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Student Creates Multi-Touch Software and Table for Science Project

Brad Baldwin — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:54:59 +0000

Here’s one student that takes the “Science Fair” to the next level. Bridger Maxwell, a high school student at Utah County Academy of Sciences (UCAS) decided to create a multi-touch table for his Science Fair entry–kinda like an iPhone screen, and Microsoft Surface on a budget.

The multi-touch experience allows for object movement, rotation, growing and shrinking, and even multi-hand, multi-person use. Inspired by movies like Minority Report, Maxwell leverages Apple OS X, code developed during Google Summer of Code called Open Touch, and his own code. The table, made from plexiglass and a dissembled Acer monitor, uses infrared light emitting diodes and an IR camera to detect and transmit fingertip motions as inputs.

Maxwell also expects to experience a future where multi-touch technology becomes a standard way to interact with applications, particularly for graphic manipulation and even gaming. Maxwell submitted his code back to the community at code.google.com/p/corkboard/ and has received coverage on Ars Technica and a local NBC news story.

Maxwell also expects to experience a future where multi-touch technology becomes a standard way to interact with applications, particularly for graphic manipulation and even gaming. While Maxwell didn’t get a summer internship on the iPhone team “this” year, has received coverage on Ars Technica and the local NBC news station. Not bad for a high school student.

Tags: Apple, Brad Baldwin, Bridger Maxwell, Google, iPhone, Multi-Touch, RockyMountainVoices, Summer of Code, Surface, Utah

How to: Quick and Easy Video for the iPhone, Apple TV and new iPods

Kevin Edwards — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:03:18 +0000

Ripping DVDs, transferring video from cameras, or converting downloaded videos from various sources for Apple products can be a difficult and time consuming process. Now with a software update for the Turbo.264 hardware-based video encoder from Elgato Systems, Macintosh users now have a definitive best and fastest way to encode video for all of Apple’s latest products.

This small device simply plugs into any Intel or PowerPC based Mac with a USB port (USB 2 is highly recommended). All of the heavy processing normally done by your computer is offloaded onto the Turbo.264 encoder, resulting in much faster encoding and freeing up your Mac for other tasks.

The older and slower your Mac, the more significant the speed increase will be with this device. We found the Turbo.264 encoded video up to 20 times faster on a G4, but even on higher end Intel based Macs, encoding times were drastically improved with the Turbo.264.

The Elgato Turbo.264 goes for about $90 on Amazon.com, making it a very inexpensive way to bring new life to an old Mac as a video encoding workstation.

The new software for the Turbo.264 couldn’t be any easier to use. As with the earlier software, it allows for batch processing, but more importantly, it provides support for custom data rates and other settings. It also includes simple selections for encoding video optimized for the Apple TV, iPhone, iPods, or the recently announced iPod Touch, iPod Classic and iPod Nano (also known as the iPod Nano Fatty.

While the included software is easy to use, the Turbo.264 comes with plug-ins for QuickTime that allow it to work with any application that uses QuickTime for export. This includes Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro, iMovie (including both HD and ‘08) and third party video apps such as Roxio Popcorn.

For an alternative to the Turbo.264 from Elgato, consider the VideoExpress from Miglia. The Miglia compares very well in terms of hardware and performance, but we find the software for the Turbo.264 to be much better due to the ability to easily customize the settings.

[9/12/2007 - update…]See also:
More Quick and Easy Methods for Video on Your iPhone, Apple TV or New iPod

Tags: Ripping DVD, Turbo.264, video encoder, Elgato Systems, Macintosh, Apple, Intel, PowerPC, USB, Apple TV, iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch, iPod Classic, iPod Nano, iPod Nano Fatty, QuickTime, Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Roxio Popcorn, VideoExpress, Miglia

Mobile Internet Devices Make a Splash at CES 2008

Catherine Girardeau — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:00:25 +0000

Intel continues to develop smaller and smaller microprocessors, and to fit them into elegant platforms to run just about any kind of computer, from sophisticated server arrays to a brand-new class of ultra-portable devices, known as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). MIDs created some genuine buzz at CES 2008 in Las Vegas. Intel’s MID bar at the show was packed with consumers eager to get their hands on these ultra-portable devices, which Intel said combine performance, battery life and wireless connectivity to deliver the “full Internet in your pocket”. Adding everything you can do on your laptop or desktop to lifestyle features, like cameras, messaging, music and video-sharing, the seven brand-new MIDs at the Intel show will be manufactured by various Intel partners and are slated to hit the market by mid-2008. Intel MIDs are powered by the latest in Intel technology in a platform codenamed Menlow, based on a 45-nanometer microprocessor known as Silverthorn and a chipset codenamed Poulsbo. The Menlow platform will deliver state-of-the-art performance to an impressive variety of ultra-small devices, from iPhone-like touchscreen models from Aigo and Clarion, to devices resembling PDAs with slide-out keyboards, to some combination of the two, such as the Samsung, Toshiba, and Lenovo MIDs.

PodTech spoke with Warner Crocker, of GottaBeMobile.com, who posted his own report on the sixth iteration of Samsung’s Q1 Ultra Premium UMPC, (which features Intel technology), as well as Kevin C. Tofel, of jkontherun.com, which also covered Intel’s MID display in a post from the CES show floor.

Tags: Intel, microprocessors, server arrays, Mobile Internet Devices, MIDs, Menlow, 45-nanometer, Silverthorn, chipset, Poulsbo, Warner Crocker, Kevin C. Tofel

MacWorld 2008 and CES 2009: Steve Jobs’ Keynote Address Previews

Kevin Edwards — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:00:06 +0000

PodTech’s Jason Lopez and Kevin Edwards roamed the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show floor where it seems Apple rules–in certain product categories–without even being there. In this 18 minute podcast Kevin and Jason check out a few of the many products made for iPods/iPhones and talk about Apple at CES 2009 in anticipation of the MacWorld Keynote Address next week.

Also, Kevin spews his Mac-cult inspired thoughts on Steve Jobs delivering the keynote at CES 2009

See the Flickr photo set for this podcast.

Tags: Jason Lopez, Kevin Edwards, CES 2008, CES 2009, Consumer Electronics Show, Apple, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, CES, MacWorld, Steve Jobs, Keynote

Intel Ships New 45nm Penryn Chip

Paul Lancour — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:01:30 +0000

Gordon Moore’s Law will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. Intel Corporation’s new 45nm Penryn microprocessor relies on a new recipe that combines the element Hafnium and metal gate technology to increase performance and significantly reduce eco-unfriendly, wasteful electricity leaks. (more…)

Tags: Moore’s Law, 45nm, Penryn, microprocessor, new recipe, Hafnium, metal gate, eco-unfriendly, wasteful electricity leaks

Demo: AtTask Project and Portfolio Management

Brad Baldwin — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:23:04 +0000

AtTask’s VP of Sales, Abraham Knell, shows off the @task Project and Portfolio Management solution. The application has a simple UI that is easy to learn and use. Tabs and drop-down menus in headers give the web-based offering a rich, desktop client-like experience without the hassle of software installs or updates. AtTask offers APIs to integrate into other Enterprise and workflow systems. And with http://www.apple.com Apple as a client, it should come as no surprise that there is an iPhone Web App.

Employees can collaborate and update projects through Microsoft Outlook. Dashboards with traditional Gantt charts and graphical cost, risk, and benefit views make it easy for management to determine status.

Tags: AtTask, Abraham Knell, @task, iPhone Web App, Microsoft Outlook

Keen on… : an airport conversation part 1

editor — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:36:20 +0000

A strikingly odd and obtuse conversation with Andrew Keen and Steve Gillmor. Steve rants on how the iPhone is changing the Universe and how Steve Jobs plans on bringing down the cell phone cartel. Keen makes plans on showing off his derriere if Hillary Clinton doesn’t win the upcoming presidential election and Steve promises to bare all if she does.

Tags: Andrew Keen, Steve Gillmor

A killer spreadsheet for your iPhone: EditGrid

Robert Scoble — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:42:23 +0000

At the recent Office 2.0 conference, we met David Lee, chairman of Editgrid, in the hall at the conference and he gave us a short demo of what’s great about Editgrid for iPhones.

Tags: Office 2.0 conference, David Lee, Editgrid, iPhone

Free iTunes at Starbucks - Larry Magid interviews Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz

editor — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 21:49:43 +0000

Almost overshadowed by the reaction to Apple’s iPhone price cuts and its new iPods was the news that Apple and Starbucks reached a deal where anyone will be able to use iTunes at Starbucks without having to pay Wifi fees. This will work with Macs, PCs and the WiFi equipped iPod touch and iPhone. Users will be able to purchase songs being played at the local Starbucks and see the last 10 songs played.

To get a better understanding of the service, Larry spoke with Starbucks CEO and founder Howard Schultz who participated in Apple’s announcement.

Tags: iPhone price cuts, Apple and Starbucks, iTunes at Starbucks, Howard Schultz

iPhone Price Peeves Early Adopters

editor — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:55:01 +0000

On Wednesday, September 5, Steve Jobs announced several new iPods and made the stunning announcement that he was lowering the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399. This may be good news for potential iPhone buyers but it was a punch in the stomach for some early adopters who felt Apple was punishing them for having been loyal early buyers. After a day of online protests, Steve Jobs said he got it, and issued an open letter to iPhone customers saying that anyone who bought an iPhone would get $100 credit to use at an Apple online or brick and mortar store.

Larry Magid talks about the controversy and interviews Apple VP Phil Schiller about the pricing on the day of the original announcement. It was before the firestorm and Jobs’ “apology.”

Tags: Steve Jobs, iPhone, Phil Schiller

VTap brings innovative video search to cell phones

Robert Scoble — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:51:01 +0000

This is a killer app for your cell phone or iPhone. Why? Getting video onto your cell phone is often impossible. Many sites use Flash only, and don’t provide a format that will work on your cell phone. Well, VTap lets you search for videos like, say, “Ask a Ninja,” and then watch them. If it isn’t in the right format, VTap automatically transcribes it into the right format for your cell phone (or iPhone). This is an awesome app and Murali Aravamudan, CEO of Veveo, talks with me about it and demonstrates it.

Tags: iPhone, VTap, Murali Aravamudan, Veveo

The State of Emerging Markets, Part 1

editor — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:41:55 +0000

Jonathan Schwartz, Sun Microsystems president and CEO, discusses how emerging markets are beginning to realize the unlimited potential of the internet.

Also on TechOne: Michael Cote reports from the iPhoneDevCamp.

Tags: Jonathan Schwartz, Sun Microsystems, iPhoneDevCamp

iPhone: What We Know, What We Don’t Know

Michael Cote — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 21:10:11 +0000

From iPhoneDevCamp, this presentation by Christopher Allen (slides available). Christopher covers the various aspects of using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, different media formats, and then the human interaction methods to keep in mind when developing for the iPhone. Also, check out the community site iPhoneWebDev.

Tags: iPhoneDevCamp, Christopher Allen, iPhone

Joe Hewitt, author of my favorite iPhone apps

Robert Scoble — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:35:11 +0000

On Sunday, at the HP Garage, we met Joe Hewitt, the author of Facebook’s iPhone application. We just had a short chat with him, mostly to say thanks for building a cool app. There’s a longer audio conversation with Joe on TechCrunch today.

Tags: HP, Joe Hewitt, Facebook, iPhone application

LunchMeet: Could OpenMoko be the Open iPhone Killer?

Eddie Codel — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:17:24 +0000

OpenMoko is an interesting project that is an open linux-based mobile communications platform. Primarily an open source operating system and applicatiion environment, when combined with a hardware device by FIC, it quickly feels like an open threat to the Apple iPhone. While at Linuxworld, I spoke with Michael Shiloh, a developer and envagelist for OpenMoko, who gave me a rundown on this killer combination complete with a demo of the prototype device.

Tags: OpenMoko, linux, FIC, Apple, iPhone, Linuxworld, Michael Shiloh

iPod versus iPhone Accessories - What works with what?

Kevin Edwards — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 07:56:53 +0000

Sam Levin and Kevin Edwards do a first look at new iPhone accessories and discuss which iPod accessories you may already have that work with the iPhone.

Included are products from:
Griffin Technology
DLO
Incase
SpeckProducts
Case-mate
RadTech
SendStation
Belkin

Shot and edited by Patrick Haynes

Tags: iPhone accessories, iPod accessories, iPhone, Griffin Technology, DLO, Incase, SpeckProducts, Case-mate, RadTech, SendStation, Belkin

LunchMeet: Discovering Music with SeeqPod

Eddie Codel — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 01:25:41 +0000

SeeqPod is an interesting music discovery service that provides a way to find most any linked music files on the Internet. You can quickly build playlists from found music, discover similar music based on genetic similarities and share your playlists by embedding them in your blog. SeeqPod also has a custom iPhone that essentially turns your iPhone into an Internet-connected jukebox. Kasian Franks, the co-founder and CEO of SeeqPod, stopped by the Hat Factory in San Francisco to give me the scoop. Includes fun demo of the iPhone app in action.

Tags: SeeqPod, music, iPhone, Kasian Franks, Hat Factory

Dontcha (iPhone remix)

editor — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 23:57:13 +0000

“Dontcha” (iPhone remix) - Featuring Randi Jayne, David Prager, Irina Slutsky and directed by Nora McDevitt.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Tags: iPhone, remix, Randi Jayne, David Prager, Irina Slutsky, Nora McDevitt

Talking emotional software design in games and iPhone

Robert Scoble — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 07:01:13 +0000

I went to the iPhoneDevCamp, where I met Nicole Lazzaro, founder of XEODesign, who helps video game designers make their games more fun to use. While at the iPhoneDevCamp (by the way, you can check out another video up from here) she tells me why the iPhone is fun to use and how you can make your own software more fun to use.

Tags: iPhoneDevCamp, Nicole Lazzaro, XEODesign, video game, iPhone

iPhones and Churches (Part 2)

Jay Smooth — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:18:37 +0000

How a church can be helpful to hip-hoppers.

On location at iPhone DevCamp

editor — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:52:00 +0000

Just a week after the debut of the iPhone, about 300 developers gathered at the Adobe offices in San Francisco this weekend for a three-day developers camp/hackathon. The goal was to hack together applications for the iPhone. Apple doesn’t allow developers to write applications for the phone itself, so developers created Web-based applications that iPhone users will experience by visting Web sites in Safari. The applications spanned the spectrum, from games to apps that help you find nearby gas prices, shop on Amazon and iTunes, create word processing documents or use IM. We talked with event organizers Raven Zachary and Chris Messina and got a peek at some of the applications, including TeleMoose, gOffice, and AppMarks.

Tags: iPhone, developers, Adobe, Raven Zachary, Chris Messina, TeleMoose, gOffice, AppMarks

iPhones and Churches, Part 1

Jay Smooth — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 22:29:32 +0000

Refusing to join in the media hysteria, and exploring the percussive qualities of Robin Quivers’ laugh.

John Kneuer A Supernova 2007 Spotlight

Aron Pruiett — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 03:00:51 +0000

John Kneuer (U.S. Department of Commerce) is an expert on technology policy. During Supernova 2007 he spoke of the available spectrums. Will innovation flourish in an open network and will the convergence of Digital TV and the iPhone upon the Internet network vs. broadcast establishment have positive implications for new spectrums? Is auctioning off these available WiFi spectrums the best solution?

TechOne Episode 1

Tags: John Kneuer, Supernova, convergence, Digital TV, iPhone, TechOne Episode 1

Max Levchin: Are We Missing the Real Internet Economy?

Aron Pruiett — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 03:00:24 +0000

Max Levchin (Slide.com/PayPal) during the Supernova 2007 Conference was a speaker on Dark Matter: Are We Missing the Real Internet Economy? Among topics like the real financial backbone of the Internet, Max also brings forward the infancy of new market monetization. The iPhone platform works with widgets, will this translate into market growth from infancy?

TechOne Episode 1

Tags: Max Levchin, Supernova 2007, Internet, iPhone, TechOne Episode 1

iPhone: One Week Later

Michael Cote — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:52:01 +0000

Coté speaks with Dave “KirinDave” Fayram about a week of iPhone use. As Dave is a developer (at PowerSet) and an Apple fanboy, in addition to talking about the pure user experience, he gives us a developers’ perspective and wish-list. We talk about using the maps features, Dave’s pleasure at finally having a smart-phone that meets his expectations, using the mobile Web to to find things like good Chinese food while he’s out, the different developer integration points and hooks (like knowing the iPhone agent ID, CSS, and the tel and mailto protocols for URLs), integration with corporate IT, and then the drawbacks of trying to do everything at once on the iPhone.

Tags: KirinDave, iPhone, PowerSet