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GeekTech Podcasts: The Nerdier Side of CES (PC World) : Technet |
- GeekTech Podcasts: The Nerdier Side of CES (PC World)
- BlackBerry Storm 3 Spy Pics and Specs Revealed [REPORT] (Mashable)
- HANDS ON: A Paintbrush Stylus for iPad [VIDEO] (Mashable)
- Tunisia Protests: The Facebook Revolution (The Daily Beast)
- Why the Future of Online Video Is in Serious Trouble [OP-ED] (Mashable)
- Empire Online invades iOS App Store (Macworld)
- Researchers Create Software for Designing Genetic Circuits (PC World)
| GeekTech Podcasts: The Nerdier Side of CES (PC World) Posted: 15 Jan 2011 11:33 AM PST The GeekTech Blog Crew convenes again after recovering from CES! Join us as we discuss some of our favorite gadgets and happenings from this year's show. Learn about Nvidia's keg PC, Razer's portable PC gaming concept, and more, and get a taste of what it's like to be a journalist covering the show. You can also stream the podcast via QuickTime: Subscribe to the PCWorld Podcast on iTunes or via the PCWorld Podcast RSS feed. You can reach us at iTunes. Need your daily fill of geek? Follow David Daw (@DavidHDaw), Nick Mediati (@dtnick), Armando Rodriguez (@megapenguinx), and Alex Wawro (@awawro). Or, follow GeekTech on Twitter or Facebook, or subscribe to our RSS feed. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| BlackBerry Storm 3 Spy Pics and Specs Revealed [REPORT] (Mashable) Posted: 15 Jan 2011 03:34 AM PST The BlackBerry Storm 3 has been whispered about and wondered about for months, but now there's a murky trio of spy pics of RIM's elusive smartphone for you to peruse. A massive leak uncovered many of the mysteries of this upcoming smartphone from Research In Motion, said by BGR to be on its way in September. With its Storm line, Blackberry bumbled the buggy first launch and nailed the second, so if the Storm 3 is anything like its respected predecessor the BlackBerry Storm 2, it might be worth the wait. Looking a lot like last year's iPhone with a bulbous back, the most impressive feature of the alleged BlackBerry flagship is the highest-resolution screen ever seen on a BlackBerry, 800x480 pixels, big numbers that mean its resolution is getting close to iPhone's lofty "retina display" territory.
Check with BGR for the entire list of specs, but suffice to say this will be running a 1.2GHz CPU -- it's unknown if it's a dual-core chip, but that's plenty quick for smartphone these days. Now all we need to find out is how much this handset will cost and which service providers will be likely to carry it. What about it, commenters? Will it be worth it to wait until September for the BlackBerry Storm 3? Images courtesy of BGR Disclosure: RIM was a sponsor of Mashable Awards. |
| HANDS ON: A Paintbrush Stylus for iPad [VIDEO] (Mashable) Posted: 15 Jan 2011 08:49 AM PST
This week, I had a chance to review the Nomad Brush, a beautiful, handcrafted stylus designed for painting and sketching on the iPad. The stylus feels and looks like an actual paintbrush, complete with a 5.5-inch wooden handle and a mix of natural and synthetic fibers selected for their conductive properties. When I first came across this demo video of the stylus last week, I was skeptical that the iPad's touchscreen surface would be able to pick up the stylus's soft bristles, but I'm happy to report that the iPad easily responds to the touch. It allows for free-flowing brush strokes much like a real paintbrush, and an elegance of line I was previously unable to achieve using my fingers or a regular stylus. Since we've only used the brush for a day, we can neither guarantee that it will work a year or even a month from now with heavy use, nor whether the bristles will hold their shape. (As a side note, we're still looking for a way to keep those bristles intact while traveling; I plan to use my standard canvas brush holder in the meantime.) Given how much we plan to use the thing, we should have a pretty good idea of how it holds up by the time the brush goes on sale in early February. The Nomad Brush was conceived by Don Lee, a 39-year-old architect based in New York. After 14 years as an architect, Lee decided to take a year-long break from his profession "to rejuvenate [his] creative side," he explains. As part of the rejuvenation process, Lee took up sketching on the iPad. "The finger is by far the most efficient way to navigate the iPad, but when it came to sketching, I just couldn't get used to it," Lee says. "As a problem solver by nature, I started to tinker and found a solution, and that's how the Nomad Brush came about." At launch, only a black version with a 5.5-inch handle will be available for purchase, followed by a version with a white handle. In the future, Lee plans to create additional versions with varying brush head sizes and handle lengths. Pricing has not yet been disclosed, though given that each stylus is hand made, we expect it will be a bit pricier than the typical stylus. In the meantime, check out our hands-on video below.
Video
More Gadget Demos from Mashable:- HANDS ON: 10 New Tablets Ready to Challenge the iPad [VIDEOS] - Hands On With Vizio's Android-Powered Devices [VIDEO] - DEMO: BlackBerry Playbook Tablet [VIDEO] - Hands On With Vizio's Android-Powered Devices [VIDEO] - Nintendo 3DS: Hands-On and First Impressions [PICS] |
| Tunisia Protests: The Facebook Revolution (The Daily Beast) Posted: 15 Jan 2011 08:29 AM PST |
| Why the Future of Online Video Is in Serious Trouble [OP-ED] (Mashable) Posted: 14 Jan 2011 03:50 PM PST The Social Analyst is a column by Mashable Co-Editor Ben Parr, where he digs into social media trends and how they are affecting companies in the space. Google is preparing for war with Apple and Microsoft over the future of web video, and the rest of will be caught in the crossfire. Earlier this week, Google quietly announced that WebM and Ogg Theora, which are supported by Mozilla and Opera. What Google hoped would be a small footnote turned into a tidal wave of criticism. Google was chastised for turning its back on "open innovation" by dropping a more widely used codec for a lesser-used one. Compounded by the fact that Google is a strong supporter of Adobe and Flash, and it's easy to see why the firestorm started in the first place.
Why Is Google Against H.264?
After several days of being slammed in the media, Google finally responded and wrote the post it should have written in the first place. First, Google's Mike Jazayeri clarified that Google Chrome would only stop supporting H.264 in HTML5, not in Flash or other forms of media. Then he dove into the problem surrounding the HTML5 tag: "As it stands, the organizations involved in defining the HTML video standard are at an impasse. There is no agreement on which video codec should be the baseline standard. Firefox and Opera support the open WebM and Ogg Theora codecs and will not support H.264 due to its licensing requirements; Safari and IE9 support H.264. With this status quo, all publishers and developers using the tag will be forced to support multiple formats." Google has come to the conclusion that there will never be agreement on H.264, since it is proprietary technology owned by MPEG LA, a firm that forms and licenses patent pools. Thus the search giant decided to draw a line in the sand and double down on the WebM. WebM, for those of you who may not remember, is the open codec/standard for web video created by Google. Unlike H.264, WebM/VP8's patents have been released royalty-free. Apple and Microsoft are part of H.264's patent pool, as are companies like Sony, Sharp, Cisco, LG Electronics, Hp, Toshiba and Dolby. Absent from the list: Mozilla and Google. The tech titan also addressed the criticism that it should have selected H.264 as its baseline codec because of its wider adoption: "To use and distribute H.264, browser and OS vendors, hardware manufacturers, and publishers who charge for content must pay significant royalties—with no guarantee the fees won't increase in the future. To companies like Google, the license fees may not be material, but to the next great video startup and those in emerging markets these fees stifle innovation." Google also argued in its response that a community development process is superior to one where multiple parties have incentives to collect patent royalties.
Neither Side Will BudgeWhile Google may not have intended to start a war, it has essentially drawn the battle lines and made it clear that there will be no compromise. On the one hand, you have Google, Opera, Mozilla and and its WebM allies, which include WinAmp, Skype, AMD, Broadcom, Qualcomm, Logitech and Nvidia. On the other hand, you have the participants of the H.264 patent pool. There isn't a single company that is part of both WebM and H.264. The final paragraph of Google's response may be the most telling thing in this whole affair, though: "Bottom line, we are at an impasse in the evolution of HTML video. Having no baseline codec in the HTML specification is far from ideal. This is why we're joining others in the community to invest in WebM and encouraging every browser vendor to adopt it for the emerging HTML video platform (the WebM Project team will soon release plugins that enable WebM support in Safari and IE9 via the HTML standard tag). Our choice was to make a decision today and invest in open technology to move the platform forward, or to accept the status quo of a fragmented platform where the pace of innovation may be clouded by the interests of those collecting royalties. Seen in this light, we are choosing to bet on the open web and are confident this decision will spur innovation that benefits users and the industry." Google says that it hopes that the other browsers will adopt WebM, but it's clear they already know that won't happen. Why else would Google build Safari and IE 9 plugins to add WebM support into those browsers? The inability for both sides to compromise will almost certainly stifle the growth of innovation surrounding HTML5 video. Why would anybody invest time and money into a technology that will only work in some browsers, when Flash is guaranteed to work in all browsers (except Mobile Safari)? Unless both sides find a way to compromise, the future of web video will continue to be in Adobe's hands. We doubt either side is going to budge anytime soon. The citizens of the web will end up being the losers of this affair. |
| Empire Online invades iOS App Store (Macworld) Posted: 15 Jan 2011 09:00 AM PST On Saturday, the English language version of Asia's largest massively-multiplayer online role-playing game launched on the App Store. Empire Online, developed by Lakoo, is an anime-inspired adventure title that tasks players with building their own handheld kingdom. Free-to-play and swimming in nostalgia for classic RPGs, Empire Online looks ready to conquer the North American market. For many, the golden age of role-playing games was the early 90's. Games like Chrono Trigger, The Secret of Mana, and Final Fantasy 3 gave the era a distinctive artistic and gameplay flavor that has influenced developers ever since. With the iPhone and iPod Touch, these distinctive icons of gaming lore have experienced a welcomed revival. Now, developers like Lakoo are proving that iOS gamers don't have to just be satisfied with ports of famous titles—Lakoo is producing some pretty compelling new, original titles to breathe new life into the platform. According to Lakoo's press materials, Empire Online already has over 5 million users in Asia and Australia. When you first start the game, it's not hard to see why. The graphics, avatars, and artwork are all reminiscent of early SNES RPGs, right down to the instance-focused turn-based combat system. Like any good role-playing game, Empire Online emphasizes customization. With four races (Eastland, Nordic, Atlantis and Maya), five classes, and hundreds of item to find, the possibilities for creation are substantial. Players can start out as a warrior, kung-fu fighter, wizard, hunter or shaman—each with its own unique set of abilities. Players can gain access to power-ups, special outfits, crafts, pets, and magic items in order to augment their standard attacks. But even though the game seems like it posseses a standard RPG class structure, Lakoo promises players can learn skills across all class types—regardless of their chosen profession. Despite some retro graphics and cute artwork, Lakoo also promises a rigorous tutorial to ensure players understand the complex systems at work in the game. Players will first learn the essences of battling, quests, chat, equipment and empire-building when first entering the game. While the beginning stages behave similarly for all users, other areas in the game are constantly getting updates. Limited-time and special occurrence events can happen at certain parts of the game, like seeing a Christmas tree and unique holiday-themed mission around the holidays. The object of the game is to build your own empire and you can both compete against your fellow players (in one vs one, pvp combat) as well as ask for their help. By having players join your party, the group becomes stronger and can take on bosses more easily. But by joining another party (there's a limit of 5 per party) you lose control over your player's movement as a singular leader takes the rains of the group of adventurers. The game is free-to-play with the possibility of purchasing special bonuses in-app. According to Lakoo, you'll be able to earn certain coins from defeating enemies, but special silver coins can only be purchased through in-app purchase. These coins can go towards leveling up your character character and improving their stats. Kin Ko, CEO of Lakoo, wants to emphasize, however, that players can still play and gain success in the game without using in app-purchases. It may just require a bit more time and patience. "We can't wait to give English-language players the keys to the kingdom. You won't believe how many MMO elements we can fit on a smartphone," explains Ko. With over 5 million users in the Asian market and a strong RPG market in North America, there's good reason for Lakoo to be excited about the launch of the English-language version of Empire Online. Whether the game can repeat its epic success in the brutal American market, however, remains to be seen. |
| Researchers Create Software for Designing Genetic Circuits (PC World) Posted: 15 Jan 2011 10:53 AM PST Creating your own genetic circuits may sound like science fiction, but that's what they said about the sun being the center of the galaxy. Researchers the University of California, San Francisco, along with the company Life Technologies, are working together to create the first software that would let bioengineers (and mad-scientists) design complete genetic circuits. Technology Review has a video and the scoop on the latest in building pathways that cells use to run a task. Basically, genes, proteins and other molecules would use these pathways to do things like turn sugar into fuel or make a certain drug for pharmaceuticals. Voigt and his team say that with their software, designing a microbe for a particular task will be like writing a new computer program (DNA++?). Be sure to give the full story a read. That's great and all, but I think I'll have to wait a couple more years for the smartphone version (ahem). Like this? You may also enjoy...
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