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TOOB, a Dome Screen for Home Users

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With 3D movies slowly arising at the mainstream form of entertainment, the market offers varied products that seem apt to let consumers feel the full cinematic experience. TOOB is one of these items available in the market today.

TOOB, which stands for Think Out of the Box, is a rounded screen that promises to give you a full 3D experience without the need for an IMAX theater. TOOB lets users have a dome theater experience right in their household. It uses the standard video signal and projects it onto a dome screen that surrounds the user’s peripheral vision. Simply connect it to a home theater projector, plug your DVD or video game system into it and a home-based 3D experience is on the go.

The 3 ft x 3 ft omni-directional dome screen is developed by Alexander Marten McDonnel. His fascination for the Mugar Omni Theater in his hometown of Boston served as the inspiration for the project. One day, he just woke up and the idea struck him: he can make an affordable model of a dome screen for the common home users.

Radial screens have been available for a while. These screens, no matter what the size, give a larger field of view than most normal monitors. Most of the radial screens available have specific applications for home entertainment but are quite expensive. Only those who can afford it can savor the experience of watching digital pictures on peripheral vision.

One of the first customers of TOOB is none other than NASA. According to them, they are considering the options of program integration for the dome screen.

With TOOB, an affordable option is present. The dome screen that measures 0.9 x 1.8 x 0.9 meters is priced at $1,440. It is customizable for any room. But if you are not very willing to buy one just yet, you can try it out first by renting it via the TOOB site.

Specialized Eyeglasses Make it Possible for the Eyes to Write and Draw

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It is often said that one’s genius abilities only come out under the extremes of difficulties. This proves to be true with the specialized glasses that let its wearer write using his eyes.

Writing through the eyes seems a possibility now with the specialized glasses introduced by LA graffiti artists Tony Quan.

Quan was diagnosed with the condition known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 2003. ALS is a form of a motor neuron disease. This condition, which is also known as Maladie de Charcot, is a neurodegenerative disease that is brought on by the disintegration of the motor neurons that control the voluntary muscle movements. As the condition progresses, most of the muscular voluntary movements are impaired. However, there are cases in which the muscles necessary for eye movement are not affected.

The so-called Eyewriter Glasses work by connecting it to a desktop computer or a laptop. The artist then wears the eyeglasses and by moving his eyes, the dual projectors integrated in the system create the images.

Tony Quan, being a graffiti artist, basically intends to use the specialized eyeglasses to expand his graffiti artwork. This was made possible with the help of his good friends who could not let him miss greatest passion.

You can think of the system like a Paint program, as shown by the diagram. It also bears resemblance with the Air mouse, a PC mouse that does not require a mouse pad. By simply waving the mouse in the air, images are projected on the screen.

Though this technology is not yet widely known and practiced, it poses great promise to people suffering from the ALS condition and other related diseases. There is also another uncertainty with regards to the extent of the art that can be formed. Because it only depends on the movements of the eyes, the images that can be generated may not be as extensive as the hand-drawn images. Nonetheless, Eyewriter Glasses is a project with great potential.

DUB Simplifies Contact Exchange With Single-Click Mobile Application

DubMeNowDubMeNow, creator of the first application for exchanging business card information using a mobile phone, today launched a new feature on the DUB application for instantly exchanging contact information with the push of a button.

The new feature called ‘Locate’ allows BlackBerry and iPhone users to exchange contact information such as e-mail, phone, address, photo, etc. and links to their social networks, including: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs and more using their location.

When two people meet, open the DUB application, and click the ‘Locate’ button, DUB will find both users and prompt them to exchange contact information. The contact information is then automatically saved directly to their mobile address book.

“The ‘Locate’ feature enables people to instantly exchange contact information during any in-person setting by simply pushing a button,” said Manoj Ramnani, founder and CEO. “We’re excited to be the first to connect both iPhone and BlackBerry users and will be adding other mobile phones soon.”

Once the exchange has been made, the contact’s info is always current. DUB automatically updates a user’s mobile address book anytime a contact updates their information (new e-mail, phone, social network, etc.).

In addition to the new ‘Locate’ feature, the newest version of DUB includes several other improvements:

  • Users can add a photo to their contact info, and include social networking information such as Twitter handles, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr accounts, blog URLs and much more.
  • Users can send a LinkedIn invitation along with their contact info.

Click here to check out a video demo of the ‘Locate’ feature and the latest improvements to the DUB application.

DUB still offers the ability to e-mail or text your mobile business card from your phone or the Web to any e-mail address or mobile phone number.

Press

Artists on the Field of Graphic Design

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Graphic Design involves working with words and/ or images to convey information or to imply a certain message. It has many applications, like administrative, educational, marketing tool and etc. Administrative in the sense that even road signs are part of designing graphics. It takes a lot of brain storming to cook something up that will cleverly reflect the ideas expressed like slippery when wet and the like. Just like in advertising, companies are tasked to create an identity for a product or movement. A logo for one is an example of a graphic designer’s work. He takes pieces of the puzzles given by the client (the target emotion to be evoked, the message, the colors to be used etc) and pieces them together dutifully. If he is one good graphic designer, he will manage to please the clients without sacrificing aesthetics with requirements. At present, Web Design is the trendiest branch of graphic design. With the internet as a break out sensation, the opportunities linking to it is immense. Web design and flash media are 2 of the best online graphic design jobs there is. Web designing refers to those who design web sites ( which includes the lay out, the color scheme, the graphics) while Flash media ( makes use of vector images to create a game, a story, etc). These 2 are the latest opportunities when it comes to graphic design but if you want to stay traditional, why not opt for photography, magazine lay outing or logo design? You can even t-shirts for a living if you want to. In reality, graphic design seems limitless and it is. It is just up to the person journeying into this industry to find his very own niche and create a name for him self. A little hard work would surely go a long way and Graphic Design is one of those things that need time to ripen.

Graphic Design Artists

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Graphic Design artists are said to have great job opportunities until the year 2014. However, it does not mean that the business is not as cut throat as some would like to think. Creativity and innovation is the essence of this industry so be ready to face tough competition if you decide to venture into this line of work. To be a graphic design artist, one must have an artistic ability to see what works and what does not in a creation. Usually this is an innate characteristic but can also be developed by going to a graphic design school or taking a training course. This would actually be helpful since a diploma can make you look more appropriate for the job. Aside from that, patience is also one virtue necessary because count on spending hours and hours coming up with fresh ideas that can give a new twist to an old subject. Basically, a graphic artist does his best to incorporate a message through the creative visual he has been assigned to by a client. They can be in the form of print, electronic and film media. They also do the brain storming for strategies to get a message across with the limited medium, lay outing and production. A couple of stuff that a graphic designer needs to be familiar with are different publishing programs (such as adobe photo shop, Frame maker, pagemaker), copy right laws and especially how to communicate. Communication is the key, with your client and your target audience. There has to be no barrier in between because that will eventually lead to limiting the output. With time and experience, all this can be learned. Just hold on tight and if you really are passionate about designing graphics for a living, it will surely love you back.