Augmented Reality Beyond Mobile Phones
There are already various applications of augmented reality technology all around us. But if there is one medium which utilizes the technology more than anything else, it is with our mobile phones. Desktop computers, video game consoles and various other devices already make use of AR technology. Many various gadgets allow you to interact with special software on the computer using your webcam, on the PS3 there are games which make use of the Eye Toy camera (such as Eye of Judgment) and even on television, we see various applications of AR technology –though not with real time, real world overlays.
As stated, the most prevalent use of AR is with mobile phones, this is mostly due to the fact that mobile phones are portable. This is an important aspect with augmented reality as other mediums are often located in fixed locations and thus, offer no sense of change on the real-world layer upon which digital information can be layered upon.
There is however, a small catch. While many AR programs for desktop computers provide plenty of functionality, there is a limit to the processing power graphics capabilities of mobile phones, and thus, the amount of additional input that can be layered is limited. Where a desktop computer can produce additional 3D content, a smart phone can only show small 2D images with descriptive text.
Despite the hardware limitations, it is still with mobile phones that the future of AR rests upon. No matter how far technology moves, desktop computers will remain unmovable. On the other hand, mobile phones benefit from smaller processors and better overall specs –this means that more can be done with each new generation of mobile devices.
Learn more about the importance of augmented reality in our society and the trends it is following at Pocket Lint.
Phones and Internet: Bridging the World in Times of Disaster
We all know the simple facts: Twitter, SMS and modern day methods of digital communication have helped greatly in speeding up the response of emergency groups during the earthquake in Haiti. Relief efforts were instantly organized and created within the span of a few minutes instead of hours. People instantly got in touch with persons with authority and power, which made bringing help where it was needed most possible.
Aside from natural disaster, blogs, SMS and even Twitter have played key roles in documenting and making the world aware of many a great crisis that has been happening all around us. Internet access have allowed people living the Afghan border to not only update the world on the state of things, but have also helped the people themselves in being aware of possible dangers –allowing them to evacuate ahead of schedule.
Back in 2007, the Kenyan elections were fraught with many unfortunate events. But thanks to the selfless efforts of Ory Okolloh and many other bloggers, they were able to establish Ushahidi, a simple website that keeps a map chart of major events and reports. The latest event to be covered by the site is the recent earthquake in Haiti –until now, Ushahidi is helping coordinate efforts for the devastated country.
Before, it was originally believed that mobs of people are difficult to control, and that en masse, humans tend to be uncoordinated and often fail to live up to their potential as a single working unit. Thanks to the presence of the internet however, communication is no longer limited to simply shouting out orders.
Details and instructions can now be relayed directly, providing each group of individuals with clear directions on what can be done to help. Thanks to technology, humanity has once again shown that it can surpass its limits.
Find out more about Ushahidi and relief efforts through SMS at the Guardian UK.
Facebook: World’s Newest Scapegoat
As always, society has the nature of blaming anything new for problems. But in this case, there is a little bit of truth, Facebook really does cause some problems.
The reason for getting the social network blamed for many problems is the simple fact that it is very much ingrained in society. Unlike rock and roll, movies, video games and other forms of entertainment, the social networking tools provide a new dimension that is not present in most of other media: social interaction (though there are online games but that is a completely different discussion).
Hot on the heels of a recent claim that Facebook is one of the reasons as to why the number of syphilis cases are growing come other seemingly far-fetched claims regarding the social networking site.
First off, Facebook is lowering productivity. Well, that really is not a surprise, with many people spending plenty of their online hours managing virtual farms or uploading funny YouTube videos on their Facebook profile, it is no wonder that some companies have already began internal policies regulating the use of the social networking tool.
Divorce lawyers are also pointing out that Facebook has become a key proponent to the eventual downfall of many marriages. As with the syphilis report, it is said that Facebook makes it easier for people to meet new friends –and in some twisted way, encourages cheating among partners.
In another study, Facebook is being blamed for the rise in suicides among children. There are various reason for this, and the most outstanding one is that Facebook prevents children from realizing real friendship in exchange of online contacts. There is already a rehabilitation clinic for children who are too dependent on their online accounts; hopefully, this is a problem that will be resolved eventually.
Learn more about the things we can blame Facebook for at the Telegraph UK.
World Cup More Email Scams: Preventions Remain the Same
There are now plenty of new email scams that are using the upcoming World Cup in order to attract unsuspecting victims. Fortunately, despite the new form of bait, the methods of online scammers remain the same, and thus, the same old preventive measures are still the best to follow.
Anyone who has been online long enough would know better than to click on an email from an unknown sender, and of course, any email with promises too good to be true should be sent to the spam folder with absolute impunity. The biggest step is to never use or give out your credit card information online.
Of course, it also helps to never click on links found on emails. If you need to need a quick link to a website, take the effort to search for it on Google or type in the official website URL. It also helps to check out the identity of the website (if you are using the latest Mozilla Firefox browser, just click on the website icon beside the URL of the page.
Having security software is also important in preventing malware and other phishing tools from being installed in your computer (and it there is already malware in your system, these tools will help flush them out). There are various types of security software, the most essential ones are: antivirus, antimalware and firewall.
Firewalls basically control what goes in and out of your system. Even if a key logger is in your computer, a Firewall would prevent it from being able to use your internet connection to send information elsewhere. Antimalware on the other hand is the tool of choice for seeking out hidden programs with malicious code running in your computer; it also gives you a warning if you are installing software that contains hidden functions. Lastly, antivirus software keeps out all those pesky little programs that are designed to wreck havoc on your computer.
Find out more about the newest email scams at Times Online UK.
Join the Good Fight against the Digital Economy Bill
The Digital Economy Bill is definitely causing a lot of negative attention to turn towards the British government. The main context of the bill is that the government will gain absolute power over who gets cut off the internet due to a graduated response scheme.
The intended use behind the bill is the prevention of online copyright infringement. This covers any articles or videos that are illegally distributed online. Internet service providers will be forced to provide reports of an individual’s activities or be required to pay a fine £250,000 for not complying.
A lot of privacy activists and consumer rights groups have reacted with much criticism for the said bill because this entails the relentless surveillance of an individual’s internet activity. The internet cut off will affect even family members if one member is suspected of a copyright violation. The worst part is that this can be done instantly without even a fair trial.
The Digital Rights Bill is quite extreme. It does not matter that a lot of families and businesses rely on the internet to survive. It does not matter that the internet also has its merits. It is quite unfair to a family to lose this medium just because one member is accused of doing something wrong. It is also unfair that a family will collectively suffer even if it the accusation has yet to be proven.
For those who do not wish the Digital Rights Bill to come into fruition, a public demonstration will be held this Wednesday at 1730 in the afternoon. The event is going to take place at the Old Palace Yard which is just next to Westminster Abbey and opposite the Parliament. Placards will be provided, but bringing black tape for blindfolding or gagging is advised. The next event is planned and is going to be held at Sheffield.
More about the demonstration can be read at Boing Boing.
Digital Economy Bill: No More Free WiFi
If your everyday routine consists of heading down to the local café with your net book or smart phone to do a little casual online reading while sipping a warm cup of Java, then you might have to start making new plans once the Digital Economy Bill actually pushes through.
According to reports, hotels, cafes and other establishment would cease offering free internet and WiFi if the Bill will be holding them responsible for any activity that goes on in their networks. The Bill also grants copyright owners with plenty of additional rights –anyone being accused will be considered guilty until proven innocent. This will cost any defendant plenty of money in litigation processes.
Of course, the Bill threatens to deliver so much more negative than just the removal of free WiFi. In a more expanded way, this will actually make people want to shut down their wireless networks at home as they too would be subject to the same laws. While private network owners have the option of turning their WiFi router into a secured device, it will not prevent the more determined tech savvy individuals from hitching a ride on their networks and potentially, committing illegal internet acts.
More than just losing WiFi, the passing of the Bill will bring about a new era of control in the internet where no activity, no matter how private, could now be accessed and opened by the government.
The entirety of the Bill itself however, is not being opposed. As with any large scale legislation, the Bill covers plenty of aspects including support for artists such as video game developers, music artists, writers and others. There are also parts that discuss minimum bandwidth requirements and the need to expand networks to reach most of UK.
Read more about the Digital Economy Bill at TechWatch UK.
BAFTA 2010 Awards: Best Video Games
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts have recognized and honored the video game industry for their contributions and work in the field of entertainment.
Batman: Arkham Asylum was the IT-game of the awards night as the title not only won the Best Gameplay award, but also the title of Best Game of 2009. The action-adventure 3D platforming titles places players in control of the comic hero-vigilante as he delivers his arch-nemesis Joker into the Arkham Asylum.
The story begins as the Joker manages to break free from captivity and takes control over the entire prison –placing Batman trapped in an island full of escaped convicts and a whole host of comic villains.
Arkham Asylum easily snags the best gameplay award by using intuitive combat mechanics with a balance of sneaking and exploring dynamics. As Batman, players are taught to engage enemies not only in straightforward brawls but to also use their wits in order to effective trap, ambush and defeat their enemies without being seen.
Much like a herd of prey being stalked by a predator, mobs of enemies start panicking and losing control as they fall one after the other to an invisible attacker –you. This gameplay element establishes the comic’s depiction of Batman as a normal human who uses “fear” against enemies.
Aside from Batman: Arkham Asylum, BAFTA has also given an award to UK based game developer Media Molecule for their newest creation, Little Big Planet Portable for the Sony Playstation Portable. Media Molecule also won the same award last year for their PS3 version of the same title.
On another note, one of the most nominated titles, Assassin’s Creed II, went home empty handed despite having been nominated for at least seven different awards.
For more details on the big winners of the BAFTA Awards, go to Pocket Lint.
HTC Gears Up for Lawsuit
The actual court hearing for the Apple versus HTC patent infringement case is not going to happen until sometime later in the future, but it seems like the two companies are pretty much on fire because of this.
Obviously, Apple’s bigger plan is about being able to affect the development of the Android operating system –something that HTC is sure to put into their defense. But playing an even bigger role will be HTC’s own patents. With the lawsuit encompassing 20 patents filed and owned by Apple, HTC will still have to go a long way into proving that they made the technologies and innovations first.
HTC’s top heads has already given their statements in regards to this matter:
From Peter Chou, CEO of HTC, “HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible.”
“From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.”
From Jason Mackenzie, VP of HTC America, “HTC has always taken a partnership-oriented, collaborative approach to business. This has led to long-standing strategic partnerships with the top software, Internet and wireless technology companies in the industry as well as the top U.S., European and Asian mobile operators.”
“It is through these relationships that we have been able to deliver the world’s most diverse series of smartphones to an even more diverse group of people around the world, recognizing that customers have very different needs.”
Get to know more about HTC’s statements at GSM Arena.
Bringing the Internet to the TV
Originally, the TV was meant for watching shows. Not browsing the internet. But with HDTVs able to display images in high resolution, hooking up a computer will instantly give you a large screen monitor.
Of course, this would mean having to drag your computer all the way near your TV –unless its’ already there, and hooking up the two devices. In any case, HDTVs have shown that they are better monitors than their SD TV counterparts.
Now, Intel, Google and Sony are going to bring to us web enabled TV –which means that streaming net based content just got easier (or at least we won’t have drag that computer all the way to the living room). No confirmations yet on what all the extra functions will be present, but expect to be able to browse the web and run widgets.
Samsung already has a similar telly that has widgets for the weather, Skype and a couple of other functions, but nothing as intensive as the one these three big companies are cooking up. Sony also recently transferred control of the PS Network from SCE to Sony Corp; and with the recent announcement that PSN will be offering HD movies, this upcoming web capable TV will already have large library of titles available for download.
The new TV will be able to run a modified version of the Android OS (and probably the easier to use Sony Cross Media Bar or XMB). As with the Android, apps will also be present. Google has announced that SDKs for the device will also be distributed soon.
Of course, if you are not willing to spend so much money buying another new TV so soon (if you have just recently upgraded to an HD set, you can always drag a computer all the way to your living room.
Get to know more about the new web TV at the Telegraph UK.
Future Forecast: What WP7 will be Offering
Microsoft’s new mobile platform will prove to be one of the most important operating systems to be launched. And while we can all agree that the user interface is truly innovative, the system will shine not for its new features, but for being the OS that brings together all the important components that makes the smart phone a device we simply can no longer do without.
Judging from the recently released developer tools for WP7, the system will support XNA Games Studio and Visual Studio. This means that we will be seeing apps that will be compatible with both computers and the Xbox 360 –made possible with the shared code of Visual Studio. A demo was shown where a game being played on a phone was continued in the Xbox 360, this means that specific game instances can be saved and transferred as well.
Silverlight support is also present in WP7; this web based framework is a great way for developers to create impressive graphics and user interface themes on the system without requiring too much from the hardware.
The use of live feeds from Microsoft services such as MS Location and MS Notifications will turn any device into a resource and news hub. Users can easily click the running news bar in order to expand the content and read the details.
Of course, having set hardware sets help too. Minimum hardware requirements set by Microsoft places CPUs to be running on par with ARM v7 Cortex or Scorpion processors. The screen would need to be capacitive (and at least WVGA) and the phone would have to support 3G, WiFi and other connectivity options (it may even be 4G compatible).
For more information, details and a comprehensive look at the latest updates and features of Windows Phone 7, go to Softpedia.