RSS Feeds
Computers
Hands On With the Microsoft Surface Sphere Prototype
Posted by Adrian Covert at 6:41 AM on July 30, 2008
Microsoft's Surface Sphere operates a lot like the original Surface, utilising a projector surrounded by a ring of IR cameras, which is then covered by a semi-opaque globe. The IR cameras detect when the beams are being blocked, and transmits it as contact. Using it, I found there are still a few early glitches, but this is an amazing piece of technology and far along for a prototype.
Tonight, we finally got our hands on the 
In my hand, the 3G iPhone is lighter, fits better, and noticeably thinner. I made a call with it, side by side with my 1st generation iPhone, and the reception is noticeably better as well. I can't even believe this is frigging AT&T anymore. I'd called Lisa and asked her if she noticed if it was clearer or not. She replied, "It's a lot better, but it's also better that you're actually calling me." A tough crowd.
Skyfire just got its 0.6 update, bring with it a few more features (listed after the jump) and a bit of compatibility increase that makes it feel more like a real browser than it was 
The 
With the snow season practically over, we are starting to miss those winter days of snowboarding and hot tubbin'. This summer when the snow is long gone we might actually have an outlet for our snow-sport deprived lives. The Wii Fit. There is a whole set of mini-games that take place on the mountain. With games that range from ski jumping to snowboarding, it makes us wonder if it will be enough to kill the mid-summer, snow-missin' blues.
Nokia took the shroud off its 
The new Macbook Pro is not much of a bump up from its predecessors, but it is a step in the right direction. The addition of Multi-Touch is a great new feature, even on a touchpad that's smaller than the one on the Air. However, the Penryn-powered processor in this MBP is running at roughly the same speed as the last generation's chips, GHz to GHz, and give no good reason to upgrade from machines that are less than a year old. The most interesting point here is the boost in efficiency the now-pervasive LED backlighting and 45nm Penryn chips bring to the MacBook Pro, which together give an hour extra battery life over older models with CCFL screens and 65nm CPU technology. That makes this the most efficient Macbook Pro yet.
It's like putting on orthodontal headgear—bewildering and maybe slightly humiliating. The metal probes that stick into your ear for bass are cold and creepy, like I'm being probed. If you lean your head back, they dive deeper into your ear and pick up a serious sensation of weight. And unless you have big hair (like me, 'cause I need a haircut), you probably look like a tool wearing them. But once the ear prongs warmed up, so did I—I prefer the feel to headphones or earbuds, actually. 
Pop quiz: Which one of these is the D60, and which one is a D40? You can't tell, can you? Ha! That's because it really is pretty much the same chassis (and guts) so if you know the D40x, you know the D60. The best new thing is the stop-motion movie stringer, which is quick, if simple—here's the whole process: 
