Tag: Technology
Microsoft shows off in-development video version of Photosynth
We’ve already been awed by Microsoft’s Photosynth technology but now, rather impressively, the company has managed to extend the functionality to video. It’s not available to the public yet, but in the video above you can see Microsoft demonstrating the functionality to Techcrunch.
It uses services like Qik, which stream live video from mobile devices, to switch together multiple video streams of the same thing into one big picture. The obvious example is something like a festival or concert, where hundreds of people might be eagerly filming the same thing.
Given how long it took for Microsoft to release Photosynth, though, it might be a wee while before you and I are allowed onto the service ourselves. In the meantime, we’ll have to stick with the still-life version, available here.
Micron Technology promises 1GB/s+ SSD drive within a year
Micron Technology is an American company wthat makes various semiconductor devices – RAM, flash memory, etc. It’s just announced that it reckons it will be able to build a blazing-fast Solid State Drive before the end of next year that’ll be able to transfer data at rates of up to 1GB/s.
Currently, they’ve managed to hit 800MB/s throughput, and 150,000 – 160,000 random reads per second. They’re hoping to get that latter figure up to 200,000. For comparison, the current fastest-available SSD, from Intel, can do 250MB/s data transfers and just 35,000 operations per second.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that this tech will be in your laptop next year. It’ll take a little while longer than that, and initially only be available for servers, but if anything, it shows that the rapid pace of innovation continues in the world of flash storage.
Micron Technology (via Computer World)
Top 10 Tuesday: Blurry Spy Shots of Gadgets
The art of the tech spy shot is a sophisticated one. There are a few rules that must be followed. Firstly, the product must be unreleased. Secondly, the product must be eagerly anticipated by at least a few people. Thirdly, and most importantly, when you take the shot, you have to shake your arm around as much as you possibly can, so that no-one can remotely see what's going on…
Toshiba controversially announces their new 1080p upscaling technology will rival Blu-ray
Early June a rumour emerged that Toshiba would be launching a new attack on Sony, via the magic of new ‘upscaling’ technology. Of course, this is nothing new, with Toshiba themselves working on similar products for “some considerable years, at least 3-5 years”, with DVD players, TVs and now laptops containing the upscaling chips, plus with their ‘Super-resolution’ imagery where SD-content is upscaled via an interpolation algorithm to 1080p.
However, today at a London event, Toshiba formally announced upscaling would be their next plan of attack on Sony, claiming they would be focussing on “taking standard content, and displaying in HD format”. This technology, upscaling standard definition content, such as a DVD, to a higher resolution, has long been controversial for not even comparing to the real high-def experience that comes via Blu-ray, or HD DVD…
Up close with the Sony BRAVIA range: Part 4: Sound
Sony has paid just as much attention to how their TVs reproduce audio as they have with how the picture looks.
If you’ve ever complained that actors seem to be mumbling, or that the background music or noise is louder than the dialogue, then Voice Zoom could be a boon. It allows the viewer to boost the frequencies associated with the human voice, making it much easier to follow conversation and narration.
Most BRAVIA TVs feature Dolby’s virtual surround sound technologies, with top-of-the-range sets also having Sony’s exclusive S-Force Front Surround. Both simulate 5.1 channel surround sound from just the two in-built speakers. Paired with this is the BBE VIVA system which enhances fidelity and dialogue in 3D sound, and reduces echo…
Digital Summer Special: Hot Gadgets Alert!
As a special Bank Holiday treat (with the likelihood that the weather will be anything but summery) here’s a look at some of the hottest products coming over the next couple of months, from top manufacturers you know and a few you probably won’t…
Japanese technology can measure your smile… cheer up!
Possibly a predecessor of the computer which can measure attractiveness, new Japanese technology is able to measure someone’s smile on a scale of nought to 100.
Firstly, video images are scanned to detect faces, and then the computer analyses the curves of the lips, eye movement, and other facial characteristics, to decide how much a person is smiling…
Britain's Museum of Computing could be evicted, scrap tech on the scrap heap
Five years after its inception, the Museum of Computing could be about to close due to the University of Bath leaving the Oakfield campus in Swindon, where the collection of old tech is housed.
The museum houses over 2,000 exhibits, 85% of which still work, along with piles of software, books, manuals, magazines, and other paraphernalia…
Robots to take over the world! Or, perhaps, just help you solve The Times' crossword
Relax! Intelligent robots and computers aren’t going to take over the human race ((at least, I don’t think so), but they are likely to get a lot more advanced, and could well end up providing a built-in intelligence boost for us mere mortals.
According to Ray Kurzweil — one of 18 influential thinkers chosen by the US National Academy of Engineering to identify the great technological challenges facing humanity in the 21st century — by the year 2029, machines will have artificial intelligence as advanced as humans.
(Or the year 2016 to match Sun readers. Ouch! Kidding!)
Opinion: "If it weren't for technology, I wouldn't get my Mum sending me a homemade Christmas cake every Chrimbo"
Katherine Hannaford writes…
Being voluntarily ejected from the Australian womb close to four years ago, staying connected with my family is of huge importance to me. Thank goodness my parents and sister don’t expect me to write long-winded letters like we would’ve done had I left 20 years ago, as obviously with the invent of email and IM every man and his dog has access to that form of communication. Except for my grandmother, but that’s something I’m working on.
What I’m talking about however is other ways in which technology has improved my relationship with my family, through the use of the Xbox 360 Live, Skype, web-camming, YouTube, various social networks and blogs, and a very clever way of using Twitter.
Take a look below for how technology has ensured I still receive a knitted scarf and homemade Christmas cake at the end of every year from my family back in Australia…
