Hasta La Gadget!

Virgin Galactic has certainly come a long way since it announced its intention to the world a few years ago, where even Sir Richard Branson himself would fly into space to conduct a wedding ceremony for a couple who would want a truly unique wedding, and here we are in 2013 with the SpaceShipTwo that has managed to achieve its first rocket-powered flight, dripped in success, of course. The test flight that happened on April 12, 2013 proved to be a key milestone in advancing the SpaceShipTwo’s first rocket powered flight, having arrived at supersonic speeds to ensure a smooth journey toward commercial flights sometime down the road.

The SpaceShipTwo space plane was carried aloft by mothership WhiteKnightTwo, where it was then released in mid-air at an altitude of approximately 46,000 feet, which proved to be the point where SpaceShipTwo sent its rocket engine to work, helping propel the craft all the way up to space after that. Virgin Galactic president and CEO George Whitesides said, “We will now embark on a handful of similar powered flight tests, and then make our first test flight to space.”

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Ethiopian Airlines First To Start Boeing 787 Dreamliner Commercial Flights, Twizy Renault Sport F1 Concept,

When we talk about the U.S. smartphone market, it is impossible not to mention Apple and Samsung. The fruit company’s iconic smartphone, iPhone, reigns over the market in this country. Samsung’s many Android powered smartphones come in second place, and they too hold a substantial share of the market. There’s a battle going on for third place between Microsoft’s Windows Phone and the ailing Canadian manufacturer, BlackBerry. Contrary to popular belief that Nokia’s sales have been sluggish and that Windows Phone is struggling to make a mark in the U.S., the latest Kantar World Panel report reveals that both of them are leading in terms of percentage growth.

Nokia has had global success with its Lumia range of smartphones. Its current flagship, the Lumia 920, is actually the best selling Windows Phone device. Judging by this report, Microsoft’s platform is slowly but surely cementing its place at the bottom of the podium. Starting today the company will also be airing a new TV ad which shows Apple and Samsung squabbling, spotlighting Windows Phone as the “natural” alternative to both of these platforms.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Synrgic Uno Announced, Verizon Cloud Backup Service Arrives On Android, With iOS In Its Sights,

This week Microsoft has presented a concept for a system they call IllumiRoom, one made to show how the television could be expanded upon with a series of projectors. This system has been pegged for possible integration for the Xbox 720 – also known as the Xbox Infinity – a system Microsoft will announce in one form or another on the 21st of May at Microsoft’s Xbox campus. With Microsoft’s IllumiRoom, gamers will be using a combination of the Xbox’s Kinect sensor and a projector to bring a room-wide peripheral view experience enhancement to the Xbox 720.

This system has not been confirmed as being prepared for the release of Microsoft’s next-generation console, nor has it been presented as anything but a proof-of-concept thus far. Because it’s expected that the next-generation Xbox will not be released in final physical form for at least another half-year, it does remain possible that IllumiRoom will be integrated when the time comes.

It’s important to note that the Xbox Kinect originally started as a project similar to this one, presented first as a proof-of-concept like you’re seeing here. As the system proved to be more than just a mere fascination for users and developers alike, Kinect became an integrated system for the Xbox 360 – still something you’d purchase separate from the system, but marketed as an essential element.

“Ideally, IllumiRoom would be directly integrated into a next generation console and new games would be designed for IllumiRoom from the ground up. We envision an API that enables triggering illusions, changing surface appearance, controlling room lighting, inserting objects into the physical environment, etc.” – Microsoft Research

At the moment, this system requires more than one projector and is made to enhance only games that are optimized for it. You’ll see situations that range from an object jumping out of the screen to bounce across the floor towards the user to virtual reality snow falling around the user as they drive a car through some wintery mountains. If the Xbox does adopt this system when its next-generation launches, it could be a separate element that takes on the title “Xbox Infinity” while the Xbox itself summons the iPad naming convention, existing as “Xbox” from here on out.

Xbox 720 IllumiRoom integration demo suggests “Infinity” experience is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The winner of the "Auteur" category tells a sad story.

(Credit: Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET)

When Twitter first released the 6-second Vine video format, a lot of people wondered just how much information you could convey in such a short amount of time. It turns out the answer is a lot, if you do it right.

A Tribeca Film Festival competition has brought a sense of legitimacy to the new realm of Vine filmmaking. Some of the winners are wild, wacky, and just a little bit worrying.

The “Genre” category welcomed everything from Westerns to sci-fi to LOLcats. The winner, however, is definitely in the horror genre. “LazerAndDonald Close Shave” crams a lot of creepy into just 6 seconds. Juror and famous filmmaker Penny Marshall says, “The use of lighting is amazingly set for this 6 second Vine.”

The contest put a call out through Twitter and racked up 400 entries that the panel of judges had to comb through. Besides Marshall, the jurors also included actor Adam Goldberg and comedy Web site 5-Second Films. The winners each received a $600 prize, $100 for each second of film.

The “Animate” category is described as being for “filmmakers that saw Vine as the perfect medium for some creative animation and don’t want to deal with the live-action riffraff.” The… [Read more]

Related Links:
Prince to Twitter: Take down those vines
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Pocket Filmmaker: How to record better sound with your phone
With #Music, Twitter speeds its media domination march

Ever feel like Facebook‘s becoming a bit dull lately? Maybe it’s your friends who are driving you nuts with their political rants, or you may just be tired of the concept of social networking. Whatever the case may be, millions of users are experiencing the same feeling, according to a new study that says six million US users have left Facebook in just the last month.

The recent data comes from analytics firm SocialBakers, which also says that the UK saw a drop of 1.4 million Facebook users last month. Between the US and UK, the average percentage drop within the last month was 4.25%, which isn’t bad at all, but that obviously doesn’t make up a majority of Facebook users.

Furthermore, however, the last six months have seen a total drop of nine million users in the US and two million in the UK. Other countries are reporting similar results as well, including Canada, Spain, France, Germany, and Japan. The average time spent on Facebook has also fallen to six minutes since December.

However, usage continues to grow. Developing countries are getting in on Facebook, with Facebook usage in Brazil rising by 6%, up to a monthly total of 70 million users. India also has seen growth of 4%, up to 64 million monthly users. Of course, though, we still can’t help but feel that this will affect advertising for the social network, but it may not be a huge hit for them at all.

[via The Guardian]

Facebook losing millions of users, according to study is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.