Earlier today, we showcased a couple of futuristic projects from MIT Media Labs that are trying to re-imagine how we interact with devices. Now, it is the turn of Microsoft Research, which is known to come up with pretty neat stuff (like Harry Potter clock) from time to time.

This time around, a four member project team has developed a simple Windows application to enable gesture recognition without the use of any sophisticated gesture recognition hardware. Forget about complex (and often expensive) peripherals like Kinect, you don’t even need a basic camera. All that is required is a speaker and a microphone.

Microsoft’s gesture recognition technology, which is being called SoundWave, depends on Doppler Effect. Doppler Effect describes how the frequency of sound perceived by an observer changes with variation in the relative velocity of the observer with respect to the source. SoundWave emits a high frequency sound (18-22 KHz) that is inaudible to human beings. It then uses the microphone to pick up the frequency shifted signal to recognize the gesture. The use of high frequency sound makes SoundWave incredibly accurate even in a noisy environment.

SoundWave is still a research project, and there is no word if and when it might become ready for the general public. Unlike Kinect, SoundWave will probably not be able to recognize complicated gestures. In all likelihood, distance of the user from the speaker and microphone will also be a limiting factor. However, even with these constraints, it’s a fascinating piece of technology that might one day transform how we interact with computers.

MIT Media Lab is a breeding ground for all sorts of futuristic technologies. In the past we have seen them come up with uber cool stuff like Sixth Sense and folding cars. Now, their Fluid interface group has developed a new app that can enable effortless sharing of files between any touchscreen enable device (phones, tablets etc.).

Swÿp allows you to transfer any file from any app to any app on any device, simply with a swipe of a finger. The file transfer happens in two phases. As soon as your finger leaves the boundary of the first device (swipe out), it registers as a service on available networks. When your finger enters the second device (swipe in), that device begins looking for registered services. An ad-hoc connection is then established between the two devices to transfer the dragged file. Have a look at the video below to see Swÿp in action.

Besides touchscreen devices, Swÿp is also compatible with another exciting MIT Lab project called LuminAR. LuminAR is a desk lamp with augmented reality features. This lamp comes with a Pico-projector, camera, and wireless computer in a compact form factor. The lamp is capable of projecting information onto the environment (for example your desktop), and recognizing your interactions with the projected information. In other words, it can turn any desktop into a touchscreen.

[ Swÿp Home ]

Google’s legal woes just keep getting worse. After drawing the ire of American and European regulatory bodies, Google is now in hot water in India. According to WSJ, Competition Commission of India has initiated an antitrust probe into Google’s online advertising practices. Competition Commission is an Indian regulatory body responsible for enforcing The Competition Act (2002). It had earlier sued Apple for following a restrictive distribution model.

The initial target of the probe will be AdWords – Google’s automated service for selling ads that are served by its AdSense network. The instigating factor for the investigation is most probably a complaint by Consim Info Pvt. Ltd., which runs several matrimonial services including Bharatmatrimony, TamilMatrimony, and BengaliMatrimony. Consim believes that Google had engaged in discriminatory and retaliatory practices. It is currently suing Google in Chennai High Court. Earlier, Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) had urged Competition Commission to investigate potential anticompetitive conduct of Google in the Indian internet, e-commerce market, online advertising and related markets.

Google is already in some trouble in India. It is currently facing criminal charges for failing to “adequately” censor itself. Back in February, Google also received a foreign exchange violation notice from the ED (Enforcement Directorate) for alleged irregularities in transfer of funds to its foreign entities. So far, Google has declined to officially respond, claiming that it is yet to be officially notified about the investigation.

A few minutes back, Google finally stepped into the cloud storage solutions arena with the launch of Google Drive. Google’s absence in this segment was conspicuous because Google is known to have access to plenty of cheap storage, and it was already providing a massive amount of storage for various services like Gmail, Picasa, and Docs. However, the long delay in launching Drive is even more perplexing because Google isn’t exactly shy about launching new services. Over the past decade, its portfolio has expanded from search and advertising to a bewildering range of services such as Sketchup and Google Goggles. Of course, not everything from Google has been a hit. Some products like Wave were spectacular failures, while others like Lively fizzled away silently. In order to keep its house in order, Google is known to chuck away services that fail to gain traction from time to time. However, ever since taking over the mantle of CEO, Larry Page seems to have made it his mantra to streamline Google. Last week, Google announced the latest batch of services to get the chop.

Some of the services that Google is retiring are stuff that almost no one knew about anyways. The first of them is Google Flu Vaccine Finder. This is a Google Maps mashup that was created in 2009 during the H1N1 pandemic to help in identifying nearest vaccination places across the US. Google is now retiring this service and suggesting HealthMap Flu Vaccine Finder as a better alternative. Also being retired are Google Related (an extension that suggested content related to the website you are currently browsing), One Pass (payment platform for online news publishers), and Google Sync for Blackberry. Google Patent Search is being sunset as Google has already incorporated this feature into the main search engine.

Among the popular products that have been affected include Picasa and Talk. Google will no longer support Picasa for Linux, Picasa Web Albums Uploader for Mac, and Picasa Web Albums Plugin for iPhoto. Google Talk mobile web app is being shuttered as Google recommends using native Android app or any compatible XMPP chatting app.

Beginning this week, Google is forcing Gmail users to switch to the new interface. While the new interface looks slick and modern, it suffers from numerous poor design choices that have users up in arms. Some of the issues are fixable with a few settings tweaks. For example, you can use the compact, high-contrast theme to reduce the wastage of space and enhance readability. But for others, there is seemingly no cure.

Thankfully, few users are taking up the challenge themselves, and are trying to make the new Gmail more intuitive through extensions and userstyles. Among the better attempts is Gmelius, which is a free, cross-browser compatible extension that tweaks and refines the new Gmail interface.

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the stuff that Gmelius does:

• It reclaims space by collapsing the Search and Share bar, stripping away the footer, and removing the People widget. Gmelius can also be configured to block all advertisements.
• It enhances the appearance of Gmail by adding subtle row highlights, and disabling fancy fonts and colors in incoming mails.
• It makes navigation more intuitive by colorizing the navigation icons and supplementing them with text.
• It adds an auto-scroll to the top action that can be triggered by clicking on the black Google bar.

Gmelius is dead simple to configure, and the tweaks it offers go a long way towards enhancing the new Gmail interface. The new navigations icons drove me nuts for weeks, and even after using the new interface for a several months, I still get confused occasionally. I only wish that I had discovered Gmelius sooner. There’s undoubtedly a lot more stuff that Gmelius could do. For example, it could bring back the reply links beneath every message or re-enable color coding of conversations. However, Gmelius already does enough for me to encourage you to go ahead and install it. It’s currently available for Chrome, Firefox & Opera.

[ Download Gmelius ]

Chocoholics your world is about to get even better. A company called “Choc Edge” has introduced a new chocolate printer called the “Choc Creator” which seeks to “revolutionise chocolate making for a creative, pleasurable and healthy consumption experience”.

Courtesy Chocedge.com

This incredible device eliminates the need for the meticulous hands of a pastry chef. It allows the creator to print 3 dimensional confections simply at the press of a button. The 3-D printer is much like others that would utilize materials like metal to make shapes. An open source 3-D software controls the print head which is basically a syringe. The syringe can be changed during the printing process to utilize different types of chocolates. Below, you can see the printer in action.

[Video Link]

The printer is a result of research done at the University of Exeter. Dr Liang Hao led the research and eventually founded the Choc Edge company.

This new printer comes with a pretty hefty price tag with a retail price of £2,888 (more than $4500U.S.). Right now they have an interesting promotion set up on their Ebay site. They are auctioning 10 printers with a 2% income reward deal to go along with the purchase. If you are one of the lucky 10 to win an auction, you will get a 2% share of profit from the sale of all “Choc Creators” sold during the first year. The first auction ends on April 20th.

If you would like to learn more about this product, visit the Choc Edge website at http://www.chocedge.com/.

Waterloo, Ontario based company Research In Motion announced its first quarterly loss since 2005 yesterday. This announcement comes shortly after the resignation of longtime Co-CEO and board member, Jim Balsillie.

Jim Balsillie (Courtesy of Bloomberg News)

Below are the highlights from the quarterly report.

• $2.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments at the end of the quarter, which increased by approximately $610 million in the quarter
• Cash flow from operations of approximately $1.1 billion, up from approximately $900 million in Q3
• Revenue of $4.2 billion, down 19% from the third quarter
• GAAP net loss in Q4 of $125 million or $0.24 per share diluted; adjusted net income of $418 million or $0.80 per share diluted
• BlackBerry smartphone shipments of 11.1 million in Q4, down 21% from Q3
• RIM to discontinue providing specific quantitative guidance
• RIM provides update on organizational changes

Current CEO, Thorsten Heins, is looking to change RIM’s focus as the company mounts up against continued pressure in the marketplace. Despite the grim report, Heins tries to put a positive spin in the report by saying, “I have assessed many aspects of RIM’s business during my first 10 weeks as CEO. I have confirmed that the Company has substantial strengths that can be further leveraged to improve our financial performance, including RIM’s global network infrastructure, a strong enterprise offering and a large and growing base of more than 77 million subscribers.”

It appears that Heins will be making organizational changes as it was announced the COO, Jim Rowan, and its CTO, David Yach, would be leaving. The company will also leverage its resources toward the corporate marketplace and steer away from the consumer market where it has lost ground against the likes of Apple and Google.

Heins definitely has his work cut out for him. The short term outlook for RIM does not look good as they have a stockpile of devices sitting stagnant on the shelves. They also are supposed to roll out a new line of Blackberry 10 in the near future. It remains to be seen what partnerships the pride of Canada can muster in its bid to recover. It may actually be a good investment in the long term but I wouldn’t bet the farm.

For the fifth year running, Silicon Valley shows off its top talent at Internet Week in New York (IWNY). Whereas Austin’s SXSW festival showcases new start-ups and apps, IWNY celebrates digital culture and the city’s thriving technology community. Organizers from the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment expect more than 45,000 participants to visit the festival headquarters at 82 Mercer in Soho and dozens of other event venues between May 14th and 21st.

Though featured events include both the Webby Awards and advertising’s CLIO Awards, crowdsourcing gives Internet Week its real buzz. Anyone can launch an event during the festival, just by scheduling and registering with IWNY HQ. With 250 events taking place across all five boroughs, attendees can get overwhelmed with choice. Based on social media chatter and early news reports, registrants have already expressed anticipation for five special events:

Walkabout NYC
New York’s startup community enjoys a home court advantage at Internet Week, inviting participants from around the world to visit their workspaces and meet the city’s rising technology stars. Sixty companies opened their doors for last year’s Walkabout, showcasing what participants at web application provider, Harvest, called the community’s “inspirational energy.”

Conversational Marketing Summit
BoingBoing “band manager” and co-founding Wired editor John Battelle headlines a two-day gathering of brand marketers and online publishing mavens. Battelle’s Federated Media welcomes keynote speakers from Google, MasterCard, Coca-Cola and other companies that have embraced experimentation through social media, storytelling and conversation.

Dollar Van Demos Live!
Between software developer training sessions, IWNY attendees can enjoy a quirky concert in the back of a shared ride taxi. Some of New York’s hottest reggae and hip hop artists during a round-trip ride along Flatbush Avenue. Folks who can’t fit in the cab can still enjoy the music, since promoters publish recordings of each trip for online purchase. In previous years, the unpredictable videos have landed in McDonald’s advertising campaigns and caught the attention of rock critics in the Guardian.

APPNATION NY + TV 3.0 Summit
This two-day conference explores how audiences interact with mobile applications, with television programming and with the technology that aspires to connect the two. This rare summit brings together key figures from Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Wall Street to explore live programming in a connected world.

TECHMunchNYC
Food blogging doesn’t just have to be about posting pictures of what’s for dinner. Speakers from Food Network, CNBC and BakeSpace.com walk participants through the process of building profitable, fun food blogs. Part of both IWNY and a national series of TECHMunch events, this day-long conference peppers computer training courses with cooking demonstrations.

Early bird attendees can purchase passes for as little as $20, earning the opportunity to vote for presenters at a series of panels to be webcast from IWNY HQ. Like most crowdsourced technology events, the agenda for Internet Week New York can change often. Organizers encourage attendees to check their official website for schedules and venue maps, with urgent messages posted to Twitter using the hashtag #iwny.

==== About the Author ====
Technology writer Ivan Tully can’t keep his hands off the keyboard, despite the NDAs he’s riding out from current and former employers. His background includes stints as an IT administrator and sales professional, as well as writing for major news outlets over the past two decades.

Electric cars have come a long way since their humble beginnings. The awareness of alternative fuels and availability of electric cars currently worldwide is unprecedented. The U.S. government is chipping in by offering a tax credit of up to $7,500 per electric vehicle purchased. Yet, sales have not taken off as anticipated. They’re not seen all over the roads. At least not yet.

Next year will see an influx of electric vehicles, or EVs, which includes both plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and full-electric vehicles (FEVs) at dealerships all over the country. While they and gas-electric hybrids are selling at lower than anticipated figures, dealers are gearing up to stock more of them for 2012. The question of whether the public will embrace them as anticipated is still a matter of some speculation, however. The government incentive brings down the average price of an EV from around $35,000 to $27,000. The Chevy Volt’s MSRP is $41,000; the Fisker Karma is more than twice that price. With the average price of a new economy car hovering around $17,000, the EV has plenty of competition as far as price point is concerned.

Industry analysts estimate that only 3,000 FEVs were on the road at the end of 2009. With the introduction of the Nissan Leaf, Smart ED and others, the overall number of EVs—including PHEVs—has increased, although estimates vary. A report by green market research and media company GTM Research makes a positive prediction. By 2016, 3.8 million EVs will be on roads worldwide; for the U.S. the projection is for 1.2 million by 2015 (source: U.S. Department of Energy). GTM’s projection takes into account that the cost of EVs is still out of reach for most car buyers. The report reflects author David Leeds’ sentiment that just as laptops and cell phones began as luxury items, then became more affordable over time, electric vehicles will experience the same phenomenon.

Even with those modest numbers, there aren’t enough charge points to answer the call for the number of FEVs and PHEVs projected to be on U.S. roads. It is estimated that more than one million charge points, including non-residential charging units will need to be installed by 2015. Another limitation continues to be the EVs range, which for most is less than 200 miles per charge. Passenger capacity is also behind on demand, with most 100 percent EVs available only as two-seaters. While the Nissan Leaf has room for five, the batteries only offer a range of 73 miles on one charge. Speed no longer appears to be an issue, with many EVs able to climb to higher than highway speeds in a relatively short distance.

Depending on whether you’re looking for a LEV, or a PHEV, availability varies across the country. California leads in dealerships and number of EVs on the road and a number of EV manufacturers are based in California. No special dealer bond is required to sell these vehicles. Plug In America, an EV advocacy group, provides a regularly updated list of EVs available, from the plug-in vehicle tracker page. Mainstream car manufacturers who will be introducing EVs in the next two years include Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Saab and Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo, in addition to a number of start-up companies.

While widespread use of EVs is still some years away, the market is ripe for it. Current gas prices, government incentives, a growing infrastructure and an increasingly loyal customer base influence the trend of available EVs. Look for more of them on the roads next year.

Image: Granite Transformations

==== About the Author ====

Alex Levin is a writer with JW Surety Bonds, a nationwide Surety bonds agency.

After being repeatedly embarrassed and discomforted by Anonymous and its various offshoots, the feds have finally managed to land a telling blow on the notorious band of hackers. Fox News is reporting that Kayla (Ryan Ackroyd), Topiary (Jake Davis), pwnsauce (Darren Martyn), palladium (Donncha O’Cearrbhail), and Anarchaos (Jeremy Hammond) have been arrested in an intercontinental raid. The hackers were picked up from USA (Chicago), UK (London), and Ireland.

The arrests tell only part of the story. The real kicker is in the details. Apparently, the feds managed to track down Sabu, the kingpin of LulzSec and one of the leaders of Anonymous, in June, 2011. The man behind some of the most notorious attacks in the past 18 months turned out to be Hector Xavier Monsegur – an unemployed, 28-year-old father of two. Facing the charge of charge of aggravated identity theft, which carries a two year prison sentence, Sabu agreed to drop all his moral convictions and teamed up with the FBI. Turning him wasn’t easy, and ultimately it was the prospect of staying away from his kids that swayed him. Since then, Sabu has continued to work with the FBI, often from their offices, to help in collection of proof against his co-conspirators.

Although today’s news will send shockwaves through Anonymous, this wasn’t totally unexpected. Sabu had been doxed towards the end of last year itself, and several hackers believed that he was snitching. Here are excerpts from a prophetic interview given by Virus:

6:15:39 PM virus: he disappeared for a week, I don’t recall what day
6:15:52 PM virus: but when he returned he said his grand mother died and that’s why he was MIA
6:16:01 PM virus: after that he started offering me money to own people
…
6:19:19 PM virus: another reason why I believe he was converted after he disappeared and returned is everybody else started getting arrested one by one starting with ryan clearly, who was their ddos bitch
6:19:29 PM virus: yes, I believe he cut a deal to save himself

Back in November, Jester and others uncovered Sabu’s real name, email address, address, pictures and other personal details. Here are some of the stuff about Sabu that was already available on the internet:

Sabu

Sabu’s grandmom with his and his dad’s pictures (source)

Even though, many members of the inner circle had already predicted today’s events, it still is a massive blow to Anonymous. Not only have they lost several of their most visible faces, but they have been betrayed by their de facto leader.