Ubuntu Break The Record in Crowdfund Pledge

Since beginning a crowdfunded campaign for the Ubuntu Edge smartphone, Canonical has raised $10,288,472 in pledges. It has set the record, raising more money in pledges than any other venture before it, even passing last years record which was set by Pebble for a smartwatch.

Although this is an achievement, in the bigger picture it does not look so good. There is six days left for the campaign and the target for Canonical is $32 million. If the target is not reached, then all the money received will have to be returned.

However Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical’s founder, is still optimistic and has said that public interest in the Ubuntu Edge phone was high.

“The campaign has sparked a level of interest that has surprised even us,” he said, adding that it had seized the attention not only of phone enthusiasts but innovators and futurists as well as manufacturers.

Mr Shuttleworth has admitted that the device may be too different from the current style of smartphone for institutional investors, like major telecom companies, to consider backing it now. “We would have been bringing the future forward a year or two at least”, Mr Shuttleworth said.

“Risky new technology is difficult for mainstream manufacturers,” he said, adding that the campaign’s funding target was “head and shoulders” above anything else.

Canonical have learned lessons from this campaign, with Mr Shuttleworth saying he would rethink the discounted price that was offered to early contributors.

He also added that if the campaign made significant ground in the next few days then Ubunutu would consider extending the online campaign but if it was still far from the target, then all the money would returned to those who contributed.

The campaign runs until August 21.

[Image via th3tech]

SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23714549

The post Ubuntu Break The Record in Crowdfund Pledge appeared first on TechBeat.

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Holho Turns Your Phone into Hologram Projector

From Star Trek to Star Wars and beyond, there is one thing that cannot go missing from virtually any science fiction movie: a life-size moving hologram. While we are still a long way from building a real Holodeck, this little gadget called Holho is nonetheless an impressive hologram generator.

Holho, currently on Kickstarter, can be regarded as a more technologically advanced version of optical illusion gadgets that use two parabolic mirrors to project a 3D image of an object.

But Texas-based manufacturers Imagination Farm USA took Holho beyond that and designed a piece of technology that can play video holograms. And it does that by transforming your smartphone or tablet into a 3D hologram projector.

This hologram generator uses a set of mirrors to produce a moving 3D image of a video your run on your smart device, with the help of a special app. Holho will be available in several versions, from a simple one that generates a frontal projection to a four-sided pyramid that generates a complex 3D image which can be viewed from any angle.

The simplest version is called Holho Naked, designed especially for 10 inch tablets. It creates its frontal projection with the help of a fold-up mirror that can be used as a case for the tablet. The Holho Zed functions in a similar fashion, the only difference being that the tablet is placed at the top and projects the image on a tilted transparent screen.

A more complex version of the 3D hologram projector is the Holho Three-Face Pyramid which is exactly what its name says. This version uses the special Holho app to generate the hologram and is designed specifically for product display or commercial use.

But the most impressive of the lot is undoubtedly the Holho Full Pyramid. The gadget is made of a four-angled mirror with an inverted base sized for tablets and smartphones. The Holho app generates four images and projects them beneath the mirrors, creating a full motion 3D video that can be viewed from any angle. There are several videos already available and the app can be easily used to create more.

Developers are planning to raise $58,000 on Kickstarter, until the crowdfunding campaign ends on September 24. Backers can get their own Holho Full Pyramid with a free video for as little as $28. The special app costs $20 and more videos can be added for $10/each.

What do you think of the Holho? For the time being, it just seems to be a fun thing to have and a neat trick party. But what uses could this technology have in the future?

HOLHO Full Pyramid for smartphone from Imagination Farm USA on Vimeo.

[Image via freshgadgets.nl]

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Rainlendar 2.12 Beta 133

Rainlendar is a customizable calendar that displays the current month. It is a very lightweight application that doesn't use much system resources or take much space on your desktop.

via FileHippo.com http://filehippo.com/download_rainlendar/ [[ We are also giving web service. Email:wasim.akh2@gmail.com]]