Amazing slow-motion video demonstration

The video above was shot using a Phantom Flex camera, at a mind-boggling 2,564 frames-per-second, all in 1080p. According to the camera manufacturer's website, the camera is even capable of shooting faster speeds of up to 10,750 fps, but at a more limited resolution of 640 x 480.

The only real question now is, how long until we we see these cameras used for moviemaking?

(Vimeo.com)

HP announces iPad competitor, the "TouchPad"

It looks like it HP wants to take a bite out of Apple's tablet market share, with their newly announced tablet, the oddly named "TouchPad". The TouchPad seems to be sporting specs very similar to the iPad, or rather, closer to what the iPad 2 may contain. It's also expected to use the WebOS 3.0 operating system, a side-effect of HP's purchase of Palm last year.

After watch HP's promotional video for it, I also noticed that its interface in places, is eerily similar to the iPad's. Here's some pictures for comparison:

On the left we have HP's Touchpad, and on the right we have the iPad. It seems like a blatant attempt at copying the iPad's interface if you ask me. One can only hope it handles as smoothly as the iPad's. All in all, it's a welcome change to see a tablet that has the same level of polish as the iPad, however the jury is out on whether or not TouchPad will succeed where many a tablet has failed.

If you'd like to see the TouchPad promotion video, click here, and for more details, and the full list of specs, click past the break.

A poor man's Porsche

Now this is an interesting project, I'm sure a lot of people would like to own a Porsche, but out of those that want one, and can't actually afford one, how many of them went out and built themselves a 1:1 peddle-powered scale model of it? Not many I'm sure. This must have been quite the engineering feat, it's just too bad that there's no video of it in action.

IBM building world's fastest supercomputer in Minnesota

Mike Good and Kevin Collins from IBM, posed in front of what will be the housing for Mira.

According to a recent post on StarTribune.com, IBM has drawn up plans to build what will be, the world's fastest supercomputer, with a processing capacity 4 times that of the closest competitor, the Tianhe-1A in China.

The "Mira", as it will be called, will be built in Rochester Minnesota, at an expected cost of 50 million dollars, with well over 750,000 individual processors. When Mira is finally operational, IBM plans to use it to develop things such as, new batteries for electric cars, new drugs, or even nuclear weapons.

(StarTribune.com)

(Picture credit goes to Star Tribune.com)

Xperia Play announced... finally.

Above, the somewhat disturbing reveal video.

After dozen of leaks, rumors, and pictures of the Xperia Play, Sony has finally given it an official "unveiling". it's in unveiling in name only though, as everyone and their dog has gotten their hands on one at this point.

Prior to it's official naming, most referred to it as the "Playstation/PSP Phone", though that's a bit of a misnomer, as it is unlikely that  it will be compatible with any recent PSP games. It is however "Playstation Certified", meaning that it will be compatible with Sony's upcoming Android application, Playstation Suite.

When the Xperia Play does drop later this year, it will be sporting a 4-inch multitouch LCD, and running the latest build of Android, 2.3 aka. Gingerbread. For a full list of specs, and more pictures, I've put a few links at the bottom of the page.

(Engadget)
(Gizmodo)
(HuffingtonPost)

Cash, Credit card... or cell phone?

According to a recent post on Bloomberg.com, Apple is planning to incorporate NFC technology into the next generation of the iPhone and iPad. NFC stands for "Near-Field Communication", and would allow the devices to send and receive information at a distance of up to 4 inches, with the goal being to allow consumers to purchase products at retailers, using only their iPhone or iPad.

This could be quite a game-changer in the way that we purchase things. Imagine yourself walking into a store, grabbing a few items, and running your phone over a reader to purchase it. If it catches on, I'm sure other cell phone manufactures will quickly follow suit. My only concern with  the technology however, is, is it secure? What happens if criminals crack the security of the protocol, and then use that to build "skimming devices", similar to what has been done to ATM machines? A bit unlikely, but worth a mention.

I do hope though, that Apple chooses to include NFC in their devices, as it would be neat to be able to purchase things using your phone, or even use your phone as an ID sometime in the future.

(Bloomberg.com)

Facebook explained...

At last, someone has managed to create an easy way to sum-up Facebook! This picture was created by an anonymous member of the Internet, and while I know this hardly qualifies as news, it seemed like a fitting way to kick off the weekend.

Also, if you're looking to kill some time over the weekend, I'd highly recommend checking out Freddy Wong's YouTube channel. I've featured one of his videos on here before, and I have to say he's one of the funniest filmmakers on YouTube, so, once again, check his page out if you get the chance.