Monday, June 28, 2010

No Glass 3D


Today's 3-D movies are far more spectacular than the first ones screened more than 50 years ago, but watching them--both at the movie theater and at home--still means donning a pair of dorky, oversized glasses. Now a new type of lens developed by researchers in Microsoft's Applied Sciences Group could help make glasses-free 3-D displays more practical. The new lens, which is thinner at the bottom than at the top, steers light to a viewer's eyes by switching light-emitting diodes along its bottom edge on and off. Combined with a backlight, this makes it possible to show different images to different viewers, or to create a stereoscopic (3-D) effect by presenting different images to a person's left and right eye. "What's so special about this lens is that it allows us to control where the light goes," says Steven Bathiche, director of Microsoft's Applied Sciences Group.

3-D technology has seen a renaissance recently. Thanks to the success of movies like Coraline, Up, and Avatar, Hollywood is spending more money than ever to give audiences a stereoscopic experience. And electronics manufacturers are racing to replicate the 3-D theater experience in the home. The market for 3-D-capable televisions is expected to grow from 2.5 million sets shipped in 2010 to 27 million in 2013, according to the research firm DisplaySearch. However, the glasses required to watch 3-D video is a turnoff for many would-be early adopters. At the Society for Information Display International Symposium in Seattle last month, companies showed off 3-D displays that don't require glasses. These sets often use lenticular lenses, which are integrated into the display and project different images in two fixed directions. But a viewer needs to stand in designated zones to experience a 3-D effect; otherwise the screen becomes an out-of-focus blur.

Microsoft's prototype display can deliver 3-D video to two viewers at the same time (one video for each individual eye), regardless of where they are positioned. It can also shows ordinary 2-D video to up to four people simultaneously (one video for each person). The 3-D display uses a camera to track viewers so that it knows where to steer light toward them. The lens is also thin, which means it could be incorporated into a standard liquid crystal display, says Bathiche.
The idea of tracking viewers to make the glasses-free 3-D easier has been around for decades. One of the big challenges, explains Ken Perlin, professor of computer science at New York University, is that the computers used for eye-tracking were too expensive and too slow to make such a system practical. As computers have become faster and cheaper, viewer-tracking systems have gotten up to speed; other components, particularly those needed to target viewers, have remained bulky and impractical to manufacture on a large scale. Microsoft's wedge lens is about 11 millimeters thick at its top, tapering down to about six millimeters at the bottom. A traditional lens, found in a projector, sits between a point of light and its focal point--the spot where the light is focused. This is the reason why viewer-tracking 3-D systems are often so bulky. The design of the wedge lens bypasses this problem, explains Bathiche. "Instead of having light travel in air, it travels within the lens," he says. "It allows us to compress the distance between the projector and the screen."

The focal point in the new screen is the flat surface of the wedge. An optical trick means that light enters through the edge, bounces around inside the lens (much as if it were in a fiber-optic cable), and, when the light has bounced enough times to reach a specific angle (known as the "critical angle"), it exits through the front of the lens. Bathiche says that the specialized lens design, which includes a rounded, thicker end, dictates how the light bounces around and when and where it can escape.

The direction the light comes out depends on the position and angle that the light as it enters the bottom edge of the lens. This is controlled using an array of light-emitting diodes at the bottom of the screen. The viewer-tracking cameras are also positioned at the bottom edge of the lens; these collect light traveling the other way through the lens. Bathiche says that system's viewing angle is about 20 degrees, but hopes that with tweaks to the lens design, this can be increased to 40 degrees.

Bathiche says the 3-D lens can replace the traditional backlight in a liquid crystal display (LCD) to create a glasses-free 3-D display. Light from the lens will shine through the liquid crystals, projecting images at the viewers. The quality of the resulting picture is limited by the screen's refresh rate. A normal 240 Hertz LCD can accommodate two 3-D views, meaning that each viewer's eye receives a video that refreshes at a rate of 60 Hertz. Any slower, and the frames the video would be jerky. Alternatively, four viewers could watch their own 2-D video using the same display at a refresh rate of 60 Hertz. If the video were split again, then the frames would become jerkier. The technology is to some degree "at the mercy of what the LCD panel in front of the backlight can do," says Michael Bove, director of the consumer electronics laboratory at MIT. To address this, Bathiche says Microsoft is pushing display manufacturers to make faster LCDs. Bathiche's group is also exploring other ways to use the 3-D lens. If integrated into a backlight of a laptop, he says, it could provide a way to instantly toggle between a private view, in which the backlight steers the images from the screen toward a single person's eyes, and a shared view, in which the backlight shines the images out in all directions.

Double Your CP Battery Life


Eric Rozner at the University of Texas at Austin and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Microsoft Research India made the discovery, and they also came up with a fix for the problem.The team began by benchmarking just how much power different models of cell phones needed to use Wi-Fi. "For example, we found that an HTC Tilt's total power consumption increases by threefold when using Wi-Fi," says Rozner, who notes that previous studies have shown Wi-Fi use can account for up to 60 percent of the phone's total energy consumption.

"It is somewhat surprising that Wi-Fi consumes so much energy," Rozner says. He explains that a protocol called Power Saving Mode exists to prevent Wi-Fi from draining mobile devices' batteries too quickly. But when the team studied how a variety of access points use this mode, it found that the setup wasted power and unfairly prioritized some devices over others. "We found that current implementations of Power Saving Mode suffer multiple problems," says Rozner.

Wi-Fi's hunger for energy is important. "More and more carriers are encouraging their subscribers to reduce 3G usage and instead use Wi-Fi by capping 3G data usage or enforcing certain applications to run exclusively on Wi-Fi," Rozner explains.

A mobile device using Power Saving Mode flips its wireless radio between fully powered and a sleep setting, for periods lasting between seconds and tens of milliseconds, to conserve energy. For example, after sending a request for a file from the Web, a phone might sleep if it doesn't receive the file after half a second. While sleeping, the device listens for a beacon message that indicates its data is ready, after which it switches to full power and asks the access point to send it. That works out fine when an access point is only serving that one device. But in reality, it is likely sending data to other devices, too, such as laptops. When a phone wakes up and requests its data, many access points simply add it to the back of the queue of outgoing packets, even if the phone's data arrived at the access point long before those in front.

As a result, the phone burns energy while it waits for its data to advance to the head of the line, a situation that saps battery life. Some phones, like the iPhone, won't wait for more than a few tens of milliseconds and go back to sleep if the data isn't forthcoming. But this can also waste power, as well as network capacity; when the access point does send it, the phone cannot receive it and must wake up and request it all over again.Some simple changes to the software running on Wi-Fi access points could significantly extend or even double cell phone battery life. That's the finding of a study that investigated why using Wi-Fi on a cell phone, and on some other portable devices, sucks up power so quickly. It found that a protocol designed to reduce Wi-Fi power drain often doesn't work effectively. Eric Rozner at the University of Texas at Austin and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Microsoft Research India made the discovery, and they also came up with a fix for the problem. The team began by benchmarking just how much power different models of cell phones needed to use Wi-Fi. "For example, we found that an HTC Tilt's total power consumption increases by threefold when using Wi-Fi," says Rozner, who notes that previous studies have shown Wi-Fi use can account for up to 60 percent of the phone's total energy consumption.

"It is somewhat surprising that Wi-Fi consumes so much energy," Rozner says. He explains that a protocol called Power Saving Mode exists to prevent Wi-Fi from draining mobile devices' batteries too quickly. But when the team studied how a variety of access points use this mode, it found that the setup wasted power and unfairly prioritized some devices over others. "We found that current implementations of Power Saving Mode suffer multiple problems," says Rozner.

Wi-Fi's hunger for energy is important. "More and more carriers are encouraging their subscribers to reduce 3G usage and instead use Wi-Fi by capping 3G data usage or enforcing certain applications to run exclusively on Wi-Fi," Rozner explains.

A mobile device using Power Saving Mode flips its wireless radio between fully powered and a sleep setting, for periods lasting between seconds and tens of milliseconds, to conserve energy. For example, after sending a request for a file from the Web, a phone might sleep if it doesn't receive the file after half a second. While sleeping, the device listens for a beacon message that indicates its data is ready, after which it switches to full power and asks the access point to send it.That works out fine when an access point is only serving that one device. But in reality, it is likely sending data to other devices, too, such as laptops. When a phone wakes up and requests its data, many access points simply add it to the back of the queue of outgoing packets, even if the phone's data arrived at the access point long before those in front. As a result, the phone burns energy while it waits for its data to advance to the head of the line, a situation that saps battery life. Some phones, like the iPhone, won't wait for more than a few tens of milliseconds and go back to sleep if the data isn't forthcoming. But this can also waste power, as well as network capacity; when the access point does send it, the phone cannot receive it and must wake up and request it all over again.

Hacked N900 Blazes through froyo


While the various and sundry Android manufacturers are all scrambling (or casually strolling) toward official Android 2.2 updates for their manifold handsets, someone managed to get Google's Froyo running on the Nokia N900. Turns out, the two are a pretty great pair, with some super speedy browsing (like, really fast) and decent hardware support outside of an unfortunate lack of memory card support.

Hit up the video after the break to see it in action, the browser starts kicking around the 4:45 mark.

Capturing Magic Moment


Having a camera and camcorder built into your smartphone makes sense on a number of levels. You never leave home without your phone, so you'll never miss capturing that magic moment; you can instantly and wirelessly send the memories to another phone, computer or upload to a website; and hundreds of photo-centric applications ( "apps") let you edit and display your images in myriad ways. And yes, cameraphone quality is improving considerably with each successive generation. So, the question isn't whether or not to pick up a smartphone with a great camera, but rather, which one? Here are a few suggestions.

Mega megapixels
The sleek-looking Xperia X10 from Sony Ericsson ($149.99 on a three-year Rogers plan) features an incredible 8.1-megapixel camera with autofocus and facial recognition for up to five faces in a scene. More megapixels means you can crop images without losing much detail or even blow them up for large-sized prints, if desired. Available in black or white, this Android-powered device boasts a large four-inch, high-resolution touch screen that doubles as a photo album when you run into friends, while its expandable memory. (including a bundled 16 gigabyte microSD card to get you going) translates to a lifetime of photos and videos in your pocket -- and plenty of room to add more.

Zeiss is nice
Named best cameraphone by the CTIA wireless association, the Nokia N86 8MP ($99.99 on a three-year Rogers plan) rocks a Carl Zeiss wide-angle lens, 8.0-megapixel photo resolution and other extras including autofocus, integrated flash, high-speed shutter and variable aperture settings. The cameraphone can also shoot DVD-quality video, day or night, with a video light and wide exposure range. Sharing is also the name of the game as you can easily import your memories into Ovi maps (so you can geographically tag the location they were captured in) or upload them to Facebook or Twitter on the fly. The N86 8MP ships with eight GB of internal memory, plus you can expand it with additional microSD memory cards (up to 16 GB). Bell Mobility has the Nokia N97 for $99.95 on a three-year plan.

Cheap chic
If you'd like a competent cameraphone, but don't want to break the bank, you might consider snapping pics on the Samsung Galaxy (free with a three-year Bell Mobility plan), a surprisingly versatile Android smartphone equipped with a five-megapixel camera with autofocus, LED flash, editing options and colour-correction features.
The Galaxy shoots high-resolution video, too, which you can upload to YouTube, Facebook and other social media sites. Alternatively, dazzle friends beside you with the smart-phone's scratch-resistant AMOLED touch-screen display, designed especially for viewing in the bright outdoors.

Tasty pick
The LG New Chocolate (model BL40; $49.99 on a three-year Telus plan) is also a sweet pick thanks to its five-megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, the ability to take continuous shots (up to six pictures, so you can select the best one) and a host of photo and video editing and playback options -- with gesture support for fast operation. What truly makes this phone stand out is its ultrawide, four-inch touch screen display with 800 x 345 pixel resolution and unconventional 21:9 aspect ratio. Integrated e-mail support for personal e-mail accounts such as Windows Live Mail, Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! means you can share your photos or videos with the press of a button.

Fourth time's the charm

Apple's iPhone 4 will be available in Canada by the end of July for about $199 for 16 GB and $299 for 32 MB (based on announced U.S. pricing), and carried by Bell, Rogers and Telus. Apple's latest not only has a fivemegapixel camera with LED flash and the ability to shoot and edit 720p HD video, but a front-facing camera, too, so you can video chat with friends and family over a Wi-Fi connection. The redesigned iPhone 4 also boasts a better battery, ultra-high-resolution screen and the ability to multi-task between applications.

Amazing (and amazingly cheap) photo-centric apps make this smartphone a treat for shutterbugs.Hipstamatic ($1.99), for example, offers a huge variety of nostalgic lenses, flashes and film to choose from.

Two Motos are better than one
The Motorola Backflip ($99.99 on a three-year Telus plan) lets you capture photos and videos on its fivemegapixel camera and then upload them to multiple social networks at the same time.

It handles this via the proprietary Motoblur service, which aggregates all your connections, such as Picasa, Facebook, - -Gmail.
This Android phone also enjoys a healthy app store with thousands of downloads such as Adobe's Photoshop.com -app.

Another new Android device with a five-megapixel camera is the Motorola Milestone ($149.99 on a - -term), with comparable features and a glide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Capturing magic moment

Having a camera and camcorder built into your smartphone makes sense on a number of levels.
You never leave home without your phone, so you'll never miss capturing that magic moment; you can instantly and wirelessly send the memories to another phone, computer or upload to a website; and hundreds of photo-centric applications ( "apps") let you edit and display your images in myriad ways. And yes, cameraphone quality is improving considerably with each successive generation. So, the question isn't whether or not to pick up a smartphone with a great camera, but rather, which one? Here are a few suggestions.
Mega megapixels
The sleek-looking Xperia X10 from Sony Ericsson ($149.99 on a three-year Rogers plan) features an incredible 8.1-megapixel camera with autofocus and facial recognition for up to five faces in a scene. More megapixels means you can crop images without losing much detail or even blow them up for large-sized prints, if desired. Available in black or white, this Android-powered device boasts a large four-inch, high-resolution touch screen that doubles as a photo album when you run into friends, while its expandable memory. (including a bundled 16 gigabyte microSD card to get you going) translates to a lifetime of photos and videos in your pocket -- and plenty of room to add more.

Zeiss is nice
Named best cameraphone by the CTIA wireless association, the Nokia N86 8MP ($99.99 on a three-year Rogers plan) rocks a Carl Zeiss wide-angle lens, 8.0-megapixel photo resolution and other extras including autofocus, integrated flash, high-speed shutter and variable aperture settings. The cameraphone can also shoot DVD-quality video, day or night, with a video light and wide exposure range. Sharing is also the name of the game as you can easily import your memories into Ovi maps (so you can geographically tag the location they were captured in) or upload them to Facebook or Twitter on the fly. The N86 8MP ships with eight GB of internal memory, plus you can expand it with additional microSD memory cards (up to 16 GB). Bell Mobility has the Nokia N97 for $99.95 on a three-year plan.
Cheap chic
If you'd like a competent cameraphone, but don't want to break the bank, you might consider snapping pics on the Samsung Galaxy (free with a three-year Bell Mobility plan), a surprisingly versatile Android smartphone equipped with a five-megapixel camera with autofocus, LED flash, editing options and colour-correction features.
The Galaxy shoots high-resolution video, too, which you can upload to YouTube, Facebook and other social media sites. Alternatively, dazzle friends beside you with the smart-phone's scratch-resistant AMOLED touch-screen display, designed especially for viewing in the bright outdoors.
Tasty pick
The LG New Chocolate (model BL40; $49.99 on a three-year Telus plan) is also a sweet pick thanks to its five-megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, the ability to take continuous shots (up to six pictures, so you can select the best one) and a host of photo and video editing and playback options -- with gesture support for fast operation. What truly makes this phone stand out is its ultrawide, four-inch touch screen display with 800 x 345 pixel resolution and unconventional 21:9 aspect ratio.
Integrated e-mail support for personal e-mail accounts such as Windows Live Mail, Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! means you can share your photos or videos with the press of a button.

Fourth time's the charm

Apple's iPhone 4 will be available in Canada by the end of July for about $199 for 16 GB and $299 for 32 MB (based on announced U.S. pricing), and carried by Bell, Rogers and Telus.
Apple's latest not only has a fivemegapixel camera with LED flash and the ability to shoot and edit 720p HD video, but a front-facing camera, too, so you can video chat with friends and family over a Wi-Fi connection. The redesigned iPhone 4 also boasts a better battery, ultra-high-resolution screen and the ability to multi-task between applications.
Amazing (and amazingly cheap) photo-centric apps make this smartphone a treat for shutterbugs.Hipstamatic ($1.99), for example, offers a huge variety of nostalgic lenses, flashes and film to choose from.
Two Motos are better than one
The Motorola Backflip ($99.99 on a three-year Telus plan) lets you capture photos and videos on its fivemegapixel camera and then upload them to multiple social networks at the same time.
It handles this via the proprietary Motoblur service, which aggregates all your connections, such as Picasa, Facebook, - -Gmail.
This Android phone also enjoys a healthy app store with thousands of downloads such as Adobe's Photoshop.com -app.
Another new Android device with a five-megapixel camera is the Motorola Milestone ($149.99 on a - -term), with comparable features and a glide-out QWERTY keyboard.