SELFIE Mirror Shoots Seflies


iStrategyLabs might have struck gold with their latest invention that actually captures selfies. Yes sir, this particular device is known as the Self Enhancing Live Feed Imagine Engine, or SELFIE in short – you see what they did there? The SELFIE happens to be a two way mirror that runs on a Mac mini, and whenever it detects a smile for a couple of seconds, it will then snap a photo of yourself. It does seem as though iStrategyLabs see plenty of potential in the SELFIE mirror to be installed in public premises such as bars.

American digital agency iStrategyLabs’ Chief Marketing Officer DJ Saul shared, ‘We had some funny things like it would locate a smile on the side of your head, so we played around until we were comfortable. We also considered photos being triggered by a wink, but we went with a smile as it fit with the narrative a bit more for a smiling selfie.” That sounds about right, and it is rather unfortunate that the company has yet to pencil out plans in order to make it commercially available.

The Mac mini computer that powers SELFIE will run a facial recognition software known as Open CV. The webcam will be able to detect a smile, where LEDs controlled by Arduino will then light up vertically on the mirror to indicate that it is about to snap your photo, where after that, a tweet with your image is created.

SELFIE Mirror Shoots Seflies , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in General, selfie, ,



Amazon Appstore Surpasses 200k Apps Milestone

Amazon Appstore Surpasses 200k Apps Milestone“Do not despise small beginnings” is a pearl of wisdom that is definitely worth holding on to. After all, even the biggest tree grew from a small seed, and hence, app stores that are now a staple in modern day society started off with just a handful of apps submitted. Having said that, Amazon’s Appstore has grown over time to finally touch the 200k apps milestone, at least according to the company’s annual report. In there, we still have absolutely no idea on the number of Kindle eReaders or Kindle Fire tablets that were sold in the previous 12 months, or the total number of people who placed an order for the recently announced Amazon Fire TV.

Still, it is nice to see the company trumpet some of their successes, which will include a million people having joined the Amazon prime program during the third week of December, where this would bring the total number of subscribers into the “tens of millions.” Apart from that, the Amazon Appstore is also now available to customers in over 200 countries with a choice of more than 200,000 apps to pick from.

Do bear in mind that when compared to the likes of the Google Play Store, 200k is a pittance, since that happens to be under the 20% mark of the number of apps that the Google Play Store carries. Still, this is a decent and encouraging start for Amazon that bodes well for its future, do you not think so?

Amazon Appstore Surpasses 200k Apps Milestone , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in General, , ,



Amazon Announces Acquisition Of ComiXology

Amazon Announces Acquisition Of ComiXologyIf you love getting your comics digitally instead of heading on over to the comic book store or the book shop, then perhaps comiXology is an app that you’ve heard of and probably used before. For those wondering, comiXology is basically your one-stop-shop when it comes to digital comics. The app has titles from publishers such as Marvel and DC, just to name a few, and also has a ton of smaller and indie comic books as well.

Now according to a recent announcement made by comiXology, it seems that they will be acquired by Amazon going forward. According to the CEO of comiXology, David Steinberger, “ComiXology’s mission is to spread the love of comics and graphic novels in all forms. There is no better home for comiXology than Amazon to see this vision through. Working together, we look to accelerate a new age for comic books and graphic novels.”

At this point in time it is unclear what Amazon’s plans for comiXology are and if they might integrate it into their own ecosystem in the future, but this definitely could prove to be an advantage Amazon could lord over its competitors when it comes to providing even more digital content.

It also seems that it is business as usual for comiXology for now, according to Steinberger who wrote on comiXology’s website, “ComiXology will retain its identity as an Amazon subsidiary and we’re not anywhere near done “taking comics further.” We are confident that – with Amazon by our side, who shares our desire for innovation and a relentless focus on customers – we’ve only just begun.“

Amazon Announces Acquisition Of ComiXology , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in General, , , comixology,



FTC Clears Facebook/WhatsApp Deal, Must Honor Privacy Obligations

FTC Clears Facebook/WhatsApp Deal, Must Honor Privacy Obligations

Back in February it was announced that Facebook had agreed to buy WhatsApp for $19 billion. Privacy advocates raised their voice against the deal and even called upon the FTC to look into the deal. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today signed off on the sale, clearing the way for Facebook to absorb the most widely used cross platform messaging service in the world. Though the FTC warned both companies that they must continue to honor their privacy obligations.

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    Interactive TV Bus Is World’s First

    Interactive TV Bus Is World’s FirstJust when you thought that the world of advertising could not get any more interesting, along comes this unique interactive TV bus that has been touted to be the first of its kind in the world. Basically, experts and those with adequate technical know-how spent over 1,000 man hours in order to transform a standard issue double decker bus to create the world’s first interactive TV bus, where one side of it comes covered with over 230,400 LEDs.

    This particular bus happens to be owned by Curb, and it has been hailed to tour London already so that it is able to promote the launch of London Live, which happens to be the first dedicated 24/7 TV entertainment channel in the capital.

    The size of the screen itself measures a whopping 36 square meters, making it the largest vehicular screen that has been built to date, and it is also the largest outdoor TV screen in London (if you do not take the one in Wembley Stadium into consideration), delivering over 24 billion colors at one hundred frames a second. You know something? I would like to see which would be the first couple that will actually use this unique interactive TV bus to agree to a marriage proposal. Looks like some concepts are realized sooner rather than later.

    Interactive TV Bus Is World’s First , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in General, ,



    Netflix 4K Streaming House Of Cards Kicks Off

    Netflix 4K Streaming House Of Cards Kicks Off

    Earlier this year Netflix said that it would start 4K streaming this spring. The company has kept its promise, and has started streaming its biggest original show in ultra HD. Netflix 4K streaming House of Cards rings in a new era for the company, as it looks to improve its library with 4K content. Apart from the show’s second season, Netflix is also offering some nature documentaries, also shot in 4K, for streaming.

    Netflix’s push into ultra HD streaming will be greatly supported by its original content. It has already confirmed that all of Netflix’s original shows will be shot in 4K. It knows that 4K content library will take quite a while to grow, Netflix plans to offer additional content later on in the year, including but not limited to its originals as well as content from other vendors.

    Obviously to enjoy 4K streaming one must have a really great internet connection. A 4K TV or display will also be required. This year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas we saw quite a few 4K TVs, some of them were even surprisingly cheap. But still its not as widespread, so initially it will only be a subset of Netflix subscribers who will truly be able to appreciate the ultra high definition quality.

    Netflix 4K Streaming House Of Cards Kicks Off , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in General, , ,



    Samsung Graphene Breakthrough Makes Flexible Electronics Future Look Bright

    Samsung Graphene Breakthrough Makes Flexible Electronics Future Look BrightFlexible displays are something that we have explored in the past, and companies too, are making the necessary arrangements in order to deliver a new generation of consumer electronics that are far more than the polished aluminum unibody chassis that we see and love today. Flexible electronics could be the future, and Samsung intends to ride one of the first few waves after experiencing a graphene breakthrough in their research, having grown flaw-free graphene on a large scale successfully which could translate to mass manufacturing for consumer electronics in the future.

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    U.S. ‘Monitoring’ Development Of European Communication Network Proposals

    U.S. Monitoring Development Of European Communication Network Proposals

    In February, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she’s going to talk to the President of France, Francois Hollande, about building a separate communications network for Europe so as to stop data from passing through the U.S. The U.S. has criticized such proposals and has said that they may breach international trade laws. Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that obstructions to cross-border data flows are a serious and growing concern.

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    YouTube On-Demand Music Streaming Service Delayed [Report]

    YouTube On Demand Music Streaming Service Delayed [Report]

    We have been hearing rumors since last year that Google is creating a YouTube on-demand music streaming service. Its already widely used for watching music videos and listening to tracks, all videos on YouTube are free, albeit ad-supported. Apparently Google has been trying to figure out which premium features would people want to pay for. Initially expected to be launched late last year, it looks like the service might have been delayed until the second quarter or beyond.

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    Game Of Thrones Opening Sequence Recreated In Skyrim

    Even if you don’t watch the HBO TV series Game of Thrones, chances are you might have heard its opening song before. It has become rather iconic and has seen many covers made by musicians around the world. Its opening animation sequence is also pretty nifty too and it seems that one fan decided to take it upon himself to recreate it using Skyrim.

    The result is a project that its creator, Brady Wold, calls “Thrones” and according to the video’s description, took him thousands of hours to create, which safe to say probably spanned the course of several months, if not a year (since we doubt he worked on it non-stop).

    According to Wold, “This started off as an exercise to kill time one afternoon about two years ago, never intending it to be a finished product. I continued to work on it here and there throughout various freelance projects, internships, and other personal projects, until it eventually became a burden; my very own “white whale.””

    So if you’re a fan of Skyrim or Game of Thrones, or maybe even both, then we would highly recommend you take a couple of minutes from your day to enjoy the recreation of the Game of Thrones opening sequence in the video above, so enjoy! So, how impressed are you?

    Game Of Thrones Opening Sequence Recreated In Skyrim , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in General, , ,