Expert Lancer - Gadgets,Phones,Tech News,Cameras » technology

Aerial 3D: Amazing System Shows 3D Objects In Mid-Air, With No Screen (Video)

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:09:14 +0000

Since 2006, Tokyo-based Burton has been working on Aerial 3D, a technology that makes it possible to produce pictures in 3D in mid-air or underwater – without using a screen (that’s what I call “True 3D Technology” indeed). Burton says their laser-based system is the only one of its kind. The current system projects 3D objects at 50,000 dots per second (up from around 1,000 in 2006) and with a frame rate of 10-15. The Aerial 3D works by focusing laser light, producing “plasma excitation from the oxygen and nitrogen in the air”. As you can see in the video below, the technology still leaves some room for improvement regarding picture quality (Burton currently tries to boost the frame rate), but the 3D objects can be seen floating in mid-air clearly: Video courtesy of Diginfo TV

View post:
Aerial 3D: Amazing System Shows 3D Objects In Mid-Air, With No Screen (Video)

Better Late Than Never: Wine.com Gets A Mobile Website

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:03:43 +0000

Today, the online retailer for wine enthusiasts (with the killer domain name) Wine.com is finally launching a mobile site at m.wine.com . Like its desktop-sized counterpart, the new site allows customers full access to Wine.com’s inventory of wine, gifts and accessories, site search with filtering, product details, account management, and of course, the ability to make purchases from your mobile device. The mobile site is also able to identify your location automatically so it knows which wines are available for shipping to your region. And after you’ve placed an order, you can track your packages via the new site, too. Alongside the launch, the retailer also announced several milestones, including the fact that it now has over 1 million registered users. Wine.com says it ships over 2 million bottles of win per year, representing 35% growth over last year. As for the size of its inventory, there are over 13,000 different bottles which can be shipped to 90% of the U.S. population, despite the complicated laws around shipping alcohol. The need to go mobile was pressing, as Wine.com reported that over 7% of its unique traffic came from iPhones alone (out of 8% smartphone traffic). And this is despite the fact that Wine.com has fully functional iPhone and iPad apps available in iTunes. That’s something other online retailers should take note of: apps are not enough . If your customers are used to visiting your website on the Web , many continue to do so, even if your cool iOS app offers added functionality (as Wine.com’s does, what with the geo wineries feature and wine cave, etc.). Also interesting: 6% of Wine.com’s overall traffic came from the iPad, but 8% of its revenue came from the iPad. That means either iPad owners buy more wine or the iPad experience is just really great and conductive to shopping. Meanwhile, only 1% of the revenue came from the iPhone, and the iPad average order value is 50% higher than on the iPhone. The company says that should change now that there’s a new mobile website. One would hope. It’s somewhat remarkable to see major retailers that have built mobile applications in advance of a functional mobile website, as Wine.com has. Look, I love a good app as much as the next guy, but really, the app everyone uses the most is still the browser. Thank goodness Wine.com finally figured that out.

Here is the original post:
Better Late Than Never: Wine.com Gets A Mobile Website

Bag Week Review: The Targus Spruce EcoSmart

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:02:10 +0000

When I joined TechCrunch (and AOL, by association), I found myself swimming in company-issued bags. The standard-issue MacBook Pro came with a hefty Targus beater of a shoulder bag, and AOL saw fit to send me a Ogio backpack emblazoned with a giant purple AOL logo. I shoved them both in a closet after a few days. Instead, I lug around the Targus Spruce EcoSmart on a daily basis. It’s not the most expensive, nor the most fashion-forward bag you’re likely to see during Bag Week, but it’s a robust, comfortable day bag that can carry most of your daily necessaries without making you regret it. The Targus Spruce EcoSmart Type: Backpack Dimensions: 13″ x 18.75″ x 8.25″ Pockets: Laptop compartment (up to 15.6″), main cargo compartment, secondary cargo compartment, 3 zippered pockets Features: Lightweight mesh straps, made of eco-friendly materials MSRP: $68.99 Product Page If you couldn’t tell by the name, the Spruce EcoSmart was designed with the environment in mind. No, it won’t biodegrade if you hurl it in a landfill — rather, the bag’s polyester body is made out of recycled plastic bottles. Speaking of the Spruce’s body, it’s pretty nondescript at first glance, but a closer look reveals some fun little flourishes, like a series of hard rubber bumps along the front. While they actually add a bit of character to the bag’s front, they’re also meant to take the hits that come when you carry the bag around. All of the bag’s stitching is green, as are the little plant logos on each zipper. What will really catch your eye though (for better or worse) is the bag’s forest green lining. It seems like a silly way to advertise the bag’s eco-friendly schtick, but it becomes surprisingly useful when trying to dig a hard-to-see doodad out of the bottom of the bag. The bag’s straps are reassuringly thick, but are made of a lightweight mesh that keep the load from digging into your shoulders too much. The right strap also features a little plastic knob that the truly finicky can wrap their headphone cable around. That same foamy mesh is strategically placed near your lower back and shoulders, which makes the whole thing feel very cushy. At over 8 inches thick, it doesn’t seem like the Spruce would have much trouble fitting your things, but it’s a tighter squeeze than you think. That’s because Targus felt the need to compartmentalize things a bit too much — the laptop goes in a sleeve that takes up most of one compartment, while the compartment in front of that is where most of your stuff will go. Another smaller compartment sits in front of that, with pockets for pens, ID, and other miscellaneous bits you may want to throw in. My usual loadout consists of the aforementioned 15-inch MacBook Pro, an iPad, a few notebooks, my Panasonic GF2, and a few extra lenses, all of which fit perfectly inside. The bag’s a great fit for a day trip (even the ones that involve lots of running around), but the Spruce definitely won’t be your bag of choice when it comes to going away for the weekend. Who is this for? Treehuggers, people who carry lots of small things instead of a few big ones, avid day-trippers. Do I want it? That depends — the price is certainly right (especially if you do a little poking around), but you’ll have to make do with some strangely-sized compartments. Still, it’s a mighty comfortable backpack for those who don’t feel an unwavering need to carry their whole lives around with them. Click to view slideshow.

See the rest here:
Bag Week Review: The Targus Spruce EcoSmart

Battery Breakthrough Could Improve Capacity And Reduce Charge Time By A Factor Of Ten Each

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:00:51 +0000

It’s no secret that batteries are holding back mobile technology. It’s nothing against the battery companies, which are surely dedicating quite a lot of R&D to improving their technology, hoping to be the first out of the gate with a vastly improved AA or rechargeable device battery. But battery density has been improving very slowly over the last few years, and advances have had to be in processor and display efficiency, in order to better use that limited store of power. Researchers at Northwestern University claim to have created an improved lithium ion battery that not only would hold ten times as much energy, but would charge ten times as quickly. It’s probably safe to call it a breakthrough. Inside Li-ion batteries, there are innumerable layers of graphene, a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms. Lithium ions fill the spaces between these layers, and when the battery is being charged, these atoms must creep their way physically to the edge of the sheet in order to get down to the next layer and make room for more ions. The rate of recharge is limited by how fast these ions can go from layer to layer. One solution tried before was replacing the carbon sheets with silicon, which for some chemical reason can hold many times the lithium ions — but the silicon would expand and contract with the charge cycles, quickly breaking. Professor Harold Kung, researcher at NWU and lead author of the paper (published this month in the journal Advanced Energy Materials ), has discovered not just one, but two techniques for improving this charge process. His lab decided to combine the strengths of both materials, carbon and silicon, by populating the area between the graphene sheets with silicon nanoclusters. These little clusters greatly increase the amount of ions that can be kept in the battery, and because they are small and the graphene is flexible, their size changes are manageable. Thus, the charge capacity of the battery was improved by, Kung says, a factor of ten. But that’s not all. Kung’s lab also thought of perforating the graphene sheets, allowing ions to take a “shortcut” to the next layer. They call these 10-20nm holes “in-plane defects,” and they essentially rust them out. The result? Charging is ten times faster. A possible downside is a faster degradation process; after 150 charges and discharges, the batteries showed only a 5x improvement to capacity and charge speed. Of course, those 150 charges would be the energy equivalent of 1500 charges of today’s batteries. Naturally this huge leap in battery power and efficiency won’t be in your phones next week; they estimate they could be on the market in three to five years — cold comfort to iPhone 4S owners who are only getting seven or eight hours of on time. But the process is changed enough that existing manufacturing techniques are likely insufficient. The full paper, In-Plane Vacancy-Enabled High-Power Si-Graphene Composite Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries , is available to subscribers here .

Go here to read the rest:
Battery Breakthrough Could Improve Capacity And Reduce Charge Time By A Factor Of Ten Each

Salesforce Acquires Social And Mobile Cloud Computing Consultancy Model Metrics

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:46:33 +0000

Salesforce.com has announced the acquisition of cloud computing services startup Model Metrics. Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011, have not been disclosed. Model Metrics consulting firm that helps enterprise organizations accelerate the adoption of cloud computing. Specifically, Model Metrics focuses on helping companies adopt mobile and call center technologies, social enterprise solutions, business processes and more. In fact, Model Metrics has completed 1,000+ Salesforce deployments for mid-sized and Fortune 1000 companies. The company also helps businesses create custom mobile solutions for iPad and Android. Founded in 2003 and based in Chicago, Model Metrics, which has raised $6.5 million in funding, has partnered with Salesforce, Amazon Web Services, Adobe, Apple, and Google. Clients include Abbott, Boeing, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, L’Oreal, Morgan Stanley, and NBC Universal. Salesforce says that the addition of Model Metrics will “empower partners to develop their social enterprise practice.” The CRM giant’s strategic services team will have more mobile and social capabilities with Model Metrics. Recent Salesforce acquisitions include Assistly , and Radian6.

See the original post:
Salesforce Acquires Social And Mobile Cloud Computing Consultancy Model Metrics

MasterCard And Intel Partner To Secure And Simplify Online And NFC Payments

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:59:50 +0000

Intel and credit card giant MasterCard are announcing a multi-year strategic partnership this evening, which aims to provide a more secure and simple way for consumers to pay for products online. The two companies will be working to combine MasterCard’s expertise in payment processing and commerce with Intel’s strengths in chip-based security. So how are these two companies joining forces? Details are still being disclosed, but MasterCard and Intel are working on providing a safer and simpler checkout process for online merchants and consumers using Intel’s Ultrabook devices and future generations of Intel-based PCs. Another area where Intel and MasterCard will be working together is in the area of emerging payments technologies, including MasterCard’s PayPass and Intel’s Identity Protection Technology. PayPass is a payment method that lets you make purchases without having to swipe the magnetic strip on your card or provide your signature. The technology uses NFC to to transmit information. Intel’s Identity Protection Technology can allow consumers to use two-factor authentication and hardware-based display protection, which provides increased online security against malware. Additionally, when used with an Intel IPT-enabled reader, consumers will be able to pay for online purchases with a simple tap of their PayPass-enabled card, tag, or smart phone on an Ultrabook device. “MasterCard is constantly working to improve the shopping experience for consumers and merchants,” said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. “The collaboration with Intel will deliver enhanced security and faster checkout – with the convenience of a simple click or tap.” McLaughlin adds that this is a starting point for the two companies and there are future collaborations to come. “This partnership is about how to make the payments process more secure without having to change the experience of consumer,” he explains.

See the rest here:
MasterCard And Intel Partner To Secure And Simplify Online And NFC Payments

Android App ‘Currently’ Taps Twitter To Track Breaking Tech News

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:51:33 +0000

We got a pitch in our inbox from a company called Dujour Technology; they’ve developed an Android app dubbed ‘Currently Tech News’ (direct Android Market link ) that mines Twitter to aggregate breaking technology news from a select number of sources. The makers of the app acknowledge that the app looks pretty basic, but point out that there’s a sophisticated backend taking care of the data collection and analysis behind the scenes. From the email: The Currently server is constantly tracking Tweets mentioning certain tech news websites (of which TechCrunch is one of only a few). The Currently Tech News app then receives updates every 15 minutes and generates a pop-chart type list of news headlines. It’s like a Techmeme you can carry around in your pocket! Except, of course, you can carry around Techmeme in your pocket too (they have a decent mobile website). The benefit of the Currently app is that important headlines that are rising in the charts are delivered through notifications. You can turn off the alerts during your preferred ‘quiet time’ if you want, otherwise it’ll work 24/7. We heard about Currently from the founder of Scouta , a now defunct recommendation technology startup we’ve covered a lot in the past. Check it out if you’re a fellow tech news junkie. Here’s a screenshot (confusingly taken on an iPhone, it would seem):

Continued here:
Android App ‘Currently’ Taps Twitter To Track Breaking Tech News

It’s Bigger Than Ashton

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:02:23 +0000

If you weren’t paying attention to anything but important news today you might not have noticed that Ashton Kutcher had turned over his tweeting privileges to the social media division of company Katalyst Media. “But why?,” you ask, because it’s late and you’re wasting time on the Internet even though you’re super busy or should be sleeping . Well because Kutcher, who has about eight million more followers than you or I ever will, tweeted out something without thinking last night and, because they’re a bunch of maladjusted ugly troll people, the media pounced on him — because he’s pretty. And more importantly because what he said was really really stupid; he wondered why Penn State coach Joe Paterno was fired , when the reason he was fired was like, everywhere on Twitter. Dude, where’s my excuse? We’re all trigger happy when it comes to social media. I tweet and text the wrong people insane shit at all hours of the night just because I have the technology – true confession ( IHTM ). And herein lies the trouble with Twitter; You (and Rep. Anthony Weiner ) think it’s like texting, not realizing that your intelligible only in context tweet/text/whatever is now broadcast to an audience of 40K or 8 million of your closest followers. This explains Ashton’s admittedly ignorant tweet, and this other tweet of his , and some of my tweets and some of your tweets if you’re being honest with yourself. We’re human! Pobody’s nerfect. Earlier today I asked our new fancy Facebook sociologist writer Josh Constine, who went to Stanford so you know he’s smart because I got rejected from there, “Like what’s up with that?” about this whole mess. He said, “It’s bigger than Ashton,” explaining that because the act of tweeting was so much like texting it was more prone to human error then let’s say the act of posting to Facebook or LinkedIn. For the record I’ve never booty LinkedIn messaged anyone. But wait, before this gets out of hand, let’s all take a second to reflect on the Huffington Post’s seminal piece “Fired Over Twitter: 13 Tweets That Got People CANNED” or something. Bish please, that “canned” is in ALL CAPS so you know it’s IMPORTANT. Despite the clear risk of unfettered communication, by relinquishing editorial control over his feed to a collective process Ashton is playing it way safe. He basically ran back to the comfortable confines of old media, an act which was very “un-Internet” of him, I guess. “As of immediately I will stop tweeting until I find a way to properly manage this feed,” he wrote, “I feel awful about this error. Won’t happen again.” His solution was to hand Katalyst Media the keys to his social media kingdom, so it can vet his tweets or something, which sounds so sad. I’d rather have someone mess up every three months than be boring. I’ve never particularly been a fan of Kutcher, but I’m a pretty big fan of self-expression, even if you screw up big time. The most brilliant people are totally hated yo. Ashton, it’s not your fault that Twitter, and society, wasn’t prepared for such a disparate “one to many” ratio. So even if you were stupid and pressed send too soon, there is no Facebook or Twitter post you can’t recover from. So do it, please. You owe all those people who pressed ‘Follow’ under a certain pretense at least that. Image: @Aplusk

See the rest here:
It’s Bigger Than Ashton

Google Buys Contextual Rich News Browsing Startup Apture To Beef Up Chrome

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:30:12 +0000

Google has acquired Apture , a startup that brings instantaneous search to content on the web, we’ve confirmed with both companies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Launched in 2008 , Apture has raised $4.6 million from Beau Vrolyk, Paul Maritz, Steve Taylor, Clearstone Venture Partners Co-founded by Tristan Harris and Can Sar , Apture developes ‘Apture Highlights,’ a browser extension that aims to plug the “search leak” that the company says is taking place with content on the web. Apture highlights a search leak as when a users is reading content, wants more information about a keyword or phrase and then opens another browser tab to search for the information on Google, Bing or Yahoo. The downside for the content publisher is that the user disengages with the actual content by leaving the page. Apture Highlights allows you to highlight any word or phrase on a page and instantly bring up search results in a window. The startup brings results from 60-plus sources including YouTube, Twitter, Wikipedia, Google and more for extra context around content. The browser add-on is available for Chrome, Firefox and Apple’s Safari browsers. In fact, more than a billion pages a month are enhanced with Apture, says Harris. Apture’s business model also offered publishers a white-label version of Apture Highlights, which is being used by Scribd, The Financial Times, Reuters, Economist.com, ScientificAmerican, BleacherReport.com, and Times of India. Publisher simply insert a line of Javascript code, and readers can then access an HTML-based overlay that acts like a minitiature browser that enables readers to find and explore related multimedia content without leaving the original page. The virtue of using the technology for publishers is that content sites are increasing their search volume and site page views by driving traffic to related articles for every search. Consumers actually stay on a publisher page with Apture two to three times longer than without the plug-in. The company also recently launched HotSpots, which allows Apture to populate hyperlinks on the fly on any page on the web. Publishers have to add one line of code and hyperlinks will appear for readers without publishers having to link. The links point to Apture overlays which give a range of data to a reader without them having to leave the page: Wikipedia, CrunchBase, search results, maps, etc. In an interview today, Harris explained that when he started the company back in 2007, he felt that there was an incredible opportunity within the medium of the web to find contextual information to help you understand what you are looking at on a webpage. Harris wanted Apture to become part of the ‘fabric of the web’. But in the past few years, Harris says that he realizes that the browseritself is part of the medium that will shape how information is really accessible. “You can’t talk about making information accessible without talking about the web browser,” he explains. With that thought in mind, when Google approached Harris and the company over the past few months with an acquisition offer, the integration made sense. Combined with google’s own mission of making information accesible, “the Chrome platform has 200 active million users a month and that’s a huge scale that Apture’s technology could reach,” says Harris. Google says of the acquisition, “We were impressed by the Apture team’s approach to enhancing the web browser experience, and we think their expertise will complement the Chrome team’s efforts in this area.” The Apture team, which is composed of ten employees, will be joining the Google Chrome team improve user experience. Google says that Apture’s plug-ins and white-label technology will be shut down within next month or so. Harris says, “We’re bringing all things we’ve been doing and a lot more to the Chrome team. With the growth of Chrome as a browser, it’s clear why this acquisition make so much sense, and who else would you want to partner with to the change-up fabric of the internet? We’re going to make browsing much more than it’s ever been and it’s really exciting.” For Google, this is also a bit of a talent acquisition as well. Harris previously worked in the user interface engineering world of Apple, where he has two pending patents. He helped build the first ad server for Wikia, was also a Mayfield Fellow with the Stanford Technology Ventures Program and dropped out of the Stanford Computer Science Masters program to start Apture. Sar is also on a leave of absence from the Stanford Computer Science PhD program and has published several academic papers in Operating Systems and Security, and is the author of several pending patents. All around, the acquisition is a win for Google. It was only a matter of time before a web giant like Google or Facebook snapped up the startup, and it doesn’t hurt to add a number of talented developers and engineers as well.

View original post here:
Google Buys Contextual Rich News Browsing Startup Apture To Beef Up Chrome

Green Vehicle Technology, Where Are We At?

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:00:18 +0000

Photo: Eco Car via Shutterstock Electric Vehicle, a very old technology Electric cars have been around for a very long time, the first EV was invented in the first part of the 19 th century , but it wasn’t until the beginning of the 19 th century that electric cars outsold all other types of cars (steam and gasoline). For several reasons, including the need for longer range vehicles, the decrease of gasoline price, and the mass production of internal combustion engine that lowered the price of gasoline powered cars, electric vehicles disappeared by 1935. It was not until the sixties that new attempts to manufacture electric vehicles occurred. Thanks to several legislative initiatives, the electric car was revived in the nineties; however, EVs were still too expensive and did not offer the same performance as regular gasoline-powered vehicles, and consequently, manufacturers produced very few units. Today, we are witnessing a renewed interest for electric and hybrid vehicles, probably due to the steady rise of oil prices. Additionally, the technology seems to be there, making electric cars more attractive to consumers, both in performance and price. Green Vehicle Technology, Where Are We At? , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : iPhone 4S Review , Galaxy S2 Review ,

Here is the original:
Green Vehicle Technology, Where Are We At?