There’s nothing I like more than the application of augmented reality, especially when mixed with a healthy doses of VR. What you are seeing here in the picture and the video after the jump is an Augmented Reality Weather helmet from Magic Vision Lab. Using a head tracker and some particle graphics, the user can see what inclement weather would look like in real-time on clear and sunny day. As you watch the video, you can see the snow fall, but it is falling from a blue sky. The same goes for the hail, but it looks a bit more realistic as the hail can actually be seen staying on the grass. I wonder how long it would take before the ground turns white. Could it do the bad weather over time? As for the rain, it comes in three forms, one is a small drizzle, the other is a light shower, and then the last being heavy rain. What really amazed me is how it can do stormy weather, with thunder and lightning. Now, I am not really certain what you would use this for. I suppose it could ...
I am definitely in need of a new electronic screwdriver, as this old Wal-Mart one seems to have out-lasted its short life. If I waited long enough, perhaps this Neutral Power Drill designed by Tim Bennett will become a reality. Not only is it an electronic screwdriver, but it also includes a stud finder and a laser level. I believe that the laser level is found in the small black rectangle located just below the screwdriver bit. I have honestly never used a laser level before, so I wouldn’t know too much about that, which is the same as the stud finder. This screwdriver thing works by a slide back head. I would imagine that if you knew what you are doing, you can find the stud, set up a level place to put a screw, and then put it in. As you can probably tell from my last two paragraphs, I don’t really know what I am doing with a tool like this. Still, I wouldn’t mind having one of these things to make me a handier handyman. The inventor has entered this particular...
Some of you might remember when we reported on the Misa Digital Kitara, a guitar that has no strings. As I recall, it exchanged the literal guitar strings for a touchscreen. I’m not certain what this Hyper Touch Guitar has replaced the strings with a touchscreen, and it is also the guitar without any strings, just like Pinocchio. The design of the Hyper Touch Guitar is one that enables the user to change the setup of the instrument at the touch of a button, so one can go from six-string to twelve-string. I’m sure you all remember those guitars from seventies and eighties bands with the two necks, and it Hyper Touch makes certain you can have that sound and still travel light. Of course, this Hyper Touch Guitar merely a concept for now. This is one of those times where I would love to have a time machine and show people from earlier times what a guitar of the future will look like. Although I can’t help but wonder if lute players from the Middle Ages would be impress...
Popcornflix.com launched a few days ago and I already had a chance to check it out. Popcornflix is a new online digital platform that allows movie lovers to watch ton of fun movies for free online, anywhere in the U.S. The service will expand internationally in the coming months, and eventually almost everywhere movie viewing platforms are available, including web-enabled TVs, DVD players and set-top boxes. Popcornflix.com made it easy to browse and select from hundreds of movies, including Comedy, Family, Drama, Horror, Spanish-language films, documentaries and more, all with a pretty easy user interface. Movie lovers can choose a movie by type, the name of an actor or director or simply by selecting a title from the latest in new arrivals, or you can search for all the films featuring your favorite star, but best of all, Popcornflix allows users to share films with friends and family by posting a link instantly to their Facebook or Twitter account. Cool. Yes, Popcornflix is an ad-su...
There’s a panic button included in MARTUS, a software program designed by a California based nonprofit called Benetech. The actual program is designed to covertly store data about human rights abuses in countries around the world, were talking serious abuses, like murder and torture. It was ultimately designed to assist human rights workers worldwide who are collecting just such information and using it to document human injustice in nations run by vicious dictators in the hopes that someday they will be held accountable for their actions. MARTUS is easy to use, you simply download the program on a laptop and fill in the blanks to provide a database. Then it’s all automatically encrypted and stored in the cloud on remote servers away from the very people that would want to harm you if you got caught with such information. The panic button feature is to use in emergencies only, like if you’ve collected sensitive data and youre about to be taken into custody by paramil...
Okay, so first the regular stuff, the camera looks cool, it’s very slim, has a shiny front panel and easily fits in a pocket or purse. It enjoys 16 megapixel resolution. It comes packed with a four-times zoom for a little up close action and a pretty responsive 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen to page through your photos and change your camera settings. But, purchase the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP7 digital camera, and you’ll find that it makes you look better, literally. Using built-in Beauty Retouch modes, this camera actually has the ability to soften some wrinkles, reduce shine, whiten your teeth and give you a rosy glow all with the touch of a button. The DMC-FP7‘s make-up mode gives you color options such as foundation, eye-shadow or coloring for the lips and cheeks. Seriously? Will this sucker make me 10 pounds thinner too? The DMC-FP7 is the perfect camera, for your perfect life. You don’t ever have to take a bad picture again, now if we can just find a camera that will ma...
Your digital life is constantly changing, and one new way to manage it, is with Gogobeans, a company which allows you to store information in a digital locker in the cloud and then easily share it by “bouncing” a bean to the person you’re looking to share with. Now Gogobeans is offering a new shake to bounce application to its existing content sharing platform. Shake to bounce allows you to share content with your friends just by shaking your mobile handsets to connect to each other and then to share. It doesn’t even matter if you’re both in the same room or on the other side of the world. You can share your files, photos, music, web pages, contacts, or any content you have online. Sharing your stuff with friends, family and co-workers really can’t get much easier and Gogobeans works across devices, operating systems AND networks. Using their iPhone, iPad or Android apps, you can be bouncing and shaking away. Soon they will also have Blackberry and Windows....