OmniTechNews » News

Mark Zuckerberg’s desk is awesome, and funny

Robert — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:29:40 +0000

Lots of big Facebook news today, including their new 5 billion IPO. Mark Zuckerberg himself shared the above photo 20 minutes ago from his personal Twitter account. The internet had lots to say.

Within 20 minutes, the post has over 45k likes, and many thousands of shares. This is not uncommon for a Facebook post of any sorts, but pretty far up there. Notable aspects of the photo include the obvious “Stay focused & keep shpping” poster, mini-kitchen, and many Macs. The comments are also quite hilarious:

“tisk tisk, is that facebook you have open at work Mark….” – over 1,500 likes

“When I’m working at FB I want to fly in your private jet, thnx” – over 250 likes

“that’s very close to micro kitchen!” – over 200 likes

Apple Named #1 in PC Sales

Evan — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:42:13 +0000

Passing HP, Apple is now the number-one manufactuer for all personal computer sales. Apple reports that they sold 15 million iPad’s in the fourth quarter, and five million Macs. Some people are arguing over if the iPad should be considered a PC. In my opinion, yes; because the iPad can do just as much as a non-tablet computer can do.

Canalsys is reporting that Apple shared 17% of all U.S. computer sales, which isn’t bad, considering Apple has six products (MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, and iPad) to make up those sales, versus the hundred computers HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Toshiba, and Sony are shipping. Apple is also still reporting that half of the Mac’s sold are to new Mac owners.

The Humble Bundle for Android gets you awesome games, supports charity

Robert — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:55:21 +0000

If you don’t know what The Humble Bundle is, then you’ve been missing out. Humble Bundle is all about paying for “bundles” of games, for prices that you set. In their 4th bundle, they made over $2 million, a portion of which goes to varies charities.

The Humble Bundle for Android is their first bundle for mobile devices (if you don’t count Windows tablets). Unfortunately, there’s not word of an iPhone bundle, or Windows Phone bundle, but considering how popular Android devices are at the moment, that isn’t a terrible thing. Buying the Humble Bundle for Android also gets you Mac, Windows, and Linux versions of the games.

In the bundle you get 3 games, including Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Osmos, and EDGE. Care to pay more than a few dollars? Beat the average (lingering around $5), and get World of Goo thrown in for free. These are some pretty awesome games, valued at $60, so check the Android Bundle while it’s still on. [Source]

AT&T Sells More iPhone’s than Verizon

Evan — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:15:46 +0000

My Verizon iPhone 4S box

This Thursday, CNN Money reported that AT&T outsold Verizon when it came to iPhone’s last quarter. Big Blue ended up selling 7.6 million iPhone’s; whereas Big Red sold a measly 4.2 million. Sprint will be revealing their sales on February 8, 2012.

The weird part about the entire thing is that Verizon outsold AT&T when it came to new contracts. Verizon had 1.2 million new customers get an iPhone, and AT&T only had 717,000. Including Android, Windows Phone 7, and BlackBerry, AT&T sold a total of 9.4 million smartphones last quarter. This means that about 81% of AT&T sales were to the iPhone.

Now, I’m assuming that Big Blue and Big Red outsold Sprint, but hey, you never know.

Club Nintendo Refreshes Downloadable Rewards

Christopher — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:18:36 +0000

The classic returns

Beginning in December, the Nintendo’s reward program, Club Nintendo, began offering downloadable games for the Nintendo 3DS, DSi, and Wii in addition to their large collection of physical rewards. It recently updated its catalog with a few classics, one of which is the renowned Majora’s Mask, which I downloaded to my Wii. The other three games currently available are Dr. Mario Online RX (Wii), Kirby’s Dream Land (3DS), and Dr. Mario Express (DSi).

Club Nintendo is one of the few “player-orientated” video game reward sites of used, mainly due to its reasonable pricing and desirable collector’s items it has available. To earn “coins”, you can simply register your consoles, hand helds, and games’ serial codes on their site, and after a simple survey you receive a specified amount of coins depending on what you registered. I’ve been a member for four years, and my collection of their prizes include two Game&Watch Collections, a collector’s edition Mario hat, Japanese-style bamboo fans, and many other products that you can check out on their catalog.

Yamaha partners with GoPro, to bring free GoPros to ATV buyers

Robert — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:20:31 +0000

Yamaha is bringing a special offer to those buying one of their ATVs, giving away free GoPro 2s. Through the unique promotion, anyone who buys a 400cc and above Yamaha ATV by the end of May will receive a free GoPro HD Hero 2 (a $299 value) from Yamaha. The GoPro Hero camera line, is quite popular within the motor sports industry, and the company is hoping to increase excitement for their product with this promotion.

Full press release

Show Press Release (547 More Words)

CYPRESS, Calif., Jan. 12, 2012 – Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., has launched a first-of-its-kind promotion with GoPro, the world’s most versatile camera, to give away free HD HERO2 Motorsports Edition cameras to Yamaha ATV customers in the first half of 2012.

Through the unique promotion, anyone who buys a 400cc and above Yamaha ATV* by the end of May will receive a free GoPro HD HERO2 (a $299 value) from Yamaha. Full details are on Yamaha’s website: http://tinyurl.com/Yamaha-GoPro

“Yamaha is excited to offer a free HD HERO2 camera to ATV customers in 2012 through this new promotion with GoPro,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s ATV/SxS group marketing manager. “We’ve used the HERO cameras on motocross tracks, on trail rides, in the sand dunes and even when out hunting. It’s a great camera, and we expect this will be an exciting offer for motorsports and outdoor enthusiasts alike.”

The HD HERO2 camera can be worn or mounted on just about anything utilizing GoPro’s numerous mounts and accessories. This versatility matches well with Yamaha’s wide ranging ATVs, from the highest-performance sports ATVs to the most durable and off-road capable utility 4×4 models.

Yamaha’s Dustin Nelson wore a GoPro camera while racing his YFZ450R to a record fifth championship in the 2011 motocross season (http://www.youtube.com/user/quadXracing?feature=watch), and Yamaha’s Whitetail Diaries (http://www.whitetaildiaries.com/episodes.html) hunting show on NBC Sports mounts the cameras to the best selling** big bore utility Grizzly 700 with EPS to capture dramatic action in the field.

“The versatility of the HERO cameras, and the quality that the GoPro brand represents, make this a great fit for Yamaha’s ATV customers,” Nessl said. “Yamaha produces the most high-performance, toughest and off-road capable vehicles, and is an avid supporter of the many lifestyles in which our products are used. This new GoPro promotion is another example of how Yamaha is supporting our customers’ lifestyles and exceeding their expectations.”

The HD HERO2 shoots high quality HD 1080p video and has numerous still image settings to capture 11 megapixel photographs that are magazine-spread quality. GoPro (http://gopro.com/) also produces a premier line of accessories including the LCD BacPac, the award-winning 3D HERO System and the upcoming Wi-Fi BacPac / Remote Control Combo kit and GoPro App for mobile devices.

*Eligible models: All new, unused and previously unregistered 2008-2012 Yamaha ATV models 400cc and greater. Customer must purchase eligible model between January 1, 2012 and May 31, 2012. Offer good in the United States excluding Hawaii.

About Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.

Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., (YMUS) a leader in the motorsports market, makes the toughest, most capable and versatile ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles. The company’s ever-expanding product offerings also include motorcycles, outboard motors, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, boats, outdoor power equipment, race kart engines, accessories, apparel and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of dealers in the United States.

Headquartered in Cypress, Calif., since its incorporation in 1976, Yamaha also has facilities in Wisconsin and Georgia, as well as factory operations in Tennessee and Georgia. For more information on Yamaha, visit www.yamaha-motor.com.

ATVs with engines greater than 90cc are recommended for use only by riders age 16 years and older.

Make your iPhone waterproof without a case, using Liquipel

Robert — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:30:41 +0000

Maybe you’re like me, and have lost a gadget due to water contact. Never fear, Liquipel is here. This small coating makes almost any phone water proof. Working on the molecular level, Liquipel’s coating adds protection against accidental liquid exposure. It only costs $59 over on the Liquipel website, so check it out!

Want a Dancing Speaker? TOSY Has Got You Covered.

Christopher — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:55:07 +0000

Lonely? This'll give you music and a friend

TOSY Robotics has been known to make well designed robots and toys, but a speaker that can dance? Meet mRobo Ultra Bass. It can transform from a compact, rectangular shape into a robot that will groove with your tunes with a variety of moves that can match up with almost any genre of music.

Bass lovers will get a hardy 40Hz bass sound without having to worry about weight or portability. The mRobo weighs only 3.3lbs, can hold up to 2 gigabytes of data, and is battery powered. Music can be uploaded by USB into mRobo, which can be controlled by a provided remote. Want one to keep you company? Or perhaps, bother your coworkers? The mRobo Ultra Bass will be available this fall for an estimated retail price of $199. Visit their site for more information on mRobo Ultra Bass and TOSY’s other robots.

JVC Unveils World’s First Handheld 4K Camcorder

Robert — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:11:00 +0000

4K has slowly been gaining ground in the video world, with YouTube adding native support, and other big changes, but JVC hopes to change the game with the first handheld 4K camcorder,the world’s first handheld 4K camcorder, which captures, records, and plays video images at four times the resolution of high definition television. They call it the GY-HMQ10. This bad boy has a 1/2-inch CMOS imager with 8.3 million active pixels, that delivers real-time 3840×2160 footage at 24p, 50p, or 60p (4K). Similar in size to JVC’s popular GY-HM150 ProHD camcorder, the GY-HMQ10 includes a build-in F2.8 10x zoom lens with optical image stabilizer, as well as a color viewfinder and 3.5-inch touch LCD monitor with a new, intuitive user interface. It uses SDXC cards (luckily SanDisk has you covered there), and will cost $4,995 when delivered to consumers in March. [JVC Professional Products Company]

Extract from the Press release

High resolution 4K still picture imaging has been around for several years in DSLR cameras. Motion video capture with these cameras has always been done at a lower video resolution because of lack of processing power. Likewise, high end digital motion picture cameras may capture 4K images, but often provide a raw data output to an external storage array for later processing—again due to lack of processing power in the camera. There just hasn’t been the ability to capture, process, display and record full 4K images in real time until now.

Full press release

Show Press Release (857 More Words)

WAYNE, N.J., Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — JVC Professional Products Company, a division of JVC Americas Corp., today announced the GY-HMQ10, the world’s first handheld 4K camcorder, which captures, records, and plays video images at four times the resolution of high definition television. Powered by JVC’s Falconbrid large-scale integration (LSI) chip for high-speed signal processing and a 1/2-inch CMOS imager with 8.3 million active pixels, it delivers real-time 3840×2160 footage at 24p, 50p, or 60p.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120111/NY34184 )

“We’re witnessing the birth of what is destined to become a broad market for full 4K end-to-end production,” said Edgar Shane, general manager of engineering. “The GY-HMQ10 is a breakthrough product that opens up 4K imaging to users who previously wouldn’t have considered it.”

JVC’s exclusive Falconbrid LSI processing takes raw image data from the camera’s CMOS device and dematrixes (deBayers) it in real time. Unlike many high end 4K cameras, the GY-HMQ10 is able to output 4K images to a monitor or projection system in real time with virtually no latency. This capability opens up applications in cinematography, medical microscopy, telepresence, specialized observation / surveillance, and live wide-view event coverage.

Using MPEG-4 technology and a variable bit rate H.264 codec operating at up to 144 Mbps, the GY-HMQ10 records up to two hours of 4K video to economical SDHC or SDXC memory cards.

In addition to 4K imaging, the GY-HMQ10 also captures and records astonishing 1080i or 1080/60p full HD, with extraordinary detail provided by its 8.3 megapixel imager and superior lens. HD is recorded on a single memory card in a format compatible with most editing systems. This combination of superb 4K and HD imaging was requested by attendees of JVC’s 4K forums, conducted throughout North America last year, and is unique in the camera industry.

Another feature requested by forum attendees was the ability to crop an HD image from a 4K frame. This can be accomplished in post production, or in real time during camera playback. The “trimming” feature makes HD cropping easy using the camera’s touch panel LCD monitor.

Similar in size to JVC’s popular GY-HM150 ProHD camcorder, the GY-HMQ10 includes a build-in F2.8 10x zoom lens with optical image stabilizer, as well as a color viewfinder and 3.5-inch touch LCD monitor with a new, intuitive user interface. The GY-HMQ10 is built in a familiar, comfortable and lightweight form factor for hours of field production with minimum fatigue.

The GY-HMQ10 is equipped with manual level controls for audio, with audio metering in the LCD and viewfinder displays. A microphone holder and two balanced XLR connectors with phantom power are located on the handle. The camera is equipped with a built-in stereo mic for ambient sound pickup.

Other features include JVC’s patented Focus Assist, as well as manual and auto control of focus, iris, gain, shutter, gamma, color matrix, and white balance. Plus, the camera has the unusual capability of live 4K output via four HDMI terminals.

“Historically, JVC has been a leader in camcorder and display technology, and the GY-HMQ10 is our latest breakthrough,” added Shane. “It’s part of a larger move at JVC to bring 4K technology to a wide range of customers.” In September 2011, JVC introduced an affordable line of 4K projectors to the home theater market. The company’s high-end 4K projectors are widely used in commercial flight simulators and planetariums. “4K is the logical step beyond HD,” said Shane. “And JVC is uniquely positioned to lead the industry in this new direction.”

JVC’s innovative approach to professional 4K will be unveiled in a series of industry announcements beginning at CES and continuing throughout 2012.

At a retail selling price of $4,995, the GY-HMQ10 launches today, with market deliveries beginning in March, 2012.

ABOUT JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY

Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, JVC Professional Products Company is a division of JVC Americas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of JVC Kenwood Corporation. JVC is a leading manufacturer and distributor of broadcast and professional video and audio equipment, security products including IP network cameras and recorders, premium front projection systems for home theater use, and projection displays and optics used in aviation simulators. The JVC Technology Center provides advanced technology in support of major JVC business alliances. For further product information, visit JVC Professional’s Web site at http://pro.jvc.com or call (800)582-5825.

Polaroid Eyewear Offers Stylish, Effective 3D Glasses

Christopher — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:42:12 +0000

No more uncomfortable, bland 3D glasses

Polaroid Eyewear has been making cool eye-wear for a while now, but they are one of the first to provide consumers with sunglasses that allow for crisp, undistorted 3D images. Polaroid emphasizes the idea that their glasses will not cause any 3D images to be slightly out of focus, a plus for the money careful, but picky buyer.

The new, 3D glasses come with a pair of 3D lenses and polarized lenses that can be easily interchanged. The frames are extremely light and durable, so wearers don’t have to worry about discomfort or damage. The 3D lenses are made with Thermofusion technology, allowing for a clear image and wider field of view. With a large variety of frames to choose from and being reasonably priced, why don’t you head on over to Polaroid’s site and buy a pair yourself? [Source]