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The iView curved monitor, designed by Nuno Teixeira, is both compelling and definitely not post-iconic…a kind of stretched and curved double iMac all-in-one desktop computer.

The LCD iView, as it’s officially called, is unfortunately just a concept and so not many details are available. The iView has a curved panoramic double LCD screen on the front and a smaller one on the back to benefit your colleagues. It has two video cameras, one in front & the other at the back with which to monitor those self same ‘colleagues’. Bluetooth also.

…nicely done…the iView dates to Feb 2007 & was perhaps the inspiration for the NEC/Alienware curved monitors that cropped up in CES 2008.

iView – from Nuno Teixeira’s Portfolio on Behance

Posted in Computers ~ No Comments

Here’s more good news and not-so-good news in the form of yet another world’s first for Samsung…they just announced a 3D plasma TV, model PAVV Cannes 450, but to get the 3D effect, the viewer still must wear those goofy 3D glasses.

The Cannes 450 provides 1000000:1 contrast ratio, something called a ‘Down Firing Speaker’ and comes in a 42-inch or 50-inch size – the 42-inch model will sell for about $1869 USD.

What about content you ask? … in order to display 3D games or movies, the Cannes 450 must also be hooked up to a PC running 3D software. Electronic Arts is apparently under contract to create some content, expected to include the game Need For Speed.

…o did we mention that you gotta wear those silly glasses to see in 3D?

Samsung Electronics, the industry’s first 3D PDP TV, “Fabrizio Cannes 450″ released – Samsung press release, Feb 29 2008

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The 2008 edition of the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference (TED2008) is happening now in Monterey CA and goes on until March 1 2008.

Today`s agenda includes such classically-ethereal topics as “What is life?”, “Is truth beauty?”, “Will evil prevail?” and ever-popular “How can we change the world?”. The difference this time, is that some of the presenters really ought to know…people such as Craig Venter, Garrett Lisi and Neil Turok.

…as the Chron points out: Big thinkers, thinking big.

TED conference begins in Monterey – SF Chron, Feb 28 2008

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Sony has announced the A820 family of Walkman video and MP3 players, with Bluetooth.

The top-of-the-line NWZ-A829 has 16GB of memory and goes for about $320. Battery life is good at 36 hours/audio & 9 hours/video.

The 320×240 QVGA screen has been enlarged to 2.4 inches to play video at up to 30 fps for AVC, MPEG-4 and AAC-LC formats. Supported audio formats are MP3, WMA, ATRAC, ATRAC Advanced Lossless, 1411kbps PCM, AAC and HE-AAC.

Dimensions are 93.9×51.0×9.3 mm, at 59 grams.

Sony Unveils Noise Canceling and Bluetooth Walkman Video MP3 Players – Sony press release, Feb 26 2008

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One Noel Sharkey Professor of AI and Robotics at the University of Sheffield, and someone who should know something about the topic, wishes to bring those autonomous automata under the fold of legal responsibility in general, and in theaters of war in particular.

Sharkey points to the rapidly growing number of unmanned combat vehicles, aerial drones and other military robots in use in Iraq, examples being SUGV/Packbot, Stryker, Crusher, Throwbot, NLOS-C, ANS, UAV Class I and IV drones. The SWORDS (Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection System) combat bot, for example, is designed for infantry support and can be outfitted with a wide array of weapons including anti-armor & anti-bunker munitions, shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapons, and thermobaric weapons with enhanced blast explosive. For a comprehensive list of current, near-future and long-term capabilities, please consult the DoD Unmanned Systems Roadmap: 2007-2032. The document identifies the three D`s (Dull, Dirty, Dangerous) as being the main motivation for moving towards unmanned platforms, with the vision being increased integration with manned systems, all predicated on more and better autonomous behaviour facilitated by exponentially improved computing power, with the help of some AI. Curiously absent from the doc however is any mention of space, as in weaponization-of.

Prof Sharkey’s concern is about the potential for harm to non-combatants as these these robots develop more autonomy as well as command and control responsibility. He adds that although this may not happen for a while, the time for action is now.

Robot arms race seen underway – World Science, Feb 26 2008

Posted in Robots ~ 2 Comments

Nokia the well-known phone maker teamed up with some obscure organization called the University of Cambridge to propose the Morph, which seems to be some kind of futuristic comm gadget that changes shape to meet different needs.

Some relevant buzzwords, er keywords that apply to the Morph include nanotechnology, flexible, communication and sensor.

Fibril proteins allow the Morph to bend to almost any shape. The thing is transparent, self-cleaning, self-healing, as well as self-powered thanks to Nanograss. The communications unit provides handset and Internet capabilities. And the sensing unit connects one to the surrounding world to eg advise the wearer about air pollution & contaminants, and answers the question: “Should this apple be washed?”. When will Morph be available?… Nokia’s Tapani Ryhanen in an interview with BBC guesstimates 7 years.

…nice but will it also detect subspace anomalies?

Nokia and University of Cambridge launch the Morph – Nokia press release, November 25 2008

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The New York Times applies data visualization techniques to movie box office receipts over time to create an interactive ThemeRiver style map.

So what patterns emerge? Most movies fade quickly, Oscar contenders start slow but build over time, spring and fall are slow times and attention spans seem to be declining. Nicely done…might have been helpful if they had highlighted the Oscar winners/nominees somehow.

And here’s a somewhat-related link to their 2004 list of “The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made“.

The Ebb and Flow of Movies: Box Office Receipts 1986-2007 – NYT, Feb 23 2008

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Milner Motors is developing the AirCar, which will be a flying car with a range of 1000 miles and a cruising speed of 200 mph. The thing can carry 4 passengers & will sell for $450,000. Pressurized with a ceiling altitude of 25,000 ft and roadable at 85 MPH.

…now if they could just figure out some way to combine the AirCar with the submersible Rinspeed sQuba then we’d have the best of all possible worlds in 1 craft ie flying, driving, boating and submarining.

via Green Car Congress

Posted in General ~ 1 Comment

Panasonic today announced the availability of the P905iTV mobile phone that delivers TV at an astounding 30 frames per second and a resolution of 480×854 pixels. All thanks to the Viera engine and Japan’s 1Seg service. Amost makes one want to move there.

Panasonic delivers TV handsets to DoCoMo – Japan Today, Feb 25 2008

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Absurdist comedy street theater group Improv Everywhere plays on the surrealistic realism of everyday situations. In their latest mission they lugged some classic desktop computers into their local Starbucks & set up shop to avail themselves of Starbucks stated policy to “get work done in coffeehouse comfort”.

Some might say that I.E.’s purpose was to interpret, distill, reflect, exaggerate and belittle contemporary post-structuralist views, in other words to create “scenes of chaos and joy in public places”. Others suggest that they simply wanted a fresh cup of joe.

Mobile Desktop – Improv Everywhere, February 25 2008

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