsurf – it is used to convert bitmap images into “nurb” surfaces. (Picture courtesy of Phil Kellman – 2007) The workflow of the program is simple: load or create a bitmap, setup the filters and effects and then push the process button to process the image. The result of processing is a heightfield [...]

  • MSDN Magazine

    The Microsoft Journal for Developers (MSDN Magazine) is available from http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/default.aspx Also noticed Charles Petzold is venturing into 3D with his latest book. (He published his first book “Programming Windows” back in 1988) http://www.charlespetzold.com/ 3D Programming for Windows explores and elucidates the 3D graphics programming facilities of the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) under Windows Vista [...]

  • DisplayLink

    While checking for broken links etc. noted that Newnham Research (High-Speed USB Graphics Technology) has re-branded as DisplayLink. http://www.displaylink.com/ Designs based on DisplayLink technology enable sending real-time interactive computer displays across nearly any standardized interface including USB, WiMedia, and Ethernet. Everything USB has a recent article on the Samsung 19″ SyncMaster 940UX monitor which features [...]

  • Adding Realism to Photos

    A recent BBC News article discusses a recent development by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University that enables unwanted portions of photographs to be replaced. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6936444.stm The technique matches segments from the millions of images available on the web, with the photo being edited, to fill holes or add objects providing seamless results. The process was [...]

  • mooTools

    MooTools is a compact, modular, Object-Oriented javascript framework designed to make writing extensible and compatible code easier and faster. MooTools lets you get the job done efficiently and effectively. http://mootools.net some samples at http://www.chrisesler.com/mootools/index.html

  • pixelpost

    http://www.pixelpost.org/ php and mysql based photo-blogging s/ware

  • PuTTY

    Terminal Emulator, PuTTY is a free software SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw TCP client. It was originally available only for Windows, but is now also available on various Unix platforms, with work-in-progress ports to Classic Mac OS and Mac OS X. Other people have contributed unofficial ports to other platforms, such as Symbian powered mobile [...]

  • bash

    courtesy of wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bash Bash is a Unix shell written for the GNU Project. The name of the actual executable is bash. Its name is an acronym for Bourne-again shell, a pun (’Bourne again’ / ‘born again’) on the name of the Bourne shell (sh), an early and important Unix shell written by Stephen Bourne [...]

  • SSH (SecureSHell)

    SSH, or Secure SHell, is a secure alternative to telnet. SSH can be used to securely copy files, access CVS, cron jobs (and other DreamHost services) via standard unix command line also known as shell. All SSH traffic travels over a secured connection rather than in the plain text like in telnet. It is strongly [...]

  • MediaWiki

    MediaWiki is the software used for Wikipedia ( http://www.wikipedia.org ) and the other Wikimedia Foundation websites. Compared to other wikis, it has an excellent range of features and support for high-traffic websites (Wikipedia peaks at 380 requests per second as of August 2004). Learn all about it at http://www.mediawiki.org

  • GeSHi

    GeSHi is a Generic Syntax Highlighter GeSHi started as an idea to create a generic syntax highlighter for the phpBB forum system, but has since been generalised. It aims to be a simple but powerful highlighting class, with the following goals: Support for a wide range of popular languages Easy to add a new language [...]

  • WinSCP

    WinSCP is an open source SFTP client for Windows. Its main function is the secure file transfer between a local and a remote computer. Beyond this, WinSCP offers basic file manager functionality. It uses Secure Shell (SSH) and supports, in addition to Secure FTP, also legacy SCP protocol. last noted at http://winscp.net/

  • TiddlyWiki

    From the TiddlyWiki web-site … TiddlyWiki is a free MicroContent WikiWikiWeb created by JeremyRuston and a busy Community of independent developers. It’s written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript to run on any modern browser without needing any ServerSide logic. http://www.tiddlywiki.com/ One of the neatest features of TiddlyWiki is that it is entirely self-contained in a [...]

  • Text Editors

    The text editors I use: PFE PFE (Programmers File Editor) the old diehard editor. This has been with me since the early 90′s and is still with me today (well occasionally at least). Simple editor with few frills – it does the job. http://www.lancs.ac.uk/staff/steveb/cpaap/pfe/ Notepad++ Notepad++ is a free source code editor (and Notepad replacement), [...]

  • Autodesk acquire Skymatter (Mudbox 3D)

    Autodesk has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Skymatter, Inc., the developer of Mudbox 3D modeling software. This acquisition will augment Autodesk’s offering for the film, television and game market segments, while offering additional growth opportunities for other design disciplines. Autodesk anticipates that the transaction will close [...]

  • Siggraph 2007 – Preview Videos

    There are a number of preview videos for Siggraph 2007 available at: http://www.siggraph.org/s2007/media/preview/ including: Conference & Exhibition Overview Papers Art Gallery Emerging Technologies Computer Animation Festival

  • Freewheel updated

    A new (updated) version Project Freewheel is to be made available from August 7 on the Autodesk labs website. (This is not to be confused with the production version of the service at http://freewheel.autodesk.com ) A preview of version 1.0.1 can be found at http://freewheel.labs.autodesk.com New features appear to include a “share” option for sharing [...]

  • Making the Citroen C4 Skater Ad
  • Strata Foto 3D

    Strata Foto 3D a tool for creating 3D content from still images. A wide range of objects can be modelled, including those with holes and “difficult” organic shapes. This is achieved using a conventional camera with photos taken from a number of different viewpoints. The shape of the object and its surface color are extracted [...]

  • Set-top box

    A new type of TV set-top box has been announced by researchers at the University of Wollongong in Australia. The device will recognise hand-gestures and sends a relevant signal to a remote-control which has been designed to work with different makes of television, video recorder, DVD player, hi-fi and digital set-top box. LINK: http://internationalreporter.com/…

  • Courses at Siggraph 2007

    These courses are available at SIGGRAPH 2007. 1. Computational Photography Sunday, Full-Day, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm 2. Mesh Parameterization: Theory and Practice Sunday, Full-Day, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm 3. Sketch-Based Interfaces: Techniques and Applications Sunday, Full-Day, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm 4. State of the Art in Massive Model Visualization Sunday, Full-Day, 8:30 [...]

  • Render Service for DWF files

    Noted this option when passing through the features of FreeWheel from Autodesk Rendering Service (http://dwfit.com/DWFImage.aspx) This is a raw rendering service that provides no GUI. The service accepts an URL to a DWF, view parameters, and returns a rendered image file. You can build your own interactive or multi-platform viewer from this service. The “dwf.aspx” [...]

  • Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2007

    More of a Marketing/Sales oriented event than a technical event, but can reveal further insight into what is happening at Microsoft. Steve Ballmer outlines Microsoft’s Software-As-A-Service plans in his keynote speech. Video highlights from the show are available at: LINK: http://members.microsoft.com/partner/digitalwpc/ Ballmer says, Microsoft have the following offerings Personal Services Windows Live, Office Live, Popfly, [...]

  • Tangible 3D

    NTT Comware has developed a real-time 3D display system which relies on a pair of cameras that capture and process data about an object. which is the basis of Tangible-3D Technology. LINK: http://www.nttcom.co.jp/english/news/en07062001.html This technology is an improved version of the NTT Comwares tangible 3D system without requiring special glasses which was originally developed in [...]

  • Serendipity the Knowledge Table

    Claimed to be the largest multitouch interactive table in the world, the Serendipity table is installed in the Eureka Tower in Melbourne Australia. The multi-touch functionality allows a number of users to access information about the building by pointing to a variety of icons on the table display area. developed by GestureTek LINK: http://www.gesturetek.com/gestpoint/businesscases/eureka.php Also [...]

  • Dassault Systèmes Expand Into Virtual Earth

    Dassault and Microsoft plan to compete with Google and create a 3D Data Warehouse. Press Release: Combining Microsoft’s geolocalisation technology with DS’s proven 3D modeling and realistic visualization know-how, this alliance will enable consumers to add an entirely new level of realism within Virtual Earth, providing an unrestricted freedom for creativity and innovation.

  • Dassault News

    3DVIA Dassault Systèmes Unveils 3DVIA to Imagine, Play, and Experience Life in 3D Online … http://www.3dvia.com/ About 3DVIA 3DVIA is Dassault Systèmes’ brand for online 3D lifelike experiences. It establishes 3D as a mass media for consumer and professional communities, and allows anyone to imagine, play, and experience consumer products and services used in our [...]

  • Siggraph 2007 – Emerging Technologies

    Details of Emerging Technologies to be shown at Siggraph 2007 are available at http://siggraph.org/s2007/attendees/etech/ see a quick taster by following the mentioned video link (Emerging Technologies Video Preview).

  • Photosynth – Update

    Photosynth takes a large collection of photos of a place or object, analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed 3-Dimensional space. With Photosynth you can: walk or fly through a scene to see photos from any angle; seamlessly zoom in or out of a photograph even if it’s gigapixels in size; see [...]

  • Siggraph 2007 – Interaction Tomorrow

    This course provides a comprehensive overview to user interface technologies on the newly emerging interactive tabletops and large wall displays. The course will cover input devices, interface metaphors, modality of interaction, sensing technologies, applications, and future directions. Materials will be drawn from both commercial systems and research prototypes. http://www.interactiontomorrow.org/ Course materials are available at http://www.interactiontomorrow.org/coursematerial.html [...]

  • What is the Imagine Cup?

    Now in its 5th year, Microsoft, through the Imagine Cup, is encouraging young people to apply their imagination , passion and creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world. The theme for 2007 is Education – “imagine a world where technology enables a better education for all.” There are 9 categories: [...]

  • INTOI

    Was ist INTOI? INTOI explores a new way of user interaction with circular shaped recognitions areas to switch tools or to change settings. The system utilises screen back projection, hand tracking, and Anoto technology. INTOI took part at the world biggest programming and software-engineering competition – the Microsoft Imagine Cup. The title for this year [...]

  • CADoogle

    Back in September 2006, Autodesk introduced Autodesk Labs. One of the items on display was Project Freewheel (http://dwfit.com) – both a web-site where you can enter a DWF url for interactive viewing and a web-service that allows you to embed an interactive DWF viewer in your own HTML page. Now, CADoogle (http://cadoogle.com/) uses the Autodesk [...]

  • AIR – Adobe Integrated Runtime

    The Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) is a cross-operating system runtime being developed by Adobe that allows developers to leverage their existing web development skills to build and deploy RIAs (Rich Internet Applications) to the desktop. Prior to the public beta, AIR was known as Apollo (Apollo). AIR will be supported on Windows ( XP SP2 [...]

  • Microsoft Surface

    Read the article in the NY Times at http://www.nytimes.com/… and a report in Yahoo http://news.yahoo.com/… or the details at Microsoft Find out more at … http://www.microsoft.com/surface/ Another good report is available at arstechnica.com http://arstechnica.com/…. Popular Mechanics has an article due to appear in the July edition of thier magazine read more at http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/…. Here’s a [...]

  • Google – Street View

    Street View is a new feature of Google Maps that allows you to quickly and easily view and navigate high-resolution, 360 degree street level images of various cities in the US.

  • Microsoft – Digidesk

    Digidesk is a touch-desk concept from Microsoft, demonstrated at the Convergence 2007 conference. and take a virtual tour of the Microsoft Center for Information Work Located on Microsoft Corp.’s Redmond, Wash., campus, the Microsoft Center for Information Work (CIW) showcases the company’s evolving vision for the future of information work by demonstrating innovative productivity software [...]

  • Inventor LT

    I obtained a copy of Inventor LT recently announced by Autodesk on their labs web site http://labs.autodesk.com . LT is a version of Inventor (based on Inventor 2008) which contains full Part Modelling capabilities, currently available for free download and with a licence vaild until May 2008. In brief, features available in the LT version [...]

  • 3D Live

    3DLive delivers a breakthrough lightweight 3D paradigm for on-line collaborative intelligence, leveraging enterprise 3D and PLM information. It provides a single immersive user interface where everyone across your enterprise can search, navigate, work and collaborate on any aspect of your PLM intellectual property (IP) to optimize decision making and accelerate business execution. It fully leverages [...]

  • Autodesk Labs Update

    Autodesk have given their Labs site an overhaul … http://labs.autodesk.com They have also announced a “light” version of Inventor – Inventor LT .. Autodesk® Inventor LT™ makes it easy to create, share, and edit 3D part models from different CAD systems. Inventor LT helps reduce the hassles and headaches of working in an environment with [...]

  • Mktg – Paper Plane Simulator Game

    Another marketing campaign – http://www.solidworkspilot.com/ – design a paper plane and see how far it will fly.

  • Mktg – Mr Torimoto vs SolidWorks

    “If you’re not an Origami master use SolidWorks to design your products” http://www.solidworks.com/pages/programs/torimoto/index.htm

  • Make Your own Soap

    An alternative title is “how to make a mouse work in mid-air” If you always wanted to make one of these, here are the instructions:

  • Video Clips

    This weeks video picks: Microsoft Research – Play Anywhere, a portable combined projection and sensing device that enables interactions on everyday surfaces. Touchlight is an imaging touch screen and display for gesture-based interaction.

  • Multi-Touch Systems

    For all followers of the trend for multi-touch systems you must read the article Multi-Touch Systems that I Have Known and Loved which provides extensive coverage of available multi-touch technology and some of the associated history.

  • Using Dojo – An Introduction

    Dojo is an Open Source DHTML toolkit written in JavaScript. 3 Sections of code are required for using dojo: Flags <script type=”text/javascript”> djConfig = { isDebug: false }; </script> The flags control various options of dojo; often developers will set isDebug to true in order to get debugging output on their page. (There are also [...]

  • Creating cross-browser vector graphics

    How can you draw in a browser ? There are 2 main contenders with the W3C promoting the SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format and the Canvas API (format) driven by Apple, Mozilla and others. dojo.gfx is provided as part of the dojo Toolkit and aims to provide support for drawing vector graphics across all browsers, [...]

  • Adobe Acrobat 3D (version 8)

    I recently obtained a preview copy of Acrobat 3D which is currently (Apr 2) available from Adobe Labs ( http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/acrobat3d_version8/ ). Adobe® Acrobat® 3D Version 8 software empowers CAD, CAM, and CAE application users to rapidly convert virtually any CAD file into highly compressed, more secure, ubiquitous PDF files that can be used by customers, [...]

  • Right Hemisphere awarded Patent …

    …for Graphics File Management. With the introduction of the new Right Hemisphere 5 visual communication and collaboration software, Right Hemisphere also announced it was awarded a key patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for technology that enables next-generation enterprise communications. The issued U.S. Patent No. 7,092,974 is for a “digital asset server and [...]

  • Apollo from Adobe

    Apollo is the code name for a cross-operating system runtime being developed by Adobe that allows developers to leverage their existing web development skills (Flash, Flex, HTML, JavaScript, Ajax) to build and deploy rich Internet applications (RIAs) to the desktop. The intital version of the development system is now available to download from the Adobe [...]

  • Viewing 3D Models in IE7

    Vista Smalltalk supports 3D graphics on the Vista Desktop or IE7 running on Vista. Here’s a sample xaml file on display (at http://vistasmalltalk.wordpress.com/2007/01/23/3d-models-in-ie7/) There are built-in classes for allowing the user to manipulate 3D objects. Also noted a link to a high performance 3D engine for Flash 8 and Flash 9 – PaperVision. This has [...]

  • WPF – A 3D Tutorial

    Some basic principles to establish a foundation of the building blocks of meshes (positions, triangle indeces, and normals) and the classes used to create 3D objects in WPF. http://www.kindohm.com/technical/WPF3DTutorial.htm

  • Designing Effective Assembly Instructions

    Recently came across an interesting paper which talks about creating easy instructions for users building or putting together many everyday objects. Abstract We present design principles for creating effective assembly instructions and a system that is based on these principles. The principles are drawn from cognitive psychology research which investigated people’s conceptual models of assembly [...]

  • TouchScreen Technology from HP

    The HP TouchSmart IQ770 PC introduces touch screen technology to the commodity market. Touch and go with HP’s cool TouchSmart PC. This innovative, integrated desktop incorporates a PC, a 19″ touch screen, and a wireless keyboard and mouse1. The wide screen puts information, communication, and entertainment at your family’s fingertips. Priced at $1899, features include [...]

  • iBar

    What is iBar ? iBar is a system for the interactive design of any bar-counter. Integrated video-projectors can project any content on the milky bar-surface. The intelligent tracking system of iBar detects all objects touching the surface. This input is used to let the projected content interact dynamically with the movements on the counter. Objects [...]

  • reactable

    A combination of touch-screen and sound synthesis technology produces the reactable. Visit the reactable web-site at http://www.iua.upf.es/mtg/reactable/ The reactable is a multi-user electro-acoustic music instrument with a tabletop tangible user interface. Several simultaneous performers share complete control over the instrument by moving physical artefacts on the table surface and constructing different audio topologies in a [...]

  • Archipelis

    An interesting innovative concept – draw an outline from a background image to make it a 3D textured model! Or you can use a blank view and just draw the shapes you want from scratch. It’s an interesting approach which seems similar to what you could do with “teddy” This is Archipelis – http://www.archipelis.com/ Main [...]

  • Windows SDK – Microsoft Overview

    Overview The Microsoft® Windows® Software Development Kit (SDK) provides the documentation, samples, header files, libraries, and tools you need to develop applications that run on Windows. The Windows SDK includes content for application development with the APIs in Windows Vista, including the .NET Framework 3.0 technologies: .NET Framework 2.0, Windows® Presentation Foundation, Windows® Communication Foundation, [...]

  • Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)

    What is WPF WPF or the Windows Presentation Foundation is intended to be the next-generation graphics API for Windows desktop applications. It provides developers with a consistent programming model for building rich Windows “user experiences” that can be deployed on the desktop or hosted in a web browser. It comes ready installed on Windows Vista [...]

  • Web 3D – Macromedia’s Flash

    Is it possible to use Macromedia’s Flash to provide 3D on the Web? One possibility is to use Flash to provide the necessary infrastructure for a 3D system. Details of Flash can be found at the Adobe web-site (www.adobe.com) But, doesn’t Flash require you to install a Flash player? The answer is, of course, Yes [...]

  • Web 3D – Fundamentals

    What are the fundamental requirements? I see at least 2 of the fundamental requirements being: 3D Model display Face/model picking 3D Model display – it is necessary to display the 3D model and the user must be able to interactively manipulate the view as required (in real time). Face/model picking – as a minimum, in [...]

  • SpaceClaim

    SpaceClaim (www.spaceclaim.com) has finally announced a release date. Availability SpaceClaim Professional 2007 will be released on 30 March 2007 and will be available for license at a price of $125 per month, per user, based on a 3-year term. A 1-year term is also available, and both terms include full support and updates. The SpaceClaim [...]

  • Online Photo-Editing Software

    But does any computer these days not have some form of photo-editing software ? Perhaps these are more of a demonstration of what can be done rather than a threat to existing desktop based software. Fauxto is a Flash-based Photoshop look-alike, an online layer-based photo-editing tool. Others include Picnik – Flash based. Picture2Life – ajax [...]

  • SAAS – An Introduction

    Software as a Service is defined as software which is delivered over a network (including the internet). It is hosted software which users can access without having to deploy it onto their own hardware. There is another mechanism being explored which has similar aims to saas – this being virtualisation. The main reason for exploring [...]

  • Turning pages at the British Library

    The British Library http://www.bl.uk/ in conjunction with Armadillo systems http://www.armadillosystems.com/ have developed a browser based WPF Application that enables you to browse through a collection of their books. “Turning the Pages” http://www.turningthepages.com/ allows you to browse through the pages of 15 of the most valuable works at the British Library. and now some marketing blurb [...]

  • A snippet from Autodesk’s World Media Day

    Autodesk was recently showing its 2008 product line to journalists at its “Worlds Media Day”, lots of reports around the web, but here I’m just going to mention 2 items: Touchwall – a large LCD screen that responds to hand strokes so that, for example, you can zoom in by moving your hands together on [...]

  • Autodesk Inventor 2008

      Scheduled to be released in April, you can read all about the forthcoming features available in Autodesk Inventor 2008, in the What’s New document http://kf12.com/blogs/uploads/s-new-2008.pdf.

  • T-Flex CAD

    T-FLEX Parametric CAD ( http://www.tflex.com ) is a mechanical design system with a flexible and intuitive workflow which is used for mechanical design applications including 3D/2D design, drafting, conceptual sketching, reverse engineering, tolerancing inspections, rapid prototyping, and downstream manufacturing. Components are provided for CAD, CAM, Dynamic Simulation and Analysis. T-Flex Dynamics is a general-purpose motion [...]

  • Siggraph Encore

    SIGGRAPH Encore (http://encore.siggraph.org/) allows you to browse and watch over 800 conference presentations from SIGGRAPH 2004 and 2005 with content from SIGGRAPH 2003 and 2006 coming soon …

  • DWF for Vista

    At the recent Autodesk University, Autodesk, have announced a collaboration with Microsoft to integrate DWF technology with Windows Vista using the XML Paper Specification (XPS). This will provide users with the ability to view and manage DWF documents without requiring additional downloads of plug-ins or the need of special viewing software, directly within the Operating [...]

  • Vista Business Launch – Steve Ballmer Keynote Address

    As part of the business launch of Windows Vista, Steve Ballmer today (30 November) gave a keynote address in New York. I’ve enclosed a brief summary of the event here – you should be able to view the complete webcast yourself from http://www.microsoft.com/business/launch2007/ Windows Vista, is Delivering the People Ready business – to make end [...]

  • Tai-Chi

    Tangible Acoustic Interfaces for Computer-Human Interaction (http://www.taichi.cf.ac.uk/) has been developed by a team European Researchers to turn any surface into a touch-sensitive computer interface. You can read an article in New Scientist – Acoustic sensors make surfaces interactive (http://www.newscientisttech.com/…) Or watch a video … Another video shows a simple interactive instrument developed using the system [...]

  • Bunkspeed

    Bunkspeed UDRIVE is a new generation automotive specific visualization, communication and collaboration software, architected for simplicity, which allows anyone to quickly create photo real images and movies for presentation and review. Design visualization is now a fully automated, iterative task that fits in the entire process, all the way from review of the first digital [...]

  • Adobe Document Protection

    Extensions to LiveCycle Policy Server (http://www.adobe.com/products/server/policy/), from Adobe, extends document protection and control to files created with CATIA v5. This software enables you to apply rights management policies directly at the document level, so you can control who has access to the information and what the person can do with it. Most importantly, you can [...]

  • Apollo

    Apollo from Adobe Labs. What is Apollo? Apollo is a cross-OS runtime that allows developers to leverage their existing web development skills (Flash, Flex, HTML, Ajax) to build and deploy desktop Rich Internet Applications (RIA’s). HERE is a document containing more detail – a presentation by Mike Chambers of Adobe Systems You can also read [...]

  • GPU / CPU convergance

    You can now use Standard C (is this Ansi Standard) to program and drive the GPU  http://developer.nvidia.com/object/cuda.html This sort of confirms the trend we’re seeing of the GPU moving to be co preocessors of the CPU (and with the AMD ATI hookup you can see the GPU and CPU moving onto the same die …) [...]

  • Instant 3D or The danger of one level of undo
  • Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D

    Microsofts Local Live now offers 3D views. Here’s a snapshot I recently captured around Bostons Financial district. Virtual Earth is provided as part of its online mapping service and has been designed to work in a web browser. Currently photorealistic images are provided for 15 cities in the US including Boston and Los Angeles. (You [...]

  • To err is human

    “To err is human, to really screw up you need a computer.” (anon) There is much speculation about reasons for delays to the Airbus 380. A recent discussion topic at airliners.net, talks about incompatibilites between different versions of Catia (V4 and V5 being used by different organisations in the consortium) being one of the causes. [...]

  • Real?

    Sketch Furniture from Swedish company Front Design claim to have developed a system to materialise free hand sketches. Pen strokes made in the air are recorded with Motion Capture devices to become 3D digital files which are “materialised” using Rapid Prototyping into real pieces of furniture. Watch the videos and you can decide for yourself [...]

  • Microsoft Robotics Studio

    The Microsoft Robotics Studio is a Windows-based environment for academic, hobbyist and commercial developers to easily create robotics applications across a wide variety of hardware. Key features and benefits of the Microsoft Robotics Studio environment include: end-to-end Robotics Development Platform , lightweight services-oriented runtime, and a scalable and extensible platform. Read an associated datasheet, Microsoft [...]

  • What do users do with Solidworks?

    Recently did a search on YouTube to find what was available. Here are a couple I found interesting

  • ASSIST: A Shrewd Sketch Interpretation and Simulation Tool

    ASSIST, from MIT, allows a user to sketch simple mechanical systems and see simulations of their drawings in a two-dimensional kinematic simulator. Details of this and other projects available from Design Rationale at MIT.

  • Intel and NVIDIA – the speculation continues

    Shares of Nvidia Corp., the world’s third-largest maker of computer- graphics chips, surged 9.8 percent yesterday (4th Oct) on speculation the company may be bought by Intel. The speculation first started in July, when Intel competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. agreed to buy Nvidia rival ATI Technologies Inc. for $5.4 billion. Tom Beermann, an Intel [...]

  • 2006 Simplicity Event

    Royal Philips Electronics is previewing some of its new potential products nearing market readiness that demonstrate its “sense and simplicity” brand positioning at the Philips Simplicity Event in London. Here’s the Press Release or browse through some of the items at The Simplicity Event Here’s just a couple of the items Drag & Draw – [...]

  • Online Shape Search Engine

    Yet another online 3D-Search-by-doodling application this one from imaginestics. 3D-Seek, introduced its service at the recent DEMOfall ’06. (Read more about DEMO – the launchpad for emerging technology ) Using http://3D-Seek.com , users can simply doodle (draw freehand sketch) a shape of the desired part/product on the doodle pad or upload a 2D drawing/3D model [...]

  • Dassault Systèmes integrates NVIDIA technology into CATIA

    Dassault recently announced the integration of NVIDIA CgFX technology into CATIA V5. This allows designers using CATIA access to advanced visualization capabilities in 3D, creating a seamless engineering and design environment, to increase productivity and reduce product development costs. Our customers need to be able to collect and visualize information from multiple sources, to make [...]

  • Google Video to feature University lectures

    snippet … …the number of servers used by Google has mushroomed from 8,000 five years ago to an estimated 500,000 today… Back to the real subject of this article Online video is no longer just fun and games: You might actually learn something. The University of California at Berkeley said on Tuesday that it is [...]

  • Autodesk Labs

    Autodesk has recently introduced Autodesk Labs a web-site that provides free, early access to prototypes, experimental and beta applications and technologies. The intial offerings include: Feature Recognition for Inventor 11, User Guide for converting neutral 3D CAD data models (STEP, SAT or IGES) into fully featured Inventor 11 models. Autodesk Vault Mirror Beta which provides [...]

  • Google lose “breach of copyright” case in Belgium

    In August Google was sued by an organization called Copiepresse, which represents a number of newspapers in Belgium. It argued that the Google search engine and news site breached these publications’ copyright. Recently, a court ruled in favor of Copiepresse and ordered Google to remove these publishers’ content from both Google.be and Google News. The [...]

  • SimXpert

    An article in CADCAMNet by Randall S Newton (21 September 2006) asks the question: When will analysis tools be available as desktop widgets? and quotes SimXpert from MSC. SimXpert is part of the MD Nastran offering, SimEnterprise from MSC Software. Based on a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA), SimEnterprise enables open connectivity between designers, analysts, and [...]

  • 3DSearchIT

    First announced as a software library of functions for finding parts based on the 3D data 3DSearchIT from Geometric Software Solutions is a search engine that allows you to search for 3D models based on the shape or from textual attributes. Features include: Shape/Geometry base Indexing and search of 3D data Search based on textual [...]

  • 3D Printscreen

    3D PrintScreen from Dassault is a version of the familiar 2D print screen functionality but applied to 3D models. It could be described as a TSR (terminate and stay ready) application which remains active, running in the background, until invoked using the F10 “hot” key (this is the default hot-key which can be changed if [...]

  • Teddy

    Teddy is sketch-based 3D Modelling Software from Takeo Igarashi an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Tokyo. An updated version, SmoothTeddy, is available and combines the original Teddy ptogram with another of his applications, Chameleon, a 3D texture painting program for Teddy. SmoothTeddy Both are worth a look, not [...]

  • Top US Search Engines

    A recent post talks about the recent release of Microsoft Live – a replacement for the MSN search engine. I thought I’d find out the percentage usage of the various engines and came across these figures provided by hitwise Search Engine Volume www.google.com 60.29% search.yahoo.com 22.58% search.msn.com 11.56% www.ask.com 3.63% These figures are for search [...]

  • Happy 50th Birthday

    13 September 1956 saw the first release of the RAMAC, the Random Access Method of Accounting and Control. It weighed a ton and was about the size of a refrigerator. It boasted fifty 24-inch disks, coated with iron oxide and stored five million characters – or about 5 MB. The RAMAC generated so much heat [...]

  • Microsoft Live Search

    Microsoft have recently announced

  • XFLOW

    XFLOW is an accurate fluid simulation tool for Engineering and Scientific purposes from Next Limit, who also created Maxwell Render a render engine based on the physics of real light. XFlow uses a novel particle simulation technology that improves upon existing methods and overcomes many of the shortcomings of other CFD tools. It has a [...]

  • SOAP

    Soap is a project from Microsoft Research aimed at developing an alternative pointing device to the mouse. Soap is a pointing device based on hardware found in a mouse, yet works in mid-air. Soap consists of an optical sensor device moving freely inside a hull made of fabric. As the user applies pressure from the [...]

  • 3D Display Technology from Philips

    Philips 3D Solutions have introduced a 20-inch 3D 4YOU frame-mount display. It is based on Philips WOWvx technology to provide the appearance of 3D viewing without the need for special glasses, using slanted lenticular lens screen technology and connects to a PC through a standard DVI interface. http://www.business-sites.philips.com/3dsolutions/About/Index.html A sheet of transparent lenses, is fixed [...]

  • COLLADA

    What is it ? COLLaborative Design Activity is described on its web-site as a royalty free, open standard for the interactive entertainment industry that defines an XML-based schema for 3D authoring applications to freely exchange digital assets without loss of information and is supported by the non-profit organisation the Khronos Group. http://www.khronos.org/collada/ Various presentations made [...]

  • Z-Corporation – ZScanner 700

    Z Corporation, maker of 3D printers, recently unveiled (during Siggraph 2006) the first handheld, self-positioning 3D scanner on the market that can digitize 3D surfaces in real time. Full details which describe the complete specification for this new device are available at http://www.zcorp.com/products/zscanner700.asp?ID=1 Accuracy is rated at up to 0.05 mm (0.002 in) and output [...]

  • EON Reality Inc

    Quite impressed with the EON Touchlight, a bare-hand 3D interaction virtual reality display system based on an invention from Microsoft Research. See the movie at http://www.eonreality.com/video/touchlight Image processing techniques are used to combine the output of 2 video cameras behind a semi-transparent plane in front of the user. The resulting image shows 3D objects which [...]

  • Mitsubishi Research Labs (MERL)

    Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories is the North American arm of the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation’s Corporate R&D Group. A long time technical contributor to the computer graphic community, MERL conducts application-motivated research and development in computer and communication technologies. A recent development is MERL’s DiamondTouch table, the first multi-user touch technology. http://www.merl.com The MERL DiamondTouch table [...]

  • Image Manipulation

    I attended the presentation of a series of papers related to Image Manipulation. Aimed primarily at tools for the digital darkroom, the papers were nonetheless interesting. Color Harmonisation Input Image harmonized background (buildings) Colour Harmonisation, is related to ensuring harmonization of the colours used in images using a series of Hue Harmonic Templates (for the [...]

  • Interactive Decal Compositing

    Attended the presentation of a paper entitled Interactive Decal Compositing with Discrete Exponential Maps Abstract A method is described for texturing surfaces using decals, images placed on the surface using local parameterizations. Decal parameterizations are generated with a novel O(N logN) discrete approximation to the exponential map which requires only a single additional step in [...]

  • The GAUSS Project

    Another tool to assist when searching for, or examining, patents. The aim of the Gauss Project, is to open up the patent system to Software Developers by allowing them to browse Software Patents granted by the European Patent Office. http://gauss.ffii.org … and here is a link to their search page http://gauss.ffii.org/Search/All

  • Shared Design Space

    The Office of Tomorrow project aims at developing novel interfaces for collaborative workspaces, enhancing traditional face-to-face meetings. In cooperation with Voestalpine Informationstechnologie GmbH and Team7, the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences is the main contributor of this project. The project started in September 2005 and will finish in September 2008. http://www.officeoftomorrow.org/ Shared Design Space [...]

  • Fingertip Digitizer

    A fingertip-mounted haptic sensing digitizer that captures physical phenomena at the fingertip during a user’s tactile activities. The complex biomechanical characteristics of the finger can achieve delicate input actions in art, medicine, and industry. Researchers from the Virtual Reality Lab at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York say their “Fingertip Digitizer,” [...]

  • Tablescape Plus

    The goal of this project, from researchers at the University of Tokyo, is to increase the possibility of the interaction of physical objects by using tabletop objects as projection screens as well as input devices. Details taken from the project website at http://www.hc.ic.i.u-tokyo.ac.jp/project/tablescape/ Tablescape Plus integrates diverse technologies: Special optics based on material that is [...]

  • Dymola

    In a depature from topics related to Siggraph, I note that Dassault has recently acquired Dynasim AB, a Swedish company developing software tools for solving modeling, simulation and design problems using computer algebra. http://www.dynasim.se/ CATIA Systems strategy puts embedded systems modeling at the heart of CATIA. DS selected the open standard, Modelica, to be at [...]

  • Deskrama

    Deskrama uses a high resolution position and rotation sensor mounted on a lightweight LCD panel to allow a user to interactively explore a 3D model from a 2D plan.

  • HoloVizio

    HoloVizio from Holografika was shown at Siggraph 2006. http://www.holografika.com/ Holografika is a Hungarian venture active in the field of emerging photonic technologies. The company developed a proprietary technology in 3D visualisation, including real 3D display devices, software applications, and 3D data compression solutions and holds several patents. The company at present develops and sells 3D [...]

  • If you weren’t able to attend Siggraph 2006

    Here’s a couple of videos made by the CGsociety showing highlights of the show from their perspective. http://cgsociety.org/ Siggraph 2006 Highlights – Part One Siggraph 2006 Highlights – Part Two One of the things mentioned during these videos is that Autodesk is launching a new web-site on 22 August called the “AREA” which is a [...]

  • True 3D Display

    The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) (Japan) were demonstrating their True 3D Display concept as part of the Siggraph 2006 Emerging Technologies. The device uses the plasma emission phenomenon near the focal point of focused laser light to construct dot arrays in the air (3D Space) (and is incredibly noisy!) Here [...]

  • MRI – Mixed Reality Interface

    KOMMERZ develops individualised concepts and products in the fields of visual media and design. They were showing their Mixed Reality Interface (MRI) concept at Siggraph 2006 which was also seen at last years CeBIT. href=”http://www.kommerz.at/pages_en/20050722053921.php This is an input device for computer applications where a user can interact with the system by manipulating physical objects [...]

  • Morphovision

    Morphovision – the goal of this project, seen in the emerging technologies exhibition hall at Siggraph 2006, is to create unique 3-dimensional images and to pursue this technology as a new 3D image system of the future. The display system allows you to transform and animate a 3D solid object. The object, in this case [...]

  • livePic

    Shown at Siggraph 2006 livePic is a research project from Keio University Inakage Lab , Japan. livePic allows a user to create a drawing using a brush and pallet to draw with, on a “paper” like screen – then the user can animate the drawing by blowing on the screen. On the tip of the [...]

  • Interactive Shape Modelling Too ?

    CB Model Pro was built around the idea that surfaces should be manipulated directly. The result is a very intuitive and highly productive tool for 3D content creation that seamlessly fits into the production pipeline. CB Model Pro was developed by the creators of Cosmic Blobs, the award-winning entry-level 3D graphics software. Find out more [...]

  • Interactive Shape Modeling

    One of the many courses at Siggraph 2006 was “Interactive Shape Modeling” and was intended to present the current trends in interactive shape modeling. It is based partly on the AIM@Shape Summer School on Interactive Shape Modeling held recently at the Darmstadt University of Technology. An interesting course of presentations – have a quick browse [...]

  • Photosynth

    Recently announced Photosynth, from Microsoft Live Labs, takes a collection of photos of a place or object, analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed 3-Dimensional space. The first prototype to come out of Microsoft Live Labs, Photosynth is based on a research paper entitled “Photo Tourism: Exploring Photo Collections in 3D”. It [...]

  • VoodooIO

    VoodooIO is a project from the Embedded Interactive Systems group at the Lancaster University Computing department in the UK. It adopts a novel approach for designing User Interfaces using a set of “pin” components that can be positioned and moved on a flexible active material. Voodoo pins are realized as embedded computers that can communicate [...]

  • Emerging Technologies – An Overview

    Here is a Complete list of Emerging Technologies shown at Siggraph 2006. A Preview Moview (Quicktime) of the Emerging Technologies is available from HERE Full details of these topics are available on the Siggraph Website and a summary is presented here. (This is a long post so be sure to read the complete article). Some [...]

  • Alibre Motion

    Coming soon in Alibre Design Expert 9.1, Alibre Motion is a motion simulation solution for analyzing the behavior of mechanical assemblies with moving parts. When designing mechanical systems and mechanism that move, such as linkages, engines, automotive suspensions, conveyors, etc., it is important to understand how various components interact and behave according the to engineering [...]

  • A History of CAD Software

    CADAZZ is a history of CAD software according to Chris Bowd.

  • MERL – Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories

    Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) is the North American arm of the Corporate R&D organization of the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. They conduct application motivated basic research and advanced development in computer and communication technologies.

  • SIGGRAPH 2006 – Concluded

    The daily blog is now closed but still available for viewing. I hope to present some of the topics here, in more detail, over the coming weeks. There is a link HERE which contains links to some of the papers presented during the conference.

  • Touch sensitive display

    Here’s a talk http://ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=j_han&flashEnabled=1 which gives a bit more on the touch sensitive interface blog http://www.kf12.com/blogs/techno/?p=160

  • Image-Based Material Editing

    Another interesting topic: Image-Based material Editing http://graphics.cs.ucf.edu/ekhan/project_ibme.htm Photo editing software allows digital images to be blurred, warped or re-colored at the touch of a button. However, it is not currently possible to change the material appearance of an object except by painstakingly painting over the appropriate pixels. Here we present a method for automatically replacing [...]

  • SIGGRAPH 2006

    I will be attending Siggraph 2006 this year in Boston, from 30 July through 3 August, and will try and present topics that I find interesting in a daily blog http://mickssiggraphblog.blogspot.com/

  • Graphics Research Group – Central Florida

    While browsing papers that are scheduled for presentation at Siggraph 2006, came across an interesting link to the Graphics Research Group in the School of Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. http://graphics.cs.ucf.edu/ From the Realtime Caustics project Topics under research include: realtime rendering Real-time Caustics Rendering Interval Mapping: A Fast per-pixel displacement rendering [...]

  • AMD to buy ATI

    AMD and ATI have announced plans to join forces (ie AMD has announced its intention to BUY ATI) in a deal valued at $5.4 billion. The combination will create a processing powerhouse by bringing AMD’s technology leadership in microprocessors together with ATI’s strengths in graphics, chipsets and consumer electronics. The result: A new and more [...]

  • Blender 2.42

    Blender v2.42 is released. http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Blender_2_42.727.0.html Blender is Open Source software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback. Available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License http://www.blender3d.org/cms/GPL_for_artists.495.0.html. Blender is fully free to use and distribute within any educational, professional or commercial environment. Artwork created with Blender – including python [...]

  • Intel and Quad-Core Chips

    Intel Corp. plans to start shipping its quad-core cpu in the fourth quarter of 2006, moving shipment forward from the first half of 2007. Read the story here http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20060719233920.html Also see an interesting comparison of dual-cores Contemporary Dual-Core Desktop Processors Shootout showing the interesting price/performance chart http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-shootout.html

  • Autodesk Design Review 2007

    Autodesk has released Autodesk Design Review 2007, the product formerly known as Autodesk DWF Composer, at a cost of $199 (same as before). Other tools freely available are the DWF Viewer, and the DWF Writer. http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=6101753 An addin is provided for SW2005 and SW2006 that enables a user to create a DWF variant of his [...]

  • eDrawings for SketchUp

    eDrawings is now available for SketchUp… The eDrawings Publisher for SketchUp is a free add-on to SketchUp that allows uses to export their models to eDrawings format The eDrawing publisher for SketchUp is available for download from the SketchUp Website http://www.sketchup.com/?section=downloads. Here’s the Eiffel Tower as an eDrawing eiffel.exe Perhaps the Google 3D Warehouse will [...]

  • What are the dimensions of an iPod ?

    If you want to accurately model an iPod, then you need precise dimensional drawings Last update 17 November 2011 – dimensional drawings for iPods, iPhones and iPads are available from the Apple Developer Center at http://developer.apple.com/resources/cases/

  • 3D Reconstruction of Scenes from single images

    There is a keen interest in the ability to construct a 3D Model from a single image. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon have developed a program that allows a computer to automatically generate 3-D reconstructions of scenes based on a single image. Visit the Automatic Photo Pop-up page at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7Edhoiem/projects/popup/index.html. Read the Press Release for more [...]

  • Keeping it Real: Pushing the Desktop Metaphor with Physics, Piles and the Pen

    BumpTop aims to enrich the desktop metaphor with expressive, lightweight techniques found in the real world. ABSTRACT We explore making virtual desktops behave in a more physically realistic manner by adding physics simulation and using piling instead of filing as the fundamental organizational structure. Objects can be casually dragged and tossed around, influenced by physical [...]

  • News from Dassault

    New Paris Museum uses Virtools Dassault announced that the new Paris Museum at Quai Branly, due to open on June 23, used Virtools technology for locating and positioning the displays and exhibits to “recreate the visitor experience”. Other applications were created to assist with planning and positioning of CCTV cameras. Analyst Day – June 13 [...]

  • UGS acquires 3D Search Technology

    UGS have recently announced their acquisition of technology from the German software consultancy firm software design & managment AG http://www.ugs.com/about_us/press/press.shtml?id=4764 The product re-named Geolus Search (from its original geolus SHAPE) is a “shape search” application which allows users to quickly locate 3D models from large databases on the basis of geometric similarity. This technology earned [...]

  • Is there still a market for Camera film?

    It appears so, according to a recent news report in Yahoo http://uk.news.yahoo.com/…film-s-march-obscurity.html There seems to be a market for disposable (film) cameras with a quoted figure of 202 million disposable cameras sold last year in the US. This is good news for Kodak Eastman and Fuji the worlds top 2 makers of photo film who [...]

  • SolidEdge version 19

    UGS have launched Solid Edge Version 19 – focused on Innovation and Collaboration for the entire value chain. The main features as quoted by UGS are: With Version 19, Solid Edge customers will realize the following features and their associated benefits: Full motion simulation – Version 19 offers capabilities to quickly and easily define relationships [...]

  • Softricity, Microsoft and Virtualisation

    Microsoft recently announced their intention to purchase Softricity. Microsoft’s current virtualization software is designed to run multiple instances of Windows simultaneously. Softricity’s tools let companies virtualize applications that run on Windows, such as Microsoft Office or other business applications, so that programs can be managed centrally and delivered over a network to desktop machines. With [...]

  • AJAX based CAD

    AfterCAD Software Inc recently claimed to have introduced the First True AJAX based CAD application. http://www.aftercad.com/ AfterCAD InSite is a server application that organizes and serves CAD drawings to anyone with a web browser. InSite serves up 2D and 3D CAD data in the same way that Google Map data is served to users. The [...]

  • MacBook Motion Sensor

    The motion sensor in Apple’s MacBook Pro is not just for protecting your hard drive. This uses AMSTracker, a command line tool that regularly reports on the motion sensors status. Perhaps the mechanism could be used as a 3D Model Navigation device ? There is a little more technical data provided by Amit Singh, the [...]

  • View22

    View22′s Web-based CAD http://www.view22.com/ Can CAD software run in a Web browser? At last year’s Autodesk University, the company’s now-ceo Carl Bass thought not, because it’s too “heavy” — too much data. He thought there was a place for BOMs and markups, which don’t transmit nearly as much information. If AutoCAD 2007 places a burden [...]

  • Googling

    A couple of interesting new items available from Google Labs http://labs.google.com/ Google Notebook enables you to clip and gather information while browsing the web, in your own Notebook which can be accessed from any computer. http://www.google.com/googlenotebook/overview.html Google Trends allows you to compare the worlds intetrests in your search topics. Enter a number of topics and [...]

  • Spore

    Check out the Creature-maker … 3D icons, graphical manipulators, shadows, motion etc.

  • Concepts Unlimited

    CSI (CADDSoft Solutions Inc.) have released Concepts Unlimited version 3. http://www.csi-concepts.com/ Concepts Unlimited targets Macintosh® and Windows® design communities who need fast, flexible, and intuitive tools for turning ideas into precise 2D and 3D designs. But the thing that caught my eye was the description regarding their photo-realistic rendering capability: Typically creating photo realistic renderings [...]

  • SGI – going, going, gone?

    The once dominant giant of the workstation industry is hitting hard times. They have moved to reduce their debt by approximately $250 million and have filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy code. The company expects to emerge from Chapter 11 within 6 months. Read the Press Release at http://www.sgi.com/company_info/…/sgi_reorg.html “We want [...]

  • TTF – more information

    TTF SA, is a leading company in CAD data interoperability and Digital Mock up solutions. Back in November 2005 they announced a new version of PRC II – their Data Compression technology. “The quality and power of PRCII is not only its compression technology. It is also because it is based on our geometrical kernel [...]

  • NVIDIA® Gelato®

    Gelato® is a software program that uses the NVIDIA® GPU as a floating point math processor to provide hardware accelerated rendering. Visit the Gelato home page http://www.nvidia.com/page/gelato.html and/or read the Gelato FAQ http://www.nvidia.com/page/gelato_faq.html Gelato can be downloaded and used for free. Nvidia’s aim is to enable high-quality rendering for everyone: “Render Everywhere” appears to be [...]

  • Adobe acquires TTF

    Adobe has recently acquired Trade and Technologies France (TTF). TTF develops CAD file viewers, CAD software interoperability translators and libraries for converting between different CAD formats. You can read the Press Release http://www.adobe.com/…/pressreleases/200604/042106TTF.html And a little information about TTF can be found at http://www.ttf-group.com/US/indexus.htm UPDATE 20 September 2010 Note the acquisition by TechSoft: Associated Links [...]

  • Google Sketchup FREE

    Hardly a month has passed since the purchase of SketchUp by Google and now a copy is available FREE for personal use. Google SketchUp (free) Google SketchUp (free) is an easy-to-learn 3D modeling program whose few simple tools enable you to create 3D models of houses, sheds, decks, home additions, woodworking projects – even space [...]

  • Dynamically Reconfigurable Coprocessors

    DRC Computer Corporation have recently introduced a Dynamically Reconfigurable Coprocessor module which can be plugged directly into a CPU slot. The unit can be inserted into any open socket in a multi-processor Opteron system and close coupling between the CPU and memory means that bandwidth and latencey bottlenecks are virtually eliminated. CPU intensive Software sub-routines [...]

  • AutoCAD 2007 – another review

    AECbytes has a review of AutoCAD 2007. Actually, this one makes quite good reading, although it is biased towards Architectural – it does after all come from a site dedicated to the Analysis, Research and Reviews of AEC Technology. Of further interest is the glimpse of how mental ray has been integrated into the AutoCAD [...]

  • 3D_Evolution – LossFree CAD Data Conversion

    CT CoreTechnologie GmbH provides a product called 3D_Evolution which enables data conversion between CAD systems complete with history and parametrics (if required). http://www.coretechnologie.de/p_enh.htm Models are converted into a 3D_Evolution native format (which enables the representation of all feature types in use today). This data is optimized and information added to enable the automatic (re-)generation of [...]

  • Product Activation- Infringes Patent?

    Microsoft and Autodesk both deny infringing patents on “product activation” technology. A recent story reports that a trial in a Texas court began on Monday (Apr 10) in which Z4 Technologies Inc claims Microsoft and Autodesk appropriated its patented technology for methods of securing software to reduce unauthorized use. Read the story at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/266187_msftpatent11.html?source=rss

  • CoCreate customer co-design Competition

    Winners of the CoCreate 2006 co-design competition are announced. See further details of the winning entries and runners up at http://apps.cocreate.com/Co-DesComp/en/

  • CADFind

    CADFind release a new version of their Graphical 2D & 3D Design Retrieval product addin for SolidWorks. Priced from $59 for the basic version to $249 for the “Pro” version. http://www.sketchandsearch.com/index.htm Essentially, the product will allow you to find both 2D drawings and 3D models from a sketch drawn in SolidWorks. Once a part, or [...]

  • High-Speed USB Graphics Technology

    NewnHam Research, a startup company in Cambridge UK, has launched a device that allows you to connect monitors to PCs using a standard USB 2.0 connection. Newnham’s technology solutions allow any number of monitors to be connected to a single PC and, if required, function independently to display different content. http://www.newnhamresearch.com/index.htm The USB NIVO technology [...]

  • Boot Camp – Updates

    There seems to be a lot of interest in dual booting Macs … Marc Orchant at ZDNet has been trying to install Vista on a MacBook http://blogs.zdnet.com/Orchant/?p=63 and failing http://blogs.zdnet.com/Orchant/?p=64 Looks like BootCamp will support Linux http://theweeklyrant.com/article/8/news-apple-bootcamp-boots-linux You can load International Editions of Windows http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2006/0406/apple2.htm and Media Center http://www.furrygoat.com/2006/04/apples_boot_cam.html Accessing the Mac OS X partition [...]

  • Trivia – Missed It

    Something special happened this week (Wednesday) when the following event occurred at two minutes and three seconds after one am … 01:02:03 04/05/06 (US date format) (of course it happens again on 4th May for us Brits…)

  • Solid Edge V18 – Wire Harness Design

    Solid Edge Version 18 introduces a new add-on application for wire harness design. It allows electrical and mechanical design teams to collaborate, providing integration between popular electrical wiring design packages for electrical circuit simulation, and Solid Edge, to create a complete digital mock-up. Read more at SolidEdge http://www.solidedge.com/overview/v18_wireharness.htm

  • Boot Camp

    A feature, currently called “Boot Camp”, will be incorporated in the next major release of Mac OS X that enables you to install and run the Windows XP operating system on your Intel-based Mac. At startup you will then have the option of booting either Mac OS X or Windows… Currently available as a public [...]

  • Whatever happened to DataTiles

    DataTiles A DataTiles “tile” is a transparent acrylic square object with an embedded RFID tag. In principle, a tile acts as a graspable window for digital information. When a tile is placed on the tray, its associated function is automatically triggered. For example, placing a weather tile onto the tray automatically retrieves the current weather [...]

  • Co-Create

    Recently had a browse around the CoCreate site and noted a set of demos available for OneSpace Modelling at http://www.cocreate.com/osdm_history_free_demo.cfm

  • Zooks

    What are Zooks? I guess they’re best described as virtual robot insects or creatures. You can create your own Zooks and pit them against creatures made by other people, or just create the weirdest looking Zook you can think of, using software available for download from the BBC. Find out more at the official site [...]

  • Virtools can now use 3D XML

    Dassault Systèmes announces a 3D XML plugin for Virtools. So now you can generate 3DXML files from products including Catia and SolidWorks and integrate them into Virtools Dev. The adoption of 3D XML technology via a dedicated extension to Virtools’ solutions is the first step towards providing a complete solution for recreating the end user [...]

  • Carl Bass – Acquisitive ?

    In a recent interview with Heather Clancy Editor of CRN, Autodesk COO Carl Bass says (amongst other things) The kind of acquisitions we normally do, Alias would be more of an anomaly. What we do a lot of is technology acquisitions to fill in gaps. What we’re doing in analysis and simulation. We’re moving to [...]

  • Geomerics – wavelet lighting/shadowing technology

    Geomerics is a Cambridge based company specializing in advanced graphics and physics technology. At this years Game Developers Conference (GDC) they are announcing a new solution to overcome problems faced by game developers with lighting and shadowing technology. Its system handles dynamically changing lighting environments, moving objects and changing viewing angles. The technology also allows [...]

  • What is Vista?

    “Visualising integrated information on buried assets to reduce streetworks” (Vista). The project, funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (UK) and being undertaken by researchers from Leeds and Nottingham Universities, is aimed at producing a 3D model of the pipes and cables which are buried under the streets in the UK and will look [...]

  • Microsoft delays launch of Vista

    Microsoft plans to release Vista to business customers through its volume licensing program in November but machines with pre-installed consumer versions will not be generally available until January 2007. Specific reasons have not been given for the delay although it is possibly due to efforts to improve security in the new system. No details have [...]

  • ePaper

    ePaper (electronic paper) could come a step closer to reality following work on a new plastic material by members of a joint US-UK industrial and academic team of researchers, reports an article from the BBC – Chemists work on plastic promise The new material can be printed using traditional inkjet printers or techniques similar to [...]

  • NVIDIA and Havok

    NVIDIA and Havok are to demonstrate the Worlds first GPU-powered Game Physics solution at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California (21-24 March). Havok FX is designed for GPUs supporting Shader Model 3.0 which includes the NVIDIA GeForce 6 and 7 Series GPUs. You can read the Press Release at http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_30478.html or other reports [...]

  • Inventor wins top prize with the help of Catia V5.

    Dassault announces that the 2 top awards at the British Female Inventor and Innovator of the Year Forum have been won by an inventor who designed and developed her idea entirely on CATIA V5. PreVu offers a 60 second soundbite through a speaker which is small enough to fit into a CD record case. Invented [...]

  • Autodesk – Alias Products

    It looks as though Autodesk have re-branded Alias products following the recent completion of the acquisition. Trying http://www.alias.com now re-directs to Autodesk. ImageStudio is now known as AutoDesk ImageStudio and they also offer Autodesk DirectConnect to enable data exchange between leading CAD products, such as SolidWorks, and ImageStudio. There are various demos available which are [...]

  • Adobe Labs

    Adobe Labs (formerly macromedia) provides the opportunity to examine emerging technologies and products from Adobe. http://labs.macromedia.com/ One of these is the XMP toolkit that allows you to embed metadata (data about a file) into the file itself. You can read more about XMP the Extensible Metadata Platform on the Adobe Website http://www.adobe.com/products/xmp/

  • Google buys @Last

    @Last are producers of the SketchUp software, popular among the architectural community and thus used primarily by Architects, for modelling buildings and other architectural features. Lots of news reports on this one … starting with the Official Google Blog http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/new-home-for-last-software.html. …or read the offical announcement from @Last Software. http://www.sketchup.com/index.php?id=1439 …or a collection of News stories [...]

  • Innovation – An interview with the head of MITs Media Lab

    There’s an interview with Frank Moss, who was recently named head of MITs Media Lab, in Business Week Online http://www.businessweek.com/…design_top+stories. The Media Lab has an annual budget of $30 million and has helped spawn many small innovative companies. One of the interesting things he mentions is how innovation used to be driven by large corporate [...]

  • Touch-Screen Technology

    Take a look at  http://mrl.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch/

  • 3D Seek by Doodling

    Another follow up – this time regarding 3D Search techniques. Back in October I reported on a research project being undertaken by researchers at Purdue University about Engineering Shape Searching A recent report in a news article from the National Science Foundation describes how this technology appears to have evolved into the 3D-Seek product, developed [...]

  • Patents – Useful Links

    The European Patent Office provides a useful source of information related to Patents. http://www.european-patent-office.org/index.en.php Among other things you can access Europes network of patent databases through the esp@cenet portal http://www.espacenet.com/ and in particular use the worldwide search engine at esp@cenet for searching patent documents. http://ep.espacenet.com/search97cgi/s97_cgi.exe?Action=FormGen&Template=ep/EN/home.hts

  • ARTVPS and mental images collaborate on new ray tracing solutions

    ARTVPS will become an OEM partner of mental images to integrate mental ray in 64bit versions of its RenderDrive hardware rendering product and mental images will license intellectual property from ARTVPS. Read the Press Release for further details. http://i-newswire.com/pr58290.html or visit their sites at http://www.mentalimages.com/ and http://www.artvps.com/

  • Origami – so it’s not just Paper Folding after all

    Samsung Electronics is showing the first device designed around Microsoft’s Origami project at the CeBIT electronics show in Germany. It is a handheld computer that falls somewhere between a tablet PC and a PDA and runs a special edition of Windows XP. reports an article in PCWorld http://www.pcworld.com/…/0,aid,124993,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp The device is in the final stages [...]

  • Dassault Systèmes Receives AMR Research Innovation Award

    Dassault announced (01-20-06) that it has received the Innovation Award from AMR Research for its thought leadership and vision of 3D as a democratizing force in industry and society. The company’s 3D For All initiative, including its acquisition of pioneering 3D behavior company Virtools, as well as its development and roll-out of the Cosmic Blobs [...]

  • Dassault Systèmes to acquire MatrixOne

    MatrixOne is a leading global provider of collaborative PLM software and services to medium-to-large organizations including companies across the high tech, consumer products and medical devices industries among others. Dassault Systèmes will acquire MatrixOne for $7.25 per share in cash, representing a total transaction value of approximately $408 million. The proposed acquisition, which has been [...]

  • Dassault – Styled Plastic & Packaging solution

    An integrated solution to innovate and accelerate design cycles in a complex freeform environment. A number of demo videos are available at http://www.3ds.com/design/ (under the Styled Plastic & Packaging section) including: Conceptual Industrial Design Functional Industrial Design Reverse Engineering Industrial Surfacing Design Photo Rendering Collaborative 3D Design On a separate note, I also found it [...]

  • Smart Drive Computing

    Imagine carrying your favorite software, preferences, profiles and data on a device no bigger than a pack of gum. With a U3 smart drive, you can plug into any Windows XP or 2000 PC and be productive wherever you are. Check out the potential at http://www.u3.com/ And check out the growing software availablity at http://software.u3.com/ [...]

  • Innovation

    Innovation is a theme of the 2006 Congress on the Future of Engineering software (COFES 2006) http://www.cofes.com/2006/ There is an interesting blog discussing the topic – A blog for discussing innovation in engineering and its impact on engineering software users and vendors, leading up to COFES2006 – which may be worth following. Take a look [...]

  • Autodesk Financial Results

    Autodesk reports record revenues of $417 million for its fourth fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2006. Autodesk’s performance was driven by strong growth in new seats and subscriptions, increasing penetration of its vertical and 3D products and continued strong profitability. In addition, during the quarter the company completed the acquisition of Alias for $197 million. [...]

  • Autodesk Inventor 11

    There’s an “exclusive” write up of Inventor 11 available to read at MCAD Online http://www.mcadonline.com/index.php?…Itemid=73 Topics covered include: Larg assemblies & Assembly Configurations Functional Design Simulation Advanced Shape Description This version of Inventor, currently in Beta, is still a couple of months away from release which is expected in March/April.

  • Microsoft plans 6 Editions of Vista

    A story at the BBC news website indicates that Microsoft is planning 6 versions of Vista, its next operating system due for release towards the end of 2006, to match the differing demands of its users. The versions will be known as: Vista Business Vista Enterprise Vista Home Basic Vista Home Premium Vista Ultimate Vista [...]

  • Touch and Design (T’nD)

    T’nD is a Research Project funded by the European Union that is looking at developing a tool for designers using haptic elements. Main Goals Today, industrial designers are used to produce physical mock-ups of products by modeling and manipulating clay. Designers have their knowledge about controlling shapes in their hands, and the skill they have [...]

  • Evolving Compiler Technology

    The IBM Systems Journal (Volume 45, NUmber 1, 2006), although aimed at aspects of online game technology, nevertheless contains an interesting hint at the possible future direction of compiler technology which is being designed take advantage of the growth in processor complexity. http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/sj45-1.html Using advanced compiler technology to exploit the performance of the Cell Broadband [...]

  • Rendering – Technical Papers

    If you’re looking for some reading matter on a cold winters evening, there’s quite a collection here. Fairly technical and related to the on-going work by Henrik Wann Jenson – Associate Professor in the Computer Graphics Laboratory of the department of Computer Sceince and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. enjoy http://graphics.ucsd.edu/~henrik/papers/

  • Happy Birthday

    One Year Old Today. Today is the first anniversary of this Blog – started exactly 1 year ago today. In the past year, more than 150 articles have been written covering a diverse range of topics from interesting “gadgets” through to the more in-depth looks at what has been happening in the competitive world of [...]

  • Building a Virtual World in 3D

    Trimensions, a company specialized in close-range photogrammetry, has developed a tool to integrate three-dimensional models into Google Earth with great precision and detail. http://www.trimensions.fr/frameset.htm They provide a link that enables you to see the results of a model located in Paris, via Google Earth. http://www.trimensions.fr/_private/ILOT_PARIS.kmz In another appraoch, the REALVIZ ImageModeller allows you to create [...]

  • Intel shows its Quad Core

    In a recent interview, Intel Chief Technology Officer – Justin Rattner stated Core expansion will be a dominant theme for Intel over the next few years. It is expected that chips with tens of cores will be available by the end of the decade while in 10 years its theoretically possible to expect chips with [...]

  • 3D Images in Air

    A new device developed by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology uses lasers to project “real” 3D images into the ether. A special projector can cast three-dimensional shapes of white light between 2 and 3-meters into the air. Three dimensional images in the Air is a collaborative research project between the National [...]

  • Pro/Engineer Wildfire 3.0

    In Wildfire 3.0 separate threads load the facetted graphics and the feature and constraint data for each part in the assembly allowing computers with dual-core processors to load assemblies in half the time of Wildfire 2.0 …

  • Research Projects by Jeff Han (NYU)

    Jeff Han is a consultant in the Department of Computer Science at NYU. http://mrl.nyu.edu/~jhan/ Worth a look at his home page to see some interesting projects including demo movies. Of particular interest in the Multi-Touch Interaction Research project.

  • Multi-Touch Interaction Experiments

    Will multi-touch interfaces become the new UI of the future ? Here’s one article on the subject http://createdigitalmusic.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1152&Itemid=44 or how about Interactive Touchable Fabric click here and what is this I hear about Apple’s Touchscreen Patent click here …Well hardly a patent on Touchscreen, this one seems to refer to a patented method for synchronising [...]

  • New IBM Blade Computers

    Among other announcements by IBM today I noticed the following: A nine-core IBM Cell blade — the first Cell-based product from IBM. Designed for businesses that need the breakthrough capabilities of the IBM Cell BE processor to tackle tasks involving compute-intensive workloads and broadband media applications, the Cell blade is the first multi-core blade computer. [...]

  • The Innovators Dilemma

    Analysis and consulting firm Cyon Research released results last week from its recent study of business markets for engineering software, based on the theories of Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen. “The Innovator’s Dilemma”, in the context of CAx and PLM vendors – The case for an engineering software components market – is a freely [...]

  • Microsoft’s Sparkle

    A couple of articles describing the latest releases of Microsoft’s new visual development tools: Hands on with ‘Sparkle’ from publish.com http://www.publish.com/article2/0,1895,1914852,00.asp Expression Interactive Designer, one of three new software tools aimed at creative professionals and developers. Interactive Designer is being developed under the moniker “Sparkle”. and Microsoft’s Sparkle: Is it a Flash Killer? from eWeek. [...]

  • Back to the drawing board

    The Wacom Cintiq interactive pen display combines the advantages of an LCD monitor with cordless (battery free) pen technology. This is an active matrix LCD monitor (21″ giving a resolution of 1600 x 1200 – 17″ providing 1280 x 1024) for sharp, flicker free viewing. For more details visit http://www.wacom.com/lcdtablets/index_21UX.cfm A version of an electronic [...]

  • Blender 2.41

    Still one to watch … Blender v2.41 is released. Blender is Open Source software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback. Available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License. You can read about features in the latest release at http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Blender_2_41.731.0.html or visit the blender home page at http://www.blender3d.org/

  • Adobe releases Acrobat 3D

    Adobe stepped further into the 3D world with the announcement of Acrobat 3D, available now. The product incorporates OKYZ technology, which Adobe adquired over a year ago, to convert 3D models to a format that can be embedded in a PDF file. The technology can obtain model data from the OpenGL graphics stream, so no [...]

  • NextEngine – Desktop 3D Scanning

    NextEngine have released a 3D scanning device for the desktop, which is integrated with Solidworks, at a price tag of $2495. Claimed accuracy is +/- 0.005in for models up to 5.1 x 3.8 inches (Macro mode) and +/- 0.015 in for models up to 13.5 x 10.1 inches (Wide mode) https://www.nextengine.com/indexSecure.htm

  • SolidWorks World Blog Reports

    The SolidWorks Community Blog has promised updates on the daily happenings at SWW Jan 22-25 … You’ll want to be sure and check the blog posts during the week of SolidWorks World 2006, January 22–25. Greg and a guest blogger, freelance reporter Amy Castor, will be posting updates on the daily happenings at the show. [...]

  • Sensable – Haptic device

    This is a relatively old technology, but are haptic devices getting closer to a price attractive to a mass market? I first came across this company in 1999 and although the technology looked interesting, it’s cost ( > $15000) meant that it would only appeal to a select few. If the price is right now [...]

  • Autodesk Changes at the top

    Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced that Carl Bass, the company’s chief operating officer, has been named president and chief executive officer, effective May 1, 2006. Bass also has been appointed to the company’s expanded Board of Directors, effective immediately. Carol Bartz, who has served as CEO since April 1992, will become the company’s first [...]

  • Push and Pull

    A couple of samples I dug out while tidying my “archive” – these are dated August 2000

  • Modo from Luxology

    Modo from Luxology is an advanced polygonal subdivision surface modelling environment developed by “veterans” from Lightwave. http://www.luxology.com/ One of the interesting features I noted is the “Solid Sketch” functionality Here’s a demo movie of the SolidSketch functionality Movie (.mov) There’s also a user discussion forum for Modo available at http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/

  • Autodesk Completes Acquisition of Alias

    On January 10, 2006, Autodesk completed the acquisition of Alias … Press Release at http://usa.autodesk.com/…=123112&id=5970886

  • Real or Virtual
  • Top Patent Companies – 2005

    IBM, of course, in #1 position with 2,972 patents but falling below 3,000 for the first time since 2001. Details of the top 25, provided byIFI Patent Intelligence, a Wolters Kluwer business, are shown in a report on the Yahoo Financial News site. IFI Patent Intelligence’s 2005 Top-25 Patent Winners 1 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP [...]

  • Keyboards

    Organic LED keyboard Fully customisable keyboard using OLEDs (Organic LEDs) for every key. A design concept for the future keyboard can be found at http://www.legitreviews.com/article.php?aid=247 or the home page at http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/ Alternatively why not consider a Laser Keyboard Some details available at http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/

  • Sony eReader

    Further Details of the Sony eReader are available at http://products.sel.sony.com/pa/PRS/reader_specs.html. Its an ultra portable device (6″ SVGA 800×600 greyscale display with eInk technology) for reading (e)books or other documents, available spring 2006 ($349.99). A replacement for the daily newspaper?

  • Gadgets Galore

    The Consumer Electronics Show took place in Las Vegas from January 5-8. – the worlds largest tradeshow for consumer technology Here is a virtual trip report … Bill Gates Keynote presentation at the show http://www.microsoft.com/events/executives/billgates.mspx Runs for about 1.5 hours, so the highlights I noted were: 10-20 mins: using technology at home and work – [...]

  • Don’t Click It

    See if you can resist the urge http://www.dontclick.it/

  • TracePro

    TracePro allows you to trace light rays through CAD models. Lambda Research Corporation has released TracePro Bridge for SolidWorks, that enables users of SolidWorks to assign optical effects and properties in their SW models ready for optical ray tracing and analysis in TracePro. Details of this and other optical analysis products can be seen at [...]

  • Autodesk University 2005

    Picked up a couple of items following the recent Autodesk University 2005 at Orlando… A future version of AutoCAD may incorporate some form of mass modelling functionality for conceptual design, similar to that found in SketchUp – sketch lines and extrude into 3D shapes. Vespa is the current code name for a non-photorealistic illustration tool [...]

  • Imaging Industrial Products

    The ESA (European Space Agency) Technology Transfer Program details how new technologies developed by European space comanies is being used to develop innovative products to benefit both industry and society. http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Technology_Transfer/SEMO5TRMD6E_0.html One such item is a virtual photo studio http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Technology_Transfer/SEM8Y0ULWFE_0.html which is being developed by News’UProduction within the framework of ESA. The objective is to [...]

  • Finding Feasible Mold Parting Directions Using Graphics Hardware

    An interesting paper from researchers at the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of California, Berkeley discusses techniques for testing the castability of parts using GPUs. http://www.me.berkeley.edu/~mcmains/pubs/spm05preprint.pdf

  • This message will self destruct …

    Well not really, but check out AutoShred Lite an application which provides DRM features to SolidWorks eDrawings including the deletion of files at a specified shred (delete) date. http://www.pinionsoftware.com/MfgQuoteAutoShredLite

  • CADFind

    CADFind the Graphical 2D + 3D Design Retrieval system is now available for SolidWorks. More details at http://www.sketchandsearch.com/

  • SolidWorks Podcasts

    If you weren’t already aware, there are various Podcasts available on SolidWorks … Open iTunes Select the Music Store Select Podcasts inside the Music Store Search for SolidWorks Listen to various items related to SW

  • MSN Sandbox

    Visit the MSN Sandbox to play with new MSN technologies, look at prototypes and see some of their ideas. http://sandbox.msn.com/ I quite like start.com which is MSNs preview of the next generation home page http://www.start.com/ built using AJAX http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX

  • Microsoft Max

    Came across a product from Microsoft with the code-name MAX recently. (Note: The original link was at http://www.microsoft.com/Max/ However, this product was discontinued on 1st November 2006 ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Max ) Built on the WinFX Runtime Components from Windows Vista allowing it to run on WinXP – is this a trend likely to continue as the Vista [...]

  • Google News

    The Google Legacy (ebook) by Stephen E Arnold has a sample chapter available which discusses the Google Technology. http://www.infonortics.com/publications/google/google-legacy.html And a couple of other recent stories … Google is being sued by book publishers over their plans to index and scan millions of books as part of their Print Library project … http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4358768.stm Google will [...]

  • Autodesk to purchase Engineering Intent

    Following hot on the heels of their recent purchase of Alias Autodesk announce their intention to purchase Engineering Intent who supply “Engineer to Order” software and services. http://www.engineeringintent.com/index.html

  • Apple News

    Apple announces updates to PowerBooks, Power Macs and introduces Aperture. http://www.apple.com/hotnews/ Enhanced PowerBook models – the 15 inch now supports a resolution of 1440 x 900 and 17 inch will now support a resolution of 1680 x 1050. The new Power Mac G5 systems feature dual-core PowerPC processors and can support up to 16Gb Ram. [...]

  • Flexible Electronic Paper Display

    The World’s first tablet-size flexible electronic paper display is announced today by E Ink Corporation. LG.Philips and E Ink have constructed a 10.1″ flexible electronic paper display which at less than 300 microns thick, is as thin and flexible as paper. It uses E Ink Imaging Film technology – a display material that looks like [...]

  • SketchUp Models and Google Earth

    Models created in SketchUp can be located at their exact position in the world and shared via Google Earth. Try out some samples here http://www.sketchup.com/index.php?id=408.

  • The new Microsoft Office

    The next planned release of Microsoft Office products, Office v12, will incorporate the results of extensive usability tests and advances in hardware and software to provide the most significant update to the user interface for over a decade. Worth a look. http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/uioverview.mspx

  • Archiving the Internet

    What is a petabyte ? 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes (or 1024 terabytes) But why would you want to know that? Its actually the amount of data contained within the Internet Archive Wayback Engine (or at least it was ! ). If you want to see how a web site looked back in 1996 chances are that it [...]

  • 2D to 3D Modelling

    Old or new technology ? If you’ve not seen it before, take a look at the “sheet-based modelling technology” from CAD-Schroer http://www.cad-schroer.com/…MEDUSA&thema=mask1.php?id=20&scr=1.7

  • Windows Vista Developer Centre

    Want to find out more about Windows Vista ? http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/about/ Then check out the Windows Vista Developer Center http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/ the WinFX Developer Center http://msdn.microsoft.com/winfx/ an WinFS http://msdn.microsoft.com/data/WinFS/

  • Engineering Shape-Searching

    3DESS, an Engineering Shape Search System, is a research project being undertaken by researchers at Purdue University. The goal is to develop a search mechanism for engineering parts that will retrieve similar 3D models based on their shape. https://engineering.purdue.edu/PRECISE/dess.html The aim is to reduce the amount of time taken to find data that is available [...]

  • Autodesk to buy Alias

    Autodesk Inc has agreed to buy Alias for $182 million cash. Interesting quotes/comments picked up off the web … Alias had sales of $83 million in its last fiscal year ending in June. Accel-KKR, a private equity firm, is the majority shareholder in Alias, and it is believed that Alias had been working towards an [...]

  • Google Office?

    Sun and Google have begun a strategic relationship to promote and distribute their trail-blazing technologies … This appears to mean that Sun will make the Google Toolbar available as an option when downloading the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and in return, I guess, Google will make the JRE and OpenOffice downloads available to their users. [...]

  • Virtual Constructions in Real Space

    Check out Installation for creating Virtual Objects in a Real Space. Developed by Simon Greenwold at the Aesthetics and Computation Group at the MIT Media Lab. http://acg.media.mit.edu/people/simong/installationNew/intro.html

  • Motion Simulation and Analysis Software

    Dassault recently acquired Virtools which provides software tools for developing interactive 3d content (motion simulation analysis and lots more). http://www.virtools.com In related news, Autodesk has acquired (22 August) Solid Dynamics who provide motion analysis and simulation technology. http://www.solid-dynamics.com A recent poll of Autodesk manufacturing customers showed that dynamic simulation was ranked as a key technology [...]

  • Re-cycling waste electronic and electrical equipment

    Collection and recycling of waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) will be the responsibility of manufacturers and retailers of the equipment from June 2006 following a (UK) Government announcement (10 Aug 2005). Do recycling/environmental concerns affect the design process ?

  • Articles from the New Scientist

    You can now read articles from the New Scientist on-line. http://www.newscientist.com/news.ns For example check out weird and wonderful patent applications in a column by Barry Fox or how about Pocket-sized computer ‘soul’ developed at http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7826

  • Dassault acquires Virtools

    Dassault has acquired Virtools a company that provides 3D Behavioural technology. http://www.virtools.com Virtools’ applications allow users not familiar with 3D modeling to quickly and easily add life experience to any 3D object. As an example, using the company’s technology, users can experience the shopping behavior of a typical consumer in a supermarket or visualize the [...]

  • Planarity Puzzle

    New month new topic. Lets start off with some trivia for those people who enjoy puzzle solving. A Planar Graph is a graph that can be embedded in a plane so that no edges intersect. This puzzle allows you to experiment with planar graphs by rearranging the vertices (blue dots) so that none of the [...]

  • Windows Vista

    The Windows Vista™ (formerly code-named Longhorn) Beta 1 for developers and IT professionals has begun. The Next Generation platform includes … WinFX. A managed-code programming model Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly Avalon). Microsoft’s unified presentation subsystem for Windows Windows Communication Foundation (formerly Indigo). Microsoft’s next-generation Web services technology Aero. The new Windows Vista design philosophy Find [...]

  • Electronic Paper

    A new electronic paper display is mentioned on Tom’s Hardware Guide http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050713_161241.html This is a new product from Fujitsu, to be shown on July 14 at the Tokyo International Forum, and is a film substrate-based bendable color electronic paper. Similar to Flash memory, the display integrates a non-volatile data memory function that is able to [...]

  • Developer Fusion

    Been meaning to blog this location Developer Fusion for a while. http://www.developerfusion.co.uk All sorts of useful articles, for example c# articles at http://www.developerfusion.co.uk/csharp/

  • Windows Command Shell

    What is MSH? … … the next Windows Command Shell. Read more at Channel9 http://channel9.msdn.com/wiki/default.aspx/Channel9.MSHWiki

  • Inovate

    From the IronCAD stable comes INNOVATE… http://www.ironcad.com/product/inovate.html which is a low cost, easy to use 3D desktop product for creating, modifying, interrogating and communicating 3D designs. INOVATE allows casual users to design fast and effectively without concerning themselves with constraints, parametrics and feature trees mandated by today?s leading systems. Power users can use all of [...]

  • Molecular transistors

    So you want to pack more transistors onto a piece of silicon … but how about thinking in terms of transistors composed of single molecules? A Paper on The Quantum Interference Effect Transistor can be browsed here http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/?0503540 but in simple terms (at least my interpretation )- applying a voltage to turn a molecule into [...]

  • Acrylic – Beta Software from Microsoft

    Acrylic is a utility from Microsoft available for Beta testing. It is a professional illustration, painting, and graphic design product for creating vector graphics and is a revised version of a program, Expression, acquired in 2003 from a Hong Kong software company. Read more and download a copy from Microsoft. http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression/

  • Windows Mobile 5.0

    Windows Mobile 5.0 is available … Providing “improved productivity and Integrated multimedia .. New features include the ability to create charts (in Excel) and play back music and movies in Windows Media Player 10 Mobile. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/5/default.mspx Also read about moblog(ing) creating your own Mobile Blog http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/articles/mobileblog.mspx

  • Solid Edge provided free to Secondary Schools in Ireland

    Solid Edge V17 is to be provided (free) for up to 750 secondary schools in Ireland. The deal is worth some 133.5m Euro and will be rolled out by Cadtec (Europe) http://www.cadteceurope.com/. So far over 200 schools have signed up. Each school will receive 20 fully functional licences and support for teachers in the form [...]

  • European Software Patent Bill is rejected

    On the 6th July, the European Parliament voted as follows on the Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions. Read the article on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directive_on_the_patentability_of_computer-implemented_inventions 648 against, 18 for and 14 abstentions Thus rejecting the proposal. The bill was intended to remove individual EU nations patent systems in favour of a Europe wide common process [...]

  • Discovering Multi-Core

    A nice easy to understand article from the “horses mouth” so to speak ( or Multi-Core for dummies ?) noticed in Technology@Intel Magazine http://www.intel.com/technology/…/multi-core-0705.htm Its interesting to note that Intel are predicting that more than 85% of its server processors and %70 of its mobile and desktop Pentium family processor shipments wil be dual-core base [...]

  • del.icio.us

    Check out del.icio.us – a bookmarks manager. It provides a web service for sharing bookmarks – everything posted is publicly viewable, so its not a tool for storing private collections. del.icio.us is a social bookmarks manager. It allows you to easily add web pages you like to your personal collection of links, to categorize those [...]

  • 3D XML

    3D XML is a lightweight XML based format for sharing 3D data. Find out more at http://www.3ds.com/3dxml

  • Sudoku

    Are you being driven mad trying to solve fiendishly difficult Sodoku puzzles ? Here’s a little helper if you ever need a bit of assistance with those really difficult ones SuDoHelper http://www.sudohelper.com/

  • The Quality Assurance role in Software Development

    From a series entitled Anatomy of a software Development Role an interesting article discussing the quality assurance role – to ensure that the software development process doesn’t sacrifice quality in the name of objectives – is available here http://www.developer.com/java/other/article.php/3515426

  • Concurrent Programmers Speaking a New Language

    Nick Benton and Gavin Bierman, scientists from Microsoft Research in Cambridge, have designed an experimental research language that extends C# with new features for writing concurrent programs. A compiler for the language, called Cω (C Omega), is available to the public. An article talking about C Omega, by the authors, is available at Microsoft Research [...]

  • Airbus Adopts Adobe Acrobat 7.0

    Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced (June 27) that Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer with one of the most modern and comprehensive product lines on the market, has adopted Adobe® Acrobat® 7.0 software on a worldwide basis. Airbus plans to deploy 32,000 seats of Acrobat 7.0 Professional and Acrobat 7.0 Standard throughout the company over the [...]

  • Aerospace Engineers Play Computer Games and Improve Design Skills

    An article in Design News talks about the advantages of trying out designs within an integrated design simulation environment. The article describes various uses for simulation technology to give a designer a better understanding of issues ranging from engine maintenance issues at Lockheed (Does the engineer have enough room to do repairs on jet engines?), [...]

  • Google CAD and CAM Directory

    Googles Web Directory integrates their search technology with Open Directory pages to create a useful tool for finding information on the web. In particular I find the resource related to CAD/CAM useful and thought it might be useful for others too … Google CAD/CAM http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/CAD_and_CAM/ On another Google note, since I last looked, I see [...]

  • dot dot dot

    Is text messaging as quick as it seems? Perhaps we should return to using morse code. In recent contests, passing messages by morse code proved faster than texting. In one contest in Australia, a 93 year old post office veteran sent and translated 21 words in a mere 90 seconds beating a teenage texter by [...]

  • Technology for hire

    Microsoft has launched a new division to sell the company’s unused ideas. The Intellectual Property Ventures department has been created to license the technology that Microsoft Research have developed but haven’t used themselves. Interested parties will either pay licensing fees or give Microsoft a stake in their company. More details at http://www.microsoftipventures.com

  • Autodesk introduces RealDWG

    Autodesk has introduced RealDWG 2006 – a developer toolkit – for reading and writing AutoCAD DWG and DXF files. This product is a replacement for their ObjectDBX technology. Autodesk says Autodesk RealDWG, built on the native DWG libraries from AutoCAD software, minimizes the risks of design document corruption or errors in drawing files, and assures [...]

  • XML office doc format

    Microsoft is making XML the default format for MS Office. The zip compressed XML file size claims to be 50 to 75% smaller !!!! 3rd party apps will have to upgrade to work with these new formats. Could be some work for design-tables, bend tables etc. Widely available schemas for this open format will help [...]

  • Blender 2.37 is released

    Blender is an integrated 3D creation software suite release with source code under the GNU Public license. Version 2.37 is now available and details can be seen here http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Blender_2_37.496.0.htm

  • Old concepts never die

    An article in ComputerWeekly (Return of the bright idea) looks at what happened with the following technologies Push Technology ASP Unified communications Public key infrastructures Network computing 3G Video conferencing If you’re interested, read the article here http://www.computerweekly.com/Article129090.htm

  • Older workers the best at dreaming up bright ideas

    A recently published article in the UK press, (source: Daily Mail 6 June – so it must be accurate ) tells us about research by Vodafone. They have found that it is the more experienced people who are most likely to come up with innovations to help firms thrive, rather than the younger staff pushing [...]

  • Linux Powers Airborne Bots

    British researchers are turning to Linux and embedded processors to build a fleet of tiny, robotic helicopters capable of swarming like angry bees and evaluating their surroundings with a single hive mind. The University of Essex’s UltraSwarm project is an experiment in swarm intelligence and wireless cluster computing that might one day spawn military surveillance [...]

  • Thought for the day – Capturing Design Intent

    Is it possible to capture knowledge used when a product is being designed in a form that can be easily re-used in the future? or alternatively, How can that knowledge be captured and how should it be stored? There are similarities in capturing Design Intent during the design of products with the retention and re-use [...]

  • Watermarking 3D models

    When proprietary digital content is exposed to the Internet, it can become an easy target for malicious parties who wish to reproduce unauthorized copies. For these reasons, protection of digital intellectual property has become an active research topic and many people have begun to research digital watermarking methods. Here is an interesting paper on the [...]

  • Intel Preps Mac Mini Look-Alike

    A new Wintel prototype that openly apes Apple Computer’s popular Mac mini is due out this week, sources told Wired News, giving Intel a showcase to prove its chips are a match for anyone when it comes to tiny PC designs. Read more about it at wired.com http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,67664,00.html?tw=wn_5techhead

  • Agent based computing

    Agent-based computing has been hailed as the next significant breakthrough in software development, and the new revolution in software. Currently, software agents are the focus of intense interest on the part of many sub-fields of computer science and artificial intelligence. Software agents hold the potential to shape the next generation of technologies and models for [...]

  • Patent – 3D Texture Mapping for Point Clouds

    US Patent Number 6,853,373 B2, titled “Methods, Apparatus and Computer Program Products for Modeling Three-Dimensional Colored Objects,” has been granted to Raindrop Geomagic. Abstract Methods, apparatus and computer program products can generate light weight but highly realistic and accurate colored models of three-dimensional colored objects. The colored model may be generated from a second plurality [...]

  • PowerCAD CE

    Not sure this is the correct type of application for a 3.5″ screen, but nevertheless here’s another CAD system for the Pocket PC. Read about it here http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?topic_id=39124

  • Democratizing Innovation

    MIT Sloan Professor Eric von Hippel recently published a new book, Democratizing Innovation. In his book, Professor von Hippel examines the emerging trend toward user-centered innovation, a system which can offer great advantages over the manufacturer-centric innovation systems that have been in place for hundreds of years. Professor von Hippel has graciously made a downloadable [...]

  • CAD Lab – SNU

    I came across a couple of interesting PowerPoints form the CAD Lab at the Seoul National University (SNU) Research Status on Multi-Resolution Modeling System http://kf12.com/blogs/uploads/CAD_0614.ppt and Incremental Transmission of B-Rep based CAD Models for Collaborative Design Environment http://kf12.com/blogs/uploads/CAD_0415.ppt

  • Tiger World Premiere

    Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, the next major release of the operating system, is available from 6.00pm Friday (today). Read about it here http://www.apple.com/macosx/

  • Microsoft and Dassault Systemes to Align XML formats

    A recent press release states: 3D XML to support and extend Microsoft’s XAML format Redmond, Wash., USA, and Paris, France – April 14, 2005 – Microsoft Corp. and Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) today announced that, as part of their strategic alliance and commitment to jointly delivering value to their customers, [...]

  • Adobe acquires Macromedia

    Adobe Systems it had agreed to buy Macromedia for about $3.4 billion in stock, in order to extend its lead in the market for creating and distributing digital documents. Read the Press Release at http://www.adobe.com/…/041805AdobeAcquiresMacromedia.html

  • Simulating Sound Waves

    An interesting article on rendering at PhysicsWeb ends by suggesting the possibility of simulating sound waves in complex geometries (in a similar way to simulating light rays). http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/17/2/6 . . . From a physics point of view we would also like to leave geometric optics behind and use the wave nature of light rays instead. [...]

  • i10

    A possible useful contact: i10 providing innovation collaboration expertise i10 supports innovation and success by helping companies tap into the expertise and resources of universities in the East of England. i10 helps companies in the East of England grow by working with academic teams from some of the country’s top universities and higher education colleges [...]

  • Perspecta Spatial 3D Display

    Noticed this while looking at something else (isn’t it always the way?) 360 degree, full colour, interactive images filling a volume in space on your desktop. Seems to have been around for a while and was shown at Siggraph 2002 The Perspecta® display complements a computer monitor instead of replacing it. Initially the maximum viewable [...]

  • Microsoft dismisses threat of Apple’s iPod Halo Effect

    The iPod ‘halo effect’ is the effect of people who buy iPods switching from PCs to Macs. Reportedly – from a survey of iPod users 6% had made the switch and a further 7% were planning to … An article at silicon.com discusses this topic further. “Microsoft claims it is still on track to deliver [...]

  • Solid Edge version 17

    Some comments which I recently noted: Enhanced 2D/3D hybrid design – essentially create a lightweight 2D view of existing geometry which can then be used to position additional geometry. When finished, existing 3D parts represented by 2D profiles are restored to 3D. Direct editing of imported geometry – don’t need the feature tree or history [...]

  • 3DSearchIT

    3DSearchIT is a library that provides functions to rapidly find parts based on 3D data. From Geometric Software http://3dsearchit.geometricglobal.com/

  • Future of the Desktop

    Google is your computer Some interesting ideas are raised in this article http://www.cnet.com/4520-6033_1-5759958-1.html?tag=nl.e501, about how the future of the desktop may be changing. There is a nice description of a piece of the enabling technology, Ajax, that drives google maps and other google sites.

  • Bounding Boxes

    Did you know that bounding boxes were invented in 1998? US Patent 6,243,097 http://patft.uspto.gov/…RS=6243097

  • Microsoft agrees to EC’s Windows changes

    Full story is available at computerworld.com http://www.computerworld.com/printthis/2005/0,4814,100709,00.html

  • IE 7.0

    News is a little bit old but does this indicate a trend for trickling Longhorn functionality into XP ? Some snippets from microsoft-watch.com http://www.microsoft-watch.com After claiming for months it would not issue a new version of its Internet Explorer browser until it shipped Longhorn, Microsoft decides to deliver an IE 7.0. In a complete about-face, [...]

  • Audio Documentation

    Thought here is to use one of the small mp3 devices, such as the iPod Shuffle, to store software documentation in an audio format. My shuffle holds approx 8 hours of audio in 512Mb memory (£69). Another version is available with 1Gb memory for £99. Similar audio players are available from other manufacturers with varying [...]

  • Podcasts

    An extract from its wikipedia entry: Podcasting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting “Podcasting” is a web-based broadcast medium. Audio files (most commonly in MP3 format) are made available online in a way that allows software to automatically detect the availability of new files (generally via RSS), and download the files for listening at the user’s convenience. The word “podcasting” [...]

  • iPod

    Podsites- a website for your iPod, or rather a collection of text files and links to other files, including sound and image files, all accessible from your iPod Read all about it here http://www.podsites.com/ So what else can you do on an iPod ?

  • SLI technology

    SLI (Scalable Link Interface) allows your computer to use two video cards etc….. Noticed a couple of machines using Athlon 64 chips and dual GPUs – Mesh Computers Fireblade SLI, Evesham Duel SLi costing around £1500 – is this the way machines are going?

  • Ray Tracing on a Chip

    As noted on SlashDot http://slashdot.org/ Saarland University is showing a prototype of a 3D Raytracing Card at CeBIT2005. The FPGA is clocked at 90 MHz and is 3-5 times faster in raytracing then a Pentium4 CPU with 30 times more MHz Also see SaarCOR – A Hardware Architecture for Real Time Ray Tracing at http://www.saarcor.de/

  • Instant Scene Modeler

    Instant Scene Modeler (iSM) uses a pair of cameras to observe a scene. Each camera is looking at the scene from a slightly different angle and iSM can measure distances to thousands of points in each scene. When the cameras move. iSM will match new images, compute the camera motion and generate a model from [...]

  • Rendering on clusters of workstations

    It’s not for photorealistic but interesting nonetheless. Chromium Homepage at http://chromium.sourceforge.net/