Author: Dr. Bill

This is kinda weird. Imagine a camera where you snap a picture, then later, at home, say, you can focus and manipulate the image? That’s what they are claiming for the Lytro camera.

Lytro Cameras On Sale Now: What You Need To Know

“Camera maker Lytro is now taking pre-orders for its much-hyped light-field cameras that promise to let you snap a picture and refocus it later on your computer or the camera’s touchscreen.

Unlike traditional cameras, Lytro devices are able to capture 11 million light rays (11 megarays) and record aspects of light such as color, intensity and direction, some of which traditional cameras miss.

The ability to capture all that information, along with help from Lytro’s image processing software, is what allows you to refocus the image, change the image’s perspective and even view the photo as a 3D image on your 3D HDTV.

Although pre-orders are underway now, the Lytro cameras won’t be arriving in time for the holidays, shipping in early 2012 instead. And Windows users might be disappointed at launch as Lytro software is currently compatible with Mac computers running OS X 10.6, Snow Leopard or higher. Pricing starts at $400.”

Yep, and promoting a new search engine, no less! “Can’t touch this!” Well, apparently he wants you to touch “Wiredoo,” a search engine that is supposed to offer more “relationship information” to search results. Sounds vaguely risque, huh?

MC Hammer Unveils Plans for WireDoo Search Engine

“One of the odder bits of news to emerge from this week’s Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco—okay, the oddest—is that rapper MC Hammer is launching a search engine.

Wait, it gets funnier. He’s calling it WireDoo, which sounds like something we wouldn’t want to touch, regardless of whether MC Hammer says we can or can’t.

But before we all have too many laughs at the expense of the entertainer who briefly made baggy harem pants popular with men, consider that MC Hammer has pretty much displayed superlative entrepreneurial abilities his entire life, starting from when he parlayed a busking act in the Oakland Coliseum parking lot in the 1970s into a job as a clubhouse assistant and batboy for the Oakland A’s.

MC Hammer also managed to sell a whopping 50 million records worldwide despite rapping skills charitably described as merely adequate to compliment his real talents, dance and promotion. And let’s say it again—he made baggy harem pants popular with men. This is not a fellow whose business acumen should be taken lightly.

Nor is Hammer is a newbie to the tech scene. Like fellow entertainer-turned-tech investor Ashton Kutcher, Hammer has become a fixture at tech events like Web 2.0 and Tech Crunch Disrupt in recent years.
Hammer, born Stanley Kirk Burrell in Oakland, Calif., says WireDoo will not be an attempt to compete with mainstream search engines like Google or Bing, according to reports.

Instead, the still-in-development WireDoo will ‘add relationship information to search results,’ reports The New York Times. Sounds a little vague, but gist is that if you search for something like a car, what you’ll get is a bunch of information related to cars like insurance offers and consumer safety ratings.”

Dropbox is my favorite cloud-based resource! It sounds like they have big plans to be even MORE cross-platform.

Dropbox CEO: We’ll integrate with everything

“Cloud-storage startup Dropbox just closed a $250 million funding round, and now it has its eyes set on being the foundation of a future where we’re never without our data. Phone, tablet, TV, car, you name it. Dropbox plans to be integrated into everything, with its icon becoming to file access what Facebook’s icon has become to sharing.

And what Dropbox has in mind is about far more than apps. As Founder and CEO Drew Houston explained to me during a call, Dropbox won’t just be a downloadable application like it is now, but will be the default option for storing files to and accessing them from the cloud.

Mobile is the first and obvious area to begin – Forbes highlighted a partnership with HTC and six other pending mobile deals in an article this morning — but that’s just the beginning. Houston specifically mentioned televisions, cameras and even cars as the next natural devices in which Dropbox wants to expand its reach. Maybe it’s via a Dropbox button on a TV remote that brings up a user’s account, or maybe it’s via automatic upload from a camera, but as long as it has an Internet connection, Houston wants Dropbox to be part of it.

Ultimately, he thinks Dropbox can help deliver on the ‘connected anywhere’ promises that have been around for years, but that he doesn’t think have truly materialized with regard to data. But once consumers experience having their ‘stuff’ with them wherever they are, it will be ‘like the first day of the rest of your life,’ he explained, like when we first were able to boost productivity by using e-mail and other applications on our phones. ‘Our job is to make sure you see little Dropbox buttons everywhere,’ he added.”

(Cross-posted from my Hand Held Hack Blog) I suspect this number will continue to climb! Hand held devices are a large part of the “Post-PC” era everyone has been talking about lately!

Nearly 7 percent of U.S. traffic comes from handheld devices

“With more consumers breaking out smartphones and tablets to browse through the Web, the percentage of U.S. traffic that’s attributed to handheld devices is on the rise.

According to a new report from comScore, non-computer U.S. traffic has increased to nearly seven percent over August 2011. This type of traffic is mostly attributed to smartphones as well as tablets and other handheld devices. It does not include desktop computers or personal notebooks. Smartphones made up about 64 percent of non-computer U.S. traffic and tablets made up about 28 percent of that segment. Apple iOS devices dominated both categories as well. The Apple iPad constitutes just over 97 percent of traffic from tablets and iOS-enabled smartphones made up 58.5 percent of all smartphone traffic in regards to OS market share by digital traffic.

Also measured by digital traffic, Google Android came in second for mobile traffic at nearly 32 percent and the closest competitor was RIM’s BlackBerry with 5 percent of mobile traffic. The remaining mobile traffic is attributed to all other operating systems on the market. When measuring OS market share by audience installed base, Apple iOS falls to about 43 percent of the market with Google Android close behind at 34 percent. RIM makes up about 15 percent and other operating systems make up the remaining 8 percent.”

So, now you can program for the web in a web language! Again, we move further to the “post-PC” era, where all you will need is a browser!

Dart, Structured Web Programming

“Dart is a new class-based programming language for creating structured web applications. Developed with the goals of simplicity, efficiency, and scalability, the Dart language combines powerful new language features with familiar language constructs into a clear, readable syntax.

Key features of the Dart language include:

Classes

Classes and interfaces provide a well understood mechanism for efficiently defining APIs. These constructs enable encapsulation and reuse of methods and data.

Optional types

Dart programmers can optionally add static types to their code. Depending on programmer preference and stage of application development, the code can migrate from a simple, untyped experimental prototype to a complex, modular application with typing. Because types state programmer intent, less documentation is required to explain what is happening in the code, and type-checking tools can be used for debugging.

Libraries

Developers can create and use libraries that are guaranteed not to change during runtime. Independently developed pieces of code can therefore rely on shared libraries.

Tooling

Dart will include a rich set of execution environments, libraries, and development tools built to support the language. These tools will enable productive and dynamic development, including edit-and-continue debugging and beyond—up to a style where you program an application outline, run it, and fill in the blanks as you run.”

So, simple, clean… looks easy to deal with for non-geeks.. we’ll see!

Meet the Windows 8 Task Manager

“Design simplicity is the key for Windows 8, and Microsoft recently discussed on its blog yet another popular Windows feature getting streamlined in Windows 8: the task manager. The new task manager echoes the design simplicity Microsoft was showing off earlier with the new copy file dialog.

Microsoft says three goals guided development of the new task manager, which is intended to appeal to non-techies and power users alike. The company says it wants to create a task manager that is optimized for common tasks (killing apps and processes), using a modern and functional interface, but without cutting out the favorite functions of power users.

For most users, the result is that Windows 8 won’t inundate you with a long list of unfriendly-looking processes like the task managers in Vista and Windows 7. Instead, the new OS shows a simplified list of programs that you can expand if you need to go beyond simply killing an app.”

So, LibreOffice will develop a version for Android, as well as the Web! Forward thinking of them!

Post-PC LibreOffice heads for Web, iOS, Android

“LibreOffice, the project forked from OpenOffice.org, is moving into the modern era with developers working on versions that run in Web browsers and on iOS and Android devices.

The Document Foundation announced the moves today at the LibreOffice Conference, but the work isn’t available yet for ordinary folks to try.
‘These are not products available to end users, but advanced development projects which will become products sometimes in late 2012 or early 2013,’ the foundation said today.

Still, the work shows signs that the project, which never seriously threatened the strength of Microsoft Office, is working to remain modern in a computing industry no longer dominated just by personal computers.

The LibreOffice Online prototype uses the GTK+ software framework, HTML’s new Canvas interface for 2D graphics, and the Web Socket interface for high-speed communications between a browser and a server. Michael Meeks of the Suse Linux project is leading the project, the foundation said.
Another Suse programmer, Tor Lillqvist, is working on versions for Android and iOS tablets with the hope that the software will arrive on smaller devices.

‘The user interface work has yet to start in earnest but the bulk of the code is compiling,’ the foundation said of the work.
The foundation also announced that several French government agencies are switching 500,000 computers, mostly Windows machines, from OpenOffice.org to LibreOffice. ‘This increases the Windows installed base of LibreOffice by 5 percent in a single move,’ the foundation said.’

Roku has announced a lower priced ($50.00) unit! This makes the entry point into IPTV even cheaper!

$50 Roku box offers 720p Netflix, Hulu, and new HBO GO

“Roku announced its lowest-cost streaming media player yet, also adding a new HBO GO service to its service line-up. The $50 Roku LT offers the same Linux-based operating system, Netflix support, 720p video playback quality, and support for 300 channels as the $60 Roku 2 HD, but jettisons the microSD port and Bluetooth connections, according to the company.

The Roku LT joins three revised Roku boxes released in July. The $60 Roku 2 HD supports 720p playback, while the Roku 2 XD ($80) moves up to 1080p, and the Roku 2 XS ($100) adds USB and Ethernet ports as well as a motion-control remote and Angry Birds.

The $50 Roku LT has only a basic remote, no USB or Ethernet, and abandons the microSD slot and Bluetooth connection found on the other three models. The loss of microSD could be important to some, as the Roku boxes offer no onboard storage.
The Roku LT does share the same 720p video playback quality as the Roku 2 HD, however, not to mention its support for some 300 channels. These are said to include Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Pandora, EPIX, Crackle, and Disney. When the new HBO GO arrives later this month, the players will have expanded to 320 channels, says Roku.

Like the Roku 2 devices, the Roku LT offers a Wi-Fi connection, HDMI output, and an A/V output for standard definition TVs, says Roku. The company did not offer detailed specs, but says the new device ‘looks very similar to the Roku 2 family.’ Those devices measure 3.3 x 3.3 x 0.9 inches, weigh three ounces, and typically consume less than two Watts during HD streaming, according to the company.

HBO GO will arrive on Roku boxes later this month, representing Roku’s second ‘authenticated channel’ after its EPIX channel, according to the company. This means, that, in the case of HBO GO, access requires a separate HBO TV subscription. HBO Go is said to offer more than 1,400 HBO programming titles, including ‘every episode of every season of the best HBO shows.'”