control

LAS VEGAS--We tech writers are constantly comparing real products to what we've seen in sci-fi movies. I'm still waiting for my Hoverboard, but at least we're inching a little closer to some "Minority Report"-style computer interfaces with the Mauz, a device that turns your iPhone into a mouse with special skills.

Mauz is like a combination of the Wii remote, the Kinect, and a desktop mouse. It involves a small device that plugs into your iPhone and an app that makes the magic happen.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Touch screens are so last year.

These days, touchless gesture control is the hot thing. Just last week, San Francisco startup Leap Motion, which developed a motion-control technology with sub-millimeter accuracy, announced a $30 million B round of funding. And at CES here, there are multiple companies showing off technology that lets users control their computers with little or no physical contact with a screen or a mouse.

One of them is Palo Alto, Calif.-based Elliptic Labs, which has pioneered an ultrasound-based touchless gesture control system. In a demo for CNET, Elliptic showed off its Windows 8 Gesture … Read more

LAS VEGAS--I avoid buying new hardware whenever possible, so if I can add functionality to my existing gear with a simple software solution, I'm interested.

Extreme Reality (XTR3D) does just that. It turns your run-of-the-mill 2D camera into a full-body motion control system for fully interactive gaming.

The idea is you can forget Microsoft's Kinect. … Read more

Millions of people use TeamViewer to remotely control their own and others' PCs to provide support, host online meetings, and manage files. TeamViewer for Remote Control lets you control computers remotely from your smartphone. Wherever you are, you can access and control your partner PCs using TeamViewer's Mobile app, just like using TeamViewer from a desktop or laptop. To use TeamViewer for Remote Control, you'll need to be a TeamViewer user and have the client software installed on the machine you want to control, but that's free. You don't even have to sign up for a … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The Canopy Sensus is a new touch-sensitive case that does more than just provide protection or add style to your iPhone. This case lets you interact with apps using multitouch surfaces on both the right side and back of the case.

The Sensus looks like a regular case that protects the sides and back of your iPhone, and Canopy says the industrial design exceeds marketplace protection standards. But with an app that supports it, you can touch and swipe on the back and right side of the case to interact with apps and games.

Though Canopy showed only a … Read more

Leap Motion, which created an innovative gesture control technology that measures users' movements to an accuracy of a hundredth of a millimeter, has struck a deal to bundle its Leap device and app store with a series of Asus computers.

According to Michael Buckwald, CEO of the San Francisco startup, the Asus deal -- under which the computer giant will package the Leap device with high-end laptops and premium all-in-one PCs, and pre-install the Leap app store on those computers -- is just the first partnership of its kind. Similar deals with other computer makers, or even smartphone manufacturers, are … Read more

Too many great iPhone games suffer from digit interruptus: onscreen controls force your thumbs or fingers to block too much of the action. Plus, there's no tactile feedback. meaning you don't get the button-mashing goodness associated with the best console and arcade games.

Developers have proposed a variety of solutions to this problem. For example, ThinkGeek's iCade 8-Bitty gives you a Nintendo-style controller with a D-Pad and lots of buttons -- but it works with only a smattering of games. Plus it's a hassle to carry around.

The upcoming iMpulse controller is small enough to ride … Read more

The last thing you need as an entrepreneur is for your company to be engulfed in a public controversy. Just ask Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Path, Airbnb, Geeklist, and the countless other companies, big and small, that have been the target of press backlash and user vitriol.

It doesn't matter how careful you are: the more successful you become, the more likely it is that you'll make a mistake that ignites the blogosphere. There are ways to minimize the fallout and, more importantly, ways to prevent a large-scale user revolt in the first place.

Let's take Instagram's recent Terms of Service controversy … Read more

In the aftermath of the tragedy in Newtown, outrage is turning into political and social action. In a "Demand a Plan" ad in The New York Times, a number of technology industry executives and other leaders called on President Obama and Congress to come up with a plan to end gun violence.

In a blog post, one of the signatories of the ad, venture capitalist Fred Wilson, wrote that tech industry leaders are working to mount a "sustained social media and regular media campaign to pressure our leaders to do something about the gun safety problem in … Read more