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Giant pinball machine with 3D projection makes building playable [Video]

Steven — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 02:04:36 +0000

Urban Flipper – A giant and interactive pinball machine

Okay I gotta admit this really looks all shades of cool and puts a whole new spin when it comes to getting your pinball wizard on. Called the Urban Flipper this ingenious idea was unveiled at France’s Festival of Lights 2011 that lets you use a building as the pinball game table.

Even more fun is that the game which used Célestins theater in this demonstration and included its windows, balconies and columns as part of the playable pinball table. Here’s a video of the game in action.

via Ufunk.net

Giant pinball machine with 3D projection makes building playable [Video] is a post from: winextra
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Daily Brief – Oh No! A Prediction

Steven — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 03:00:01 +0000

While the Christmas part of the holidays might be over we still have New Year’s to deal with which mean my regular co-host Paul O’Flaherty is off helping kid-wrangle so I’ve lined up a few stand-in co-hosts for the rest of the week.

Today I have the pleasure of getting back together with my good friend Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins, who actually one of the people I first started podcasting with years ago. Even though the Microsoft news is still pretty light Mark and I find a few things to talk about along with a little bit of off-topic wandering.

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Show links.

France Wants To Extend Private Copying Levy To Tablets… But Not If They Run Microsoft Windows – Techdirt
Windows Phone 7 Marketplace hits 5,000 apps – shows no signs of slowing – WPCentral
World of Warcraft gets Kinectified – will the game ever be the same? – WinExtra
A Four-Day Dive Into Stuxnet’s Heart – Threat Level
Google Chrome OS Is Microsoft’s Nightmare – SiliconAngle

Daily Brief – Oh No! A Prediction is a post from: winextra
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Shooting down Windows Phone 7®

peirre2 — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:21:06 +0000

Don’t take me wrong, I like Windows Phone 7 and my Samsung handset. Which is why I feel free to point out all its foibles (the ones I’ve found so far, anyway). After a week battling its shortcomings and finding a few workarounds, let me present my findings and solutions:

No copy & paste: this has been publicized so much that I feel obligated to mention it, but it’s really anecdotal. Microsoft has, by and large, promised a WP7 patch in early(?) 2011 to add this function.

No Microsoft Outlook local synchronization: according to Microsoft, WP7 is not (yet?) for the business market, but for the consumer market. If you’re a “normal” consumer, you can synchronize your handset’s contacts and calendar with a Google account or a Live account or a Yahoo account or an Exchange account (that’s consumer?)
But if you don’t have any other email account than the one provided with your Internet connection, even if you have Outlook on your PC (after all, it comes with most versions of Office, doesn’t it?), you’re left hanging.

And even if you do have an online account, you can only synchronize the handset with the account’s contents. Unless you have a way to synchronize Outlook on your PC with the online account, you’re still up the proverbial creek. And, contrary to Google and Yahoo!, there is currently no way to synchronize Outlook’s calendar and contacts with Live Mail’s! Never mind the tasks and notes…

You have to install the Zune software to synchronize your WP7 handset with your PC (à la iPhone/iTunes), but Zune only synchronizes the multimedia contents. Its current version isn’t aware of any other Microsoft product. Hey Microsoft! Even Apple lets you synchronize an iPhone with Outlook locally!
According to the Microsoft forums, it will come… Real Soon Now^©

No way to change an email account’s settings: other than the password and the displayed account’s name, you cannot change any of an account’s settings unless WP7 detects an error and presents you with a pop-up where it asks you to correct the parameter it thinks is wrong – which may or may not be the real cause of the error.

Only when creating a new email account through the “advanced settings” option can you specify the detailed settings of the account – once. Better double-check before you press the “finalize” button… While this choice may be OK for the below average non computer-savvy user, the lack of an “expert mode” is really a PITA.

That’s it for now. I have found a roundabout way to have my Outlook calendar and contacts on the handset, but it’s not for the faint-hearted and it requires a lot of footwork (figuratively speaking). First, you need a Live Mail account (not just a “Live ID”, you need an actual HotMail or Live Mail address). Declare the Live account on your WP7 handset.

Then you need to install Outlook Connector and connect to your Hot/Live Mail account. In you contacts, you now see “contacts from Live Mail”. You now need to copy your contacts from the Outlook address book to the Live mail contacts. This will make them available on your WP7 handset after a few minutes.

For the calendar, it’s even more complicated: first, you need to export your Outlook calendar to an ICS file. Make sure you export your whole calendar, not just the current day. Then you go online and log in to your Live ID. Display the Live Mail calendar, and select “subscribe”. On the next screen you can import the ICS calendar into the Live Mail calendar. This will make the calendar available on your WP7 handset.

From then on, you must take care to copy any modification to the contacts or calendar to its local or online counterpart. This can be done “easily” in Outlook, but it isn’t automatic by any stretch of the imagination.

Be warned…

Shooting down Windows Phone 7® is a post from: winextra
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Windows Phone 7 in France: a tale of frustration and fulfillment

peirre2 — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:11:25 +0000

As you may or may not be aware, France is currently in the thralls of social unrest because the public retirement system is being reformed – not an unexpected reform, and a necessary one that has been postponed for 30 years by cold-footed previous governments, but that is another matter. Where it is relevant, though, is that this social unrest has thrown a spanner in all the transportation schedules, by dint of protesters blockading fuel depots, among other obstructive behaviors. Because of transportation difficulties, not all Windows Phone 7 handsets were available on Thursday, October 21^st.

Ever since Windows Phone 7 was announced, I’ve had my eyes on it. Up to now I had an old Samsung SGH-I600 smartphone running Windows Mobile 5.1. I was pleased with it, but these past 2-3 months it started acting up (random freezes, loss of connectivity, etc…), and the release of WP7 (I’m too lazy to type “Windows Phone 7” all the time ) has come at the right time for me.

Of the 5 available handsets (1 from LG, 3 from HTC and 1 from Samsung), I liked only the HTC HD7 and Samsung Omnia 7 (that’s a matter of taste), and the HTC is simply too large to fit in my pocket – as well as too expensive to fit in my pocket book. In addition, the Samsung’s OLED screen (which I had seen on the Galaxy S model) is extremely appealing to my old eyes. Thus, I selected the Omnia 7 as the handset I wanted.

Until the official release, there was no information whatsoever on the main three French providers (Orange, SFR and Bouygues Télécom) sites. So, on the morning of October 21^st, I visit all three sites in search of pricing and availability information. My provider, Bouygues Télécom, reserves the WP7 handsets for the corporate market . SFR’s offers are, surprisingly, more expensive than Orange’s. Not so surprisingly, I select Orange as my new provider, but…

Thursday, October 21^st: only the LG Optimus 7 model is available on the Orange site. The Samsung isn’t even mentioned. I walk over to the nearest Orange shop. There are a couple of people dressed in green coveralls handing out WP7 leaflets on the pavement, but no throngs are swarming the location as had happened when the iPhone was released. It’s more like “business as usual”.

Within one minute I’m able to buttonhole a salesperson and ask him about the Samsung’s availability. He obligingly looks into the Orange database, but isn’t able to find any information. In the shop, the LG Optimus 7 and HTC Mozart are the only handsets available.

Friday, October 22^nd: this morning, the Samsung appears on the Orange site, with the infuriating mention “available soon” (reminding me of Jerry Pournelle’s “Real Soon Now” phrase, coined in relation with vaporware over 25 years ago in his “Chaos Manor” column for Byte Magazine).

Again I walk to the Orange shop, buttonhole another salesperson, and ask about the availability and pricing – with the same frustrating result. However, he is able to tell me that the handset’s delivery to the shops has been delayed because of the current transportation difficulties. He does offer to email me when the Omnia 7 becomes available in the shop, but he jots down my address on a scrap of paper that looks like it’ll get mislaid at the first opportunity, if not sooner.

Then in the afternoon, suddenly the Samsung is mentioned as “on inventory”, and it’s at last possible to order it online – with a caveat: there is no “process the order” button on the ordering form, only one labeled “save for later processing”. ARGHHHHHHHHHH! So, I do save my order and go get a large glass of cold water to stop fuming.

Saturday, October 23^rd: at long last on Saturday morning, the “proceed” button is present and I’m able to complete my online order. The delivery delay is announced as 3 days (not counting Saturdays or Sundays, of course). Given my cell phone usage (I mostly receive calls on it, I don’t call much), I select a contract with 1 hour of outgoing calls per month (to any French cell phone or land phone), unlimited text messages, and access to emails and browsing (with a limit of 500 MB per month at full 3G speed – beyond that volume, the speed is severely reduced until the next month). The contract with a 2 GB monthly cap would have been 10 € more expensive each month and the handset would have cost 100 € less, the choice was obvious for me.

If all goes well and the social unrest abates this coming week, I should get my handset and new SIM card on Wednesday, maybe Thursday at the latest… keeping fingers crossed (not good for typing this ).

Monday, October 25^th: this evening, my order is still marked as “in process”. I’m getting impatient (even more than before, that is).

Tuesday, October 26^th: this morning as I turn my computer on, the order’s status has changed from “in process” to “validated”, which probably means they’ve debited my credit card. Hopefully it will change to “shipped” Real Soon Now^©…

Yes!! This afternoon I get an email that tells me the package is shipping. It’s now in the hands of the French postal service. Let’s hope they don’t go on strike again… at least not until they’ve delivered it to my home. Given the usual shipping delays, it might arrive tomorrow afternoon, but more probably Thursday morning.

Wednesday, October 27^th: 10:15 a.m. – it’s done at last! I’m finally the proud happy satisfied owner of a Samsung Omnia 7 smartphone running Microsoft’s latest brainchild, Windows Phone 7^®. I’ll not bother you with the details of the phone, enough reviews have been published all over the web… Just know that it’s slightly smaller than an iPhone and a lot lighter. You Americans (and Canadians ) can start drooling for the next couple of weeks

Windows Phone 7 in France: a tale of frustration and fulfillment is a post from: winextra
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Online gambling in France: allowed at last

peirre2 — Fri, 14 May 2010 12:40:43 +0000

For many years, gambling in France has been very severely regulated. Casinos and card game salons are ever under close scrutiny, and stiffly taxed. Betting on horse races has been a monopoly of the “Pari Mutuel Urbain” (PMU) since it was created in 1920. Lotteries have been a state monopoly since 1933, when the “Loterie Nationale” was created. Part of its proceeds were dedicated to subsidizing WW 1 injured and maimed veterans. It was replaced in 1976 by the “Française des Jeux” (FdJ) which, in addition to the National Loto, has had the monopoly on sports gambling (except for horse races, which remain the privilege of PMU). Until then, gambling on sports was strictly forbidden here. In compensation for these monopolies and stiff taxes, gambling gains are free of income tax for the winners.

This was so far: as of today, May 24, 2010, both the PMU and FdJ have lost their monopoly. The French state has had to bow to the inevitable – and to European Union rules. Online gambling sites may now officially accept French participants. Conversely, French gamblers may now legally gamble online. As a counterpart for this new freedom, online gambling sites that operate in France are submitted to the same close scrutiny as casinos and gambling salons, and to similar (albeit lower) taxation. They also must implement safeguards to prevent legal minors, and people who’ve been barred from casinos, from logging on and placing bets or playing card games. A special police squad has been created specifically to watch over these sites and make sure the regulations are enforced. Frankly, I wonder how they will enforce the fines and other sanctions when the offending site is operated from Hong-Kong or Kiev or Singapore…

Online gambling in France: allowed at last is a post from: winextra
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Computer parts, anyone?

Steven — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:35:00 +0000

For the past 12 years or so, Paris, France, has been the location of a unique phenomenon (unique in Europe, at least): within a radius of 150 meters (about 500 ft), you can find over 60 shops selling computer parts at extremely aggressive prices. They even have a dedicated collective web site where you can search for the component you need and see where it’s available and at what price. Not all the shops participate in the site, but you’ll be able to drool at their shop windows when you stroll the “rue Montgallet” area (every computer nut in Paris – and possibly in France – knows where it is).

Most, but not all, of these shops are held by Chinese people from the same region in China. Some of the shops are very small (hardly more than a piece of corridor), some are respectably large. Some of them are very reliable – that is, they respect the prices they publish on the site and update the products’ availability at least once a day – and some of them will try to cheat you by offering more expensive substitute items, or the items of your choice at a higher price than publicized.

Some will give you good advice as to whether your choice of parts is consistent and efficient, and some will let you fend for yourself. Some (many) of these shops also sell complete systems, and almost all will assemble a system according to your specs at no extra cost – provided you purchase all the parts from the same shop, of course.

So, how do you take advantage of this? Browse the site for the parts you need/want, print out the results, and go there, trying not to get sidetracked by the other shops’ window displays

Once you get to the selected shop, get the page you printed out and try to get the exact part at the exact price. Most of the time it works (often you don’t even need to pull out the printed page). There’s a reliability index on the site, with user comments, so you generally avoid the shops with fewer than 3 stars unless they’re the only ones with your object of desire.

Just a word of warning: if you expect a full warranty, don’t go there.

In spite of French law, the rue Montgallet shops will only grant you “manufacturer’s warranty”; i.e., if the component you purchased fails, you’re on your own trying to get an RMA from the manufacturer, if at all possible. A very few of the shops will handle it for you – generally for a fee and often with poor grace.

If you’re squeamish about warranties, there’s also a more “traditional” computer shop (a large one, akin to CompUSA and NewEgg outlets) within the area, where they’ll make you pay regular prices but provide the legal 1-year warranty on parts and systems and handle the return procedures for you. They too provide online order and delivery.

Another word of warning: despite the fact that personal checks are still a common means of payment here, the rue Montgallet shops will only take cash or credit cards – but they’ll give you a bona fide invoice even if you pay cash.

One last word of warning: if you intend to purchase big or heavy components, such as a computer case or a complete CPU or a multifunction printer, don’t expect to park your car nearby. Rue Montgallet and all the streets around it are narrow streets, with no available parking lot closer than 500 meters (1,600 ft). The only wide avenue in the area is strictly no-parking.

You’d better come prepared, with a foldable trolley, or arrange for someone to come collect you and your errands upon a phone call (this is where cell phones can be really useful). Of course the shops will not deliver, except for a few of them, and for a price. These usually also have a dedicated web site with remote-order facilities.

Once you’re familiarized with rue Montgallet and its surroundings, you can expect savings of up to 20% compared to more “traditional” computer shops. That’s where I’m going to purchase the parts for my computer upgrade overhaul next Xmas … if my wife and my banker agree, that is.

If you ever decide to come shop for computer parts in Paris, be sure to let me know about it. We can have a coffee (or some other drink) together, and I can guide you to the most reliable shops.

Computer parts, anyone? is a post from: winextra
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