Microsoft announces Explorer Touch Mouse

The Explorer Touch Mouse features a touch strip that allows users to swipe horizontally or vertically and have that translated into a on-screen navigation. In addition to the touch strip there’s a wheel featuring three scroll speeds - slow speed for precise movements, medium speed to move forward a page or two, or hyperfast speed to flick quickly through a long document. Oh, and if that’s not enough, there are also five buttons for you to customize and play with.
The mouse also features haptic technology in the form of a vibration when the touch strip is used.
The Explorer Touch Mouse makes use of BlueTrack Technology for seamless scrolling on a variety of surfaces - everything from your carpet to your couch to your pant leg according to Microsoft.
Worried about battery life? Don’t! This mouse offers up to 18 months of battery life - a first for Microsoft.
The Explorer Touch Mouse will be available in September for $49.95.
Interested … or do you find it hard to get worked up about a peripheral?

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Google Gains Multi-Touch Ammo

Google just landed some impressive 3D desktop software in its purchase of Bump Technologies, but a looming patent battle with Apple suggests that Google also had BumpTop's multi-touch technology on the brain when it gobbled up the company.

The existing BumpTop software for Windows and Mac, soon to be discontinued, arranges desktops into three-dimensional spaces. Users can arrange files into stacks and stick notes and photos to the walls, a lot like a real desk. But the real magic happened last October, when Bump introduced multi-touch gestures for BumpTop's Windows edition. This allowed users to pan and zoom around the desktop and to stack up and fan out their documents with finger swipes.

Google already allows multi-touch gestures in its Android phones, but BumpTop's list of commands goes beyond what Google currently offers. Some gestures are specific to the 3D desktop, such as dragging two fingers to focus on the desktop's back wall, and some have already been done by Google, Apple and others, such as pinch-to-zoom and flick to move between photos.

But there are some real gems in BumpTop's stash. For example, dragging a finger flat across the screen in BumpTop pushes objects around, and holding one finger in place while dragging another crops images. Even if Google never implements a 3D desktop, these gestures could come in handy for Android or even Chrome OS.

Apple, meanwhile, is beefing up its own arsenal of multi-touch gestures. The company recently won a multi-touch patent for dozens of gestures performed by an entire hand, with fingers spread apart. This covers common computer functions such as copy/paste and undo/redo for interfaces with large touch screens (the iPad, perhaps). Apple also applied to patent a sort of gesture dictionary, which lets users look up multi-touch commands and map them to functions of their choosing.

Maybe it's a coincidence that all these multi-touch moves are happening at the same time, but it seems unlikely given Apple's patent infringement lawsuit against HTC, largely seen as a way for Apple to hit Google by proxy. The patents in question don't specifically mention multi-touch, but the lawsuit sshows that Apple's willing to protect its patents in court, and that should be enough for Google to play along in a multi-touch arms race.

I don't know what patents Bump Technologies holds, if any, for the gestures it uses, but either way the software gives Google some new tricks that Apple hasn't implemented, and that's better than nothing.

Samsung, Panasonic start selling 3-D TVs this week

By PETER SVENSSON,

 

NEW YORK – Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week, inaugurating what TV makers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room.
Samsung Electronics Co. announced Tuesday that it is selling two 3-D sets. Combined with the required glasses and a 3-D Blu-ray player, the prices start at about $3,000 for a 46-inch screen.
Panasonic Corp. has said it will sell its first 3-D set Wednesday.
The push into the living room comes as moviegoers have shown considerable enthusiasm for the latest wave of 3-D fare in the theater. This weekend, "Alice in Wonderland" grossed an estimated $116.2 million at the box office, beating the first-weekend receipts of "Avatar," the winter's 3-D blockbuster.
Although it's clear that 3-D sets for the home will appeal to technology and home-theater enthusiasts, it remains to be seen if the TVs will entice regular consumers to spend $500 or more above the price of a comparably sized standard TV and Blu-ray player.
The 3-D effect requires viewers to wear relatively bulky glasses that need to be recharged occasionally. They're not like the cheap throwaways that have been used in theaters since the 1950s. When you're wearing these 3-D TV glasses, room lights and computer screens may look like they're flickering, making it difficult to combine 3-D viewing with other household activities.
And for now, there isn't much to watch in 3-D. Samsung is including a 3-D copy of "Monsters vs. Aliens" on Blu-ray discs with its packages, in a deal with the studio, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Its CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, said that it would convert its "Shrek" movies to 3-D for Samsung TV buyers later this year.
"We continue to see this amazing level of enthusiasm and excitement for 3-D. The rate of adoption for this into the cinema has been a rocket ship these last couple of months," Katzenberg said.
Eventually, sports and other programming that will benefit from a more immersive experience should be offered in 3-D. ESPN has said it will start a channel that will broadcast live events using the technology, starting with FIFA World Cup soccer in June.
Samsung, the world's largest maker of TVs, has high hopes for 3-D. Tim Baxter, the head of the company's U.S. electronics division, said he expects 3-D to be in 3 million to 4 million of the 35 million TV sets that all manufacturers will sell in the U.S. this year.
Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will start selling its 3-D televisions in June. It hopes that 10 percent of the TVs it aims to sell in the next fiscal year will be 3-D units.
Both Sony and Panasonic appear to be positioning their 3-D sets at a higher premium than Samsung. Panasonic hasn't yet revealed what its sets will cost, but it's using only high-end plasma screens, for maximum image quality. And rather than selling 3-D sets broadly, it's going only through Best Buy Inc.'s Magnolia Home Theater stores.
Samsung's two new sets will be followed by another 13 3-D capable models in the next two months. Soon, 3-D packages with plasma sets will be available for about $2,000, Baxter said.
The TVs going on sale this week aren't the very first ones that are 3-D capable. A few years ago, Mitsubishi Corp., started selling 3-D rear-projection sets. But this is the first time consumers can get flat-panel sets that come with an easy way of accessing 3-D content through Blu-ray players.

Star Wars laser successfully destroys ballistic missile

by Doug Hanchard

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan supported a program designed to shoot down Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) which raised protest and skepticism — if such a technology was even possible — six years after the movie Star Wars debut. Billions of dollars were invested in a variety of research programs. The military has methodically researched a variety of concepts on how to defend against incoming nuclear missiles. SDI was born and today is managed by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

Among the concepts: Using a high powered laser to hit an ICBM and destroy it. Ground based systems made no sense for a variety of logistical and technical reasons. Airborne-based platforms made sense. Spaced-based systems would have been ideal, many thought.

Ground-based systems were never seriously considered because of many obstacles that could occur between the ground station and the target and the limited amount of area that it could protect.

Spaced based systems are ideal, but posed significant technical, financial and security challenges. Throughout the 1990’s, the program evolved, and continues down two primary paths. One is using ground based missiles to hit opposing missiles such as the Patriot system and the second is using aircraft with the payload that is then fired to intercept an ICBM. The latter concept has continued development as a satellite attack platform.

Modifying the second approach evolved using large airborne platforms to house powerful high powered (as in multiple Megawatt) based lasers. The program offered several advantages. It’s rechargeable, it can be stationed anywhere over the United States and its allies, and it can be above any obstacles between itself and the target. In 2004, a B-747-400, heavily modified to be used as the test platform, known as the YAL-1A, was built.

A Chemical Oxide Laser is housed in the aircraft and is going through testing to destroy short and long range ballistic missiles. On Wednesday just before 9 PM Pacific time, the second successful test was completed.

At 8:44 p.m. (PST), February 11, 2010, a short-range threat-representative ballistic missile was launched from an at-sea mobile launch platform. Within seconds, the ALTB used onboard sensors to detect the boosting missile and used a low-energy laser to track the target. The ALTB then fired a second low-energy laser to measure and compensate for atmospheric disturbance. Finally, the ALTB fired its megawatt-class High Energy Laser, heating the boosting ballistic missile to critical structural failure. The entire engagement occurred within two minutes of the target missile launch, while its rocket motors were still thrusting.

This was the first directed energy lethal intercept demonstration against a liquid-fuel boosting ballistic missile target from an airborne platform. The revolutionary use of directed energy is very attractive for missile defense, with the potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers, and at a low cost per intercept attempt compared to current technologies.

If the program continues to have success, it could offer the U.S. and its allies protection against future attacks from rogue nations that have chemical, biological or dirty nuclear warhead based missiles,


The Entertainment Blog at www.pop97.com

Star Wars laser successfully destroys ballistic missile

by Doug Hanchard

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan supported a program designed to shoot down Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) which raised protest and skepticism — if such a technology was even possible — six years after the movie Star Wars debut. Billions of dollars were invested in a variety of research programs. The military has methodically researched a variety of concepts on how to defend against incoming nuclear missiles. SDI was born and today is managed by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

Among the concepts: Using a high powered laser to hit an ICBM and destroy it. Ground based systems made no sense for a variety of logistical and technical reasons. Airborne-based platforms made sense. Spaced-based systems would have been ideal, many thought.

Ground-based systems were never seriously considered because of many obstacles that could occur between the ground station and the target and the limited amount of area that it could protect.

Spaced based systems are ideal, but posed significant technical, financial and security challenges. Throughout the 1990’s, the program evolved, and continues down two primary paths. One is using ground based missiles to hit opposing missiles such as the Patriot system and the second is using aircraft with the payload that is then fired to intercept an ICBM. The latter concept has continued development as a satellite attack platform.

Modifying the second approach evolved using large airborne platforms to house powerful high powered (as in multiple Megawatt) based lasers. The program offered several advantages. It’s rechargeable, it can be stationed anywhere over the United States and its allies, and it can be above any obstacles between itself and the target. In 2004, a B-747-400, heavily modified to be used as the test platform, known as the YAL-1A, was built.

A Chemical Oxide Laser is housed in the aircraft and is going through testing to destroy short and long range ballistic missiles. On Wednesday just before 9 PM Pacific time, the second successful test was completed.

At 8:44 p.m. (PST), February 11, 2010, a short-range threat-representative ballistic missile was launched from an at-sea mobile launch platform. Within seconds, the ALTB used onboard sensors to detect the boosting missile and used a low-energy laser to track the target. The ALTB then fired a second low-energy laser to measure and compensate for atmospheric disturbance. Finally, the ALTB fired its megawatt-class High Energy Laser, heating the boosting ballistic missile to critical structural failure. The entire engagement occurred within two minutes of the target missile launch, while its rocket motors were still thrusting.

This was the first directed energy lethal intercept demonstration against a liquid-fuel boosting ballistic missile target from an airborne platform. The revolutionary use of directed energy is very attractive for missile defense, with the potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers, and at a low cost per intercept attempt compared to current technologies.

If the program continues to have success, it could offer the U.S. and its allies protection against future attacks from rogue nations that have chemical, biological or dirty nuclear warhead based missiles,


The Entertainment Blog at www.pop97.com

EU Likely to OK Microsoft / Yahoo Deal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Microsoft is expected to secure unconditional EU approval for its landmark search deal with Yahoo Inc to challenge market leader Google, sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.

U.S. software company Microsoft and Internet firm Yahoo signed a 10-year global Web search partnership last July, which must be approved by regulators to take effect.

The European Commission, competition watchdog of the 27-country European Union, has a self-imposed deadline of February 19 to approve or block the deal.

It can extend the review and seek remedies from the companies if it believes the transaction might hurt rivals or consumers. Friday was the last day for Microsoft to submit such proposals.

The company has not done so, one of the sources said.

"I expect clearance without any concessions next Friday," that person said.

Experts said any regulatory concern would be minimal because of Google's dominance.

Google had 90 percent of the global search market versus 7.4 percent for a combined Yahoo and Microsoft's Bing, according to November data from Web research firm StatCounter.

In a questionnaire sent to rivals and consumer groups last month and seen by Reuters, the Commission asked whether the merger would allow Microsoft to compete better against Google.

Google abandoned its own advertising deal with Yahoo in 2008 under pressure from the U.S. Justice Department. Microsoft had opposed the proposed tie-up.

Microsoft in December ended a decade-long battle with the European Commission by letting European consumers have better access to rival Internet browsers in its Windows operating system.

(Editing by Dale Hudson)

Taking Google's Buzz mobile

We've taken a first look at Google Buzz (video) from many angles--as a Gmail feature, as a privacy nightmare, and as a pain to disable. Now it's time to fire up the mobile phone to see how Google's new social networking service works on the go.

We give you a taste of Google Buzz for mobile in our First Look video, as tested (fittingly) on Google's Nexus One phone. But heed our warning--what you can access using Buzz from various outlets is a brain-bender, and depends on your smartphone.


There are four main ways to buzz:

1. From a link on Google.com
2. From a dedicated Buzz site, buzz.google.com
3. As a layer in the native Google Maps app
4. As a voice prompt

Now here's the first kicker: you can't exercise just any posting option from every phone.

Here's how you can get to Buzz if you have:

* iPhone: Google.com, buzz.google.com, iPhone-optimized Google Maps Web site (not the native Maps app), Google Mobile App voice search shortcut
* Android: Google.com, buzz.google.com (for Android 2.0+ only at launch), Google Maps (Android 1.6+), Google voice search shortcut (Android 2.0+)
* Symbian Series 60 and Windows Mobile 5+: Google Maps 4.0 (download from m.google.com)

Google plans to roll out broader support for all of the above on more platforms and more phones in the coming months.

Confusing, disparate

Buzz.Google.com

Buzz.Google.com is accessible from iPhone and some Android phones.


After working out how you can get to Buzz from which smartphone comes the second kicker. Not every Buzz outlet lets you do the same thing. You can post a geolocation-optional buzz from any of these four avenues, but the extras--finding buzzes from others nearby, adding a photo, and seeing locations on a map--differ by Buzz portal.

For instance, the well-developed buzz.google.com Web app lets you search, view nearby buzzes, read the updates of those who follow you, and view a map of nearby Buzzers (Buzzards?). Tap a person's buzz and you can "like" it, reply, and view the geotagged location from a map. Those are good features, as is being able to use Google search to find your precise location if there's no perfect match on Google's list of GPS'ed suggestions.

The Buzz layer in Google Maps, however, lacks the granularity of being able to search for your GPS location. You can't "like" another's buzz, and you can only view buzzes from those around you, not your buddies. On the plus side, you can include a photo in a Maps buzz.

What it all boils down to is that Buzz as service lacks unity and inhabits an almost frenetic quality. While all public buzzes post to the same place--your Google profile--the experience differs too greatly through the various portals. We'd like to see the Buzz Web app and Maps layer, the two most substantial ways to get to Buzz from a mobile phone, share all their features. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to peek at who you're following from the map, or upload photos to the Web.