Hasta La Gadget!

Google has released this month’s software update for Glass, bringing with it a handful of features and improvements, the most notable of which are changes to the camera. In particular, photographs taken with Glass are now more detailed with less over- and under-exposure issues due to an HDR feature, which snaps multiple images and combines them into a single exposure.

According to the update details posted on Project Glass’s Google+ account, the update brings with it a few improvements to the camera, the first of which is a background “rapid sequence of shots”. This feature takes a burst of photos with every photograph that is taken. Those multiple images are then merged together, producing a single image that is more detailed and better exposed than the previous images Glass would take. You can see an example of the quality differences in the image above; before the update is on the right, after is on the left.

This is known as HDR photography, where multiple exposures of the same image are taken so that both bright and dark areas are revealed. Such is likely the same method used by this Glass improvement, although Google doesn’t detail how the process takes place, instead only calling it an auto HDR feature. If a situation is too dark for an HDR image to be taken, the resulting photograph will instead be brighter and sharper than what Glass would offer before the update.

Other camera updates include improved sharpness when taking images of photographs of subjects that are moving, such as children. A captioning option has also been added, allowing users to speak a caption, which is then added to the photograph before it is shared. The folks over at Glass XE have the full change log, which shows that images are also taken faster after depressing the shutter button, increasing the odds of getting that snapshot you’re aiming for.

The camera aside, there are some other small changes and improvements that are included in update XE6, such as a change to the shut down notification sound and Off-Head detection sound. Hangouts produces a ring when connecting, Google Now Sports and Birthdays cards are new and improved, off-head detection is better, and several small fixes have been applied. Have you noticed any other changes? Let us know!

SOURCE: Google+

Google Glass update XE6 brings HDR camera feature is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Remember SmartThings, which was on Kickstarter a few months ago? It was understandably a huge hit with backers who wanted to make their homes smarter. At the end of the campaign, $1.6 million had been raised and the first batch of kits had sold out.

Now here’s a bit of news about the system that will make its 6,000-strong backers (and countless others who are interested in it) happy: SmartThings has now released their Developer and Inventor Toolkit.

Perhaps the reason why so many people are drawn to SmartThings is its promise of an open-source platform for developers. This openness makes it a flexible option, especially for those who are looking for fully-customized home automation systems. And if they know programming, then they could even build it themselves (or ask some pros to do it for them.)

This sort of technology has been around for a while, but SmartThings has come up with something novel out of it. Of course, if you want to live in an automated home now rather than later, then there are other options out there that you can try out.

People who have had a chance to work with SmartThings has come up with a bunch of pretty interesting stuff so far, and you can look out for more since they’ve already released the toolkit:

So far the open community has created a SmartThings-controlled pet feeder, a baby mobile controlled via voice sensor, a movie theater remote to dim the lights and start the popcorn, and many more. The SmartThings Developer & Inventor Toolkit includes everything needed to create and rollout new SmartThings, such as an open community at build.smartthings.com that enables collaboration with other developers and inventors around the world.

[via AllThingsD via Engadget]

It’s that special time for Apple devotees: WWDC 2013 is next week, and that means a customary glimpse of where iOS and the Mac are going next. However, we’re getting everything but business as usual this year. The crew at 1 Infinite Loop has shaken up its software strategy, putting much of its emphasis on Jony Ive’s design chops and tighter collaboration between teams. Is Apple about to deliver major OS refreshes that some say are long overdue? And what about hints of new hardware introductions at the same time? We’ve gathered together some of the more notable rumors to help understand what Apple may introduce on June 10th — and what’s likely to remain wishful thinking.

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Apple

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The tattoo-laden, musically-inclined game developers behind Frequency, Amplitude, Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Dance Central are taking on Disney’s Fantasia, this morning announcing next-gen Kinect game Fantasia: Music Evolved. Like its last game franchise, Harmonix is keeping exclusive to Microsoft game consoles with Kinect — the game is planned for launch some time in 2014 on both Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Fantasia: Music Evolved — which we’re assuming must feature Master Chief somewhere given the naming convention and Microsoft exclusivity — aims to turn gamers into aspiring orchestra conductors. Er … sort of. The game is played by using both your arms to synchronously gesture in a variety of directions, with two on-screen icons indicating how to place your arms and which direction you’ll be gesturing toward. Ostensibly, the game asks players to conduct various pop songs (Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” and Queens’ “Bohemian Rhapsody,” among others), occasionally punctuated with a push, depth-wise, for various auditory flairs (among other things). You are the sorcerer’s apprentice, conducting the heavens (as it were). Moreover, the songs get remixed as you go along, with players choosing one of four musical styles to introduce dynamically as the track continues to play in the background. If it sounds overwhelming, that’s because it is.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft

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Elaborating from the battery-saving PRISM screen tech that we saw on Tegra 3 devices, the NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang showed off a new software-based touchscreen technology that allows you to use a simple capacitive stylus with a degree of pressure-based input. Showing of his writing skills at Computex on an experimental 7-inch tablet, he used a simple (ie. non-digitizer) stylus to write at several different thicknesses, utilizing a flat surface at the other end of the pen to erase any mistakes — there’s sensitivity to the millimeter, apparently. NVIDIA reckons this will improve battery life while using the stylus and offers a high detection rate (thanks to the software-based processes) for slick, curved lines. The primary hardware necessary? No less than NVIDIA’s new Tegra 4 chip, of course, and DirectTouch. Check out the gallery of the stylus in action below, and we can expect the company to elaborate on which devices will house the feature in the near-future.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, NVIDIA

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