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5 things you never knew about 3D
iPad overheating lawsuit: 4 reasons Apple will win
BlindType – Android and iPhone keyboard for the careless
EverQuest II going free-to-play
iPhone 4 jailbreak: Apple prepping legal challenge?
Congratulations to our 1,000th Facebook fan Graeme Powrie!
iPad exclusivity: John Lewis and Comet break DSGi chokehold
Apple launches Safari 5 extensions gallery
High Court rules R4 cards illegal in UK
Apple Battery Charger: Hands-on photos

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 02:08 PM PDT

Electricpig got in on one the BBC's 3D bootcamps, which are teaching its camera and production crews about how to film in 3D. The bootcamps are run by Buzz Hays, Executive Stereoscopic 3D producer at Sony's 3D Technology Centre. Click through to find out five things Sony is teaching Auntie, that you never knew about 3D.

1. If you're getting eye strain, it's probably the director's fault.
Eye strain is one of the key arguments against 3D. But if you feel like your eyes are doing too much work, it's probably not your fault. Hays says that directors shooting in 3D have to think about the shots that come before and after whatever they're shooting to prevent eye strain in their audiences. The strain comes from big differences in the 'depth' of the object in focus from one shot to the next, so if your eyes are having to switch to something near, then far, then near again, they'll get tired. "There's a very subtle difference between comfortable viewing and a splitting headache," says Hays.

2. Most 3D screens don't get enough light
When a standard was set for the amount of light a 3D capable screen should receive in the cinema, it was set well below the standard that normal cinema screens get. This means that often, your 3D cinema experience is not as good as it should be, and with some extra light on the screen, could be rendered much sharper, clearer, and brighter.

3. Polarizing glasses were invented in 1937
The plastic Buddy Holly specs you forget to take off when you walk out of the cinema were actually invented in 1937. The famous shot from Life magazine, of a cinema of people wearing red and green 3D glasses was actually originally a shot of people in a cinema wearing polarising glasses. The colours were painted in afterwards.

4. 3D doesn’t damage the eyes
"There are hundreds of people working in 3D all day, every day," says Hays. "As far as we know, not one has complained of any health problems as a result." Hays references a company that works in stereoscopic sales (selling 3D equipment). The company has had 250,000 clients over 20 years, and has had no reports of people having problems with their eyes after lengthy exposure to 3D. "And that's a very big test group," he says.

5. Shooting in 3D is shooting blind. It's all about the maths.
Directors shooting a 3D feature film generally can't see the what the 3D will look like until the dailies. This means that a lot more planning has to go into 3D shooting. Much of the 3D imagery is monitored by a stereographer to check depth, and that the objects that will be in the foreground and background aren't interfering with each other.

iPad overheating lawsuit: 4 reasons Apple will win

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT

An iPad overheating lawsuit is generating lots of heated comment online (we really couldn’t resist). But action by three aggrieved American iPad owners is destined to fail or be thrown out of court. Why are we so sure that Apple will win in this legal battle of wits? Here's four reasons why the iPad overheating case is little more than hot air…

1) Apple doesn't claim what the complaint says it does
The iPad overheating lawsuit rests on this argument (though you can read the whole thing here if you like): "…according to the www.apple.com website, 'reading on iPad is just like reading a book.' However, contrary to this promise using iPad is not 'just like reading a book' at all since books do not close when the reader is enjoying them in sunlight or in other normal environmental environments." Except, what Apple actually says is: "Reading on iPad is just like reading a book. You hold your iPad like a book. You flip the pages like a book. And you do it all with your hands, just like a book."

2) Apple makes iPad's temperature limits pretty clear
Apple states that the iPad will turn itself off if its temperature rises above 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius). It states the limits in the iPad documentation and your tablet isn't totalled if it gets too hot, it'll simply switch off until the thermometer inside determines that it's cool enough to start up again.

3) Other devices are just as sensitive to the sun
The Amazon Kindle (and the iPhone 4 for that matter) both have exactly the same upper temperature limit as the iPad. If the iPad is in for trouble then theoretically so should the Kindle.

4) The number of complaints is minuscule
iPad sales stand at a good way over 3 million. Three people have filed the iPad overheating lawsuit. While others have complained about the issue they haven't yet stormed the courtrooms with legal papers in hand. If British schoolrooms were as empty as this class action lawsuit, teachers would be sighing with relief.

If you've been using your iPad out in the unusually summery British weather, have you found yourself bothered by constant switch-offs? Or do you agree that the iPad overheating lawsuit should be filed under "Spurious"?

Out now | £varies | Apple

BlindType – Android and iPhone keyboard for the careless

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 07:45 AM PDT

BlindType Inc. has unveiled an amazing-looking keyboard replacement for Android and iOS devices that it looks like even the clumsiest typist could use to compose some legible text.

The question of which smartphone OS has the best onscreen keyboard is hard fought. No matter how good the iPhone keypad is, there is always someone who prefers HTC Sense/Android’s predictive text and Swype is picking up a lot of fans. The fact is, unless you concentrate or have absurdly small fingertips you are going to make mistakes.

BlindType is a crazy-looking keppad replacement that uses AI to figure out what you meant to type, automatically correcting your mistakes. A lot of keyboards claim to do this but as you can see from the video example below this one really does seem able to turn hastily tapped nonsense into legible text. It is so good, say the makers, that ot only do you not need to look at the screen – you don’t even need to have the keyboard visible on the screen.

BlindType will be available for Android devices soon and BlindType inc. are submitting the app to APple, although history tells us they will probably be rejected. We hope they get through, though – just check out the iPad demo at the end of th video and tell us you don’t fancy typing at an angle like that.

TBC | £tbc | BlindType (via Engadget)

EverQuest II going free-to-play

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 06:45 AM PDT

Sony Online Entertainment is aiming to attract more players to its fantasy MMO EverQuest II by launching a free-to-play membership tier with access to restricted game features.

EverQuest was one of the original Massively Multiplayer games but although the sequel EverQuest II is popular, it has struggled against the behemoths of the genre such as World of Warcraft.

SOE plans to tempt more users into an Evercrack addiction by launching a service called EverQuest Extended, which splits the game’s membership into four tiers – Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Platinum is the most expensive at $200/year, Gold is $15/month, Silver a one-off $10 fee and Bronze being free to play. Different tiers have access to different classes, quests and game areas and the uppermost levels of the game are restricted to Platinum users or those who have payed a supplemental fee. Only Platinum members can play the latest game expansion, Sentinel’s Fate.

Bronze users only have access to four classes and can only have a few quests active at any one time. EverQuest Extended will be installable through a new web front-end ad SOE is promising that all versions of the game will be receiving a graphical overhaul soon.

August 7th | £varies | EverQuest Extended (via Eurogamer)

iPhone 4 jailbreak: Apple prepping legal challenge?

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 06:35 AM PDT

The ruling in the US that any iPhone 4 jailbreak will be legal there is unlikely to go unchallenged by Apple according to analysts and legal experts. We know Apple isn't happy with the exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that essentially allows free reign for iPhone jailbreak fans but will could it really head to court to get the decision reversed?

Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group, predicts that Apple could face a long battle to fight the iPhone jailbreak decision. He says: "I don't expect this to be either a short battle or an inexpensive one for the company."

But David Hayes, a lawyer with US-firm Fenwick & West who has represented Apple in the past, told the US Copyright Office that the decision to legalise the right to use an iPhone jailbreak goes beyond the scope of the DMCA. He suggests that Apple may challenge the ruling in court.

Apple hasn't publicly commented on how it will respond to the DMCA decision or the forthcoming iPhone 4 jailbreak. But coders have uncovered plenty of measure in iOS updates that show the company is working hard to outsmart the hackers and stop future iPhone jailbreak solutions.

In a statement on Monday, Apple simply reiterated its standard position on iPhone jailbreak software saying: "We know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience."

As our iPhone 4 jailbreak opinion said yesterday, Apple shouldn't turn its legal might on the iPhone 4 jailbreak creators but there seems to be a strong chance that it could attempt to overturn the decision to declare the process legal.

What do you think? Should Apple attempt to mount a legal challenge to stop iPhone jailbreaking? Or should it just leave the coders to it and attempt to stop them in iOS software updates?

Out TBC | £free | Unknown (via EWeek/Law.com)

Congratulations to our 1,000th Facebook fan Graeme Powrie!

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 06:23 AM PDT

Earlier this week the Electricpig Facebook page sailed past 1,000 fans, and as promised we've plucked that 1,000th fan's name from the membership roster to award an extremely rare prize. Congratulations to Graeme Powrie, who scoops an Electricpig mug stuffed with digicash for everyone's favourite gadget emporium, Amazon!

Graeme clicked the Like button on our Facebook page on Monday evening, just in time to scoop the prize. He tells us he's a daily visitor to Electricpig, which makes awarding an ultra-rare Electricpig tea-container all the sweeter for everyone here.

If you're yet to scoop an Electricpig prize, there are still plenty of opportunities. Each week we award a freebie for the best Comment Of The Week left on any story across the site, and if you impress the Electricpig team by getting stuck in through Facebook or Twitter, you could be on the receiving end of our generosity too!

iPad exclusivity: John Lewis and Comet break DSGi chokehold

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 05:55 AM PDT

The iPad has hit the shelves at John Lewis and Comet. DSGi, owner of Currys, Dixons and PC World, had a 60-day exclusive as the only high street retailer besides Apple and its official resellers. The arrival of the iPad in more stores bodes well for deal hunters with the tablet set to touch down at Tesco and Argos imminently and networks sure to enter the fray too.

John Lewis is offering the iPad in store and online now. It's pricing is in line with Apple so cheapest option, the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad, will set you back £429. It's also selling the iPad 3G but is not bundling any network's microSIM with its iPad sales so you'll have to seek out the best deal yourself.

Comet is not yet selling the iPad online but there is a list of stores stocking it on its website. Again, the prices remain the same but you'll get the choice of an O2 PAYG microSIM or a 1GB or 10GB 30-day rolling contract with Three.

Argos previously confirmed that it will be stocking the iPad from September and Tesco is getting ready to take the tablet. In the run up to Christmas, the arrival of the iPad at a wider range of retailers could mean some attractive deals start to pop up.

The mobile networks are also likely to start selling the iPad in stores rather than simply offering up data deals but don't expect to see it offered free on contract like 3G-enabled netbooks.

Let us know: have you been holding out for a better iPad deal? What price are you waiting for before you take the plunge?

Out now | £varies | Apple

Apple launches Safari 5 extensions gallery

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 05:54 AM PDT

Apple began rolling out Safari extensions earlier this year, letting developers graft their own tools on top of its browser. Now the Mac-maker has launched a gallery to show off the best extensions, and the tech big guns have come out in support: eBay, Microsoft Bing, Amazon and Twitter are all on board, as well as content owners such as the New York Times and MLB.com.

You can take a peek at the new Safari Extensions Gallery at extensions.apple.com and if you've installed the newly updated Safari 5.0.1 browser extensions can be downloaded directly from developer's websites.

The benefits of Safari extensions depend who's made them. Amazon's making a shortcut to add products from any website to your Amazon wishlist, while Microsoft Bing reacts to highlighted text, popping up "intelligent suggestions" to go with it.

Have you tried Safari extensions yet? Shout up with your first impressions in the comments section below.

Out now | £free | Safari Extensions

High Court rules R4 cards illegal in UK

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 05:45 AM PDT

The High Court has ruled that it is now illegal to import, sell or advertise R4 cartridges in the UK, causing much wailing and gnashing of teeth among Nintendo DS pirates and homebrew enthusiasts alike.

Nintendo chalked up another victory in its fight to stop the distribution of R4 cards and similar devices that allow the running of custom code on Nintendo DS and DSi consoles. Such cards can be used to run ‘homebrew’ apps and games, of which there are many, but also allow a DS or DSi to run pirated game ROMS from a memory card.

Today the UK High Court has ruled that because R4 cards circumvent Nintendo’s anti-piracy security systems they are therefore illegal under UK law. The defendant, Playables Ltd., had argued that the existence of homebrew software meant that there was a legitimate use for such cards.

The news comes just a week after a court in the Netherlands ruled against retailers who were selling the cartridges in Holland and via mail order.

Not Available | £n/a | Nintendo (via MCV)

Apple Battery Charger: Hands-on photos

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 05:33 AM PDT

There’s not much to say about the Apple Battery Charger that we haven’t already covered, but now we’ve slapped some skin on it there’re a few finer points and some photos for your viewing pleasure. In no particular order, the Apple Battery Charger is…

Very small, and ideal as a travel charger, not least because those mains connectors are swappable depending which country you’re in
Compatible with MacBook power leads, should you want a charger on the end of a long cable
Bundled with six AA batteries – the first Apple product we’ve ever seen not to sport its logo
There’s an LED on top to indicate when batteries are charged
Available for £25

Made for Life

Thursday, 29 July 2010

Electricpig.co.uk - tech news fast!

Electricpig.co.uk - tech news fast!

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