Hi
A hefty crop this week…
Stuff I picked up on the web this past week:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/12/trouble-at-twitter-u-s-visitors-down-8-percent-in-october/
Finally – the Twitter bubble is starting to burst. I was asking myself how long this foolishness will last. I mean, really – only 140 chars? come on…
http://gizmodo.com/5404086/10-human-functions-weve-already-handed-over-to-the-machines/gallery
Robots – you like them and fear them at the same time…
http://gizmodo.com/5403457/10-iphone-apps-to-augment-your-sad-reality/gallery
AR recap on the iPhone.
My 2 cents: this is getting old… and everyone are doing the same thing. Innovation is needed.
http://gizmodo.com/5403646/what-is-this
10 bucks if you guess what this is
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/16/foursquare-api/
We GOTTA do something with this. This is a hot (and interesting) buzz out there: social-location.
http://lifehacker.com/5405684/apostropheme-explains-when-you-really-need-apostrophes
And let that be a lesson for you.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/16/youtube-direct-gives-news-orgs-a-way-to-accept-user-submitted-videos/
Another cool new thing to integrate with
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/11/16/samsung-announces-new-android-powered-galaxy-spica-i5700/
More android love from Samsung!
http://gizmodo.com/5407454/microsofts-bag+based-computer-interface-for-poking
Microsoft – not so soft… finger-press based interface
http://gizmodo.com/5407319/nokias-n+series-will-ditch-symbian-for-maemo-by-2012
Let’s do something with Maemo!
http://lifehacker.com/5407010/refine-your-image-search-with-google-image-swirl
Try it – it’s cute.
http://gizmodo.com/5407245/the-true-google-phone-may-be-coming-soon
Google on the move into mobile phones, that was anticipated. But looks like the schedule is being pulled back
See ya’ll next week!
Roy.
Hi
Stuff I picked up on the web the last week:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/05/on-the-go-mobile-coupons-almost-as-cool-as-minority-report-not-quite-as-creepy/
AT&T bust out a new mobile-ads concept, watch the video. It’s an idea we already had, but here it is – in the flesh.
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20091106/microsoft-college-tour-09/
Microsoft taking natural UI forward.
http://gizmodo.com/5400305/even-god-runs-windows-xp
Very thick fog as advertising space – nice!
http://gizmodo.com/5400932/the-history-of-computing-video-shows-why-we-are-doomed
A video trying to explain the amount of data we are going to be exposed to in the near future
http://gizmodo.com/5400618/magic-volumes-have-three-different-magic-shadows
Shadow art can be cool!
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/10/google-go-language/
Google tightens the knot on programmers.
http://gizmodo.com/5402027/video-nokias-vision-of-mobile-devices-in-2015
See what Nokia thinks of the mobile experience in 2015: Social-Augmented-Reality (2:35), Social-Location (1:00), All-Screens (1:55), and more stuff.
Have a great weekend!
Roy.
Categories
Weeks of the link [Links of the week]
Hi
Stuff I picked up on the web the last week:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/30/dont-be-a-featured-loser-facebook-helps-out-the-unpopular/
I’m liking this! Applications helping people reach out.
What happened to: “You didn’t call your mother in a while! Why don’t you give her a call now… [Click to dial]”
http://gizmodo.com/5395911/disturbingly-cool-big-head-papercraft-halloween-costume
I Love papercraft! and this is amazing.
http://gizmodo.com/5395865/watch-the-xperia-x10s-rachael-interface-in-action
The new Sony-Erricson Android phone showing off.
I think we should take stock on Kick-Ass UI in our projects. This is becoming more and more obvious that it is the future.
Can you see the guy standing in this picture? (tip: you can see his shoes very good)
http://gizmodo.com/5397102/liu-bolin-creates-slowest-least-practical-invisibility-cloak-ever
http://gizmodo.com/5381011/microsoft-couriers-swipes-snips-and-scribbles-the-leaked-interface
Microsoft’s e-book reader – much more than just a reader, but nothing over a tablet PC…
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/04/say-goodbye-to-voicemail-hello-to-ribbit-mobile-500-invites/
You thought Google Voice is the competition? This is the competition’s competition.
http://gizmodo.com/5396860/video-concept-symbian-interface-blends-augmented-reality-maps-and-social-networking
Symbian’s next-gen concept UI – shabby, seen it, done before, too late.
See ya’ll next week!
Enjoy the weekend,
Roy.
Categories
Links of the (last) week
Hi
Stuff I picked up on the web the past week:
http://gizmodo.com/5388708/1000-cellphones-and-2000-text-messages-playing-tchaikovsky
Cellphone orchestra
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/27/mobile-web-usage-keeps-on-growing-and-growing-and-growing/
Big mobile web numbers curtsy of Opera Mini. 224% YOY growth… (9/08 – 9/09)
http://gizmodo.com/5390090/interactive-multitouch-sphere-will-make-you-feel-like-gandalf
Cool visuals
http://gizmodo.com/5390894/build-your-own-life-hud-with-a-smartphone-and-some-cardboard
This is virtual reality just like this is a car.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/27/facebook-launches-a-new-hub-for-world-peace/
Nice concept! Go Peace!
Google corner
This week Google decided they take over (what’s left of) the world:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/26/google-voice-can-now-take-control-of-your-mobile-voicemail/
First – they’ll take your voice mail
http://lifehacker.com/5390307/google-launches-social-search-experiment-to-search-what-your-friends-are-posting
Then they’ll take your social graph
http://gizmodo.com/5391043/android-20-official-its-the-android-weve-been-waiting-for
They will update your Android mobile OS
http://lifehacker.com/5390864/google-voice-air-app-keeps-voicemail-and-sms-on-your-desktop
Desktop Widgets – Behind you!!
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/28/google-redefines-car-gps-navigation-google-maps-navigation-android/
Google takes over the navigation business. TomTom and Garmin stocks plummet by 20-40%.
This proves the saying: “You’re only safe untill google does it.”
‘Till next week
Roy.
Categories
Weekly Links
Hi guys
Weekly links is something of a tradition at work I have been keeping up for a couple of months now. Its time to share them with the world.
Stuff I picked up on the web the last week:
http://gizmodo.com/5382585/10gui-fascinating-multitouch-user-interface-design
Very nice multi-touch desktop experience
http://gizmodo.com/5384680/sonys-360-degree-3d-display-prototype-no-glasses-needed
Sony with a 3D “screen” that looks like a bomb
http://gizmodo.com/5384893/gps-puzzle-box-only-opens-in-one-specific-location
Very nice concept in Location-Based-Something. The box will only open when you actually get to the point
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/19/android-galore-a-complete-list-of-the-android-phones-and-their-specs-droid-best/
Look at that – 24 Android phones already! Definitely going to explode…
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/21/new-google-music-service-launch-imminent/
Google bulldozing into the music biz. Amazon & Apple – behind you!
http://gizmodo.com/5386532/when-robots-attack-theyll-also-come-by-ski
It skis better than me!
Big Numbers Corner
Note: “corners” are topics that seem to be a trend that week.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/21/how-the-iphone-is-blowing-everyone-else-away-in-charts/
Some interesting big numbers from Morgan-Stanley about the iPhone booming
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/21/web-2-0-summit-facebooks-vp-of-engineering-on-scaling-facebook/
Huge numbers for Facebook
And a comic for finish: (made with: http://superherosquad.marvel.com/create_your_own_comic)
Enjoy the weekend!
Roy.
Hi everyone
In the last weekend I attended GeekCon 2009, a tech-conference, with a friend and colleague Arnon (not Arnon from the blog, who recently had a birthday – Happy B-Day Arnon!). Each team that attended had to create a project they can complete in 2-days of the conference. Our project is called “RunVas”, and the basic idea was to let people run around and paint by doing so. We wanted to combine computer vision with a little artistic angle.
Here’s some more details
Switching, merging or swapping, call it what you like – it’s a pain to pull off. You need to spend a lot of time tuning the colors, blending the edges and smudging to get a decent result. So I wrote a plugin for the wonderful GIMP program that helps this process. The merge is done using a blending algorithm that blends in the colous from the original image into the pasted image.
I’ll write a little bit about coding GIMP plugins, which is very simple, and some about the algorithm and its sources.
Let’s see how it’s done
Categories
New Theme, New Toolbar, New Year
Hi dear blog readers
We are trying out a new theme for the blog. We wanted to move out of the default and included themes of WordPress, and into something a bit different.
You will also notice a toolbar at the bottom of the page. It should help you better spread the MoreThenTechnical word! by giving more social networking tools.
So tell us what you think of it! Should we keep it, trash it, or maybe you have an idea of your own?
BTW, tomorrow is new years eve by the jewish calendar, and in Israel we are celebrating the new year (“Rosh Ha’shana”). So these changes to the blog could not have come at a better time – a time for new beginnings.
BTW 2 – I’m working on a post regarding next-generation image editing, so keep posted.
Thanks!
Roy & Arnon
A very basic feature that I was missing in my Android phone is the ability to save a number while I’m in a call. Sure you can go to the home screen, and open up any app with a textbox, but I decided to create a dedicated application.
So, meet Number Saver!
UPDATE: Number Saver got a new look
Basic usage guide:
When you open the app you will get the main screen:
From here you are able to enter the number, copy to the clipboard, and clear the clipboard if it is full. Also, when you open the app, if there is a text in the clipboard it will already be in the text box. So you can press Dial to instantly dial the number
Also, during an active call you will notice the note and pencil icon. Stretching the notification area will give you the option to launch the application.
This app is available for free through the Android market. Donation is always welcome …
Hi
I had very high hopes for iPhoneOS 3.1 in the AR arena. With all the hype about it, I naturally thought that with 3.1 developers will be able to bring marker-detection AR to the app-store – meaning, using legal and published APIs. A look around 3.1’s APIs I wasn’t able to find anything that will allow this.
Not all AR is banned. In fact AR apps like Layar will be very much possible, as they rely on compass & gyro to create the AR effect. These don’t require processing the live video feed from the camera, only overlaying data over it. This can be done easily with the new cameraOverlayView property of UIImagePickerController. All you need to do is create a transparent view with the required data, and it will be overlaid on the camera preview.
Sadly, to get marker-detection abilities developers must still hack the system (camera callback rerouting), or use very slow methods (UIGetScreenImage). I can only hope apple will see the potential of letting developers manipulate the live video feed.
Roy.