Saturday, June 30, 2012
Seeing the Unseen—How Modern Photography Is Expanding Human Perception [Video]
Google announces 'Save to Wallet' for offers and payment cards
Google I/O has been jam packed full of new, and exciting Google software and technology. While the headline acts are no doubt the arrival of the Nexus 7 and Jelly Bean, there has been some pretty interesting stuff going on in the developer sessions. One such session, dedicated to Google Wallet, unveiled a new feature, called Save to Wallet. Initially for offers and payment cards, it is seen as the first step in opening up Google Wallet to a wider audience.
So, what's it all about. Taking offers first, the Save to Wallet API will allow consumers to save offers from a stores website, directly to their Google Wallet. Wallet will then remind you to take advantage of it before the coupon expires. The offers can then be applied in the store, either by showing the offer code in your Wallet, or by using the NFC capabilities on your smartphone. Pretty slick.
Adding the Save to Wallet button to an existing website requires little more than a piece of Javascript code. The benefits to retailers pretty much speak for themselves, but the consumer benefits are really nice too. By managing your offer coupons for you, Wallet will give you the notifications, to remind you to use them. After all, we all want to save some money, right?
The Save to Wallet API also applies to payment cards as well. It works pretty similarly to offers, and allows payment card providers the ability to provide the same button on their website, and offer a seamless way to enter your card into your Google Wallet.
Naturally, since we're dealing with potentially sensitive data here, the API isn't just opened up to anyone who wants it. It will be opened up to a limited number of users initially, in a closed beta. Anyone interested can register, but Google will only be releasing the API to approved partners. This applies to offers, as well as payment cards.
And, what about the future? As the slide here shows, Google are promising more, coming soon. It's a smart move, if they can make a go of it. Apple's Passbook is likely the beginnings of their own Wallet solution, and Windows Phone 8 has theirs on the way. Google's taking a good first step here into expanding the functionality of Wallet. What we need now, is greater adoption -- we'd like to use our phones to pay for stuff in Europe too, Google.
For your viewing convenience, we've embedded the Google Wallet session after the break.
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Torus is an impressive 3D Tetris game powered by HTML5
You rotate the ring itself with the arrow keys, while a Tetris-like piece slowly (excruciatingly slowly, in fact) descends from the top. As soon as you make a solid line, it disappears.
Not all pieces are Tetris-like; some of them wouldn't really work with a regular Tetris game but are a good fit for Torus' 3D format.
Torus is ideal for playing at the office, because it has absolutely no soundtrack. The game is dead-quiet. It's also very very slow (slow enough for me to mention it twice in one post) so you can safely look away for a moment and then keep playing. Also, as soon as the game loses focus, it automatically pauses.
Bottom line: It's an impressive demo of the power of HTML5; if it were a bit faster, it would have some serious addictive potential.
Torus is an impressive 3D Tetris game powered by HTML5 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Samsung brings out WB100 camera with 26x lens for zoom-loving Brits
Samsung has been quiet on the superzoom camera front, but it's leaping back into the fray with the WB100. The camera doesn't have the longest zoom we've seen, but with a 26x lens and a wide-angle 22.3mm minimum zoom, odds are that just about anything you come across during vacation will fit into the frame. A choice to use AA batteries instead of a lithium-ion pack also emphasizes that focus on travelers. We're otherwise looking at a very deliberately middle-of-the-road camera with a 16-megapixel sensor, ISO 80 to 1,600 sensitivity (3,200 if you like 3-megapixel photos) and 720p movie making. The company doesn't have pricing, nor word as to which countries get the WB100 treatment outside of the UK -- for now, you're most likely to see this camera slung around a suntanned British neck in Ibiza.
Continue reading Samsung brings out WB100 camera with 26x lens for zoom-loving Brits
Samsung brings out WB100 camera with 26x lens for zoom-loving Brits originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsPastebin updated to V3, releases Windows app
It has recently undergone a major overhaul which includes the release of a brand new Windows client. The new client lets you create new "pastes" and manage your existing ones. It joins a host of other tools from Pastebin, such as the Google and Chrome extensions, OS X widget and the mobile apps.
If you're currently using Pastebin, the new client is a great addition. And if you haven't tried it before, next time you have a piece of code you want to share or get some feedback on, you could do worse than try out Pastebin.
[Thanks, Jeroen!]
Pastebin updated to V3, releases Windows app originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Distro Issue 47: Made in the USA edition
It's that time of the year when folks in the US of A tend to get a tad bit patriotic. Pretty soon, those of us in the States will be all about grilling and putting back a few hot dogs and / or hamburgers before rushing off to catch some fireworks. We're looking to keep the spirit alive in our weekly, too. This time around, we offer up a Made in the USA edition with editorials that tackle Nevada's solar-geothermal hybrid power plant and just how much coin it takes to offer internet in American Samoa -- along with a few more stops in between. The Nexus 7 and Nexus Q were revealed at Google I/O and we offer some initial thoughts on the pair of gadgets from the folks in Mountain View. Find yourself jonesin' for a closer look at that fancy Tesla S? You're in luck. You'll find some detail shots of the new $50,000 EV in "Eyes-On" this week. So what are you waiting for? There's a monster truck on the cover for crying out loud! Dive right in to the latest issue via your download method of choice.
Distro Issue 47 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Google Play Store
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter
Distro Issue 47: Made in the USA edition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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DropSpace adds real Dropbox sync to Android
DropSpace is a little Android app that makes Dropbox on Android work like Dropbox - that is, you get real folder synchronization in the background.
When you run the app you're prompted for your Dropbox credentials. After logging in to Dropbox, you get to select which device folders you'd like to sync to the cloud. It's a straightforward mapping process: You select a folder on the device, and then specify where in Dropbox it should go.
The interface is rather clunky, at least for now. The biggest annoyance is that you can't edit your "sync list": if you add a folder and then wish to remove it, you must delete the entire list of folders and start over.
In terms of functionality, it works quite well. I tested it with the camera folder, and it was nice to be able to take my photos using the lean default Camera app and have them sync up to the cloud instantly.
DropSpace adds real Dropbox sync to Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ask DLS: What's your favorite mobile app at the moment?
But alas, not all apps are created equal; some are way, way better than others. Which leads me to today's Ask DLS question: What is your favorite mobile app at the moment?
We don't necessarily mean the latest craze; we'd like to hear about apps that have stood the test of time on your device, apps that are among the first you install on a new smartphones, apps that have earned their place on your home screen and in your heart.
So, what are some of these apps? Bonus points for links to screenshots in the comments!
Ask DLS: What's your favorite mobile app at the moment? originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Virgin Mobile to start selling the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S from today
Virgin Mobile USA owned by Sprint Nextel Corp, will start selling the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S on its pre-paid network starting from today. Announced earlier this month, Virgin
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Google's I/O: Perfect Blend of Substance and Spectacle?
It used to be that technology companies would head to one or more of the plethora of industry trade shows to introduce new products and showcase their latest offerings. But in recent years many large companies have forgone the shows and instead have offered company-specific conferences and events. This week Google might have raised the bar for what's expected from such events.
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Friday, June 29, 2012
Swing Table, Bamboo Globe, and More [Most Beautiful Items Of The Week]
University of Tokyo builds a soap bubble 3D screen, guarantees your display stays squeaky clean (video)
There are waterfall screens, but what if you'd like your display to be a little more... pristine? Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a display that hits soap bubbles with ultrasonic sound to change the surface. At a minimum, it can change how light glances off the soap film to produce the image. It gets truly creative when taking advantage of the soap's properties: a single screen is enough to alter the texture of a 2D image, and multiple screens in tandem can create what amounts to a slightly sticky hologram. As the soap is made out of sturdy colloids rather than the easily-burst mixture we all knew as kids, users won't have to worry about an overly touch-happy colleague popping a business presentation. There's a video preview of the technology after the jump; we're promised a closer look at the technology during the SIGGRAPH expo in August, but we don't yet know how many years it will take to find sudsy screens in the wild.
University of Tokyo builds a soap bubble 3D screen, guarantees your display stays squeaky clean (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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