Its Electronica

Photo [3dnatureguy/Wikipedia]

Some of science fiction’s predictions have passed fitfully into the present; video phones and geostationary satellites for example. Others seem destined to remain forever in the hereafter, despite being almost universal in movies and literature. The list will be familiar: jetpacks, food pills, silver clothes with giant collars.

One technology, though, resurfaces every few years and makes it to market, only to disappear into the morass of nostalgia soon after. These are 3-D displays, attempts to turn boring old flat telly into a depth-charged experience. Some products failed because they were junk, others just fade from view and resurface years later. This is a list of the most notable flops.

3-D Spex

We see in three dimensions because we have two eyes. Our brain compares the images, works out the differences and presents us with in depth information. Try it: Close one eye and then try to touch your index fingers together. Tricky, huh? Until we achieve a true holographic display, all 3-D tech works by presenting the brain with two images. 3-D spex do this using anaglyphs, which combine two images from different cameras into one, but coloring the two images differently. By wearing the corresponding colors over our eyes, each eye sees a different picture.

The original green/red split works for black and white images, and red/cyan is OK for color. The problem is, you end up feeling seasick. Another version uses polarized lenses which flicker on and off, revealing one frame onscreen to one eye at a time. Fine if it is in sync, and free of color casts. If the setup isn’t good, though, you’ll be running straight to the bathroom.

Viewmaster

This one was a shock. To anybody who remembers the original Viewmaster, or at least its non bake-lite incarnations which used the same design, a quick trip to the official Viewmaster site is in order. Somebody has taken the classic stereoscope and turned it into a piece of plastic tat. The stereo viewer was never the classiest of toys, and usually featured reels of movie tie-ins or theme parks, but why did they have to mess with the iconic case?

Virtual Reality Helmets

This simple equation should tell you why VR failed commercially:

Amusement Arcade + vision-impairing helmet = pickpockets’ paradise

Tomytronic and Nintendo Virtual Boy

The Tomytronic, big in the 1980s and Nintendo’s Virtual Boy, released in 1995, share more than a little DNA. Aside from the shape, both were capable of turning the stomach of a healthy schoolboy in minutes. While Tomy’s little box confined itself to simple racing, shooting and flying, Nintendo was a whole lot more ambitious, with full first-person 3-D titles like Mario Tennis.

The big difference was in credibility, though. Owning a Tomytronic meant instant schoolyard kudos. Owning a Virtual Boy, along with the ridiculous stand, was nothing more than a badge of nerdism. Combined with the red-on-black graphics, high price and lack of third party games, the VB was a rare rare flop amongst Nintendo handhelds. But then, perhaps it wasn’t a handheld at all.

Autostereogram

Unique in this list in that it doesn’t use any kind of viewer, the autostereogram will be familiar to you from the cheap posters sold alongside the "Pope Smokes Dope" T-shirts at your local shopping mall head shop.

They combine two repeating images which are photographed (or computer generated) from different angles. The most common type is viewed "wall-eyed", or by trying to focus your eyes slightly behind the picture. This tricks your brain into thinking it is seeing two different images and they get recombined into a 3-D picture. Amusing exactly once, these are best hung on the back of the bathroom door where they can be viewed in peace after morning coffee.

Special Mention: The Holodeck

The holodeck from Star Trek: The Next Generation is the holy grail of 3-D. Fully immersive and utterly convincing, it combines 3-D with touch, sound and smell. In the squeaky-clean Star Trek future, it is used for learning and innocent recreation. In the real world, it would have but one purpose. Sex.

Filed in archive Tip by jim on April 30, 2008

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New models of anything, cars, cameras, appliances, and computers, e.g. are always appealing and hold the promise of better performance.

Usually that is the case, but sometimes the new isn't any better than the old, and many times the old is still able to hold its head up among the newest competition.

If you need or simply want a new digital camera and your budget is limited, or you simply don't want to spend more than X amount of dollars, and it's not enough to buy the latest gee-whiz digital camera, try this.

Check out the previous models and research those that appeal to you. After a camera has been with us for a year or so there are bound to be dozens of both professional and consumer reviews on it.

Now that these older models have seen significant real world use you can get tell if there's a real overlooked gem out there selling at a heavily discounted price.

Even though new digital cameras are introduced all the time this time of year is when the bulk of the new cameras are unveiled.

If you want a 10 MP camera, and don't have the bucks for the best, consider what was the best a year ago, and check out the specs.

It could be that last year's top of the line 8MP camera, that you couldn't afford then, is better than some of the newest models with 10MP imaging devices that you can afford now. You probably can't afford the very best 10MP camera now, just as you couldn't afford its predecessor last year. But, last year's best 8MP is probably better than all but the very best new 10MP cameras, and now you can afford that previously unattainable camera.

Keep in mind that while lots of megapixels is nice, the lens and processing engine are important too. Fewer pixels with better processors and lenses can produce better pictures than more pixels and lesser glass and processing.

Check out this useful article with recommendations for great bargains on last year's better digital cameras.

Take a camera with you whenever possible, and look around, you'll find a picture somewhere.

Source:www.loopygadgets.com

Good to see companies aren’t all money-faced, as AT&T has shown that it still possesses some remnant of humanity by offering a text plan that caters to subscribers who are deaf or suffer from a hearing/speech disability.

Today, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced a new Text Accessibility Plan (TAP) for iPhone, designed to give iphone customers with disabilities the choice of unlimited text messaging, Web browsing and easy access to e-mail for $40 a month.

Both new and current eligible iPhone users with disabilities will be able to sign up for this plan. I wonder how much goodwill can be generated from this exercise, and when will AT&T’s rivals follow suit?

Along with the Nokia 6600 Fold, Nokia also unveiled its alternative, the Nokia 6600 slide, for those who prefer slider phones over clamshells.

Just like the Nokia 6600 Fold, the slider version also has the double-tap feature. Tapping the phone twice displays the time, shows alerts, and even rejects incoming calls. The Nokia 6600 slide is equipped with a 2.2-inch QVGA display as well as a 3.2 megapixel camera which takes high quality pictures that you can send through Internet connection of MMS. Devoid of 3G functionality, the Nokia 6600 slide goes for a slightly lower price of 200.

It appears that Perpetual Kid, a site designed to “entertain your inner child”, has lived up to their slogan with the Lego speakers for the iPod and iPhone.

These Lego speakers have a connector that is fully compatible with the iPod Classic, Nano, and Mini. I can only assume that the sound comes out of those big plus signs that you see on the front. What you don’t see are the volume controls that are apparently “camouflaged” by design.

This contraption apparently requires no batteries, so I can only guess that it gets its power from the ipod or iPhone itself. This could result in a short time of use, but the site doesn’t say how long the Lego speaker will play off of a fully charged device.

Apparently, this is not a registered product of Lego, which makes me wonder if this brick could fit together with my other Lego bricks. I can think of some spaceship models that could be greatly improved by a little iPod attachment.

Maybe some of Lego maniacs out there can try it out, and let me know if it works. It is available at the Perpetual Kid site for about $24.99 in Yellow, Black, Red, Green, Blue, or White.

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With energy costs rising all over the world, it makes perfect sense to get more power-friendly devices in your home, along with the Cost Controller Power Strip. After all, seeing the number steadily increase while you turn on that dual SLI gaming rig of yours will surely cut down on your gaming time as your brain goes into overdrive, wondering what you’re going to survive on in the coming month after a huge chunk of your salary ends up with the energy company. The Cost Controller Power Strip is also able to monitor the voltage, line frequency and power factor of your power. It retails for a shade under $100 and would make a pretty decent gift for virtually anyone.

Samsung Techwin has rolled out a couple of new digital cameras known as the i100 and the i80 to its VLUU i Series lineup. Meant for beginners as well as entry-level shutterbugs nicknamed as a ‘Digital Nomad’ by Samsung, both the VLUU i100 and i80 support a multi-charging function which allows data transmission and battery charging through USB without the need and hassle for an adapter. In addition to capturing pixel perfect pictures with its 10.2 megapixel sensor and 3x optical zoom lens, other shared features include a video recording capability, MP3 playback, a text viewer and voice recording. The VLUI i100 will come in silver, dark gray, brown and red colors while the VLUU i80 has only black and silver as your choices. The former will retail for less than $400 while the latter lies a shade under $300.

Source: AVing

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Attention wet people: Sealife has released the DC800 Underwater digital camera. This modular unit — it drops into a waterproof case or will operate as an out-of-water point-and-shoot — includes an 8-megapixel camera with 2.7-inch display, wide-angle lens, SD/SDHC card support, and 4x optical zoom. So what makes this camera diver-friendly? Its menus and modes are designed for sub-surface snappers with five underwater modes to deal with the various water bodies’ muck, grime, and color. The DC800 will function at 200 feet, weighs about 17 ounces and will set you back $549. Sure, you could get another point-and-shoot and waterproof case, but prepare to suffer the ridicule of your diver friends.
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by Darren Murph, posted Apr 29th 2008 at 7:43AM

Go on, admit it — your day in the early 90s was never complete without reaching down in public and giving those Pumps a solid squeeze. In all honesty, we can’t say that Ki-Seung Lee’s Airboard is quite on that level, but it’s certainly got the potential to be. This laptop stand was designed to reside in your lap or on your hotel room table and give each individual user the ability to elevate it as he / she sees fit. Of course, the usefulness would really take a hit if this thing takes five minutes to get good and inflated, but we could certainly see this becoming ergonomist-approved should it ever hit retail.

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Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

For most, Alienware’s AlienNetwork debut was somewhat of a letdown. Nevertheless, at least one good thing did come out of the whole event, and that’s the availability of the m17x gaming monster. This 17-inch beast of a laptop finally has its own dedicated page, and yes, you can get your order in starting today. Packed within, you’ll find your choice of Intel Core 2 Duo processor, twin GPUs for that sweet SLI action, a WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) display, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, oodles of hard drive space, a dual-layer DVD writer (or optional Blu-ray burner), enough ports for you and your cousin and a 12-cell battery that’ll likely last an hour on a good day. Sadly, this Crysis destroyer starts at $2,949 (and breaks the $5k mark with ease), and it looks as if units won’t start arriving until late May at best.
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