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Video: Stimulant's XRay mobile app brings SecondLight to any 'ol Surface
When Microsoft demonstrated Surface we were impressed. Then, when they later showed off SecondLight, we were even more impressed -- and then were sorry for anyone who had made the considerable investment in one of the earlier, singularly-lighted tables. We're feeling better now (thanks for asking) after seeing a video demonstration of XRay, a mobile app from Stimulant (who earlier blended a Wii Balance Board with a Surface) that provides similar functionality; letting you effectively see secondary images on the touch-table. The app relies on the ability of the Surface to detect where the phones are, communicating that position to tell them what to display and in what orientation. First up was the iPhone, as seen above, but the app has apparently already been ported to Windows Mobile and Android, meaning most-anyone can get in on the action -- assuming they have both a smart table and smart phone. A-ha-inspired video included below for your '80s flashback amusement.
Microsoft Surface made pressure-sensitive with Wii Balance Board
So you've got a spare Microsoft Surface and Wii Balance Board laying around, whaddya do? Well, you could try stacking them on top of each other and hope that big-ass table doesn't crush your little plastic Nintendo toy, and with some code slapped on what you'd end up with is pressure-sensitive surface computing. This clever little concept was cooked up by Josh Santangelo from "Stimulant." In his demo, featured after the break, he rocks Surface from side to side while colored spots roll back and forth, using a physics engine he developed for MS Silverlight. It's a great start and we would love to see this resourceful hack put to good use -- beyond that of a totally awesome yet ridiculously expensive tilt-a-maze game, minus the maze.
Headshot! Food for gamers
Mmmm mm, guarana extract... nothing quite like it for doping kids via Mountain Dew MDX or Rockstar energy drink just to name a few of the more popular stimulant elixirs. Now a newcomer: the Headshot Gamer Bar. Oh yes it is, a candy bar with oomph for plenty of late night sniping fun. Fortunately, it's said to taste like toffee, not ape guano, and destined for retail at gaming centers across North America. You know -- someday, somewhere in the baggage room at Greyhound, some beat poet will scratch: "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by guarana, starving hysterical, naked, dragging themselves through the Vice City streets at dawn looking for an angry fix." Don't believe us? Click-on for the ingredients.
