Larry Larsen

Kinoma Play for Windows Mobile

Larry — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:35:00 GMT

Kinoma is an application geared toward an all-inclusive rich media experience on the Windows Mobile platform. What's that mean? Well for starters it means you can watch YouTube videos (the h.264 ones), browse pictures from Flickr, SmugMug, and MobileMe (what's that?) including interactive panoramas, and select from thousands of audio streams without a sync.

Here are a few features that stood out to me as setting Kinoma apart from other apps:

- Guide: Kinoma has an interesting "content discovery system" that lets you search for radio stations, podcasts, music, wecams, and YouTube videos without leaving the application.
- Slideshows: Besides having what looks like a very nice interface for photos on WinMo, Kinoma allows you to create slideshows of your favorite photos along with music (or a voice narrated MP3).
- Integrated Services: Kinoma has built-in support for a number of services, from Live365, SHOUTcast, Audible.com, and Orb. Orb is a server app that runs on your home computer allowing you to connect, browse, and stream your photos, music, and videos on your home computer (or Windows Home Server) right to your phone. And if the video you want to watch isn't the correct format for your phone, it will convert it on the fly for you.
- HQ Audio: Kinoma supports the FLAC audio format, an uncompressed music format for "perfect" audio reproduction. So no more converting your FLAC files to another format for your phone.

Kinoma has a free version called FreePlay, and the feature-complete version is $29.99. Be sure to check the supported devices page before buying.

Windows Home Server - First Look at New Reference Hardware

Larry — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:28:00 GMT

Charles Torre and I paid a visit to the Windows Home Server team to get the latest on what's up with the SDK they released, what it means to consumers, what Add-In's they're playing with now, and what we can expect from the team down the road. (Check out Charles' video on Channel 9 here)

While I was there, they pulled out some new hardware for Home Server. The first (at 11:00 in) is the Epson Endeavor, based on an Atom CPU (low power, very quiet) using 2.5" laptop hard drives. Next is reference hardware from VIA (at 14:30 in the video) called the Antigo, based on a Pico-ITX motherboard. This one is extremely small sizing up smaller than a Western Digital My Book external hard drive. This one is without a doubt going to be my replacement Home Server.

Related links: WeGotServed (Home Server Add-In's), Windows Home Server Team Blog, Home Server Community Forums.

Diary of a Surface Dev Team

Larry — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:36:00 GMT

While many of us dream of having a single Surface Computer to play with, Vectorform has 8 of them to play with. Fortunately they're documenting much of it on their blog. Follow along with the unboxing, their first entertainment app, explanation of a "muster", and videos of them playing around with new ideas.

With 8 Surfaces and a team of over 20 people, we can't wait to see what they come up with next.

Recycle Your Old Gadgets & Get Paid

Larry — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:19:00 GMT

Let me guess, somewhere you have a box of gadgets you consider worthless enough to sit in a box but valuable enough that you can't bare to throw away. eBay is an option but really, do you want to go to the trouble of selling each thing individually and then sending out to different places?

One option is Gazelle.com. Gazelle will make you an offer on your gadgets, depending on condition and what packaging/accessories you have left, and then send you a box to put it all in. Wrap it up and collect your check. They promise to remove personal information from devices, but that's never a job you should put on someone else in my opinion.

They have options to contribute to charities or put a link on your blog, email sig, site, that allows you to get a kickback on the gear your friends recycle. I was surprised to see Gazelle's offer to be within 10-15% of eBay. They say they sell the electronics through "a variety of retail and wholesale outlets." If you know of a retail store that sells used satellite radios or GPS', let me know in the comments, I can't say I've seen that.

I will say I'm a little disappointed Gazelle doesn't just sell the gadgets they collect. Since they silo them into model they should even be able to offer a warranty for a replacement if you get a bad gadget. Either way, better someone benefit from the hardware while they can rather than it sit in a box.

Get it now: Skyfire Mobile Browser + Silverlight

Larry — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:18:00 GMT

Skyfire delivers, just in time for the Olympics they let fly with Silverlight support on their Windows Mobile browser. If you haven't seen Skyfire, get up to date in this video from co-founder Nitin Bhandari at DEMO 08.

Skyfire gives Windows Mobile users a desktop experience with support for CSS, Ajax, QuickTime, Flash 9, and now Silverlight. The beta is for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 phones, and only for US phones right now.

And unfortunately Skyfire is a closed beta, but if you are one of the first 50 people to go to the sign-up page and enter the code "channel10" (no quotes) into the beta code field, you'll get to see what it's like.

Let us know what you think.

Xbox 360 + XNA is a Win-Win

Larry — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:23:00 GMT

Recently the game Braid was released on Xbox Live Marketplace. In the first week, this side scroller brought in nearly a million dollars in revenue. What sets this game apart from others is that it wasn't developed by one of the big game companies, but rather by Jonathan Blow with graphics help from David Hellman.

Turning console game development into a cottage industry is new, and it's a win-win for all of us. For Jonathan, he can now make developing games a full-time career. For us, it means we can anticipate more lower-cost games (Braid is $15). We can also expect some interesting twists from non-establishment game developers. For instance, Braid is a side scroller, but it is different from other Mario-type games in that you get a single life and the ability to reverse time (more on that from 1up.com).

I'm interested in hearing what downloadable games you like, and what you would like to see in marketplace games. Leave us a comment and let us know.

Lenovo Multimedia Laptop

Nic — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:05:00 GMT

Traditionally laptops have been the lower-performance compromise you make for leaving your desktop. Lenovo has changed that paradigm by producing this monster machine. With the first Quad Core Extreme CPU ever on a laptop, an NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700 (with 1GB video memory), RAID 0 or 1, and 8GB (!) of DDR3 RAM, this desktop hiding in a laptop makes no compromises.

Probably most interesting is the way Lenovo has positioned this to multimedia enthusiasts. The laptop has an integrated Wacom tablet, the screen has an option for a 400-nit (about twice as bright as some previous ThinkPads) WUXGA screen with built-in color-calibration sensor, and the front of the laptop has slots for your Flash Memory.

Olympic Medal Count Vista Gadget

Larry — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:57:00 GMT

Donavon West, who previously brough us the Obama DeepZoom, is back with a Beijing 2008 Olympic Medal Count Gadget. Updating every 15 minutes, this daget will show the top 5 gold, silver, and bronze medal counts. You can also click on the countries to get more specific information.

It's Official: Get Netflix on your Xbox 360

Larry — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:19:00 GMT

This morning we announced support for Netflix service as being built-in in an upcoming software update to 360 service. As C|Net points out, there have been some workarounds for this in the meantime, but this solution will allow you to stream natively and without a dedicated Media Center PC.

Also announced is a shared movie experience that will let you watch a movie at distance with up to 7 friends at once. Major Nelson promises more details on this later today.

Come join the fun at Imagine Cup 2008

Larry — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:19:00 GMT

We wanted to let you know that most of the Channel 10 team is here in Paris helping Channel 8 cover Imagine Cup 2008. Nic is here with Max and I, Benjamin Gauthey is here as a photography judge, and our own Laura Foy is the captain of the short film category. Even Channel 9's own Charles Torre is here as a software judge. And poor Tina? Well, someone had to stay back and answer the phones. (cue violins)

We've got plenty in the queue for Channel 10 while we're gone, but once you're done here, jump on over to Channel 8 and check out the World's Premiere Technology Competition. (photo by Ambika Singh)

Obama Deep Zoom

Larry — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Donavon West, a regular on Channel 9 and also the man behind HomeServerHacks.com, has created a gigapixel Deep Zoom from Obama supporter thumbnails - 12,000 to be exact, spread across a 10,000 x 10,000 pixel photo of Barack Obama. Some of the images are higher res than others (higher res images seem to stand out a little more than the others even at a distance), check out the high res photo on his left eye.

See more at DeepZoomObama.com

Bill Gates on Channel 9

Larry — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:08:00 GMT

Bill Gates and Charles Torre got together at TechEd to talk about his transition into the future and the changes in his goals as he goes from driving Microsoft to driving the Gates Foundation.

This is a good opportunity to see some of the gears turning behind decisions like putting Ray Ozzie in the CSA seat, how we address competitors, increasing agility while growing, and what developers should be paying attention to this decade and next.

You can see the Channel 9 thread here.

Print Your Own Camera

Larry — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:45:00 GMT

The folks at Corbis are hosting a number of pinhole cameras that you can print out and construct in your spare time. You'll want to use some thick paper if you take this on, and probably use some black (electrical or duct) tape on the inside to seal the film from light.

Check the FAQ for more details.

Zune 4/8 Case Roundup

Larry — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:40:00 GMT

Over on Channel 8, Max has gotten hold of some of Cesar's cases out of the Zune group. He takes a look at them along with some pros and cons on each. Also making an appearance is arm-model Laura Foy.

Next-Gen PC Design

Larry — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:06:00 GMT

The Next-Gen PC design competition has been judged and at the top of the stack of very nice entries is this multi-user, multi-interface Napkin PC by Avery Holleman. You can see the rest of the submissions here, last years winners can be found here.

Let us know what you think, which ones do you really like/dislike?

The Microsoft 216 Megapixel Camera

Larry — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:41:00 GMT

Did you know that Microsoft makes a 216 Megapixel camera? I didn't know either until I read it on Mark Brown's Virtual Earth blog, but it turns out that this is the photobeastie behind the orthogonal imagery on Virtual Earth. The UltraCams are also used to create the 3D models you see on Virtual Earth through photogrammetric processing.

The UltraCam snaps an impressive 14,430 x 9,420 pixel image using 13 CCD's, sending them through 14 CPU's. The camera captures data at 3Gbits/sec, which led them to use two Infiniband cables rather than 14 firewire cables. Look for more info in a future episode of ShutterSpeed.

Multi-Touch in Windows 7

Larry — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:13:00 GMT

The cat's out of the bag now, Windows 7 is going to have Multi-touch support. A transcript from All Things Digital is here, there are two highlight videos here and here. Check out The Windows Vista Blog, also check out Engadget, Mary Jo for an I told you so, the latest from TechCrunch, and the bad boys of technology; Gizmodo.

Mary Jo says she doesn't want touch on her Windows notebook. I'd like to hear what you think. I'm really looking forward to it. I can't tell you how many times I've used World Wide Telescope, DeepZoom, or Live Maps on a portable and wished I could interact with the content in a more natural way.

Latest Updates to SkyDrive are Live

Larry — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:52:00 GMT

The Windows Live SkyDrive team blog gives us the latest on new updates to SkyDrive that launched today. SkyDrive is now available in 24 additional locations, with support for a total of 62 countries. You can now leave comments on any SkyDrive file. You can add captions to photos, there is a click control to quickly move through files in the folder, and the photo previews are larger.

MSN Toolbar, Now with Silverlight Goodness

Larry — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:03:00 GMT

The new MSN Toolbar is out, and it now has a new crunchy Silverlight center. Features include starting a search from anywhere, adding RSS feeds to your Live.com page with a single click, and one-click access to maps for all the addresses on the page you're viewing.

For more on the MSN toolbar, check out Max's Channel 8 demo of the toolbar with Stefan Weitz.

And of course you can download the toolbar here.

LEGO Indiana Jones Demo Available

Larry — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:49:00 GMT

The LEGO Star Wars video games are one of my personal favorites. The inventive title is also great for kids too, because a lightsaber that breaks a few lego bricks apart is much easier to pass by parents than the alternative. Now there's a new LEGO game based on Indiana Jones and the only place to get the game demo (on any platform) before the movie comes out is at GamesForWindows.com.

The full game has 60+ playable characters and plenty of familiar scenes. The PC game also supports widescreen and Xbox 360 control (for Windows).

CSI: NY Fights Crime with Virtual Earth

Larry — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:20:00 GMT

Mark Brown's Virtual Earth Blog points out that MS has completed the trifecta of crime fighting with an appearance on CSI:NY. The detectives start by zooming in from space, where crime is relatively low, right into a custom 3D model, where evidently crime is somewhat higher. To see it for yourself (as well as some UI elements I hope never make it into Virtual Earth), jump on over to CBS and slide it up to 36:40.

DeepZooming into (US) Tax Dollars

Larry — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:25:00 GMT

DeepZoom really shines in showing a large amount of information. To get a sense of this, check out Jess Bachman's Death and Taxes poster. This ginormous infographic shows you where much of the US Federal budget will go in 2009. By using a mouse with a scrollwheel, you can fluidly move in and out of the graphic, digging around through branches and departments of the government.

Jess stopped by recently and told us about how it started, how long it takes to make, his 800-layer Photoshop file, and his Martha Stewart appearance. You can explore the poster in Silverlight here and get the print poster at WallStats.com.

Popfly Game Creator: Meet the Team, Make a Game

Larry — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:14:00 GMT

For more on Popfly Game Creator don't miss This Week on Channel 9. Jacqueline Russel, Lead Project Manager for Popfly, talks about Popfly Game Creator and Adam Nathan from the Popfly team goes over building a 2D side scroller.

I played around with it this morning and it's really simple - so if you're not a dev, don't worry about it - give it a try. There is a function to upload pictures to Popfly, but I was referencing photos I uploaded to Skydrive with no problem. Remember, if you use PNGs for your images you can have transparent backgrounds.

Photosynth Solves Crimes the Cool Way

Larry — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:20:00 GMT

If like many of us, you can't get enough Photosynth in your daily digital diet, make sure you check out CSI: NY tonight because Microsoft's Photosynth is going to make an appearance. The story is that a counselor is murdered at a prom and all the camera phone photos are fed into Photosynth where a 3D world is constructed for investigators to wander through as they solve the mystery.

Apparently CSI characters are going to be showing up with Tablet PCs and UMPCs in an effort to go paperless. Now, the sidebar on the USA Today story is a little confusing. It mentions HD View as being "still in the labs". In fact, you can play with HD View today. And don't forget PhotoZoom, which already lets you experience large pictures easily.

Free Windows Mobile Remote Admin App

Larry — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:43:00 GMT

This is a cool little freeware app for your Windows Mobile phone that will let you connect with your desktop machine to your phone to control it using a window and your keyboard and mouse. You can also capture the phone screen, drag and drop files to your phone, and connect over IP (although I haven't got that one working yet on my phone.) I can confirm that even the mouse scrollwheel works on phone apps, though it doesn't appear to pass-through video display.

But this is a great little utility for doing lots of text entry on your phone, to see the phone more clearly on your computer (you can view x 200-300%), or to troubleshoot phone problems by remoting into the computer connected to it.

(Thanks, Loke)