$150 laser pointer can stay steady even if your hands can’t
Is there a market for a $150 laser pointer when you can get one anywhere for a few bucks? Maybe, in special cases or, as the creators of SteadyLaser believe, if the user shakes like a leaf when he has to speak in public. SteadyLaser promises to cancel out tremors through a mechanism that separates the laser itself from the device’s body. Here’s how the startup explains its technology on Kickstarter, where it’s attempting to raise $150,000 to begin mass production:
Our invention features a novel two axis inertial stabilization mechanism that filters out pan and tilt hand tremor disturbances (typically >2Hz) imparted to the line of sight of the housing. The mechanism includes a precision balanced two axis gimbal supported by miniature jewel bearings that is stabilized by a tuned magnetic spring and damper system. This allows the laser to move independently from the body of the pointer – so it remains steady even as the housing jitters.
As Gizmodo notes, it’s similar to digital cameras that stabilize its sensors to prevent blurry pictures. While it sounds like a convenient thing to have in case your hands get uncontrollably shaky in the middle of, say, a work presentation, its price is probably a bit too much to swallow for most people. After all, they can just animate their PowerPoint slides or use the mouse pointer instead. Nevertheless, it could be an invaluable tool for folks with medical conditions that cause hand tremors, such as Parkinson’ disease.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/121832997?color=ffffff&portrait=0
Filed under: Misc
Via: Gizmodo
Source: Kickstarter
How Photos for OS X Handles Content and Metadata Migration from iPhoto and Aperture [Mac Blog]
Last week, Apple released OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 with support for the new Photos for OS X app, the company’s replacement for both iPhoto and Aperture; Apple also removed both apps from the Mac App Store shortly after Photos was released. Today, Apple released a support document detailing exactly what users can expect when they migrate their content from Aperture and iPhoto to Photos.
When iPhoto content (photos and video) and metadata are migrated over to Photos, they do so without changes. Images migrate over with the adjustments that were applied within iPhoto. Users will not be able to alter the images, but they will be able to revert to the original photo before adjustments were applied. Slideshows and Albums are both preserved in Photos with a few exceptions. Slideshows that use themes not available in Photos have the default theme attached to them, while Smart Albums where none of its Smart Album criteria are supported by Photos are not migrated over.
Keywords are preserved in Photos, and most metadata is migrated over, but there are some exceptions. Some IPTC metadata like Copyright are still attached to works, but they won’t be visible within Photos. They can still be viewed in programs that recognize and display the select IPTC data, like iPhoto and Aperture. Finally, Events are transferred to an album called iPhoto Events in the Album View section of Photos for OS X.
Aperture’s migration of content and metadata works similar to iPhoto, but with a few significant differences. Aperture projects and subfolders migrate to folders called Aperture Projects and iPhoto Events, both of which are available to view in the Album View section of Photos. Photo books also migrate to the Album section of the app. Captions are preserved in Photos, but star ratings, flagged images and color labels are turned into keywords. For example, a one-star rating shows up as “1 star” keyword, flagged images have “flagged” keywords attached and the green color label turns into a “green” keyword. Finally, custom metadata fields to not transfer to Photos.
The entire support document is helpful for those worrying about transferring their content over to Photos and can be viewed on Apple’s website.
Apple iPad Mini 3 vs Google Nexus 7 (2013): pocket-sized tablet comparison
Editor’s note: this comparison has originally been published on our sister site TabTimes, your resource for tablets and convertibles running all operating systems.
There is a certain amount of mobility lost in attempting to carry around many of today’s best tablets. Whether out of the Android or iOS camp, a 10-inch or larger mobile device is just not very, well, mobile. To overcome this, smaller tablets have been produced, and it is these tablets that have our attention today, once again pitting Apple against Google as we compare their borderline pocket-sized tablets.
Here, is your Apple iPad Mini 3 vs the Google Nexus 7 (2013) comprehensive shootout.
Size
First, the pocket test. While you might consider me to be a big guy, with big pants, I find that both the iPad Mini 3 and the Nexus 7 fit comfortably in the back pocket of my jeans, or in the cargo pocket of my shorts. This is not to say that I can sit with these tablet in my pocket, nor that they will remain secure if I go for a run, but they both fit and I can walk around without them falling out. Indeed, there is wear on my jeans from the nearly 3 years of carrying a Nexus 7 everywhere I go.
Now that that is out of the way, the 7-inch form factor of the ASUS built Google Nexus 7, and the 8-inch form factor of the Apple iPad Mini 3 should also fit in your pockets, or purses, proving to be extremely mobile. Certainly more mobile friendly than the larger tablets, like the iPad Air 2 and Nexus 9 we recently pit against one another.
We spent some time, on our sister site Android Authority, early last year discussing tablets and our preferences for them. The general conclusion from most was that the pocket-able sized tablet owners loved their devices and took them on the go, while the 9-inch and larger tablet owners admitted to having to clear dust off of their device when they go to use it.
One thing is certain, the Nexus 7 and the iPad Mini 3 offer few compromises for their size, giving you plenty of power in a manageable package.
Design
The Apple iPad Mini 3 and the Google Nexus 7 (2013) are designed very differently, all things considered. Right out of the gate you should notice that the Nexus 7 is much narrower. Apple chose to stick with the 4:3 screen aspect ratio for the iPad Mini, where Google went with a widescreen format.
As we’ve previously mentioned, the iPad Mini 3 is, at least visually speaking, a dead ringer for the larger iPad Air 2. Apple did not seek to re-invent their tablet with the Mini, they simply wanted a smaller device. This means that the familiar look and feel of the iPad line continues in the iPad Mini 3, with the front face remaining clear of all physical buttons, except for that circular Home button found at the bottom middle.
Volume rocker buttons live on the right edge of the Mini, near the top. A power button graces the top edge, off to the right hand side, keeping all of your controls close together, but not easily confused for one another.
The back of the device rocks the centered Apple logo, up in the top left corner you’ll find the rear camera, and a little microphone slot which, from a distance, appears a blemish in the all metal back cover. That full metal back cover is solid feeling and wraps around to the front of the device, meeting with the full glass front panel.
The front edge of the metal has been polished, which gives the iPad Mini 3 a fairly attractive design that sparkles when the light hits it. Lastly, the bottom edge of the device houses dual speaker ‘grills’ that flank a centered Lightning charging and data port.
I’ve mentioned before a few minor complaints about the metal backing of the iPad design, being that the polished front edge is not the most comfortable to hold for long periods of time, and that the cooling properties of the metal also suck the heat out of your hands, making the device feel extremely cold. I wouldn’t let these things deter you from purchasing the device, but I can’t not mention them, as they were two of the most noticeable factors in my usage of the tablet.
As for Google’s Nexus 7, built by ASUS, it does not have a metal back, instead, it is a soft rubber feeling material. It is a smoother design, especially when compared to the first generation Nexus 7, but still comfortable to hold with enough grip for most situations. The tablet is plastic all the way around, and those with a discerning taste for electronics may feel the Nexus 7 a little on the budget-end of premium for build quality. Which is perhaps to be expected considering how affordable the tablet is.
Your power button lives just above the volume rocker on the right edge, and the micro USB port lives alone centered on the bottom edge. Previous Nexus 7 tablet users will notice that the 2013 edition is a little longer and narrower then the 2012 version, but the higher resolution display should take your mind off of that.
The rear panel of the Nexus 7 proudly houses a giant Nexus logo, sprawled across sideways. In the familiar top left corner is the camera sensor and dual speakers live, one at the top and one at the bottom facing slightly backward.
Display
The Apple iPad Mini 3 offers little compromise in its display. That 4:3 aspect ratio multi-touch IPS panel measures in at 7.9-inches on the diagonal, with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 for 326 ppi. While Apple’s best screen tech is reserved for the iPad Air 2, the Mini 3 is not exactly left out in the cold, treated with a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating.
We wouldn’t say that this makes the iPad Mini 3 immune to fingerprints, but it is extremely difficult to see prints when the screen is lit, and is very easy to clean.
In the real world, the iPad Mini 3 display is easy to see and look at. Brightness range takes it from comfortable in low light situations up to decently visible in direct sunlight. The auto-brightness settings are also fairly accurate, rarely do you need to correct brightness manually. If you do need to correct the brightness, and you are not exactly certain how, be sure to check out our how to change display brightness piece.
The Nexus 7 is a fairly different experience, as far as tablets go. The multi-touch display measures in at 7.02-inches diagonally with the default Gorilla Glass anti-glare and anti-fingerprint characteristics baked right in. Resolution measures 1920×1200, which is a little wider than full HD, but looks great with a 323 ppi count.
As with the iPad, the Nexus 7 has a more than adequate brightness range and sufficient auto-brightness capabilities. It is easy to look at for extended lengths and comfortable to touch, for those gaming sessions.
Both the iPad Mini 3 and the Nexus 7 offer excellent touch sensitivity and accuracy. They may be a little small to comfortably handle most productivity tasks like editing work papers and such, but are great for tablet gaming and media consumption, such as reading your favorite book.
Performance
In a move that we believe is a bit unfortunate, these tablets have been manufactured as much for affordability as for performance. That may be doubly so for the Nexus 7. Neither tablet offers the best specs available at their time of build, but that certainly does not mean that the overall experience suffers.
The iPad Mini 3 benefits from iOS’s simple user interface, app icons and folders grace your home screens, but little more. Keeping it simple means that the overall experience is very fast and smooth. Although Apple already had a newer and faster chipset available, used in the iPad Air 2, the iPad Mini 3 rocks the previous gen. A7 chipset.
While most apps load and run without a hitch, you may notice a spinning wheel here or there for the largest of applications.
The Nexus 7 is another story. Launched nearly a year and a half earlier than the iPad Mini 3, it should be no surprise that the spec sheet reads off a list of parts inferior to the iPad. This, however, speaks to the efficiency of the Nexus 7 that we could rightly consider this very VS article.
Real world use of the Nexus 7 was some of the best performance ever seen on a tablet when it first launched. Newer and larger apps, and versions of the Android operating system, have weighed down the performance of late, you are likely to experience a few slowdowns here and there, but perhaps not as many as you’d expect for a now nearly two year old tablet.
The overall experience on the Nexus 7 is still snappy and smooth for your normal day to day stuff, but your gaming experience may be a little shy of smooth.
Hardware
The iPad Mini 3 brings to the table the 64-bit A7 chip with M7 motion coprocessor. A simple set of ports are available on the unit, including the standard headphone jack and Apple’s Lightning connector port. Hidden under the Home button is a fingerprint scanner that allows for biometric authenticated access into your tablet.
Audio output is by the bottom facing speakers, sound is crisp and more than loud enough for most situations.
The device measures 7.87-inches tall by 5.3-inches across with a respectable 7.2mm (0.28-inch) depth. The metal shell provides the utmost in strength, with a gentle twist and bend pressure of the iPad Mini 3 displaying no indication of any torsion in the tablet, but we’re not about to push that too hard.
Other sensors on board include a gyro, accelerometer and an ambient light sensor. Keeping everything running is a 6350mAh battery, which Apple says will provide upwards of 10 hours of web surfing, music or video playback. In our time with it, the device does last for quite a while between charging, longer than the iPad Air 2. Stay tuned for a full battery life test.
The Nexus 7 was considered a powerful unit in its time, more than doubling the performance of the then one year old Nexus 7 2012. Powered by the Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC with 2GB of RAM. Look for the standard headphone jack and micro USB connector port on the top and bottom edges, respectively. The Adreno 320 GPU was also one of the best in the day, keeping even the most strenuous of games flying at a nice pace.
Stereo speakers with full 5.1 surround sound output make for a great audio experience from the Nexus 7. Audio could be a little louder and it may not offer the same kick as the HTC BoomSound equipped Nexus 9, but the rear facing speakers hold their own for your normal daily use.
The Nexus 7 (2013), with its 7-inch display measures 7.87-inches tall and 4.49-inches across, it is a tad thicker at 8.64mm (0.34-inches) in depth. Despite having a plastic back cover, the Nexus 7 is also a very solid feeling tablet. Once again, it feels very sturdy and shows no signs of compromise when applying a real world use twist or bending pressure.
Sensors on board the Nexus 7 include an accellerometer, gyro, magnetometer, compass and ambient light sensor. In addition, this tablet is NFC capable. Battery life is advertised at up to 10 hours of basic web browsing, music or 720p video playback out of the 3950mAh battery. As you might imagine, we’ve never seen 10 hours of screen on time, but 4-5 hours is pretty common under light usage.
Camera
Both the iPad Mini 3 and the Nexus 7 offer a 5MP rear camera sensor. They are also both f/2.4 with auto-focus and 1080P video recording. Neither offer a flash, leaving you best with daytime photography.
As the similarities continue, both tablets offer Panoramic and HDR capture. The Nexus 7, thanks to Google’s Camera app, also offers up Photosphere full 360 degree photo capture.
The front side of these tablets offer up 1.2mp camera sensors, for all of your FaceTime or Hangouts needs. 720p video capture is not a premium these days, but is more than adequate for a little video conference.
In the end, the differences between these cameras is not on paper, below is a quick photo gallery of sample photos from each tablet. Images from the Apple iPad Mini 3 come first, Google’s Nexus 7 come second. Let me say up front, colors are significantly more accurate on the Nexus 7, but exposure is a little off. You get to choose which one produces more appealing photos.
Software
Straight out of the gates, the fundamental difference between these tablets is the operating system powering them. The iPad Mini 3 runs iOS, recently updated to version 8.3, and the Nexus 7 runs Android, currently in the midst of updating to Android 5.1 Lollipop.
iOS on the iPad Mini 3 is a solid and fluid experience. This tablet benefits wholly from the vast number of tablet apps available in the App Store. When you first open the box, you can get by for basic web surfing and navigation with just the default apps pre-installed on the device. However, to take advantage of that large catalog of available games and apps, you’ll need to log into the device with your Apple ID.
As with your other modern iOS powered devices, there is no pressing need to connect your iPad to your PC and sync data through iTunes, but this technique may prove the best when it comes to transferring files, such as your pictures or music.
As for the Nexus 7, it runs Google’s in-house flavor of Android. At first launch, it rocked Android Jellybean, but as a Nexus device, Google makes it a priority to push updates for the tablet as fast as possible. A the time of writing, Android 5.0.2 was the latest version of the OS to roll out through OTA updates, but Android 5.1 Lollipop is expected very soon.
Many users have reported that Android 5.0.2 runs poorly and may actually cause serious harm to your Nexus 7. While we can confirm that the OS is more sluggish than it should be, we count ourselves lucky that our tablet has not been bricked. Android 5.1 promises to fix both of these concerns. Certainly we’ve seen significant speed increases on other Android devices that have received the update.
As with the iPad, there is no immediate need to connect your Nexus 7 to your PC for any reason. Certainly, Android does not come with a companion app, like iTunes, that sometimes requires this connection. Android has been designed as best possible to always be wireless, and the Nexus 7 is a shining example of this. On the flip side, however, connecting to your PC offers little assistance for file transfers, time to find a cool app for the process.
Pricing and final thoughts
In the iPad Mini 3 and Nexus 7 we have two capable and easily portable devices ready to keep you entertained and connected just as well on your couch as at the office or on the train. Both devices will slip into a pocket or purse, if only barely, and come with WiFi only or LTE equipped configurations.
| Apple iPad Mini 3 | Google Nexus 7, by ASUS |
|
|
Although the Nexus 7 is officially discontinued, it is easy to find the Google tablet around places like Amazon for as low as $159 for the 16GB model.
In this particular tablet shootout we have a clear winner when it comes to shear horsepower and overall performance. The Apple iPad Mini 3, due in part to the fact that it is a year and half newer than the Nexus 7, is the tablet that you will want, assuming speed is your main concern.
As much as the iPad Mini 3 is the clear winner in performance, do not underestimate the Nexus 7 and the Android ecosystem. Plainly put, if we shift focus to determine the winner in a bang-for-the-buck perspective, the Nexus 7 is the tablet to beat. Also important to note that many have invested heavily into either the iOS or Android ecosystems, I would always recommend leaning toward the tablet that is from the ecosystem you’ve previously invested in, unless you are in the mood for a new way of doing things. Android fans, be sure to check out the Nexus 9 if you want more horsepower.
Does the black slate of a Google Nexus 7 appeal to you over the shiny metallic finish of the Apple iPad Mini 3?
Manfrotto’s Digital Director will use your iPad as a remote control for your DSLR
Camera accessory makes Manfrotto has revealed a new adapter and accompanying app called Digital Director that lets you remotely control your Nikon or Canon DSLR with an iPad.
Unfortunately, while the Digital Director system allows you to control your DSLR remotely, it does require a tethered connection between the camera and the iPad. However, if you’re willing to look past that one caveat, the system does look intriguing. In addition to using your iPad as a viewfinder, the Digital Director app allows you to track and tweak all of the camera settings that you would expect such as ISO, focus, aperture, and shutter speed.
As awesome as the system looks, the Digital Director setup is clearly targeted at the professional crowd with a price to match. Targeted for a June ship date, the system will cost a cool $500. Still, if it performs well, this could be an attractive setup for serious photographers.
Source: Resource Online; Via: Engadget
Opera Mini finally behaves like a native Android web browser
If you’re an Opera fan on Android, you no longer have to choose between Opera Mini’s super-efficient web browsing and the native interface of its full-size sibling. The company has overhauled Mini to finally give it the Android-friendly look and core features of the regular browser, including redesigned Speed Dial shortcuts, a private browsing mode and a customizable design that scales nicely to tablet sizes. There’s also a much-needed, Mini-specific data gauge so that you know how many megabytes you’re saving. Give it a spin if you’re trying to squeeze the most you can out of a capped cellular plan.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: Google Play
Google updates Material Design guidelines with a host of new sections
The guidelines now come with detailed instructions on how to present data tables as well as creating content for high-density displays, with floating action buttons getting their own section.
The Material Design guidelines make it that much easier for app developers to tailor their apps to fit the design of the latest version of Android. These are the highlights of what’s new in today’s update to the design specifications:
IBM Launches Watson Health Cloud, Partners With Apple to Support HealthKit and ResearchKit Apps [iOS Blog]
Apple partner IBM today announced the launch of Watson Health Cloud, designed to offer physicians, researchers, insurers and health-related companies a secure and open platform for storing health-related data. The platform facilitates the secure sharing of data from multiple types of input, from personal fitness trackers to connected medical devices to doctor-created medical records.
The future of health is all about the individual. With the increasing prevalence of personal fitness trackers, connected medical devices, implantables and other sensors that collect real-time information, the average person is likely to generate more than one million gigabytes of health-related data in their lifetime (the equivalent of more than 300 million books).
However, it is difficult to connect these dynamic and constantly growing pools of information with more traditional sources such as doctor-created medical records, clinical research and individual genomes — data sets that are fragmented and not easily shared. A highly scalable and secure global information platform is essential to pull out individualized insights to help people and providers make timely, evidence-based decisions about health-related issues.
IBM is expanding its partnership with Apple with IBM Watson Health Cloud to offer a secure cloud platform and analytics services for HealthKit and ResearchKit apps. It will store data entered by customers into iOS apps and give medical researchers a data storage solution that also includes “sophisticated data analytics capabilities.”
IBM and Apple will expand their ground-breaking partnership to apply cloud services and analytics to HealthKit and ResearchKit, and iOS devices. IBM will provide a secure research capability on the Watson Health Cloud platform, anonymizing personal data to allow researchers to easily store, aggregate and model information collected from iOS users who opt-in contribute personal data to medical research.
IBM and Apple first partnered up last summer to boost both companies’ enterprise sales. Under the partnership, IBM is selling iOS devices to corporate customers and creating a wide range of enterprise-focused apps tailored to industries like retail, healthcare, banking, travel, transportation, and more.
Google MVNO Details Revealed?
style=”display:block”
data-ad-client=”ca-pub-8523547931208430″
data-ad-slot=”2010118040″
data-ad-format=”auto”>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
Could the mobile wireless plan Google has been hinting at just leak completely into the open? According to a report by Android Police, we’re learning about what it is that Google intends to do with a Mobile Virtual Operator Network (MVNO).Apparently, they got their hands on an application from a leaked firmware build for a Nexus 6. Inside the application was a treasure trove of data that includes the payment system, activation protocol, and much more.
The application has a codename of “TYCHO”, which could be what Google will use for all the software related to the MVNO. The codename for the network itself appears to still be “NOVA”. This application appears to be similar to that of apps from other wireless carriers, like Sprint or Verizon Customers. Consumers will be able to pay bills and manage usage, as well as adjust plans based on a data cap. Tycho also includes the ability to activate service and request a new number directly from the application. TYCHO also references “Project Fi”. Now the people at Android Police believe that to be the name of the entirety of the new network. Of course, when all this is said and done, it will in all likelihood be known as Google Wireless.
The application has appeared to reveal that customers that have any left over data from the last billing cycle rolled over to the next month. No different than what some customers who use T-Mobile experience. Also, multiple phones will be able to use the same pooled data plan. Anyone who is close to going over the data allowance can purchase additional data for the same cost per gigabyte.
Along with this came some other bits of information, such as there will be a data-only plan for Tablets and WiFi hotspots. Another, and perhaps even more important point, is that it appears that people will be able to automatically switch carriers without the need for an additional SIM card. Although enabling devices to switch between Sprint and T-Mobile for better data coverage was rumored earlier this year, any specific details are still murky at this point.
Finally, there are references to being able to port a number belonging to Google Voice onto the new network, and references to being able to finance a purchase of the Nexus 6, though no specifics about the financing were available. This will also feed the rumors about the phablet being the only handset able to work with the service, however, there are also no clear answers here.
Our suggestion would be to look forward to Google I/O to get any clear answers, and a possible announcement, from Google themselves.
Source: Android Police
Via: 9to5 Google
style=”display:block”
data-ad-client=”ca-pub-8523547931208430″
data-ad-slot=”2010118040″
data-ad-format=”auto”>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
The post Google MVNO Details Revealed? appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Apple Moves Audiobooks into iBooks App, Adds Chapter Select in iOS 8.4 Beta [iOS Blog]
Earlier today, Apple seeded the first iOS 8.4 beta, which includes a revamped Music app, to developers. MacRumors forum user pazimi has found that Apple has also made changes to how it handles audiobooks in the new beta, moving playback from the Music app to the iBooks app.
Audiobooks in iBooks in iOS 8.4 beta.
Currently, in iOS 8.3, a users’ audiobook library is divorced from their ebook library, forcing users to use two different apps to access their entire digital book library. The new update consolidates all books in Apple’s iBook app and also fixes another longstanding issue with audiobooks on iOS. Since iOS 7, audiobook listeners have been unable to view chapter titles or even select them. However, pazimi points out that while chapters are now selectable in iOS 8.4, they do not list the actual chapter titles, as they’re listed as “track numbers”.
Finally, Apple has added a new fast forward and fast rewind feature, allowing users to easily scrub through an audiobook chapter. Users simply have to drag the book cover art to the left or right and hold to jump back or move forward further within the audiobook.
SCRUFF re-launches on Windows Phone 8.1 with paid tier, Cortana integration and more
Gay social network SCRUFF is back on Windows Phone, with the app getting a significant update in terms of functionality. There’s now a pro version that brings unlimited messaging, advanced filters and a search option along with the ability to share albums. Cortana integration is baked in, and the app also comes with pinnable profiles.
AIVAnet 