02 February 2010 12:59
Augmented reality apps let your smartphone do some pretty amazing things – just look at Worksnug on the iPhone, or Wikitude on Android.
But Keiichi Matsuda (a masters student from the Bartlett School of Architecture) has looked beyond today's limited apps and imagined where 'virtualised' augmented reality is headed in the above video. And it's not exactly a utopian vision.
The video's subject has offloaded so much of his knowledge to the internet that he needs a robotic voice to tell him the correct procedure for making a cup of tea, and while waiting he's blitzed with news and friend updates from the web.
It certainly makes a interesting lunchtime watch, but do you think this is where augmented reality might be headed? And would you want to live this 'Lawnmower Man' world? Let us know below.
via Fubiz/IFTF
01 February 2010 17:38
Yesterday I had the bizarre experience of visiting the Emirates stadium to watch Arsenal's titanic clash with Manchester United… on TV. While the real-life action was going on a few metres away, I was being treated to the next best thing - live 3D coverage on Sky TV.
I was watching history unfold right in front of my nose: this wasn't just Sky's first public 3D broadcast (although it was only going to a handful of pubs around the UK) - it was the first sporting event in the world to broadcast live in 3D. But was it any good? And will anyone really want it?
The answer to both those questions is a qualified yes. The 3D coverage was incredibly involving when we got a manager's-eye view from the sidelines, or watched the ball whizzing into the net from behind the goal. I flinched every time Sky's 3D graphics appeared, fearing I'd be slapped in the side of the head by the giant logo. But for most of the match, with the cameras offering the traditional top-down view from the gantry, the image felt flat - and I felt like I was watching TV with sunglasses on. In a football stadium.
Convincing people to wear sunglasses in their lounge - even the slightly trendier, UV-protected shades that Sky was handing out - is going to be tough. Just as convincing people to shell out £2000 on a 3D-ready TV will be tough.
But I think 3DTV is a slow burner. It'll achieve critical mass by stealth, creeping into high-end TVs this year, and mid-range sets next year. When you upgrade your TV, chances are that 3D will come as standard. And with 3D PlayStation gaming coming soon - not to mention a 3D Blu-ray of the highest-grossing movie of all time, among others - it would be churlish not to crack out the sunnies.
So 3DTV will take a few years to become big. But that gives Sky enough time to perfect its coverage (even if it means tearing up front-row seats to make room for more cameras) and extend into other sports - not to mention dramas and documentaries.
The bad news for early adopters, though, is that rights issues mean its unlikely we'll get to see 3DTV coverage of the World Cup in the UK - while Americans will get the chance to see 3D World Cup highlights on ESPN (despite not having a clear understanding of the word 'football').
The Sky 3D channel goes live to pubs in April, but it won't make it into homes until the autumn. No word on pricing yet, but as it uses current HD boxes I'd suggest it would make the perfect freebie for fully paid-up HD subscribers - at least until there's enough 3D programming to fill a few channels (which will probably be 2012, when the BBC plans to broadcast the Olympics in 3D).
Having long been a skeptic, I'm now more convinced that 3D has a bright future. But it'd be brighter if you didn't have to wear shades.
28 January 2010 14:18
The children of the digital age will grow up without film in their cameras, without albums on CD, without DVD collections and without paper.
Hands up if you agreed with the first three, but decided you couldn’t live in a paper-free world. Congratualations! You’re in the majority.
We want to be able to swat flies with a newspaper, dog-ear the pages of a novel and read magazines on the loo.
More than that, we’ve lived with printed bits of paper for a long time – scriptures and newspapers changed the course of history – so we’re emotionally attached, too.
“But I just like the feel of holding a paper/book/magazine.”
Tough. The internet has made it harder for media that need to be physically printed and distributed to keep up, and that’s a one-way trend.
Publishing, on paper, is in decline, even if print is a more resilient format than most. Consider the fall of tape to CD or VHS to DVD. Quick, wasn’t it?
Now all physical formats are being just as speedily usurped by digital files.
So can the iPad do for digital publishing what the iPod did for music?
The New York Times app demoed at the launch event had some fun tricks like embedding video content in stories, but if that’s the full reach of digital publishing we’re in trouble.
Then again, the NYT only had a few weeks to develop their brief demo. And, besides, it’s hardly at the vanguard of publishing design. If publishers can exploit the iPad’s gorgeous screen properly, we could see a sea change in the way people consume magazines and newspapers.
As an ereader, the iPad’s flickering colour screen is unlikely to win over many serious bookworms, even if it is the best-looking reading device. On the other hand, it has millions of pre-registered users for its iBooks store, a tried-and-tested selling environment and big industry buying power.
Single-handedly transforming an industry with one device is a big ask, but Apple has done it before. Twice.
Don’t bet against the iPad scoring Apple’s hat-trick.
28 January 2010 02:04
Apple's iPad is not the computing revolution some were predicting. It is, let's face it, an oversized iPod touch. But it's also the most desirable tablet - or eReader - on the market.
And the iPad is a netbook-slayer, too - because you can touch and interact with web pages, the browsing experience on the iPad is peerless. It's not just better than the iPhone - it's better than the iMac and every other computer out there. Email is equally brilliant
Of course, the iPad has some flaws - a bright LED screen is never going to be perfect for an eReader, and the lack of a grown-up operating system severely limits what you can do with file management.
But pair it with a Bluetooth keyboard and you have a gloriously tactile, wonderfully useful computing system that will be at home on the coffee tablet or tucked up in a manbag.
Future generations of the iPad will no doubt offer OLED screens, cameras, video streaming and more; for now, we have a beautifully made, affordable multimedia tablet with hundreds of thousands of pocket-money apps to improve its features.
Tablet computing finally has its hero. And any gadgeteer worth his silicon won't be able to resist buying one.
Look and feel.The iPad looks like an overgrown iPod Touch - it's incredibly thin with a sheer glass front and a curved, anodised aluminium back. It demands to be held - and once you pick it up, you won't want to put it down. Until you have to type something - unlike the iPhone, you're not going to be able to hold the iPad and type with two thumbs.
Hardware Despite all the rumours suggesting that the iPad would feature all sorts of new technology, from OLED screens to proximity sensors, there's actually little new - aside from the 1GHz, Apple-built brain that moves everything along at an incredible pace - and allows it to deliver 10 hours of video on a single charge. Apple clearly decided to produce something affordable rather than something truly innovative.
User interfaceThe iPad's user interface will be its biggest selling point. It has to be held to be believed. Like the iPhone, it's incredibly intuitive - but it's also remarkably resposinve to any motion, swipe or prod. The transition animations are brilliantly realised, too, particularly the way the iBook Store hurls books into your wood-panelled library.
iBooksI'm not totally convinced of the iPad's eBook credentials - at least, not in its current form. Certainly the iBooks app is beautiful, but the screen is so bright that reading will be much more strenuous than on the Kindle. I'd guess that future versions of the iPad will feature screens that can switch between easy-on-the-eye eInk and fast moving colour - but those screens are only in the prototype stage right now.
iWorkApple's office suite is has been beautifully re-engineered for the iPad - Keynote, Pages and even Numbers are gloriously tactile, and easily worth the $9.99 pricetag for each app. But if you're serious about doing work, you'll definitely want to invest in either a keyboard dock or Bluetooth keyboard - touch typing on the virtual keyboard is impossible. Even thumb typing while holding it doesn't work.
Gaming/apps.The iPad will run pretty much any iPhone app at native resolution, or scaled up to fit the 1024 x780-pixel display. The upscaling doesn't add any extra detail, but it works fine - until a iPad-specific version of the app appears. The 1Ghz processor means that games fly, but the lack of physical controls could compromise the iPad's gaming potential.
Stuff saysThe iPad is a truly gorgeous slice of technology that redefines the tablet - but it won't be a gadget essential until it has a purpuse. Which is why it will live or die by the quality of the apps that are developed for it. First up, we want video streaming and a universal remote control…
27 January 2010 22:25
I've just managed to get hands on with the Apple iPad, which is a lot better in the flesh than on paper. Don't just a eBook by its specs. Anyway, while I'm formulating my thoughts, here are a few shots of the iPad in action:
Above: the photo application allows you to view stacks of photos synched via USB from your Mac or PC. But there's no onboard camera.
A pinch movement allows you to preview what's in each photo stack.
The iBook Store and application is beautifully realised (it looks a lot like a great Mac App called
Delicious Library).
The iPad will run iPhone apps at standard resolution or double size - I played Bejewelled zoomed up to big size and it looked pretty good. But of course, developers will start to produce iPad specific version of their apps.
Maps is really quick and looks amazing - particularly in Street View - but there's no proper GPS in the non-3G versions of the iPad.
This map is an email attachment - which you can pinch to zoom.
The email client is seriously nice, giving you an iPhone-style list view next to the preview window.
The iPad is really thin and light. It feels much more like an overgrown iPod Touch than a fully fledged tablet PC.
I don't quite get the keyboard dock - it only works with the iPad in portrait mode, which seems bizarre. But you can use a Bluetooth keyboard with the iPad.
The iPad case is an optional extra, but it does a nice job of turning the iPad into a wedge shaped computer. But you wouldn't want to type for too long on the virtual keyboard. I tried - and failed - to touch type.
27 January 2010 00:21
There’s an air of expectancy here in San Francisco ahead of Apple’s product announcement (
check out our live coverage from just before 6pm GMT).
For all the rumour and hype, Apple had done a pretty good job of maintaining a shroud of secrecy over its new product - until Terry McGraw (CEO of McGraw-Hill, business and education publishers) announced in an interview with CNBC that Apple would be unveiling a ‘terrific’ tablet tomorrow. He said the tablet will run the iPhone software and ebooks would be transferrable.
He also said it would open up the education market for, suggesting that the price may not be above $1000 as many feared. You can click on the video below to watch the interview for yourself.
Of course, we won't know anything for sure until Steve Jobs takes to the stage. See you at 6pm…
26 January 2010 11:16
Fight, fight, fight! Online news – should it be paid for? That’s the argument. In the red corner, one of the richest and most influential figures in global media. In the blue corner, the man who edits the Guardian.
In our editorial deathmatch, Rupert Murdoch (played by Spitting Image’s rejected first attempt at a Prince Philip puppet) plans to put his media empire behind a pay wall – and that means no more free news for the proletariat.
But the Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger (played by Harry Potter’s biological father) is dressing up as Robin Hood to try to bring about a fairytale ending – and that means free news for everyone forever after.
Rusbridger reckons advertising money will follow good journalism and that an old-fashioned pay-for-content model goes against everything the internet stands for. His hardline stance hints that Murdoch’s aggressive tactics will threaten the freedom of the press.
And we’ve heard whispers – only whispers, mind – that a new device launching tomorrow may have some effect on the long-term result of this feud. You can check back with us at 6pm tomorrow evening to find out.
What do you think? Do you still buy a newspaper? Would you pay for online news? Will tablets and ereaders make a difference? And if you had to put your last penny on an outcome in our deathmatch, who would win?
21 January 2010 11:05
I've just left Nokia's official launch of its free Ovi Maps service. It means free maps and turn-by-turn naviagition to all of its current Symbian handsets, starting today. It also means some difficult times ahead for TomTom, Garmin - and Apple.
Nokia's clearly smarting from its failures at the top end of the mobile market. With Apple, Blackberry and Google all growing at a faster rate, the Finns realised they need to do something. The answer, it seems, is to give away the turn-by-turn navigation it once charged for. New Nokia smartphones will even ship with continental maps in the box, so you won't have to waste time and money downloading them from Nokia's servers.
The new UI looks a lot slicker, too, with separate views for driving and walking, which both feature 3D landmarks and points of interest plus live information taken from Time Out, Michelin and Lonely Planet. Facebook is also integrated, so you can share you location with your friends and stalkers.
Of course, Nokia is hardly blazing a trail here - Google announced a similar, fee navigation service as part of its Android 2.0 software. Although it's currently only available in America, there's no doubt it'll land in Europe sometime soon.
Which leaves Apple out in the cold. Unlike Google and Nokia, Apple doesn't own a mapping service - instead, it makes huge amounts of money by taking a 30% cut of every £50 iPhone app TomTom sells. So will Apple be forced to respond by paying TomTom for a free app instead? It seems unlikely. Although with TomTom's share price in freefall, perhaps a firesale buyout isn't out of the question.
More likely, Apple will encourage Google to improve its mapping service on the iPhone. After all, Google is only in the smartphone business to sell advertising. It won't worry too much whether its ads are servce on an iPhone or an Android mobile.
Google knows that the future of advertising on mobile is all about location. That's why it's invested so much money in maps, streetview and now - with Google Goggles - augmented reality. Location-based search is just as useful - and far more lucrative - than satellite navigation on a mobile.
Which is why I asked Nokia's boss Anssi Vanjoki whether Nokia hoped to recoup the costs of its new mapping service just through handset sales, or whether it would be inserting advertising onto Nokia Maps. He responded that there were no plans for advertising immediately, but it was possible in the future. If I were him, I wouldn't wait: I already use Google Maps search more than the standard browser search when I'm out and and about, and I'm not alone. It can't be long before the ads appear.
But Vanjoki also pointed out that Ovi Maps is a development framework, and Nokia expects a new generation of location-based apps. And suddenly the whole offering falls into place. Because however good (or otherwise) Nokia's own software is, its smartphones are doomed to be also-rans unless the pace of app development begins to catch up with Android and iPhone.
18 January 2010 18:00
Around about 50 minutes ago, an email plopped into my inbox. One of those emails that only comes once or twice a year:
From: Apple Media Events
Subject: Please Join Apple on January 27 for a Special Event After years of rumour mongering and months of increasingly believable speculation, suddenly some solid fact: Apple WILL be unveiling a new product in San Francisco on January 27th. And it would suffer a share price catastrophe if the event was for anything less than a tablet computer. Right?
Question: do I Tweet now or waste valuable milliseconds opening the email? I open the email. Here's what I see:
Enough. "Our latest creation." It has to be a tablet, right? I fire up Tweetie and let the world know. I type so fast that I misspell 'event'. Oh dear.
But hey, it's out there. @louisedoherty asks for proof. I upload a screenshot. And then I scour the invite for clues. But there's nothing but logistics - it's at the Yerba Buena Center, just behind the Moscone Center that will house the Macworld show two weeks later. (Poor Macworld - Apple pulled out this year, and yet here it is putting on a special event in the same location, attracting media from around the world just a little too early for anyone to stay on to cover the show.)
But there's the picture. Those paint splats. What does it mean? Can you paint with a tablet? Not unless:
a) it has a pressure-senstive display or
b) you dip the tablet in a pot of paint and hurl it at a canvas.
Hmmm. Maybe it's more lateral. The Yerba Buena is directly opposite the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Maybe this 'latest creation' is a work of art. Yes, that could be it: maybe it's colourful splats of paint because it's the first colour eReader device, with a vibrant OLED screen. Maybe it's a work of art because it's outrageously expensive. Well, it
is Apple, so that would seem to fit.
Or maybe Apple's retreating to its hippy roots. As @andylim tweeted, "Everyone knows that Yerba Buena means good grass, right. And that invitation looks a bit trippy. Just sayin."
The truth is, we're not really any more fact-laden than we were an hour ago. Apple's going to launch something new. You're probably going to want one. But any more than that - well, we'll just have to wait until the 27th.
In the meantime, I need to convince my publisher to fly me to San Fran. And maybe I should stay for Macworld too?
Stay tuned.
Read our Apple Tablet rumour roundupFollow @tomdunmorestuff on Twitter
12 January 2010 17:06
This year's CES was as much about concepts and prototypes as it was about fully cooked gadgetry.
So to follow up our pick of the best new launches here's a finely curated smorgasbord of the most promising future tech that caught our eye at CES 2010:
Qualcomm's tablet concept
Expected: late 2010 (from other manufacturers)
Tablets were everywhere at CES 2010, but this demo from Qualcomm caught our eye with its close resemblance to the supposed Apple 'iSlate' preview posted by Sports Illustrated recently.
With eBook readers like the Que ProReader (sadly US-only for now, but check out the video below) already launching online stores for newspapers and magazines, the battle is on to find out which platform we want to deliver our next-gen media.
Will it be the readability of e-ink devices, the interactivity of colour-screened tablets or a hybrid of the two like the Notion Ink Adam that wins out? Apple looks likely to have its say on 26 January.
FloTV – finally, mobile TV worth watching?
Expected: early 2012
Whether it's been Virgin's DAB-based Lobster phone or DVB-H (Nokia's preferred platform), mobile TV has spectacularly failed to take off in the UK.
But FloTV might just change this – it demoed its impressive mobile broadcast TV system and revealed that it's planning to launch in the UK in time for the 2012 Olympics.
The reason it could succeed is because it uses neither traditional broadcast signals nor 3G. Instead it fires live TV to an HTC-made unit mini telly via a block of bandwidth that it's bought on the US mobile spectrum (bandwidth has already been bought in the UK too).
As it's broadcast even a large number of users won't bring the network down, and in our demo there was no image degradation or interruption (despite being holed up in a downstairs bunker).
Mophie has also made an iPhone power pack with FloTV built-in.
Samsung's translucent OLED screen
Expected: 2012
We're always on the hunt for Minority Report-style gadgetry, so Samsung's translucent OLED screen caught our eye.
It's only a concept at the moment, but Samsung has already made a 14in version and attached it to a laptop. This seems a little pointless, but once it's multitouch and wall-sized it could get integrated into windscreens or your future office booth. Meetings might actually become fun.
Asus Waveface Ultra
Expected: 2014
We've already got wrist-mounted phones like the LG GD910 – now Asus has built a prototype watch that acts as a web portal.
Its screen is a touch-sensitive AMOLED job, and handy info like the weather, email, instant messages and RSS feeds get pushed to the device. There's also some nifty gesture control, though it's still very much at the concept stage.
Intel Infoscape
Expected: Concept-only
The final concept that turned our heads at CES 2010 was Intel's Infoscape, which consists of two giant multi-touch walls that pulled stories live from Google News and displayed them in a rather attractive wave.
It was really just built to flaunt Intel's new Core i7 processor, but we've already marked it for spot in our lounge next to the Samsung translucent OLED patio doors.
Filed under: CEs 2010
06 January 2010 20:42
The Consumer Electronics Show is so packed with me-too gadgets that it's a blessed relief to see some pie-in-the-sky concepts. Especially when they come with colourful renders and ridiculous names. Meet the Asus Waveface family of context-aware gadgets.
The
Asus Waveface Light is a flexible tablet PC backed by flexible material - allowing it to be used as a conventional PC with (virtual) keyboard if you wish.
The
Asus Waveface Ultra is a web-connected bangle that monitors your physiological state and provides contextual information and services wherever you are.
And the
Asus Waveface Casa is a large widescreen entertainment center and internet portal with a flexbile cover that keeps small areas exposed to display contextually-relevant information.
And if Waveface sounds a bit far-fetched (except for the last one, which is a TV as far as I can tell) then don't forget that Asus recently announced is Eee Keyboard - a fully funcitonal computer with wireless HDMI built into a slim QWERTY keyboard - will be arriving in February.
Other CES stuff:
Watch our CES 2010 preview video and
read the preview blogRead about the B&O-designed, dual-trackpad (!) Asus laptopHands on with
Skype on TV and the
Alex eReaderPaddy's CES predictions:
3DTV,
eBooks and
tabletsFollow the Stuff CES team on Twitter:
Stuff editor Fraser MacdonaldStuff.tv editor Simon Osborne-WalkerConsulting editor Tom DunmoreReviews editor Mark Wilson
01 December 2009 12:14
According to Sky, my fears of a 3DTV format war are unfounded. Although we're likely to see a number of different 3DTV technologies next year, they will all theoretically be compatible with Sky's 3DTV channel, which is due to go live late in 2010.
I was lucky enough to be invited by Sky to come to the ATP tennis finals at the O2 last week. But it wasn't just a jolly – I took a behind-the-scenes look at Sky's hugely impressive trials of live 3DTV coverage. The evening included a tour which took in courtside 3D cameras and a visit to the Outside Broadcast control centre, where the illusion of depth is created.
3DTV tech: polarising versus Active ShutterTo create the effect of 3D, a television needs to send a slightly different image to both of your eyes - and there are different ways to do this. Last year I was one of the first journalists in the world to witness the first round of Sky's cutting-edge 3D trials, which used the polarising technology also used in cinematic 3DTV to send a different picture to your left and right eye (you can see
my video of Sky's first 3DTV trials here). The benefit of this type of 3DTV is that the glasses only cost a few pounds, so it doesn't matter if the dog eats a pair. But the screen need a special polarising filter that adds around £200 to the price of a screen.
More recently,
Sony announced its own 3DTV system, which uses 'active' glasses that have shutters to rapidly alternate the images that your left and right eye see. This technology requires a TV with double the standard refresh rate - something that is already happening with the arrival of 120Hz displays. But they also require glasses with built-in shutter technology, which cost around £40 each, and a wireless system for synchronising the TV with the glasses.
A third system, pioneered by Philips, uses tiny ridges in the screen to eliminate the need for glasses altogether. However, the costs of these 'lenticular' displays are so prohibitive that Philips has now halted development altogether.
Sky 3DTV will be platform agnosticWhile Sky still seems to favour the passive glasses system, it claims that its 3DTV service will be platform agnostic: it will use existing broadcast technologies (including the current Sky HD box) to deliver two pictures to a TV - one for the left eye, one for the right. All the TV manufacturers have to do is to process those two pictures to give the illusion of 3D.
We're likely to hear a whole lot more about 3DTV at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in January 2010. Stay tuned to Stuff for updates - and if you want to know more, check out the special 3D issue of Stuff, on sale now.
Sony 3DTV to launch in 2010VIDEO: Face-to-face with Sky's 3DTV serviceVIDEO: Hands on with Sony's 3DTV from CES 2008
26 November 2009 12:22
Unless you've been hiking in the Himalayas or hiding under
your bed this last week, you've heard about Google's Chrome OS. And you've also
heard about how it's the latest, greatest creation from Googleplex. But here's
3 reasons why Gates and Jobs shouldn't be shaking in their boots just yet.
1) The GFail syndrome: Between
July 2008 and Feb 2009, Gmail had six, count them six outages. The worst lasted
as long as 30 hours. That was just your email, can you imagine being locked out
of your own computer for 30 hours straight? Google say they have the server
capacity to deal with the increase in load, but that's what they said about
Gmail too.
2) No more Modern Warfare: Chrome OS is not built for
hardcore gaming. There's an argument that the casual gaming market is huge,
and this won't affect them, but try explaining that to the 1.23 million people
who bought Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on its first day of release. This is
sure to be one of the more interesting outcomes of the success, or lack
thereof, of Chrome OS. You can bet Nvidia and ATI (now AMD Graphics) won't go
down without a fight.
3) Are netbooks dead?: Over the last few months, more and
more people are speculating that the netbook might have just been a fad.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Dell CEO Michael Dell have both said they
expect CULV laptops to be the future, and some analysts are even questioning
whether the netbook moniker is even relevant anymore. Not good news for an OS
"that will initially be targeted at netbooks."
Only time will tell if Chrome OS will be a flash in the pan
or a genuine challenger to Microsoft's OS domination. But don't place your bets
just yet.
Filed under: google, Chrome OS, Gmail
24 November 2009 14:56
The browser wars are really starting to get interesting. Firefox continues to grow (it was up to 24.07% market share in October 2009, acccording to Net Applications), Google Chrome (3.58%) is set to get third-party plug-ins before
becoming an operating system next year, and Safari (4.42%) is redefining speed - not to mention mobile browsing. Even the Microsoft's standards-eschewing browsing behemoth (64.64%) is better than it used to be.
But for raw innovation, you have to dig down to the world's fifth favourite browser. Yesterday, a new version of Opera (2.17%) was made available as a
free download for Mac and Windows, featuring a new technology platform called Opera Unite. The concept is simple: rather than passively viewing the web, Unite lets you interact by sharing your stuff with other web users. Suddenly the browser is a two-way portal:
With Opera 10.10 running, you can share files from your hard drive with colleagues; I can
share pictures with friends and family without needing to upload them to the web; stream music (or
vintage Stuff podcasts) direct from my hard drive; leave messages on my
virtual fridge (and do feel free to leave me one) or even host a website direct from your PC. Naturally, you have the option of password protecting your stuff.
Because all this sharing is browser based, you can access files from a mobile too - although the iPhone doesn't seem to like music streaming from Unite, it'll show pictures and open Office file, while the Blackberry Bold seemed very happy to suck down MP3s to its memory card drive.
Of course, all this uploading is going to put a severe strain on the weedy uplink speeds of most broadband connections (a quick
speed check shows by so-called 8Mb connection actually downloads at 5Mbps and uploads at just 356kbps). But my tests - conducted unscientifically using a one-bar connection to my neighbour's open wireless network (thanks Matt) - show that it really is possible to share entire photo libary without too much of a lag.
Mist computingOpera's vision is to cut the 'servers belonging to strangers' out of the equation. In other words, instead giving all you stuff to Google to store in a cloud high up in the sky, you live in your own virtual mist.
In reality cloud computing and, erm, mist computing can co-exist peacefully - Unite just gives much of the same functionality as services like Back to My PC. The downside is that your home computer needs to be switched on (and awake, and running Opera) all the time. But with an open API, Unite could easily throw up some innovative new applications that make those joules worth burning.
Trying too hard?Unite aside, there's much to like about the new Opera - the UI is a giant leap from the amateurist look-and-feel in version 9, and features great customisable options like visual tabs that show thumbnails of each open page. If you're browsing with a mobile dongle (or, god forbid, via dial-up) you'll appreciate the Turbo Browsing, which uses the same compression technologies that make Opera Mini and Mobile such brilliantly speedy phone browsers. The mouse gestures and voice control are fun to play with, too.
But all this ambition comes at a cost - while Opera does a good job of hiding its complexity, it's in danger of losing site of its main purpose (as well as unite Opera features email and chat clients, plus downloadable widgets). When browsing, page rendering is variable, with fonts often looking odd. Worse, Opera doesn't seem to be able to cope with Haymarket Media's Outlook Web Access email.
Nonetheless, there's enough that's good within Opera 10.10 to make me stick with it for a while. And hell, it's free - so why not
give it a try for yourself, and let me know what you think in the comments below.
Follow me on TwitterSee also:
Video: What Google Chrome is all aboutOpinion: Apps are the new gadgets
11 November 2009 14:30
How can London out-weird Beijing's 'bird nest' stadium from the 2008 Olympics? One possibility is this slightly bonkers creation from the MIT – a 400ft tall 'digital cloud' that would hover over the Olympic Park and act as a display for projected images and Tweets.
The design is an entry to a competition set up by Boris Johnson to find an Olympic landmark. And it's pleasingly techy too, with Google – one of the project's supporters – suggesting that it could act as a display for 'a custom feed of searches made by Londoners during the Olympics to give a real time barometer of the city's mood'. And possibly its 'eccentricities' too.
The images released by the team behind 'The Cloud' suggest it's still firmly in the concept stage – cyclists are depicted hurtling down a ramp filled with pedestrians, and the construction could prove an interesting 'challenge' for London's City Airport (only six miles away).
But a fundraising site called raisethecloud.org is already live, with the idea that it'd be 'a monument to crowd-sourcing'. In other words, London hasn't got enough spare change from the Olympic stadium to build a Beijing-beating monument, so get donating.
via
BBC/
Londonist
