Christian's Corner

Last night on tech trends we focused on a 26-foot wide video screen that allows local architectural firm Design Plus to give virtual walking tours of their projects. The system was put together by Central Interconnect, using software that synchs the video from three DLP projectors into a single picture. If you have an idea for a future tech trends story drop us an email. We just might put it on television.

If you watch Fox 17 News at Ten, then you know I'm quite a motorhead. And as a Michigan based television anchor, it breaks my heart to have to report all the bad news coming out of Detroit, regarding the automotive industry. Layoffs and plant closings are easy to cover. But what doesn't get a lot of coverage is improvements going on at the Big-3. Everybody knows how long Mercedes, BMW, Audi and the rest of the foreign manufacutures have held a strangle hold on the performance market. But it appears American technology is coming back with a vengence. For instance, just this week professional drivers set a new record lap time for a production sedan at the infamous Nürburgring in Germany. It wasn't a M5 BMW or the new CL63 AMG. It was the brand new Cadillac CTS-V. With an LS9 supercharged V8 said to make 567 HP it tore up "The Ring" with a lap time of 7:59.32. There are also rumors that GM has the new SR1 Corvette out there, working to beat Godzilla, the new GT-R supercar from Nissan.
Good luck boys... and thanks for giving Michigan something to brag about again.

Enjoy the video.

Frankie

Ever wonder what would happen if you woke up one day and there was no news? Some guy on Flickr seems to know. lol

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arbernaut/2476955162/

Enjoy,
Frankie

Some new technology is allowing people to merge more than 50-separate digital photos into a single image with amazing resolution.
First take a look at this shot of the parking lot of the Golden Gate Bridge... and zoom in.
It runs on the same engine as Google Earth.
http://www.gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=6
Then check out this report from the UK's Times Online, regarding the device that makes it all possible. The amazing billion-pixel panorama:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/audio_video/times_online_tv/?vxSiteId=d8fa78dc-d7ad-4d5a-8886-e420d4bc4200&vxChannel=Times%20Online%20News&vxClipId=1152_timesonline0664&vxBitrate=300

Tonight on tech trends, I'm going to show you a little piece of software I've been testing for the last few months. Its called Skyfire. Its a new web browser for pocket pc's that gives you all the functionality of a desktop pc in a mobile browser. It works similar to safari on the iphone, streaming the data like a google maps application. Only with Skyfire, everything works... flash video, ajax, java apps.
Its a real breakthrough in mobile browsing. Check it out tonight on Fox 17 News at Ten.

On Fox 17 News at Ten we don't do a lot of "talk backs" with our live reporters in the field unless there's breaking news with facts that might not have been covered in their taped report.
That's not the case at all stations. Sometimes, they like to ask questions just because they can, or to prove they're working with a national correspondent.
Here is a great example of a local anchor tossing a Fox News Channel reporter under the bus with a totally unrelated question following his story. Rick Leventhal does a good job not making them look stupid, but watch his reaction after the live shot. Funny Stuff.

Enjoy,
Frankie

Well folks, sounds like the wait will soon be over. The 3G iPhone will be announced June 9, the likely date of Apple CEO Steve Jobs' keynote at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, analysts said in research notes on Thursday.

The 3G iPhone will be the "first of an impressive wave of new products" from Apple, wrote Citi analysts Richard Gardner and Yeechang Lee. They also expect an updated Mac laptop and iPod lines. The Apple conference is scheduled for June 9-13 in San Francisco.

In addition to a 3G iPhone release in early June, the 2.5G model could have a "minor casing change" and a price drop to between US$299 and $349, compared to the current $399, wrote Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research, in a research report.

The search for life on Mars got a big "shot in the arm" tonight around 8pm, when the Phoenix Mars Lander successfully touched down in the polar circle.
Scientists plan to use the robot to seek out and analyze water from the surface of the red planet, the most likely place to find signs of life.

Check out the mission plan:

http://www.nrao.edu/index.php/videos?v=http://www.nrao.edu/videos/phoenixMarsLander_med

...or up to the minute mission updates:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/

Electronic cigars and cigarettes have made their way from China to the U.S., where they're being touted as a legal way to smoke in a smoke free environment. Now if their origin doesn't exactly instill confidence in their safety... keep in mind, while legal, there is little or no research into the health affects of sucking on these expensive "smoke free" smokes.

Here's what the company has to say about it:
http://www.ruyanamerica.com/Page.cfm?Page=Home

After the Vista debacle, Microsoft is anxious to give people an operating system that does more than just make life difficult. That's why they've started showing off some of the new features of Windows 7. You'll notice they've borrowed some of the interface controls from the iphone, including how you expand and contract images. Some cool features to be sure... but will it bog down computers with added security and anti-piracy locks? We should know in about a year.

Video: Multi-Touch in Windows 7