RealPlayer has introduced the latest version of its free media player software – RealPlayer SP Beta, for playing and sharing videos with your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. It works easily with Blackberry, iPod, iPhone and game systems. This means that you could easily download streaming Internet videos and ship it to your cellphones, gaming systems like Xbox and PlayStation 3 and MP3 players.
Features – New & Improved:
RealPlayer SP Beta follows RealPlayer 11, which came out in 2007, which enables downloads of video streams that wasn’t readily available before.
1. Download Video
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You could download and organize your favorite videos from YouTube and other sites. Then later watch them anytime, anywhere you want.
2. Convert Video
The new video converter makes it easy to copy online video to an iPod, cell phone, Xbox, PS3, etc.
3. Share Video
It’s now easy to share your favorite videos with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.
How does it work?
Install the player on your computer.
While watching a web video from YouTube, Facebook, etc. a “Download This Video,” tab pops up, followed by a small Real window.
Simply choose where to send the video
Also choose the format to convert the video into. Blackberry and the new Palm Pre prefer Windows Media Video, while H.264 is the format of choice for iPhones.
It will send your iPhone converted video directly to iTunes, where it must reside to be transferred to the iPhone.
The other formats can be dragged and dropped manually.
Burning clips to DVD?
Clips can be burned to DVD, however a charge of $39.99 will be imposed for this feature and upgrade.
What could we expect when the world’s largest chip-maker – Intel and the world’s largest mobile phone maker – Nokia join hands?
Endless possibilities.
Intel and Nokia announced yesterday a strategic relationship to shape the next era of mobile computing innovation. This means that we could now think beyond the existing smartphones, netbooks and notebooks.
The next era of mobile computing innovation
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Both companies are looking to develop a new class of Intel Architecture-based mobile computing device and chipset architectures which will combine the performance of powerful computers with high-bandwidth mobile broadband communications and ubiquitous Internet connectivity.
Product plans
Although it is too early for the companies to talk about product plans, but people could expect possible development of a variety of innovative hardware, software and mobile Internet services in the time to come.
Says Anand Chandrasekher, Intel Corporation senior vice president and general manager, Ultra Mobility Group:
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“This Intel and Nokia collaboration unites and focuses many of the brightest computing and communications minds in the world, and will ultimately deliver open and standards-based technologies, which history shows drive rapid innovation, adoption and consumer choice. With the convergence of the Internet and mobility as the team’s only barrier, I can only imagine the innovation that will come out of our unique relationship with Nokia. The possibilities are endless.”
Says Kai Öistämö, Executive Vice President, Devices, Nokia:
“Today’s announcement represents a significant commitment to work together on the future of mobile computing, and we plan to turn our joint research into action. We will explore new ideas in designs, materials and displays that will go far beyond devices and services on the market today. This collaboration will be compelling not only for our companies, but also for our industries, our partners and, of course, for consumers.”
Open-source mobile Linux software projects
Both Intel and Nokia would center around several open-source mobile Linux software projects, including the Moblin platform for Atom-based processors and the Maemo operating system developed by Nokia.
License
Intel will also acquire a license from Nokia that is used in modem chips to connect to third generation cellular networks.
Back in March this year, Google had launched a new version of mobile YouTube application for most Window Mobile and Symbian Series 60 devices. This mobile YouTube application enabled:
A quicker access toapplication start-up, searching, and video loading
Sharper videos and clearer sound than ever
Better streaming over WiFi to support a wider range of networks
A robust buffering so that videos could play even in weak coverage areas.
Easy video viewing once installed.
This application, however, was only available in US English. Overcoming this, Google today has introduced other languages to this as well, encouraging more YouTube users from across the globe to use this application with more convenience.
Languages other than US English:
French
UK English
Italian
Spanish
German
Dutch
So now more people can watch their favorite videos with a familiar interface around them on their mobile phones!
You could download the app from http://m.youtube.com from your device.
Many of us are known or recognized by more than one name, that reflect your real identity, say for example a different married name, a pet name, office name or an alias/proxy name for a blog or website. Till now Facebook allowed you to show only one name in your account, which probably made it difficult for people who did not recognize you with that name to connect with you.
Last week, Facebook added a new feature that will let you display alternate names on Facebook. Earlier you could only associate another name with your account, but now you can even choose to display your alternate name on your account. The name will be visible on:
Ah! The growing digital age, some might say. Kodak bids adieu to its oldest film stock – Kodachrome, because of the slump in the customer demand.
Introduced in 1935 and manufactured by Eastman Kodak, Kodachrome was the first successfully mass-marketed color still film using a subtractive method, in contrast to earlier additive “screenplate” methods. It remained the oldest brand of color film. It was for many years used for professional color photography, especially for images intended for publication in print media.
Yesterday, Eastman Kodak Company announced the end of Kodachrome production.
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Kodak derives about 70% of its revenues from commercial and consumer digital businesses. It is the global leader in the film business. In the past 3 years, Kodak has introduced innovative new film products to market, including seven new professional still films and several new VISION2 and VISION3 motion picture films.
Recently-discontinued Kodachrome products
Kodachrome 64 film in 120 format was discontinued in 1996.
Kodachrome 25 was discontinued in 2002. Many point to the introduction of Velvia or the decline in quality of processing as the reason for its demise.
Kodachrome 40 in the Super 8 movie format,despite protests from filmmakers.Kodak launched a replacement color reversal film in the Super 8 format, Ektachrome 64T, which uses the common E6 chemistry.
Kodachrome 200 was discontinued in November 2006. The last emulsion batch was numbered 2672, labeled with the expiration date September 2008.
Kodachrome 64 and Kodachrome 64 Professional 135 format were discontinued in June 2009.
Kodachrome was favored by still and movie photographers for its rich but realistic tones, vibrant colors and durability.
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Says Mary Jane Hellyar, President of Kodak’s Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group:
“KODACHROME Film is an iconic product and a testament to Kodak’s long and continuing leadership in imaging technology. It was certainly a difficult decision to retire it, given its rich history. However, the majority of today’s photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology – both film and digital. Kodak remains committed to providing the highest-performing products – both film and digital – to meet those needs.”
Steve McCurry, a well-known professional photographer who used KODACHROME Film, had captured the award winning photo of a young Afghan girl that touched the hearts of millions of people around the world as she peered hauntingly from the cover of National Geographic Magazine in 1985.
Microsoft is spending almost $80 million to $100 million on its ad campaigning to promote Bing. In a series of its ads, Microsoft is trying to show Google as a cluttered, irrelevant and confusing search engine. Even though the campaign doesn’t directly mention the name Google, but the target is pretty clear to all. 🙂
Bing’s ad campaign strategy
Microsoft is trying to center its campaign for the coming months on four major categories:
Travel
Shopping
Health
Local
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Commercial spots are to be followed by online ad campaigns. Radio advertising will also be a part of the traditional advertising mix.
Bing TV commercials are showcasing more dramatized versions of what it’s like when people interact with their friends, family and partners the way they do to a search engine. The ads would show how they get back responses that have the same words as their question, but nothing at all to do with what they asked.
The campaign develops a theme similar to the one Microsoft used in its earlier commercials directed at Apple.
Take a look at Bing’s recent TV spots. The ad calls today’s confusing and cluttered online search as “Search Overload Syndrome” and says Bing is the cure.
A few recent Bing commercials:
Commercial #1
Commercial #2
Commercial #3
Commercial #4
Share your comments on what you think about these ads.
HTC, cell phone maker from Taiwan, will soon launch the android-powered G2, or the second generation Google phone in India. It is believed to be priced between Rs 26,000 to 28,000 and will probably be sold through Airtel, however, it is not yet confirmed.
A compelling buy?
Indiatimes reports that to make it a compelling buy, the phone will probably be bundled with
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Talk time
Data plans
MicroSD card for storage
…and more
Android is a software platform for mobile devices, running on the Linux operating system, and several hardware makers are also promoting it for use in netbooks.
Competition
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Android phones are facing strong competition. BlackBerrys from Research In Motion are gaining ground among consumers. Apple’s new iPhone and Pre from Palm has received favorable reviews too.
T-Mobile G1 never made it to India
Earlier, in September 2008, HTC partnered with T-Mobile and Google in the US to launch T-Mobile G1. G1 never made it to the Indian market. The G1 went on sale in October and since then has sold more than 1 million of the phones in the US. In the grey market, you could find the phone for around Rs. 18-19,000.
Ever been out site-seeing and wished someone could tell you more about the place? What if you could just take a picture of the place or monument with your camera phone and have more information pop up right on your handset?
Making this happen is a smart image recognition software – Snap2Tell, that can tell you what an image “means.” Developed by A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research, this technology was displayed at the CommunicAsia 2009 tradeshow held at the Singapore Expo. The software can be tweaked to work with GPS-enabled mobile phones so the server can detect your location and send you the correct data.
Snap2Telltechnology
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Snap2Tell is an image recognition engine that recognizes scenes / objects without the need of labeling or putting barcode on the Point of Interest (POI), associating it with relevant information.
This technology to be implemented into:
Mobile devices
Ultra mobile computers (UMPC)
Regular mobile phones with camera
Snap2Play
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Snap2Playis an interactive mixed reality mobile application. It employs Snap2Tell’s image recognition engine as well as GPS and accelerometer sensors to enhance the mobile application.
This technology can serve the tourism industry, where tourists can simply “snap” pictures with their camera phone and get information on various places of interest.
This technology can be used for:
Immersive mobile learning
Interactive mobile guide
Mixed-reality mobile gaming
Marketing tools
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How does it work?
Activate the application
Take a picture
Send it on to the system’s server
It will return with the relevant information.
In today’s world, mobile phones have become an everyday gadget for most of us. Recognizing this growing trend, even governments and industries around the world are working on integrating mobile devices into areas such as tourism, education, and entertainment, with an effort to enrich users’ experience.
Snap2Tell relies on MMS technology for now, however, A*STAR is considering options such as Wi-Fi and 3G as well. The server has only limited information at this point, but the option of opening up the platform to users is being considered so that people can contribute pictures and information to the database as well.
Sharing digital photos on the Internet these days means in real terms giving up your privacy. The success of websites like YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, MySpace, Orkut goes to show the immense popularity of user-generated content. Once content has been shared, it cannot be taken back. People could download the content, edit them and misuse them… and that too without your knowledge. The original content owner loses control over their digital content once it has been shared.
Overcoming this challenge is an interesting new technology from A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research called SUSie, that enablesyou to control who can view/edit your pictures after someone has downloaded them off, say, your website or social networking page.
This technology was displayed at CommunicAsia 2009, recently held at the Singapore Expo, potentially targeting Social Networking Sites, companies that offer Project Management Solutions and even Managed Security Service Providers.
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SUSie (Share & UnShare, it’s easy)
A privacy enhancing cryptography technology
Allows a private, secure and efficient way to share digital media.
Takes back the ownership of the shared files.
Effectively destroys all the shared copies of the files.
This means that if you wish to share your vacation pictures on a website, you can do so without any worries. With the help of this new technology, you can always prevent someone who has downloaded your photos from editing or copying later. You could make the most out of a secure and safe cyberworld, where content ownership and usage control is in your hands and unsharing can be performed at any point, if necessarily.
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Sharing & Unsharing
Sharing refers to enabling content to be read and stored by the recipients.
Unsharing refers to complete annulment of media content unknowingly read or exposed to the recipients.
Technology Features
Efficient, tamper-resistant key and digital certificates management techniques for P2P content exchange.
Superior digital rights management (DRM) for user-generated content.
Media encryption while transmitting, storage and reading.
Printing and storage can be disenabled.
No passwords and user id required for better enhanced security.
Supports photos (JPEG), videos (MPEG 4), and PDF documents and can be expanded to support more.
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Benefits
More people will be willing to upload and store their photos and videos over the internet for sharing as there is less worry on phishing.
People will have full control of media content, which means they can share or unshared any time, any place.
Since the content is always encrypted and tamper-resistant (although not 100% full proof), it will make life difficult for thieves.
No or minimal passwords and user ID is required.
People can enjoy a more secure and safer cyberworld where content ownership and usage control can be retained for ALL.
Available for Licensing
Susie Platform, Version 1, comprising of the writer and reader on the desktop.
Susie Mobile, comprising of the writer and reader on the Nokia phones and synchronization with the desktop (upcoming)
SUSie is currently positioned at niche markets that demand efficient sharing and unsharing of (online and mobile) media content.
Technology is getting more and more sophisticated by the day. A couple of weeks back I had written a post on how a software could change your gender on the computer instantly. Today, the post talks about a newly developed “Gender Recognition System” that could change the way advertising will work for you in the future.
What does Gender Recognition System do?
A*Star (Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research) has developed a smart image recognition software that has the ability to detect frontal human faces on digital video stream quickly and reliably. This technology was displayed at CommunicAsia 2009, held at the Singapore Expo.
Based on the extracted face images, the engine is able to simultaneously detect the genders of multiple persons. It recognizes someone as either a guy or a girl when an image of a person is captured with a regular webcam.
In addition to that, it can return the statistic of the viewers such as the number of person looking at the screen.
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For example:
It can be set up to deploy targeted advertisements – a beer ad for a guy walking past and a shoes ad for a girl strolling across.
Targeted Advertising?
Advertisers across the globe are now looking for marketing vehicles that have better customer receptivity. With the growing consumer demand and their reduced attention span, the effectiveness of traditional mass media has tremendously gone down.
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The Internet has attracted billions of advertising dollars. Gender Recognition System can help in more effective displaying of information, branding and offering an enhanced customer experience. In summary, this technology cold provide the means to measure audience demographics which could be helpful for the advertising industry.
Benefits
Efficient retrieval of statistics that includes
Gender detection
Attention span
Audience count
Non-intrusive detection
Support low-cost camera
SDK for integrating engine into the hosting application
Features
Recognize the gender of the user with low cost camera
Real time detection (6 frames / second)
Support simultaneous multiple objects detection
Support object counting
SDK available
Technology
Development is done on Windows Platform
Currently, the gender-recognition system is in its beta and hopes to come up with the next version by the year-end.
