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The Keyhole Markup Language (KML) was developed for Google Earth as a way to overlay user-generated content on maps. A KML file uses XML to record details like the place name and its coordinates on the latitude and longitude. Other data can be included in the file to make the view more specific, such as tilt, heading and altitude. Since its release in 2006, the KML file format has been increasingly adopted by more and more application developers. From its use in Flickr, Microsoft Virtual Earth to GPS applications on the phone, the KML file format has received industry wide acceptance. It is due to this accomplishment that the latest version of this file format has received accreditation from the Open Geospatial Consortium, an international voluntary consensus standards organisation, by making it a open standard for all ‘geobrowsers’ like Google Earth, etc.

You can use KML files to send addresses or show a location to someone. To make one, you need to know the latitude and longitude of the place, and visit the online Google Earth KML Creator. Once made, the files can be viewed on any online mapping service that supports the KML file format. Here is a KML file displayed in Google Maps, showing all the national parks of India. Adding these KML tags to your Flickr albums will allow you and others to find your photos for any search conducted on their location name.

Do you have alternative uses for KML files? Let us know in the comments below!

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Quite a few of us would have already heard the amazing audio clip, ‘The Virtual Barbershop’. It is probably one of the best showcase of audio recording technology by recreating a real-life situation in a virtual scenario. While visiting a barbershop to get a haircut is common, getting a similar experience through the headphones is something simply amazing.

Haven’t heard ‘The Virtual Barbershop’ before? Get your Headphones, Listen to it Right Away!

Wow! How is this done?

This is a technology by the name, Binaural Recording. Now this is one step ahead of conventional stereo recordings. In stereo, various factors that help us in our natural hearing are not factored in. Binaural gives a feeling of actually being there and resulting in an immersive experience unlike what we have heard over the usual speakers or headphones.

A typical binaural recording unit has two high-fidelity microphones mounted in a dummy head, inset in ear-shaped molds to fully capture all of the audio frequency adjustments that happen naturally as sound wraps around the human head and is “shaped” by the form of the outer and inner ear.

The result is a listening experience that spatially transcends normally recorded stereo, since it accurately reproduces the effect of hearing a sound in person, given the 360° nature of how human ears pick up nuance in the sound waves. Binaural recordings can very convincingly reproduce location of sound behind, ahead, above, or wherever else the sound actually came from during recording.

But there is one catch.

The binaural effects can be reproduced only using headphones. It does not work with mono playback nor does it work while using loudspeaker units.

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After a series of events that have been suggesting the end for HD-DVD, major announcements from Warner and Wal-Mart have most definitely laid the red carpet for Blu-Ray to lead us into the future.

In a shocker in January, Blu-Ray grabbed 93% market share over HD-DVD compared to 51% it had just a week ago. This is the result of announcements from Wal-Mart to officially discontinue HD-DVD sales from June and Warner announcing to go exclusively Blu-Ray. And Paramount too is looking to use an exit clause in its HD-DVD exclusivity agreement to switch over to the Blu-Ray camp.

And finally, The Ultimate Sign?: Toshiba which had nurtured and propagated HD-DVD has been gearing up to spell the end for its baby. If that is not enough there are even rumors that Toshiba is trying its hand at making Blu-Ray devices.

Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD : A Comprehensive Comparison

Via: Engadget

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This post on FiOS TV is a sequel to a previous post of mine on Verizon’s FiOS High-Speed Broadband Internet service.

The FiOS TV IMG is an innovative leap forward from ordinary onscreen TV program guides, with powerful networked features, intuitive navigation and vibrant graphics. It’s the first guide to integrate TV, movies, information and personal media like photos and music, simply and seamlessly. And it’s just one of the enhanced experiences enabled by a network that’s 100% fiber optics straight to the home.

FiOS TV uses the same Fiber Optic backbone as the FiOS Internet Service. The capabilities of the Fiber optic cable brings stunning picture quality, thundering sound and abundant High-Definition content right to the screen in front of you.

The service also offers flexibility that is uncommon. If you need to pause or skip or rewind stuff on your screen, its simply just a button away on your remote. Another interesting concept is the Interactive Media Guide (IMG) which makes it easy for you to maintain control over your enormous availability of choice of channels and programs. Using the IMG, you can browse through a collection of thousands of movies which are waiting to be watched. The IMG interface is be easily controlled using the Navigation keys on the remote. It is completely intuitive and everyone will get used to the IMG in a jiffy. The IMG allows searches using keywords which you can enter using the remote. Also, there are widgets that inform you of the weather, news, etc.

Apart from the standard service through which you get over 200 channels, you also have On Demand & Pay Per View services. With a huge variety of available content, you can choose to see your favorite flicks or sporting action and not miss anything happening around the globe.

The best part of delivering TV content over Fiber Optics is that you can now get High-Definition content in full vigor and get the best out of your HDTVs which wasn’t possible till now. FiOS TV enabled with HDTV gives sharper images in a wide-screen format, Dolby 5.1 digital surround sound and access to a growing list of exclusive HDTV channels. If you already have a HDTV enabled TV, you just need to buy the HD set top box and you are good to go.

Home Media DVR

This takes home entertainment to a new level. You can record your favorite programs, pause live TV and even watch Instant Replays. There are 2 great new features that come along with it. With Multi Room DVR you can watch separate recorded shows on upto 3 TVs simultaneously. The Media Manager allows you to create slideshows and music playlists on your PC and play them on your entertainment system.

FiOS TV Features:

• 100% fiber optic network
• On Demand - Instant access to a library of the latest blockbuster movies, kids shows, sports programs and much more at a touch of a button.
• HD channels - More of a selection to watch all your favorite channels like ESPN, Discovery, TNT and more - all in amazing high definition.
• Picture and sound - Amazingly lifelike picture, hyper-real color and flawless sound.
• Dual-tuner DVR - Gives you the freedom to pause and rewind live TV, record one show while watching another, and fast forward to your favorite part.
• Top premium channels - When you subscribe to one of our premium services like HBO and Cinemax you can select from current favorites to original programming, 24 hours a day.
• International channels - Stay connected to your homeland or the world with more than a dozen popular international premium channels including, RAI (Italian), TV5 (French), ART (Arabic), TV Japan (Japanese).

FiOS TV Links:

Get a Sneak Peek of the FiOS TV Interactive Media Guide.

FiOS TV Packages & Prices

List of FiOS TV Channels

Reviews on FiOS TV

FAQ on FiOS

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People. Remember the cool interface in Minority Report, where Tom Cruise just makes some funny gestures and manages to move things around? Well, we are almost there.

Microsoft recently unveiled a new technology called Microsoft Surface. Go have a look at the site, it is truly awesome.

Microsoft Surface is a new paradigm in man-machine interaction. By way of an interactive tabletop display, Microsoft demonstrated its Surface technology. Have a look at the cool video here. It uses the multi-touch (similar to the method used in the iPhone) for input. You can use your hands, or for that matter, any object to interact with this table. The video even has a kid drawing with all her 10 fingers!

But that’s not all! It recognizes whatever you place on it! If you place a cold glass of drink, it finds out and draws interactive bubbles on the surface. If you place a wireless enabled camera on it, it immediately downloads the photos and displays them. You can use multi-touch to play around with the photos, as you would do to real photos - dragging them, rotating them, and even dragging with two fingers to zoom into them. If you place a compatible phone on the table, you can even drag and drop the photos into the phone!

But here is the best part. Lets say this table is in a restaurant. After you are done with your meal, you can place your credit cards on the table, and decide who is going to pay how much by just moving around a slider! Wow, how cool is that! The multi-touch input method seems so natural, and the way the people play with maps in the video, wow, I couldn’t help but drool.

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