Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier this month at IFA, Sony introduced an entirely new type of point-and-shoot camera. The QX10 and its big brother, the QX100, are missing a built-in LCD. Instead, framing, image review, configuration and even storage are all handled on another device: your smartphone. These “lens cameras,” as they’ve become unofficially known, mount directly on a handset you already own, pairing with Sony’s PlayMemories Mobile app via WiFi. The benefits are considerable. The absence of a display allows for a more compact body, improved power efficiency and a lower price tag. The QX100, for example, includes the same optics as Sony’s flagship RX100 Mark II, but retails for $500, compared to $750 for its fully equipped counterpart. The QX10 is the more mainstream of the two, with a smaller footprint and an affordable $250 price tag. We focus on this model just below.%Gallery-slideshow85039%

Filed under: Cameras, Peripherals, Sony

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As you’ve likely read today, Adobe XD has announced its plans to officially bring Projects Napoleon and Mighty — a drafting ruler and cloud-connected stylus for iPads — to retail in 2014. Rather than make the consumer-facing hardware itself, the company’s relying on Adonit’s manufacturing prowess. Creative professionals can rest assured that the tools will function with Creative Cloud. The retail versions will be much like the prototypes, except that Adobe ditched Bluetooth in the ‘short ruler,’ Napoleon. It now uses only capacitive touch and a single button (see above) to act as a selector for options within apps. Mighty will ship with a non-replaceable tip that’s just under 2mm, but it’s otherwise the same and includes a lipstick-style carrying case / charger.

On top of all that, Adobe’s introducing Projects Contour and Parallel as its next serious experiments in the area. They will was serve reference apps to highlight the kinds of functionality the tools could afford designers. Contour is Adobe’s take on a draft-sketching app, while Parallel is an iPhone app that lets you grab photos of objects in real life and instantly convert them into vectors — as you’d expect, both intermingle. No word on whether these apps will make it out of Adobe’s in-progress lair just yet, but a rep gave us a coy smile and note to stay tuned. You’ll find a video of the apps after the break, as well as our early hands-on with Napoleon and Mighty from June. %Gallery-slideshow85057%

Filed under: Peripherals, Tablets

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Kinect for Windows developers can now get a little more creative: Microsoft has released version 1.8 of the camera’s SDK, which lets app creators produce a green screen effect by removing the background. The update also brings a new Kinect Fusion API that scans the color of an object in addition to its shape, saving some 3D modelers the trouble of creating a separate texture map. There’s better scene tracking and more code samples, too. Programmers who crave the new software tricks can grab the refreshed SDK and its companion tools at the source links.

Filed under: Peripherals, Software, Microsoft

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Source: Kinect for Windows Blog, Download Center

It’s been almost too long since we’ve seen something (in)appropriated to satisfy a twisted modder’s Doom craving, and this time, it’s not the hardware running Id Software’s classic game that’s ill-fitted, but the controller. If the timeline on David Hayward’s Vine account is accurate, a crew of what appear to be professional tinkerers has turned one old piano into an awkward keyboard in little more than 24 hours. Details on how this was achieved are limited, but it seems to involve some basic PC interfacing and a “load of wiring.” Head past the break to catch the noisy mod in action, and if you’d like to a see a few more clips of the “Doom Piano” in development, hit up Hayward’s Vine profile. Now, which one’s the BFG chord?

Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Peripherals

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Via: Geek

Source: David Hayward (Vine)

Pioneer has unveiled a cool new product that claims to be the world’s first Blu-ray drive that’s wireless. The drive is called the Pioneer BDR-WFS05J and is fully compatible with Windows from XP up to 8 and Mac OS. The drive is designed to connect to your computer wirelessly. Without a wire running between your […]