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More and more, it seems that what comes up at the top in browser search results is determined by factors having little to do with what I’m really looking for. Google search results may be comprehensive, but what I’m looking for may be buried so deep that I’ll never find the one thing I’m looking for. I might accidentally come across just the right keyword to bring up some relevant results, but it’s often hit or miss. Human-powered search engines such as Mahalo and iRazoo aim to create and “curate” search results to get around this diving-in-a-garbage-can feel of the big search engines. But humans are flawed and prejudiced, so you’re not going to get objectivity with this method, nor will the results always be current (how do a few humans keep up with the volume of new content that comes on daily?).
I’ve been trying out Surf Canyon, a browser extension that works with Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. This browser add-on (which currently works with Internet Explorer and Firefox) gives you the option to narrow your search results by clicking a bull’s eye icon next to a relevant search result to get more link recommendations that you might otherwise not see until you’ve clicked many more pages into your search results (which, for me, is usally never, as I get impatient after 3 or 4 pages). Using “real time semantic personalization technology” (how’s that for a mouthful?) Surf Canyon “sits atop” your search engine to help you hone in on what you’re looking for.
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Hitachi’s Wooo UT Series of HDTVs consist of half a dozen LCD models and three plasma displays to cater for every budget and viewer requirement. All the LCD TVs measure a mere 3.5cm in thickness and boast a 250GB internal hard drive, an iV port for iVDR HDD cartridges, DLNA compatibility, and full HD support. You will be able to choose from 32″, 37″ and 42″ models to suit your budget and taste. As for the Wooo XV series, it will come in similar sizes but do not have an internal HDD. Hitachi’s crown jewels in this range, the Wooo 02 Series plasma displays will be available in 42″ and 50″ models, where the latter has an internal 250GB hard drive. No idea on the individual pricing though.
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Now the Philips DCP951 is truly a wonder - it not only plays DVDs, but also does DVD +/-R and DVD +/-RW, VCD, DivX, and MPEG4 movies as well. Heck, it even doubles up as an iPod touch dock, enabling you to view videos on it without resorting to the touch’s relatively tiny display, while charging up the ipod simultaneously. In addition, an SD/MMC memory card slot makes it a snap to view short movies and digital photos stored on that media as well. The 9″ LCD display surely makes this a pretty decent companion to have if you’re on a long haul flight. The Philips DCP951 retails for $199 each - just don’t go purchase bootleg copies of movies whenever you’re traveling lest you get caught!
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An idea as simple as the NapTV deserves a similarly simple description, which is exactly what designer Sung-kyu Nam has done. These are the only words accompanying the pictures of his concept:
NapTV has a new concept about TV & Chair. You can sit on NapTV and also watch TV lying on the floor.
The stool hides a screen and stereo speakers on the underside so you can lie down with your head inside. That’s right. You can watch a movie even if you are too tired to remain upright. All that is required is a single open eye. This, my friends, is a bachelor’s dream. You can literally drink yourself under the table and then fall asleep watching your choice of smut. It even comes with a remote control.
Product page [Coroflot via Geekologie]
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Adobe wants to do the same for video as it did for print documents and RAW camera files. The new CinemaDNG (digital negative) format was announced today at the NAB show in Las Vegas, and promises to simplify video editing for professionals, as well as bringing some kind of standards to the amateur.
Like the DNG format, and PDF before it, CinemaDNG will be an open standard, free for manufacturers to implement, and also like DNG, it will improve compatibility between RAW video files from various hardware and software vendors. Many of the big names are already on board: Panavision, Silicon Imaging, Dalsa, Weisscam, and ARRI.
This is good news. Adobe appears to be opening up. By promoting and giving away standard formats, and even running beta programs of major software like Lightroom, the company is moving toward a kind of transparency almost unheard of amongst the industry giants. Great for the consumer. Not so good for the blogger. If every camera used DNG, we wouldn’t be able to post about the continual RAW support updates.
Press release [Adobe]
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Looks like Dell’s run into some issues with its highest end monitor, the droolworthy DisplayPort-packing 30-inch 3008WFP. We heard it’d mysteriously vanished from the site with nary a trace, so we pinged the folks in Round Rock. This is what they had to say:
“The Dell 3008 monitor has been well received since launch and has been very popular with customers. In February we experienced a small technical issue with the product that has been long resolved. [Um, it’s only April? -Ed.] Currently the monitors are on extended lead times and in order to manage demand, the 3008 is not available on dell.com. We are managing orders on a prioritized basis and hope to have the product available to all customers in the near future.”
[ Source ]
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LG has released a new portable media player in Europe called LG T80. Being a touchscreen PMP, you would expect LG to make the T80 to come up with an iPhone clone again with the T80. Thankfully, the PMP is nowhere near the iphone in terms of looks or design.
The LG T80 boasts of a 3-inch 420 x 240 touchscreen display with 260k colors. Since it’s a PMP, it is but natural that the LG T80 supports various media formats, and it actually does – MPEG, MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, ASF, JPEG, and TXT. It also has an FM Tuner, a mic and a DVD-T (TNT) tuner. Most importantly, the LG T80 plays 5.5 hours of video and 2 hours of live TV viewing.
The LG T80 is available now in Europe for around $473. No word yet whether the LG T80 will see the light of day in the U.S. market. We do hope so.
Via [PMP Today]
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The State of Virginia is reportedly mandating that Internet safety classes be offered in all public schools in all levels. This is the first in the US as a measure to protect young web users especially those in the primary levels. Since there are a great number of children getting victimized by perverts and sex offenders, this particular concern caused an alarm resulting to the recent mandate released by the Virginia government.
A study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2006 revealed that almost 13% of 10-17 years old Internet users receive sexual solicitations from unknown preys. Just recently in Virginia, a 31-year old convict who had already abused 11 children online was discovered to be using a social network profile posing as a 15-year old. The convict was shown in a high school meeting in Richmond by attorney general Gene Fishel to present that such Internet abuse is already rampant, thus, the need for Internet safety classes.
Read [WDBJ7] Image [theage.com.au]
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You know those paddle vehicles that lovers just love sitting in at tourist spots? Well, lonely folks can look forward to the realization of the Amphibian Bike concept, as it does not only function as a standard bike on land, it features inflatable wheels that have been fitted inside the existing wheels should you wish to take a shortcut across the lake. Woe to you should a puncture happen while you’re furiously paddling away from an alligator in the lake though. No idea if this concept will actually be turned into an actual product.
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Like the Eee? If you’re enthusiastically shaking your head in the affirmative, perhaps you’ll want to check out Fukato’s low-cost Datacask (cheery, right?). Like the Jisus before it, the computer-maker hopes to garner some of that cheapo laptop market with this black and white number, which sports an 8-inch, 800 x 480 display, a 500MHz AMD Geode CPU, a 20GB 60GB hard drive, 512MB of RAM, and a (surprise!) Linux-based OS. The little dude will be hitting European shelves sometime in May for €279 (or about $440).
[ Source ]
