As much as I am impressed by the infrastructure of Japan, I will be lying if I say I am not the least bothered by the extreme fashion consciousness. It no exaggeration, but the Japanese eat, drink and live fashion. There seems to be nothing else about a majority of them.

Please do not accuse this article of generalising; but every morning when I take train to get to work, there would be umpteen number of women adding more mascara, or glitter or blush-on………the list is endless. In fact, many times watching them at this little escapade is more consuming than the book in my hand. I seriously wonder, and so does the previous generation of Japan, what does the youth really want? Changing haircolour, using dark and heavy make-up that makes you hardly recognizable and even lost in the sea of foundation and rouge, leads to what?

And now, they have come up with cosmetic belts that can shrink heads. Believe it or not, but this five-pound Small Face Make Belt is supposed to be worn when sleeping and it will make your head smaller. Plus there is the mouth shrinking machine popular with men.

I dunno, the craze for whacky gizmos is one thing and going berserk for the RIGHT look is another. I hope the sociologists are taking record. This madeness for makeup fad may have drastic results for this young community.
Via ibnlive

The Photo kina 2008, more fair picture of the world, is to arrive there and the various manufacturers and will Endeavour desorbed up on ads to try to grab the attention of consumers. Already a number of announcements will be made and of course many new technologies and cameras that will be presented during the fair.

Despite all play the same game, not all companies use the same tactics and while some prefer to announce it will be filed within a few days, others prefer to substantiate rumors and stop running, but without the check nor deny. This is the case for Leica camera cool gadgets that talks will submit during the Photo kina the new version of its popular compact high-end, the M8. Named for M8.2, this new compact should equip a 10.3-megapixel CCD sensor and sensitivity among the 100 ISO 2500 and ISO.

In addition to M8.2, the Leica camera cool gadgets will also announce the D-Lux 4 (clone of the new Panasonic Lumix LX3 own definitions with the Leica camera cool gadgets) and C-Lux 3 (clone of Lumix FX37). But not only the lives of rumours Leica camera cool gadgets because the company has officially announced its new objective: the Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 ASPH, Summilux-M 21mm f/1.4 ASPH, Summilux-M 24mm f/1.4 ASPH and Elmar-M 24mm f / 3.8 ASPH. Interestingly the fact of proposing a Leica camera cool gadgets lens with a diaphragm opening of less than 1.

It’s raining music for ears which are always wired into an iPod or a walkman phone! Yesterday, the much awaited Walkman Series of Sony Ericsson was announced. The series includes 3 mobile phones W902, W302 and W595. The phones can play wide variety of music files and come with other multimedia functions as well- camera, internet access and connectivity options. These will be on shelves in the last lag of this year. The company’s previous model (W800) is already a hit among music fans.

Here are the features of each phone one-by-one:

Sony Ericsson W302:-
• 2 Megapixel camera with 2.5x zoom.
• 3D games, Java and Video viewing.
• Bluetooth connectivity, USB support and Memory Stick Micro.
• 20MB of internal memory.
• Available in Midnight Black and Sparkling White.

SE W902 phone:-
• 5 Megapixel auto focus camera with up to 16x digital zoom.
• Includes cool stuff like Picture blogging, Video blogging, Video recording & Photo feeds.
• Shake control and SensMe features +nt.
• Allows access to Google Maps and enables Geo tagging of photos as well!
• Available in Volcanic Black, Wine Red and Earth Green.

SE W595 (slider style) phone:-
• 3.2 Megapixel camera.
• Bluetooth stereo.
• FM radio.
• Shake control and SensMe.
• 40MB of internal memory (supports for Memory Stick Micro also +nt.)
• Available in Active Blue, Lava Black, Cosmopolitan White & Jungle Grey

All the three models are too tempting but their price will be a defining factor as well (which is yet to be announced!).

Via: techshout

In today’s highly competitive world, surviving in markets is next to impossible if your customers aren’t happy with your products. Worst, if their grievances are not looked after, in a well enough manner. To improve its image and upon numerous complaints by users of AVIC F-Series navigators, Pioneer has now taken the recovery path.

Users earlier reported complete lock-ups to distorted voice commands to quirky iPod interactions. Now, Pioneer’s rescue plan comes in the form of a free firmware update! Specifically designed to rectify the irksome problems with US-based AVIC-F900BT, AVIC-F90BT, and AVIC-F700BT; the update promises to rectify certain software issues and thus enhance the quality of system by overall improvements in it. Ok, sounds good enough! But will it work? To find that out, use this firmware. In case your unit was lucky enough to not face any hiccups earlier while using AVIC-F500BT it is still advised by the company to still go for the upgrade. Hopefully, this one doesn’t give headaches like it previous cousin!

Source: ubergizmo

The rapidly changing technology in the world of digital cameras has facilitated the emergence of good quality pictures and snaps by even amateur photographers. However, its always nice to know a ting or two and specially features about a digi cam if you are about to purchase a better version of it.

Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-LX3 digital camera is about to make its debut in world markets coming august. The model seems to be good best among the Lumix DMC-LX range and stands good chance of giving other contemporary models a stiff competition in terms of performance and price.

Features:
•  10.1 MegaPixel (though fabulous pictures can be clicked at somewhere between 3-7 Mega Pixel as well).
• LCD 3″screen - new and improved with a 460,000-dot high resolution.
• 24 mm lens.
• Image processing Venus Engine IV, ISO 3200.
• CCD Sensor 1/1.63″.
• Technology red-eye correction.
• ISO intelligent face detection (until 15).
• Video recording up to 1280 x 720 to 24 FPS.
• Features a Film mode with six color types and three types of monochrome selections.
• Fast autofocus.
• AF Tracking- automatically tracks the image subject and locks it into focus, thus, making it easier for anyone to capture sharp. Result: well-focused, crisp and sharp photos!

Price: About $ 500.

So, what do you think of it? Sure, it could be a great gift option too!

Via: gadgetarena

The Indian mobile gaming scenario just got better with the recent announcement by
Zotac International to bring forth its latest graphic cards on Indian soil. Based on Nvidia’s GeForce 9800 graphics architecture, the nouveau arrivals include-Zotac GeForce 9800 GTX+ and GeForce 9800 GTX+ AMP Edition.

Carsten Berger, marketing director, Zotac International said, “With the latest generation of ZOTAC GeForce 9-series graphics cards, the clock speed and performance of each individual processor core has become an important performance aspect”. It doesn’t come as a surprise then that, both the graphic cards can deliver you every 3D related task from gaming to HDV (high definition video) Playback! The Clock speed of Zotac GeForce 9800 GTX+ and ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GTX+ AMP Edition are 1836 MHz and 1890 MHz respectively. Oh Baby! That’s some ultra-fast clock speed for you.

Users can also pair the GeForce 9800 GTX+ graphic card (core738 MHz) with 512MB of super-fast 2200 MHz GDDR3 memory for some action-packed high-resolution gaming. GTX+ AMP Edition takes a step beyond this with a 750 MHz core and 2300 MHz memory clock speed.

Other Sexy Features are:
• HybridPower compatible and Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX+ architecture available
• Nvidia PhysX ready as also, Nvidia PhysX and Nvidia CUDA ready
• DirectX 10 with Shader Model 4.0 compatible
• PCI Express 2.0 interface (Compatible with 1.1)
• PureVideo HD technology
• Dual dual-link DVI – up to 2560×1600
• OpenGL 2.1 compatible
• High-definition hardware decoding acceleration and 3-way SLI ready
• XIII Century game bundle

Now, the most important detail which, I’m sure all your gaming fans and mobile freaks are waiting to know- THE PRICE ofcourse!
So grab Zotac 9800GTX+ for Rs. 14,300 and shell out Rs. 15,500 for Zotac 9800GTX+ AMP Edition and needless to mention, get the maximum out of your latest multimedia phone!

Source: techshout

The last time the word “Cryptex” stunned me was when I was actively perusing through Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. This time it has struck me when I learned about this nameless mobile phone which uses haptic technology to provide physical feedback for making a call. So, for convenience it can be called as the Cryptex Phone Concept.

The latter is the brainchild of designer Marc Schömann and is very much functional in case you thought (after looking at it) that its one of those useless toy-types! How to use it? Simple enough (or perhaps not, depending upon the time factor!) -  twist a section to turn it on; twist a bunch of sections to dial a number, just twist baby twist! And don’t get frustrated in case you are making an international call.

Cryptex phone concept comes with a vibrate feature also. Phew! Ok, there’s something mobile-like in it because this phone concept comes without buttons and display. The designer’s word on it is that- “thou shall turn the dial of every element to desired cipher”.

On/off system- green LED: you turn the first segment to phone and get indicated by this Green LED AND Red LED- you turn the first segment to hang up your call and get indicated by this red one. I tell you, this old-timer sort of Cryptex Phone might not be a hit among the generation-next but old one can still relish it and in case you want to control your hyper-active kids then probably, Cryptex phone will be a better choice than a Nokia/ Samsung!
Source: ubergizmo

That tiny USB port of your laptop is useful in ways more than what you had been using it for! Now you can use it to charge a small digi clock! The USB watch (as you can see in these photos here) works on the principle of ‘minimalism’. You won’t find any mechanical components in this one. The clock thus, comes with a ‘forever-at-your-service’ tag.  Your PC / laptop serves as the charging station for this ingenious gadget. All that power gets stored up in the watch’s in-built battery. I’m clueless on its price so far but I will surely update you folks, as I will learn about it. For the moment, all I can guarantee you is that this simple timepiece is definitely a good choice for those who love to wine and dine in the techie-circles of the society!

Source DesignBrothers

Robots make news every time, a better model is being launched by the technically ace countries of the word. Currently, the buzzword in robotics research is the ongoing Feelix Growing Project in Europe, which is aimed at producing sensitive robots that can empathize with depressed and frustrated humans. Sounds outlandish? Well, then you better take a breath of fresh air and read the rest of this article!

Funded by the European Commission and in action from the last 3 years, the Feelix Growing Project involves six countries and 25 roboticists, developmental psychologists and neuroscientists. The objective of the research project is to design robots that can detect and respond to human emotional cues. For this the highly skilled group of people in the Feelix labs is developing software that empowers a robot to learn some basic expressions out of the complex array of human emotions. The robots currently under research can ‘read’ when these scientists are happy, sad or angry! The scientists are now working on complex mathematical equations to upgrade this software. They are teaching their robots about the complexity of human emotional state and how to recognize and differentiate one emotional state from the other so that, the newest breed of emotional robots can fairly well “interact” with people around them.

Robots under training thus read human emotions by picking up cues like movement of body and facial muscles, eyebrow position, posture, speed of movement, and the distance between a human and the robot. Question arises what in these robots is able to perceive such physical cues? The answer is artificial neural networks that are embedded in the robot’s body. These networks are assisted by cameras and sensors, which are an important part of robotic form and structure.

This revolutionary concept being worked upon by Feelix Growing will become a hallmark in robotic science if highly evolved humanoids (humanized robots) do get evolved in a couple of decades. The project aims at developing such service robots which are caring enough to attend to people’s needs – petty one like fetching a cola from the fridge to complex ones like providing essential company to those reclusive kinds who are unable to cope up in certain situations. Such emotional robots will also prove to be a boon for therapy of Autistic children who prefer the company of machines to humans.

All this may sound highly strange but the task of teaching robots about human emotions is not an easy one. Besides, the technical hurdles that are coming in the upgradation of the software, Feelix Growing also has to deal with ethical aspects on the issue of ‘humanizing’ robots. Time only will tell how much these emotional robots will be of any help to us. Till then GOOD LUCK to folks at Felix Growing Project!

Via Engadget

Multitasking is the order of the day and burning bright on the Internet scene these days is “Cloud Computing”. Computing what? Well this is something we all do it these days without even being aware of it (however, the term will not surprise the techno-freaks.

Cloud computing is actually a computing paradigm wherein tasks are assigned to a combination of connections, software and services accessed over a network. It is this network of servers and connections, which is collectively called “the cloud”. And when we work with our Internet files, or other softwares outside our company on some access point like an iPhone, BlackBerry or laptop we cloud compute. Through this cloud we can access a vast ocean of resources as and when we need to. Some technophiles thus love to call cloud computing by the name of “on-demand computing” as well. For corporate sector the term is not new because of the frequent use of Blackberry phones in higher echelons of business world.

The latest piece of news regarding it is that the company which gave iPhone 3G to the world is now providing cloud computing as well. Yes, I’m referring to Apple, which has now announced its new MobileMe service (in a typically clumsy manner). The service available at $100 per year is an overhaul of Mac’s Internet features. MobileMe is a panacea for your organizational headaches! It is aimed at simplifying your cluttered life by keeping emails, calendars, address books, Web bookmarks etc. on all your Windows PC’s and laptops, Macs, iPod Touches and iPhones- well synchronized in real time. The beauty of MobileMe service is that it stores the master copy of all this cornucopia of information in ‘the cloud’ so that whenever you edit an address on your iPhone, MobileMe will update your Address Book (on your Mac) and Outlook (on your PC)! This service can be a boon for those families which are always on a run and hard-pressed for time to remember all the contacts, update the details and the likes. Apple’s tag line for MobileMe is “Exchange for the rest of us” (although, the company needs to clarify this to a target audience which probably is unaware about the Exchange as a matter of fact!)

The service takes a while to get started, as there are many instructions and stuff to be downloaded before you reap the fruits of MobileMe. But once set you can see the real-time magic in front of your eyes, once you set up your email program to recognize your new MobileMe e-mail address. The latter ends with a cute me.com! So, once you are done with the set up just change an appointment in iCal on your kitchen Mac and your traveling spouse will get to know it within seconds on his/her iPhone! What’s more? If you made a change simultaneously on two machines, you get to choose one version from both of them. And this is not all, at Me.com, Apple has built attractive, ad-free, online versions of your calendar, e-mail program, photo-organizing programs and your address book. You can enjoy a good deal of flexibility while using MobileMe on web but you need the latest version of Apple’s Safari Web browser / Firefox as you cannot exploit the complete range of features with IE. Besides synchronizing your vast amounts of info. MobileMe service also retains most of the features of the old .Mac service. So, upload pictures and movies, download your photo files at full resolution for printing and greet your visitors with stunning slide shows. All of it for $100 and with just one service at your end! Not a bad deal I must say especially when I know that with this MobileMe I can always backup my sync personalized information in an iDisk (hard drive) and forget about data theft. I’m sure this attractive nouveau service from Apple will quickly catch up despite a shabby start.

Via NYTimes