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Intel RealSense Provides New Ways of Interacting with Laptops and Doors

Posted: 08 Jan 2015 10:30 AM PST

Intel RealSense 3D Camera

The chip maker has done one of the most interesting keynotes of CES 2015, unveiling all sorts of concepts that had the same technology at their core: the RealSense 3D imaging camera.

If until now we perceived most of the digital world in 2D, it’s time to make the switch to 3D, and Intel is ready to pave the way for this transition using its RealSense 3D imaging camera. Last year, the chip manufacturer showed us how this technology could be implemented in AIO PCs and tablets, but the CES demonstration proved that RealSense could find its way into more familiar scenarios.

When it comes to cooking, we all run of inspiration at some point. Thankfully, there are plenty of websites (allrecipes.com, foodwishes.com, so on and so forth) that can give us some fresh ideas when our mind seems to go blank in the kitchen. But after deciding which dish you’re going to prepare next, you need to either print the step-by-step instructions (that’s so 20th century, isn’t it?) or take the notebook/tablet with you while cooking. The problem is that the kitchen is not exactly the safest environment for mobile devices, as flour or salsa is the last thing that you might want on your keyboard or ports. You might wonder where I’m trying to get with this, and if I’m not simply delusional, getting from CPUs to recipes like that. Well, a notebook or tablet equipped with Intel’s RealSense camera would be able to interpret the gestures you’re making in mid air in order to scroll a webpage or go to the next step.

The way we interact with doors might also suffer some changes. Intel demonstrated how authentication could make its way into more mundane aspects of our lives. If people put a RealSense camera near their door to take 3D images of whoever is knocking, keys could become a thing of the past. Of course, once a person is authenticated, a connection would have to be established between the 3D camera and the electromagnetic lock, so that the door opens. I don’t see this becoming mainstream in the very near future, but it’s definitely something I would use.

Intel is getting involved in new areas, showing that they’re willing to go beyond CPUs, and that can only be a good thing, provided that they maintain the same quality standards.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the HP Sprout 3D scanning AIO PC, or the RealSense-equipped Dell Venue 8 7840 tablet.

The new MacBook Air: so slim it needs a new type of USB

Posted: 08 Jan 2015 10:30 AM PST

MacBook Air Slim

Design and functionality clash in the Apple camp as the company prepares its latest MacBook air, and a little revolution along with it.

No one would be surprised if we mentioned that Apple is constantly working on new, improved designs of their mainline products like the iPhones, iPads and MacBooks, but a new report by 9to5Mac claims that their latest revision for the MacBook will change quite a lot of what we know. Based on what they claim is inside knowledge, they’ve created a few renders that show some of what is to come.

The first thing you’ll notice is that this new MacBook is wat thiner, than before, but this thinness comes with a price: it’s so small USB ports no longer fit, therefore, the company seems ready to move to USB Type-C, a smaller type of USB port that can handle audio, video and more, and can be plugged straight to an outlet. The problem? All of your current gadgets still use USB cables, right? How are we gonna plug them to this new MacBook?

The keyboard is also reported to get some changes, but those are pretty minor in comparison, function keys and arrows are now slightly different, but fulfill the same roles we know.

We salute Apple on their pursue of better, slimmer, lighter and more powerful gadgets, but this might be the first time we wonder if it’s not getting in the way of usability. We’ll miss you, USB ports.

Via 9to5Mac

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Microsoft ‘Arcadia’ Could Bring Game Streaming to Windows

Posted: 08 Jan 2015 09:09 AM PST

Xbox One controller PC gaming

As the tech company gears up for a release of Windows 10, a leak detailing Microsoft’s ‘Arcadia’ project points to features for both app and game streaming.

In the past few months, Microsoft has been forced to come to terms with some uncomfortable truths. Namely that Windows 8 has been a flop and that that their Windows Phones massively struggle to go up against the likes of iOS and Android because they don’t offer enough content as those rivals.

So how does Microsoft plan on fixing these pressing issues? Several job listings point to a service that’s being code-named ‘Arcadia’, with the job descriptions explaining that it will offer app and game streaming.

Arcadia, it’s said, will replace the Rio streaming technology that Microsoft demoed at a September 2013 conference. It will rely on the company’s Azure cloud to stream content.

The job listing reads as follows:

“The new Operating Systems Group (OSG) Streaming team is leveraging the cloud to bring premium and unique experiences to Microsoft’s core platforms. These experiences take advantage of a new geo-distributed massively scaling service to redefine what is possible on today’s devices.

“The client team is building the user facing application(s), bridging the service and devices together seamlessly. Our team is a small but growing and dedicated to solving one of Microsoft’s biggest business challenges in a creative fashion.”

This all sounds incredibly promising and there are clear benefits to being able to stream content to our devices. For example Xbox One consoles may be able to stream PC games (and vice versa) and it’s also being suggested that Windows Phone users may be able to stream Android through the in-development service, fixing the aforementioned mobile app shortage.

However, although Windows 10 will fix such problems as the lack of a Start menu (along with the Metro tiled layout), it could make one particular problem worse – selling extra services.

On Windows 8, rather than Microsoft Word and other Office products coming as standard, you have to pay extra for them. As Microsoft looks to monetise their next operating system (further than the initial purchase) there’s a good chance that Arcadia streaming will come at a heavy cost for those on Microsoft desktops.

Of course it’s still early days for Arcadia (it may not even be called that by the time it officially launches) and we most likely won’t see it at the Windows 10 preview event later this month, but clearly, there are concerns to be cleared up before it makes it to retail.

Source: ZDNet

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories, Microsoft Ditches IE for the Spartan Browser in Windows 10Microsoft Enables Bitcoin Payments for Xbox, Windows Phone Content

Netflix Announces ‘Recommended TV’ To Tell You Which TV To Buy

Posted: 07 Jan 2015 01:15 PM PST

Sony Netflix CES 2015

As consumers begin to watch television in new ways, Netflix has revealed plans to help you buy the best TV for your streaming interests.

To put it simply: Netflix is an absolutely juggernaut in the world of television. Unlike the days of yonder in which we’d have to fork out several hundred dollars, euros or pounds for boxsets of our favourite TV shows, Netflix allows us to binge watch with just the click of a mouse of the press of a button, all for the cost of a large cup of coffee.

And with the popularity of shows like Orange is the New Black, the streaming service is forcing traditional television networks to make better, more interesting and more diverse television shows. Which means that average comedies with one dimensional characters aren’t going to cut it.

Netflix’s increasing dominance in the field also means that we factor the service in when making future purchases such as the speed of our Internet provider and the screen quality on our phones and laptops. It makes sense then that Netflix will soon launch ‘Recommended TVs’ then, to let Netflix subscribers know which TV suits the streaming service best.

That new plan was announced by Netflix’s chief of streaming and partnerships, Greg Peters, at CES 2015 (the electronics trade show that’s currently taking place in Las Vegas). Recommend TVs’ recommendations will be put together once Netflix determines whether a TV’s Internet connectivity and its upscaling are suitable for their streamed content. However, it’s currently unclear just how users will receive those recommendations.

Peters gave a particular nod to LG’s TVs, explaining that on their screens Netflix can stream in HDR (high dynamic range) which makes for whiter whites, darker blacks and a more realistic picture whilst LG’s ColorPrime and quantum-dot display tech also helps improve picture colour. And LG wasn’t the only TV maker to get a thumbs up as Peters showed up at the Sony press conference later in the day to say nice things about them too. Sony’s new TVs will be built with Internet connectivity from the get-go rather than as an add on.

Furthermore, some Recommended TVs will simply have a Netflix button on their remotes. Pressing this button will take you right to Netflix and let you start streaming right away. This sounds like a brilliant idea although some would argue that if Netflix is partnering up with these television makers, surely these companies’ TVs will unfairly get ‘recommended’ labels, even if they’re not up to scratch? Or perhaps Netflix will only partner up with TVs that will most definitely be great?

That’s some murky water right there and information is currently quite thin on the ground. As ever though, we’ll keep you posted once we know more.

Source: Mashable

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories, Netflix To Debut a New Show Every Two WeeksNetflix expands to Australia and New Zealand in March 2015

Play Over 2000 Classic MS-DOS Games on the Internet Archive

Posted: 07 Jan 2015 01:00 PM PST

SFII

With the Internet Archive adding over 2000 MS-DOS games to its library, the productivity of workers all around the world should be dropping significantly in the near future, because is going to pass over a chance to spend hours on Prehistorik 2 again?

So what is the Internet Archive? It’s pretty much like a huge online repository filled with snapshots of websites called the Wayback Machine, allowing you to see how certain things have changed over the years on the Internet.

But there’s more to this than just viewing nostalgia. You can also be part of it, and start playing all those games you did as a child. There’s nothing new about old games being on the Internet, but there’s a difference between downloading them to your computer and play on emulators or after making certain adjustments (through sites like Abandonia) and getting such a huge collection available on a mainstream website, making it easier for those less familiar with every corner of old-school gaming on the web.

So what is there to play? Pretty much everything. From the frustrating Oregon trail to Street Fighter II, Wolfenstein 3D, Quake and others from pretty much every possible genre.

It’s not Far Cry 4 or Skyrim, but it can be just as fun, maybe even more, even if the graphics aren’t as good.

For more on classic gaming, check out this post about Hdmyboy which helps bring Game Boy classics to our TV screens.

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