Android Gingerbread on over half of devices, as Ice Cream Sandwich challenge begins
[SlashGear]
Google and its Android manufacturing partners have finally managed to get the majority of devices in the wild up to date with Gingerbread… just in time for them to be outdated again thanks to Ice Cream Sandwich. According to the latest platform distribution stats, 2.3.x is now found on 50.6-percent of allAndroid devices– or at least those which accessed the Android Market in the fourteen days prior to December 1 – up from 43.9-percent last month. ...
Gingerbread’s share should increase some in next month’s batch of stats, with a number of devices getting Android 2.3 upgrades in the past week or so. Verizon’s DROID CHARGE and the EuropeanMilestone 2, along with the LG Optimus 3D all saw OTA updates being pushed out in November.
More on Ice Cream Sandwich in the full SlashGear review.
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Baby boomers key to brand segmentation
Unlike Skype, however, many marketers often miss out on the boomer market, focusing solely on the alluring youth market. Diageo chief marketing officer Andy Fennell has said: “Targeting 18 to 34-year-olds is so outdated. Marketers need to respect and understand consumers over 35 who are adopting new media and staying active.”...
MADE opens ‘History of 3D’ exhibit
The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment, The MADE, will open its first exhibit "The History of 3D" on Dec. 3.
The MADE, which moved to downtown Oakland in October, is dedicated to preserving video games and presenting them as art. Using the crowd funding site Kickstarter.com, the museum raised $20,000 to secure the new location.
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New technology brings products to life in New Malden superstore
The Augmented Reality (AR) technology is being provided by British company Kishino and works as the computer recognises the product image, like face recognition, and plays a video on top of it.
The retail giant hopes the interactive technology will engage shoppers and will also save space as bulkier items do not need to be stocked on shelves.
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Route 66 release first Augmented Reality Navigation App
Once the camera is started the route is overlaid on the live image, when you start to move you will see a mini just ahead of you showing the route you should be taking. There are a number of different modes that can be used including full map, full AR and split screen.
Read the full story and watch a video here.
‘Perfect black’ coating can render a 3D object flat
A carbon nanotube coating developed at the University of Michigan acts as a "magic black cloth" that conceals an object's three-dimensional geometry and makes it look like a flat black sheet....
"It's not cloaking, as the object can still cast a shadow. But if you put an object on a black background, then with this coating, it could really become invisible." ...
Here's how the new coating works: Human eyes perceive an object based on how it reflects or scatters light. The "refractive index" of this new coating is similar to that of air, meaning light traveling through air doesn't scatter or reflect when it hits the coating.
It's well known that carbon nanotubes are capable of absorbing light, but the researchers were able to push it to such a high percentage by spacing them just right.
The "perfect black" material Guo's team created for this coating has a host of varied applications. It could possibly be used in display screens for ultra-high contrast and a crisper picture. ...
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Using 3D Virtual Reality Training for Command and Control
This fall, the Drivewise specialized 3D training team, with support from software partner FutureShield, were in Midland, Ontario, to begin two days of incident command training in the virtual world with the Midland Fire Department. The e-Semble XVR simulator used in Midland includes multiple environments such as a residential center, harbor, campground, airport, train station, petrochemical facility and others. The simulator allows fire departments to design their own training scenarios within a 3D environment. Twelve Midland firefighters participated in the exercises. ...
It was fascinating to watch seasoned firefighters command a virtual response for the first time. The generation gap many would perceive was not evident because the real world was duplicated virtually complete with adrenalin and surprise incidents. ...
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Clean your home (very slowly) from thousands of miles away with this robot and a Kinect.
Yaskawa Electric, who hold the largest share of the world's industrial robot market, are developing the next-generation SmartPal VII. This robot can be operated remotely using a Kinect motion capture system.
Watch the video here:
Apple Wins Secret Patent for High-End 3D Object Recognition
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today and one of them was a real surprise. Apple has been granted a major patent for 3D object recognition that will allow future iPads to advance graphics like MRI images for use in hospitals and other enterprise and military applications covering high-end security systems using advanced biometrics. Apple secretely acquired this patent at some point in the past from Swedish inventors. When the connections to this patent unfold, you'll be both surprised and excited about what this means for future iOS devices.
Advancing Identification Systems ...
Security Systems ...
Surface Fitting to the 3D Data: MRI Application ...
Other Possible Applications ...
Future PowerVR Processors for iOS Devices & Those Behind Today's Important Patent ...
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Broadcast Groups Partner on Second Screen TV
Ten broadcast groups with stations in markets covering 76 million U.S. households have announced a long-term commercial partnership with Silicon Valley-based start-up ConnecTV, a free, real-time social network built for TV viewers. ConnecTV expands the TV experience by allowing viewers to interact with other fans watching the same program, while providing a broad range of related content and promotional opportunities that are directly synchronized to programs being viewed. ...
ConnecTV automatically "checks in" television viewers while they watch their favorite programs and synchronizes relevant content onto a second screen, including latest news, celebrity information, trivia, polls and play-by-play sports stats. ...
See the full story here.
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