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Hitachi giant multi-touch interface

At the Consumer Electronics Show, Hitachi is demo'ing a product called Starboard that is a multi-touch interface at a very large scale. You can use it to control a regular PC, and they've also got some custom apps for it. One of those is shown in the video.

What's interesting is that this is a projected interface, so it's untethered from the need to have a touch-sensitive LCD. This allows it to scale very large relatively inexpensively. They were also showing a wall-size version.

The projector in both cases was a very short throw Hitachi model … Read more

Save $34 on 16GB iPod Touch

As I've noted before, iPod deals are rare indeed, so I gotta post 'em when I find 'em. B&H has the 16GB iPod Touch (droooooool) for $365 with shipping. That's $34 less than you'll pay if you order straight from Apple.

I won't bore you with Touch details; you already know it's the coolest iPod ever. So here's your chance to save a few bucks on one--money you can use to stock up on DRM-free MP3s from AmazonMP3. Just a thought.

B&H also has the 8GB model on sale for $… Read more

DekiWiki...when a wiki becomes a 'thneed'

Just what is a wiki, anyway? A few years ago, I could have told you. Today, I'm not so sure.

Part of the problem is that wiki authors have made innovations, broadening the appeal and scope of wikis. Witness MindTouch's recent upgrade of its DekiWiki platform to 1.8.3.

DekiWiki, the leading enterprise wiki (measured in terms of downloads and, in my opinion, by raw innovation), still allows easy creation of Web pages by nontechnical users.

But the new release goes much further. DekiWiki eliminates the need to use a separate programming environment to add widgets, external services, or JavaScript libraries. In other words, it makes it easy for developers to connect a wiki to everything else. Yes, everything else:… Read more

LG.Philips plans supersized touch screens

LG.Philips, one of the major worldwide LCD panel suppliers, is planning to debut a series of mammoth touch screens, including two so-called world-first commercial flat panels: a 52-inch multi-touch and a 47-inch triple-view HDTV.

The former has an ultra-high 1,920x1,080 resolution and the ability to recognize two touch points, as well as gestures. Its high responsiveness is also capable of picking up more exacting writing instruments, thereby improving interactivity.

The HDTV, meanwhile, can display three images to viewers standing at various angles simultaneously. It's intended for such uses as in-store directories and shopping mall advertising.

(Source: … Read more

Tabulate brings smarter tabs to mobile Safari users

There's no denying the mobile version of Safari found on the iPod and iPhone Touch offers an above-average browsing experience for a portable device. That said, the software is not without its shortcomings, and one of them is how it handles links found on various Web pages. Depending on how they've been coded by the author, links can be set to open up in a new window or tab, or simply in the same page. Usually you don't find this out until you click on them, which can be a juggle considering the device is only capable … Read more

CNBC jumps on Mac ultraportable bandwagon

We're a little more than a month away from the Macworld Expo, and the expectations are starting to get a little clearer for arguably Apple's biggest show of the year.

CNBC reported Thursday that Apple plans at Macworld to introduce a 12-inch Mac laptop with flash memory in place of a hard drive. Apple followers have long anticipated such a product, and several other reports have come out this year predicting a similar type of announcement was nigh.

The ultraportable Mac is said to be 50 percent thinner and lighter than a current MacBook Pro, the largest notebook … Read more

Bluetooth headset gets touchy

When we saw a touch screen recently on an external hard drive, we knew there'd be no stopping the touch revolution. The latest category to succumb to the trend is the Bluetooth headset.

Developed for mobile phones and PDAs, the Genius BT-031 has a built-in touch-sensitive panel and slide control to adjust volume, according to Gizmag, as well as a wireless range of up to 30.

We appreciate the efforts of Genius, which is always trying something different, but we often find ourselves dubious about some of its achievements. (Witness the solar-powered keyboard, hybrid speaker-camera, and combo mouse VoIP phone.) … Read more

Simplify Media: Listen to your entire music collection on your iPhone

Simplify Media--a free desktop application for Windows or Mac OS X that lets you stream your digital music or your friends' from iTunes or Winamp (Simplify Media covered previously)--today released a new version of its software that is developed to run on the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch.

Rather than function as a conventional iPhone app, (i.e. a Web app built for Safari), the new program is standalone software that requires a "jailbroken" iPhone to work.

The ability to listen to your entire music collection or your friends' anywhere your iPhone or iPod Touch has … Read more

Cracking open the iPod Touch and more

News.com has been running hugely cool photo galleries excerpted from sister site TechRepublic--their "Cracking Open" series, where they dissect, gut, and then try to reconstruct your favorite electronics.

Latest entries include the iPod Touch--you won't believe how thin the components are--and the remote-control game, "Shocking Tanks."

Links: Cracking open the iPod touch and Cracking open "Shocking Tanks."