That interactive animation of Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” is now an iPad app

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  • March 30, 2012 at 11:07 am

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The Starry Night interactive iPad app

Do you remember that amazing interactive (and multitouch) version of Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” by Petros Vrellis? Well it has now become an iPad app, so that you can literally interact with the paintings brushstrokes and watch them flow and whirl around.

The app is compatible with the iPad 2 and the new 3rd generation iPad. It’s $1.99 from the App Store and was created using openframeworks, similar to the original PC version that was demonstrated earlier. The app allows you to change the music and the animation speed and touching the painting not only affects the particle animation but also the music.
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Android 4.0.4 source heading to Android Open-Source Project carrying a few hundred changes

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  • March 28, 2012 at 2:59 pm

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Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich close-up on homescreen elements

Android 4.0.4 (build IMM76D) is hitting the Android Open-Source Project now according to Google developer Jean-Baptiste Queru. The update was sent to a small number of devices yesterday, like the Verizon LTE Galaxy Nexus (check out our in-depth review of the Galaxy Nexus here) and the Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi. Queru notes that the incremental update brings a few hundred changes over Android 4.0.3.

Those who got the update on their LTE Galaxy Nexus and Motorola XOOM devices are reporting better battery life, performance and signal strength. As Queru points out, the code release doesn’t mean that the update will hit devices any day now. Updates will depend on carriers and device manufacturers. Of course even the stock Android Galaxy Nexus GSM, was still still stuck on Android 4.0.2 and suffering from the same old random reboot bug.
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EPSON Moverio BT-100 wearable 3D head-mounted display puts Android close to your eyeballs

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  • March 28, 2012 at 12:24 pm

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EPSON Moverio BT-100 Android 3D glasses and controller worn by a man

We have to hand it to EPSON for originality. The company has just announced that it’s shipping the world’s first see-through wearable display (a.k.a. glasses with built-in displays) running Android. The EPSON Moverio BT-100 is a relatively bulky set of glasses (that are however much smaller than other head-mounted displays we’ve seen, like the Sony HMZ-T1) with twin 0.52-inch qHD (960×540) resolution LCD displays, a pair of earphones and a separate hand controller connected to the glasses with a wire.

The hand controller features a touchpad in order to control the on-screen cursor, a directional-pad and a standard set of Android buttons. There is also a 2D/3D mode toggle. The glasses can obviously do 3D and, similar to other 3D goggles, the effect is better than let’s say 3D TVs since each eye is seeing a completely different image, eliminating cross-talk.
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Olympus OM-D E-M5 going for a dive, PT-E08 underwater housing to be released July 2012

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  • March 26, 2012 at 3:56 am

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Olympus PT-EP08 underwater housing for OM-D E-M5 front

We can’t deny that we are anxiously waiting for Olympus’s upcoming high-end Micro Four Thirds digital camera. The Olympus OM-D E-M5 should start shipping any day now if Amazon UK‘s 1st of April ship date pans out, while BHPhotoVideo has the camera shipping on April 16 in the US.

So what if you want to get this 16.1-megapixel, 5-axis in-body image stabilization shooter underwater? Well Olympus has you covered. Together with the E-M5, Olympus had announced the PT-EP08 underwater housing. The PT-EP08 is rated waterproof for up to 45 meters and you can use it together with the M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm II, 14-42mm IIR and ED 9-18mm lenses using the separate PPO-EP01 lens port. Olympus will also release a lens port compatible with a couple of Four Third lenses like the Zuiko Digital ED 50mm f2.0 Macro and 35mm f3.5 Macro.
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Why we love tech: Watch life explode into moving paintings in Jeff Scher’s experimental films

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  • March 25, 2012 at 9:19 am

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A frame from Jeff Scher's animated short Tulips

Jeff Scher wasn’t content just with painting a beautiful picture; he wanted to breathe life into his work. By drawing a series of paintings and then shooting them in sequence, with each painting making up a frame to a film, the same way old-school hand-drawn animation was made, he’s been doing exactly this. The New York-based artist has been experimenting with video most of his life and his collection of short animated films are a combination of a lot of patience, hard work and a touch of technology.

Each second of video is around fifteen paintings or collages. Every painting is captured with a digital camera and joined in software to create the end product. Most films end up being around two minutes with a minute and a half of video being shy of 1,500 drawings.
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The white Leica M9-P limited edition is for the très riches

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  • March 24, 2012 at 7:42 am

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White Leica M9-P limited edition with 50mm/0.95 Noctilux lens

Neither Leica cameras nor its lenses are very cheap, but when it comes to limited editions, things really get out of hand. The German camera maker has announced the new limited edition white M9-P digital camera, that you see above. The 50 piece only run coincides with the opening of the new Leica Daimaru camera store in Tokyo.

The limited edition goes for a whopping 2,620,000 Japanese yen, translating to around $31,800. Your big pile of cash buys you a limited edition 18.5-megapixel Leica M9-P full-frame digital camera with white leather styling and a matching strap — the standard edition goes for $7,995. You also get the incredible Leica 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux-M lens that by itself commands $10,995.
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Your new iPad is begging for these geometric retina display optimized wallpapers

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  • March 24, 2012 at 4:41 am

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Cuben Space 2 new iPad Retina Wallpaper

The incredible retina display of the 3rd generation iPad deserves some incredible wallpaper and we think we just stumbled on them. This set of seven colorful geometric designs was created by graphic designer Simon C Page specifically for the new iPad. They are each 2,048×2,048 at 264dpi so they work both in portrait and landscape.

We’ve loaded them up on our iPad and they look absolutely awesome, fan and playful with an air of sophistication. The easiest way to get them on your 3rd generation iPad is to click each download link from Safari on the iPad and then press-and-hold to save.
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Nokia N9 gets Android Ice Cream Sandwich port thanks to Project Mayhem (video)

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  • March 24, 2012 at 3:55 am

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Nokia N9 running Android Ice Cream Sandwich

So what do you do when you end up with an awesome handset but with a dead operating system? Well you port a very much alive mobile OS to it. The Nokia N9 is running the now defunct MeeGo, which was abandoned by the Linux Foundation in favor of the HTML 5 Tizen. Owners of the polycarbonate body beauty should not despair just yet, developers are at at work, and they’ve already managed to create a pretty solid port of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for the device.

News of Project Mayhem, as it’s called, broke a few weeks ago when the first images of a Nokia N9 running Android ICS appeared, but now a developer has released the first Alpha version of the port, which anyone can download and try-out — at their own risk of course. The port even allows Nokia N9 owners to dual-boot between MeeGo and Android 4.0.3.
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Fujifilm X100 v1.20 firmware update brings control refinements and AF improvements

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  • March 23, 2012 at 3:12 am

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Fujifilm X100 digital camera - customized looks with Kaza case, Bop soft release and filter adaptor

We thoroughly reviewed the Fujifilm X100 here, which we loved for its amazing image quality. Our main gripe with the camera was its secondary controls. Well, Fujifilm has just released a new firmware v1.20 for the X100 that tackles these specific issues.

First of all, we asked for the ability to be able to customize the RAW button in the back, i.e. use it as second function button, and it seems we got our wish. Next up, ISO Auto Control has now been moved to the more logical ISO menu. Unfortunately however, it is not accessible from the FN/RAW buttons when you pull ISO settings, you still need to go into the menu to enable or disable it.
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Superconductors have a taste for French red wine

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  • March 22, 2012 at 5:20 pm

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Macro shot of candle light through a glass of red wine

Electric charge travelling through conductors encounters resistance and voltage has to be applied in order to maintain a flow of current. However there are materials, called superconductors, whose resistance drops to zero when cooled below a critical temperature. In superconductors, electricity can flow indefinitely without the need for a power source.

Last year a group of Japanese scientists at the National Institute for Materials Science made an incredible discovery at their own little party, they could induce superconductivity to a piece of iron telluride by first soaking it in a liquid. Most liquids worked, but alcoholic beverages, like whiskey, beer and sake worked better, and red wine worked best.
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Sony airs first stop-motion animation ad directed by Wes Anderson showing us how mobile phones really work

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  • March 22, 2012 at 4:09 pm

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Sony "Made of Imagination" ad by Wes Anderson

Sony has just released the first ad in its new “Made of Imagination” campaign set to promote the company’s Xperia smartphones. Sony enlisted the help of director and writer Wes Anderson — if you haven’t watched his movies you’re missing some of the most incredible and quirky films of all time. Wes is responsible for The Royal Tenenbaums, Darjeeling Limited and last, but not least, the stop-motion classic Fantastic Mr. Fox.

In creating the Sony ads, Wes interviewed the most imaginative amongst us, a bunch of kids that is, and used his stop-motion animation experience to bring their ideas to life. Children were asked how they believe Sony’s Xperia handsets work and this first ad comes courtesy of 8-year-old Jake Ryan. We don’t wanna spoil it for you, so lets just say that what makes the device tick are hundreds of tiny little robots.
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YouTube can now fix shaky and underexposed videos with one click

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  • March 22, 2012 at 12:50 pm

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YouTube camera shake and exposure auto-fix

When Google bought a lesser-known digital video technology company called Green Parrot Pictures last year we were promised that some awesome automatic video enhancement technology would be coming to YouTube. It seems Google has been working hard in implementing this image processing technology on YouTube and today we get a look at the first set of improvements.
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Sony Xperia S 4.3-inch Android smartphone is shipping now globally

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  • March 21, 2012 at 4:49 pm

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Sony Xperia S - transparent strip close-up

The Sony Xperia S began its lengthy road to the market back in November, when it was it was initially known as the Nozomi. Well the Playstation-certified Android smartphone has finally started shipping today to retailers globally.

We have to admit that the Xperia S is one of the best looking smartphones out there, thanks to its unique translucent navigation bar running along the bottom half — though still not as good looking as the Xperia Glass concept.
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Seagate demos laser-heated hard drive technology that will enable 60TB drives

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  • March 20, 2012 at 4:21 pm

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Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) vs. Perpendicular diagram

It’s hard to keep up with our insatiable appetite for more and more data storage and hard drive manufacturers really have their work cut out for them. To increase hard drive capacity, manufacturers have to fit information ever more densely, but you see physics has a thing to say about packing our bits too tight on magnetic media. The first technological ‘snag’ was overcome in 2005 when perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) was commercialized taking the reigns from longitudinal magnetic recording (LMR).
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