For some time now, it has seemed like Foursquare was the only game in town. I mean “game” literally, as of the major location-based services, Foursquare seemed to be the only one really emphasizing gaming elements. But now Gowalla is starting to emphasize it more.

To be fair, Gowalla has had a sort of sub-game based around the dropping and picking up of items (basically, virtual goods) since the beginning. But in the latest build of its iPhone app which hit the App Store today, version 1.3, there are some new gaming aspects. The first is that items now have histories attached to them. This allows you to see who has had an item before you in a city. Looking over some of my items now, it’s actually pretty interesting to see that I know some people who have some of them before me.

While at first the idea behind including items in Gowalla didn’t make sense to me, after meeting with (Gowalla parent) Alamofire CEO Josh Williams, it makes a lot more sense. Aside from this history element, which is interesting, and that different items are of varying scarcities, there is also a plan in place to allow for the items you pick up to be exchanged in real life for actual goods, Williams says. He wasn’t ready to share any specifics just yet, but notes that there are already some interesting proposals on the table to do this. And Gowalla 1.3 is a “bit of a Trojan Horse right now,” for that, he says.

Obviously, the eventual idea behind this is that Gowalla could monetize these transactions. The core concept is similar to what Foursquare is doing with its Mayor Deals, but they too haven’t yet started to monetizing those. With location-based services still in their infancy, all of these services are simply focused on gaining users.

Williams also noted that Gowalla could eventually take a page from Alamofire’s first project, the Facebook app PackRat, and start selling certain items in Gowalla as virtual goods. Williams says they’re just thinking about the idea now, but with the iPhone’s new in-app purchases for free apps, it’s certainly possible.

And there’s another gaming element that Gowalla has added to the latest version of its iPhone app. Now, when you click on a venue, and click on the people tab for it, you can see a list of the top 10 people for that location. This is a list of the users who have checked into that venue the most amount of times over the past 90 days. In Foursquare terms, the top person would be the “mayor,” but again, this is a full top 10 list so more than just the top dog gets recognition.

Perhaps more importantly, with version 1.3, Gowalla has eased some of the GPS restrictions that curbed cheating but made it hard to check-in at certain indoor places. This should be much, much better, Williams tells us. The service is also hard at work on its native Android app, though they recently released a mobile web version that works with Android.

Gowalla is a free download in the App Store, find it here.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Originally posted here: 
Gowalla Ups Its Game And Hints At Future Business Models

There’s some grumbling going on in forums and other blogs about Core i7 iMacs showing up DOA much more often than you’d expect from a brand-new computer.

The two types of issues we’re seeing most are cracks in the screen and a completely dead computer on delivery. What’s most plausible is that the packaging just wasn’t designed to handle the size and weight of the giant 27-inch iMac as it gets tossed around the cab of a FedEx truck. Apple has so far been extremely responsive and effective in making repairs and exchanges, but it’s still a discomfiting sign—if you’re about to buy a new iMac, you might want to wait and see if Apple announces a fix for whatever’s going on before you take the plunge. [Apple Forums via Engadget]

Here is the original:
Some Core i7 iMacs Showing Up Dead [Apple]

Apple’s new Core i7-based iMac might be a performance monster, but it looks like the whole family’s having some problems getting out of the gate: in addition to the previously-noted performance issues with the Core 2 Duo models, a quick glance across Apple’s support forums and on other Mac boards around the web reveals that some machines are showing up DOA and / or with cracked screens. We’re a little more familiar with the DOA issue, since the new i7 we just bought doesn’t boot at all, but the cracked screen issue seems to be equally common and mostly affecting the bottom left corner, from what we can tell. Now, our review Core 2 Duo 27-inch iMac is perfectly fine, and Chris Ziegler’s new Core i7 machine doesn’t have any problems either, so these obviously aren’t universal issues, but if you’re about to stick one of these under the tree for someone it might be wise to do some surreptitious testing first.

Core i7 iMacs showing up DOA — including ours originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is certainly something all museums should attempt; not only does it allow for easy browsing of the museum’s pieces, as you see here, but if correctly done it could have maps, lectures, and all sorts of other stuff going on as well. It’s pretty easy to get lost in a labyrinth like the Louvre or V&A, but a system like this could both put people where they want to go and get them to buy more prints and mugs. Can you say credit card reader? I knew you could.

Of course, it’s nearly impossible to see this thing in action because the presentazione they’ve made is so unbelievably awful. Yes, showcase your state-of-the-art technology in a 320

The central guideline of museum going has long been “do not touch.” Soon, the Ufizzi will flip that rule on its head by allowing visitors to flick and pinch their way through the museum’s works of art.

The Ufizzi Galley, a museum in Florence boasting one of the world’s most famous collections of Renaissance art, is readying touch screen stations where visitors will be able to browse the museum’s collection in a Cover Flow-esque format. The stations, dubbed “Ufizzi in a Touch,” were developed by an Italian company called Centrica and will be loaded with 100-megapixel shots of the Ufizzi’s most famous works which include Boticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Titian’s Venus of Urbino.

The novel technology, rolling out in December, will presumably have one of two effects: cheapening the Ufizzi’s masterpieces or elevating the elusive properly tagged iTunes library to work of art status. [CultofMac]

See the original post here:
"Ufizzi in a Touch" Brings Cover Flow to Renaissance Masterpieces [Art]

It’s been quite a few months since we’ve heard anything from Klausner Technologies, but it looks like the company has finally decided on its next set of targets that are allegedly infringing on its now infamous visual voicemail patents. As announced in a pair of expectedly terse press releases, Klausner says that both RIM and Motorola have now crossed into lawsuit territory with the Blackberry Bold 9700 and Motorola CLIQ, although it isn’t specifying what sort of result it’s looking for, or exactly how the two devices are infringing on its patents (at least some other RIM and Motorola devices are apparently covered under licenses granted to mobile operators). If the company’s past track record with Apple, Verizon, LG, and Google is any indication, however, we wouldn’t bet against a settlement.

Klausner takes aim at RIM, Motorola over visual voicemail patents originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve told you over and over again that you need to secure your jailbroken iPhone. If you still haven’t listened and were affected by the latest iPhone worm then it is kinda your own fault. Even Apple thinks so.

Aside from blaming the victims, I don’t exactly entirely agree with Apple’s statement. It’s not the actual jailbreaking that exposed iPhones to these ridiculous worms, it’s simply the fact that a lot of people install and enable SSH without changing the default root password. If you don’t miss that important step, a jailbreak could almost be considered an improvement. After all, it allows you to use Google Voice, multitasking interfaces, and a bunch of apps otherwise unavailable. So don’t let the big A scare you. Just practice safe jailbreaking, kids. That’s all.

PS: If you still don’t know how to protect yourself from this silliness, it’s easy: Go into Cydia, install the MobileTerminal app, and use the passwd command to change the default from “alpine”, to something that won’t leave you in need of a de-worming. [Loop Insight]

More here:
According to Apple It’s Your Own Fault if You Catch an iPhone Worm [Blockquote]

BGR, the king of cell phone spy shots, brings us a leaked Apple Black Friday 2009 sales brochure. Notable deals include a $1098 iMac, $1098 MacBook Pro, $138 iPod Nano, $178 iPod Touch, and more. Continue reading for the rest of the deals.

We weren’t too positive about that last one as it was from a new source, but this new image comes from a pretty credible connect of ours and it seems to be more reasonable.

[via BGR]

Excerpt from:
Apple Black Friday 2009 Sales

There’s a certain type of person for whom airports and airplanes cease to be novel, and start to feel like home. This is depressing, on many levels! Which is why these people need gifts. Lots and lots of gifts.

BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here.

A good pair of in-ear phones: It’s impossible to overstate how valuable these are. Not only do they sound better than your stock earbuds, they dull the chorus of engine sounds, snores, baby cries and not-as-subtle-as-your-seatmate-thinks beanfarts nearly as well as those Bose noise-canceling phones some airlines hand out in first class. As a bonus, you can sleep comfortably in these. Ultimate Ears MetroFi 170s are nice, clear and bassy for about fifty dollars, while Shure’s next-level SE210s can be scrounged for under $100. $50 for the UEs, $90 for the Shures. [Amazon, 2]

An iPod Touch: Yeah, I know, another iPod recommendation. Seriously though, perfect travel gadget: Video and music (and podcasts, sweet podcasts!) are travel must-haves, and games are a massive bonus. But what about apps to keep you busy or productive? White noise machines to put you to sleep? Internet access on the off chance your plane has free Wi-Fi? Look out for better deals come Friday, too. $200 [Apple]

Timbuk2 Commute 2.0: It’s a solid gear bag, with more than enough space for a laptop, DSLR, various accessories and a phone or two, and it’s TSA compliant, meaning you can leave your laptop halfway inside your bag through airport security for a slightly less terrible experience. Retails for about $100 in size medium, though you can find it for a bit less is you look around. $90 [Zappos]

Some juice: Almost every gadget charges by USB nowadays, a habit that the Duracell Instant Charger will happily oblige. It’s most useful as an emergency phone charger, though it’ll work for almost anything.

If your traveling giftee is a Man of the World, consider the Kensington International Adapter with USB. Here’s the theory: said traveler can plug almost whatever he wants into almost any wall socket, and charge his Duracell portable battery at the same time. MAXIMUM ELECTRICITY! $15 for the Duracell, $30 for the Kensington [Amazon, Target]

A stupid neck donut pillow: Because they’re awesome and anybody who says they
aren’t hasn’t slept on an airline cushion for eight hours. Plus, they’re cheap, and you can probably find one at your local Walmart if you don’t want to bother with shipping. $13 [Amazon]

Tethering: It’s a bit nerdy, and you might he some reservations about fiddling with someone else’s phone so much, especially given how sensitive carriers can be to this kind of thing, but if your traveler is aware of the risks, tethering is a wonderful gift. And not just wired or Bluetooth tethering—I’m talking Wi-Fi tethering, MiFi style (and without the extra contract, which would be a terrible gift). It can save money and headaches in hotels or airports with paid Wi-Fi, and it’ll be endearingly nerdy. Free! [For iPhone, jailbreak; for Android, rooting; for Palm, homebrew]

Those laptop privacy shields: People will think you’re looking at porn if you’re using one of these”>one of these, no matter how nice your suit is. Avoid, unless your traveler actually wants to look at porn. $45 [Amazon]

Methanol cell chargers: They’re too expensive to recommend now and it’s difficult to explain to the TSA how exactly they aren’t a dangerous explosive device, and for that matter, why you just don’t carry a normal battery, like a non-scary human? Hmm? These should be easy enough not to buy, since they barely even exist. Still!

Don’t forget to recommend your own favorite travel gadgets in comments-include pics and pricing if possible.

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We’ll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

See more here:
Travel Gifts For People Who Sleep On Airplanes More Than In Beds [Giftguide]

Whenever I think of 3D scanning, I think of this very complicated process of a multitude of cameras surrounding an object, taking pictures at every angle, and then blending them all together with a computer.

A PhD student at the Cambridge University Engineering Department named Qi Pan has made like Apple and “thought different”.

As you can see from the video after the jump, Pan took a detailed paper building and rotated it on an axis, filming it with an ordinary web camera. His ProFORMA (Probabilistic Feature-based On-line Rapid Model Acquisition) program scanned it, and he immediately had something ready for 3D model generation. He could even shake the real thing and move it, and the CG image would do the same. Wild!

A program like this can have a lot of applications, but all I can think about is the way it will change animated films with 3D computer animation. Instead of some graphics designer having to painstakingly make an object for three-dimensional space, all the programmers would need is a simple rotational scan. It’s better technology than motion-capture!

This man Qi Fan has just made computer animation history, and I look forward to the next PIXAR or PDI film that will use it. Of course, the technology is still under development, but I can see it being in the hands of a typical consumer.

Source

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3D Rendering not difficult with ProFORMA