Any Web Cam, Any Game, 3D accurate trackin!

Cam-Trax is "coolest thing since ice," can provide Wii-like controls with any webcam - Engadget

Posts from Mac 101

Mac 101 at TUAW

Lots of great stuff here. Probably lots you already know, but there is bound to be sumfin' new for ya.

Give an Old TV a Rerun

Popular Science:

"turn it into a monitor for an iPod video, a security-camera feed or an external display for a PC"

Twitter: Future Outlook

As you all know I tried twittering a conference. Point blank I didn't like it. Maybe because I felt like I was reporting rather than sharing. I was sending out a barrage of information and it felt intrusive. Key points only next time. If there is a next time. Hmmm…

Businessweek one of my favorite technology sources has this interesting article and the projected growth of twittering.

Why Twitter Matters

From Atari Joyboard to Wii Fit: 25 years of "exergaming" - Boing Boing Gadgets

Boing Boing Gadgets

Pixel Bender Toolkit - Adobe Labs

Pixel Bender Toolkit - Adobe Labs:

This Pixel Bender Toolkit Preview Release 3 includes a high-performance graphics programming language that Adobe is developing for image processing, named Pixel Bender (previously codenamed Hydra), and an application to create, compile and preview Pixel Bender filters and effects. The toolkit contains a specification for the Pixel Bender language, several sample filters, and sample images provided by Pixel Bender team members.

This is the same thing that ships w/ AfterEffects! The new Flash will be able to leverage it so ,we can create custom filters, f/x, and blends.

Here is a tutorial to get started with. I know what I am doing over lunch!

Flash Player 10

Adobe Labs - Flash Player 10

Cool! The next gen of the player is here. It is just in Beta right now but the effects look pretty wicked (1980s!).

Flash Player 10 beta packs a slew of new developer-centric features, but the most visible change for users will be the speed boost, which comes from new hardware acceleration tools that can offload some rendering tasks to your graphics card rather than relying solely on the CPU. That means your favorite sites using Flash interfaces will be much snappier.

THP training System

Nury Tec's THP2 Training System makes the Wii Fit seem a bit childish - Engadget

This looks pretty interesting too. I'm wondering if it is open source.

Family Trainer from Atari

Atari takes on Wii Fit with floor mat-based Family Trainer game - Engadget

Whaaa? Log jumping count me in.

Learn 35 Languages for Free in iTunes

Learn 35 Languages for Free in iTunes

The extensive library of courses span over 35 languages, from Arabic to Yiddish. Each course comes as a convenient podcast which you can subscribe and put on your iPod or iPhone.

To get the entire list of language learning podcasts, hit the browse button on the lower-right corner of your iTunes window—it’s the icon that looks like an eye. Then browse to the Podcasts/Education/Language Courses directory.

"How to Prototype a Game in Under 7 Days" Printer Friendly

Gamasutra - Feature

Not really a technology but I thought a good article on rapid prototyping. Here is the cutout list to give you an idea of what is inside

Handy Cut-Out List!

Setup: Rapid is a State of Mind

• Embrace the Possibility of Failure - it Encourages Creative Risk Taking
• Enforce Short Development Cycles (More Time != More Quality)
• Constrain Creativity to Make You Want it Even More
• Gather a Kickass Team and an Objective Advisor – Mindset is as Important as Talent
• Develop in Parallel for Maximum Splatter

Design: Creativity and the Myth of Brainstorming

• Formal Brainstorming Has a 0% Success Rate
• Gather Concept Art and Music to Create an Emotional Target
• Simulate in Your Head – Pre-Prototype the Prototype

Development: Nobody Knows How You Made it, and Nobody Cares

• Build the Toy First
• If You Can Get Away With it, Fake it
• Cut Your Losses and "Learn When to Shoot Your Baby in the Crib"
• Heavy Theming Will Not Salvage Bad Design (or "You Can't Polish a Turd")
• But Overall Aesthetic Matters! Apply a Healthy Spread of Art, Sound, and Music
• Nobody Cares About Your Great Engineering

General Gameplay: Sensual Lessons in Juicy Fun

• Complexity is Not Necessary for Fun
• Create a Sense of Ownership to Keep 'em Crawling Back for More
• "Experimental" Does Not Mean "Complex"
• Build Toward a Well Defined Goal
• Make it Juicy!

Qipit

Copy and share documents

Copy documents, whiteboards and handwritten notes with your camera phone or digital camera to store, fax, email or publish!

• Turn documents, notes and whiteboards into digital copies (PDFs)
• Email or fax qipit digital copies via email, your online Qipit account, or right from your phone
• Store all of your paper documents and notes as digital documents for easy archiving and sharing
• Tag your qipit documents for easy searching and sorting
• Publish and share your documents on the web

Cool Tool: Mac Laptop Power Cord Tip

Cool Tools
You can use the power cord from a Sony Playstation, easily available for 6 bucks, instead of the cord Mac gave you. That is a pretty cool tool. Scroll down and also click the link on: Tips for Conference Bloggers too.

Qmotions bringing skate controllers to the 360 - Engadget

Qmotions bringing skate controllers to the 360 - Engadget

Adobe - Open Screen Project

Adobe - Open Screen Project

Looks like Adobe has opened the FLV and SWF format...

Today, they lifted the licensing restriction on both the SWF and FLV/F4V specifications. It also looks like they are releasing the protocols so that it can be embedded on any device.

Smoove moove.