instruments

The first time I bought into this this whole digital 3D thing was a 2006 showing of "Superman Returns" on an IMAX screen. In the scene, various objects floated around the screen and seemingly, right in front of my face. For me, this was the first time 3D had lived up to its promise.

If Dolby Laboratories has anything to say about it, it won't be the last. On Tuesday, the company announced that theater exhibitors will now be able to play Dolby 3D Digital Cinema content on screen sizes of up to 70 feet (42 feet … Read more

Updated at 10:40 a.m. PDT, Wednesday, March 11, with more details on the instrument that took second place.

Imagine Keith Moon relentlessly pounding away with a set of drumsticks. Now imagine him making sounds simply by moving his hands around the head of the drum.

That's more or less what he'd be doing were he using inventor Jaime Oliver's Silent Drum Controller.

First place winner in the first Guthman Musical Instrument Competition sponsored by Georgia Tech's Center for Music Technology, it's a transparent drum shell, illuminated from the inside, with an elastic head. As one presses it, the head deforms and a variety of shapes with peaks are created reflecting the shape of the mallet or hand.

A video camera captures these shapes and sends the images to the computer, which analyzes them and outputs the tracked parameters.

Not a drum you'd find in the music shop at the mall, but that was exactly the idea behind the contest, which solicited new instruments--in physical or virtual manifestations, and played by humans, robots, or computers--that enhance music performance and creation.

Nearly 30 inventors from seven countries performed on Georgia Tech's campus to demonstrate their instrument's musicality, design, and engineering features and compete for prizes--$5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second, $2,000 for third, and free copies of the Rock Band for those nabbing fourth through sixth place. … Read more

Texas Instruments sent out a little reminder on Monday that it won't be a cakewalk into the smartphone market for newcomers Intel and Nvidia.

While Intel announced LG Electronics as its first smartphone customer and Nvidia hawks its initial mobile phone technology platforms to prospective customers, TI continues to upgrade its arsenal of ARM-design-based processors, which have been shipping for years to cell phone customers. (Samsung and Palm--and the latter's newest Palm Pre--are among TI's customers.)

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, TI announced a new OMAP 4 mobile chip platform that will … Read more

BARCELONA - Skyhook Wireless announced on Monday at the GSMA Mobile World Congress here that Texas Instruments will use its hybrid positioning technology in its mobile chips, so that cell phones can provide more accurate location information.

Skyhook has developed a hybrid technology that uses GPS satellite technology and Wi-Fi to help provide geolocation services. Skyhook's technology is used today on Apple's iPhone, among other services and devices.

The way it works is that Skyhook will use Wi-Fi access points to triangulate and get a fix on known Wi-Fi hot spots. The company has a database of where … Read more

Thanks to a lovely little press release from Texas Instruments, we now know that Archos is working on a new product line of ultrathin Internet Media Tablets (IMTs) with voice functionality provided by the Google Android operating system.

The release highlights the fact that the new series will use TI's OMAP3 processor and goes on to detail the features of the product, stating that Android will contribute the smartphone and applications environment while Archos will bring the multimedia and Web capabilities.

Given that the company is known for its portable video players, it's no surprise multimedia plays a … Read more

Guitars with electronics built in are hardly new. Most people are familiar with standard electric guitars, but Takamine and other companies started putting in equalizers and other sound-shaping gear in the '80s and '90s.

MIT's Chameleon Guitar, however, goes a few steps further, incorporating a full computer, as well as a small soundboard that can be interchanged with other soundboards made of a different wood or a different material altogether.

The sound generated by the electronic pickups on that board can be manipulated by the computer to produce the effect of a different size or shape of the resonating chamber. By putting extra acoustic modules together, the guitar can mimic any other guitar and practically any other instrument.

It's a neat idea, to be sure, but it might prove too complex for the everyday user. The everyday user, though, isn't who creator Amit Zoran likely had in mind for the unique piece. He envisions a production model for professional musicians that features quick-changing components, allowing the player to change the instrument live during a performance.

It's an ambitious task, but Zoran's a graduate student at MIT's Media Lab, so he's probably up to the challenge. Who knows, we might start seeing the five-pickup-wielding Chameleon onstage soon. And it even looks good. Check a video of the thing in action after the jump.… Read more

Updated at 4:00 p.m. PST throughout

Texas Instruments posted a sharp drop in profit as it looks to cut 12 percent of its workforce.

TI's fourth-quarter profit fell 86 percent to $107 million, or 8 cents a share, from $756 million in the same period last year, or 54 cents a share. Excluding restructuring charges, TI had earnings of 21 cents a share, exceeding the 12 cents forecast by Wall Street analysts.

Revenue was $2.49 billion, down 30 percent, from $3.56 billion last year. The company also warned that revenue in the first quarter would … Read more

In another bad sign for the consumer electronics market, chipmaker Texas Instruments warned that its current quarter sales and earnings will come in far below earlier estimates.

The company said it now expects revenue of $2.3 billion to $2.5 billion, as compared with prior expectations of $2.83 billion to $3.07 billion. Per-share earnings are now seen between 10 cents and 16 cents, as compared with an earlier range of 30 cents to 36 cents.

TI did not provide further details in its press release, but said it would hold a conference call to discuss its finances. … Read more

iSuppli releases its preliminary 2008 top-20 chip rankings as semiconductor suppliers fall upon hard times.

Intel, Samsung, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, and STMicroelectronics occupy the top five positions, while Advanced Micro Devices was No. 11 and Nvidia No. 20 in the ranking.

Memory chip manufacturers are some of the hardest hit. South Korea-based Hynix, which dropped from No. 6 to No. 9, and Micron Technology (No. 16) are both restructuring. Micron is reducing staff and shutting down facilities, while Hynix seeks outside investors.

Micron is expected to post a 9.2 percent revenue decrease in 2008 and Hynix's revenue should … Read more