Moment of ZEN: Touch Sensing Art Mirror

Vanity, taken to a whole new level...

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Pandigital Kitchen Technology Center

Pandigital is hoping you're looking to update your kitchen technology with a little of their technology. Back in March, they announced their latest foray into digital frames is going to involve a 15-inch LCD touchscreen, 720p HDTV, and recipe database.

The Kitchen Technology Center, or KTC arrives on your countertop pre-loaded with the hundreds of recipes, a music/picture player, and calendar/clock. The calendar function allows you to program the frame to start a slide show at 2pm, bring up a recipe and play you a song at 4pm, or just remind you "Emerald" is on.

Of course being that it's an offering from a Pandigital, it also accepts every digital camera card you can think of...

Worried about operating a sensitive piece of technology when you have messy fingers? The KTC touch screen is a mess-proof design that is easy to clean. Sealed with glass, it is protected from water, oil, flour and other common ingredients, as well as from spills and splatters.

Other niceties are - the included countertop stand, an under-cabinet mount, and flat panels are also wall-mountable, so you can position the KTC where you’ll need it most. Interchangeable faceplates in brushed stainless, black, and white let you match your kitchen’s décor.

Centralized control over the entire array of kitchen appliances has been a promise of consumerism since the Fifties, these frames are the first widely available system that actually presents the idea to homemakers in a way they can use now. I could easily see something like the KTC controlling the kitchen one of these days... when blenders, refrigerators, and ovens learn to communicate with one another.

June was the proposed release, but it doesn't look like that's happening.
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Windows 7 Revealed to Include Multitouch Surface Computing Support

Last evening at the The D Conference, Microsoft bigwigs Gates and Ballmer talked about the company's core business, Operating Systems. Ballmer shared a video snippet of Windows 7's multitouch support on a Tablet PC. Click Read More! link for the video

Multi-touch computing has been demonstrated by Microsoft before, with the Surface that was introduced to the public by Glenn Derene, of Popular Mechanics, in July. They have sold these Surface systems to the a hotel chain and a couple mobile communications providers, so far.

The ten thousand dollar Surface is more showpiece that PC, but it does present a new interactivity were dragging and dropping virtual content to physical objects becomes a reality. Using WiFi, special machine-readable tags (RFID), and shape recognition the table can see what's placed on it and interact accordingly. Dragging a few pics over to your phone, sitting on the Surface, actually places the pics in the phones memory; no syncing, no cord... just done. Getting pics off a digital camera work similarly. Place the camera on the Surface, and instantly the images are available.

Data visualization has been on the minds of database designers for decades. Virtual reality...

promised data visualization and physical interactivity, but stepping into a computer is a bit much. The approach of conforming the interface to the user is much more palatable.

Microsoft, along with companies like NYC based Perceptive Pixel, are pushing this technology into the hands of government and corporate buyers, luckily for us little people this may led to more innovation in the way of cheaper solutions.

Video: Multi-Touch in Windows 7

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Wacom makes strides in Touchscreen Tech

Wacom, on Friday, announced they've engineered a more sensitive capacitive touch screen. Using newly designed low-power circuitry and a patent pending technology that they've dubbed Reversing Ramped Field Capacitive (RRFC) touch.

What this means to a touchscreen interface is that even with a less than optimal battery level the RRFC touchscreen still delivers precise and drift-free cursor performance.

Other innovations of the RRFC touch, touted by Wacom, include the screen's superior optical performance, increased sensitivity, and durability through use of a non-glass surfaces.

Apple's multi-touch displays use older capacitive touchscreen technology, but in a more inventive way. With Wacom's new capacitive touchscreen you can use tablet with the screen and get dual touch action, but it's not the same at all.

If only Wacom and Apple would develop products together without patent restrictions, they might be able to realize an interface that conforms to us.

The video (tap Read More!), from last year, shows the direction we could be going.

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iLuv i1155 is iNcredible

The iLuv i1155 is an ingenious combination of iPod dock and DVD/CD player. Its screen is ridiculously large at 8.4in. But, if that’s not enough screen for you, you can always jack into your TV via Composite Video or S-Video, (NTSC or PAL). While you’re at it, don’t forget to pump up the audio too. The audio output is also analog. If you’re not really into waking the dead with your home audio system…there, of course, is the option to plug in headphones.

Adding versatility to the player is the addition of a second headphone jack. Now, you can share your cinemaphile tendencies...while getting cozy with those closest to you. If you have more than one other person you want to entertain with the iLuv, there’s a 2x1 watt built in speaker system so you can broadcast the good times on the go. Some prefer staying in one place to view their cinematic preferences. Well, the adaptable built in stand helps free your hands for other, more interesting, endeavors.

The noble folks at iLuv, in order to stay current, have released an updated version of this PMP dream machine, (it hit selves last month). The new upgrade, which uses a special Apple authentication chip, enables you to play the newer iPod Classic and Nano videos along with your 5^th Gen joints.

Powering options abound with the iLuv; the unit comes with a built-in rechargeable battery and is packaged with a wall adaptor and car cigarette lighter adapter. As with any good iPod accessory the i1155 charges your iPod while you play. Battery life on DVD playback is a scant 3 hrs, video playback from iPods is a bit better at 4 hrs, and you’re fully charged ready and to go, after 4-5 hrs. The biggest problem, I see with the iLuv i1155, is stopping people from looking over your shoulder.

..via Coolest Gadgets..

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Touch Sensitive Bluetooth Headset

So you're driving along, and you get a call on your Bluetooth headset. You go to press the answer button, but it takes such force to press it...you dislodge the headset from you're ear. Ok, so this might not happen that often, but surely it does happen. Why else would the folks at Bluetrek come 'out the box' with their touch sensitive answer button on the new 'Sense' Bluetooth headset? As far as interface upgrades go this is as much of a breakthrough for headsets as Macintosh's Mouse was for PCs. It's amazing no one has done this yet.

As far as functionality goes, Andrew Lim, of Crave UK said, "Call quality is relatively clear". The battery life is reported to be four hours talk time and five hours standby. This should provide plenty of time to communicate with your love ones and mates while commuting, provided your commute isn't absurdly long. Of course, if you're one to sport a Bluetooth headset all day like some robot than you may need a longer battery. However, if you use it sparingly, like while actually using the phone, than Bluetrek Sense has plenty of battery life for you. Bluetrek Sense will be available in the UK, at beginning of next year, for about $100US.

..via..
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