Hello ANDROID!

Finally Google released the demo of Android. Android is an open-source Linux based software platform for mobile devices. The code is in a Java like language that utilizes Java libraries developed by Google. Android will support a variety of connectivity technologies including GSM, CDMA & EV-DO. A number of companies have shown interest in developing Android based smartphones. If I was a programmer working on Android this would freak me out. Just imagine trying to develop a code which has to work across all platforms and simultaneously cater to the needs of a plethora of smart phones from different companies. Now compare this with a team working on Apple’s iPhone. Their task is so much easier because they have to build an OS catering to the needs of a single hardware.



The four layers of the Android are - the Linux Kernel (basically drivers), Libraries, the Application framework (OS management) and finally the Applications themselves. It’s been developed by Google in conjunction with industry leaders like Intel, HTC, Qualcomm, T-Mobile & Wind River Systems. It being open-source means you can create applications for the platform using the Android SDK and win upto $10,000 dollars. Interestingly, the name Android comes from the start up company Android Inc which Google bought. Google has been working closely with T-Mobile and is scheduled to release Anroid based HTC phones in the 4Q of 2008.

DEEP ZOOM and PHOTOSYNTH Technology

Photosynth is a really cool product to come out of the staples of Microsoft Live labs which produces interactive 3-D Images from 2-D images. It also makes use if another really neat technology known as the Deep Zoom technology.

Deep Zoom technology allows users to look at Giga bytes of image data in a seamless fashion. This technology takes a set of tiled images created using a Deep Zoom Composer and will send the user only that portion/tile which he/she wishes to view at any given instant. This is akin to how map quest or google map works.

My limited and simplistic understanding of how Photosynth works is that initially a 3-D physical model of that place is initially simulated. Then key points of the 3-D structure are identified and are pictorially recreated using several overlapping 2-D photos of that key point. Here is a link to better understand how Photosynth technology works. http://labs.live.com/photosynth/videodemo.html.

Having taken Computer courses on Digital Image Processing I can easily think of challenges that can come with combining pictures with varying camera angles, varying picture resolutions, varying light intensity and so on and so forth. But the end product looks great and I guess the practicality of the application is endless. I guess the Orkut or Myspace profiles of the future are going to have Photosynth enabled models rather than mundane 2D pics. I’ll leave it to you to think of more useful places where this marvelous piece of technology can be used

BMW GINA Concept Car

Apparently this car was developed 6 years ago and was kept in wraps until recently (wonder why!). Though I think it's pretty innovative, I still think GINA (plz change the name) will continue to remain what it is - a concept car.

Nokia's Morph Concept

If it wasn't for the video, I probably wouldn't have been able to convey how cool Nokia's Morph Concept is. Nokia's R&D and Cambridge are trying to incorporate nano-technology in electronic devices which will help revolutionalize the way electronic devices operate in the new future. It weaves a 3-D mesh with Fibril proteins, a thin elastic structure is created which creates a highly flexible, stretchable, transparent and strong structure. What's most remarkable is that the material can adapt itself to perform it's task at hand.

It's got built in solar absorption capabilities to re-charge itself. It's surface cliams to be self-cleaning and hence repels water or dirt. To top it all it's made of bio-degradeable materials. So essentially it's got everything to give a environmentalist a mini-orgasm. Cambirdge researchers claim to have all the basic technologies in place but admit they are still no where near creating the first prototype. The rough estimate as to when this might become a reality is around 2018-2020. Tell then enjoy the video...

What's Up!

Like the rest of you(except MAC fans who rejoiced at its failure) I was disappointed with Vista as well. However, I am really excited about Vista's successor Windows 7 (formerly called Vienna) which is due to launch in late 2009(yup...already). So why am I excited? Coz it's the first full-fledged PC OS to be released which has multi-touch feature.

Multi-touch is a feature which essentially allows direct human-computer interaction while keeping traditional input devices like mouse and keyboard out of the loop. Over the span of the last few years different techniques have been used to achieve multi-touch functionality - finger pressure, high speed camera captures, capacitive technique or infrared in conjunction with advanced image processing. For instance the Capacitive technique uses the capacitive nature of our body and the capacitive material on the surface to cause distortions in the reference field to pass positional information.

Here is a sneek peek at Windows 7

Video: Multi-Touch in Windows 7

Pretty cool right...maybe it's the harbinger of times to come when even even the office whiteboard will have multi-touch feature in them.

Picture Perfect

We don't have 20yrs or a Billion dollars to immortalize our loved ones by creating a Taj Mahal, so ordinary mortals like myself take refuge in photos to capture moments of joy. However, many times - photos end up slanted, contain red eyes or are poorly lit. Thus far, we have overlooked these flaws. However, we now have an option to salvage these pictures and make them "Picture Perfect" using software editing tools like Picaso(Bless u Google) which is extremely self-intuitive.
Source: http://picasa.google.com/download/

Here are some of the cool fixes you can do with Picaso
Remove Slants: Basic Fixes -> Straighten
Remove Redeye: Basic Fixes -> Redeye
Brighten dark Photos: Basic Fixes -> Fill Light
Darken Photos: Tuning -> Shadows
Simulate time of the day: Tuning -> Color Temperature
Make it B&W: Effects -> B&W
Tint it: Effects -> Tint
Crop Photos: Basic Fixes -> Crop (good bye Windows Paint)

Picaso also offers a wealth of other options. Now you can modify and frame your favorite picture sitting in the comfort of your home taking all the time in the world & free of cost instead of being in the mercy of photo shops.

Useful Software Utilities - Part 1

This is the first of a many part series where I am gonna include applications which I feel are quite handy. I am NOT the equivalent of Indiana Jones in the virtual world. So it's not like I am going to discover some amazing applications you have never heard of. However, it's highly likely that there would atleast be a couple of applications in this blog that you might not have come across before which you will find quite handy. So here goes...

1. COMODO Firewall
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/
Most firewalls cost you and if they are free they happen to be sub-standard. If you are looking for a quality, hassle-less, free firewall then COMODO is the one stop solution. It's got all the features you expect of a standard firewall. In addition to normal firewall features like preventing malware( term to describe malicious software like virus, trojan, rootkits, spyware) installations it also does automatic lab analysis of files it finds suspicious without affecting your applications and compromising your computer. It is also able to authenticate websites in real time. So why is a software which could easily cost you appx $75/year available free of cost? It's kinda complicated to answer and it's better described in the link provided above. But the one line answer is that Comodo gets revenue from websites or service providers who pay Comodo for getting themselves authenticated and hence become available to Comodo users.

2. Registry Cleaner
http://www.pctools.com/registry-mechanic/
Fragmentation and Registry related issues are amongst the two most common problems which causes PCs to crash. I am no exception, I have run into all sorts of problems with my registry countless times and every time it's a hassle debugging it coz I know very little about registries and it's akin to shooting in the dark. Plus, messing with registry tends to have really bad repercussions. Which is why this handy piece of software is listed high amongst the must have applications. What the application does is scans the registry for problems and repairs them in two simple self intuitive steps. The application come with a couple of other features but for most part repairing the registry is what it's best at. If you think your registry is in excellent state then you are in for a surprise...

3. Switch Sound File Converter
http://www.nch.com.au/switch/plus.html
If you are a music junkie like me it's possible you might have downloaded music files which are not really in the format you would like it to be. So here is a useful software which seamlessly converts audio files from one format to another. I am sure there are a plethora of similar applications out there, but I just happened to find this the fastest and most complete sound converter software. In addition to audio conversion it performs other features like Riping CDs and even Video Conversions as well. It's not free but I have repeatedly used the trial version for free.