Augmented reality has been touted as the "next big thing" for a while, yet mainstream success has proved elusive. So what can be done to turn it from a gimmick into a commercial necessity?

Imagine being able to watch miniature versions of Kings of Leon or Lady Gaga play on a table right in front of your eyes.
This is augmented reality (AR) in action.
Integrating computer-generated images and the real world has been made possible by the ever-increasing power of small computing devices, which can now render realistic 3D figures in real-time.

One company - String, in partnership with tech firm Digicave - has developed and demonstrated a system that creates the impression of a 3D figure mapped onto, for example, a book shelf. Such technology opens up the possibility of having a pop star appear in your bedroom, performing as if they were on-stage.

"I think what we're delivering here is a unique experience that no-one has ever seen before," says String's CEO Alan Maxwell.
"For example, we can capture a live performance from an artist on stage… and deliver that performance to people's devices wherever they are in the world and they simply have to hold their device at a marker. I think there is a certain amount of value in that."
The idea of augmented reality was first mooted as far back as in 1965, with Ivan Sutherland's now famous essay Augmented Reality: The Ultimate Display. In it, he said that "with appropriate programming… a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked," stating that digital handcuffs would be able to actually restrain users, and those shot by digital characters would be killed in real life.
His vision bears uncanny resemblance to the Matrix, although it is far from the world of AR that we currently inhabit.
Nearly 50 years after that prophetic work, computers have advanced beyond comprehension. However, commercial developments in AR have been slow and the buzz that surrounded the technology a couple of years ago seems to be waning.
That is perhaps because, up until now, the products and software available to most people have been gimmicky, fun applications rather than - as much of the industry thought - lifestyle must-haves.


Even in marketing, the first AR advert was seen in 2007 but the message seemed to be lost on most people until relatively recently, when models dressed up as angels seemed to magically appear alongside passengers at a London train station.
But while AR failed to captured the popular imagination, the technology was being extensively used in commercial environments.
"Fighter pilots are a classic example," says Dan Sung, editor of features at tech site Pocket Lint.
"The technology [of using a heads-up display] has been there since Top Gun. It's really useful and the reason we don't talk about it is because it's so good no one even notices it's augmented reality."
The heads-up display can now be used by cyclists and snowboarders alike, and in sports where looking unconventional is seen as often appealing, bulky goggles may not be a problem.
Sports programming is also a large user and developer of graphics that interact and rely on real-world reference points. A game of cricket or American football - for example - would now look strange without the use of some form of AR technology.
Then there is the possibility of using augmented reality to "add value" to the real world. Technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones has looked at some firms that are developing AR as a marketing tool .

 Yet it all seems rather limited compared to the vision of AR painted by future-gazing technology evangelists.
What makes AR's slow progress all the more apparent is the way that sci-fi series and Hollywood have taken to the idea like a 3D duck to pixelated water. From the holo-deck in Star Trek to - perhaps more realistically - the virtual reality simulations in a recent James Bond film, examples are all around.
Sony recently announced its "SmartAR" project, which seems to have solved many of the problems which critics have previously used to discredit the technology - that it is too slow and does not react well to the unsteady devices it is used on.
But it is the start-ups and smaller enterprises that many see as making the big breakthroughs.
One thing that developers are looking to get rid of as quickly as possible is the need to use tablet or mobile devices to see the extra images.
"Ultimately, what we really want is glasses for this kind of thing because there is the problem of swinging a phone around in front of your face," says Sung.
"But a good working pair which doesn't look as though you're trying to assimilate people that people will actually wear is still at least five years away."
The barrier of a screen between the user and the action is seen by many as a problem and, until that changes, critics say that this technology will struggle to engage people.

But when solved, the effects could be magical.
"Imagine shooting zombies coming out of the ground while wearing glasses, it's pretty incredible," says Maxwell.
And away from gaming, rather than just videos and extra information, imagine walking round Trafalgar Square with a 3D depiction of Admiral Nelson you could ask questions to, or watching dramas that take place in specific locations with characters interacting with their surroundings in real-time.
"We need the whole world as a 3D reference," says Jan Schlink from AR firm Metaio.
"In 10 to 15 years, I really think you will be able to walk around the city and have it all augmented. There are already 3D map providers and you could use these and create a model so that entire cities could be referenced."
But perhaps the real challenge will be making the digital and real worlds combine and work together as if it had always been that way. As is often the way with technology, it has only been truly integrated with mass society if no-one notices it.
"What happens in 20 years, that's the ultimate test," says Sung.
"When augmented reality has made it, no-one will talk about it anymore. It will just be there."

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: The Surprising Link Between Light Pollution and Cancer

There are plenty of arguments against lighting the night sky: It wastes energy, blots out stars and messes with the nocturnal habits of animals in a big way. Now there’s another reason, one that could go a long way toward convincing humans that whatever sense of safety is conferred by nighttime lighting, it isn’t worth the risk. It turns out that light pollution may be a cancer risk. 

That statement is bold, but increasingly the science is proving it out. Humans, as well as many animals and plants, need regular exposure to darkness to maintain what’s called the circadian rhythm—essentially the body’s internal clock, which governs various bodily functions. Of particular interest to researchers is the fact that darkness at night tells the body to produce certain hormones, most importantly melatonin, which not only aids sleep, but also helps to maintain immune system function. 

In several studies conducted over the past decade, scientists have found that increased exposure to light at night correlates to higher cancer rates, particularly for those cancers like breast or prostate that require hormones to grow. Women who work the night shift have been shown to have higher risks of breast cancer, while blind women have lower-than-average risk. In 2009, a landmark study by epidemiologist Dr. Richard Stevens, of the University of Connecticut, compared cancer rates and the presence of light at night across 164 countries and found that women in industrialized, highly lit countries had a 30 to 50 percent higher risk of breast cancer than those in countries with less light pollution. 

That last study would be contentious had Stevens not been researching breast cancer for decades, and had he not already studied most of the other elements that might explain such a difference between developed and less developed countries. “Back in the 80s, we were all convinced that it had to be the high-fat Western diet that was causing the spike in breast cancer rates, but then the really good dietary models started to come in and nothing proved it out,” Stevens says. “Then we thought, ‘okay, maybe it has to do with the average age of the first child,’ because that typically gets older as societies get richer, but that wasn’t it either. We looked at a couple of other things that typically change when a society becomes more developed as well, but we’ve looked carefully at all of them, and those changes cannot account for the vast majority of the increase. So what else could it be? That’s how I got into this light at night deal.”

Stevens authored some of the first studies linking light at night (called LAN by scientists) to cancer in the late 1990s and early 2000s and since then the evidence has continued to mount. Light pollution has now been linked to a host of mood disorders as well, and even to obesity and diabetes. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, part of the World Health Organization) officially deemed shift work a “carcinogen” in 2009. There is, of course, more research to be done, but given the evidence out there already Stevens calls light pollution “the worst thing we’ve done to ourselves and the planet since global warming.” 

The good news is that light pollution is a relatively new problem and it’s entirely reversible, starting with ensuring nighttime darkness at home wherever possible. According to Joan Roberts, Ph.D., a Fordham University professor whose work on the importance of natural light in maintaining circadian rhythms also touches on the need for darkness, “It’s not that you need total darkness, but you need to have NO stray light that is in the blue or green region (400-600 nm) in the late evening.”

 The blue/green light is what is emitted from TVs , computers, clock radios and other gadgets (cell phones, Blackberry's, etc) or from what Roberts calls “light trespass,” which comes in from the outside, through your windows. “Light from the blue region stimulates a ‘wake up’ circadian response in the body and blocks the production of melatonin in the brain.” 

The same thing happens if you get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and turn the light on. Stevens recommends using a red night light instead, because red light does not suppress melatonin production. Unfortunately, popping a few melatonin tablets won’t solve the problem, and in fact it could actually exacerbate it. Researchers have found that creating an artificial spike in melatonin makes the circadian disruption worse. 

 “Another thing: If you wake up in the night, stay in the dark,” Stevens says. “It’s completely normal to awaken during the night. They used to say if it happened, you should get out of bed and go watch TV or read a book. That is completely wrong. We’ve completely lost sight of so many things in modern life – that period of quiet wakefulness in the dark … we evolved with that.”

URUMI 2011

Movie    Urumi
Director Santhosh Sivan
Music     Deepak Dev
Cast        Pritviraj, Prabhu Deva, Genelia, Jagathy, Nitya Menen
Santosh Sivan’s Urumi is a miniature masterpiece of moods, emotions, anxieties ruled by a thirst for revenge. The film unfolds like a ballad and is a sweet and simple fairy tale. The 170 minutes film works to a large extent to its perfect casting, fantastic performances, soothing score and technical brilliance.
Santosh has made it like how a period drama should be made without too much talk about freedom struggle, no bombastic dialogues or playing to the gallery for heroism. His vision and concept gives this epic the feel of a Brave Heart or Gladiator.
It provides us a new insight into the hearts and minds of ancient heroes and shot in locations that reflect the period as everything looks fresh, green and clean and one can feel even the mist. Another major plus is that there are hardly any CG special effects that one would associate with a period war film.
Shankar Ramakrishnan’s script is simple and straightforward and keeps the narrative absorbing and inspiring. The film starts in the present day with a modern don’t care youth Krishna Das (Prithviraj) and his friend (Prabhu Deva) having a jolly good time. A big corporate offers Krishna Das a bomb for his ancestral property in Kerala.

On his arrival in Kerala to sign the papers, he learns the truth about his land and ancestors, which is told in a flashback. A brave warrior (Arya), wants to kill Vasco da Gama, the Viceroy of Portuguese Empire in India. But he is brutally killed by the invaders and his son Chirakkal Kelu Naynar (Prithviraj) is out to take revenge with a golden Urumi, that he makes with the ornaments of dead women and children who were burnt alive in a ship that was going to Mecca. It was set on fire and sunk under the instructions from Vasco Da Gama.
The film is spread between the second and third visit of Gama to India and chronicles a varied version of how Gama could have met a bloody death in 1524 AD. Kelu is supported by his childhood Muslim buddy Vavvali (Prabhu Deva). In the journey he meets warrior princess Ayesha (Genelia), who has her own axe to grind against the foreign invaders. Will they be able to kill Vasco Da Gama ?
The major highlight of the film is the performances of its lead actors. Prithviraj as Kelu Naynar is dashing. You cannot take your eyes of him, it’s a difficult role and he has come out with flying colours especially in the climax scene. Prabhu Deva is there in as many frames as Prithviraj, and is a real treat to watch. He does comedy and romance with ease and the chat song with Nithya is a scream.
However it goes without saying that this is Genelia’s show. She has shed her bubbly image for an out of the world controlled performance and her Kalaripayattu action scenes are thrilling. Nithya Menen looks pretty and is a scene stealer, while Jagathy is outstanding. Amol Gupte, Alex, Robin and others are lifelike. There is also walk in cameo appearances by Arya, Vidya Balan and Tabu.
Music of Deepak Dev enriches the film with Aaro nee aaro, Chimmi Chimmi and the theme music is haunting. A pat for Shankar Ramakrishnan for his intricately crafted script, super editing by Sreekar Prasad without any gimmicks and eye catching beautiful camera work by Sivan and his assistant Anjuli Shukla.
Santosh Sivan has come out with a story of valour with an admirable degree of craftsmanship and clarity. The producers Santosh, Prithviraj and Shaji Natesan can be proud of this epic.

Urumi is a fairy tale fantasy film that has a heart and technical artistry. Go for it.

Christian Brothers 2011

Much-hyped and much-expected Malayalam movie Christian Brothers has released this weekend. The film has everything like family sentiments, fights, music, dance and twists and turns. But there is no much gist in the story selected by director Joshiy. The screenplay has been made as to attract the fans of superstars like Mohanlal, Dileep, Suresh Gopi and Sharath Kumar.


Christian Brothers is a mass entertainer movie with all the commercial elements. Mohanlal, Dileep, Suresh Gopi's acting is the main attraction of the film. Deepak Dev's music, Anil Nair's cinematography and fights sequences are the other highlights of the film. But all these entertainment elements are made in such a way that fans of each actor should be impressed. There is more of artificiality than natural flow.


The duration of the film is 2.55 hours because it is multi-starrer film and each lead actor has been given equal focus in it. In fact, it is not easy to handle the subject of multi-starrer flick. But script writers Sibi K Thomas and Udayakrishna have done it very well. They have maintained equal focus to all the lead characters, which help the film to hold the attention of audience. The movie is all about a retired army officer and his two sons. It also throws light on issue like land grabbing.


Palamattathu Varghese Mappila (Saikumar) is a retired and well-to-do army officer, His sons Christy (Mohanlal) works as an informer in Mumbai and Joby (Dileep) is sent abroad to study theology. Situations make them fall out of their respective responsibilities, which irk their father and make him loose interest in them. What happens next will form the interesting part of the film.


Mohanlal has larger scope in the film when compared to other lead stars.
 The comic scenes between Suresh Gopi are Dileep are really good.
Sharath Kumar has just guest appearance role. Leading ladies Kavya Madhavan, Kaniha and Lakshmi Rai do not have much scope in the film.Saikumar, Biju Menon, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Vijaya Raghavan, Suresh Krishna, Salim Kumar and others have done justice to their respective roles.


Deepak Dev has composed music for four songs like 'Karthaave...', 'Kannum...', 'Mizhikalil Naanam...' and 'Sayyaave...' and all of them are melodious and good to listen. Anil Nair's camera work, Ranjan Ebraham's editing are also commendable. In a nutshell, Christian Brothers is a good entertainer for this weekend masti






Producer: AV Anoop and Maha Subair


Director: Joshiy


Cast: Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Sarath Kumar, Kavya Madhavan, Lakshmi Rai, Kanika, Saikumar, Biju Menon, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Vijaya Raghavan, Suresh Krishna, Salim Kumar, Suraaj Venjaramoodu, Jagathy Sreekumar and Kavya Madhavan


Music: Deepak Dev

DO's nd DONT's on FACEBOOK

London, Nov 08 (ANI): Wonder how much of personal information is fine on Facebook? Well, an expert tells you the dos and don'ts of being a part of the social networking giant.

Dave Whitelegg said that although Facebook is a fun way to keep in touch with friends and family, it can also be dangerous.

"Posting certain photos or information on the site puts you at risk of being fired, a victim of crime, or even worse. There are computer programmes called 'data mining' that sweep Facebook to collect dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses etc. That's gold dust to criminals," the Sun quoted Whitelegg, an IT security expert, as saying.

Here are the 10 things you should never post on Facebook and why.

Date and place of birth- This places you at massive risk of identity theft. They are the most commonly used security questions on password resetting sites.

Mother's maiden name-A lot of sites use your mother's maiden name to authenticate who you are. They also commonly use the school you went to as a security question.

Address- It again puts you at risk from identity fraud, but also from burglars and stalkers.

Holidays-If you post an update on Facebook saying: "Can't wait till next Wednesday - two weeks in Miami yeh!" you are basically saying: "Come and rob me."

Short trips from home-Again, this can put you at risk of burglary and stalking.

Inappropriate photos- Don't post racy, illicit, offensive or incriminating photos. Bosses and prospective employers are increasingly looking at Facebook pages.

Confessionals-These can also get you fired or haunt you for the rest of your life. Posting you are skiving work, who you are sleeping with, or doing something shameful is just dumb.

Phone number-Unless you want to be bombarded with unsolicited phone calls from people trying to sell you something - don't.

Children's names-These can be used by identity fraudsters or, more sinisterly, by paedophiles. It is much easier to steal a child's identity. An adult will eventually discover something is wrong by, for example, their credit rating being affected. Children won't.

Don't post a full public profile-It won't just exist on Facebook, it will go on any internet search such as Google. Only give the bare bones such as a name. Keep everything else private. (ANI)

YENTHIRAN REVIEW tamill movie-2010

Superstar Rajinikanth ‘s Yenthiran is a science fiction movie and director Shankar does justice to the title. Stamping his authority on compute graphics, Shankar once again proved why he’s an ace filmmaker. The cost of the budget was clearly evident in songs and action episodes as Shankar truly depicts a passionate Yenthiran story.

Vasikar (Rajinikanth) is a scientist who does research in Yenthiranics and Sana (Aishwarya Rai) . He introduces a Yenthiran (Chitti) and aspires to present it to Indian Defence to bolster their resistance mechanism. Chitti does all the unbelievable activities and rescues operations as well. However, Vasikar Professor Bohra (Danny) denies permission to send this to Defence on the grounds that Chitti is purely a Yenthiran and kills anybody. Just when Vasikar is about to destroy, Chitti says that he loves Sana. Contrastingly the envious Bohra develops a killer Yenthiran for terrorist activities. The plot unveils as to how Vasikar destroys the killer Yenthiran and wins SANA.

Yenthiran review was the much awaited one, and we have to say that the movie’s technical competencies are on par with Hollywood. Against his conventional style of film making, Shankar has gone for the Yenthiran technology, but caught in a spot of bother in terms of story and screenplay. The story lacks the required fizz and intensity, and also did not end convincingly. Interestingly, in Yenthiran, Rajnikanth also plays a negative shade in the form of killer Yenthiran.

From Rajinikanth’s viewpoint, he donned a different character as against her earlier movies, which has complete commercial dialogues as Yenthiran movie runs entirely on Rajinikanth. Amidst these fantastical, futuristic images, Shankar keeps the flavour severely home- grown. But in the end, Yenthiran is only technically brilliant – unrivalled and unsurpassed.It’s not a great story and with twists and turns, but you can surely enjoy the roller coaster ride. The first half of Yenthiran is exciting with high voltage graphics and entertainment. But the second half loses its firmness and rather becomes unconvincing towards the end.

Superstar Rajinikanth delivers breath taking performance. However, don’t expect typical Rajnikanth dialogues in this film. As it goes, Rajni gets better with age.Aishwarya Rai is aptly suited for her role and does well. Shankar captured her stunning visuals and looks in few tight close shots. Danny is adequate. Music by AR Rahman is very good and the background score in action episodes is very thrilling. Couples of numbers are very well composed. Computer graphics hogs limelight for Yenthiran more than anything else. The CG work is world class and visuals are stunning. Rathnavelu, the cameraman does a fantastic job when it comes to close shots.

All in all, Yenthiran is a technically proficient movie and its worth watching such a brilliantly made film. It’s the first of its kind movie in India for sure. Go watch for sheer computer life likes and ascribe to ace director Shankar.

casanova malayalam movie 2011

Mohanlal-Rosshan Andrrews movie \"Casanova\".
Rosshan Andrrews says the story of Casanova is about an “ International businessman and acclaimed charmer, Casanovva to be played by Mohanlal who is an admirer of all things beautiful. No wonder then that the owner of Casanovva’s Eternal Spring’, an international chain of flower boutiques, is always to be seen in the company of the most beautiful women. He has at his beck and call a faithful array of female followers – staff, friends and former girlfriends – who will do anything for him. Awakening envy in all men and romance in all women, Casanovva’s philosophy in life is simple – love cures all. With his penchant for the good life it is little wonder that four enterprising young criminals decide to use him in their quest for some quick money”. Mohanlal plays Casanovva, which has Shriya Saran, Lakshmi Rai, Sanjanaa, Roma, Jagathy Sreekumar as his faithful assistant and Lalu Alex in a supporting role. Four fresh faces star as the gang who tries to beat the master and four newcomers join in as pivotal female characters.