Technabob » windows

GM Demos Touchscreen Windows for Interactive Road Trips

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:00:55 +0000

When it comes to road trips, any parent can tell you a few hours spent in a car with a couple kids can feel like days. Kids get bored and cranky after a while, leading to cranky parents. Now, GM is showing a cool concept that takes the windows of the car and turns them them interactive surfaces to keep the young ones (and other passengers) occupied.

The idea is that the windows would be transparent screens which could display all sorts of content from game apps for kids to navigation details for the driver or passenger. I really like the idea of navigation content being projected onto the windshield. That way you don’t need to take your eyes off the road for directions.

The apps for kids though are the ones that will likely get the most attention. The prototype apps let kids finger paint, and interact with characters who react to the speed of the vehicle. For the big kids, there are apps for navigation as well as streaming music and social networking.

GM notes that it has no current plans to use the window tech in a production vehicle, and there is no indication when this tech will leave concept and come to the real world. Hopefully it’s not that far off.

Board of Awesomeness Kinect Longboard Uses Everything but Your Feet to Make It Move

Lambert Varias — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:00:34 +0000

The Kinect was designed to make it easier for us to command software, but the guys at Chaotic Moon Labs knew they could make it move actual objects. The result? The Board of Awesomeness, a motorized longboard that relies on video recognition, speech recognition, gesture recognition, location data, accelerometer data and more to make it move.

As you’ll see in the parts list below, the Kinect isn’t the only tech behind the BoA. Since fitting an Xbox 360 or a laptop on the board isn’t exactly a smart move, Chaotic Moon Labs used a tablet as the system’s brains. But they didn’t just use any tablet, they got their hands on a yet-to-be-released Samsung tablet running the yet-to-be-released Windows 8 operating system. The tablet handles the voice control, toggling the motor on and off as well as managing the speed settings.

Thanks to Kinect, the Board of Awesomeness has the Controls of Simplicity: put your arms forward and push down to make it accelerate – the board’s max speed is 32mph – and pull your arms back up to make it slow down.

A few years ago it would be unthinkable for prototype products to make their way to pet projects like this. Now the next Windows is chillin’ on a longboard, the next iPhone’s getting wasted on a bar… Things have really loosened up.

[via Chaotic Moon Labs via Slash Gear]

Code of Arms T-Shirt Reminds You of the Three “R’s” of Windows Maintenance

Technabob — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:00:14 +0000

Let’s face it. If you’ve got a Windows PC, you’ve probably had it crash at least a few times, and most of us have seen the dreaded Blue Screen of Death more times than we care to. After a few crashes, sometimes the best option is to just wipe your hard drive and reinstall a fresh copy of the OS. It just seems to get gunked up over time no matter what you try. If you forget to keep your PC clean, here’s a friendly reminder, in t-shirt form.

Designer Ian Leino’s Code of Arms t-shirt provides a not-so-gentle reminder of the three “R’s” of PC maintenance: “Refresh,” “Reboot,” “Reinstall” set into an awesome coat of arms, complete with monkeys, caffeine and assorted junk food. (Gotta love the “Mountain Dude” and “Free Toes”.)

The only change I would make would be to add a fourth “R” – “Reformat,” but that’s just me. I prefer a clean hard drive before reinstalling an operating system. Computer geeks with a keen sense of style can head on over to shirt.woot and grab the Code of Arms t-shirt for 15 bucks.

Nokia Lumia 800: The Windows iPhone

Range — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:00:10 +0000

Nokia has officially announced its new Lumia 800 Windows smartphone, which will cater to people who just don’t want an iPhone but would like some of its style and features, but prefer the Windows Phone OS.

It’s got a 3.7-inch 800×480 AMOLED display that’s actually curved. The rear-facing camera is 8MP and comes with Carl Zeiss optics. It’s capable of shooting video in 720p HD, and the device also includes 25GB of Skydrive cloud storage on top of the 16GB internal memory. It included 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and built in GPS navigation, too. The CPU inside is a single-core 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor, so it may or may not be as fast as the iPhone 4S.

The Lumia 800 is a world phone, so will work on CDMA and GPRS networks around the globe. It’s expected to retail for €420 (~$585 USD) unlocked, and is scheduled to be released in Europe later this year. It will be available in the US sometime in 2012.

[via Designboom]

Want to Turn Your Windows into Solar Panels? 3M Has a Film for That

Conner Flynn — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:00:23 +0000

Solar panels are a great technology, but the problem is that they are still too expensive and they require costly renovation to your home. There must be a clever and easier to implement solution. There is. 3M’s new solar film can be used with your existing windows, turning them into solar panels.

The film should go on sale in 2012 and the price is said to be about half the cost of traditional solar panels. It’s also easier to install. The catch is that the film is only capable of generating about 20 percent of the electricity that is generated by current solar panels. However that should improve as they work with it more.

On the plus side, it works under lower sunlight conditions that normal solar panels. It will be interesting to see what happens with this film. It’s a nice (and inconspicuous) alternative to expensive solar panels.

[via Computer World]

Man Mods Windows to Automatically Close When Trains Pass

Hazel Chua — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:30:35 +0000

My family and I just recently moved to a new house in a subdivision that’s also still relatively new. Every morning, we would wake up to the noise of trucks passing by to deliver construction materials to the other homes that were still being built.

Talk about a rude awakening.

That’s probably what Ed Rogers felt in his apartment every day each time the train would ramble past his window. This led him to mod his place so that the windows would detect and automatically close once a train would go past his window so he could cram a few more minutes of sleep every morning.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

So how’d Ed do it? Well, he hooked up some custom-designed controllers, Arduino boards, components printed using a Makerbot, and a webcam that detect the presence of movement, causing the windows to close as soon as a train starts to pass. The windows close a bit slowly though, but hey, slowly-closing windows are definitely better than having to get out of bed to close them yourself.

[Nerdstink via BuildLounge via Dvice]

Nyan Cat Progress Bar Will Have You Shuffling Files All Day

Lambert Varias — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:25:15 +0000

Are you still addicted to the hypnotic and trippy Nyan Cat? Well now you can have it dancing around your desktop and hear its nyan-tastic theme music every time you transfer or download a file, thanks to Ben Stone and his custom Nyan Cat progress bar.

This is a mod of Ben’s Instant Elevator Music program, which automatically plays music whenever a process requires the user to wait, e.g. loading, downloading or transferring files. Still think it’s too good to be true? Here it is in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Nyan nyan nyan nyanyanyanyan! Sorry. Ben has only successfully tested the Nyan Cat progress bar on Windows 7, and says outright that it won’t work properly on Windows XP. I just know there’s someone out there who will upgrade from XP to 7 just to get this to work. Ben also says that the cat may only play nicely with the Windows File Explorer progress bar. You can download the Nyan Cat progress bar for free from Ben’s website.

[via Gamefreaks]

Salty Pixels Salt and Pepper Shaker: Wait… Which is Which Again?

Lambert Varias — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:17:19 +0000

Here’s a geeky salt and pepper shaker for Windows fans. The Salty Pixels salt and pepper shaker is shaped like the classic hourglass cursor. Why? Because the new blue spiral thingy in Vista and 7 doesn’t look like a shaker.

Keep an eye on Meninos’ website to see if the Salty Pixels shaker is on sale yet. I think they should also make a slightly different pepper shaker version, otherwise dinner time will repeatedly hang as you process which shaker has what inside of it.

[via HolyCool]

Ctrl+O Bottle Opener Leaves Mac Users Green With Envy

Lambert Varias — Tue, 03 May 2011 12:18:34 +0000

Here’s a product that could only be designed by the creative minds at Art Lebedev. Like its namesake Windows command, the Ctrl+O will help you pop open bottles in real life. This can easily lead to an entire suite of Windows command products. Ctrl+X scissors, Ctrl+C carbon paper, Ctrl+V glue…

You can order the Ctrl+O bottle opener at the Art Lebedev online store for $18 (USD). I guess this is an opportunity for a copycat to make a ⌘+O version for Apple fans.

[via TechEBlog]

Fixed Samsung WinPho 7 Update Bug Not So Fixed After All?

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:24:52 +0000

There were a lot of angry Samsung branded Windows Phone 7 users that weren’t able to get the update to the WinPho 7 OS thanks to some sort of error that was bricking the devices last week. Microsoft said that it has fixed that issue and put the update back up for Samsung folks to grab after removing it due to the failures.

Apparently, the update wasn’t so fixed after all since some users are now getting another error that makes the update fail. The error message reportedly comes after step 7 in the update process where the phone reboots. The error pops up in Zune it seems.

The error was confirmed by WinPhoneSupport via Twitter and they are looking into the issue. I would say that if you own a Samsung Windows Phone 7 handset you need to just skip the update for now and wait until all the issues are ironed out.

[via WindowsPhoneThoughts]

Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 Tablet Specs Revealed

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 14:15:49 +0000

The tablet market is scorching hot today with many of the new offerings showing up with Android on board. There is a place for tablets that run Windows too, especially in the business and medical communities. Fujitsu has a new tablet that is aimed just at these folks called the Stylistic Q550.

This thing runs the Windows 7 operation system, which means it can run most of the software your typical desktop or notebook can run. The 10.1″ WXGA screen of the tablet has 400nits brightness, making it ideal for brightly lit office environments. The tablet is very light and portable at a bit over 1.5 pounds.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The Q550 runs an Intel Atom processor, has 2GB of memory, and sports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It has front and rear facing cameras along with HDMI, a USB 2.0 port, and audio output. The machine has Gobi 3000 mobile broadband with GPS as an option and is VESA mount compatible. The Q550 will ship this spring with prices starting at under $800 (USD).

Windows Phone 7 + Kinect Could Bring Exciting New Gameplay

Technabob — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:34:09 +0000

Frankly, I haven’t been all that impressed by Windows phones over the years. Even with the improvements in Windows Phone 7, I feel like the platform is a day late and a dollar short in comparison with Android and iOS. That said, Microsoft does have one little advantage – the potential to integrate with the Xbox 360. While the potential hasn’t really been shown off to date, I have to say that this demo that fuses gameplay between a Win 7 phone and an Xbox 360 with Kinect does intrigue me.

Basically, the demo is a modified version of the Rally Ball game from Kinect Adventures. The tricky part is how the people with the mobiles phone can secretly adjust the position of the hurling dodgeballs on their screens without the person who’s flailing around knowing what’s coming. Check it out in the video below:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Pretty neat, eh? You could see potential for any sort of game where you don’t want the player on screen to know what the other players are up to. For instance, it might be fun for a big screen version of Battleship – where each player inputs the position of their ships on their mobile phone, and the results show up on screen.

That said, the same could be achieved if Microsoft ever decided to make a game controller with a built-in touchscreen – so if the Windows Phone 7 thing doesn’t work out, they could always just go with that.

[YouTube via MaxConsole]

MSI WindPad 100W Windows Tablet Ships

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 14:12:28 +0000

The technology world has gone tablet crazy thanks to the iPad and hoards of other Android tablets that are coming soon or already on the market. There are a number of people out there that like the idea of a tablet, but want it to run Windows so their familiar software from home or the office will work on it.

MSI has previously announced the Wind Pad 100W, a tablet that runs Windows 7 Starter. Now reports are coming in that the tablet is available to purchase. If you aren’t familiar with the 100W, it has a 10.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600. The machine uses a special “Wind Touch” user interface over the Windows 7 OS to make it more tablet friendly. The CPU inside is an Atom Z530 at 1.6GHz and it has 2GB of RAM. Storage is provided by a 32GB SSD, and the battery promises over six hours. The tablet also has front and rear cameras, mini HDMI out, a SD card reader and WiFi.

It sells for $709 (USD) and sounds like a really expensive netbook minus the keyboard to me.

[via Wired]

Triple-Boot Evolve III Maestro Tablet is Perfect for the Indecisive

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:21:48 +0000

Tablets are great if you choose the right one, otherwise you might end up stuck with a thin slab of crap that you never use. If you are in the market for a new tablet, but you just can’t decide what OS you should buy Evolve III has a new tablet called the Maestro that is perfect for those having a hard time deciding.

The tablet is a triple-boot rig. Yeah, three OSes on a single tablet. The thing will boot Windows 7, Android, and MeeGo. MeeGo is a Linux flavor that will make open source fans that want something other than Android happy.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The catch that I see here is with only 32GB of storage on board and three OSes loaded, you’re going to be eating into your storage space. The tablet runs and Atom N475 processor, has 2GB of RAM, a 32GB SSD, and a 10-inch screen. The machine also has WiFi and 3G. It’s very portable at 1.8 pounds and should ship in Q2 at an undisclosed price.

[via Liliputing]

Fluid Stream and Motion Tablets Run Windows 7

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:26:21 +0000

Despite all the buzz, there are still less than a handful of decent tablets on the market today and the iPad is dominating the sales in the market. There are some folks out there who are waiting to buy a good tablet running Windows 7 to hit the market. If you are one of those hoping one lands in time for Santa to stick one the tree, Fluid Computer Systems has something for you.

The company has announced that it will have 1000 of its new Windows 7 Fluid Stream tablet computers available to ship in time for Christmas. The tablet has a 10.1-inch multi touch screen, Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB of storage, and packs in WiFi as well as Bluetooth.

The machine has a 100% money back guarantee that it will ship in time for Christmas and will cost you $599 (USD). The Fluid Motion is the same tablet, but adds 3G connectivity and is priced at $699. The Motion won’t ship until February of 2011. Both machines can be pre-ordered right now.

Ufo on Tape: the Truth is Freeware

Lambert Varias — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:42:25 +0000

Aliens are most probably out there, but Nicolai Troshinsky’s game is for real. In UFO on Tape, you have spotted a spaceship with their camera while you’re on a moving vehicle. The challenge then is to keep shooting footage of the ship as it zips and darts about.

The game is brilliantly simple to play because you only need to use the mouse to keep track of the UFO. But for me the game’s biggest draw is the graphics. The style is wonderfully apt. The sound (or lack thereof) is nicely done to. The only thing you’ll hear is the sound of your vehicle and the other cars passing by. I think this game would be a good fit for mobile devices as well, but if it does ever make it to phones and tablets, I think it would be better if it used the accelerometer, i.e. tilt controls. Your finger will obscure the screen if it were touch-based.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The best part of UFO on Tape? It’s free! Unfortunately it’s for Windows only. Download it at GameJolt, and be sure to let Nicolai know what you think.

Tales of Unspoken World: Like Canabalt, but 3d

Technabob — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:41:21 +0000

I came across this unusual game over on IndieGames earlier today, and I have to say I like the way the early build is shaping up.

A small independent game studio called Santa Ragione created Tales of Unspoken World after being inspired by this stylized case design from the Famicase art exhibit a few of years ago. Gameplay in Tales involves the same sort of “run, jump or die” mechanic found in the highly-addictive Cannabalt, but it plays out on a 3D stage reminiscent of old black-and-white vector games. The game requires just two keys to play. Use the “Up” key to run, and the “Space” bar to jump. That’s it.

Here’s a brief video showing off the game in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Tales of Unspoken World is available for download now over at the TIGSource forums, and plays on both PC or MAC. For some reason, only the MAC version includes the dangly hand animations shown in the video above. Go figure. Either way, it’s worth a download, especially at the low, low price of free.

(P.S. If you get stuck, press “R” to restart, and “Alt-F4″ to quit.)

Hot Touch Arcade Emulator: Fake Pinball Machine Accepts Real Coins

Lambert Varias — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:01:59 +0000

Ben Heck chose to make his Bill Paxton pinball machine the old fashioned way, using actual flippers and tunnels and whatnot. But there’s also another, less complicated way to make a pinball machine – by running an emulator on a computer. But “less complicated” doesn’t mean easy, especially if you choose to give your emulator an authentic-looking cabinet, like what Ryan O’Horo did with his 1/3-scale pinball machine, the Hot Touch Arcade.

At the heart of O’Horo’s machine is an Intel Atom motherboard and an NVIDIA graphics card, with Windows XP as its OS. The pinball’s playing field is digitally rendered on a 19″ 16:9 LCD display that’s been installed sideways. O’Horo also installed lots of analog touches, including a shooter, flipper buttons (with solenoid feedback), and even a coin acceptor. The graphics and the LED marquee also add to the authentic look. But I think the most important part of the Hot Touch Arcade is the emulator itself – the fantastic looking free software, Future Pinball.

Now that I think about it, this is actually the Ben Heckish way of making a pinball machine. Check out Ryan O’Horo’s Crave DIY page for more pics and info.

[via Make:]

Gamesave Manager: the Ultimate Save Point

Lambert Varias — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:49:27 +0000

One of the few drawbacks of gaming on the PC is that save data are not easily transferable – the files are scattered in different folders and don’t always have the same format, so hunting them one by one can be inconvenient. Even if you don’t play your games on multiple computers, it’s still a good idea to back up your save data. That’s where GameSave Manager comes in. It works with a ton of games (460 titles at the moment), supports scheduled backups and even gives you the option of compressing and encrypting save data.

Even if your game or program is not officially supported, you can add it to the backup list using the “Custom GameSave” feature. One downside to GameSave Manager is that it only works on Windows; I’m not sure if you can port it to Linux or Mac using WINE, or if there’s any sense in doing so.

You can download GameSave Manager at its official website for free. As RPG gamers say: Remember to save, and save often… and save your saves, and save your saves often.

[via Download Squad]

Super Meat Boy: if Mario Had No Skin and Koopa was a Lot More Cruel

Lambert Varias — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:07:38 +0000

Narrative-wise, platformers are the weirdest of video games. After all, it’s hard to build a plot that adequately jutifies hours of running and jumping. Take Super Mario Bros. for example. It stars an Italian plumber who eats flowers and mushrooms en route to beat a huge, spiky turtle. The upcoming Super Meat Boy is no different – in it, players control “a boy without skin whose girlfriend – who is made of bandages – gets kidnapped by a fetus in a tuxedo wearing a top hat and a monocle.” Weird indeed.

If you think the plot is crazy, wait ’til you see the gameplay:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I love the level variations, but I’m pretty sure I would get frustrated with this game real quick. I’m just not good at platformers, and this one looks like it’s the Ninja Gaiden of platformers. But if this scratches your gaming itch, then keep an eye out for Super Meat Boy. Developer Team Meat promises “over 300 levels of saws, disease, fire, lasers, missiles, and various other traps.” I don’t even want to know what those “various other traps” are.

[via the bbps]