Skype wants the people to fix Skype 5 for Mac, will you answer the call?

Skype 5 for Mac leaves something to be desired — we know it, you know it, and looks like Skype knows it too. That’s why our fav VoIP app is soliciting the help of you, the people, to improve its UI. Skype’s running a competition to find the one chat style to rule them all, and it starts taking custom CSS submissions April 8th. The contest has three rounds, with one judges’ and one people’s choice in each, followed by the selection of a grand prize winner from the six finalists. People’s champs get an Apple TV and those picked by the judges snag a WiFi iPad 2, and all the winners get a copy of CSS3 for Web Designers and a year’s subscription to Skype Unlimited World Extra. The grand prize is an eleven-inch MacBook Air, an iPad2, and the ego boost that comes with knowing your chat style forged in the flames of competition will be included in a coming release of Skype. Up to the challenge? Hit the source link for the full details.

Skype wants the people to fix Skype 5 for Mac, will you answer the call? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 01:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung and Visa join forces to enable NFC mobile payment at 2012 Olympics

From a gadgeteer’s point of view, one of the best things about the Olympics is its tendency to bring in new technologies to the hosting city. Take the 2012 games, for example: not only are the London Underground stations getting WiFi hotspots, but news has it that Samsung and Visa are holding hands to deliver NFC mobile payment solutions to the city. In fact, more than 60,000 locations in London are already geared up with contactless payment systems, and right now Visa is negotiating with banks to get its contactless cards and mobile phones approved. For the latter, one such device will be Samsung’s Olympic and Paralympic Games mobile handset that comes with a Visa-enabled SIM card, and it’ll be made available to sponsored athletes as well as various retailers. Furthermore, this alliance will continue after the Olympics, and Visa is rolling out its mobile payment system in many other countries as we speak, so it shouldn’t be long before we hear more Visa handset announcements.

Continue reading Samsung and Visa join forces to enable NFC mobile payment at 2012 Olympics

Samsung and Visa join forces to enable NFC mobile payment at 2012 Olympics originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Float In Space With Ghost In The Shell

Customers can step right into cyberspace until April 19th at Shibuya’s Parco department store. Promoting the 3D release of “Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society” web company Kayac Inc installed a large game booth that lets players immerse into the game and float in space.

3D-Game-Tokyo

The game uses the microsoft Kinect sensor to let players use gesture and movement to travel through space in a bid to capture Tachikoma. Controls use the whole range of movements from twisting to turn and moving forward and back to shift perspective then using an arm movement to zap and capture the characters. With the installed wrap around screen the effect is pretty absorbing and really feels like you are floating around.

The store itself has various anime goods and a display of some original shots from the Ghost In The Shell movie also for fans to see.

Kinect-Game-Tokyo

Users twist and turn below in the original video from Kayac:

The game is on the 5th floor of Parco, Shibuya in the S.A.C Premium Shop until April 19th.

Thanks to www.asiajin.com

Zdenek Kalal’s object tracking algorithm learns on the fly, likely to make next 007 flick (video)

Microsoft’s own OneVision Video Recognizer may be novel, but if the folks in Redmond are seriously looking to take things next-level, they should probably cast their gaze across the pond. Zdenek Kalal, a researcher at the University of Surrey, has just created what may be the most sophisticated vision system known to the civilian world. In essence, it takes the mundane task of tracking objects to an entirely new platform, enabling users to select an object on the fly and have the algorithm immediately start tracking something new. Within seconds, it’s able to maintain a lock even if your object twists, turns, or leaves / returns. Furthermore, these “objects” could be used as air mice if you force it to track your digits, and if you teach it what your staff looks like, you’ll have a fully automated security scanner that can recognize faces and grant / deny access based on its database of white-listed individuals. Frankly, we’d rather you see it for yourself than listen to us extolling its virtues — vid’s after the break, per usual.

Continue reading Zdenek Kalal’s object tracking algorithm learns on the fly, likely to make next 007 flick (video)

Zdenek Kalal’s object tracking algorithm learns on the fly, likely to make next 007 flick (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows 7 Download Available, Users Wait for Product Keys

This article was written on January 09, 2009 by CyberNet.

ces 2009.png

Big news came Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) when Steve Ballmer said that they would be releasing a copy of Windows 7 Beta today that the public can actually get their hands on. The Beta build leaked a few weeks prior to the official announcement, and there was a lot of excitement because early reports were saying that it was stable, efficient, and a huge improvement over Vista. Naturally people were wanting to kickoff their downloads early today because grabbing 2.4GB is not a 2-minute task.

Surprise! Right now the Windows 7 site has a message up that essentially says the demand was more than what they anticipated:

Thanks for your interest in the Windows 7 Beta. The volume has been phenomenal—we’re in the process of adding more servers to handle the demand. We’re sorry for the delay and we’ll re-post the Beta as soon as we can ensure a quality download experience.

Over at Lifehacker they managed to scrounge up some direct download links for both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions, which is handy for those wanting to get the download going overnight. Here are the links:

The only problem now is waiting to get your hands on one of the 2.5 million product keys they are handing out for this round of testing. What boggles my mind is the fact that Microsoft isn’t letting people just sign-up so that they could receive the product key, and then let users download the OS from an alternative source if they don’t want to wait (*cough* BitTorrent). Heck, a lot of the people probably have the leaked copy installed and all they need is the product key to activate Windows 7 Beta.

P.S. This Beta release will expire on August 1st, 2009 even after entering the product key. If you don’t enter a product key you can still run Windows 7 Beta for 30 days.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Ask Engadget: best USB headset for Skype calls and on-the-go podcasting?

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from yours truly, who managed to destroy his Freetalk Everyman during a rough battle within a piece of carry-on luggage. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I previously owned a Freetalk Everyman, also known as a low-end, $30 USB headset that was ultra handy for making Skype calls and even podcasting in a quiet room. It traveled well, but not well enough. Recently, one of the ear cups were demolished during a turbulent flight back from NYC, and now I need a replacement. I’m too rough on these things to spend more than $40 or $50, so outside of replacing it in kind, what are my options for a USB headset that travels easily? You’ll be hearing a lot of me in the months to come, so don’t lead me astray. My life, as it were, is in your ever-so-capable hands.”

Ain’t much more to say when the question’s not coming from a third-party, so… have fun in comments!

Ask Engadget: best USB headset for Skype calls and on-the-go podcasting? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony offers sneak peek of new LA store – no fooling (video)

You might see a bunch of fake news on the internet tomorrow, but considering what we’ve seen of Sony’s new LA storefront, we’re fairly certain this isn’t a prank. That’s right, Sony’s launching a newly branded retail store in the City of Angels Friday, and from the look of things, it spared no expense. The 4,200-square foot space is the first to ditch the Sony Style moniker for the simpler Sony Store, and while the aesthetics are decidedly minimal, the experience is anything but. As you might expect, the shop offers demos of a slew of devices; it’s packed full of everything from VAIOs to ray modelers to 3D Handycams, and it’s also rocking a fully loaded home theater setup called “The Cube.” Considering the outfit’s been looking to up its retail cred, we’d say the new spot has the stuff to do the job, even if that bright white modular look does seem strangely familiar. If you’re in the LA area, you can check out the new digs starting tomorrow — if not, hit up the guided video tour above.

Continue reading Sony offers sneak peek of new LA store – no fooling (video)

Sony offers sneak peek of new LA store – no fooling (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Best Apps for Baseball [Video]

Today is opening day! Now you can cry that baseball is boring or that there’s too many games or that all the players take steroids but I could care less. There are few things that make me happier than watching the Dodgers on a slow midsummer day. More »

SIM-Drive’s SIM-LEI electric car achieves 207-mile driving range in Japan

Manufacturers are constantly optimising the driving range for electric vehicles, and sure enough, a Japanese startup recently made a breakthrough with its first prototype. Dubbed the SIM-LEI, this cute four-seater from SIM-Drive sips juice off a Toshiba 24.9kWh lithium ion battery, and can go from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in just 4.8 seconds, with maximum speed topping at 150km/h (93mph). What’s more impressive, though, is that SIM-Drive managed to squeeze out a driving range of 333km (207 miles) on a JC-08 cycle (a standardised test that simulates driving in congested Japanese city traffic), putting the LEI well ahead of its competitors on the chart — Nissan’s Leaf does about 100 miles, for instance. Sadly, mass-production won’t kick off until 2013, which should hopefully let the others do a bit of catching up with this remarkable newcomer.

SIM-Drive’s SIM-LEI electric car achieves 207-mile driving range in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Digital comics come to life on tablets

CNET takes a brief look at digital comics on smartphones and tablets, and chats with Comixology CEO David Steinberger.

Originally posted at iPad Atlas