interactive

Toyota demos augmented-reality-enhanced car windows

Toyota is toying with augmented reality to improve the view outside of its vehicles' windows.

A design exercise developed in conjunction with the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID), Toyota's "Window to the World" concept uses augmented reality to turn a car window into a glass canvas that lets the viewer interact with the elements outside the window.

CIID and Toyota Kansei Design Division engineers and designers came up with five potential uses for the new windows. Similar to the way kids draw shapes onto fogged-up glass, passengers can trace images on the window, but they appear … Read more

preGame 56: Bastion

preGame returns with a live demo of the first title off the Microsoft Summer of Arcade line up. Tune in to catch a live in-studio demo of the retro-inspired action-RPG, Bastion!

With summer in full swing, gaming news is a bit scarce, so we've rounded up the best headlines from the past few weeks. We'll get things rolling with a chat about the newly announced Batman: Arkham City Collector's Edition and what gamers can expect to find in the $100 bundle.

Next, we'll discuss the fallout from the ModernWarfare3.com controversy that was forwarding visitors to … Read more

SoftStep KeyWorx controller: Hands-free computing

Afraid that the excessive use of the mouse and keyboard will someday make you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome? Maybe you should let your feet take over some of the job. And Keith McMillen Instruments (KMI) has something that enables you to do exactly that.

The company announced today the SoftStep KeyWorx multitouch foot controller, which it claims is "the world's first foot-controlled digital interface." According to KMI, SoftStep "works with any computer program to speed up access, making the computer as easy to use as a car's gas and break pedals."

The new … Read more

Google finalizes deal to acquire Admeld

Late last week, there were conflicting reports as to how close Google was to finalizing a deal to buy Admeld. Now, it's official. Google confirmed the acquisition on its official blog, noting that it will give the Goog a bigger boost in developing interactive display ads:

By combining Admeld's services, expertise and technology with Google's offerings, we're investing in what we hope will be an improved era of flexible ad management tools for major publishers. Together with Admeld, we hope to make display advertising simpler, more efficient and more valuable, provide improved support and services, and … Read more

Enhanced wallpaper changer

Bionix Wallpaper Lite is a portable freeware version of an extensive desktop wallpaper management utility. It simplifies the process of creating, saving, and cycling your desktop wallpaper displays. It supports a wide range of image formats, with more added regularly via regular updates, as well as drag-and-drop, hot keys, variable window opacity, dual monitors, and magnetic windows. It can display the current time as wallpaper, too. It even supports Active Desktop in Windows 98.

Bionix Wallpaper's system tray icon gives access to its tabbed settings dialog and its main interface, which resembles a media player (WinAmp, to be exact) … Read more

Survey says fuel efficiency is a factor in new car sales and leases

This may not come as a surprise, but the American Chemistry Council on a Web site called Plastics Make It Possible has released a survey that reveals fuel efficiency is often a factor when buying or leasing a new car.

Of the 2,411 U.S. adults surveyed in an online survey by Harris Interactive, 78 percent said fuel efficiency is a key factor, while 63 percent consider safety features in their choice. "However, only 10 percent of those who know what contributes significantly to vehicle safety recognize that plastics and plastic composites contribute significantly to vehicle safety," … Read more

Conjuring up glasses-free 3D for iPad, iPhone

Mobile gadgets like Apple's iPad and iPhone could offer glasses-free 3D courtesy of a new, developing technology created by researchers in France.

Known as Head-Coupled Perspective, the technology uses the front-facing camera on a mobile device to create a glasses-free monocular 3D display. By tracking the position of the user's head, the projected 3D image can change its perspective and offer greater interaction. Even further, the technology doesn't rely on the accelerometer built into the iPhone and iPad, so it could conceivably work for other types of mobile devices.

The researchers behind this budding technology are Professor … Read more

'Source Code' director: Marrying film, interactivity

AUSTIN, Texas--Duncan Jones has only made two films, but he's already developing a reputation as quite the science fiction auteur.

With 2009's "Moon," starring Sam Rockwell, and now "Source Code," starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jones is becoming the kind of director that actors say they seek out because they want to share in his vision.

In "Source Code," which seems to be one part "Groundhog Day" and one part "Speed" with a heavy degree of sci-fi and technology thrown in, Jones created a world in which Gyllenhaal "wakes … Read more

Hitting the road for SXSW with geek entrepreneurs

It sounds like the beginning of a joke: a couple dozen coders and geek entrepreneurs step off a shiny, high-tech bus at a barbecue joint in Texas.

But a joke it's not. It's a scenario that will likely play out this week on the Startup Bus, which is, yes, a group of a couple dozen coders and geek entrepreneurs riding a shiny, high-tech bus through the Lone Star State from their hometowns to the South by Southwest Interactive conference (SXSW Interactive) in Austin, Texas, part of the broader SXSW music and film festival.

This is no ordinary bus … Read more