Report: Apple and Google Developing Smart-Watches

In what seems like an evolutionary step from Motorola's MOTOACTV and the latest iPod Nano, Apple and Google are reportedly working on new wearable computing devices to work alongside smartphones.

The New York Times reports that Google is developing peripherals that communicate with Android devices, likely displaying notifications and other useful at-a-glance information.

Additionally, Apple is allegedly creating a curved-glass iPod that would be worn around the wrist which, in a similar way, would sync with your iPhone, with navigation handled by the voice-controlled program Siri.

The idea of a wearable computer isn't new, as the inPulse can attest to, but the trend failed to gain traction, and if any two consumer electronic companies can make wristwatches cool again, it would be Apple and Google.

Libre Must Unstack Cards, Open Up Primary

The Liberty and Refoundation (Libre) Party in Honduras may have a little dilemma on its hands. No, it's not Manuel Zelaya's fractured hip. The General Coordinator seems to be recovering from surgery just fine following his accidental fall in the Dominican Republic three weeks ago. No, Libre's problem is that the party's five factions or "movements" -- the Popular Refoundation Force (FRP), the July 5 Movement, the June 28 Movement, the People Organized in Resistance (POR), and the Progressive Resistance Movement (MRP) -- have all registered Mr. Zelaya wife, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, as their presidential pre-candidate going into the primaries this November. According to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the Electoral Law for Political Organizations states that a pre-candidate can only represent one party movement.

The idea, supposedly, is to create a kind of level playing field where there is some degree of competition during the primary process so that someone who may hold an unusual amount of power and influence cannot manipulate things in their favor but so much.

In other words, everyone who wishes to campaign to be picked to represent a political party in an election should have a fair shot in that party's primary. One way to do this is to ensure that intra-party movements are limited to one pre-candidate each. Apparently, this is not what's happening within Libre. With each movement designating Mrs. Zelaya as its pre-candidate, Libre has closed the door for others who might wish to -- Heaven forbid -- challenge Mrs. Zelaya in the party's primary. The fact that the titular head of Libre is Mr. Zelaya already gives Mrs. Zelaya a hugely unfair edge, making it smell an awful lot of nepotism, cronyism.

Add to that the fact that each of the five movements is headed by personal friends and advisers of Mr. Zelaya, and you have a situation which practically guarantees the absence of a level field. Mel's brother, Carlos, for example directs the June 28 Movement. Mel's friend and longtime legal adviser, Rasel Tomé, directs the MRP. Mel's friend and former Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Beatriz Valle, directs the POR. Mel's friend and longtime economic adviser, Nelson Avila, directs the July 5 Movement. Finally, the FRP, which is the largest movement within Libre, is directed by... yep, Mrs. Zelaya.

Doesn't take much to see that the cards are stacked in favor of Mrs. Zelaya from the very start. If Libre is as broad a party as it markets itself to be, then where are all the other contenders? Where are the pre-candidates from the lower classes. Remember the Zelayas and their friends and advisers are from the upper class, the so-called "elite" of Honduras -- not necessarily the wealthiest financially, but still upper class... professionals with good connections in society, the ability to earn a decent wage, and access to an occasional trip abroad.

Why isn't the name Carlos Reyes anywhere to be seen? Prior to the overthrow of President Zelaya on June 28, 2009, Mr. Reyes was running as an independent candidate for the Presidency of Honduras (for the election in November 2009). He is the leader of the Union of Beverage and Related Industry Workers (STIBYS). Mr. Reyes is arguably the most brilliant thinker and visionary within the Resistance that gave birth to Libre. He is arguably the most passionate and tireless of all. He, along with Juan Barahona and Rafael Alegria, is the Resistance's most fearless street activist. These individuals come from much more humble origins than anyone within Mr. Zelaya's close cadre. Why wouldn't Libre have pre-candidates that more widely represent the make-up of the masses?

In order for Libre to meet the requirements of Article 116 of the Electoral Law for Political Organizations, only one of its movements can designate Mrs. Zelaya as its pre-candidate. Each of the other four movements must designate different pre-candidates -- even if the person is solely symbolic. Look, there's no question that no one within Libre comes close to the stature, name recognition, and drawing power of Mrs. Zelaya. No one else, besides Mel, commands as much affection as she does. But if Libre wants to participate in the electoral process and not be disqualified by the TSE, then it's going to have to play by the established rules. That's what happens when you become part of the establishment. 

Boom time for Swiss watchmakers

Andrew I-Jen Chen swapped a career crunching numbers at French bank BNP Paribas to take up an apprenticeship at one of Switzerland's most prestigious watchmaking schools.

He is one of a growing number of people attracted to a career in horology as Swiss watch firms vie for staff to meet buoyant Asian demand for high-end timepieces and fill the hole left when industry heavyweight Swatch decided to cut the volume of mechanical watch parts it sells to others.

"In banking you just sit there working with numbers that don't mean anything," the 29-year-old from Taiwan said, as he turned a hand lathe to painstakingly cut the tip of an axle, a component used in the balance wheel, which makes a watch tick.

Legislation to tighten the rules on what can be called a Swiss-made product also means that watch companies are ploughing millions into new factories at a time when many Swiss firms are thinking of moving production abroad.

Exports of Swiss timepieces soared 19 percent to a record 19.3 billion Swiss francs ($20.8 billion) last year, rebounding from the 13.2 billion low hit in 2009 in the depths of the financial crisis.

This feat was achieved despite the handbrake of the Swiss franc, which rocketed from one record high to another as investors sought safety from the eurozone's debt troubles, pushing a third of mechanical and electrical engineering firms into the red.

Lessons from past

At the heart of the watch sector's success is a disciplined approach to innovation, says Maarten Pieters, director of the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program, based in Neuchatel.

Discipline and innovation were the industry's progenitors; in 16th-century Geneva, the city's strict Calvinist elders banned citizens from wearing jewelry, among other pleasures, forcing the local jewelers and goldsmiths to find a new craft.

The industry outgrew the city, expanding into a region now known as "Watch Valley", which winds about 200 kilometers from Geneva to Basel.

Over the next four centuries it consolidated its reputation for quality and innovation, traits that have helped it overcome one crisis after another and stay ahead of the crowd. The first wristwatch, quartz watch and water-resistant watch were all Swiss inventions.

"Companies prepare for the future," Pieters said in an interview in the school's kitchen overlooking lake Neuchatel. "They think about what is going to happen in the next 10 years."

They don't always get it right, though. 

Aggie seniors step up to complete sweep of San Diego State

Texas A&M's Matt Juengel wanted it to be a Senior Day he would remember.

He won't be alone as the members of the senior class took it upon themselves to complete a sweep of San Diego State with a 4-2 victory on Sunday at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.

"It was great what Joe Patterson did my sophomore year, my first year, how he performed on Senior Day," Juengel said. "I just wanted to follow in his footsteps. I didn't hit two jacks but I ended up doing all right."

With the score knotted at 1-1, Juengel cleared the bases with a two-out double that squeezed between the third-base line and a diving Ryan Muno.

Two pitches earlier, Juengel thought he had forced in the go-ahead run by taking ball four, but he was called back by the home-plate umpire. He took another strike and then got around on Ethan Miller's delivery to provide the runs the No. 8 Aggies would need to move to 37-14.

"I was so mad when he called that a strike," Juengel said. "But I just kind of shrugged it off and thank God he did call it because I got three RBIs and double out of it."

Juengel's three RBIs capped a near-perfect day and weekend for the seniors.

The seniors accounted for all four RBIs and two runs, and picked up the win and the save.

The only senior who didn't contribute Sunday was Ross Stripling, who spent the day in dugout enjoying his no-hitter from the previous day.

Time for public queries into Bell tower

Residents with remaining questions about a proposed Bell Mobility telecommunications tower for the area of Dale and Racetrack roads will have one more opportunity to ensure their queries are answered.

Hamilton Township councillors put off until June providing a required "concurrence letter" to Bell Mobility's site consulting company, Altus Group.

This is to give the consultants time to provide council with all the inquiries and the answers they provided to members of the public, in written form, including options concerning tower lighting which was upsetting to some neighbours.

Altus Group's Ross Abate told councillors at Tuesday's Committee of the Whole meeting that "technology has changed" and federal safety regulations surrounding tower lighting has changed too. As a result, LED-type day lighting can put be in place, or the tower can be painted white instead. This information was something that Mayor Mark Lovshin said he wanted to ensure the Brian Ball family was aware of (as the informal leaders of the public group concerned about the proposed tower). Then council will take the public's feedback into consideration when it decides what it includes in the concurrence letter the Altus Group is requesting, he said.

Unlike lighting options for the daytime, council was told that red, night lighting for the tower can not be avoided. All of the lighting, however, is of a narrower bandwidth than previously, and at a three-degree angle it is less obtrusive.

From pencils to Porsches, Germany has a passion for perfection

Whether you’re looking for the perfect car, the perfect kitchen, the perfect sound system or the perfect watch, chances are that German-made products will end up at the top of your list.

The penchant for perfection among German manufacturers - to the satisfaction of discerning customers - has earned this country a reputation for producing quality goods that are sought by a growing class of affluent consumers from Beijing to New York.

Germany’s ability to cash in on the yearnings of the well-to-do - the segment of the world economy least affected by the economic devastation of the Great Recession - is a key ingredient to the success of the European economic powerhouse.

That success has vaulted Germany to center stage and given it the leading role in resolving the long-running debt crisis plaguing southern Europe. Germany has used its newfound influence to rewrite the playbook for the European Union, while forcing financially stricken countries to run their economies more like Germany - with budget-balancing discipline and market rigor.

“Our success in international markets gives us power” in the broader European economy and world at large, said Ursula Muller, deputy director-general at Germany’s Foreign Office.

Dave Little’s Keeneland Analysis for Thursday April 26, 2012

 Good Tickled is a $105,000 purchase who gets Castellano in the irons. Joha may prove to have an edge on these having had a race. Undrafted is off a decent work for Wesley Ward.

2. Easy Ashley opened up a big lead at the head of the stretch only to get nailed in last as the favorite, Ward bumps this one up off that effort, a good sign. Angels' Share shows three straight solid synthetic starts at Woodbine, the one to fear. Right to Rule is a consistent sort who was claimed out of last, consider.

3. Dark Cove is two-for-two lifetime over Keeneland's synthetic surface, has a sizeable edge on these for Ken McPeek. Forestry Type raced well in three straight synthetic starts in Chicago, sharp. Bell by the Ridge shipped up from Gulfstream, fnished third in last at this level, figures in the mix.

4. Lady Kierkegaard now has two respectable starts under her belt for Clement and could prove best of these. Irish Mission is off her best-ever effort and will take plenty of money with Velazquez aboard. Francisca was a close-to-the-pace third at the Fair Grounds, use.

5. Italo is a Ward trainee accustomed to facing far better than this. Quiet Man, winner of two straight at the Big A, is the one to watch. Vee One Rotate gets a big rider switch to Leparoux.

6. Melody Dawn came close racing along the inside at Gulfstream, call for Graham Motion. Sex Appeal rallied well in last, might get up in time so include in doubles and pick threes. Janicellaine was fifth here 19 days ago when using Lasix for the first time, figures to be better this time around.

7. Bizzy Caroline, Grade 1 caliber filly, finds herself in optional claimer on dirt today, hard to go against but why is she in this spot? Sterling Madame has superb dirt credentials for Thomas Amoss. Smart Penny has won three straight for Roger Attfield, keep an eye on this one.

Up close and personal

MALAYSIAN football fans were given the rare chance to view first-hand the UEFA European Championship trophy when it was brought to the country by UEFA Euro 2012 official partner (sponsor) Carlsberg recently.

     The Henri Delaunay Cup, named after the main proponent of the championship, was unveiled by former Manchester United and Danish international goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel at the Sunway Piramid shopping centre last Saturday.

   It was displayed for public viewing for two days in a mini football stadium replica created by Carlsberg.  Malaysia, together with India, are the only two countries to host the trophy in Asia.

   Soren Ravn, managing director of Carlsberg Malaysia, said he was delighted with the response the trophy received from the public.

   "This is one of the most prestigious football trophies in the world and it is a great privilege for us to have it here in the country," said Ravn.

    "The response we have received over the two days has been tremendous. Whether football fans or not, both men and women stood in queue just to get a shot with this prized sterling silver trophy."

    Fans will get the chance to have a meet and greet session with Schmeichel, whose sterling performances at Euro 1992 helped his side to an upset victory in the final against Germany, in the coming week as Carlsberg continues its build-up to the championship.

    Carlsberg also launched its "Are You Fan Enough?" contest which will see 100 lucky fans receive an all-expenses paid trip to watch the European Championship semi-final in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Cherry blossoms welcomed at ISU

This was a collaboration of a lot of people and hard work to present the best authentic event for ISU students, faculty and community members,” said Jas Jensen, a club member and sophomore at ISU.

The first thing attendees saw as they walked toward the Pond Student Union Ballroom was the elaborate work that the ISU Japanese club did to make a replica of a cherry tree. The blossoms were created using origami. Around the ballroom doors origami blossoms hung from the ceiling.

The lights of the ballroom were dim and members of the Japanese club performed a traditional fan dance on stage as people made their way over to the serving tables to try authentic Japanese cuisine.

“The fan dance was especially elegant and graceful,” said Mikael Jones, a community member.

The fare that was provided to students, faculty and members of the community included Maki sushi (otherwise known as the California roll) that is any type of sushi made in a roll with rice, toasted nori and filling.

Inari sushi was also served. Inari is a pouch of fried tofu stuffed with sushi rice. Japanese barbecue chicken, arumitsu (a fruit mix), tempura and miso soup were served as well.

There was also a Japanese potato salad that contained potatoes, cucumbers and apples. The beverages offered were water, lemonade and two teas. There was Ocha, a green tea, and Mugicha, a roasted barley or wheat tea.

As attendees were eating dinner, a slide show alternated between pictures of Japan and facts about Japan.

Facts about Japan let the audience know that Japan’s literacy rate is almost 100 percent, that 85 percent of Japanese people have never tasted Turkey, and that almost everyone in Japan hangs their clothes to dry them.

Dinner was followed by several performances and demonstrations. It began with a parade of all performers and club members.

The parade was followed with a very touching message from Japan to all who had helped last year  after the earthquake devastation that shook Japan as a nation. Last year the Japanese Club, with help from students and faculty from ISU and community members, were able to raise $12,000 that was sent to the Japan’s Red Cross.

The rest of the evening was filled with performances such as the Yosakoi Sooran Dance, which is a traditional fisherman’s dance and Taiko, which is the Japanese drums, both of these were performed by members of the Japanese Club.

The demonstrations were intense and enjoyable to watch with the the self-discipline that martial arts demand. There were demonstrations on Judo, Kendo and Karate.

The ISU Kendo Club took the stage with help from members from Boise to demonstrate the art of Kendo, the Japanese martial art of sword-fighting.

“Everything begins and ends with courtesy,” said Mary Ann Twitchell, advisor of the Karate Club, when explaining the bowing before and after any martial arts match. This holds true in Judo and Kendo as well.

“I am pleased by the support that the ISU clubs in attendance have shown the Japanese Club,” stated Eni Thompson, “especially to have members from a club in Boise help.”

Throughout the event there were Japanese store items for sale such as drinks, candy, snacks, fans and games. There were also two silent auctions being held.

• برچسب ها: watches،  

Female shoppers attract brands in India

Brand owners from Tag Heuer and Nokia to Harley-Davidson are ramping up their focus on female shoppers in India, recognising the increasing purchasing power of this audience.

Tag Heuer, the high-end watch range belonging to LVMH, is aiming to boost the share of its sales in the country which are attributable to women from 25% in 2011 to 35% in 2012.

One key motivation supporting such an approach is that this demographic potentially presents an especially appealing long term value proposition.

"In a lifetime, if you can sell three luxury watches to a man, you can sell between five and ten to a lady," said Frank Dardenne, general manager, LVMH watch and jewellery, India, the Hindustan Times reported.

Levi's, the apparel group, has also rolled out the Curve ID women's denim range locally, while Arvind Brands and Retail has extended its Arrow and USPA men's apparel ranges to reach female buyers.

"Lines demarcating the male and female consumer divide based on income, attitudes and expenditure are blurring, particularly in big cities. Women now have higher disposable incomes and are willing to spend more,” said J Suresh, managing director, Arvind Brands and Retail.

This trend has broader applications than clothing. Harley Davidson, the motorcycle manufacturer, has noted a similar change in its customer base both in India and around the world.

"Globally, women are a very important part of our ridership," said Anoop Prakash, managing director of Harley-Davidson India. "Harley is still small in India, but women motorbike riders are growing. We will tweak Harley's communication and product strategy to lure women riders."

Turning to the telecoms segment, Nokia has launched a pink version of its N8 handset, preloaded with targeted applications.

"These colourful devices offer their owners a strong emotional appeal. Pink is very popular with women," said Viral Oza, director, marketing, at Nokia India.

HP and Sony have also introduced various gadgets in numerous colours, and Milagrow, another electronics firm, sells a tablet aimed at female buyers, weighing 275g and which fits in a handbag.

"Colours in laptops are sizzling, bringing us more customers," said Ranjivit Singh, chief marketing officer, personal systems group, at HP India.

• برچسب ها: Breitling Replica Watches،  

Macho brands woo pink brigade

The beginning of the year saw men's deodorant brand from Unilever, Axe, globally launch a fragrance - Anarchy - for women, surprising many. There is also a men's version. This is not an isolated initiative as many more conventionally male-targeted brands - Harley Davidson, Tag Heuer, Arrow,
Revital, to name some - are targeting women consumers now.

"No longer are women sitting at home. They are out there buying cars, travel packages, smartphones, sensual and formal apparel, hard drinks and luxury products. They are earning and count financially," said Yamini Mandal, 35, an HR executive.

Still, you would hardly expect the macho Harley Davidson to target women, but that's exactly what it's planning in India. "Harley is still small in India, but women motorbike riders are growing. We will tweak Harley's communication and product strategy to lure women riders. Globally, women are a very important part of our ridership," said Anoop Prakash, managing director, Harley-Davidson India.

Tag Heuer, a unit of French luxury group LVMH, with its premium, sporty men's watches, plans to escalate sales of women's watches to 35% this year in India, up from the current 25%. "In a lifetime, if you can sell three luxury watches to a man, you can sell between five and 10 to a lady," said Frank Dardenne, general manager, LVMH Watch and Jewellery (India).

Most acclaimed wine makers are also out on a lady hunt. "Many wine brands are indulging women's preference for mild flavours, grape varietals, style and effervescence. These include Cavit - moscato and pinot noir - and Santa Margherita's Pinot Grigio. Francis Ford Copolla has a wine called Sofia - a Blanc de Blancs blend in stylish pink 187 ml cans - named after his daughter," said Aishwarya Nair, director, food and beverage, The Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts.

J Suresh, managing director, Arvind Brands and Retail, said: "Lines demarcating the male and female consumer divide based on income, attitudes and expenditure are blurring, particularly in big cities. Women now have higher disposable incomes and are willing to spend more. This has motivated menswear brands to extend to women, like we did with Arrow Women and USPA Women."

Purnendu Kumar, senior vice president, Technopak, a retail consultancy, observed: "Consider this a bend, not shift, as most of the brands deny any plans to become complete female brands. The rejig is more popular in apparel."

Levi's launched its Curve ID denim range only for women. "We studied over 60,000 women. Each store carrying the line has trained experts to measure women, identify their ID and help them find the best fitting jeans by body type and style preference," said You Nguyen, senior vice president, women's merchandising and design, Levi's.

Colour, for women, is a huge attraction. Gadget makers such as Sony (Viao) and HP offer choices in orange, red, blue and yellow. "These colourful devices offer their owners a strong emotional appeal. Pink is very popular with women and since they are a large part of our users, we launched a special limited edition, the Pink N8 smartphone, preloaded with special Pink apps," said Viral Oza, director marketing, Nokia India.

"Colours in laptops are sizzling, bringing us more customers," said Ranjivit Singh, chief marketing officer, personal systems group, HP India. The company plans to refresh 50% of its colour range.

Products especially created for women will emerge across more product categories. A specifically-for-women tablet PC, launched recently by Milagrow, an India-based technology solutions company, is an example. The TabTop PC weighs only 275 gm and can fit into a woman's handbag.

• برچسب ها: Breitling Watches،  

Restoration to give new life to Maryborough bells

The belltower, which looms over the chapel, will have the roof removed, so the bells can be craned out, packed, and sent to London to be repaired and restored.

Church warden Ian Miles said the belltower was constructed about 10 years after the church was built.

"These bells were here before they had any bells in Brisbane, it was the first belltower constructed north of Sydney when it was built back in 1887.

"Edgar Aldridge was a very prosperous businessman, and when his wife died he wanted to build a fitting memorial to her, so he thought of a belltower."

There have been some minor repairs to the bell fixtures over the years as normal wear-and-tear takes its toll, but this will be the first time that the bells will be removed since their installation.

Belltower captain Ruth Andersen said that whilst the bells will come back better than ever, it will be difficult to see them off.

"We're going to be without them for six months, so we'll be a bit sad and lost."

• برچسب ها: bells،  

Are 'Toddlers and Tiaras' moms being judged for being 'white trash' or for the pageant circuit?

TLC's controversial show “Toddlers and Tiaras” premieres tonight to what I am sure will be a judgmental audience. But one writer on Slate.com wonders if the moms on “Toddlers” aren't being judged for being on the pageant circuit but instead for being “white trash?” She wonders if these moms are really all that different from Tiger Moms pushing their kids academically or with activities, such as playing the piano. But the Tiger Moms aren't judged as harshly.

From Slate:

    “While not uniform among the pageant families, many featured on Toddlers and Tiaras are from poor, rural, Southern areas, which the show highlights with stark establishing shots of sparse and depressed towns. The “white trash” markers of the mothers—strong accents, ungrammatical speech, obesity—are also highlighted on the show, providing a classist subtext to the media's judgment of parenting. It's not whether waxing your young daughter's eyebrows or depriving her of dinner is objectively worse. It's that a Toddlers and Tiaras mother's participation in supposedly “trashy” culture makes her a beastly parent, while Dara-Lynn Weiss is a merely controversial or micromanaging one.”

    “The media takes a certain thrill in humiliating and hating the Toddlers and Tiaras mothers, and this would not necessarily be a problem (it is reality television, after all) were it not happening against the backdrop of the reaction to Weiss and others, like Amy Chua, a mother who also came forward with controversial parenting techniques and leveraged them for her personal success. In Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua admitted to denying her then 7-year-old daughter bathroom and water breaks until she learned to play a piano piece just right. She certainly faced criticism, but she was never vilified as the Toddlers and Tiaras mothers have been because her ultimate goal for her children, admittance to prestigious universities, is accepted as legitimate by bourgeois parenting standards.”

    “The mothers on Toddlers and Tiaras are chastised for ignoring their children's feelings, forcing their own desires upon them, and spending exorbitant amounts of money to do so. If the mothers on Toddlers and Tiaras expended their funds and parental pressure on SAT tutoring, squash instruction, or foreign language immersion, they likely would not be dismissed as broad caricatures that are all too easy to hate. Because in reality, the main difference between a pageant mom and a tiger mother is just a matter of accessories.”

What do you think? Are the moms on “Toddlers” being judged for being low-class or for what they are they doing with their children on the pageant circuit? Are they any better or worse than the self-avowed Tiger Moms that won't let their kid pee before they learn a certain piano piece or have friends over for a spend-the-night party?

• برچسب ها: breitling watches،  

Iconic films find new dimension

Before audiences step into the theatre, they'll already know the ending of Titanic 3D. (Spoiler alert: it sinks in all three dimensions.) But one unsettling question mark looms above the blockbuster's re-release: can James Cameron credibly convert a 2-D classic into the eye-popping 3-D of Avatar?

"The reputation of 3-D is a little uneven at the moment," explains David S. Cohen, film and technology critic at Variety magazine. Following the $2.7-billion success of Cameron's Avatar, studios jumped onto the 3-D bandwagon in droves.

Early 3-D converts like Clash of the Titans rushed through the stereoscopic rendering process - with nauseating results. Many critics dismissed postproduction conversion as fake 3-D, while others defected from the 3-D format entirely. In 2011, revenue from 3-D movies sagged by 18 per cent, despite the release of a record 47 3-D films.

But 2012 has seen a healthy resurgence in 3-D excitement - thanks in part to advances in conversion technology.

Tim Bennison of Gener8 digital effects studio in Vancouver is working hard to dispel last year's "fake 3-D" narrative. The company's chief operating officer says 2-D to 3-D conversion is inherently part of the process for all live-action 3-D films.

"Sometimes shots fail," Bennison says of the "native" 3-D shooting process. Even with the latest 3-D rigs, misalignment and syncing issues can send productions back to square one. "You might think you've captured it, only to get back to the editing room and find out it's all junk. Not good when expensive actors are waiting around."

Glitches like this often mean hiring a company like Gener8 to fix up the stereoscopic effects. "In those instances your method of conversion really counts," he adds.

To match films shot in 3-D from the beginning, Gener8 uses gaming software to build a virtual replica of each scene. "It's a special kind of animating that we call rotomation, because it matches the animation in the actual shot," says Bennison, who previously developed video games for Radical Entertainment. "We're used to building virtual worlds, so we came at it from a different angle than a lot of people."

Earlier 3-D conversions used a technique called displacement mapping, which separates foreground and background and arranges depth subjectively. "It ends up looking like an embossing of the 2-D world," Bennison says. "Like the raised letters on a greeting card."

Gener8 isn't only involved in touch-up work. In fact, the company claims it's the first to offer this type of 3-D reconstruction at the scale of a feature-length film. "We feel we're pretty well the only company that's actually cracked the nut of being able to do this projection method on the scale of a full movie," says Bennison. "Generally it's much cheaper and low risk, too."

Cost and payoff are especially challenging to predict for the newest batch of 3-D releases. From pricey re-shoots to unexpected retouching costs, producing a movie in native 3-D can quickly spiral out of control.

Disney's $250-million 3-D fantasy John Carter, for example, has yet to recover its costs. Cohen says Hollywood films can knock off a couple million by choosing conversion over 3-D filming, but hesitates to recommend one technique over another.

"Here's the thing - measuring entirely by cost is probably a mistake," he says. "You might pay $6 million and still get technically poor, uncomfortable 3-D."

• برچسب ها: Breitling Watches،  

TABLE TENNIS – PA FRIDAY MARCH 30

THE recent Perth and District Cadet and Minor Table Tennis Championships were held at Bell's Sports Centre.

There was a large and enthusiastic entry for the Minor event and the four groups were hotly contested with Hannah Robb, Cleish Primary School, Jude Archibald, Findlay Becher, both Kinnoull PS, Ben English, St Madoes, Murray Cunningham, Hill PS, Ross Campbell, Strathallan, Scott Rogers and Robert McCall, both St John's PS, progressing to the quarter finals.

The two youngest players Hannah and Findlay both nine, met in the semi final where Hannah's extra tournament experience shone through and she progressed to the final. Findlay is definitely one to watch and coach Pat Duffy has high expectations of him.

The consolation final was a close run affair with Ewan Thomson, Milnathort PS, just edging out Victoria Johnstone, Hill PS.

The club are indebted to Bobby Berwick at Arnold Clark Citroen who has sponsored the club's participation at this event. Arnold Clark have kindly donated the use of a 16-seater minibus to allow competitors to travel to Largs.

Pictured are players in the Perth and District Table Tennis League. Arnold Clark Perth have offered support in the shape of a minibus which will transport the teams to the event. Derek Swan, sales controller handed over the keys to Ralph Laahs, team manager and players Hannah Robb, Scott Rogers and Ben English. Also pictured are sales executives Fraser Brown, John Greenway and Neil Fairley.

• برچسب ها: Montblanc Replica Watches،  

Keeping Track Of Your Kids

It's 10 AM. Do you know where your children are?

If they attend a public school in the Brazilian City of Vitoria da Conquista, your cell phone will track them for you. CBS Atlanta and Babble are reporting that student uniforms are equipped with tracking chips that send confirmation texts to parents when children enter the school building, along with notification texts once a child is 20 minutes late.

The chips are laundry-proof and tamper proof and are much the same technology as that used by veterinarians to track pets. The district told CBS that this was the first time such technology was used in this way by a school anywhere in the world, but it is hardly the first way that parents have been given the option of following their children's comings and goings electronically. There are watches, and phone apps and after market auto add ons and fake GPS devices and fob-like thingys that will do essentially the same thing.

All these are similar in purpose -- and they are also similar in the questions they raise. Should we be tracking our children the way we track our pets? Is this just one more sign of paranoid parenting? Or is it a much addition to the parenting tool kit?

Would you chip your child? 

• برچسب ها: ChronoSwiss Watches،