LG launches 3D World globally

April 18th, 2012

3D World is to improve access to high quality 3D content for LG customers and boost efforts to increase 3D content collaboration.

Content from 3D World will be available to LG’s CINEMA 3D Smart TV users in nearly 70 countries.

Content from 3D World will be available to LG’s CINEMA 3D Smart TV users in nearly 70 countries.

The newly launched 3D World is a premium content service that will be available to LG’s CINEMA 3D Smart TV users in nearly 70 countries.

“3D World is a critical part of LG’s long-term strategy which includes controlling more of the 3D ecosystem that CINEMA 3D owners experience,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Home Entertainment Company.With DNA from LG’s original 3D Zone Smart TV app launched last year, 3D World gives LG customers access to an expansive selection of high quality 3D content via a “card” on the Home Dashboard

3D World allows customers the ability to search through high quality 3D content across a wide range of content categories, such as entertainment, sports, documentary, kids, and lifestyle.

“With the global roll-out of 3D World, LG is demonstrating its commitment to providing diverse, high quality 3D content,” added Kwon.In addition to the content, LG plans to pursue further collaborations with global 3D content providers in order to bring the most sought after 3D content to LG customers.

3D World will be offered in app-format for CINEMA 3D Smart TVs that were produced in 2011, while 2012 models will use the streamlined card system on the Home Dashboard.

SUBWAY joins Pointpal in Singapore

April 18th, 2012

SUBWAY has become part of Pointpal’s loyalty and rewards community. SUBWAY customers can use their mobile phones (Apple iOS or Google Android based) in place of stamp card for collecting rewards points.

Get a free SUBWAY meal with every 8 stamps collected through Pointpal.

Get a free SUBWAY meal with every 8 stamps collected through Pointpal.

With the addition of SUBWAY, Pointpal claims to be the largest mobile loyalty programme in Singapore.

Pointpal replaces traditional paper and ink stamp collecting booklets/cards.

Pointpal replaces traditional paper and ink stamp collecting booklets/cards.

SUBWAY customers will get a free SUBWAY meal (6-inch sub regular meal) with every 8 stamps collected from SUBWAY.

Customers also enjoy an immediate 2 free stamps when they sign up for this offer from April 15 to May 15.

Customers who want to join the Pointpal community to enjoy the SUBWAY rewards programme need to first download the Pointpal app from either Apple iTunes (AppStore) or Android Market (Google Play).

They then register (which only needs to be done once), and can choose which pre-installed loyalty cards and programmes they wish to participate in, and begin collecting points.

Adobe CS6 to launch on April 23

April 17th, 2012

Adobe Creative Cloud and Creative Suite 6 will be launched on April 23 at 10:00 am Pacific Time.

Watch the Webcast of the launch of Adobe CS6 and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Watch the Webcast of the launch of Adobe CS6 and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Shantanu Narayen, Adobe CEO, and David Wadhwani, SVP, Digital Media Business, Adobe, will host a launch event and press conference to announce how the company is reinventing creative software with the first release of Adobe Creative Cloud and the new Creative Suite 6.

Adobe CS6 will be launched in Singapore on April 23.

Adobe CS6 will be launched in Singapore on April 23.

This will be the first full public demonstration of Adobe Creative Cloud in action.

The company will also preview future updates, available later this year, to its Creative Cloud offering.

In addition, the company will unveil new primary research on the impact of creativity on our culture and economy, and reveal new initiatives that encourage creativity in education.

In Singapore, the Adobe CS6 launch will be on the afternoon of April 23.

All That Matters in May

April 17th, 2012

Music, Digital and Gaming entertainment are All That Matters from 22 – 26 May this year. The annual global conference is dedicated to the business of digital and live entertainment will be held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore.

All That Matters will be at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore from 22-26 May 2012.

All That Matters will be at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore from 22-26 May 2012.

Music Matters is into its seventh installment while Digital Matters is back following its successful inauguration last year.

This year sees the premiere of Gaming Matters which will help companies gamify their products to attract a larger customer base.

Jasper Donat - President, Digital and Music Matters; CEO, Branded Ltd.

Jasper Donat - President, Digital and Music Matters; CEO, Branded Ltd.

The 5-day event will culminate with Music Matters Live – a live music festival held at Clarke Quay, which will be streamed live for the first time to a global audience via YouTube, an Official Broadcast Partner.

More than 50 bands from Singapore and around the world will rock the city during Music Matters Live.

Another highlight of the conference is Troy Carter, famed manager for Lady Gaga. Carter will be one of line-up of speakers at Music Matters.

Music Matters will also play host to thousands of global entertainment digerati and music A-listers, showcasing the global online entertainment and music industry, with a focus on the Asian region.

Digital Matters will address the critical issues of content monetarisation and production in the digital age.

Michael Roche - Executive Director, Singapore GP, at the Media Roundtable for All That Matters.

Michael Roche - Executive Director, Singapore GP, at the Media Roundtable for All That Matters.

It will cover a range of topical and informative panels that includes: how to create social media success; opportunities for the entertainment industry to diversify into gaming; financing options for the entertainment industry; developments in mobiles; monetising Over The Top; connected devices; innovations in digital advertising and more.

Digital Matters will also see the introduction of the Adobe Digital Publishing Matters Workshop, which will provide insights on the changes to the publishing industry as it undergoes a digital transformation.

The workshop promises to show participant how leading publishing houses are paving the road towards monetising online content.

As Adobe Creative Suite 6 would have been launched by then, I would expect the the workshop to also provide an opportunity for attendees to view the suite close-up.

SolarWinds Mobile Admin lets IT staff BYOD

April 16th, 2012

If you can’t beat them, join them! After years of fighting the tide of consumerisation of corporate IT, IT staff can now cross over to the “Dark Side” and  – bring THEIR own device to work.

Pricing for SolarWinds Mobile Admin software starts at US$695 per license and includes the first year of maintenance. Download the free 30-day evaluation trial online to try it out.

SolarWinds Mobile Admin Version 7

SolarWinds Mobile Admin Version 7

With the consumerisation of IT, employees and (more significantly) CXOs are banging down the doors of the IT departments to be allowed to bring their choice of personal devices to work and to access the Enterprise IT systems with these gadgets.

IT staff can now "Bring Your Own Device" too!

IT staff can now "Bring Your Own Device" too!

A strict No-No in the past, mane enterprises and organisations have given in to the pressure and allowed BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) into their IT policies.

Now, the IT personnel too can jump on the bandwagon too.

SolarWinds, a provider of IT management software, has acquired Rove and released version 7 of the latter’s Mobile Admin software.

SolarWinds Mobile Admin software is designed specifically for mobile devices, with native applications for the most common mobile operating systems, and an extensive list of remote fix capabilities.

Now IT staff can also work with any device, from anywhere, anytime of the day (or night).

Mobile Admin works on iOS, Android and BlackBerry mobile devices.

Mobile Admin works on iOS, Android and BlackBerry mobile devices.

From the queues of a grocery store, or at the cafe with friends, an IT staff can manage a server on the other side of the world – resetting passwords and rebooting servers.

Mobile Admin is used by thousands of customers to monitor and manage their corporate IT infrastructure from their iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones and tablets, BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook (OS2), and Kindle Fire.

In addition to dozens of third party systems and services, the latest version of Mobile Admin now adds support for Amazon EC2, Microsoft Active Sync, and SolarWinds network and server management products.

Some of the main features of SolarWinds Mobile Admin 7.0 are listed below.

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BlackBerry OS vs iOS vs Windows Phone vs Android

April 16th, 2012

Trend Micro has released the results of its study on the four main mobile operating systems in a report titled “Enterprise Readiness of Consumer Mobile Platforms”.

The security firm found the BlackBerry 7 OS the most secure mobile operating system, followed by iOS 5, Windows Phone 7.5, and Android 2.3.

Summary chart from “Enterprise Readiness of Consumer Mobile Platforms” White Paper by Trend Micro.

Summary chart from “Enterprise Readiness of Consumer Mobile Platforms” White Paper by Trend Micro.

Android 2.3 was used in the study because it was the dominant installed/supplied version of Google’s mobile OS at the time of the research.

Below is an excerpt from the White Paper summarising the findings about the four mobile platforms.

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Mother’s Day gift ideas from Logitech

April 15th, 2012

Whether you have a mobile mum, a geeky mum, a travelling mum, or a stay-at-home mum, Logitech has something you can get for her.

Mother's Day gadget gift ideas from Logitech

Mother's Day gadget gift ideas from Logitech

Mother’s Day is on 13 May this year. If you’re looking to buy a gift for a mom – which can also be the mother of your children – check out Logitech’s collection of gadgets and accessories.

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Nanyang Polytechnic students win Singapore’s Microsoft Imagine Cup Championship 2012

April 14th, 2012

Out of 85 entries, Team AlphaWaves from Nanyang Polytechnic Singapore emerged the national champion of the Singapore Finals.

Their project was “Dementia Assistance and Recall Engine (DARE)” – a web-based digital scrapbook designed to capture and organize the past memories in a personalized digital format.

Team AlphaWaves from Nanyang Polytechnic is the Singapore Imagine Cup 2012 national champion. From left: Ziriad Saibi, Director, Platform and Developer Evangelism Group, Microsoft Singapore, Koh Kai Wei, Eustace Zheng Xiangwen, Nur Nadiah Binte Zailani, Mong Yunheng, Shen Yizhe, Academic Developer Evangelist, Microsoft Singapore.

Team AlphaWaves from Nanyang Polytechnic is the Singapore Imagine Cup 2012 national champion. From left: Ziriad Saibi, Director, Platform and Developer Evangelism Group, Microsoft Singapore, Koh Kai Wei, Eustace Zheng Xiangwen, Nur Nadiah Binte Zailani, Mong Yunheng, Shen Yizhe, Academic Developer Evangelist, Microsoft Singapore. (Photo: Microsoft)

The aim of DARE, as part of reminiscence therapy, is to stimulate recall of past memories through photographs and other media (e.g. sound, video) that can be presented on a PC or tablet to remind the elderly and persons with dementia of their past and who they are.

“Technology empowers the individual to make the world accessible according to their own needs,” said Nur Nadiah Bte Zailani, Team AlphaWaves, champions of Singapore Imagine Cup 2012.The project was based on this year’s theme to “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.”

More than 2700 students registered for this year’s Singapore competition. 16 teams met at the Semi-finals at *SCAPE, Level 4, GRID MMS yesterday to vie for four places in the Finals today.

“Built on Windows 8 and Windows Azure, DARE will have an active link to user’s brainwaves to analyze and make sense of their cognitive and mental abilities to help in stimulating their recall capabilities,” Zailani elaborated.Team AlphaWaves beat the other three finalists which comprised a team from Nanyang Technological University (1st Runners-up), a joint team from Temasek Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic (2nd Runners-up), and another team from Nanyang Polytechnic (3rd Runners-up).

All four finalists received prizes comprising Microsoft products which included Kinect Bundles.

Team AlphaWaves, however, won the only coveted slot to represent Singapore in the Imagine Cup 2012 Worldwide Finals in Sydney in July.

Team AlphaWaves from Nanyang Polytechnic is the Singapore Imagine Cup 2012 national champion.

Mother’s Day gift ideas from Dell

April 14th, 2012

Thinking of getting the mom a laptop or ultrabook for Mother’s Day this year? Check out Dell’s offerings.

From left: Dell XPS 13 ultrabook, Dell Inspiron 14R, Dell Inspiron One 2320.

From left: Dell XPS 13 ultrabook, Dell Inspiron 14R, Dell Inspiron One 2320.

Here are three laptops/ultrabooks from Dell for Mother’s Day this year (13 May 2012 in Singapore).

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What’s better than a Canon EOS-1D X? Ans: A Canon EOS-1D C!

April 13th, 2012

Canon has announced the EOS-1D C, a DSLR capable of recording video at 4K resolution (4,096 x 2,160 pixels) at a frame rate of 24p, or Full HD resolution (1,920×1,080 pixels) at 60p – whilst retaining the still image shooting prowess of the EOS-1D X.

This new flagship DSLR will be available from end October this year (prices TBA).

Canon EOS-1D C, flagship DSLR with 4K video - available in October 2012.

Canon EOS-1D C, flagship DSLR with 4K video - available in October 2012.

The Canon EOS-1D C is designed for use in motion picture, television and other high-resolution digital production industries.

The DSLR provides its users a physically compact yet digitally powerful machine to meet the high demands of today’s production standards.

The Canon EOS-1D C records 4K resolution video (4,096 x 2,160 pixels) at a frame rate of 24p, with 8-bit Motion JPEG compression, cropped to an APS-H-equivalent angle of view.

It can also record Full HD video (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) at a maximum frame rate of 60p, answering the demanding needs of industry professionals.

In addition, the EOS-1D C allows for efficient workflow during production and post-production, with features within the firmware and the accompanying software suite.

Connections panel on one side of the camera.

Connections panel on one side of the camera.

The camera records all video, including 4K, directly to the inserted CF card without having to use peripheral equipment such as external storage devices, bringing increased mobility to its user.

When required, captured video (excluding 4K video) can be output to an external recorder via an HDMI terminal, using an uncompressed YCbCr 4:2:2 signal.

For motion-picture productions, the camera incorporates a Super 35mm crop function, enabling video to be recorded in the industry-standard 35mm angle of view.

The Canon Log Gamma enables the recording of high-quality video with rich gradation expression.

This produces the impressive image quality required in motion-pictures by minimizing both shadow detail loss and highlight detail loss while retaining a high level of color-grading freedom.

Top view of the Canon EOS-1D C

Top view of the Canon EOS-1D C

The EOS-1D C ships with software applications such as EOS Utility and Picture Style Editor.

Canon EOS-1D C body

Canon EOS-1D C body

EOS Utility allows a whole host of camera operations to be controlled via a PC, while the Picture Style Editor allows users to edit and register customized image settings in the camera.

These two applications enable real-time processes such as editing the picture style and confirming results on a monitor during set up or even on the shooting set, increasing production efficiency.

Playback software that ships with the camera allows 4K/Motion JPEG and Full HD video at 60p shot on the EOS-1D C to be output on an external monitor with no loss in image quality.

It also enables video shot with the Canon Log Gamma to be output on a monitor with video gamma applied.