‘Wizard of Oz’ Converts to 3D for 75th Anniversary
The five-disc set will include Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and UltraViolet versions of the film; as well as bonus features and collectibles (current plans include an anniversary journal and a hardcover book). It also offers a new documentary, The Making of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which will include contributions from historians John Fricke and Sam Wasson, composers Stephen Schwartz and Marc Shaiman, critics Leonard Maltinand Michael Sragow, Bert Lahr’s son John as well as clips featuring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Buddy Ebsen, Margaret Hamilton and Mervyn LeRoy. This version will list for $105.43.
Also available will be a two-disc 3D/Blu-ray ($35.99), a one-disc Blu-ray ($19.98) and a two-disc DVD ($16.95).
Read the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/wizard-oz-converts-3d-75th-562557
China’s plan to survive the 3D-printing revolution: Own the market
Luo’s confidence stems from an investment made by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology late last year. It formed the “China 3D Printing Technology Industry Alliance” to fund 10 research centres at a cost of 200 million yuan, which will be matched by local governments. The first of these, in Nanjing, was approved in March. Some 40 companies have joined the alliance.
Read the full story here: http://qz.com/90646/chinas-plan-to-survive-the-3d-printing-revolution-own-the-market/
Buccaneer 3D Printer Hits Kickstarter Blasts Past $100K Goal In Just A Few Days (video)
[ Philip Lelyveld comment: Kickstarter program for a $347 fully assembled 3D printer. Are the valuations of the publicly traded 3D printer companies too high, or is this low-end entrepreneurship too late?]
Our dream is to make the user experience of this technology as seamless as it can be and to open up the technology while at the same time not being greedy and squeezing our customers for unsustainable profits. (How ironic for Pirates yeah.)”
See the video and full story here: http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/buccaneer-3d-printer-hits-kickstarter-blasts-past-100k-goal-in-just-a-few-days-03-06-2013/
SUNY New Paltz starts 3D printing program
Thanks to a million dollar investment from Hudson River Ventures' Sean Elderidge and a grant from Central Hudson, the SUNY school will startup an advanced manufacturing center in the fall and become home to the state's first certificate program in 3D Printing.
The curriculum includes content on ethical and social responsibility and the college will monitor how its equipment is used.
Read the full story here: http://hudsonvalley.ynn.com/content/top_stories/666934/suny-new-paltz-starts-3d-printing-program/
OCULUS RIFT IS BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO THE DREAM OF VIRTUAL REALITY
[Philip Lelyveld comment: This looks amazing.]
Instead of a 30- or 40-degree field of view (a screen with edges), the Rift offers a 110-degree field of view. There’s no discernible edge to the Rift’s curved 7”, 1280 x 800 display. The screen is split into 640 x 800 halves, lowering the resolution per eye, but allowing the world to be rendered stereoscopically—that is pairing two side-by-side images viewed from slightly different angles (parallax) to make things appear 3D. You’re fully immersed in the game-world.
The headset uses a gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer to translate head movements into changes in perspective in the virtual world. In the past, high latency, or how much time it takes the system to translate physical movements into virtual ones, has been a limiting factor. Carmack believes the “magic number for immersive VR” is 20 millisecond latency. Get it faster than 20 milliseconds, and humans can’t detect a delay. (For more detail, check out this dense meditation on VR latency on Carmack’s blog.)
See the full story here: http://singularityhub.com/2013/05/31/oculus-rift-is-breathing-new-life-into-the-dream-of-virtual-reality/?curator=MediaReDEF
To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right Star Trek Into Darkness Ticket
Unbelievably, J.J. Abrams' first Star Trek opened before Avatar, in a time when not every summer blockbuster was expected to come out in 3D, and before movies were put through the post-conversion wringer to cash in. Four years later things are surprisingly different, and Star Trek Into Darkness has succumbed to the spirit of the times, arriving with post-converted 3D and a whole lot of ads trumpeting the 3D experience.
| 3D Fit | 3 |
| P&E | 3 |
| Before The Window | 5 |
| Beyond The Window | 5 |
| Brightness | 5 |
| The Glasses Off Test | 4 |
| Audience Health | 5 |
| Total Score | 30 (out of a possible 35) |
Read the full story here: http://www.cinemablend.com/new/3D-Or-3D-Buy-Right-Star-Trek-Darkness-Ticket-37572-p2.html
Bhakt Prahalad- first ever 3D animated movie to be made in India
After 'Ramayana', 'Lord Ganesha' and 'Little Krishna', now watch the thrilling story of 'Bhakt Prahalad- the battle of faith' another Indian mythological movie on the Indian big screen soon. The movie 'Bhakt Prahalad' will be the first ever 3D animated movie to be made in India.
See the full story here: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Bhakt-Prahalad-first-ever-3D-animated-movie-to-be-made-in-India/articleshow/20287467.cms
Ghostly pictures made in 3D – minus the camera
[Philip Lelyveld comment: The video has weirdly beautiful techno music. ]
Ghost imaging was developed because it can take pictures of objects by recording light that doesn't actually hit them, making it promising for surveillance.
...a projector shines hundreds of random computer-generated, black-and-white patterns on an object, while four single-pixel detectors record the amount of light reflected back. Patterns that happen to match the shape of the object reflect more light than those that don't. The computer weights each black-and-white pattern according to the intensity recorded by the detectors and overlays the results, so that a picture of the object gradually emerges.
The 3D system's four detectors are placed above, below and on either side of the projector. These detectors measure slightly varying intensities of reflected light and create pictures with different shading.
REad the full story here: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23552-ghostly-pictures-made-in-3d--minus-the-camera.html
NASA Helps 3D Printing Expand Into The Culinary World
Contractor's concept is hardly unique as other engineering research has suggested the possibility of printing certain types of food, particularly homogenous materials like chocolate.
However, the new design aims to simplify the process of making food by cutting down the inputs to nothing more than a combination of different powders that could be mixed with water and oil to produce a meal layer by layer.
... Since the materials could be just about anything, the top layer might be a more easily produced food than actual cheese.
...The big advantage to this approach is that it allows users to maximize the nutrition from any given meal and minimize waste. Because the food is stored as a simple dehydrated powder, any given component would boast a shelf life of as long as 30 years.
See the full story here: http://why.knovel.com/all-engineering-news/2499-nasa-helps-3d-printing-expand-into-the-culinary-world.html
Israeli researchers use holographic images to restore vision to blind people
Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa are working on a tool that would resemble a pair of glasses using holographic images that would stimulate retinal cells, thus providing a high quality image.
This technology, which was presented in the journal Nature Communications, could help some of the 25 million of people around the world who suffer from age-related macular degeneration and one and a half million with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease of the retina that eventually leads to blindness. Over the past year, new electronic chip implants offer a basic solution to these patients.
See the full story here: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/health/2013-05/21/c_124738770.htm