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Adobe CEO has no beef with Apple, no answer for poor Flash performance on Android (video)

The Adobe-Apple Flash war used to be one of the juiciest catfights around, but, much like two aging boxers, both sides now appear willing to act like adults put it all behind them. Speaking at yesterday’s D9 conference in Palos Verdes, California, Adobe head Shantanu Narayen confirmed that he and Steve Jobs have reached an unofficial armistice, bringing an end to their prolonged war of words. According to the CEO, Apple’s Flash issues stemmed from the company’s “business model,” rather than any legitimate concerns over quality. “It’s control over the app store that’s at issue here,” Narayen said, implying that Flash’s wide-ranging platform compatibility may not have jibed with the Cupertino ethos. He went on to remind moderator Walt Mossberg that developers can still use Adobe’s AIR software to get their products to the App Store, adding that his company is looking forward to the rise of HTML5 and “actively contributing” to its development.

Mossberg, meanwhile, seemed to blindside Narayen when he brought up Flash’s poor performance on Android devices. “I have yet to test a single one where Flash tests really well,” the columnist claimed. “I’m sorry, but it’s true.” Narayen sputtered a bit, before pointing to the BlackBerry PlayBook as an example of the progress that Flash has made. When Mossberg reminded him that the PlayBook doesn’t run on Android, the CEO not-so-subtly sidestepped the question by emptily declaring that Adobe’s mission is simply to provide people with the best tools to create content. Apparently satisfied with this non-answer, Mossberg changed the subject back to Apple, allowing Narayen to wax poetic about their new Pax Romana — and, perhaps, to breathe a sigh of relief. See the full interview after the break.

Continue reading Adobe CEO has no beef with Apple, no answer for poor Flash performance on Android (video)

Adobe CEO has no beef with Apple, no answer for poor Flash performance on Android (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 06:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Huffington Post  |  sourceAllThingsD  | Email this | Comments

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Researchers hack Kinect for glasses-free 3D teleconferencing (video)



Since the dawn of Kinect hacking, we’ve seen cameras strung together (or rotated) to create 3D, video game-like environments, while others have tweaked it for headtracking. Others, still, have used it for teleconferencing (albeit, the flat, two-dimensional variety). Now, a team of researchers have gone and thrown it all together to achieve 3D video chats, and if we do say so, the result is greater than a sum of its parts. The group, based out of UNC-Chapel Hill, uses 3D mapping (and at least four Kinects) to render the video, and then employs headtracking on the receiving end so that people tuning in will actually see the live video in 3D, even without wearing 3D glasses. The result: a tableau that follows you as you move your head and spin around restlessly in your desk chair waiting for the meeting to end. That’s mighty impressive, but we can’t help but wonder: do you really want to see your colleagues in such lifelike detail? Have a gander at the video and decide for yourself.

Researchers hack Kinect for glasses-free 3D teleconferencing (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Day 1 sees 4,000 Winnipeg season tickets sold

The owners of Winnipeg’s new NHL team say they have sold more than 4,000 season tickets in just over a day. The as-yet unnamed team wants to sell 13,000 season tickets before the June 21 NHL board of governors meeting where the Atlanta Thrashers move to Winnipeg will be approved.

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Android powered i’mWatch knows what time it is

I'm Watch

Whoa!  This is something so cool, you knew it had to come eventually — an Android powered watch that connects to your smartphone (Android, iPhone 4, future BlackBerry devices) via bluetooth.  We've seen similar products, but they were more mundane things, and simply a data pipe back to your phone.  The i'mWatch runs its own custom version of Android, and comes bundled with a set of apps that you can run right on the 1.54" TFT display.  Not only can you make and receive calls and texts, but you have access to Email, weather info, stock prices and market data, Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter — the list goes on. 

All this is running on a Freescale ARM9 IMX233 CPU, with 64 MB of RAM and 4 GB of storage.  In other words, it should do everything listed really, really well.  Combine that with a 600mAh battery for 2 hours talk time or 48 hours standby time, and you have one of the coolest accessories you're likely to run across.  It's not cheap — it checks in at €249 (about $360 US), and that price is only good until June 30, but the good things in life never are.  Check out the source link for more details and ordering info.

Source: i’mWatch.  Thanks, Baconater!

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Apple’s iCloud bags last major record label, will cost $25 / year to sign up?

We’d heard that Universal was the only holdout, and now CNET says the deal is done — Apple has reportedly signed all four major record labels for its upcoming iCloud service. We’ll be bringing you all the confirmed details on June 6th, but while you wait, here’s some food for thought: the Los Angeles Times says that Apple will eventually charge somewhere around $25 a year for a subscription to the cloud. That will help supplement the 58 percent piece of the pie it’s planning to take from the music industry for songs distributed though the network, and possibly some ad revenue as well. 30 percent will reportedly go to the labels, and another 12 percent to publishers, who will apparently be signing their own agreements with Apple tomorrow.

Update: There’s actually an interesting discrepancy between the two sources here: the LA Times reports that Apple’s taking that nice, juicy 58 percent, but CNET says that the labels will take 58 percent while Apple claims its traditional 30 percent instead. We’re investigating.

Apple’s iCloud bags last major record label, will cost $25 / year to sign up? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCNET, LA Times  | Email this | Comments

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The World of 100


There is no doubting the skill of designer Toby Ng. His designs have won him numerous accolades including the Red Dots Awards, International Design Awards, and the Hong Kong International Poster Triennial Awards among others. One of his projects, called World of 100 answers the question: If the world were a village of 100 people, what would its composition be? The answer consists of twenty brilliantly designed posters based on statistics about the population around the world under different classifications. The stats are more powerful because of Ng’s illustrations. He uses vibrant, bold colors combined with crisp, clean lines.

“Look,” says Ng, “this is the world we are living in.”

















Toby Ng’s website
via [Brain Pickings]

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FAQ: 8 things to know about the postal strike

Canada Post workers are set to walk off the job at 11:59 p.m. ET. The rolling strike will begin in Winnipeg, lasting 24 hours there, before moving on to another site. Here are 8 things you need to know about the job action.