TouchSmarter: Touch Screen Gadgets

US based NMR put together a cool video showing their massive 103″ multi-touch plasma table using NUITEQ’s Snowflake Suite multi-touch software.

Several months ago we installed a 46″ diagonal 32 touch point dreaMTouch LCD based multi-touch system in the reception area of Aurorum Science Park in Luleå, Sweden.

The dreaMTouch was delivered by NUITEQ’s German Partner Elektrosil.

In addition to the multi-touch hardware that was delivered, we developed a customized multi-touch software solution for this corporate reception / lounge area. The software solution is built on the Snowflake Framework.

Do you want to present your brand to visitors of your corporate reception / lounge area in a dynamic and impactful way, so that they will leave with a memorable experience of your company?

Engage with them through multi-touch technology. Contact us here and we’ll let you know how we can help you or your client with a similar solution.

Today NUITEQ has released the Snowflake Suite 2.0.4 version update

Changes include:

Version 2.0.4 - 2011/08/17

- Added VisualPlanet TrueTwoTouch TUIO senders
- Added OSX Lion support
- Fixed issues in general resource handling
- Fixed stability issues in Media Viewer
- Fixed minor UI issues
- General code optimizations
- Added CMU driver to TouchCore installer

If you have already installed Snowflake Suite 2.0 or a later version on your system, you can simply update to the latest 2.0.4 version by using the Auto Updater that comes pre-installed with Snowflake.

If you have any questions or feedback about Snowflake, please let us know here.

To learn more about the changes we have made to Snowflake throughout the years, check the Change Log on the NUITEQ Support Wiki here.

If you haven’t already installed Snowflake before, you can download a free evaluation version here.

Android is the best selling active platform for mobile devices. It has key applications, middleware and an OS. Its mobile OS is actually based from the Linux kernel. Its apps (applications), which cater to the functionality of the devices, have ranged to over 250,000. All these can be downloaded through third-party sites such as Android Market, Android Zoom, Freeware Lovers, Coupon Croc and Android Freeware. One of the most heavily downloaded types of app according to recent studies are camera apps for Android phones.

The popularity of camera apps may come from the fact that people are drawn to accessible as well as affordable apps and to self-produced digital content which is then usually uploaded to major social networking sites like Facebook.

With these additions to the digital world, the ability to capture significant moments has become easier and more budget-friendly. To top it all, mobile phones these days even feature VGA-resolution cameras at the least.

Now, if you are an Android user then the biggest advantage you have is that you can download apps for free from the Android Market. With these camera apps for Android, you can turn your phone into a digicam in an instant. Here are some of the best camera apps to consider:

1. Camera360 – This app features color shift effects, tilt shift, HDR modes and even camera filter modes.

2. FxCamera – With this app, people will think a professional photographer took the shot. It features top-of-the-line camera filters, ads and a lightweight program.

3. Little Photo – Using this app, you can preview your photo subject and the photo effect. You can even layer several effects over one another and come up with various combinations of effects.

4. Camera Fun Free – This app helps you preview the photo effect on the camera viewfinder itself. You can do this even before you take the photo. All you need to do is point, shoot and review. It also features 6 effects or filters. If you want more effects, you can get the pro version but there’s a fee.

5. Retro Camera – With this app, your photos would look like Old School. You can choose from five cameras and five sets of film effects. Viewers would think that you used an analog camera when you snapped the photo.

6. PicSay – When you use this app, you can get tacky effects on your pictures. You can also add clip arts, images and even fonts to these photos. Furthermore, you can adjust the exposure, crop or change tint and color temperature of the pictures.

7. HDR Camera – This app helps you take two pictures and combine them for more depth of color. Since it uses HDR technology, you can ensure better quality photos.

There are several other camera apps for Android. Most are free to download but there are also those that are sold at an affordable price. Depending on your preference, you can now take quality photos using your Android phone.

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Microsoft has today formally launched the official Windows 8 blog and named it Building Windows 8 with Steven Sinofsky, the President of the Windows Division making the first post. Sinofsky started the blog post by stating that Windows 8 would be the best operating system and as mentioned by us earlier would be working on both old and new PC’s. Here is what he posted-

Building the next release of Microsoft Windows is an industry-wide effort that Microsoft approaches with a strong sense of responsibility and humility. Windows 8 reimagines Windows for a new generation of computing devices, and will be the very best operating system for hundreds of millions of PCs, new and old, used by well over a billion people globally.

Sinofsky further stated in the first blog post that pre-release version of Windows 8 would be released in coming months. The Build conference is being held next month and according to news, Microsoft would be releasing the beta version during this period. It would be interesting to see whether this news is confirmed or not.

Sinofsky said that they would be keeping a close look on the blog and would be going through all the blog posts and comments. Here is what he wrote-

Feel free to send us your thoughts via comments or email—we can’t respond to every question we receive, but your suggestions for blog topics are welcome. The email contact link in the right pane goes straight to my inbox without any filter (except spam filtering). Please note that we are also making this blog available in several other languages (acting on feedback from the Engineering Windows 7 blog) and you can expect to see those posts within 48 hours of the English language post.

If you’re looking for notifications of posts, then be sure to follow us on Twitter @BuildWindows8. Look for shortened URLs of http://win8.ms/ with links to posts and videos.

Via: Windows8Beta.com

Microsoft has today formally launched the official Windows 8 blog and named it Building Windows 8 with Steven Sinofsky, the President of the Windows Division making the first post. Sinofsky started the blog post by stating that Windows 8 would be the best operating system and as mentioned by us earlier would be working on both old and new PC’s. Here is what he posted-

Building the next release of Microsoft Windows is an industry-wide effort that Microsoft approaches with a strong sense of responsibility and humility. Windows 8 reimagines Windows for a new generation of computing devices, and will be the very best operating system for hundreds of millions of PCs, new and old, used by well over a billion people globally.

Sinofsky further stated in the first blog post that pre-release version of Windows 8 would be released in coming months. The Build conference is being held next month and according to news, Microsoft would be releasing the beta version during this period. It would be interesting to see whether this news is confirmed or not.

Sinofsky said that they would be keeping a close look on the blog and would be going through all the blog posts and comments. Here is what he wrote-

Feel free to send us your thoughts via comments or email—we can’t respond to every question we receive, but your suggestions for blog topics are welcome. The email contact link in the right pane goes straight to my inbox without any filter (except spam filtering). Please note that we are also making this blog available in several other languages (acting on feedback from the Engineering Windows 7 blog) and you can expect to see those posts within 48 hours of the English language post.

If you’re looking for notifications of posts, then be sure to follow us on Twitter @BuildWindows8. Look for shortened URLs of http://win8.ms/ with links to posts and videos.

Via: Windows8Beta.com

An iPad is one of the most sought after gadgets these days. In fact, even kids have it on their Christmas wish list. If you are a frequent traveller then it may have apps that are suitable to your needs. If you think that you still need to pay for these apps, there are those you can just get for free. Here are 10 great travel apps for the iPad:

1. Hipmunk – Travellers find this as one of best resources for the cheapest flights. It also has return flight information which you can’t find on most other sites. It features all kinds of information using an easy to read and easy to understand grid. You may even organize the grid by airlines, flight length and price.

2. Cardstar – This is a convenient app that helps you store all your loyalty card numbers as well as frequent flyer and guest card numbers for hotel rewards schemes (such as those at the Holiday Inn or Travelodge discount codes). It can stop you from wasting time when looking for your hotel loyalty number or frequent flier number. It also generates coupons which are tailored to individual cards and can be used automatically.

3. XE Currency – It basically helps you find the latest rates. It is very straightforward and simple. Just select the currencies you want converted, the amount and that’s it.

4. Beat the Traffic HD – This app shows you where the traffic is in HD. It also features live traffic maps and updated weather conditions. It also has information on all the major routes over 100 cities.

5. Comixology – This is a good app if you have kids with you during plane rides or car trips. It has 1,300 titles of comic books from 30 publishers. It helps you search for comics by genre, series, creator, storylines/arcs, publisher; or by Popular, New and Featured.

6. Fastmall – If you are into shopping during your travels then this app helps you figure out what is inside the malls so you don’t get lost. It has the lay out of all the malls in more than twenty countries.

7. Reuters News for iPad – It offers news which can be useful for your travels. It also features updated weather forecasts and a currency converter. It also has a speedy loading video and photo galleries.

8. Kayak Explore + Flight Search – It helps you search for your flight. It can feature the results by the number of connections, airline, time, price and airport. It can also tell the miles and it has a handy budget/distance calculator.

9. SitOrSquat – This app is a crowd sourced bathroom locator for hotel lobbies but mostly in the US.

10. Submaps HD – This helps you navigate through underground transportation systems in sixteen cities. With this app, you’ll never get lost in subways again.

The iPad can be your handy guide on your next vacation. From looking for flights and finding your way through subways to mall and bathroom blueprints, the above mentioned 10 great travel apps for the iPad can definitely help you have a grand vacation.

Many people see it as an odd development that a big percentage of the media excitement in technology land is focused around tablets. It could be because tablets are the newest thing in the constantly changing technology land or simply because they are more compact and lighter; however you look at it tablets are all over the place. But the first question that should be asked is, do we really need tablet devices? Are they necessary, can they do more than merely allow you to do the odd bit of web browsing whilst lounging around in your lounge and are they not merely an extremely successful Video Marketing strategy? Why not stick with our old laptops? Are tablet devices really any superior than cheap laptops which cost approximately the same? This post will give you 7 reasons why they aren’t.

Reason 1: Laptops are constructed to be tougher and stronger.
Tablet devices do come with protective cases (if you pay extra for them) but even if you get these protective covers the fact is that tablets will be more at risk of breakage. With screens that are unprotected and a weaker build tablets have less robustness of many cheap laptops.

Reason Two: Laptops have Much Storage Ability and much Greater Processors.
It will come as no great surprise to readers that when you talk about storage capacity if you are using a tablet computer or ipad 2, the storgae quickly gets full. To add to that, there is no option for a memory card that you can insert for extra storage (at least in most of the tablet devices currently on sale). In comparison with modern and cheap laptops, laptops offer much greater memory capabilities.
As with the processors, again laptops have much greater processors and processing power than tablets.

Reason Three: Laptops Offer More Equipment with multiple connections, extensions and add-ons.
There are a lot of things that tablets have in their favour, but connectivity is not their best feature. Unless you only want to connect to other computer devices through wireless you will not be pleased with the connectivity of your tablet computer. On the other hand, laptops offer everything from Thunderbolt, USB 2, USB 3 and Firewire to Bluetooth, HDMI, VGI and DVA and also eSata and connection to various audio and optical devices such as wireless headphones. It doesn’t stop there however. As well as the usual included optical drives these days you can have laptops that also feature surround sound, dab digital radio, tv receivers and also a freesat recorder.

Reason Four: Tablet devices are Really Designed Only to Work Online.
The reason that tablets don’t feature much storage or processing ability is because they are designed with the cloud in mind. This lets them to be small and light, but it can also mean there is not much you can do with them offline, as there is only so much media they are able to store. No wi-fi? No tablet.

Reason Five: Laptops Are Undoubtedly Better when it comes to Editing Documents, Media etc
As long as you install the optimum software, editing your documents and media will not cause any difficulties for even the most lowly of laptops these days. That said, if you choose a tablet, you will be limited to a very limited selection of options. Tablet devices are similarly often unable to support the broad choice of content and media offered on the internet; ipads to give one example don’t even support Flash.

Reason 6: Pricewise, Tablets are Way Better Value then Laptops
Finally of course, it is a question of price. With laptops featuring so many extra features it seems bizarre that you are able to get a well equipped and cheap laptop for a similar price as your tablet computer. Are these tablets really worth purchasing when a laptop will cost roughly the same?

With the worsening economic condition in several parts of the world today, it is refreshing to see there are still a few out there willing to give out things completely free of cost. At Free Games you get exactly what the site claims to sell, with no strings attached. The website is absolutely brimming with fun and exciting games catering to any and everybody’s taste. From the looks of the free games available on the website, seems its owners really dig deep into the internet to offer their site’s visitors with the best games possible.

The varying genre of games available on the website include casual games, for those who are bored and looking for a way to kill time, puzzle games, for those who like to test their intellect, and action and adventure games for those who enjoy a bit of excitement in their lives. Each game title is followed by a fun quirky statement which gives a vague description of what gamers might expect when they play that game. The search option allows gamers to access any game by simply typing in its name or a similar keyword.

For easy navigation around the site, users can check out ‘Top Rated Games’ and the ‘Popular Games’, to find the best games available on the site. The most exciting thing about the site is, it offers a new game each day, ensuring that its gamers would never get bored playing the same games over and over again. It even allows users to rate the games they play, so to assist others to know the quality of a particular game.

The website offers several world renowned games, such as Angry Birds, all of which are available not just on the actual website alone, but can also be accessed through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. This is an excellent way to play games and leave a comment on the social network account or even compete with the friends.

The great aspect pulling in a lot of visitors for the website is the Free Games Blog. This blog offers gamers with a way of gaining access to walkthroughs and game cheats. For further assistance and better understanding, some walkthroughs even come with an additional video, to help those gamers who are having difficulty following the textual format. It even discusses games which may appeal to certain interests of people, for example, listing down the best 5 fishing games the website has to offer.

With nearly 4000 likes on Facebook and 156 followers on Twitter, Free Games is gradually gaining popularity in the online world, with more and more people getting appealed by the availability of the latest games, completely free of cost. No longer will gamers need to spend hundreds of dollars on PC games and appropriate computer equipment to run them. On Free Games, they can have access to new games, from varying genres every day. The site is one stop shop to find and play latest and exciting games online.

A couple of weeks ago we launched a new website.

If you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out here at the familiar address http://www.nuiteq.com.