Microsoft debuts touchless touchscreen

By Sterling “Chip” Camden
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

At this week’s User Interface Software and Technology conference, Microsoft is presenting a new idea for touchscreen interface that doesn’t involve touching the screen.  It’s called SideSight, and it uses infrared reflection to detect finger movement in the proximity of the device — up to 10 centimeters away.  This makes a “touch” interface, where different finger gestures can have different meanings, workable for devices that are two small to have any significant gesture space on a screen.

Microsoft has already built a prototype using a mobile phone that only has sensors along two edges, although a future production model could have sensors all around its periphery — or perhaps even over its entire surface.  So far researchers have been “pleasantly surprised” by the ability of the device to accurately distinguish the infrared signals from ambient light.  The only problem they noted was that where one finger goes, four more follow — so rather than being misled by any old finger that shows up on the radar (or more accurately, lidar), they elected to follow the dictates of only a single finger.

I wonder… if I give it my usual single finger gesture, will it result in a BSOD?



Ask [GAS]: What Old Game Do You Still Play?

by Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

The last time I moved (into an apartment that is, arguably, way too small to hold all of my stuff), someone asked me why on earth I still bother to have my Super Ninendo hooked up, nestled between my PS2 and Game Cube (no, I do not have any next-gen consoles, as I’m living off of student loans, but if anyone would like to take up a collection…). After all, it’s practically a relic; they stopped making games for it over ten years ago.

And even though it does have quite a bit, sentimental value isn’t my reason for keeping the console. I keep it because I have to be able to play Tetris Attack. Despite all of the games that I have played and loved since 1996, this is one that I cannot live without. There have been similar games over the years (the Pokemon-themed one for N64 was probably the closest), but none that quite match the gameplay and charm. It’s completely addictive. And? I rule at this game.

So what about you guys? Is there a console that you keep around just for a game or two? Do you have an emulator for your favorite oldie-but-goodie? Or with the new downloadable games, maybe you’re even lucky enough to be able to play it on your current console! I for one love that I can play original Zelda on my Game Cube. I don’t think I’ll be able to hold off on a Wii anymore if they release a version of Tetris Attack for it… especially if there was online play. Mmmm.

MAC vs. PC Musical Features Epic Fight, Gore, and Love Story

All those Mac vs. PC ads are really starting to get tiresome. I mean, how long has this been going on? Two years? Even Mac people can’t stand them anymore. Like it or not, computers are computers; they’re tools, and each have their own unique uses.

So when I stumbled on this awesome MAC vs. PC musical this morning, I knew I couldn’t let it pass. It really gives a refreshing look at the neverending war between the two giants. The first two minutes are a bit grating, but don’t let that fool you. Keep on watching until the end. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

Warning: Contains blood and gore.



Massive Resistance 2 Ad Spotted in LA

To promote its upcoming Resistance 2 PS3 game, Sony has plastered this monstrosity on a building on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. Check it out:

Please note that we do NOT recommend walking by that thing while on hallucinogenic drugs. We think it would be a very, very bad idea.

Resistance 2 is expected to be released on November 4th for the PS3 only.

[Via Joystiq]

Star Wars: Episode IV – The 1977 Movie Trailer

Released back in 1977 to promote George Lucas’s original masterpiece, Star Wars – Episode IV, this trailer certainly brings me back some fond memories of the 70’s. If you were born at the time, do you remember seeing this on television or at the theater? When viewing it now, it’s funny how the whole thing looks like a poor, fan-made montage, created to pay hommage to the Star Wars saga.

The lost art of Morse code

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

I’ve taken up a new hobby recently and that’s learning Morse code.   I’ve been wanting to learn this lost art for a long time, and was finally inspired to get started by this Art Of Manliness article, which supplied a printable card of all the Morse code characters for the alphabet along with various handy weblinks.

You might be wondering the practical use of Morse in this day and age when we have things like mobile phones, SMS and the internet.    Well for one, it’s interesting.  Secondly, it’s a very useful survival skill to know.   I often travel down to the Bavarian Alps and mobile phone reception can be spotty down there.   If I’m up a mountain and I break a leg and I suddenly can’t get mobile phone reception, wouldn’t Morse code be a good skill to have if I find myself in a position to use it?

I find it a shame that something like Morse code is gradually dying a slow death due to SMS, mobile phones and the net.   This is something that should be kept alive and that everyone should learn.

Do you know Morse code?   If so, where did you learn?

Oh and to show you that Morse code is indeed better than a SMS message, don’t take my word for it.  Here’s Jay Leno to show you :

A Keyboard… How Quaint

by Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

CNET News reports that this week’s ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology could reveal some interesting new developments in the area of computer interfaces. But is it time to abandon the mouse and keyboard for Star Trek levels of speech input technology?

Maybe not just yet. According to CNET’s Microsoft expert, the next big thing on the horizon is the surface display. Just like the beginnings of any new technology, it’s currently cumbersome and expensive, though it’s already being used in a very limited capacity.  So what makes “surface computing” so great?  According to Microsoft, (1) the ability to “grab” information with your hands, without the use of a mouse or keyboard, (2) recognizing many points of contact simultaneously rather than just one like a typical touch-screen, (3) easy for several people to gather around at once (a “collaborative, face-to-face computing experience”), and (4) object recognition for items placed physically on the display.

So what do you think?  In ten or twenty years, will surface computing be ubiquitous?  Will every desk and conference table have a computer built right in?  And/or will be talking to our computers Scotty-style?  Either way, it seems likely that a mouse and keyboard may be considered “quaint.”

1000’s of Total Strangers Fight Epic Balloon Battle

What do you get when you give a bunch of total strangers a MP3 file in which they are guided to a secret location and told that once arrived, they will have to simulate an epic battle to the death? This is what you get:

The folks of Improv Everywhere are behind this, and they plan to hold other similar events in the near future. If you want to be part of the next ones, you’ll get all the details in advance by signing up for their mailing list.

But Some of My Favorite Words Have Four Letters!

by Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

The USPTO recently awarded a new patent to Microsoft: automatic censorship of audio data for broadcast. Simply put, it’s a way to detect “undesired words or phrases” in a speech audio stream and automatically garble them.

Just imagine! No longer must we live in a world in which our six o’clock news might be ruined by a reporter letting slip the F bomb because a real bomb just went off five feet away from him. Radio stations won’t have to worry about keeping one finger on the dump button in case a caller gets a little colorful. And tech support call centers can rest easy knowing that their customers won’t be offended by a frustrated employee who tells them to RTFM!

Of course, it looks like the major difference will be that unlike the bleeps of the past, there will be no “BLEEP!” to indicate that something has been censored at all. The offending words will simply be altered enough to be “unintelligible or inaudible.” Sort of like when you cover your words with a cough… only much more high-tech.

I wonder what Microsoft’s particular interest in this technology is. Maybe, as one of the new Mac commercials suggests, to bleep the word “Vista.”

Standby power: Electronics that drain your wallet, even when they’re off

Some electronic devices keep on drawing power, even when they’re “off.” While some of them have a function, like displaying the time or offering remote control functionalities, most don’t. Typical “vampire” appliances can consume up to 25 watts each, an amount that could make a significant difference in your electricity bill by the end of the year.

To help you understand how much “vampire energy” could cost you, and how you can stop draining useless energy from the power grid, Good Magazine, in association with Nigel Holmes, produced this interesting video explaining everything there is to know about “standby power.” Video after the jump.

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