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The 404 1,257: Where we're blank on the inside (podcast)
Leaked from today's 404 episode:
- Virgin America flights allow mile-high flirting.
- Nintendo: Don't expect a big event at E3 this year.
- Next Xbox: Microsoft sets big reveal for May 21.
motion control
Finer details about PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 controller, Eye camera
As Sony explained the hardware and software in the upcoming PlayStation 4 yesterday, two very important input devices -- the DualShock 4 controller and PlayStation 4 Eye camera -- also debuted. But Sony wasn't completely up front about how it will all work.
Fortunately, an official Sony press release (PDF) sheds further light on the two crucial pieces of PS4 hardware.… Read more
Leap Motion strikes exclusive launch deal with Best Buy
Leap Motion, the makers of the innovative Leap hands-free motion control system, said today that it has struck its first retail partnership, an exclusive launch deal to sell the device at Best Buy.
According to Leap Motion, Best Buy stores and BestBuy.com will begin taking pre-orders in February and selling the Leap sometime this spring. The deal comes on the heels of the company's recent agreement to bundle the device with Asus PCs once it launches, as well as a $30 million B round of funding.
The San Francisco startup's technology is capable of measuring motion with … Read more
Extreme Reality makes your camera a 3D gaming system
LAS VEGAS--I avoid buying new hardware whenever possible, so if I can add functionality to my existing gear with a simple software solution, I'm interested.
Extreme Reality (XTR3D) does just that. It turns your run-of-the-mill 2D camera into a full-body motion control system for fully interactive gaming.
The idea is you can forget Microsoft's Kinect. … Read more
Leap Motion motion control tech to be bundled with Asus PCs
Leap Motion, which created an innovative gesture control technology that measures users' movements to an accuracy of a hundredth of a millimeter, has struck a deal to bundle its Leap device and app store with a series of Asus computers.
According to Michael Buckwald, CEO of the San Francisco startup, the Asus deal -- under which the computer giant will package the Leap device with high-end laptops and premium all-in-one PCs, and pre-install the Leap app store on those computers -- is just the first partnership of its kind. Similar deals with other computer makers, or even smartphone manufacturers, are … Read more
How to use motion features on your Samsung Galaxy S3
With a host of unique features on the Galaxy S3 such as S Voice and AllShare, Samsung is looking to stand out from the rest of the Android crowd. Less documented among them is motion control, which allows you to do various activities through tilting your handset and making use of shortcuts.
To activate motion control, navigate to Settings > Motion, and toggle the switch to enable it. As there are a lot of motion features available, you can choose to use individual ones and leave others that you're less interested in disabled. Here are a few that you … Read more
For Silicon Valley VC, a Leap from great advice to big rewards
SAN FRANCISCO--Sitting in the windowless basement level of a nondescript building in the shadow of the Bay Bridge, Andy Miller is doing one of his most essential -- and rewarding -- jobs: helping smart and talented, but young and inexperienced, entrepreneurs navigate the crucial steps needed to move their new company forward. After all, great technology can only get you so far. It takes great business strategy and decisions to build a truly successful company.
Miller, a general partner at Highland Capital Partners who once reported directly to Steve Jobs as Apple's vice president of mobile advertising, is seated … Read more
Leap Motion: 3D hands-free motion control, unbound
With the unveiling today of its Leap 3D motion control system, a San Francisco startup called Leap Motion has, well, leapfrogged the state of the art in this young field, giving users the ability to control what's on their computers with hundredth of a millimeter accuracy and introducing touch-free gestures like pinch-to-zoom.
Leap, which comprises both a small USB … Read more
Microsoft SoundWave: It's like Kinect, but skips the cameras
Microsoft has already come up with a neat way to interpret motion by way of a camera. Now it's using sound to accomplish the same goal.
The SoundWave technology recently unveiled by Microsoft Research allows users to control the software on their computers with only the movement of their hands. However, unlike the company's Kinect, which uses cameras to achieve that functionality, SoundWave is able to pick up motion based on sound.
According to Microsoft, SoundWave relies on a speaker and microphone to work. The technology emits an inaudible tone from the speakers that is interrupted when people … Read more
Samsung 2012 TVs get pricing and release dates (hands-on)
Updated March 7 with more information and new videos.
Just two months ago at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung--along with all of its competitors--talked up its new line of of 2012 TVs. As is always the case at CES, the new product info was long on hype and short on details. That changed today, when Samsung began filling it a lot of the blanks.
No, the company didn't say a word about its "Super OLED" TV, and we don't expect to hear anything more on that until at least midsummer.
Samsung did release … Read more
