visual

Visual Studio 2010 to come with 'black box'

Updated 9:56 a.m. PDT: Added screen shot and a link to Microsoft's Visual Studio 2010 page.

Airplanes are equipped with recorders that capture both cockpit audio and flight data, so in the event that something goes wrong, investigators can try to determine the source of the problem.

Microsoft is aiming to give software developers the same kind of access. In the next version of its developer tool suite, to be known as Visual Studio 2010, Microsoft plans to include the ability to record the full screens of what testers are seeing, as well as data about their machine. When a test application crashes, the technology will enable developers to see the bug as it occurred.

In an interview last week, Microsoft Developer Division Director Dave Mendlen said the feature is designed to avoid the all-too-frequent conflict that occurs when a software tester finds a bug that the developer says it can't reproduce. Internally, the feature has been called "TiVo for debuggers." … Read more

Microsoft taps JQuery for Visual Studio

Microsoft said Sunday that it plans to ship the JQuery JavaScript library with its Visual Studio developer tool suite.

The software powerhouse said that jQuery would be one of the libraries used to implement higher-level controls in the ASP.net Ajax Control Toolkit, and would also have a role in new Ajax server-side helper methods. The 15KB JQuery JavaScript library will be distributed as is, with no forking, and files will continue to adhere to the JQuery MIT license.

In addition, Microsoft said that it would contribute tests, bug fixes, and patches to the JQuery open-source project and that later … Read more

Is visual computing responsible for Sarah Palin and Joe Biden?

The NVision Conference, held last week in San Jose, has had such an eye-opening effect on me that I have been unable to sleep.

The things those clever scientific people have come up with make me realize that the world as we know it is no longer the world as we know it.

I was particularly moved to hear about an Israeli company called OptiTex.

Their fashion design optical gizmography is so realistic that designers can observe on screen just how the fabrics will shimmy and shake even before the couture gown has been cut and shaped.

I was struck … Read more

Verizon launches LG Voyager in Titanium

Verizon and LG have brandished a new color for its popular Voyager, this time in Titanium. This "lustrous titanium finish" is poised to make the LG Voyager a showcase for a couple of new Verizon services, namely V Cast Music with Rhapsody and Visual Voice Mail, both of which we've heard about before.

Also, it looks as if Verizon has dropped the Visual Voice Mail subscription price to $2.99 a month per line. This is good, but we still would much rather Verizon offer the visual voice mail without a monthly fee at all. The LG … Read more

Philips patent reveals smart specs for visually impaired

A future product from electronics maker Philips could make it easier for the visually impaired to detect moving objects in daily life.

According to New Scientist, Philips has filed a patent for a movement-detection system, including a pair of glasses that will use a camera and accelerometers to distinguish between stationary and mobile objects.

The smart specs would work with a computer to spot obstacles, while an orientation sensor worn on the body would tell the computer about the wearer's movement. To help the user navigate, the device would also provide audio signals notifying them of moving objects.

The … Read more

Verizon now offering visual voice mail, for real

Even though we reported Verizon would bring visual voice mail to the LG Voyager a couple of weeks ago, apparently we jumped the gun because the application went missing from Verizon's Web site shortly after we posted about it. Well today, Verizon has finally made it official that it will indeed be implementing visual voice mail for the LG Voyager, but it won't be for free. It is available for $2.99 a month per line. This is disappointing, to say the least, since the visual voice mail option for the Samsung Instinct and the Apple iPhone do … Read more

Visual voice mail comes to the Voyager

The Apple iPhone was the first to get it, then the Samsung Instinct, and now it's the LG Voyager's turn to get visual voice mail. Yes, as of Friday, all LG Voyager customers can get a free download to their phone that will add visual voice mail capability.

As with the other visual voice mail systems, the Voyager's version will allow customers to listen to voice mail messages in any order; plus you'll have the ability to erase and archive messages directly from the Voyager's touch-screen interface. You will also be able to access the … Read more

For the sight-impaired, a phone that talks back

In the best circumstances, there are some social benefits from the technology industry's hypercompetitive nature. When companies try to find new markets, for example, they sometimes create products aimed specifically at consumers with physical disabilities-- occasionally with some bold innovation as well.

Nowhere is that truer than in the overcrowded mobile phone business, as we saw last week with a Nokia device that can turn a hearing aid into a Bluetooth headset. And now a London-based designer has developed a new concept phone for the visually impaired: Takumi Yoshida's SENS handset would "talk" when buttons are … Read more

Fast track your design with the Web color visualizer

Adobe's Kuler (coverage) is neat for finding color schemes that are aesthetically pleasing, but what about when you want to figure out what colored text will look like on a colored background? You can either spend time trying each combination in something like Dreamweaver, or by using this handy tool, which lets you select a background then the secondary color (for something like text) by just hovering over each color hash with your mouse.

Even if you're not a cutting edge Web designer it's pretty fun. Plus, once you've found your colors you can match them … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 747: Get Firefox (if you can)

It's Firefox Download Day! In bummer news, Mozilla's site was down by at least 10:12 a.m. (about the time we started our show). So, that's a bad start, then. In other news, AT&T customers using phones other than iPhone will, indeed, have to pay full price for a new iPhone. That's just how the cell phone world works. And the blogosphere takes a legitimately outrageous situation and wildly exaggerates the outrageousness by repeating old information over and over. Sigh. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 747

Firefox Download Day To Start … Read more