Now Play Games using your Webcam!

Kiss your keyboard, mouse and joystick and say goodbye, and start playing games with your webcam!
A webcam knows many uses. Obviously, it can be used for video conferencing, or recording your ambitious YouTube videos and responses. However, that’s not all.

So How Does It Work?
It’s more like we’ll be recording objects and will be using the camera’s motion sensing ability to transform these into intuitive ‘controllers’.
That’s right, using the CamSpace software, you can transform nearly any object to an input device! Just check out the video below to see it at work.
You can use cardboard steering wheels for racing games, playing swords for fighting games, and a chicken drumstick for flight simulators!
The implementation also works a lot smoother than would be expected. You’ll need Windows for the software, and about any webcam can be used, though older webcams tend to work less well due to a lower frame-rate and problems with light adjustments.
Installing The CamSpace Software
The software is currently Windows only. Also make sure you’ve properly installed your webcam.
You can test out CamSpace by playing one of the CamSpace games. These are small mini-games that accompanied CamSpace. You ought to be able to find them in a folder on your desktop as well.

Item Recognition
CamSpace recognizes specific items by their shape and colour. In theory, you can use any object you want. However, you might want to avoid objects that have the colour of your skin or clothes and use obvious colours - like bright green or pink - instead.
The program will ask you to specify what item you intend to use by holding it in a specific area of the screen. You can also trigger the lock-function by pressing ‘Shift + ~‘ .CamSpace will now track your object so you can use it for simple interaction. It will monitor the size and rotation and will hereby determine the exact location of the item.
You’ll also be able to find several steering wheel templates on the site, this’ll save you some work and give you a general idea of what’s needed.

Playing Games
You can play any game with CamSpace, but to do so you’ll need a controller.
A controller specifies what in-game action is paired up with which motion. As you might’ve guessed, each controller is game specific.
You can either download one of the controllers that are developed by other people, or make one yourself and upload it to the CamSpace developer site.

Making a Controller
Making a controller is relatively easy. You can start making one by opening CamSpace and selecting ‘Create New Controller’ under Developer Tools in the right-click menu.
If you then choose to edit your script (also located under Developer Tools), an editing window will pop up.
In this window you’ll be able to specify which action pairs up with which function easily. Scripting shouldn’t be necessary with basic controllers.

Download Now (Its free)
CamSpace (Official website)

i am Back...!!!

Its been a long time that i haven't updated my blog as my exams were running and then i started search for a good job now once again i have a free time so I'll keep you all updated but the blog frequency will be somewhat less because i didn't get enough free time as i used to get during my college days.

Eye-Fi adds Wi-Fi to any Digital Camera!

First your phone went wireless, then your laptop, now finally your camera!
Never scrounge around for a USB cable again! Eye-fi is a magical orange SD memory card that will not only store 2GB worth of pictures, it'll upload them to your computer, and to Flickr, Facebook, Picasa (or 14 others) wirelessly, invisibly, automatically!
This little guy looks like a normal 2GB memory card and works with nearly any camera that takes SD memory. There are no antennas, no protrusions, no subscription fees, and no cables.
Here's how it works: You set up the card once with the included USB card reader (tell it which wireless network it should use, and type in the password if you have one), choose the photo sharing service of your choice (you have plenty of options), then slip the card in your camera.
From then on, you never have to touch anything. Just take photos. Whenever your cameras near the wireless network you selected and idle, Eye-fi will upload all your photos (JPEGs only) to your online photo sharing service. Next time your computer's online, they'll download there, too!
Yes, it is practically a magic.
Eye-Fi SD card comes in three varieties:
1). Eye-Fi Home ($79.99)
2). Eye-Fi Share ($99.99)
3). Eye-Fi Explore ($129.99) More Info
So what will you ever do with all those cables now?
Source: http://photojojo.com

Long awaited Windows XP SP3 RTM launching on April 21

Microsoft Corp. will release Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) to computer makers and some IT professionals next week, and it will offer it to all users via Windows Update April 29, two weeks from today, according to an internal schedule obtained by the Neowin.net Web site.
Although others had previously pegged SP3's release to the last half of April, Neowin's dates are the most specific seen so far.
According to the site, the service pack will debut April 21, when it's shipped to computer manufacturers, offered to volume licensing customers and posted for download on TechNet and the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN), which are subscription services for IT staff and developers, respectively.
Most users, however, will first be able to obtain SP3 on April 29, when Microsoft lists it on Windows Update (WU) for download.
However, Microsoft won't turn on the automatic download and installation of SP3 until June 10, according to Neowin. "This delay should give system administrators an ample amount of time to prepare for the upgrade or simply come up with an excuse for when things go awry," said Neowin.
Company administrators and users have been able to block the automatic distribution of Windows XP SP3, as well as Vista SP1, since December 2007, when Microsoft published the Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit.
In a broad way, Neowin's timeline meshes with the one Microsoft followed when it launched Windows Vista Service Pack 1 in February and March.
Although the company held SP1 for six weeks after RTM, or release to manufacturing, because of balky drivers, it posted the service pack to WU on a Tuesday. It also said it would not push SP1 to users who have WU set to automatically download and install fixes until several more weeks have passed. Vista SP1 also reached OEMs, volume license customers and TechNet and MSDN subscribers before the general public.
Late last month, a Malaysian site that had correctly predicted the RTM date for Vista SP1 as well as that update's release to WU, said that XP SP3 would arrive in the second half of this month, with a first-wave rollout of the Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish versions.
The last time Microsoft made an XP SP3 move was on March 25, when it posted Windows XP SP3 RC2 Refresh to WU.
As it has previously, Microsoft today again declined to get specific about Windows XP SP3's delivery date, saying only that it's slated for the first half of 2008.
Source: http://www.computerworld.com

IBM develops New kind of High Capacity Memory

IBM has allegedly developed a new type of digital storage that could greatly increase the capacity of portable devices, while reducing their price. ‘Racetrack’ memory, as this technology is called, uses spinning electrons to store more data, and enables these systems to operate faster than regular hard drives.
This technology is similar to flash memory, in that it has no moving parts, which reduces the likelihood of mechanical malfunction. However, unlike flash memory, it can write data very quickly, and does not wear easily out over time.For years, scientists have been looking into storing data inside the was between magnetic domains. However, it has been too difficult and expensive to get significant results. Stuart Parkin, head of the team researching this technology, has said that his team was able to store data in columns of magnetic material on a silicon wafer. The data moves on the columns at high speed, hence the name ‘racetrack’.
This technology is currently considered “experimental”, but IBM anticipates that we will see devices utilizing it within the next ten years.
Source: http://www.crunchgear.com

Windows 7 going to be launched in 2009!

Still upset about Windows Vista? Don't worry. According to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, it should all be over soon.
News wires were abuzz Friday with gossip that Microsoft may be planning to release its follow-up to Vista, currently known as Windows 7, as early as next year. Previous reports had the next-generation OS shipping no sooner than 2010, but now -- for some strange reason -- it seemsMicrosoft may be upping its timetable.
For now, the rumors are based on little more than offhand comments by Microsoft executives. At a meeting in Miami, Gates remarked that a new version of Windows should arrive "sometime in the next year or so." Meanwhile, the Windows XP support timetable suggests that 2010 might coincide with the one-year anniversary of Windows 7.
Pretty thin stuff. Still, for those of us who have been soundly disappointed with Vista, it's hard not to get caught up in the hype.
But the truth is that speculation that Windows 7 might arrive in 2009 has been floating aroundfor at least a year.No matter how tight-lipped Microsoft tries to be, no matter how much it seems like a long shot, it seems as though we simply want to believe that a major new Windows milestone is imminent.  
It's funny -- because nobody really knows what Windows 7 might look like when it finally arrives. There has beenplenty of speculation,and a few more portentous-sounding statements from Gates and company, but that's about it.
My feeling? It's best to take all talk of Windows 7 with a great, big grain of salt. Remember what happened with Vista itself. Despiterepeated delaysthat pushed Vista's ship date back by months, the version we finally gotlacked much-touted featuresand -- well, you know the rest.
If you ask me, we shouldn't be focusing on what features the next version of Windows may or may not bring, but on whether Microsoft's development divisions are still able to deliver quality products at all. There's talk that Windows 7 will ship with aleaner, more efficient kernel.I suspect, however, that a leaner, more efficient Microsoft would ultimately benefit customers even more.

Windows XP SP3 to be launched in Second Half of April 2008

Microsoft Corp. on 4th of Feb. 2008 has released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 & now its going to release the long awaited Service Pack 3 for a very popular OS, Windows XP.
Windows XP Service Pack 3 would be last and final service pack for the OS before it gets discontinued retail sale on 30th of June 2008.

Details of Windows XP Service Pack 3:

1. Windows XP Service Pack 3 will contain hotfixes and updates released since Windows XP SP2. It will also include an expanded set of product keys for Windows XP Professional that were originally introduced in Windows XP SP2c.
   
2. Microsoft clarified that there will not be any integrated SP3 release for Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows XP Tablet Edition. That means you won't be able to buy or obtain a complete Windows XP Media Center Edition / Tablet Edition SP3 CD. In addition, users of Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows XP Tablet Edition will only be able to update to Service Pack 3 through Windows Update.
   
3. All languages will now be released in two waves. Earlier, Microsoft said that languages support for Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be released in three waves. What was previously identified as wave 2 and 3 have now been combined into a single wave 2.
   
4. Microsoft has also delayed RTM for Windows XP Service Pack 3 to provide sufficient time to incorporate feedback from the beta testers. (In other words, they can't make their original deadline!)

Due to the changes in language releases and Windows XP SP3 RTM's release, here's the updated schedule:

Wave	Languages	Planned RTM
1	Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish	Second half of April 2008
2	Arabic, Chinese (Hong Kong), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Swedish, and Turkish	Approximately 21 days after Wave 1 RTM

With the exception of Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows XP Tablet Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be released in both standalone and integrated formats. It will be available in both CD and DVD formats, except for the Japanese language version which will only be in DVD format.
Source: http://www.techarp.com/

The Future of Mobile Phones - Nokia Morph concept

New York, US and Espoo, Finland - Morph, a joint nanotechnology concept, developed by Nokia Research Center (NRC) and the University of Cambridge (UK) - was launched today alongside the "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibition, on view from February 24 to May 12, 2008, at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Morph features in both the exhibition catalog and on MoMA's official website.
Morph is a concept that demonstrates how future mobile devices might be stretchable and flexible, allowing the user to transform their mobile device into radically different shapes. It demonstrates the ultimate functionality that nanotechnology might be capable of delivering: flexible materials, transparent electronics and self-cleaning surfaces.

Dr. Tapani Ryhanen, Head of the NRC Cambridge UK laboratory, Nokia, commented: "We hope that this combination of art and science will showcase the potential of nanoscience to a wider audience. The research we are carrying out is fundamental to this as we seek a safe and controlled way to develop and use new materials."

Professor Mark Welland, Head of the Department of Engineering's Nanoscience Group at the University of Cambridge and University Director of Nokia-Cambridge collaboration added: "Developing the Morph concept with Nokia has provided us with a focus that is both artistically inspirational but, more importantly, sets the technology agenda for our joint nanoscience research that will stimulate our future work together."

The partnership between Nokia and the University of Cambridge was announced in March, 2007 - an agreement to work together on an extensive and long term programme of joint research projects. NRC has established a research facility at the University's West Cambridge site and collaborates with several departments - initially the Nanoscience Center and Electrical Division of the Engineering Department - on projects that, to begin with, are centered on nanotechnology.

Elements of Morph might be available to integrate into handheld devices within 7 years, though initially only at the high-end. However, nanotechnology may one day lead to low cost manufacturing solutions, and offers the possibility of integrating complex functionality at a low price.

Morph concept technologies might create fantastic opportunities for mobile devices:

• Newly-enabled flexible and transparent materials blend more seamlessly with the way we live
• Devices become self-cleaning and self-preserving
• Transparent electronics offering an entirely new aesthetic dimension
• Built-in solar absorption might charge a device, whilst batteries become smaller, longer lasting and faster to charge
• Integrated sensors might allow us to learn more about the environment around us, empowering us to make better choices