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Software
Software to detect objects inside videos
By Jeff Salton
23:57 November 3, 2009 PST
Researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) are developing software that would enable computers to perform video analysis tasks, such as alerting emergency services if a video surveillance camera detects a person falling and not getting up. The software could also be used to search inside videos and look for certain objects, such as basketballs or footballs, hence reducing the time taken to locate a certain game or scene. Read More
Microsoft launches long awaited Windows 7
By Mick Webb
20:13 October 22, 2009 PDT
After much anticipation and speculation, Microsoft has finally released its long awaited Windows 7 operating system. Aiming to make it easier for users to “do the things they want to do on a PC”, Microsoft’s successor to the largely ill-conceived Vista brings a host of new features to the table. Read More
The interactive 3D Virtual Autopsy Table
By Paul Ridden
16:17 October 20, 2009 PDT
Swedish researchers have developed an interactive touchscreen 3D autopsy table that allows pathologists to examine virtual representations of real bodies in minute detail and from numerous viewing angles. Using data provided by scans of an actual body, the table allows the user to remove layers such as skin and muscle, add or remove tissue and circulatory systems, zoom in and out and cut through sections with a virtual knife. The video below is a "must watch". Read More
CyberLink TrueTheater Enhancer gives YouTube videos a spit and polish
By Darren Quick
01:10 October 16, 2009 PDT
I’ve always considered YouTube an example of “two steps forward, one step back.” Although it has provided a seemingly endless supply of video to keep us entertained, if not informed, it does so with often low quality video at a time when television services around the world have shifted to digital broadcasts offering improved high definition (HD) picture and sound. CyberLink is looking to bridge the divide with its TrueTheater Enhancer software that is designed to give YouTube content a spit and polish. Read More
Belkin’s Easy Transfer Cable for Windows 7 makes upgrading smoother
05:11 October 10, 2009 PDT
Upgrading to a new operating system is a notorious mess — you need to find all of your data and user settings (often spending hours doing so), burn them to a DVD or other support and then copy them all to the new OS. Belkin's "Easy Transfer Cable" for Windows 7, a USB 2.0 cable with accompanying software aims to make the whole process much easier by guiding you through the transfer process, automatically finding your data and settings and streamlining the transition from XP or Vista to the upcoming Windows 7. Read More
That's him, officer - the Police sketch artist evolves
By Darren Quick
23:59 October 6, 2009 PDT
Human memory is a notoriously unreliable thing that can be easily influenced. That’s good news for criminals and bad news for law enforcement agencies that often rely on eyewitnesses to provide a description of a criminal. Around the world, law enforcement agencies employ sketch artists to piece together faces in a process similar to assembling a Mr. Potato Head toy. The witness describes key features, such as hair length, nose size or sharpness of the chin, and the artist combines them to create a likeness. Research into psychology suggests that this kind of method doesn’t take into account how the memory actually works, so researchers have developed new software that helps witnesses recreate and recognize suspects using principles borrowed from the fields of optics and genetics. Read More
Flash 10.1 coming to Windows Mobile, Palm Pre, BlackBerry, Android and Symbian
By Darren Quick
21:36 October 5, 2009 PDT
Adobe claims that Flash content is present on more than 85 percent of the top 100 websites, and that approximately 75 percent of all web-based videos use Flash. In good news for the growing numbers of people accessing the Internet on their mobile phones, Adobe has unveiled its Flash Player 10.1: Full Flash software to bring an integrated Flash experience to browsers on Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, WebOS and Windows Mobile smartphones – but not iPhone. Read More
Google investigating smart charging solution for electric vehicles
By Paul Ridden
02:52 October 5, 2009 PDT
A lesser-known fact about the operator of the world's most popular Internet search engine is that it's been running a small fleet of hybrid vehicles for the past few years to support its effort to reduce CO2 emissions, cut oil use and stabilize the electrical grid by accelerating the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. Google engineers have put the cars through numerous tests to both prove and improve electric vehicle technology whilst publishing the results on the Internet. More recently, Google has confirmed that the fleet is currently running smart software to enable communication between the grid and the vehicles. Read More
Cyber 'ants' patrol PC networks against computer worms and other threats
00:46 September 29, 2009 PDT
In looking for highly efficient ways to solve complex problems, we've often seen researchers mimic the solutions found by nature over billions of years: smart fabrics inspired by pine cones, spectrum analyzers modeled after the human ear and powerful search-and-optimization genetic and evolutionary algorithms, to name just a few. The latest piece of news comes from Wake Forest University, where the group dynamics of ant colonies have inspired security software to fight computer worms and other threats. Read More
DEMO: Xerox 'Color By Words' uses simple language to get great pictures
By Jeff Salton
19:22 September 24, 2009 PDT
If you’re not a graphic designer, you may have struggled in the past to get your personal photos looking their best when relying on your printer’s color adjustment settings. Complex color wheels, sliders, brightness and contrast editors, and highlight tools all look handy – until you try to use them. Xerox has devised Natural Language Color Editing technology that allows you to adjust the colors in your printed documents by accessing plain English phrases. A drop-down Color By Words menu on your computer offers phrases like: ‘Make the blues a lot more vibrant’, which will then do just that across the entire document or image. Combining words can form thousands of different phrases to deliver the results you want. You can watch the demo video below or test drive the technology for yourself via the link at the end of this story. Read More
Freeze your hard disk with the USB Windows Icebox
15:16 September 20, 2009 PDT
Almost every PC user knows about the importance of making regular data backups — often from their own, unfortunate personal experience. But, due to laziness and technical difficulties, only a small percentage of users actually performs regular maintenance other than updating antivirus software. The Windows IceBox is a convenient solution to this problem that plugs into your USB port and immediately freezes changes on your selected hard drive partitions, virtually eliminating the need for maintenance. Read More
Native Instruments announces Komplete 6 bundle for music creation
By Paul Ridden
16:06 September 13, 2009 PDT
Native Instruments has just announced a recession-busting update to its impressive arsenal of digital musical instruments and effects - Komplete 6. The bundle not only comes with improved versions of amp and effects simulator Guitar Rig, the powerful sound manipulator Absynth and over 44Gb of sampling joy in the form of Kontakt, but it's also being offered at a significantly reduced price too. Read More
iTunes 9 gets some worthy additions
By Darren Quick
00:09 September 10, 2009 PDT
Hardware wasn’t the only thing getting attention at Apple’s Rock and Roll event. Apple has also shown its all-conquering iTunes software some love with a slight makeover and a few new features. The iTunes 9 interface now includes a persistent navigation menu for improved store navigation, a full window iTunes store for people who think the sidebar takes up too much room, and the ability to access previews from anywhere in the store instead of having to drill down through many pages. Read More
Frankencamera: Digital cameras get the open source treatment
By Darren Quick
02:15 September 4, 2009 PDT
Open-source started with the Netscape Navigator browser and has expanded to include operating systems for PCs (Linux) and mobile phones (Android). Now photo scientists at Stanford University are out to bring the advantages of open-source development to digital photography with the creation of an open-source digital camera giving programmers around the world the chance to create software that will teach cameras new tricks. Read More
Logitech C600 webcam and Vid calling software review
By Darren Quick
17:01 August 13, 2009 PDT
Logitech recently released a raft of new webcams and we've spent the last week putting the C600 through its paces. Despite the fact that the unit offers superior imaging capabilities over the little black circle above the screen on my laptop, it wasn’t the webcam itself that impressed most, but the included Logitech Vid software. But we’ll get to that. First to the webcam. Read More
Fragrance abuse - the next internet phenomenon
By Paul Ridden
17:26 July 7, 2009 PDT
Japanese telecommunications company NTT Com is currently seeking volunteers to test a pungent bit of kit which produces different smells at the request of programs downloaded from the Internet. There will be two separate trials of the i-Aroma conducted in Japan from mid-July to the end of August. One course will send out smells matching "the rhythm of daily life" while the other will release odors based on an ancient astrological system. Read More
Magic Lantern unofficial firmware for the EOS 5D Mark II shows Canon how it's done
By Darren Quick
17:06 July 1, 2009 PDT
Canon might want to consider putting a certain Trammell Hudson on the payroll. Hudson has developed an enhancement to the firmware of the Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR camera to make the already impressive camera an even more attractive option for shooting professional video. Dubbed ‘Magic Lantern’, the new firmware includes both audio and video fixes and is a completely open platform, meaning users are free to extend the Magic Lantern firmware themselves. Read More
Using math to combat jet lag
By Darren Quick
00:14 June 24, 2009 PDT
Research has established that exposure to light is the key to resetting the body’s internal clock to overcome the effects of jetlag. We’ve seen a number of devices that utilize this knowledge such as the Litebook and LED light glasses. Now researchers have developed a software program that could increase the effectiveness of such devices by prescribing a regimen for timed light exposure. Read More
Mac OS X Snow Leopard set for September release
By Darren Quick
03:57 June 9, 2009 PDT
Since Snow Leopard, aka OS X 10.6, was previewed at last year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) Mac users have been waiting patiently for release details. Now, courtesy of this year’s WWDC, they have them. With most of the improvements of the under-the-hood variety, the upgrade for Mac OS Leopard users will be available from September at the Global Financial Crisis friendly price of USD$29. Read More
Efficient Load - Optimal road freight trip and load planning
By Mike Hanlon
16:19 May 13, 2009 PDT
How can companies maximize truck capacity utilization and at the same time plan trips so that the burden on the environment and transport costs are reduced? A new software system couples cargo space utilization and trip planning, to optimize transshipment, order combination, loading sequence and route planning. An up-and-running version which can be integrated into existing trip planning software is expected by the end of 2009. Read More
NVIDIA SLI Multi-OS empowers world’s first virtualized graphics workstation
By Darren Quick
00:19 April 1, 2009 PDT
NVIDIA has introduced the NVIDIA SLI Multi-OS, a technology that allows users and visualization applications, for the first time, to take full advantage of multiple NVIDIA Quadro GPUs from a single graphics workstation in a virtualized environment. NVIDIA claims their new technology provides application performance nearly identical to systems configured with a dedicated operating system and GPU while delivering cost savings, more efficient workflow and maximized productivity in markets such as digital content creation, sciences, manufacturing, and oil and gas. Read More
Dell’s all-in-one Studio One 19 PC with multi-touch
By Darren Quick
20:46 March 12, 2009 PDT
Dell has embraced the migration of the PC from the study with their new all-in-one Studio One 19 system that is designed to be as home in the living room or kitchen as it is in the study. The new system features optional multi-touch and facial recognition security capabilities, the option of Intel Celeron, Dual Core Celeron, Pentium Dual Core, Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad Core Processors, either nVidia GeForce 9200 or GeForce 9400 integrated graphics and up to 4GB of RAM. Read More
Disney Star Guitarist: Guitar Hero with a real guitar
By Tim Hanlon
13:01 January 14, 2009 PST
US Music Corp., parent company of several music brands including Washburn Guitars, have partnered with Disney to create the Disney Star suite of applications - which unlike console-based music games, will teach children to play a real guitar or piano using familiar songs from Disney franchises like Hannah Montana and High School Musical. Read More
Roland's DT-HD1 drum tutorial software will teach you to play the drums
By Tim Hanlon
22:36 January 10, 2009 PST
While it's awfully easy to sit in front of Guitar Hero or Rock Band for hours on end, having the discipline to practise a real instrument for the long hours required to reach proficiency (and mastery) is much harder. Roland's Drum Tutorial DT-HD1 is the first of many products we've seen at CES 2009 that will help change this. Read More
GarageBand '09 will teach you how to play guitar and piano
By Tim Hanlon
10:52 January 6, 2009 PST
Today at MacWorld 2009, Apple unveiled the next feature to be added to their entry-level music production application GarageBand, that is sure to capitalize on the mass of budding musicians created by games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. The software ships with nine included lessons for the guitar and piano, and an integrated store that allows you to buy "Artist Lessons" from famous musicians such as Sting and John Fogerty. Read More
Jonathan Cole
- November 6, 2009 @ 16:15 UTC
