Toshiba announced new notebooks today–a bevy of updates to its consumery Satellite line, which encompasses everything from basic low-cost laptops to powerful entertainment machines. Laptopmag.com has a nice summary. Herewith, notes on a few models I found particularly interesting when Toshiba briefed me on them recently.
Tag Archives | 3D
Consumers Put 3D TV to the Test
We’re hearing a lot about 3D television these days– from TV manufacturers, directors, journalists and pundits. But do consumers like it? And will they pay for it?
To find out, I convened a mini focus group of adults in their 30s, 40s, and 50s,; a teenager; and a pair of kids under 10. We met at the Samsung Experience store in New York City a few weeks ago. After watching a wild assortment of clips–from The Daily Show to a Dunkin Donuts commercial to Monsters vs. Aliens–they had a mildly favorable impression. But no one was jumping up to buy a new TV and a pile of expensive active-shutter LCD glasses.
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3D TV for the Rest of Us? Maybe Next Year
When Las Vegas cab drivers start asking you about the 3D TVs at CES, you know 3D is a big deal. The question is, how soon will it become a real deal for most of us?
There’s no question that 3D content is coming. Last month, the Blu-ray Disc Association announced the specs for 3D content on Blu-ray; ESPN plans to broadcast 85 events this year over a new 3D channel; Panasonic and DirecTV announced 3D delivery plans, as did Sony in conjunction with the Discovery Channel and IMAX. Everyone is buoyed by the phenomenal success of Jim Cameron’s 3D blockbuster, Avatar, which is introducing many to the artistic possibilities of today’s sophisticated technology. “This is not your father’s 3D” was a mantra for attendees at a CES panel called 3D: Hope or Hype?
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3D: Gimmick? Breakthrough? Both? Neither?
First, a disclaimer: I’m instinctively skeptical about 3D. I’ve seen my fair share of 3D movies over the last three decades or so, and they always leave me squinting, adjusting my glasses, and generally not enjoying myself. It seems like a lot of effort to go through for an effect that’s less like real life and more like a humongous View-Master. Your mileage may vary (I’ve always assumed that the fact I wear glasses in real life is an issue).
All 3D reminds me of this (no, I haven’t seen Avatar yet):
Anyhow, as you know, we’re in the midst of a sort of 3D renaissance. It started in theaters, but is in the process of coming home–or trying to, at least. Over at HDGuru.com, they’re reporting that DirecTV will be announcing an all-3D channel next week at the Consumer Electronics Show. It’ll be compatible with new 3D-capable TVs that’ll be announced at the show. And yes, you’ll need to wear special glasses.
Me, I don’t think I’m going to love 3D until it’s (A) closer to true 3D than the 2.5D effect you’ve always gotten; (B) doesn’t involve glasses; (C) isn’t used by moviemakers for pointless “HEY, THIS IS 3D!” effects. I expect all three points to be resolved by oh, 2050 or so. But I’m willing to be pleasantly surprised when I head to Vegas for CES in a little over a week.
This seems like a good excuse for a T-Poll:
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TV in 3D: To Be or Not to Be?
I’m not at the IFA consumer-electronics exhibition in Berlin this week, but Sony Chairman Sir Howard Stringer is–and the Financial Times is reporting that he’s going to announce an ambitious initiative to build 3D products–everything from HDTVs to laptops. It’s the latest bit of 3D boosterism from an entertainment and electronics industry that’s increasingly gaga for the technology.
Me, I’m instinctively skeptical of anything that’s in 3D except the real world–the effect fails to work for me as often as it succeeds, and the glasses give me a headache. (I blame the fact that I wear glasses anyhow, and must jam the 3D ones over my normal specs.) I’ll believe it’s the next best thing when it stays popular for more than, oh, nine months.
But let’s use this as an excuse for a T-Poll:
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Cooliris Inside Your Browser
Cooliris, the clever browser plugin that lets you view content from Google Images, Hulu, and other sources in a never-ending wall of thumbnails that fly by in 3D space, just came out in a new version, 1.11, with one major new feature: You can now browse photos, videos, and other items either in the existing full-screen mode or within a browser tab.
Here’s Cooliris in the new within-the-browser mode, which is now the default state:
And here it is in the still-available full-screen mode:
The screens above don’t look much different, but the within-a-tab mode has a major effect on how you use Cooliris, since it no longer means leaving all your other tabs (and other applications) behind. You can leave one or more Cooliris tabs open and jump between them and other activities. It’s also easier to return to a Cooliris view than before: If you move back through pages using your browser’s Back button the Cooliris views show up like any other page, and every Cooliris view has a permalink which you can bookmark or send to friends.
Cooliris also added a horizontal scroll bar which you can use to pan through a wall of images–especially useful on Windows PCs that lack Mac-style multitouch scrolling:
Cooliris has always been pretty addictive–once you launch a search and start whipping through it, it’s hard to stop. But I think the new mode and better browser integration will make it more likely that you’ll actually use it every day to get stuff done, rather than every once in a while when you remember it’s there.
Cooliris 1.11 for Internet Explorer and Firefox is available now; an update for Safari is due soon. The Cooliris folks told me that they’re also considering creating a version for Google Chrome.
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State of the 3D Game
On the floor of E3, gamers are getting a chance to try a stereoscopic 3D video game for Xbox 360.
Invincible Tiger by Blitz Games is, ironically, a 2D fighting game in the style of classics like Kung Fu and Double Dragon, but with the help of 3D glasses and a compatible HDTV, the various planes of artwork suddenly become much more distinct.
I caught up with Blitz Games’ Chief Technical Officer Andrew Oliver, who laid out where he thinks the technology is going and how his company will be involved.
Basically, the kinds of graphics-intensive games that dominate the show floor are a ways off from working with 3D glasses and TVs. That’s because graphic artists usually “cheat” with special effects like smoke and fire, drawing them in two dimensions. When playing in 3D, the trick becomes more noticeable, in a bad way.
Blitz Games is starting small with Invincible Tiger, which might see a release in the third quarter, and hopes to work up to feature-length games next year. But even then, the studio will stick to cartoon-style games that go easy on special effects. There’s a reason why films are also sticking to that art style, Oliver said.
Of course, there’s also the issue of bringing the 3D peripherals into the mainstream. Glasses and a special TV aren’t cheap, and not all manufacturers are on board. Even then, they’re all working with different standards, and Blitz has to spend about two weeks making each television compatible with its games.
Personally, I want to see this technology integrated with the motion tracking cameras we’ve seen from Microsoft and Sony. Invincible Tiger was cool to look at, but it’s hard to shake the idea that it’s just window dressing. But moving around in a 3D space to play a 3D game? That would just be awesome.
Oliver’s excited about that, too. When I asked him if he’d be interested in working with motion tracking, his eyes lit up. “Absolutely,” he said.