Lights Out for Kimmel – Talk Show Host Breaks Out His Webcam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1rRGUTB6OY

Here’s a weird one. Last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! was all the more live: due to a power outage on-set on Monday, Kimmel, ever-resolute, ever-resourceful, decided to film the episode entirely on his MacBook and air it last night. Hey, the show must go on.

Partially, this reeks of shenanigans. In these two clips, most-to-all of the power is, in fact, on. Now, I’m not an electrician or anything, but in the second clip especially, it seems the only thing not working is the cameras. Curious. And what about Kimmel’s laptop? Surely he didn’t tape the whole episode on his battery alone. Hell, maybe he did, I haven’t used a MacBook in a couple years now.

Whatever the case may be, the web show aesthetic was a cute move, and served to break up the typical talk show monotony. And by ‘monotony’ I guess I mean ‘production quality’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-2nmsmalcw

[Via All Things Digital]

Eye-contact problem solved while video chatting using Iris2Iris.

Built in webcams have created a way to communicate with others while in the comfort of your own home while Skype has basically found a way to eliminate the costly long distance phone call.

But, are we really having an intimate video chat with the person on the other end or does staring at the persons forehead take something away from it? You have a choice. Do you look directly into the webcam to give the illusion that you want to make eye contact or do you look at your monitor so you can see the other person?

Coming out of The Netherlands, is a new product that solves all eye-contact video chatting problems. Iris2Iris acts like a teleprompter and allows you to have eye to eye contact and avoid the forehead to forehead contact.

How important is eye-contact?

According to Helium.com, only 10% of communication comes from what people actually say, 30% comes from the tone of your voice and 60% is body language. They state five reasons why eye contact is one of the most important parts of communication.

1. Eye contact indicates that you are listening.
2. Eye contact builds repoire.
3. Eye contact indicates that you both like each other.
4. Eye contact indicates that the two of you respect each other.
5. Eye contact indicates that both of you are trustworthy.

As technology grows so does its use in the world of business. Job interviews are starting to be conducted online and with the Iris2Iris technology, you can sure impress your potential employer with constant eye-contact.

Source: Iris2Iris

Microsoft releases three HD webcams

Today Microsoft will be releasing three new HD webcams for Notebooks. Yes, you read that correctly. Now you can skype in High Definition. Better wash your face, and put your makeup on because we will now be able to see every blemish, every pimple, and every bead of sweat in HD.

This new technology referred to as TrueColor Technology will allow your face to be properly exposed even in the worst lighting conditions.

Taken from Microsoft.com:

“Microsoft’s new image processing technology analyzes the user’s environment and automatically adjusts the LifeCam settings to provide brighter and more colorful video. It does this through a carefully designed proprietary combination of software and firmware technology to deliver a great experience. To achieve these results, TrueColor Technology includes face tracking technology developed by Microsoft Research, which can detect a person’s face and help ensure it’s not overexposed or underexposed, so the video call picture looks great even in the most challenging lighting scenarios.”

All of these LifeCams feature a 720p HD sensor and Auto Focus. It might be weird to know that you may own a better camera than your local town news channel. If skyping and online video interaction is your thing, maybe this product is designed for you. The HD may be a bit too excessive, but the ability to manage white balance and lighting conditions automatically makes it a groundbreaking technology.

Source: Microsoft

Lights Out for Kimmel – Talk Show Host Breaks Out His Webcam

Eye-contact problem solved while video chatting using Iris2Iris.

Microsoft releases three HD webcams

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