Hasta La Gadget!

Computerized chess has been around for at least a few centuries now (okay, so maybe “score” is more accurate), but if you thought an IBM supercomputer dominating one of the planet’s brightest humans was gnarly, have a gander at this. One determined modder has whipped up what may very well be the most impressive way to engage in online chess ever, as the DIY Internet Chess Table turns an on-screen opponent into an on-table opponent. Put simply (or as simply as possible), the multitouch table uses a projector to beam a chessboard onto an opaque surface, and moves are captured via webcam and sent back to an internet server. The human’s moves are recognized and countered, and then that same human is told where to move the computer’s piece via on-screen arrows. Trust us — it’s worth your while to hop on past the break and mash play for a video demonstration.

Update: To clarify, the table syncs up to play matches over freechess.org, but as far as your Feng Shui is concerned, it’s still a single player in your room.

Continue reading DIY Internet Chess Table makes online matches suddenly awesome (video)

DIY Internet Chess Table makes online matches suddenly awesome (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Coming up with a significantly new approach for generating colors in a projector isn’t easy. Neither is coming up with a new approach for generating the light itself. That makes it a big deal that Casio’s managed to do both at once in its Green Slim projectors, with its new Green Slim hybrid light source.

Projector manufacturers all know the harmony to “It’s not easy being green,” because projectors generally are pretty much the opposite of green. The central problem is the standard projector lamp, which eats up lots of power, wastes lots of energy as heat, and includes mercury as one of its components. A few projectors today use LEDs or lasers instead of a standard lamp, but most of those are either pico or palm-top projectors that offer a relatively dim 100 lumens or less. I’ve yet to see any that offer more than 1000 lumens.

Casio’s innovation is to combine LEDs, lasers, and phosphor. The combination lets its Green Slim projectors reach 2000 to 2500 lumens depending on the model, a brightness level that puts them in the same category as traditional projectors aimed at small conference rooms and portable use.

Remember Nikon’s neat little S1000pj, the compact camera with the built in projector that we got all excited about but the buying public ignored in droves? Well, it may be about to get updated to something a whole lot more useful.

According to Nikon Rumors, which dug up the info in the French magazine Chasseur d’Images, a new Nikon compact will have a projector combined with a video input. This would essentially mean that you are buying a video projector that has a camera built in. This small tweak would take Nikon’s point-and-shoot from a novelty to a seriously useful accessory. You could hook it up to your laptop (or maybe even your iPad, if it has a VGA input) and enjoy an impromptu big-screen movie-show wherever you are.

Chasseur d’Images, in its print form at least, has broken several stories that escaped internet writers thanks to the long lead times of print publications. In fact, the magazine was first to leak the original Nikon projector-cam in August 2009, so the track record is good. Not having access to the actual paper magazine, though, we can’t provide a link.

Nikon Coolpix S1000pj replacement will serve as a conventional projector [Nikon Rumors]

Projector photo: pedrosimoes7/Flickr

See Also:

• Hybrid Camera and Projector Planned by Nikon?
• Leica D-Lux 4 Leaked in French Magazine
• Leica Announces World's Fastest Aspherical Lens
• Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj
• Nikon Crams Projector Into Compact Camera

Casio’s XJ-A series projectors wowed us in January with an ultra-slim 43mm design, but at E3 2010 we got the chance to see whether image quality was equally bright — the watchmaker was there with some economical models to attract the portable gaming crowd. Sure enough, it’s an interesting choice if you want to play Xbox 360 in the field. Though hefty, the projector’s small enough to fit into a messenger bag, and can throw a pretty decent-sized screen; using the company’s 2,500 lumen, XJ-A240 model ($1,000), we emulated a 70-something-inch, 720p HDTV. At that size and resolution, colors were a little washed out, but impressive nonetheless — though we did note that when attempting to play 1080p content on the same projector, the result was quite fuzzy.

Casio claims that image’s good for 20,000 hours, as the projector doesn’t use a bulb, relying instead on a proprietary combo of laser and LED. The PJ accepts all standard TV resolutions through VGA or HDMI and has optional composite and component video breakout cables, though sadly no audio passthrough — only a 1W integrated speaker. Starting at $800, the true bargain models sport only 2,000 lumens and a 1,024 x 768 resolution, but we could still see some snapping them up for split-screen Halo on a giant, portable TV.

Casio’s slim XJ-A projectors repurposed for gaming, we take a gander originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BeamBox has just outed its Revolution R-2 pico projector, and while nothing much that could be termed revolutionary has happened in the world of tiny projectors as of late, the R-2 certainly has one thing going for it: it’s super bright. That’s right, the Revolution R-2 boasts a 40 lumen LCoS chip, which means it should stand out where most picos are much less — and often around 20 lumens. Other than that it will produce a 75-inch projection with a 200:1 contrast ratio, it’s got 1GB of storage plus a microSD slot, A/V inputs and a Mini USB port, plus an integrated media player. The Revolution R-2 is available now for £250 (around $360).

BeamBox Evolution R-2 — one of the brightest little guys around originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 17:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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