Adobe Edge

A tool being developed by Adobe, called Edge, is an HTML5 tool that makes it easy for web developers and designers to create animations and transitions without having to go through lines of HTML5 code. As with the announcement of HTML5, Adobe Edge is predicted to further quicken the demise of Flash. Edge will focus on choreographing various elements within an animation. Creating an animation with HTML5 is not in itself difficult, although getting the movement and transformation of various elements to move where you want them to, when you want them to, can be. Adobe is working to bring these elements into an actual tool.

Edge's interface will be similar to Flash. It will have a stage window displaying the layout of the HTML5 page, a timeline window that will show the modifications of elements over time, and a layers panel to indentify DOM elements. By selecting a layer you would be able to see that layer's properties in the property explorer, which supports the new CSS transformations in 2D and 3D. Furthermore Edge will also use "actions" and "symbols" like Flash and offer a source code editing system like Dreamweaver, so users should have at least some knowledge of coding in order to identify and avoid problems within the code. Adobe Edge is still a prototype but has been demoed; various concepts are being looked into to make this an actuality sometime in the near future.

iHome for iPad

iHome, the leading supplier for iPhone/iPod speaker solutions, has announced the availability of the iA100 Bluetooth Stereo System for iPad, iPhone, and iPod. iA100 is an app-enhanced, Bluetooth enabled FM radio alarm clock. This is the first product from iHome to support the iPad and its unique capabilities. It is also one of the first docking speaker products designed to dock and charge the iPad while you sleep.

The iA100's top docking system has a universal, highly versatile dock design that supports charging, playback and app-enhanced communications. Once you connect a device (ipad/iPhone/iPod) via Bluetooth pairing, the iA100 becomes a wireless entertainment multi-tasker with a variety of features. These include: a stand-alone speakerphone with echo cancellation, turning all Bluetooth enabled phones into a speakerphone; streaming of audio from music and movies, and customized connections with iHome apps (iHome+Sleep and iHome+Radio). Lastly it uses 4 speakers in a compact stereo configuration to deliver superior quality sound. The iA100 is available for purchase in stores nation wide or on www.ihomeaudio.com.

3D Slideshow: LightSpace

It's possible that soon no one will ever have to sit through a boring Power Point presentation ever again. Microsoft's LightSpace Technology is about to make presentations fun. The LightSpace prototype projects the contents of a Power Point slide onto any solid surface. You can then touch and pick up virtual items from the display. You can move items and even carry them across the room.

The technology works by using projectors, motion tracking sensors and depth sensing cameras. A projected light beam will serve as the central control. To perform commands you would move your hand along the light beam to select a specific function, then hold your hand over that menu for a few seconds to activate the command. LightSpace creates a full 3D image of the room and then identifies the projected media that a user is interacting with.

Microsoft stresses that this is still a prototype and has a long way to being completed and out on the market. Researchers are still exploring how to make it the most effective and how it will interact with multiple users. One downside that must be kept in mind is the possibility that a presentation with multiple active surfaces could be distracting or hard to follow. However if used wisely it could help to engage audiences and make presentations more interactive. LightSpace is due to be demonstrated this week at the User Interface and Software Technology Conference in New York City.

Awareness! The Headphone App

Sometimes we just want to shut out the world around us and put on our headphones. Unfortunately this can be a dangerous move for pedestrians or cyclists. There have recently been a series of incidents where teenagers and cyclists have been hit by cars because they were listening to music with headphones in. Due to this a company called Essecny has released "Awareness! The Headphone App". This app will allow users to listen to music but will not completely block out other sounds, resulting in the person remaining safe and aware.

The application uses the built in microphone on the iPhone and iPod Touch to record and recognize outside sounds. Then once it determines the street level noise it will bleed in all louder noises through the headphones. No matter the volume level of the music the user will still be able to hear sirens, shouts, direct conversation or any other important sounds.

To avoid filtering in nearby conversations or other unnecessary sounds the user can manually adjust the microphone level. The user can also control what types of sounds they want to be interrupted by, such as car horns or train platform announcements-all without having to remove their headphones. While this app aims to create more street safety I wonder how effective it can actually be. I think this is a good starting point to work towards a higher level of street safety but I wouldn't depend on it entirely. In busier cities like New York it's pretty impossible to escape a cacophony of sounds so how would the device be able to distinguish from warning sounds and everything else going on around you? Or without compromising listening quality? Also if users can customize and pick and choose between what sounds they deem important then it almost defeats the purpose of the whole thing. Overall I think people just need to be more conscious of themselves at all times and if they want to use this app as additional security then that could prove helpful in some ways. Lastly, this app is only compatible with the iPhone 4, iPod Touch 3 and iPod Touch 4 which could prove somewhat limiting.

JPEG Alternative

     In today's world we want everything-and fast. This statement could not be any more true for the web especially. But is it fast enough? For most things we use it for, I would say the answer is probably yes. Still, Google is planning to revolutionize still images on the web with a new format called WebP. Research indicates that this new format could cut image file sizes by 40% compared to a JPEG format. This is important information to users since Google estimates that 65% of bytes on the web are from images. The higher compression efficiency measurement came from a sample of one million images that Google took from the web. About 90% were JPEG and 10% were PNG and GIF. If WebP is well received and adopted by users it will allow for faster file transfers and lower network burden.

     Although this sounds like something that could be useful for making the web faster for users in all aspects, it still faces a lot of challenges. JPEG is probably the most used format, probably because it is often the default format therefore people feel comfortable with it. That isn't going to change overnight. Microsoft has also tried to promote an alternate format (JPEG XR), for years in fact, with little progress. JPEG XR format offers greater dynamic range, a wider range of colors and more efficient compression. However it doesn't receive support aside from native- Internet Explorer and Windows. Google acknowledges that launching WebP will take a lot of effort and promotion.

     Google is taking the first steps by talking to browser makers and trying to get vendors to support WebP. Since Google is a dominant browser and has several other successful webpages they have a good chance of making this a successful and real technology whereas other companies have not been able to. Google plans to release WebP software which will let users convert graphics to WebP images and judge the quality for themselves.


This image has been encoded with WebP. Because browsers can't show WebP natively today, this WebP image actually is displayed here as a PNG graphic that captures the WebP version without changes. In its WebP incarnation, the image is 36,154 bytes.
(Credit: Google)

The same image encoded with JPEG. Its file size is 46,768 bytes.
(Credit: Google)

Untagged

      New technology is allowing researchers to track and study animals without having to tag them with identity and radio tags. Normally biologists use plastic cattle tags that are numbered, but these often fall off and are stressful to the animals because they have to be captured and sedated in order to be tagged. Scientists have now learned that animals can be tracked by their identifying features, for example spots and stripes. It is better to use these “fingerprints” to their advantage since they do not change over an animal’s lifetime.  Tags are not only stressful, but they often fall off over time, resulting in the loss of valuable information.

     The Dutch Center for Mathematics and Computing  in Amsterdam has developed an algorithm that can identify leatherback sea turtles from their pink spot, a patch on top of their heads unique to each turtle, and convert it into a biomarker.  A conservation network called Wildecast tested this technology on digital photos of sea turtles and now plans to add this system to its Obis-Seamap database, where biologists can upload photos of sea turtles and where they have been spotted. From the database they can find out if the turtle has already been electronically IDed and get details about its age, where it has been seen before, and where it’s from.  Basically anyone who comes across a sea turtle and has a camera could take a picture and upload it to the database if they wanted to. Once the photos are uploaded and identified researchers can then build a profile for each specimen and track its activities and locations. Other researchers are hoping to continue this process on penguins by the spots on their chests and on sharks by the jagged line patterns on their dorsal fin.  Eventually this technology will be used to track other animals as well.

      Ultimately this is a much easier, safer and more organized way to keep track of animals and gain more consistent research on them.  Now anyone from researchers to photographers to hikers could possibly contribute to specific studies or just expand the database that easily and quickly. 
 

Twitter Re-design

     Within the next few weeks Twitter will reveal its new website which will make viewing information on the site easier in all aspects. Even the co-founder of the website admitted, "...he was surprised that so many people use the service-160 million- given how difficult its website is to navigate". Although the site has been up since 2006 they have not had the resources for the re-design until now, which is unfortunate since apparently the site has many flaws and crashes frequently.

     Some of the main problems are having to go to new pages to learn more about a post or author of a post, following conversations is difficult and photo links within posts bring users to a new site altogether. Now users will be able to manage information between two panels rather than on a timeline of posts. Posts will be in the left pane and in the right there will be more information about the author of the post, photos and videos. This will eliminate having to click back and forth between pages or being redirected to a separate site. Posts will now be continuous so its easier to follow and manage conversations.

     While I don't personally use this site, I know people who do and it seems like these changes will be really effective. Twitter grew at a rate unexpected by its developers and they weren't able to keep up with the changes. However at least they are now working to make the site better for the users and keeping them in mind for the changes they are making.