glass

Apple and other gadget manufacturers are once again said to be investing in new manufacturing techniques that will yield electronics with rounded glass surfaces, a new report claims.

Following up on its own report from May, DigiTimes today says Apple and other unnamed technology companies are working to produce "products with curved cover glass." That's the glass on the front of the device, the one users touch when using apps and press up to their face when making phone calls.

Citing unnamed sources, DigiTimes says the effort is purely competitive, with manufacturers looking to set their devices apart from the pack.

A report in late May--also by DigiTimes--claimed Apple had bought 200 to 300 glass-cutting machines to help glass makers make curved glass for its gadgets. That report was of special note given curiosity around Apple's next iPhone, which is now rumored to be making its debut next week. While numerous reports have now suggested Apple plans to release two new design variations, mentions of curved glass on the front have been all but non-existent. … Read more

Sony is joining the glasses-free 3D movement with a laptop add-on designed to give you the best of both 2D and 3D viewing.

Sony's 3D panel, designed for Vaio S and C series notebooks, is a 3mm-thick plastic sheet that clips onto the front of a laptop screen. The sheet is a lenticular lens that produces 3D images by sending slightly different images to each eye. Lenticular lenses are widely used to give printed images the illusion of depth or motion.

Like Toshiba's recently released glasses-free 3D laptop, the Sony Vaio SE will include face-tracking software that adjusts the optimal viewing angle to the user's position. By contrast, Toshiba's 3D screen is built-in, which results in slightly compromised 2D viewing.… Read more

A new study comparing the two current types of 3D TVs available for sale, active and passive, finds that passive 3D TVs had superior image quality to their active counterparts. I was personally surprised by the finding, since I've found the opposite in my reviews comparing the two types of 3D TVs.

The author of the study, Raymond Soneira, is the man behind the DisplayMate evaluation and calibration software. I've found his past work generally on target and well-researched, with plenty of supporting labs-based observations. This study, encapsulated in an article called 3D TV Display Technology Shoot-Out, is … Read more

Sure we've seen our share of lens mugs, but Photojojo's Shot Glass Lens Set is a first. Made from ceramic, the $18 set consists of three individual shot glasses made to look like exact replicas of Canon's EF 24-105mm L lens, albeit in miniature.

The designers even included detail such as ridges on the focus ring and an on/off autofocus switch to make them look more realistic. If you're not a fan of alcohol, they can be used as to hold toothpicks, paperclips, and other small items.

(Source: Crave Asia via Photojojo) … Read more

The sun's energy will replace natural gas as the fuel for drawing more oil from the ground in Oman.

GlassPoint Solar yesterday announced that it has signed a deal to install a 7-megawatt solar power system for Petroleum Development Oman to aid oil extraction. The solar system, which is essentially a glass house with solar concentrators, will generate the steam needed to pump oil from existing fields.

In many existing oil wells, there is a substantial amount of oil underground, but it has become more expensive to pull out. In an enhanced oil recovery field, steam is pumped into … Read more

There's that awful moment when your excitement at going to the theater is ruined by your spouse's announcement that a 3D flick is on the menu.

Thanks to a clever invention, your day off from Netflix doesn't have to be a nausea-inducing nightmare.

A certain percentage of the population isn't onboard with 3D. It can cause nausea and headaches in some people. How much of that is due to the 3D technology and how much has to do with crummy filmmaking is a discussion for another time.

It all started with "Tron: Legacy." Inventor … Read more

Dr. Cal Lightman is about to be out of a job. The micro-expression expert central to the TV show Lie to Me could soon be joined by legions of fellow human lie detectors--but instead of squinting intently Lightman-style, they'll be wearing high-tech specs.

So hopes electrical engineer Rosalind Picard at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, who recently shared a pair with journalist Sally Adee for the magazine New Scientist.

In her interview, Adee describes the sensation of wearing the glasses, which featured a blinking red light alerting her to the general confusion and utter boredom of … Read more

A new promotion offering two free pairs of 3D glasses with purchase of select 2011 Samsung 3D TVs began June 28 and will run through August 13.

Since the glasses normally cost $50 each, the promotion is pretty tempting for 3D fans. No other 2011 active 3D TV except the expensive Panasonic TC-PVT30 series currently includes glasses, although passive models like the LG LW5600 series do.

This new Samsung offer has more strings attached than the company's previous such promotion, however.

The new press release states: "Consumers purchasing qualified 2011 3D TVs from participating authorized retailers will receive … Read more

By offering a 3D monitor that eschews the $150 Nvidia 3D Vision Kit in favor of a more affordable option, LG is attempting to widen the 3D market with its Flatron D2342P monitor.

The display comes with a pair of passive 3D glasses, which are a lot cheaper to produce than the active-shutter lenses of the Nvidia glasses.

Passive 3D displays polarize every other horizontal line of resolution on the monitor so that, in the case of the D2342P with its 1080P resolution, each eye sees a different 540 lines of the picture, creating a 3D effect.

In our time … Read more