ForcaTech Blog

Have you ever sat and thought to yourself: “I wish there was a robot that could take control of my body and teach me to play the piano”? Yep, me neither, but one company has developed a device that will make this dream come true for some out there. Concert Hands is a robotic device that is attached to your piano or electric keyboard. There is a rod that goes the length of the piano that sits in between you and the keys. You sit down in front of the piano and the Concert Hands latch onto you like a leech you lock your wrists into the slides that move your hands to the spot on the piano where they need to be and then slide your fingers into the finger sleeves that make your fingers press the correct keys.

If you aren’t sold on this great idea press play on the video above and let the mind controlling hypnotist Concert Hands advertiser convince you. I–personally–am creeped out.

The idea is that repetition will force your body to memorize how to play a song–muscle memory–just like anything you have done so much that you can do it without looking, like changing chords on a guitar or typing on a keyboard.

I am not saying this won’t work; in theory it sounds like it very possibly could. All I want to know is who thought of this? And one way or another you aren’t really learning to play the piano. A robot is training another robot your brain to play one song at a time through grinding repetition.

For more information I would tell you to go visit the Concert Hands website but at the time of this post it is down due to them exceeding their monthly bandwidth limits…

So you have downloaded a legit RC of Windows 7 from Microsoft–sorry free release candidates went offline last night–or you have purchased your copy from Microsoft directly but don’t want to enter the activation key yet? You can easily extend your trial period by entering a single command into the command prompt.

Open up your command prompt and type in “slmgr -rearm”. This will extend your trial period to 30 days. As soon as those 30 days run up you can do it again.

Microsoft is allowing you to do this 3 times for a total of 120 days. The same trick worked in Vista and it looks like M$ has decided to leave it in Windows 7.

This DIY Xbox case mod puts the Nintendo Wii to shame. A member of the forums over at Xbox-Scene has taken his original Xbox, modded it with an operating system called XBMC–Xbox Media Center, and created a super thin case mod for it.

Here is a picture of the original case versus the modded case. One thing you will notice is the lack of a DVD drive and controller ports. The controller ports of the original xbox were simply custom USB ports and you can get adapters to make your controllers USB.

With XBMC you can install a larger hard drive–this modder used a 320GB) and copy your games to the hard drive via the DVD drive or over the network from your PC.

From my experience with XBMC you lose none of the capabilities of the original Xbox but gain the ability to play your games from the hard drive, stream media over your network to your TV and install emulators to play old NES, SEGA and n64 games.

In the past, any time a book needed to be scanned it had to be done assembly line style–page by page. Researchers in the Ishikawa Komuro Lab at Tokyo University have developed a prototype scanner that may potentially change that. Their prototype can scan the pages of a book as you flip the pages.

The camera is able to adjust for light and movement distortion using a laser grid to assess the current page geometry and is able to create copies that are true to the original. Right now it is just a concept but with some funding this could be a huge time saver for large corporations, schools and print shops. [PlasticPals]

Rumors are buzzing all around the net about several different pieces of Apple news. One of the more reliable rumors bouncing around is that Apple will be hosting a keynote event for the week of September 7th. At this event the voices rumors say that Apple will be announcing some new products. This would follow the companies habit of releasing new iPods every fall.

The products that are to be announced are the new iPod touches which boast a camera, microphone and versions with 16, 32 and 64GB. These are rumored to be released for $199, $299 and $399.

More rumors include the notorious Apple Tablet that we have been hearing about. But, there are no solid rumors about that so we will just have to see. Hopefully more info will begin to leak out about the Apple Tablet such as what OS it will be running, hardware specs, will it have service through ATT or some other carrier?

An undisclosed source has said the following:

“The device, which I’ve held mock ups of, is going to have a 10 inch screen, and when I saw it looked just like a giant iPhone, with a black back— although that design could change at any time, with the same black resin back, and the familiar home button.”

“But it will come in two editions, one with a webcam and one for educational use.”

“The first prototype was built around the end of 2008. The time to market from first prototype is generally 6-9 months.”

It is unbelievable how fast the price of technology goes down. Four years ago it would be hard to find a 720p projector for around $1,000 and now you can have a 1080p 120″ HD projector screen for under $1,000.

The Optoma HD20 is available to purchase from Amazon now and is suppose to ship within the next few weeks. The HD20 has two HDMI inputs, VGA, component and composite video inputs. It has 1,700 ANSI lumens of brightness with an estimated 4,000 hours of lamp life and can have a screen size up to 300 inches!!!!

This photo supposedly is a from a Best Buy computer showing the arrival of several upcoming devices. The one of course that jumps out to us is the Omnia 2 scheduled to come out on August 23rd. There are some confusing things here such as the G2 Black and Red that is probably referring to the mytouch3G that is already out at T-Mobile. Also the Tour is there on the 23rd as well which is already available through Verizon and Sprint.

I doubt that this photo is legit. Through several trips to Verizon stores and speaking with 4 or 5 different reps none of them had heard of or were familiar with the Omnia 2. One of them said to me “if we knew of one coming out later this month we could let you know but as of now I don’t know that any are”. I think I am going to wait for some more legit leaks to pop up or for an official statement as to the official release date of the Omnia 2 to the Verizon network.

We knew this was coming and I have got to admit, now that they are on their way I am rather excited about going in to test out a Microsoft Surface PC or Xbox 360 with Natal device. Yes this picture doesn’t show us much but as plans are passed around and construction begins we will no doubt begin to see more images leaking to the net. The first two stores will be opening in Scottsdale, Arizona and Mission Viejo, California this fall.

Here are the promised videos. PocketNow received one of the highly anticipated Samsung Omnia 2 smartphones. His model is the GSM version which he was able to use here in the US with ATT. He is even able to access 3G and 3G+ at some times.

We still have yet to see a CDMA version and when I spoke to a Verizon rep today he was totally oblivious to what I was talking about when I mentioned the Omnia 2.

The following videos are from the complete review by PocketNow all the way from the unboxing to an indepth view of the phones interface.

Here you go, more videos about the Omnia 2 than you could ever hope for.

It has only been a few days since we  posted some stock pictures and some specs about the Omnia 2. We now have some more info and pictures to share. The coolest update is the Omnia 2 emulator on the Samsung website. Click on the link and check it out. Use your mouse like you would your finger. It is very intuitive for a Windows Mobile 6 overlay.

Videos coming tomorrow! For now you will have to be happy with the pictures below.

Above is a front facing photo of the Omnia from PhoneArena complete with 3.7 inch touchscreen, front facing camera and soft keys.

Here is a picture of the back side of the phone with the 5.0 megapixel camera that is capable of DVD quality video recording.

Here is a comparison of the iTouch placed next to the Omnia 2. The Omnia 2 is slightly larger top to bottom which you will really notice if you are someone who carries their phone in their pocket. For comparisons sake the iPhone 3G measures 4.5″ H x 2.4″ W x 0.48″ D and weighs 4.8 ounces . The Omnia 2 measures 4.65″ H x 2.36 “W x 0.47″ D and weighs 4.34 ounces.

This phone is now coming to GSM carriers as well as Verzion so you ATT and T-Mobile drones users are in luck.

Click on the images below for full sized versions of the Opera web browser in action, the miniUSB and 3.5mm headphone jacks as well as the front facing camera. For a complete review of the GSM model of the Omnia 2 visit PhoneArena.

Another void in our lives has been filled with the release of the 20 device iPod and iPhone dock by Parasync. Now you have the ability to connect 20 of your toys to your computer using only 1 USB port.

Not to worry those of you who don’t think 20 will be enough. There are two USB ports on this dock which allows you to daisy chain additional iPods and iPhones.

The Parasync dock is compatible with the iPod Classic, Nano G4, iPod Touch and iPhone. It is about the size of a package of printer paper measuring roughly 12 x 10 x 2.

Plug in all of your devices and pull up iTunes to view and manage all 20 of your devices.

We all think the same thing as we pull out that digital camera to snap some quick shots, “man, I wish this thing had a projector built in!!” Now all of our hopes and dreams have come true.

Information has leaked about the next line up of Nikon digital cameras. The one that has stood out to us the most is the S1000pj. It comes complete with a built in projector that can push a 40″ image onto any flat surface.

From Nikon Rumors:

“The Coolpix S1000pj is the first digital camera with a built-in projector that lets users project photos or movies clips on any flat surface at up to 40 inches in size. A handy projector stand is included, as is a remote control that can be used to operate the projector, release the shutter, and more. This model features an effective resolution of 12.1 megapixels and a 5x Zoom-Nikkor lens with 28mm (equivalent) wide-angle coverage, along with a similar image stabilisation system to the Coolpix S640.”

Now this does actually have potential to be really cool. If the quality of the image or video that is projected is high enough it would be worth every penny of the leaked $587 USD.

AppleInsider–who over 2 years ago–exclusively announced that Apple would soon release a new jumbo 3G iTouch-esque touch screen device.

“AppleInsider has observed silently as the project was reset at least a half-dozen times over the past 24 months” which makes us wonder why we haven’t heard any updates about the status of this project. Now it sounds like they once again they information that–would lead them to believ–that the Apple tablet will be released early next year.

Hopefully this time the information is legit. Thousands of At least 3 people out there are still staying faithful to Apple when it comes to their touch screen devices and are in desperate need of an upgrade from their Apple Newton Messagepad:

The iPhone has been around for several years now but there are still many people who have not made the plunge. Some have been held back due to bad experiences with Cingular–which for the most part was a horrible carrier when the iPhone first came out. Some people have held off because of the high price tag on the phone or because they were afraid of making the move to 100% touch screen.

Whatever the reason the time has never been better to give the iPhone a try. The 3GS is out now which you can get for $199(8GB). You can pick up the 8Gb 3G iPhone for $99 or the refurb 3G for $79. These are the prices on the website. I am not sure if they are more expensive in the store but if they are it may be worth it to have the phone now now NOW!

As for the carrier. Since the switch to ATT and receiving exclusive rights to the iPhone the service has been much better. When speaking with friends pre-iPhone who were on the Cingular network it was a horrible experience. Constant dropped calls and poor quality. Today speaking with friends who have iPhones my Verizon cell phone is to blame more often than theirs for poor quality.

Many people are waiting for the iPhone to come to their provider. I say its not worth the wait. The CEO of ATT has admitted that the iPhone will not be exclusive forever but if a Verizon iPhone is in the works it is at least a year and a half out. At that point it will give Verizon 6 months to work out the kinks before your contract runs out and you can come running back should the service with ATT be less than to be desired.

Moving on. Here is the list of my Top 100 reasons to buy an iPhone today! Feel free to comment and let us know what you would add.

1. You can send emails with ‘Sent from my iPhone.’ in the footer.
2. Always have your ipod with you.
3. Is friendly with PCs and even more so with MACs.
4. The App Store–If you wish your iPhone could do something it doesn’t there is probably an application to do it already.
5. It is beautiful.
6. You will never have to worry about Apple blocking your ability to sync with iTunes
7. You can have it in any color you want as long as its white or black.
8. 3G browsing speed.
9. Stock application.
10. International support
11. They are very affordable now–less than some inferior smartphones with other providers.
12. The data plan has been reduced by $10.
13. Touch screen.
14. Unmatched fluid interface.
15. Enhanced conctact functions.
16. PUSH email.
17. PUSH calendar.
18. PUSH contacts.
19. Email management–mass move and delete.
20. Email attachments.
21. GPS.
22. Maps and directions.
23. Some third-party support without the need to jailbreak.
24. MobileMe support.
25. Track your iPhone online through MobileMe.
26. Push messages, alerts and lock down your iPhone from your MobileMe account if phone is lost or stolen.
27. Additional languages.
28. Scientific calculator.
29. Password protection.
30. YouTube channel.
31. WiFi (802.11b/g)
32. Cut, Copy and paste.
33. You will have more friends and be able to influence people.
34. iPhone instantly grants you +20 cool points.
35. …and +10 to your tech points.
36. Speaker phone.
37. Blue tooth 2.0 + EDR
38. 3.5-inch widescreen.
39. Multi-touch display.
40. Accelerometer.
41. 2 megapixel camera.
42. Photo geotagging.
43. 8,16 or 32GB Flash memory.
44. Proximity sensor.
45. AAC, Proteced AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible formats 2,3 and 4, Apple lossless, AIFF and WAV audio support.
46. Convenient volume controls on side of phone.
47. Ambient light sensor.
48. Sleep/wake hard button.
49. Ring/Silent side switch.
50. USB 2.0.
51. Speaker phone usable as a built in speaker for use without headphones.
52. 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack.
53. Quad-band GSM/EDGE.
54. 0.48 inches thick.
55. Weighs only 4.7 ounces.
56. It isn’t this
57. Lightsaber application.
58. Scare intruders with the gun cocking sound.
59. Fully sync’s with iTunes.
60. You can’t cut the cheese with it. (having the iPhone does not mean that you can’t cut the cheese)
61. You will have an iPhone.
62. Best/easiest to use touchscreen keyboard.
63. You can ask the question “will this work with my iPhone?” about any piece of technology.
64. Remotely monitor your webcam at home over 3G using third-party app.
65. It can be used to make phone calls.
66. Visual voicemail.
67. Motion sensing games.
68. Find new restaurants by shaking your iPhone using Urbanspoon.
69. Voice memos.
70. Spotlight search.
71. Tether your laptop and use your iPhones 3G internet.(coming soon)
72. Under $100 for the 3G 8GB iPhone.
73. Picture, video messages.(coming soon)
74. Stereo bluetooth–play music from your iPhone wirelessly to your bluetooth stereo speakers.
75. Parental controls.
76. Sync notes.
77. Login to your YouTube account to sync bookmarks and favorites.
78. Automatic Wi-Fi login.
79. Buy and download Movies.
80. Buy and download TV Shows.
81. Buy and download Audio Books.
82. Enhanced calendar.
83. Landscape keyboard.
84. Up to 30 hours of audio play back.
85. Up to 5 hours talk time on 3G.
86. Feature rich internet browsing.
87. Multi-touch screen resizing.
88. Made out of environmentally friendly materials.
89. Reliable.
90. Durable.
    iPhone 3GS specific:
91. 3 megapixel camera.
92. Auto focus.
93. Tap screen to change camera focus point.
94. Record video up to 30fps with audio.
95. Edit video right on your iPhone and upload to share with friends.
96. Voice controls.
97. Compass for improved navigation and applications.
98. Nike + iPod.
99. Accessibility options.
100. Up to 2X’s faster than iPhone 3G.

When the hype was building up before the release of the Pre one of the big things that people were excited about was the ability to sync the palm with iTunes.

iTunes threatened casually mentioned in a press conference that in future updates iTunes  “may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players” [Businessweek].

In the first half of this month iTunes 8.2.1 was released which broke syncing with the Pre. Since there were no exceptional features in 8.2.1–other than blocking Pre syncing–most users just dealt with it by not upgrading.

Now Palm has struck back with WebOS update 1.1 which once again allows you to sync the Pre. There are some other nice features like being able to set ‘person reminders’ for each individual person in your contacts but the iTunes syncing is the big news this update. From the Palm Blog:

“That’s right — you once again can have
seamless access to your music,
photos and videos from the current
version of iTunes (8.2.1).”

Watch the video. While awesome I see this potentially causing head aches at our favorite–greasy–fast food joint. Coca-Colas idea is awesome: one dispenser that is easy to refill, easy to monitor and remotely manage. The machine will send info to let Coca-Cola monitor different trends, see when a certain drink is selling well, see if they need to recall another or see if something needs to be repaired. This will also make it easier for the owner of the machine to see when something is about to run out, etc.

The bad? Two things. The first–most concerning–problem from this is Coca-Cola’s ability to remotely manage the machine and release some kind of widespread liquid based epidemic. Lets face it this is bound to happen sooner or later will probably never happen but still–scary.

Seriously though. Here is the real issue.

Making something more complex than it needs to be.

Renting a movie at RedBox could not be simpler–easier than going to another store, walking through to find the movie you want then standing in line to pay for it–however those who are technologically challenged still take 10 times longer than it should to rent a movie. During my time in retail I saw that the majority of people would rather stand in a line of 5 to 10 people than use self checkout.

Now Coca-Cola is hoping to have standard fountain machines in restaurants replaced with these “Freestyle” drink machines. What do most of us think? Awesome! With the ability to choose from over 100 drinks on a touch screen that all come out of the same place we all feel a little bit closer to the Jetsons. But techy people aren’t the only only people who go to Mcdonalds. So, when we begin to see the “Freestyle” in our fast food restaurants expect to stand in line behind a few tech illiterate people who are starring at the screen confused and slightly scared.

Help them figure it out. You may be their only hope.

First, here is one of the videos introducing the super fast Samsung Jet.

Pretty cool–yet gimmicky–way to introduce a phone. In order for Samsung to pull off this flashy display they used a combination of motion sensing–much like Microsofts Natal–and 3D imagery. It is still a little gimmicky and not as fluid as Natal but for being designed for a phone presentation I say well done.

As strange as it may seem for Verizon to do something like this as of the 16th they have started pushing out a new update for the Samsung Omnia i910 over the air.

The update has unblocked the GPS capabilities from the phone allowing 3rd party programs to utilize it. Hopefully this is opening the door for future devices to come unblocked from initial release and maybe–big MAYBE–one day we will get to see a phone come to Verizon with its own spiffy interface.

I would love to see the Omnia HD come to Verizon with the Symbian OS with TouchWiz 3D interface instead of Windows Mobile but I am probably asking too much.

For those unfamiliar with the Omnia HD click the link and watch the video. Briefly, it has a 360×640 pixel resolution screen with 16 million colors. The 8-megapixel camera that records 720p HD video is unheard of for a cell phone. Comes with 8 or 16GB built-in memory with an expansion slot that can take up to an additional 32GB. Features also include Wi-Fi, 7.2Mb HSDPA, GPS, HDMI, 8mpx camera, front facing camera for video conferencing and accelerometer. Record your HD home video and then instantly watch it on your HD TV via the HDMI port.

This is already out there and available in the UK but we have yet to see it in the US. When we do we will never have need of another cell phone.

With September swiftly approaching Verizon has lowered the price of the Storm to $99–we think–in preparation for the rumored Storm 2 September release.

I still don’t think it is worth the $99 for the Storm. Remember all of those bad things that I didn’t post about? Yep. Those still stand. I am not impressed with the “SurePress”. The interface is clunky. I was severely disappointed with the Storm at its initial release. With all of the hype that was around it leading up to the release I was really hoping for a winner.

Hopefully we have better luck with the Storm 2.

Back in 2005 GrandCentral was started as a solution for people who have several numbers by giving you one main phone number. When someone called your GrandCentral number all of the other phones that you had would ring.

Now, Google has bought them out and added lots of new features. Here are some of the great features of having Google Voice.

When you sign up(get an invite) for Google Voice you get to choose one free number to use as your main number.

You can sync your google contacts(from your gmail, etc) and change ringing and voicemail rules for each individual contact. For example if you were tired of Ted calling you every morning at 6am to go to the gym then you can set it up so that when he calls you it goes straight to your voicemail instead of ringing your phone first. Or you can record him a special message pretending to be Pizza Hut or telling him to never call you again or else he will come back from the gym and find a pile of ash where his house used to be. I don’t think I will ever have the time to go in and record custom voicemail messages for every–or even several–of the contacts in my contact directory but having the ability to do so is cool!

Another feature that is potentially annoying cool is call screening. You can require people who call you to leave their name first so you can decide if you want to listen or not. If you don’t remember who Hammond is then you can wait for him to begin leaving a voicemail and listen in as he leaves the message and cut in and begin talking to him if you would like.

If not wait for him to leave the voicemail which you can later access and listen to online.

A big feature that Google has introduced is the voicemail to text. You can receive your voicemails in text format now via email or text message so you don’t even have to listen to the message to see what your arch nemesis friend said.

You can also set your text messages up to be recorded and sent online. That way in case you accidentally deleted an important text you can go online and find it. Or if you accidentally drop your phone in the toilet sink again you will still be able to send out that important text message.

When someone calls any of your phone numbers you have complete control over which phones they ring, how they ring, if it goes straight to voicemail, if it goes to voicemail but they hear it ringing on their phone as well as which voicemail it goes to.

If you have one main phone number that you give to everyone you can have it ring your cell if it is your friend, ring someone elses cell if it isn’t, ring your home phone only between 4pm and 7pm, etc.

The best part is this is all free. The only thing you will have to pay for is additional phone numbers and international calls(a few cents per minute to most places).

One problem is your outgoing caller ID is still going to show your cell phone number. Google is putting together a work around but for the time being if you have a Android phone or Blackberry(iPhone app is in the works) you are in luck. You can download a Google Voice app that allows you to dial through your Google Voice number.

I have also heard of a rumor that IF YOU ARE USING THE PHONE APPLICATION(currently only available on Blackberry and Android phones) you can get unlimited free phone calls with those phone carriers that allow you to choose your “inner circle” of friends or family that are always free. T-mobile and Verizon are two companies like this. Add Google’s phone number to your “in” group and then always use your Google Voice number to receive and make phone calls.

Now there are several reasons why I see this not working. One, even if Google Voice is just a simple forward more than likely Google Voice won’t just use one phone number to use to access your phone. Two, T-mobile and Verizon have blacklists of phone numbers that can’t be in your inner circle for this very reason. If they haven’t already I am sure it is only a matter of time before they will add Googles block of numbers to that blacklist. Finally, even when you are talking to the people in your “in” group your minutes still add up. If you are on a 700 minute plan and make 700 minutes worth of  “in” phone calls you are now out of free minutes to use to call other people. If you make 700 minutes of calls to non-free numbers then start calling your in group you will be fine.

On the other hand if some how the Google service is on the trunk level then it may not even be viewed as a call by your provider and you have yourself a big win of free minutes.

Once again I have to say it. This is just one step closer to Google’s total world domination.