image
Latest
Visualized: Nokia's 41-megapixel PureView sensor (updated with video)
If you thought a bigger pixel count just meant bigger file sizes, then take a look above. That big guy at the bottom is the 41-megapixel sensor we saw unsheathed in our hands on, and responsible for those awesome Nokia 808 PureView shots we saw at MWC on Monday. The two above it are 8- and 5-megapixel sensors respectively, and give you an idea of the real-estate cost of packing a superior snapper. At two and a half times the physical size of the N8's prized optics, we think the PureView system earns its title as the biggest thing in mobile imaging somewhat convincingly.Update: In case you're still confused, one of Nokia's chief camera experts Damian Dinning gives a thorough walkthrough of the technology in our Engadget interview. There's also a Nokia video after the break.
DevJuice: ShipIt! provides customizable image resizing for multiresolution development
ShipIt!, currently on sale for $0.99 at the Mac App Store, offers a simple utility for resizing multiresolution images. Its suite of standardized image formats (such as 512x512 iTunes artwork, 57x57 iPhone icons, and 72x72 iPad ones) ensure that you can create consistent elements from your core art. Drag your art onto the app window, choose a destination and the formats you wish to export to and the app creates the resized elements. As utilities for a buck go, ShipIt may save you a bit of time if it fits into your development flow. I found its user interface to be a bit crude, with the step-by-step process at the bottom of the window not really working for me. I would have preferred to see more state information onscreen. When you pick the default output folder in "step 1", that directory is not visible anywhere onscreen. I also wish the export file types were integrated into the main window instead of floating. As the floating window is, it cannot be resized. This means you can't just have all the elements visible on-screen at once. What's more, the checkboxes didn't act in a standard OS X way -- they sometimes resisted attempts to uncheck them if they were the sole item selected. In the end, ShipIt! seems to have the right idea but could use work on how it gets you to that place.
Biological computer can decode images stored in DNA chips, applications remain unclear
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and Technion–Israel Institute of Technology have taken biological computing one step further, with a new molecular machine capable of decoding images stored on a DNA chip. Though it's referred to as a "biological computer," the researchers' machine isn't much like a CPU at all -- unless your CPU was manufactured in a test tube filled with a smoothie of DNA molecules, enzymes and ATP. Once they found the right mix, the team proceeded to encrypt images on a DNA chip and used their Turing machine-like creation to decode them, with fluorescent stains helping to track its progress. The above image, read from left to right, gives a more literal idea of what the system can do -- basically, it takes a hidden image and extracts a given sequence. Storing data on DNA isn't anything new, but decrypting said data in this fashion apparently is. The applications for this kind of organic computing remain a bit fuzzy, but it's pretty clear that whatever follows probably won't look anything like a typical computer. The team's findings were recently published in a paper for the journal Angewandte Chemie, the abstract for which is linked below. For a slightly more readable explanation, check out the full press release after the break.
eye3 hexicopter helps your DSLR take flight for $999
Your camera wants to take flight -- trust us, it does -- and an ambitious new project aims to make your DSLR's aeronautic ambitions a reality. The eye3 hexacopter is a six-armed carbon-fiber unmanned arial vehicle (UAV) that hopes to make aerial photography accessible to the masses. Designed by a couple with a hankering for robotics, the flying machine is modular (for easy repair) and navigates using a combination of Google Maps and open-source code. Those without a pilot license need not worry: the eye3 utilizes the oft-improving APM2 software for a "compact yet powerful" autopilot experience. The UAV can carry a payload of five to ten pounds, boasts three CPUs and has a 350-watt motor strapped to each tentacle. Fly past the break to watch a video from eye3's creators... get to the choppa'!
Polaroid announces Android-powered SC1630 Smart Camera, slated for release this year
Here's something we weren't expecting to see at CES today: Polaroid has just announced a new camera... powered by Android. The company's new, 16-megapixel SC1630 Smart Camera features a 3x optical zoom lens, 3.2-inch touch-based display, 36-108mm lens and WiFi capabilities, but the real story here is the Android UI integration. With this five-ounce portable, users can take shots in 18 different scene modes and instantly upload their images to social networking sites. Plus, since it's linked to the Android Market, they'll even be able to sync it up with any of the myriad photo apps already available to smartphone and tablet users, while finding comfort in that oh-so familiar Android UI. Pricing is still a mystery and Polaroid hasn't offered a release date more specific than "2012," but we'll hopefully find out more when we get our hands on it here in Las Vegas. Full PR after the break.
Dropbox 'experimenting' with photo and video import, enables instant transfer to the cloud
Dropbox is handing out yet another early peek at a fresh new tool for the early-adopting enthusiast crowd. The cloud-based storage service is introducing a feature that'll allow all your photo / video captured memories to be instantly transferred as soon as you plug in a device that houses your media, and you can have a raw look at the "experimental build" now. Before you do, though, Dropbox is warning you to take the dive at your own risk. There's no word on when the tool will hit the masses, but if you're willing to get past the notice, the source link will fill you in on all the necessary deets.
Over one percent of League of Legends players have been banned
Handling antisocial behaviour has always been a problem for online game developers, and MOBAs like League of Legends certainly get the worst of it. The inherently team-based nature and slippery slope gameplay in MOBAs makes it very easy for one antisocial player to ruin a game and cause your team to lose. The problem is normally tackled head-on with a report tool and a suite of hired GMs, but what do you do if your game is free-to-play and has over 15 million registered players? It would be impractical to hire thousands of GMs to police a community of that size, so Riot Games came up with an alternative in the Tribunal system. The Tribunal allows players who have played enough games to reach level 30 to vote on whether to take action against a reported player. Once enough votes are tallied, either the player is pardoned automatically or his case is submitted to a smaller GM team to await punishment. The system went live earlier this year, and Riot has now revealed how incredibly successful the system has been with the publication of some very interesting banning statistics. The biggest shocker is that a whopping 1.4% of LoL's over 15 million players have been banned with the system, a workload that far exceeds the capacity of a traditional GM team. Ninety-four percent of players submitted to the Tribunal are punished, with about 50% of them never reoffending. Skip past the cut for an image showing these and other statistics, and stay tuned to our weekly Not So Massively column every Monday for more LoL news and updates.
Verizon Galaxy Nexus factory images released, modders can start modding (updated)
Eager to start tinkering with your brand new Verizon Galaxy Nexus but worried you'll be stuck with a brick if something goes wrong? Then you can now rest a bit easier, as Google Software Engineer Jean-Baptiste Queru has kindly released the official factory images for the phone so you can fall back to something stable. That's specifically the original ITL41D images, not the newer ICL53F version that was released earlier today, although we doubt that little fact will hold up anyone from diving right in. Those ready to do so can find the download at the source link below.Update: And just like that, Google's released the ICL53F factory images. You can go ahead and grab them at the source now.
Google's new Street View feature provides eerie glimpse of post-tsunami Japan
Google has put the devastation of March's Japanese tsunami in hauntingly stark relief, with the release of a new Street View feature that covers the country's most ravaged regions. It's all part of an initiative to "digitally archive" the aftermath of this year's earthquake and tsunami, with Street View images captured across some 44,000 kilometers of Northeastern Japan. The panoramic, 360-degree photos cover both inland and coastal regions, allowing users to retroactively trace the path of destruction across Fukushima and other areas, while placing them at ground level amidst a graveyard of battered homes and abandoned buildings. Google hopes this archive will help scientists to gain a better understanding of the damage wreaked by natural disasters, while preserving the memory of those who suffered most. It's viscerally eerie, powerful and, above all, tragic. Be sure to check it out at the source link below.
Hexxeh adds a splash of lime to Chromium OS, brings extra hardware and plugin support
The open source version of Google's Chrome OS just got a zesty refresh. Capable of being housed in a mere USB stick, the latest image improves on Hexxeh's Vanilla release with hardware support for more WiFi models and NVIDIA 6 series GPUs and above. It will still benefit from regular updates to the latest Chromium build, while this Lime flavor arrives with full Java support and the promise of more plugins soon. The maker is also willing to accept suggestions for future device support. Chromium obsessives with hardware compatibility woes can try getting in touch at the source below.
Dell posts inaccurate graphics card comparison, promptly removes it and apologizes
Dell's latest attempt to promote its high-end GPUs has fallen flat among online consumers, all because of a rather misleading comparison. The snafu stems from the above image, originally posted on the company's "Help me choose" feature -- an online assistant designed to help users customize their Optiplex desktops. At left is a desktop with a normal graphics card, juxtaposed with an identical machine packing Dell's "high-end" GPU. Both are displaying a Windows desktop at the same resolution, but the render on the left looks noticeably blurry. As many Reddit users soon pointed out, even the most prosaic of graphics cards would be able to transmit a blur-free Windows desktop, implying that the PC manufacturer may have taken some unfounded liberties with its imagery. PC Pro notified Dell of the discrepancy, and the graphic has since been removed. The company also issued the following apology, claiming that it had no intention of bending the truth: Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Dell endeavours to help customers to make the best decisions regarding their purchases. It was never our intention to mislead customers, and we apologise for any confusion caused. We have now removed the image from our Global sites. Dell remains committed to delivering the best possible experience to all our customers.
Daily iPad App: Photogene
Unlike many, I didn't buy the iPhone 4S for Siri. It's nice to have a voice assistant, but what I really wanted was the camera. I shoot a lot of photos throughout the day using my iPhone and have been looking for a good image editor to complement its camera. Now with PhotoStream, I am no longer limited to using the iPhone for editing. I can automatically transfer my photos and edit them on my iPad, a convenience that led me to try Photogene for the iPad. Photogene is a fantastic editing application that's great for tweaking and touching up photos. You name it and Photogene has it. It lets you crop, straighten, resize, sharpen, reduce noise, adjust color, correct red-eye and remove unwanted blemishes or spots. If you want to get more creative, there's also specialized effects like reflection or vignette and standard effects like dodge & burn, blur, and grayscale. You can add captions and text to images and apply artistic filters such as sepia or charcoal. There's even several categories of presets that'll let you add a border or change the look of your photo in just a few taps. And if you don't like what you have done, there's multiple undo and redo. One of my favorite features is the collage creator which takes up to six photos and turns them into one image using templates. The app comes with a handful of collage templates and you can buy a pack of 60 that gives you twelve designs for each group of photos (12 templates for a 2 photo collage, 12 templates for a 3 photo collage, and so on). When you're done, you can export your images back to your iPad's photo library, upload them to an online web service like Dropbox, Flickr or Picasa, or share them via email, Facebook or Twitter. If you have a printer, you can use AirPrint to get a hard copy. Photogene is available for $2.99 from the App Store and is a must have for anyone that uses their iOS device for photos or image editing.
Cordon multi-target photo-radar system leaves no car untagged (video)
Go easy on the gas, Speed Racer, because Cordon is on its way. Developed by Simicon, this new speed sensor promises to take highway surveillance to new heights of precision. Unlike most photo radar systems, which track only one violator at a time, Simicon's device can simultaneously identify and follow up to 32 vehicles across four lanes. Whenever a car enters its range, the Cordon will automatically generate two images: one from wide-angle view and one closeup shot of the vehicle's license plate. It's also capable of instantly measuring a car's speed and mapping its position, and can easily be synced with other databases via WiFi, 3G or WiMAX. Plus, this device is compact and durable enough to be mounted upon a tripod or atop a road sign, making it even harder for drivers to spot. Fortunately, though, you still have time to change your dragster ways, as distributor Peak Gain Systems won't be bringing the Cordon to North America until the first quarter of 2012. Cruise past the break to see some footage of a field trial that's currently underway -- cars tagged with a green dot are traveling below the speed limit, those with a yellow marking are chugging along within an acceptable range above the limit, while vehicles with a red tab are just asking for trouble.
Corning peels back the petals on Lotus Glass, promises low-power, high performance
The glass masters over at Corning are at it again. The same company that unleashed Gorilla Glass upon the world has now come out with a brand new, albeit less ferocious-sounding material, known as Corning Lotus Glass. Designed with LCD and OLED displays in mind, this substrate promises to deliver pristine picture quality without sucking up too much power. According to Corning, this performance is largely due to Lotus' thermal and dimensional stability, which allows for greater resolution and speedier response times. These thermal properties also allow it to maintain its form during especially hot processing, thereby avoiding any nasty warping effects. Corning Lotus Glass has already launched into production, but there's no word yet on when we can expect to see it pop up in commercial products. Head past the break for a rather florid press release.
SuperNote lets you take some pretty super notes on your ASUS tablet (video)
Sit back and take notes while we... talk about SuperNote. This note-taking app quietly debuted on the Eee Pad Transformer and Slider earlier this month, when ASUS rolled out an OTA update to Android 3.2.1, but the company has now provided substantially more details on the feature, which promises to "revolutionize the way you take notes in class." With SuperNote onboard, students can write or scribble using either the keyboard or their own fingers. That isn't exactly enthralling, in and of itself, but what's cool is the fact that SuperNote will convert each hand-drawn item into an image, allowing users to seamlessly modify or delete their own characters as if they were typed text. The tool also makes it easy to insert graphs or charts, thanks to an "Add Annotation" option that integrates diagrams directly into your lecture notes. And, perhaps best of all, the app will even let you insert photos, meaning you can just take a shot of your professor's blackboard and worry about understanding it later. Intrigued? Check out a demo video, after the break.
Scientists capture birth of new planet on camera, mother and child doing just fine
After all the pushing, squeezing and screaming, the universe has finally given birth to a new planet, in an eruption that two scientists managed to capture on film. The newborn pile of planetary pudge, named LkCa 15 b, was discovered by Drs. Michael Ireland and Adam Kraus, who, over the course of 12 months, successfully documented the event using Keck telescopes and a technique called aperture mask interferometry. Their findings, published in Astrophysical Journal describe a Jupiter-like gaseous planet that likely began forming some 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. Located about 450 light years from Earth, it's also the youngest planet ever observed, having dethroned the previous record-holder, which was about five times older. According to Ireland and Kraus, the LkCa 15 b is still being formed out of a circle of dust and gas (pictured above) surrounding a 2-million-year-old star. By observing a "young gas giant in the process of formation," the researchers hope to find answers to fundamental questions that have long eluded them. "These very basic questions of when and where are best answered when you can actually see the planet forming, as the process is happening right now," Kraus explained to the AP. Head past the break to see an artist's rendering of the newborn, and if you get the chance, be sure to send flowers.
Chipworks throws an iPhone 4S under its infrared microscope, finds Sony-sourced image sensor
Look closely. Can you spot it? That gray abyss is actually an infrared image by Chipworks revealing an iPhone 4S' Sony-branded, 8 megapixel CMOS sensor. Looks like Howard Stringer wasn't bluffing to Walt Mossberg back in April, after all. At the time, it was reported that Apple's usual sensor supplier, OmniVision, was experiencing production delays, prompting speculation that Sony would eventually usurp the position. While the iPhone 4S that Chipworks looked into seems to confirm this, it's pointed out that Apple does have a habit of "dual sourcing" components (with its contacts saying this should be no different), so Sony may not be the sole supplier this time around. What ever the case, there's no denying that the iPhone 4S takes some stellar shots. You'll find more information -- including X-rays of the 4S -- at the source link below.
Spotted in Los Angeles: Thank you, Steve
I spotted this great piece of graffiti art on the streets of Hollywood while heading home last night, and thought you TUAW readers would enjoy it. Unfortunately, I have no idea who actually put this up -- there wasn't any tag or signature on it, and it was just on a wall otherwise covered with various other pieces and posters. But in a way, that made it even better -- just one person's anonymous sentiment that echoes what so many of us feel. And I can tell you that the excellent detail and stark spray of the whole thing (if you can't tell, the whole picture was about eight feet tall, and really stood out on the corner) was pretty awesome to see. Thanks, LA artist, and thank you to the late great Steve Jobs as well.
Image Comics joins the ComiXology banner
ComiXology has grabbed yet another major comic book publisher for its iOS app, this time recruiting Image Comics to publish to the digital platform day and date with the paper releases. The app has already landed both DC and Marvel in publishing agreements, so adding the Image stable of comics to the mix really rounds out the selections. ComiXology will publish Image's comics same day on the iOS and Android apps, as well as in digital form on the company's website. And Image will use ComiXology's tech to power its own digital website, as well as run its own branded iOS app. That's good new for fans of Chew, The Infinite, The Walking Dead, or any of the other comic books currently being published under the Image Comics heading. And it's also good news for ComiXology, which is slowly building up a comic book digital publishing empire, all built on Apple's iOS platform. The company is slowly expanding its operations beyond the App Store's borders, but there's no doubt at all that much of its success is predicated on the original App Store app (one of the first comic book readers on iPhone and later on the iPad). There's been a lot of talk about the battle between ink and paper publishers and the new digital publishing industry, but ComiXology is right out there on the front lines, and appears to be doing quite well. Update: Just to clarify, Image already had a few comics in the ComiXology system. But the fact that the entire line is now day and date is the news here.
PS3 will support 4K stills after a future update, moving pictures remain out of reach
Once you've cleared the $25k or so in your budget that it will take to snag one of Sony's 4K VPL-VW1000ES your next problem will be finding some 4096x2160 res content to view on it. While showing off the new beamer for its Japanese audience at CEATEC today, Sony announced the PS3 will get a firmware update around the beginning of 2012 that will allow it to natively output 4K stills. There's a PlayView "visual magazine" already available on the PlayStation store in Japan that supports 4K and 3D, but this update will bring super high res viewing of your vacation pics, or any other high res image files you can snag, to the living room. While your friends will no doubt be impressed by the museum-quality art gala you're now capable of hosting, we're starting the timer for 4K video sources -- if we don't hear anything concrete at CES then we'll be incredibly disappointed. %Gallery-135571%
