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Archive for the ‘Just Cool’ Category

Halloween Jack O Lantern

31 Oct

As its Halloween today, I thought I’d finally get round to carving my very first (yes, ever) Pumpkin. Its nothing that you would find in an art gallery, but I’m quite chuffed with it.

See what you think.

PS. I’ve washed my hands 3 times so far, and they still smell of pumpkin juice šŸ˜‰

 
2 Comments

Posted in Just Cool

 

Kinect tracks your hands and lets you play with balls in real time

24 Oct

At the first DDDNorth, I did a session on Kinect and the Kinect SDK. One of the question I get asked is “can it track my fingers?” Well, the SDK doesnt let you do this – yet. However, because you have access to the raw video streams, theres no reason why you cant do it yourself.

Microsoft Research have taken a Kinect, and using the reflection on a piece of glass from a normal monitor, and managed to recreate a HoloDeck environment, right on your desktop – Called HoloDesk.

It lets you manipulate 3D objects in real time, and allows intrgration with real world objects. Its much better to see than explain, so watch this video.

 
 

Upgrading to every version of Windows

04 Mar

Back in 2005, I did a video called “a long road” for the Visual Studio 2005 launch. It showed the startup and desktop of every version of Windows, all the way up to the preview of Windows Vista.

Now someone else has taken that a little further and put together a video showing the upgrade process for each version,

 
 

A ride on board Discovery

24 Feb

It was good today to hitch a ride onboard space shuttle Discovery, for her final flight. Not literally of course (I couldnt get the time of work) but I liked the engagement campaign Nasa has been running.

You key in some details and an image and you then get a ‘launch’ video. Heres mine.

Whats really cool about this is that if you come back to the site when then shuttle returns to Earth, and key in a code , which they give you after the launch video, then you get a certificate to say you’ve been on the mission.

I think thats a really cool way of getting people to go back to the site.

 

Home Automation: Kinect Edition

11 Feb

During my talk at DD9 a couple of weeks ago, I discussed various different approaches to Domotics (that the posh word for home automation;-)). One of those ideas I suggested was to make use of Microsofts excellent Kinect and its depth perception cameras.

Great minds think alike, obviously, as I notice an entry on 123kinect.com showing exactly that!

Channel4 news ran a promotion on some of the stuff Microsoft are doing in Redmond, and beside the computer guided cars, theres a tour of the Microsoft house, where everything is controlled by touch, voice and gesture.

You can watch the video for yourself here.

Very very cool!

 

Knitted Daleks

08 Jul

extermaknitOk, So Iā€™ve seen Snow Daleks before, but never a knitted one. Just in case you happen to be an MVP in Knitting, heres a link to the instructions.

http://www.entropyhouse.com/penwiper/who/extermaknit.html

Extermiknitt!

 
 

The art of Swimming taught

02 Jun

I was down in Ilfracombe over the bank holiday, and ventured down through the tunnels in the cliff onto a private beach, once reserved for Victorian Gentlemen, with the Ladies bathing area in the next cove. On the walls of the tunnels and on the path down from the cliff to the beach, there’s a really nice lookout area. In fact they hold weddings here. In the picture of that area below, you can make out a sign (Iā€™ve subtlety added a red arrow pointing at it ;-)) Seems I was famous for teaching swimming

 
 

Bing – The Soap Opera!

19 May

This could be the start of a new cult over here in the UK. Bing ā€“ Los LinksĀ  !

Episode 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2lN3-i2t7kĀ 

Episode 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFlaIQCWZcA

 
 

Strange Plant

16 Mar

I visited my mothers the other night, and she has this cactus..


Yes I know its childish, but made me laugh. šŸ˜‰

 
 

Snow Dalek!

24 Jan

Nothing else to say, other thanĀ Ā Brrrrrrrrrrrrilliant!