Internet & Technology Blog

Panasonic TVs 2012: Sleeker, better plasmas, more LCDs, and…passive 3D?

Posted by David Katzmaier on January 27th, 2012

The flagship VT50 plasma sails with a one-sheet-of-glass design and the promise of better picture quality.

(Credit: Panasonic)

Panasonic is still serious about plasma, but in 2012 it will release more (and bigger) LCDs than ever, including one with passive 3D--complete with cheap glasses.

As usual CES provided a full look at the company's 2012 TV hardware plans and we covered them extensively in blog and video form, but the table below attempts to coalesce those plans in the most "scannable, glanceable" view possible. All of it came from the company's official CES press releases, although a few of the Notes were the result of follow-up conversations I had with company reps.

You won't find these TVs described in detail on Panasonic's Web site yet. The company, like all of those I'm profiling in tables over the next few days, holds back its Web site updates until the 2012 models start shipping.

Anyway, here's the table. Scroll lower in the post for more detail and click through to the series links for even more, including those patented in-depth blog posts.

Notes:

If last year is any indication, pricing and availability will officially be announced in early March, and I expect details on the VT50 will follow later in April. ... [Read more]

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Vintage 3D ‘wiggle GIFs’ respun with library’s cool tool

Posted by Edward Moyer on January 27th, 2012

A detail of the Stereogranimator's interface, showing a stereograph from the New York Public Library's collection (in this case, an image of Chinese laborers picking cotton in Peru, circa 1900). The user adjusts the position of the images to create a 3D GIF. (You can see the result below.)

(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Moyer/CNET)

Some readers may remember the flickering, old-timey, surprisingly three-dimensional GIFs that made a splash on the Internet back in 2008. Writer and artist Joshua Heineman created them from images of 19th and early 20th century stereoscope cards he culled from a collection placed online by the New York Public Library.

Heineman took the two slightly offset images on a given card, separated them, dropped them into Photoshop, and created animated GIFs that quickly "flipped" from one image to the other, over and over (a technique known as "wiggle stereoscopy").

Then, as part of a personal project called "Reaching for the Out of Reach," he posted the GIFs on his Tumblr blog, where they were ... [Read more]

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The 404 981: Where the world is a vampire (podcast)

Posted by Justin Yu on January 27th, 2012

(Credit: Imgur)

As the case for Web censorship moves forward, Twitter announced today that it'll soon block tweets on a countrywide basis when they violate local restrictions, so we can look forward to our government making it illegal for Nickelback to fight back against their Twitter haters.

We're surprised that some Google users are upset about the company's new "streamlined" privacy policies--don't they know that Google knows more about you than your own mother?

If you don't believe it, you can see exactly who Google thinks you are on its Ads Preferences page, or download the Google Advertising Cookie Opt-out Plugin to permanently get rid of them.

An issue with ... [Read more]

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Fingle your friends: The iPad just got too intimate

Posted by Scott Stein on January 27th, 2012

Hands-on with touchy-feely new iPad game, Fingle

Valentine's Day approaches, and in case you're one of those odd ducks wondering about the Most Intimate iPad Game, here's your slam-dunk recommendation: Fingle. Based on my time with it here at the office, it's earned nothing but awkward blushes.

Fingle's an iPad-only app because you wouldn't have enough finger room on an iPhone or iPod. It's basically Twister with fingers: two players place one hand each on the iPad and put their fingers on the spaces indicated, then start slipping and sliding around the board as indicated. Stay long enough on the target and you get to go to the next level, accompanied by a Barry White-esque loud exhale.

This app knows what it's doing.

(Credit: Screenshot by Scott Stein/CNET)

The style is all '70s raunchy: orange and red swirls, throbbing funk, and plenty of innuendo in the motions and the instructions. Nothing overt, but this is absolutely, positively intended for flirting purposes. Twister-innocent, this isn't.

Touching will occur.

(Credit: Julie Rivera/CNET)

I tried a few rounds at the office with the only person who was willing to give it a shot: our own Joseph Kaminski, who's a good sport and unafraid of some office intimacy. Joe and I played until it got too uncomfortable; actually, ... [Read more]

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Nintendo to rename Wii U?

Posted by Christopher MacManus on January 27th, 2012

The future of Nintendo could rely on the success of the Wii U.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Nintendo might change the name of its Wii U game console to something less like its predecessor, U.K. video game magazine Computer and Video Games reports, citing unnamed sources.

The Japanese game maker is under pressure to rebound from a disappointing Nintendo 3DS launch and heavy annual losses.

Clearly, Nintendo must avoid doing anything that might confuse consumers and prevent them from buying the successor to the Wii console when it arrives in time for the holidays. CVG says it believes the naming scheme and introduction of the Nintendo 3DS wasn't clear enough to consumers, citing an example of two U.K. retailers adding large red 3DS stickers to game boxes, as it looks similar to boxes used for DS games. The company supposedly aims to avoid a similar fate with the Wii U.

Geneva XS review: A Bluetooth take on the old-school travel clock radio

Posted by David Carnoy on January 27th, 2012

The Geneva XS is very good-sounding portable Bluetooth speaker with a rechargeable battery and built-in FM radio. It folds up into its case.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Led by products like the Jawbone Jambox and Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker, compact Bluetooth speakers are hot little items these days, and Geneva Lab has placed itself in the middle of the fray with its Sound System Model XS, which retails for $250 and comes in black, red, or white.

In case you've never heard of Geneva Lab, as its name implies, it's based in Switzerland, and has been making high-end iPod and iPhone audio systems since 2006. Most of its speakers--such as the Model L we reviewed back in 2007--are actually quite beefy, so it surprised me to see the company go extra-small with an XS model. However, I'm glad it did because, despite the somewhat inflated price tag, it's a very solid product.

Read the full review of the Model XS here. < ... [Read more]

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Supersize your screen for the big game

Posted by Ty Pendlebury on January 27th, 2012

If you're planning to buy an HDTV to watch the big game between New England and New York, do yourself a favor and get something BIG.

Football looks best in high-def that's blown up monster-size. We've selected a few of the biggest HDTVs we've reviewed in the last year--call 'em our offensive line--and picked the best for you to size up. When a 50-incher is small, you know you're in the pros.

While you can spend as little as a grand on a 60-incher, we'd recommend digging a little bit deeper for the improvements in picture quality. There's also a couple of tips for getting the best TV for your living space here. A TV's for life, not just for the holidays.

Panasonic TC-P65VT30 (65-inch) Superb all-around picture quality, anchored by the deepest plasma black levels of the year, make the Panasonic TC-PVT30 series one of the the best-performing TVs we've tested in 2011. Read the full review.

Canadian teens send Legonaut 15 miles into atmosphere

Posted by Tim Hornyak on January 27th, 2012

No spacesuit required: The Lego man floated some 15 miles above sea level.

(Credit: Video screenshot by Tim Hornyak/CNET)

Why build a Gingrichian lunar colony, which would cost billions, when you can send a man nearly into space for only $400?

That's what Canadians Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad did with an albeit plastic man from Lego and a modified weather balloon.

The 17-year-olds from Toronto bought an $85 weather balloon online and rigged it to a Styrofoam box equipped with three point-and-shoot cameras and a wide-angle video camera.

They threw in $160 worth of helium from a party supply store, a dash of superglue, and voila, a Legonaut was born.

The toy ascended 80,000 feet over Ontario, recording the awesome footage in the video below, before floating back to Earth some 97 minutes later on a homemade nylon parachute.

It landed near Rice Lake, some 75 miles away from the soccer field where it was launched. A GPS-enabled cell phone onboard told the boys where to go.

The project took about four months of planning on Saturdays, but it wasn't homework for the pair of 12th graders at the Agincourt Collegiate Institute.

Ho, who has dreams of being an entrepreneur, decided to try his hand at astral toy tourism after watching ... [Read more]

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Friday Poll: Do you like Facebook Timeline?

Posted by Amanda Kooser on January 27th, 2012

Facebook Timeline has left me searching for a better cover photo.

(Credit: Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET)

Your time is up. It's Timeline or bust for Facebook users now. The social network is automatically switching users over to the new profile look over the next few weeks.

Timeline dredges up your entire history from the day you first joined the network, and even back as far as your birth. That includes your awkward "Twilight" phase and that time you posted a heartfelt poem over a breakup three years ago.

Facebookers now face a huge banner image on top of each profile and a constantly updated stream of information about what your friends are doing, posting, listening to, or watching.

This is a big change and not everyone is thrilled about it. It's kind of like having an interactive autobiography online, except you also get to know that your best bud just watched the crazy honey badger video for the tenth time.

At least one CNET reader has hatched a plot to open a new Facebook account to start fresh without the burden of years of social-networking history.

If you're still coming to terms with Timeline, we have a handy video to help you get better acquainted.

What You Need to Know About SEO Google

Posted by adminlink on January 27th, 2012

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