TI Says Calculators Aren’t Dead Yet, Releases iPhone App
Texas Instruments today launched a calculator for the iPhone that will cost $14.99 and perform all the functions of its BAII financial calculator. The move is a watershed moment for this scion of high-end calculators (yes, I know about HP, but TI is in my home state and makes the products on which I learned), and possibly an admission that the future of the calculator as a standalone device in this age of smartphones may be limited.
However according to TI spokeswoman Lin Windle, the core TI market — comprised of students and teachers — is still buying calculators, in part because fears of cheating keep wireless-enabled devices out of classrooms and testing centers. “This iPhone app is a way to broaden — not shrink — the total market,” Windle said. “My husband is a realtor and at his office he has a BAII professional on his desk, but when he’s out in the field he needs something handy. We hope this appeals to a broader market.”
I personally would hate for anyone to pry my financial calculator out of my hands, and I treasure the memories of using my TI-85 graphing calculator to play Super Breakout while I was supposed to be learning algebra, so I’m pleased that calculators are getting a bit of a reprieve. Readers, what do you think? Will we ever give up our graphing, financial, or even plain-Jane standalone calculators?
Source: Gigaom
Hirzberger Events – Digital Wallpaper
Hirzberger Events – Digital Wallpaper from Gregor Hofbauer on Vimeo.
More projector madness, this time a wall display created for the office of Büro Hirzberger using vvvv, a real time video toolkit and a digital projector to create a full motion digital wallpaper that’s pretty darn mesmerizing (video below). How we’d love something like this going up our ho-hum stairway wall…
First USB 3.0 Webcam Already Impresses with 1080p60 Streaming
Buckle up for a new caliber in USB devices as USB 3.0 starts getting exploited. Point Grey wows us with their new video camera which they plan to debut at 2009 Intel Developer Forum. What looks like an HD-wannabe webcam is actually capable of pumping full 1080p video at an astounding 60fps. The widened pipe of USB 3.0 actually may make high bandwidth devices cheaper now that they can push raw data through to the host computer’s CPU. Previous devices would have to include additional circuitry to compress the data before channeling to the host. The camera uses a 3 mega-pixel Sony CMOS sensor to capture the 1920×1080 video images.
Since host controllers for SuperSpeed USB have yet to hit the market they’ve formed a special alliance with Fresco Logic. Fresco Logic’s FL1000 controller is used in their test system via a PCI-Express USB 3.0 interface card. We’ll have to wait patiently for the IDF 2009 to find out the price on either the card or the camera. The first host controllers we are likely to see will likely be included on ASUS motherboards and Fujitsu laptops, but we’re still waiting on confirmation of a production date. Check back with us and we’ll update as soon as they are available.
On/Off Magnet
“We all have our on or off moments either at home, work…which is part of life. This magnet reflects those emotions that we go through every day, sometimes on, sometimes off. Like turning on and off the switch, turn the magnet “on” to stick memos on the fridge, or turn it “off” to use a pair as a photo stand. It’s simple, yet versatile and fun to play with during those “off” moments!” Buy it here.
Woolworth’s Heir Opens Eco General Store
Priscilla Woolworth, fourth generation heir of famed Woolworth’s stores, has opened her own eco-store, now available on the web. While the items aren’t anything extraordinary (in fact, you can even buy Bon Ami on the site), she does promise to try everything out before putting it up for sale and some of the categories are pretty convenient.
The sections are not really any different than what you might find at any other eco-store, though there are a few helpful things. Her Office and School section offers items for both students and adults, most of which are made from recycled materials and several even support environmental causes with their purchase. The gifts section offers many fair-trade items from Africa, including the very cute Rwandan Baskets filled with Himalayan bath salts. Not all of the items are really eco-friendly, such as the weird head scratcher for sale that you typically see in independent stands in the middle of urban malls. Also, other items you can purchase at a store just down the street from you, such as Bon Ami, and may not be worth the postage. But on the whole, the items do have a earthy, country feel and many are eco-friendly.
Priscilla Woolworth is a fourth generation relative to the founders of Woolworths and spent most of her childhood between France and Maine, spending a lot of time outdoors. This has influenced her interest in a personal green, healthy lifestyle as well as the creation of an online store selling recycled, organic, biodegradable, and healthy products.
You can find Priscilla Woolworth.com online.
Microsoft launches Office 2010 online – Now, that is Cloud Computing!
Microsoft has today officially launched web-based versions of its Office 2010, which Microsoft is calling Office Web Applications. These web-based applications will be a part of Windows Live Skydrive which is an online file storage service (25GB) provided by the Microsoft itself. This is clearly Microsoft’s answer to the Google Apps, which is Google’s online office suit. Microsoft has been under a lot of pressure since Google released Chrome OS which further took away market share of IE. It runs fine on all the modern web-browsers including IE, Firefox and Safari. Chrome is currently not supported, but a version that would support it is in the works. Support for Opera is nowhere mentioned. Oh, we forgot to mention the best part about it: it is FREE!
Bruggenhoofd Chabot
“Bruggenhoofd Chabot” is a landing craft in which visitors can use as a crossover from street level into the garden of the Chabot museum. It’s a frontal attack upon the museum’s borders and outer-walls. As artists it can be difficult to get through to the museum world, so we decided to make our own entrance. This works is made in collaboration with Paul Segers head-chief of the nieuw brabants front.
source: http://www.nieuwbrabantsfront.com http://www.snodevormgevers.nl
Spy Keylogger
Do you have more than just yourself working on your computer at home or at the office? Ever seen some programs deleted without your knowledge or icons rearranged? Make sure you catch the culprit with the Spy Keylogger that does so much more, allowing you to record the entire list of keystrokes made on the machine. All keystrokes are stored within the 2MB internal memory, and it comes in a USB or PS/2 interface to cater for older machines. This will target suspicious spouses, concerned parents and employers who want to make sure that their employees are giving their best at the workplace. It will function with most wired keyboards, retailing between $59.99 and $74.99, depending on the connectivity option.