Tag Archives: Microsoft Xbox

Automobiles

Video: Ford engineer builds haptic shift knob with 3D printer, Xbox controller

Leave a comment

By Michael Harley

Ford's haptic vibrating manual gearshift knob

Filed under:

Vehicles with manual transmissions have been equipped with shift indicators (illuminated or audible) for decades. While some are used to improve performance, most are designed to encourage more fuel-efficient driving. Regardless of the original objective, nearly all drivers become desensitized or learn to ignore the illuminated lights and arrows after just a few short hours behind the wheel.

Enter Zachary Nelson, a recent MIT graduate and an engineer with Ford. Working at the automaker’s Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, Michigan, Nelson devised a haptic shift knob that vibrates when it’s time to select another gear. “I wanted to create something that expands the car’s capabilities and improves the experience for the driver,” said Nelson. “I decided to use OpenXC to provide a new kind of feedback for the driver through the shift knob.”

The process, greatly simplified, has the vehicle transmitting data wirelessly from its on-board diagnostics (OBD) port using a Bluetooth OpenXC adapter. The knob uses the innards of a Microsoft Xbox 360 controller for vibration. “I decided to have a little fun with it and installed an LED display on top that shows the gear position and colored lights that glow from inside at night similar to the ambient lighting in Mustang,” adds Nelson.

Overall, it’s a rather fascinating idea that you can check out in the video below. The software-driven haptic shift knob allows the driver to keep their eyes on the road, while the vibration can be set to alert one of many different parameters, including optimal fuel efficiency, quickest acceleration, maximum torque, redline shifting and so on, giving it many different uses.

Continue reading Ford engineer builds haptic shift knob with 3D printer, Xbox controller

Ford engineer builds haptic shift knob with 3D printer, Xbox controller originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Video Gaming

The Untapped Potential of the Miiverse

Leave a comment

Whether you call them Trophies, Badges, Points, or whatever label a platform has chosen to try making the idea their own, Achievements have taken the industry by storm. The system-wide recognition of accomplishing certain goals within our favorite video games was popularized by Microsoft’s Xbox 360 all the way back in 2005, and has since spread to numerous other platforms, from the rival PlayStation 3 to Steam, and even on down to Apple’s iOS Game Center platform. Even playing Words With Friends on Facebook will prompt you to let the world know when you’ve played a particularly good move.

However, there has been one holdout throughout Achievement-mania, and that is Nintendo.

Continue reading…

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Video Games

Computers

Intel makes gesture recognition push with Omek acquisition

Leave a comment

Intel has moved to bring keyboard-free computing to PCs and mobile phones with the acquisition of Israel-based Omek Interactive.

Omek offers software and programming tools that allow computers and handhelds to recognize hand and body movements. Omek pushes its tracking and gesture products as a way to bring natural interfaces to devices, much like on gaming consoles such as Nintendo’s Wii U and Microsoft’s Xbox with Kinect.

Intel Israel spokesman Guy Grimland declined to disclose the amount paid for Omek Interactive. The acquisition, announced Tuesday, has already closed.

“The acquisition of Omek Interactive will help increase Intel’s capabilities in the delivery of more immersive perceptual computing experiences,” Grimland said in an email.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

AMD Wants to Be Tech's Next Apple-Sized Turnaround

Leave a comment

By Alex Planes, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

You certainly can’t call Advanced Micro Devices a company of small ambitions. Last week, AMD vice president Roy Taylor told hardware blog Bit-Tech that his company might soon follow in the footsteps of Apple and IBM , two companies in the tech industry with the most legendary turnaround stories.

The upside for investors would be massive. For comparison, let’s take a look at how much Apple shares have grown in value since the launch of the first iMac in 1998, which was the first major new product of the second Steve Jobs era:

AAPL Total Return Price data by YCharts.

And here’s IBM‘s boom following its 1993 hiring of Lou Gerstner, who’s frequently credited with spearheading IBM‘s turnaround:

IBM Total Return Price data by YCharts.

Pretty impressive! So, how exactly does Roy Taylor expect AMD to follow in these deep footsteps? Here’s the relevant quote from Bit-Tech:

But, thinks Taylor, with the company’s new generation of APUs (a [central processor] and [graphics processor] combined on one chip), it is well set for the future. A large part of this will be driven by AMD having secured deals with Nintendo and Sony to have its APUs in the Wii U and PS4 (and it’s long rumoured the upcoming new [Microsoft] Xbox will also feature an AMD chip). With these processors in place there is significant incentive for developers to work hard on making their games and apps run well on AMD hardware, which in turn may drive uptake of AMD [chips] in other sectors of the market.

Chips in consoles. For reference, the entire lifetime global sales of the current-gen consoles (counting the original Wii as well as the Wii U for Nintendo) to date is roughly 250 million units. The Xbox 360 has been out since 2005. The Wii and the PS3 have been out since 2006. Nearly 210 million smartphones were sold in 2012. Over 350 million PCs sold that same year. And you want to focus on a segment of technology that’s not only sold less than a tenth as many units per year as these two primary groups combined, but one that’s got increasing competition from mobile devices as well? The Wii U, which is the only true “next-gen” console available, is already showing disappointing sales on the market. The original Wii sold over 7 million units in its first year on the market. Nintendo’s already cut first-year estimates for the Wii U to around 4 million units.

It’s one thing to be ambitious. But if you’re going to shoot for the moon, don’t try to do it with a rocket that’s already failed to lift off the launch pad. Steve Jobs understood that. So did Lou Gerstner. That’s why Apple and IBM today bear almost no resemblance to the companies that originally handed those executives the reins. AMD‘s chip competitors have shifted with the market. Will AMD‘s executives realize that they need to shift as …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

GameStop Posts an Excellent Quarter — Relatively Speaking

Leave a comment

By Andrew Marder, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

And like a dark horse out of the black night, GameStop appears. The company did surprisingly well last quarter, considering that its original business model is slowly going the way of the buffalo. Earnings per share came in at $2.16, which was well above the $2.09 that Wall Street was looking for. The company had less-than-stellar sales last quarter, but made up for it by cutting costs. As a result, the bottom line improved more than anticipated.

But the success of last quarter isn’t going to make it a great year, or at least not according to the company. GameStop is predicting a very soft first half of 2013, while gamers sit on their cash in anticipation of new consoles that will start coming out at the end of the year. Sony‘s PlayStation 4 is due out in time for Christmas, but not too far ahead of that. Here are some things to watch over the next few months.

The doldrums
Sony’s launch is the biggest milestone for gaming this year, so far. The PlayStation 3 reportedly surpassed Microsoft‘s Xbox 360 in total worldwide sales earlier this year. That has helped heighten the anticipation of this year’s launch, but it’s also meant that the market is fairly well tapped. Sales are expected to slack off during the first half of the year, with relatively few interesting new titles available. GameStop called out Grand Theft Auto V as being one of the biggest launches in 2013, but it won’t be available until the end of the year.

So the first six months should be slow, but that doesn’t mean bad. GameStop still gets almost 50% of its gross profit from used merchandise, and that’s a market that can heat up when there aren’t new games to be had. A slow first half might just mean that gamers try out older games that they missed the first time around, and dump current-generation consoles and games at a higher rate. That would be good news for GameStop, and it could help the company through the slowdown.

It could also flood the market with current-generation wares and drive down demand and prices for those games. That would be a big problem for GameStop, and would put a huge dent in profitability. Right now, that’s the future that the company is expecting. It forecast an 8.5% drop in revenue for the current quarter, which is a fall even compared to last year’s 6% decline. But so far investors seem undisturbed — the stock is up more than 7% in midday trading.

What’s coming down the pike
One of the longer-term problems for GameStop may be the changing face of used games. Both the PlayStation 4 and the new Xbox have been shrouded in mystery regarding the use of used games. At first, there were rumors that used games just wouldn’t be playable. But recent rulings in the EU suggest that the companies …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Articles of Interest

Unemployed Illegal Granted Deferred Action For Playing XBox

Leave a comment

By B. Christopher Agee

XBOX SC Unemployed illegal granted deferred action for playing XBox

Though the 25-year-old illegal immigrant went for years without a job, the current administration apparently feels Jose Munoz deserves to spend more time in the U.S. based on his years of experience … playing video games!

Reports indicate he applied for deferred action status, using records of his extensive Xbox use to prove he’s been in the nation continuously for at least five years.

The Obama administration approved his request, and he’s now free to roam around the nation unafraid of deportation.

According to the president’s guidelines on young illegals, Munoz met deferred status requirements by coming to the U.S. before the age of 16 without having reached the age of 30, along with having a high school diploma and an unblemished criminal record.

The leniency was ostensibly extended to provide an opportunity for these young adults to work in America, though; and any evidence of his work ethic was suspiciously missing from the information Munoz’s lawyer presented.

Using online data from his Microsoft Xbox, the illegal resident was able to submit extensive proof of his residency through game downloads and purchases as well as conversations with fellow gamers.

In light of his approval for deferred action, Munoz now claims he’s changed his tune and is no longer constantly playing games.

“I’ve had enough days off,” he said, adding he was “so bored” during his years and years as a couch potato.

Munoz’s story is just one of hundreds of thousands granted deferred action status since Obama signaled his intent to offer de facto amnesty to those who disregard our immigration laws.

In a nation defined by a declining work ethic and painfully bloated federal bureaucracy, bringing in more “professional” video game players like Munoz will only exacerbate both problematic trends.
Click here to get B. Christopher Agee’s latest book for less than $5! Like his Facebook page for engaging, relevant conservative content daily.

Photo credit: Sheryl’s Boys (Creative Commons)

Related posts:

  1. Amnesty? Immunity? Administration Calls It A ‘Deferred Action Process’ (CNSNews.com) – President Obama will discuss his administration’s apparent end-run…
  2. Tariff Act of 1930.

    Section 337 investigations conducted by the ITC most often involve claims regarding intellectual property rights, including allegations of patent infringement and trademark infringement by imported goods, and can lead to the ban on their imports into the U.S.

    The commission may, however, review, adopt, or change an initial determination.

    To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here