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<title>Haaze.com / barbarastone / All</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:10:58 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Balloons float real-life 'Up' house near LA]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=balloons-float-real-life-up-house-near-la</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=balloons-float-real-life-up-house-near-la</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:10:58 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>barbarastone</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=balloons-float-real-life-up-house-near-la</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:National Geographic)Ever wished real life could be more like a Pixar movie It was for a little while on Saturday, as a team of awesomizers managed to successfully lift a house into the air, &quot;Up&quot; style, using a cluster of brightly colored balloons. The adorable 2,000-pound, 16x16-foot yellow house took to the skies with the aid of 300 weather balloons that grow to 8 feet tall when inflated. From top to bottom, the entire aircraft measured 10 stories high and reached an altitude of 10,000 feet. It flew for about an hour at dawn from a private airfield east of Los Angeles. Oh, and there were people (of the non-animated variety) aboard.  The floating feat sets a world record for the largest balloon cluster flight ever attempted, according to the National Geographic Channel. It filmed the flight as part of a new series called &quot;How Hard Can It Be&quot; that's set to debut in the fall.  And if you're wondering how hard it can be to set a balloon-supported house aloft, well, &quot;it was pretty hard,&quot; Paul Carson, the show's host, notes in the behind-the-scenes video below. &quot;It was very difficult actually.&quot; Volunteers in California&amp;39's High Desert prepare the house for liftoff Saturday. (Credit:National Geographic)A view of the 300 balloons from the inside of the little house. (Credit:National Geographic) Pixar's 10th animated feature focuses on the fate of 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen, his house, and a wayward 8-year-old who happens by one day. Launched into the sky together by a cluster of balloons tied to the roof of Fredricksen's house, the two set off on what could safely be called a high-flying adventure. It took the National Geographic team of scientists, engineers, and balloon pilots two weeks to pull off their version of the &quot;Up&quot; house--from the initial assignment through planning, building, and rigging the house and setting it aloft in the clear skies to cheers down below. Carson picks &quot;incredulity&quot; to describe the dominant feeling among the crew as the house made its way skyward. As for us, &quot;grinning like dopes&quot; would about cover it. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Has the App Store killed the point-and-shoot]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=has-the-app-store-killed-the-point-and-shoot</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=has-the-app-store-killed-the-point-and-shoot</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:10:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>barbarastone</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=has-the-app-store-killed-the-point-and-shoot</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Casio Tryx might be the first step to having a camera that runs apps. (Credit:Casio)My first thought when I saw the Casio Tryx camera announced at CES 2011 was that Casio took a smartphone and turned into a single-function device. The Tryx is 0.6 inch high by 2.3 inches wide by 4.8 inches deep, has a 3-inch touch screen, and a fixed focal length f2.8 21mm-equivalent ultrawide-angle lens (that means no optical zoom). Take away the swiveling and rotating screen and lens design and you essentially have the body of a smartphone. On top of that, one of the Tryx's key shooting features is high dynamic range (HDR) photos. HDR photography isn't new, but the use of it in the iPhone 4 certainly broadened awareness (for better or worse). If you're unfamiliar with it, basically, the camera takes several photos at different exposures and then combines them to bring out details that would otherwise be lost in the highlights and shadows of a scene. The Tryx can also do this for artistic effect by adjusting the strength of contrast throughout a photo. In other words, this camera does what apps like TrueHDR and Pro HDR do foriPhone users.So what you have in the Tryx is a high-powered smartphone-like camera with an app. One app. It does do other things, of course, and I'm sure Casio's argument would be that it performs better than any multipurpose mobile device can, and that's probably true. However, I keep hearing from readers, friends, and co-workers that they've pretty much abandoned their point-and-shoot cameras for their smartphones. Not because the photo quality is fantastic, but because it's always with them, because they can share photos instantly, and because of all of the apps. A good app can turn a bad or boring photo into something worth sharing. (Ask anyone who's ever used Hipstamatic.) While smartphones are not going to kill point-and-shoots anytime soon, camera manufacturers can't compete with apps. At least, not right now. Current camera systems are ridiculously closed off (Canon hacking aside), so people can't just start developing apps for them. And camera manufacturers can't be left to develop their own software because, well, the software would suck. Right now the manufacturers' solution is to add in special scene modes or give users creative art filters. However, neither option matches the fun or the flexibility of most photography apps. Add in instructional and editing and other utility apps and you can start to see why people are giving up on their simple pocket cameras. The Tryx seems like an if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-'em attempt at going after smartphones. Unfortunately, it doesn't go far enough. I don't know if Apple will ever make a new QuickTake camera and have it run on the iOS. However, there is some hope that an Android-based smartcamera isn't too far off. System-on-a-chip manufacturer Ambarella has developed the iOne, a chip designed for digital still and video capture that has full support for the Android OS. Match it with a good lens, a large touch-screen display, Wi-Fi and/or 3G mobile broadband, and the ability to load it full of fun and useful photography apps, and that might be worth sticking in the pocket your phone's not in.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Apple: Disrupt or perish]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-disrupt-or-perish</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-disrupt-or-perish</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 22 Jan 2011 08:10:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>barbarastone</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-disrupt-or-perish</guid>
<description><![CDATA[While the secret for Apple's success seems patently obvious to most--as obvious as the form and function of theiPhone 4--a more subtle reason is the company's counter-intuitive knack for disrupting its own product lines.Will that be an iPad or a MacBook Air Decisions, decisions. Let's set the stage be asking why can't a Sony or a Toshiba or a Dell emulate Apple's success They've been around the block a few times and have access to equal, or better, resources. A full answer to that question is too long and involved to address in any format other than a Ph.D dissertation. But a willingness (or unwillingness in the above-mentioned companies) to eat one's own progeny--metaphorically speaking--is crucial. In market parlance, it's referred to as disruptive technology. What makes Apple special is that it comes from within the company. Yes, we cannibalize: Here's an excerpt from Apple COO Tim Cook's comments this week--responding to an analyst's question--about cannibalization of MacBooks by theiPad: &quot;...yes, I think there is some cannibalization. But I also think there's a halo effect...we have introduced millions of people in Asia to Apple through the iPhone. And we're now introducing many more through the iPad, and I think some of those decide to buy aMac. And so when you look at the Mac growth in Asia at 67 percent, and you look at the Japan growth at 56 percent, and you look at U.S. and Europe growing in double-digits against shrinking markets. If this is cannibalization, it feels pretty good.&quot;  No, we don't: The Wintel (Windows-Intel) camp offers the perfect contrast in the Netbook: a lot of potential because it's highly portable and low cost. But the design is not groundbreaking (essentially, a shrunken, stripped-down laptop) and the hardware by design is slow and the build quality is low. Intended result: minimal disruption of the more lucrative mainstream laptop market.  Apple made no pretense about wanting to go after the $300 Netbook market. Instead, it opted for the $500-$600 iPad. A disruptive, market-altering design and inexpensive enough that it would lead some consumers to opt for the iPad instead of a Netbook (include me in that group), while offering the enticing possibility of eating the MacBook Air's lunch at some point.  Or is it the other way around Apple now has the $999 11.6-inch MacBook Air, which gives some prospective iPad buyers pause. Here's what Cook said about that: &quot;And I think Steve said it great when he said, 'If the Mac company were a separate company, and the iPad company were a separate company, what would the Mac company build to compete with the iPad And I think the answer is the MacBook Air.' And I think that's a phenomenal insight, and I think a great way to look at it.&quot;  Again, contrast that with Wintel's inability (unwillingness) to grasp the tablet, despite having ample opportunity. PC makers offered &quot;tablets&quot; for years but they have been little more than modified laptops with a half-baked tablet UI, at best. No threat of market disruption or cannibalization here.  Moral of the story: Microsoft, Intel, and PC makers need to begin to self-disrupt quickly or they're going to be competing for a smaller and smaller piece of the pie as Apple and Android-based devices reinvent the personal computer and eat their lunch.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Week in review: Epic Games shows off amazing graphics]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=week-in-review-epic-games-shows-off-amazing-graphics</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=week-in-review-epic-games-shows-off-amazing-graphics</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>barbarastone</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=week-in-review-epic-games-shows-off-amazing-graphics</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Here&amp;'s our roundup of the week&amp;'s tech business news. First, the most popular stories VentureBeat published in the last seven days:Epic Games shows jaw-dropping graphics for next-generation consoles (video) &amp;8212' One of the best technology demos at the Game Developers Conference came from Epic Games, which created an incredible-looking futuristic fight scene that pushed the boundaries of 3D graphics.RIMa4a4s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet demo shows off multitasking with games (video) &amp;8212' Research in Motion is launching its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet soon and our close-up demo of the device shows that ita4a4s a pretty good game, video, and multimedia machine.iPad 2 reviews proclaim it king of the tablets, but not an essential upgrade &amp;8212' When it comes to iPad 2 reviews, there arena4a4t many surprises.One lone dude awaits iPad 2 at Applea4a4s SXSW store &amp;8212' Apple probably expected a bigger crowd forming at its South by Southwest 2011 popup store in downtown Austin yesterday.The best place to set up your startup &amp;8212' Venture capitalist John Backus asks: Do you have to be in Silicon Valley to get the contacts, staff, and VC attention you need to build a venture-backed companyAnd here are five more stories we think are important, thought-provoking, fun, or all of the above:How the Angry Birds deal could lead to mobile gaming nirvana &amp;8212' The $42 million investment in Angry Birds creator Rovio could be a watershed event for mobile games.Not so pretty: Layoffs at e-commerce darling ModCloth &amp;8212' Hot e-commerce startup ModCloth laid off just over a dozen of its 248 employees.Charlie Sheen seeks social media intern a4&quot; will he pay in tiger blood &amp;8212' Fresh off one of the most legendary media meltdowns of all time, actor Charlie Sheen is now seeking a social media intern to manage his online shenanigans.Worst idea ever: Sprint in talks to buy T-Mobile &amp;8212' Deutsche Telekom is apparently in talks with Sprint to sell its T-Mobile USA division.Do AOLa4a4s layoffs spell doom for quality journalism &amp;8212' AOL eliminated approximately 900 jobs this week.If you&amp;'re interested in receiving the week in review in your inbox, or if you want weekly roundups of the news in mobile, games, or cleantech, consider subscribing to VentureBeat&amp;'s email newsletters.Previous Story: Bing sees backlash for Japan quake donation campaignPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Angry Birds, BlackBerry PlayBook, iPad 2, Mobile gaming, South by Southwest, sxswCompanies: aol, Apple, epic games, ModCloth, Research In Motion, RIM, Rovio, sprint, T MobilePeople: Charlie Sheen, John Backus          Tags: Angry Birds, BlackBerry PlayBook, iPad 2, Mobile gaming, South by Southwest, sxswCompanies: aol, Apple, epic games, ModCloth, Research In Motion, RIM, Rovio, sprint, T MobilePeople: Charlie Sheen, John BackusAnthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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