Cars...
Posted by bordalix Sun, 31 Dec 2006 18:20:00 GMT
No support for the new Sony AVCHD
Posted by bordalix Sun, 31 Dec 2006 17:42:00 GMT
Warning! If you intend to buy a new Sony camcorder, with AVCHD capabilities, think twice: there is no support for this codec, neither in Windows or Mac.
My girlfriend's father bought the new Sony HDR-SR1 (with 30GB harddisk) for a journey, recorded more than 300 clips, and now he can't do anything with it! Windows or Mac are not able to play (or edit) any of those clips, due to the lack of the proper codec.
He requested my help, so I searched for the codec in the web, just to find out that there are a lot of people complaining about the same issue. I drop the search when I found out that Sony itself does not support it in is own software. The solution? My girlfriend's father will have to wait for the spring. Now, imagine his face when I told him that.
In fact, this should be one of the worst years in Sony's life: look at the evidences. The Sony camcorders with AVCHD support are the new HDR-UX1 and the HDR-SR1. Beware.
5 games to think about
Posted by bordalix Thu, 28 Dec 2006 19:13:00 GMT
Still alive after last week home experiments? Good. Now is time to think about some issues (political & ecological) the best way I know how: by playing with it.
The following is a short compilation of web games from Water Cooler Games and Social Impact Games websites. Play it, share it, think about it:
- Home Water Conservation - "Waterbusters" - A game to teach tips for water conservation around the home;
- Darfur is Dying - In partnership with the Reebock Human Rights Foundation and the International Crisis Group, mtvU launched the Darfur Digital Activist Content, a competiton briging together student technology and activism to help end the genocide in Darfur. The game is a narrative-based simultaion where the user, from the perspective of a displaced Darfurian, negotiates forces that threated the surevival of his or her refugee camp. It offers a faint glimpse of ewhat it's like for 2.5 million who have been internally displaced by the crisis in Sudan;
- McDonald's game - The McDonald's game from Molleindustria. Be sure to try out the Italian version of the website, as a Pope Speaking Generator can be found here;
- Cyberbudget-France - The French government has taken a gaming approach to try and find a solution to the country's financial challenges. Budget Minister Jean-Francois Cope has launched an online Cyberbudget game that allows people to balance the books. The challenge is to ensure the €300 billion budget is spent wisely and that if tax cuts are made then services do not fall into deficit. There are a range of tests to face, including having to present the budget to a virtual parliament;
- "Madrid" - An online game expressing feelings about the March 11, 2004 train bombings. The game was online less than 48 hours after the incident.
Application of the year
Posted by bordalix Thu, 28 Dec 2006 00:39:00 GMT
Keyboard Cleaner, via melo.Music for free
Posted by bordalix Wed, 27 Dec 2006 00:29:00 GMT
Totally legal, more than 190.000 licensed Creative Commons tracks.
Jamendo allows artists to promote and publish their music. Artists have the opportunity to show their creativity, and the public has a place to listen to, download, and share new music.
If you find an album that you like, you can share it on your blog, write a review, or donate directly to the artist. Some artists will even include the list of people who donated in the booklet of their forthcoming albums. A great site for both artists and fans. Everybody wins, except for the big record labels of course.
Merry Christmas from 2030
Posted by bordalix Fri, 22 Dec 2006 18:40:00 GMT
A short journey to the future. Merry Christmas!Fun materials
Posted by bordalix Fri, 22 Dec 2006 18:32:00 GMT
To keep us amused during the holidays, Tom from the New Scientist Technology Blog has compiled a short list of fun materials - stuff that behaves a little bit outside the norm - with instructions to do it at home.
Here goes a short version of the original article:
- Dilatants, also knows as Non-Newtonian fluids, so named because it's properties cannot be described in terms of the concepts of classical fluids. For instance, they get more solid when stressed;
- Auxetic material - materials that get thicker when stretched. Pull them in one direction and they expand in another;
- Superfluids - liquids that flow without friction. They can effortlessly flow through the tiniest of cracks and will even flow up the walls of a beaker and out the top;
- Ferrofluids - magnetic fluids that can look spectacular. They're made from nanoscale magnetic particles suspended in a liquid;
- Dry ice. Carbon dioxide freezes at -78.5 °C and it's fun and versatile stuff:
Skype users to get lie detectors
Posted by bordalix Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:33:00 GMT
After developing SAM (Skype Answer Machine), KishKish has developed the first lie detector for Skype. You can get it here.
It analyses audio streams over a Skype call in real time and illustrates the stress levels of the other person. As well as operating in real time the KishKish device can also record calls for analysis later.
Net neutrality
Posted by bordalix Mon, 18 Dec 2006 18:59:00 GMT
This is not my first post about Network Neutrality, neither the second, but since I crossed with this couple of videos in YouTube, I decided to take another try, and share them with you.
The first video is from one against Net Neutrality:
And here, the other face of the coin, a video defending Net Neutrality:
Which do you prefer?
Backseat games
Posted by bordalix Tue, 05 Dec 2006 14:35:00 GMT
Backseat Games is a research project at the Mobility Studio at the Interactive Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. The project focuses on creating mobile augmented reality games to be used by children travelling on the back seat of cars. The aim, to terminate with the "Are we there yet?". How? This way:
The game turns churches, bridges and other roadside objects into a fantasy land filled with virtual creatures, treasures and adventure. By pointing the gaming device towards objects as they pass by, players can defend themselves against attacking creatures, pick up magic artifacts or collaborate with players in meeting traffic.
So far the project team has developed two prototypes and is working on a third one.
In Backseat Gaming, a Pocket PC is equipped with a digital compass and a GPS-receiver to connect the game to the surrounding world. The real world acts as the gaming space, and the game content has clear connections to the roadside objects seen outside the windows of the vehicle. The game consists of a framing story and a set of game locations where local stories are told. The player can catch attacking creatures and pick up virtual objects that exist in the vicinity of specific roadside-objects. Watch a video clip< from a user test.
The second prototype, Road Rager, is a multiplayer game, which uses wireless ad-hoc peer-to-peer networking technology to enable game-play between car passengers as they come within each others vicinity. Contingent traffic encounters such as rapid meetings, protracted overtaking or gatherings, i.e. traffic jams or red light accumulations constitute an essential part of the experience of travelling along a road. Road Rager focuses on using these contingent traffic encounters to create a fun and compelling mobile game. The game is developed on a WLAN equipped PDA and uses a Bluetooth GPS-receiver to locate the player’s geographical position. Watch a video clip from a user test.
The third and current running project, Backseat Playground, uses a GPS-receiver, a handheld computer, and headphones, all connected to a laptop in the trunk of the car to create an in-car gaming experience developed around an interactive game which corresponds to the vehicle’s real-world route. The game begins with a radio newsflash relayed by the handheld computer. This radio newsflash places the passenger at the start of a murder mystery or a werewolf thriller. As the car travels along its route, the player receives further phone calls and walkie-talkie messages from characters in the game. The overall purpose of the game is to create a gaming experience where narrative episodes and embedded gameplay combine with the experience of travelling through the road network. To learn more check out the video.
Older posts: 1 2
ArticlesSightings
