Konstruct for iOS creates generative augmented reality art with your voice

If you have an artistic temperament, but you weren't blessed with steady hands or an eye for color, Konstruct might be the app for you. Not only does the iPhone app let you produce generative art using words, warbles and whistles, but it also uses augmented reality to bring your artistic creation to life.

To get started, you first need to print out the Konstruct marker and place it wherever you'd like to create your AR sculpture -- it could be on your living room wall, or on the floor of your bathroom, it doesn't matter. Open the app, point your iPhone at the marker, and start making some noises! Once you're done, you can save your creation, or simply wipe the slate clean and start again.

The volume of your voice affects the size of the shapes that are drawn on the screen, and you can move your head around to alter the path of your 'brush' -- but to change the shape of your brush or modify the color palette you have to use a menu. Without knowledge of the app's internal workings, it's hard to say what the actual difference between whistling, talking and singing is -- and judging by the developer's affinity for whistling in the demo video (after the break), the app probably doesn't perform that much analysis on your input.

Still, Konstruct is just a prototype! A later version could do away with menus and rely entirely on the location, tonality, quality and amplitude of your voice -- and judging by the the words of the developer, James Alliban, there is definitely more in store for Konstruct: "The idea of transforming entire cities into user generated virtual art galleries really appeals to me. I see Konstruct as an early prototype that will hopefully be realised in this form in the future."

Download Konstruct for free from the App Store (iPhone 3GS and 4 only)

[Thanks to Richard for the tip!]

Gallery: Konstruct for iOS: create generative augmented art with your voice

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Konstruct for iOS creates generative augmented reality art with your voice originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/konstruct-for-ios-creates-generative-augmented-reality-art-with/

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O'Reilly helps Japan, offers entire e-book catalog for 50% off, today only

O'reilly make some of the best computer books in the world. They also sell them as DRM-free e-books in a bunch of formats, including PDFs and Mobi for Kindle.

They usually offer one "Deal of the Day", which is a 50% discount code for a book chosen for that one day. But just for for today, they've created a discount code -- DDJPN -- that gives you a 50% discount on their entire catalog, and they give a part of the proceeds to aid Japan relief efforts.

So far they've raised over $60,000, and the day is still young. So if you've been recently hankering after some nerdy book (or three), now would be a great time to grab one.

O'Reilly helps Japan, offers entire e-book catalog for 50% off, today only originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/22/oreilly-helps-japan-offers-entire-e-book-catalog-for-50-off/

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Hard drive shipments recover from floods in Thailand, expected to reach record high

Last year's floods in Thailand caused hard drive shortages after wreaking havoc on a number of electronics manufacturers, but new stats from IHS iSuppli indicate that the HDD market for PCs has fully recovered and is poised to hit an all time high. The firm expects 524 million units for internal use in PCs to ship this year, besting the previous record by 4.3 percent. What's giving the recovery an added boost? According to the analytics group, the extra demand comes courtesy of Windows 8 and Ultrabooks. Unfortunately for deal hounds, the company noted in a report earlier this year that prices aren't expected to dip below the pre-flood range until 2014. If IHS iSuppli projections hold true, total annual hard drive shipments could reach 575.1 million by 2016.

Filed under: Storage

Hard drive shipments recover from floods in Thailand, expected to reach record high originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ETYjb3xenxU/

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The Head of Homeland Security Stays Secure by Not Using Email, At All [Cybersecurity]

If you're super concerned about cybersecurity and keeping your information and personal rendezvous private, there are plenty of measures you can take. If you're super hardcore, you can do the same thing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano does: just don't use email. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/aBSZosC-GkM/the-head-of-homeland-security-stays-secure-by-not-using-email-at-all

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You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon

Rejoice! No longer will you have to fork over $700 for a Photoshop CS5 license! Adobe has unveiled a new subscription scheme where you can rent the entire Creative Suite, or individual packages, by the month, or for an entire year.

Adobe Photoshop can be yours for $35 per month if you agree to rent it for 12 months, or $49 per month if you require its services for a shorter period. Dreamweaver can be had for even cheaper, at just $19 per month. The entire Master Collection is still rather expensive, though, at $125 per month.

Today, Adobe also ushered in the release of Creative Suite 5.5, and simultaneously upped its release cycle from 18 months to 24 months. This means, if you rent Photoshop for two years, it's actually the same cost as buying it outright. There's no rent-to-own option, though -- so you wouldn't have access to the cheaper upgrade price once Creative Suite 6 rolls around next year. Still, if you need access to Photoshop, After Effects or Premiere for a one-time project, the new rental scheme could be exactly what you're looking for.

In other news, Adobe has announced that it will be launching three rather exciting iPad apps that work in conjunction with Photoshop: Eazel, Nav, and Color Lava. Eazel lets you five-finger paint on your iPad, and export the result into Photoshop; Nav acts as some kind of workspace, brush and menu extension, and the hopefully named Color Lava is a paint mixing palette. The apps are expected to appear in the App Store in the next 30 days.

You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/you-can-now-rent-adobe-photoshop-for-29-per-month/

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AVG launches LiveKive cloud sync and backup tool

A while back, we told you about AVG's new LiveKive service, a new cloud synchronization and backup tool which appears to have been named after a vat in which mash is made during the brewing process. But enough about AVG's odd choice of monikers -- LiveKive has launched and is now ready to accept your files into the AVG cloud.

LiveKive takes aim at services like Dropbox and SugarSync, though at the moment it's lagging behind in terms of features. As it stands, LiveKive is only compatible with Windows and OS X. There are no mobile clients yet, though with AVG's strong presence on Android we wouldn't be surprised to see an app arrive in the near future.

The company is offering a heck of a deal right now, however. If you sign up for a paid account during the launch phase, you can score unlimited storage for $80 for a whole year. You can't even score 50GB per year at that price from Dropbox, so if cost and space are more important to you than cross-platform availability, LiveKive might be worth checking out.

If you're not interested in ponying up any cash at the moment, you can still get a 5GB account free of charge. Just head on over, and create a LiveKive account.

AVG launches LiveKive cloud sync and backup tool originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/avg-launches-livekive-cloud-sync-and-backup-tool/

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Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review

This morning, an updated version of the stock Android Music app was leaked along with a new version of Android Market. The new Music app, which is labeled 'version 3', is similar to the leaked build from December, but it has received a ton of polish -- and indeed, it looks almost ready for prime time.

If you don't have Android 2.3 -- or don't want to root your phone to install the leaked Music app -- take a look through our gallery, and then read on for our initial hands-on impressions.

Gallery: Leaked Honeycombish Android Music app

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Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/leaked-android-music-app-hands-on/

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Microsoft trumpets Windows Phone 7 numbers on first birthday

Happy first birthday, Windows Phone 7! One year on, and the fledgling mobile operating system has 36,000 active developers in its AppHub community, 1.5 million downloads of its Developer Tools, and 11,500 apps in its Marketplace.

Microsoft is quick to take a couple shots at competitors' app stores, beating its chest about not re-counting tanslations of an app or "lite" apps, "increasing tonnage" by supporting apps from other mobile platforms, and not listing wallpapers as a category.

That's all fine and dandy, but we spend a lot of time sifting through WP7 app feeds -- and we're still not seeing a lot of awesome apps on the platform. We think a few marquee apps would've made a pretty nice first birthday present -- along with a much smoother update process for WP7 users.

Microsoft trumpets Windows Phone 7 numbers on first birthday originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/microsoft-trumpets-windows-phone-7-numbers-on-first-birthday/

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A Venture Capitalist’s E-Commerce Shopping List

Editor’s note: Sergio Monsalve is a Partner at Norwest Venture Partners where he is focused on early and growth investments in the digital media, mobile, and social areas. Follow him on Twitter.  E-commerce is one of the fastest-growing sectors in technology and is poised to get even hotter, with sales expected to double between 2010 and 2015, according to eMarketer. So how can discerning investors find the most promising opportunities? They have to first take off the rose-colored glasses.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/t5odiP2i7A4/

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Nokia Lumia Premium Pricing Won’t Help Windows Phone Adoption

Nokia is releasing pricing for its Lumia 920 and 820 in Europe. But the premium price isn't going to help drive Windows Phone adoption.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/nokia-lumia-premium-pricing-will-hinder-windows-phone-adoption/

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The Galaxy Tab 10.1 Gets a Shot at Going on Sale Again [Tablets]

Thanks to the Apple vs. Samsung patent war, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been off the market here in the States due to an injunction awarded a month ahead of the big showdown. Now, a U.S. appeals court has ruled that it's time to reconsider that ban. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/FFDBshM598I/the-galaxy-tab-101-gets-a-shot-at-going-on-sale-again

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Daily Crunch: Gundamcraft

Here are some of yesterday’s stories on TechCrunch Gadgets: Giant Gundam Robot Statue Returns To Tokyo – In Parts PrimeSense Positioning Itself For Integration With Next-Gen TVs Microsoft Reader E-Book System Comes To Its Conclusion Glorious Minecraft-Themed Xperia Play For Sale On eBay $200k Fundraiser Means SETI Can Listen For Aliens Again

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/16/daily-crunch-gundamcraft/

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GeekDad Approved: GeekDad Book Review: The Princess Bride: A Celebration

I was 16 years old when I saw The Princess Bride during its original theatrical release, but for the life of me, I can't remember why I wanted to see it in the first place. I don't recall seeing a ...

Source: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/09/the-princess-bride-a-celebration/

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Five Big Changes In The iOS 6 App Store (And What Developers Should Do)

Is the new iOS App Store a step forward or step back for mobile app developers, users, and the app economy overall? Some developers are complaining that since the introduction of the Chomp-inspired App Store redesign in iOS 6, sales have noticeably dropped. Others say the changes are good for indie developers. Whichever side of the coin you're on, there are a number of reasons why developers are feeling the effects. In the new iOS App Store, the user interface now encourages a slower search method (flipping through cards, not scrolling through vertical lists), less attention is given to new releases and category-based search as "Genius" recommendations are given a higher billing, App Store SEO (ASO) is basically a black box that no one seems to understand, and more.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/eKkprsCHPx4/

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This Is What Shooting a Gun Underwater Looks Like [Video]

Ever wonder what it would be like to shoot a gun underwater? It looks like a scene lifted straight from a Bond flick. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/kuvwGCGUQl4/this-is-what-shooting-a-gun-underwater-looks-like

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