Hasta La Gadget!

Everybody loves a world’s first. So we might as well mention that Microsoft just released its very first application written for Google’s competitive Android smartphone platform: Microsoft Tag Reader. Tag, as you might recall, is Microsoft’s pseudo QR code implementation that uses high capacity color “barcodes” to link back to content. Download the app from the Android Market, scan a Tag with any camera enabled Android phone, and the linked data will automatically load on your device, be it a web page, video, advertisement, coupon, etc. Of course, readers without tags are as useless as tags without a wide swath of people with devices to read them — so really, Microsoft has no choice but develop its Tag apps (already available for WinMo, Symbian, Blackberry, and iPhone handsets) for as many platforms as possible. First!

Tag: Microsoft’s first Android app is it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s Surface has managed to carve out a small niche for itself, but there’s only so many places that a large, touchscreen installation can find a home (a yacht, for instance). Microsoft Research seems to be aware of that, and it’s apparently been hard at work on a more portable Surface for some time now. As you can see above (and in the video after the break), the so-called Mobile Surface would rely on a combination of a projector and a camera (and mobile phone, in this instance), which would offer about the same level of interaction as a regular Surface, and even a few advantages — like being able to use a pair of drumsticks to play the drums. If this all seems a little familiar, it should, as Light Blue Optics and others have already employed nearly identical systems to turn any surface into a touchscreen display. Curiously, Microsoft Research has since pulled the Mobile Surface page from its website, but you can find all the pertinent details by diving into the links below.

Continue reading Microsoft Research working on portable Surface

Microsoft Research working on portable Surface originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s hard to imagine a more busy team of lawyers than those on-staff at Microsoft, and while the news isn’t always good for them, today they can hold their heads high as a lawsuit filed last year alleging that MS was profiting from so-called “downgrade fees” has finally been dismissed. US District Court Judge Marsha Pechman found that the plaintiff, Emma Alvarado, didn’t prove Microsoft was in any way gaining value from these charges. In fact the downgrade fee to move to XP was, in this case, being charged by Lenovo, not Microsoft, and was to cover the additional time it took to physically install that OS over the standard (at the time) Vista. In other words Alvarado missed the mark and in the process surely cost taxpayers and Microsoft thousands and thousands of dollars. Hooray!

XP downgrade lawsuit thrown out, MS lawyers celebrate rare victory originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft looks to be on a bit of a hot streak with innovations lately, and though this here project hasn’t received much hype (yet), we’d say it’s one of the most ingenious user interface concepts we’ve come across. Skinput is based on an armband straddling the wearer’s biceps and detecting the small vibrations generated when the user taps the skin of his arm. Due to different bone densities, tissue mass and muscle size, unique acoustic signatures can be identified for particular parts of the arm or hand (including fingers), allowing people to literally control their gear by touching themselves. The added pico projector is there just for convenience, and we can totally see ourselves using this by simply memorizing the five input points (current maximum, 95.5 percent accuracy), particularly since the band works even if you’re running. Make your way past the break to see Tetris played in a whole new way.

Continue reading Skinput: because touchscreens never felt right anyway (video)

Skinput: because touchscreens never felt right anyway (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well here’s an interesting one: starting today, users of the legendary Windows 7 Release Candidate should “begin experiencing bi-hourly shutdowns,” yet we haven’t received a single tip on this annoying “feature.” We have only two assumptions: either our faithful readers have already moved on to the real thing, or you sly devils are on a hacked RC of some sort. In any event, you’ve got until June 1st to do a full reinstall (no upgrade options on RC, sadly), after which you’ll be blocked from important updates and persistently bugged by a “This copy of Windows is not genuine” notice. Need more arm-twisting? Just picture Steve Ballmer hunting you down with a sledgehammer.

Windows 7 Release Candidate starts bi-hourly hiccups today, seemingly affects nobody originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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