Jun 22

Google working on video chat for Chrome, Skype cowers in fear

Posted in: apps, Gmail, Google, Mozilla, open source, opensource, Opera, os, skype, Today's Chili
Watch out Skype, Google Chrome is comin’ for ya. Not long after releasing WebRTC audio and video chat software as open-source, Google has started to integrate these capabilities into its prized browser. Looking to move past the played out features of Gmail and Google Voice, the company is planning for WebRTC to be a frontrunner for video conferencing and online chatting. The software was introduced as royalty-free, too, even promising to work with other browsers devs (namely Mozilla and Opera) to flesh out the project. This means that anyone building a site can make use of the new tech, and in theory, construct their own personal Skype battering ram. With the company being pro-web apps on all fronts, this is another step forward in its quest to bring the aforementioned technology up to par with native apps. Is this one of many dominoes to fall in the web-based app takeover, at least in terms of Chrome OS? It very well could be, especially if companies would rather see the traffic in-browser vs. within a native app. Now, if only Instagram could make use of that dusty webcam…

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Google working on video chat for Chrome, Skype cowers in fear originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 17

Qi-Hardware debuts free, open source wireless solution, not a threat to WiFi

Posted in: bluetooth, free, Linux, open source, opensource, Today's Chili, wifi, Wireless
Qi-Hardware atben and atusb

Qi-Hardware has a bit of an obsession with free, open source, and underpowered. The latest project from this descendent of OpenMoko is a set of license free wireless boards called atben (for the company’s Ben NanoNote) and atusb for other laptops. The adapters rely on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard which powers 6LoWPAN and ZigBee. Don’t get confused though, this is not a replacement for WiFi — it’s more like long range Bluetooth (and it’s not compatible with either). Ben WPAN, as it’s being called, has a range of about ten meters in “standard” mode while pushing 250Kbps. Turning on the “non-standard” mode boosts throughput to (a still patience-testing) 2Mbps, but cuts the range in half. You can pick up pre-built adapters starting at €29.50 (about $42) for the atben, €41.30 ($59) for the atusb, or €59.00 ($84) for both at Tuxbrain. Don’t expect to just jam one into your Mac however — for now at least, Ben WPAN is a Linux only affair. (How often do you hear that?)

Qi-Hardware debuts free, open source wireless solution, not a threat to WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 15

Miro’s Free Video Converter

Posted in: Freeware, open source, Software, Today's Chili, videos, Windows

This article was written on April 15, 2010 by CyberNet.

miro video converter.pngarrow Windows Windows; Mac Mac arrow
Over the last few years I’ve written about several video converters, but I always felt that none of them offered the simplicity that they I know they should. I’ve found some that I’ve really liked, but how many people want to mess with the nitty gritty details when they want to throw a video on a mobile device? The creators of the open source Miro application felt the same way, and decided that they should come up with their own app to address this.

The Miro Video Converter is the simplest video conversion utility that I’ve ever used. The interface of the app only has two areas: one where you drag-and-drop the file you want to convert, and another where you select the kind of device you want to put the video on. The supported devices include:

  • Droid
  • Nexus One
  • G1
  • Magic / myTouch
  • Droid Eris
  • HTC Hero
  • Cliq
  • Behold
  • iPhone
  • iPod Touch
  • iPod Classic
  • iPod Nano
  • PSP

What kind of video files is it able to convert? Miro Video Converter supports AVI, H264, MOV, WMV, XVID, Theora, MKV, and FLV. Needless to say that covers all of the most popular formats, and is what makes this so useful. Go ahead and grab it if you have videos you want optimized for your mobile device.

Miro Video Converter Homepage (Windows/Mac; Freeware)

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Jun 14

Project Blox is like any other toy that comes with 300 pages of documentation (video)

Posted in: open source, opensource, Today's Chili, toy, Toys, video

If your kid (or inner kid) turns their nose up at those delectable Sifteo Cubes, it’ll obviously be because they want open source smart building blocks instead. So oblige the budding geek with Project Blox, courtesy of electrical engineering students at the University of Texas at Austin. Every toddler-friendly block has its own LCD and touch panels, plus motion sensors and wireless comms that let it interact with other blocks in weird and wonderful ways — like the maze game you’ll see in the video after the break. Project Blox is still very much a project, unfortunately, but its creators have put all their code and schematics online so baby Einstein can have a go at building his own.

Continue reading Project Blox is like any other toy that comes with 300 pages of documentation (video)

Project Blox is like any other toy that comes with 300 pages of documentation (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jun 2011 05:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 13

Boxee users without a Box on PC, Mac or Ubuntu are getting a fall update, open source release

Posted in: boxee, Mac, media streamer, MediaStreamer, open source, opensource, PC, Today's Chili, ubuntu

Ever since the Boxee Box was released fans running the software on their PCs have been left by the wayside, but as we expected that changes this fall with updates for the PC, Mac and Ubuntu versions. CEO Avner Ronen announced on the official blog that while updates for the downloadable version “will most likely lag behind the versions of Boxee for devices” the company hopes to keep them more up to speed going forward. Still think you could do a better job of updating the software yourself? Done, since Boxee also plans to make an open source version available. There’s no date attached to that effort and given past experience with delayed Boxee releases we wouldn’t clear our college football watching schedule just yet, but for everyone who would rather roll their own media device there is still a future in the Boxee platform.

Boxee users without a Box on PC, Mac or Ubuntu are getting a fall update, open source release originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 10

HexBright is the first open source flashlight

Posted in: Gadgets, open source, Today's Chili

Here’s a new one. We’ve all heard of the term open source which is most commonly applied to software. The reality is that open source is a term applied to anything that can be engineered without any concerns about patent infringement. To that end, Christian Carlberg and Terry Cooke have designed the world’s first open […]

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Jun 03

Ubuntu to hit Eee PCs, take on Microsoft

Posted in: ASUS, Laptops, Linux, Microsoft, netbook, netbooks, Notebooks, open source, opensource, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, Today's Chili, ubuntu, Windows

Think ASUS netbooks threw Linux out the window? Think again: the Eee PC 1001PXD, 1011PX and 1015PX are about to get Ubuntu configurations. Harking back to when the famous netbook line launched running Xandros, these Ubuntu loaded machines could help Linux reach a larger audience. Canonical representatives are pitting the new netbooks against Windows-powered machines, telling The Inquirer that Ubuntu is competing with Microsoft, not other Linux distributions. That’s quite a goliath you picked there, Ubuntu. Are a trio of Atom notebooks enough to win the war on Windows? Considering Dell abandoned their love of Linux over a year ago, we’re guessing no.

Ubuntu to hit Eee PCs, take on Microsoft originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 05:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 02

The Skype protocol has been reverse engineered

Posted in: Microsoft, open source, skype, Today's Chili

Skype has been in the news a lot recently, mainly due to rumors of it being acquired a few months before a planned IPO. We thought Facebook and Google may pounce on the company for as much as $4 billion, but then Microsoft turned up, put $8.5 billion on the table, and walked away with […]

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May 30

Linus Torvalds releases Linux kernel version 3 to celebrate 20 years of penguin-powered computing

Posted in: intel, kinect, Linux, open source, opensource, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, sandy bridge, SandyBridge, Software, Today's Chili

It’s been nearly twenty years since Linus Torvalds let loose Linux on an unsuspecting world, and yesterday he finally updated the open source OS kernel to version 3.0. This third iteration, currently named 3.0.0-rc1, comes 15 years after 2.0 first hit the web and brings driver support for Microsoft Kinect — a move that should have visions of sugar plum fairies (or maybe just Android avatars) dancing in hackers’ heads. Also included is code optimized for AMD’s Fusion and Intel’s Ivy and Sandy Bridge silicon, and some updated graphics drivers, too. Despite these tasty new treats, Torvalds is quick to point out that this new release is an evolutionary change and unleashing the big three-oh was all about moving into a third decade of distribution, not about overhauling the OS. There’s still work to be done, as it is a release candidate in need of refinement, but curious coders can grab the latest Linux at the Kernel.org source link below.

Linus Torvalds releases Linux kernel version 3 to celebrate 20 years of penguin-powered computing originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 May 2011 19:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Conceivably Tech  |  sourceLKML, Kernel.org  | Email this | Comments

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May 17

The Imaginary Marching Band imitates real-world instruments through a high-tech glove

Posted in: arduino, open source, sensor, Today's Chili

The future of marching bands is about to change. And although that might not sound very exciting to those of us who aren’t marching band aficionados, an impressive new technology may change not only the way marching band music is played, but also instruments of all kinds in the future thanks to an open-source project […]

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