3d
Fix
Build Your Own 3D Camera Rig With Two Hacked Canon Cameras
11:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | You don’t need to spend a mint on the new 3D-capable camera from Fuji. You can throw two basic Canon point-and-shoot cameras together with $US20 worth of parts and make your own for 3D fun. More »
Communicate
YouTube Experiments With 3D Video Viewing
7:00AM Azadeh Ensha | Though still very much in experimental mode, a YouTube developer has built a stereoscopic player—a fancy way of saying you can already view some YouTube videos in 3D. The project is open for testing now. More »
Design
Model Your Home, Plan Improvements In 3D With Google Sketchup
10:00AM Kevin Purdy | My wife and I just moved to an apartment with a great backyard, but neither of us think spatially. Using Google Sketchup, it’s been easier than I’d imagined to plan our Ultimate Patio 4000. More »
Design
DeskHedron Adds 3D Virtual Desktop Eye-Candy To Windows
2:30AM Lifehacker US Edition | Windows only: Free application DeskHedron brings multiple virtual desktops to Windows, complete with an impressive spinning 3D animation that switches between your desktops. Using the application is simple enough—just run the executable, use the tray icon to add or remove up to 9 virtual desktops, and then switch between the desktops with a hotkey. The default setup only has two virtual desktops, so switching between them looks like flipping the desktop over—add more virtual desktops and it looks a little like Compiz Fusion’s cube desktop. The software is still very basic, only works with a single monitor, and has no options to move windows from one cube to another—but unlike the similar, no longer free Yod’m 3D, this application is open source, and ready for any enterprising coder to improve it. DeskHedron is free and open source, available for Windows only. Readers looking for a more full-featured solution should check out the Vista Virtual Desktop Manager. DeskHedron [via Shell Extension City] More »
Design
IKEA Planner Visualises Your Dream Rooms In 3D
9:30PM Kevin Purdy | Windows only: IKEA has released its own 3D room design tool to help you plan the modernist, clean-lined kitchen, bedroom, or workspace of your dreams. IKEA’s Home Planner also includes current pricing information if you’re planning a spending spree. It’s a Windows-only tool at this point; anyone want to give it a shot in WINE on Linux or Mac and tell us how it runs? IKEA Planner Tool is a free download for Windows systems only. Thanks empkae! IKEA Planner Tools [IKEA] More »
Fix
AeroPeek Puts Windows 7’s Desktop Showing Into XP/Vista
10:00PM Kevin Purdy | Windows only: A small background app can give XP and Vista users part of the functionality of “Aero Peek,” a smart way of previewing windows and showing the desktop in Windows 7. Unfortunately, that part is just the desktop showing aspect, available from a tray icon installed by the Aero Peek app—though it likely won’t be long before we see the windows previews, whether from this developer or elsewhere. In the meantime, it’s an intriguingly different way for users of desktop gadgets, or those who have to head back to their desktop often for files, to minimise their active windows. Unlike hitting the Windows Key+D combo, restoring your windows from Aero Peek always keeps whatever windows you had active in the front, and shows what windows you have open in shaded outlines. Not for everyone, especially those inclined toward keyboard shortcuts, but an intriguing attempt at getting yet another one of Windows 7’s features into your Windows desktop. Aero Peek is a free download for Windows systems only. AeroPeek [via gHacks] More »
Communicate
12:00PM Angus Kidman | The resolute failure of 3D experiments like Google Lively doesn’t seem to dissuade people from trying to force a 3D interface onto a 2D screen. Telstra has just joined the ranks by offering a “3D video wall” option for its BigPond News service. To access the 3D service, you need the Cooliris plug-in (which works with Firefox, IE and Safari, but no Linux options), after which you can scroll round a wall of news stories and choose what you want to read. Beyond the headline, however, you still get returned to the existing page, which makes for a jarring navigational experience. Existing Telstra customers (who won’t have it counted against their cap) might find it an interesting diversion, but beyond that, a standard news site still seems more useful (and less bandwidth-greedy) to me.
BigPond News
More »
Telstra Experiments With 3D News Site
12:00PM Angus Kidman | The resolute failure of 3D experiments like Google Lively doesn’t seem to dissuade people from trying to force a 3D interface onto a 2D screen. Telstra has just joined the ranks by offering a “3D video wall” option for its BigPond News service. To access the 3D service, you need the Cooliris plug-in (which works with Firefox, IE and Safari, but no Linux options), after which you can scroll round a wall of news stories and choose what you want to read. Beyond the headline, however, you still get returned to the existing page, which makes for a jarring navigational experience. Existing Telstra customers (who won’t have it counted against their cap) might find it an interesting diversion, but beyond that, a standard news site still seems more useful (and less bandwidth-greedy) to me.
BigPond News
More »
Work
GPU-Z Retrieves Your Video Card’s Stats
11:30PM Lifehacker US Edition | Windows only: GPU-Z is a lightweight (410k!) portable application that gives you a large amount of information about your video card. After loading up GPU-Z you’ll have access to everything from the basic GPU information to the memory type on your card to the bios and driver versions. GPU-Z supports multiple cards and detected both the add on card and embedded motherboard video in my system. In addition to fixed statistics GPU-Z accesses the available sensors in your graphics card to give you feedback on processor and memory utilization, GPU temperature and fan speed. For a more hands on approach to working with your graphics card, check out how to use RivaTuner to scale your graphics card for efficiency. GPU-Z is freeware, Windows only. GPU-Z [TechPowerUp] More »
Work
Windows 7 Won’t Require Graphics Hardware For Effects
11:00PM Kevin Purdy | UK magazine Custom PC reports that Windows 7 will feature WARP, which lets any computer with an 800MHz processor run Aero-style desktop transparency and, with a certain performance hit, the Direct3D requirements for video games. Microsoft seems to have learned something from the “Vista Capable/Ready” labelling fiasco, so expect less confusion on what can “run” the OS due out in mid-2009. [via Gizmodo] More »
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