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Online advertisers take on Google with their own third-party cookie alternative
Online advertisers have come up with their own ad tracking alternative to Google's FLoC.
Swans help create smoother camera drone videos
The next time you see a graceful, dramatic video shot by a camera drone, you may have a swan to thank for the absence of any jittery footage. Stanford University researchers are developing camera suspension technology inspired by whooping swans, whose heads remain remarkably still even when they're making aggressive in-flight maneuvers. Thanks to a blend of high-speed video and computer modeling, the scientists discovered that the swan's neck acts much like a vehicle's suspension, passively countering the effects of flapping wings or headwinds. It'll likely take a while before the nature-inspired design reaches something you can buy, but you may well see a day where drones are producing sharp, stable video even when they're traveling at high speeds or facing strong gusts. [Image credit: AP Photo/Sergei Grits]
The Swan Station's Apple-II Plus and other Lost gadgets on the auction block this month
We don't want to spoil anything, but ABC's Lost is over and done with -- sorry, but it's really time to move on. Still can't let go? Apologize to your pocketbook and book a ticket to Santa Monica for the end of August for the official show auction. Literally hundreds of outfits and props are being sold off, including numerous gadgets from its six-year-run. Naomi's Iridium 9500 satellite phone with a then-futuristic UI? Suggested starting price is between $200 and $300. Brainwashing LED goggles? Also up for grabs -- although not functioning. Our favorite item has to be the Swan Station computer used to type the Numbers every 108 minutes, an Apple-II Plus system with an Apple III monitor, apparently re-used later for scenes in the Pearl Station. That'll set you back at least $1,000, but we'd be surprised if that price didn't skyrocket. We've gone ahead and made a gallery of the gadgets, but feel free to hit up the source if you want to see what else is going on sale. Not in the auction: the identity of those who shot at the canoe in Season 5's "The Little Prince." Seriously, would it have been so hard to tie that in somewhere? Sigh. %Gallery-98181% [Thanks, Michael T. and Walt... my Son]
Bonjour SCX-4500W: Apple's favorite Samsung multi-function printer goes wireless
Samsung's sexy little multi-function, monochrome laser printer, copier, and color scanner just hit the FCC with a tiny surprise: 802.11b/g WiFi and 10/100 Ethernet. That's right, Sammy's Swan (aka, SCX-4500) now comes in a SCX-4500W version supporting Windows, Mac, and Linux machines; LPR, IPP/HTTP, DHCP, and BOOTP protocols; and WEP or WPA Personal WiFi encryption. As a bonus, it also supports Bonjour to make network detection for your Mac (and suitably installed PCs) a snap. Not really a surprise since the SCX-4500W made its first US appearance exclusively in Apple's retail stores. No word on when it will pop for retail, but we expect it to snag a $300 or so price tag. FCC glamor shot after the break.
Ghost Squad stands out from the crowd
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles may have the power of a big series behind it, and Link's Crossbow Training has that and the whole pack-in thing, but Sega's Ghost Squad has something very important that none of the other Zapper titles can claim: swan-shaped jet skis. We won't know for sure until the games come out, but we feel confident about predicting a lack of swan-shaped jet skis in Crossbow Training and Umbrella Chronicles.Between these, the dolphin squirt guns, and the be-swimsuited antagonists, Ghost Squad's bonus mode is starting to become very aquatic-themed. It's also becoming very hilariously surreal, and we can't wait to see what else pops up. Oh, Sega. You've already earned our admiration. You had us at dolphin-shaped guns. It's strange, but even more than the Sega fan dream of a NiGHTS sequel, a port is bringing back our long-dormant feelings of Sega fandom.
Apple the exclusive US retailer of Samsung's new printers
Korea's Chosun Ilbo English language site is reporting that Apple will be the exclusive retailer of Samsung's "world's slimmest monochrome laser printer" ML-1630 and multi-function SCX-4500. Otherwise known as the "Swan" and "Logan" respectively, they are expected to hit shelves starting will remain Apple exclusives until January 2008 at Apple's 160 or so retail stores -- a first for a Samsung product. According to an unnamed Samsung official, "Apple suggested the exclusive sales of Samsung's new printers at its retail stores. Apple is charmed by their sleek design and convenient user interface." How sweet. But until we see a press release from either Apple or Samsung, we'll chalk this one up to rumor mongering for the time being.Update: The pair is already available "exclusively" from Apple's on-line store for $200 and $300 and should be on Apple shelves already.[Thanks, AC]
Samsung intros 20-, 22-inch 'Swan' LCD monitors
While the most recent LCDs to emerge from Samsung's laboratories have been of the, um, gigantic variety, the firm's latest duo caters to the desk dwellers rather than the AV junkies. The 20-inch SyncMaster CX2032GW/BW models and 22-inch SyncMaster CX2232GW/BWs each consist of a widescreen Magic Clear panel (no word on resolution, however), and are designed with an "elastomer material which enables users to adjust the angles in any way they feel comfortable with." These aptly-nicknamed "Swan" displays should be available in Korea real soon, and while the 20-incher will demand ???368,000 ($399), the slightly larger sibling will run you a modest ???437,000 ($475).[Via Chosun]
SWAN: System for Wearable Audio Navigation
A team of Georgia Tech researchers have devised a wearable computer system that promises to help blind people navigate unfamiliar areas, and please the acronym police as well. Like most prototypes, the the SWAN (System for Wearable Audio Navigation) is pretty bulky in its current form, with a laptop, GPS, inertial sensors, pedometer, RFID tags, RF sensors, a compass, and other gear all stuffed into a backpack, although they're apparently already working on a smaller version. To get navigation information to the wearer, the SWAN employs a pair of "bonephones" (also developed by Georgia Tech), which send sounds to the person using bone conduction, letting them keep their ears free to hear what's going on around them. Instead of using traditional voice navigation, however, the SWAN uses what the researchers call "3D audio cues," which consist of navigational beacons that the person is supposed to walk towards, and secondary sounds informing them of nearby objects or changes in walking surfaces. Makes the UltraCane seem a little old-fashioned, no?[Via Roland Piquepaille's Technology Trends]
