reduction

Red-eye: In horror movies, it's usually a bad sign. It's a bad sign in your snapshots, too. Now that digital cameras are everywhere, so is red-eye. Fortunately, so are free tools to remove redeye from your digital snapshots. Like Free Red-eye Reduction Tool, which is both an accurate name and apt description for this simple photo editing app. LifeSniffer's free tool makes it supereasy to correct red-eye from portraits and groups, removing the (occasionally alarming) effect that can make family snapshots look like horror movie stills with just a few mouse clicks.

Free Red-eye Reduction Tool's … Read more

Ford engineers looking for ways to create a quieter cabin in the new Escape have turned to an elliptical acoustic mirror for results.

According to Ford, this is a new approach to reduce wind noise and deliver a quieter interior in a sport utility vehicle. The technology has been used by European luxury vehicle car makers, but is considered a breakthrough among U.S. manufacturers.

The mirror, which resembles a satellite dish with a microphone, measures noises on the surface of the vehicle and in the airflow. "The mirror identifies 'hot spots' where noise penetrates the interior of the … Read more

Finally, a camera app that does something besides give snapshots a retro Polaroid look.

That was my first reaction to Adobe Systems' Photoshop Express 2.0, released today for iOS devices. The new version comes with a $3.99 in-app "Camera Pack" option that has noise reduction, a self-timer, and a quick photo review.

I wouldn't shell out four bucks for the ability to check my photos right after I'd taken them, but Adobe has a lot of experience with noise reduction, and small smartphone image sensors can generate a lot of noise, so that seems … Read more

Maserati has released photos of the 2012 GranTurismo Convertible Sport model it plans to debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show next month. The new droptop has a top speed of 177 mph and uses the same 4.7-liter V-8 engine that powers the entire Maserati lineup. With 450 horsepower, it offers 17 more horsepower than the current GranTurismo Convertible, and 10 more horsepower than the GranTurismo S, but with 6 percent better fuel economy, according to Maserati. The fuel efficiency gain comes from the carmaker's Friction Reduction Program, which, if it's the same as used in the … Read more

If you're looking forward to playing lots of video games this holiday season (and deep down feeling kind of guilty about it), try this excuse. And it's a good one. Apparently, games offer more benefits than just vast entertainment.

According to a study from the American Pain Society, a multidisciplinary community of scientists and clinicians who work to reduce pain-related suffering, video games, and more specifically those that incorporate 3D virtual reality, could help reduce physical pain.

Generally, it's believed that as we play games, our focus shifts away from the pain and therefore we temporarily forget … Read more

LONDON--Every researcher from Isaac Newton on knows well the advantages of seeing farther by standing on the shoulders of giants. Some Swedish researchers, though, are seeing better by standing on the shoulders of tropical bees.

A Swedish start-up called NocturnalVision wants to help cameras see in the dark better. To do so, it took inspiration from Megalopta genalis, the bee, and other insects active at night, Henrik Malm, a professor at Sweden-based Lund University and co-founder of the start-up, said in a talk at the Image Sensors Europe conference here.

The researchers are working to address a common problem with … Read more

Not long after the iPad was announced back in January, I wrote a column titled, "Which e-readers will the iPad Crush?" For the article, I came up with a list of several e-reader hopefuls that I thought would be most profoundly affected by the arrival of the iPad. Not surprisingly, all of them were more-expensive e-readers with price tags approaching--or even exceeding--the cost of the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi-only iPad ($499).

You don't exactly have to be genius to speculate that products like the Plastic Logic Que proReader, which starts at $649, will be jeopardized by the iPad'… Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--How will a shift in carbon reduction play out with the world's poor? This is an issue The World Bank is grappling with as it prepares for the international climate change summit in Copenhagen this December.

Katherine Sierra, the vice president for sustainable development at The World Bank, and Awais Khan, the director of KPMG's Clean Tech Venture Capital Practice, spoke on this topic Tuesday here at the Commonwealth Club.

Along with higher temperatures, climate change is causing rising sea levels, shifts in rain/snow patterns, and an increase in weather-related natural disasters. Although the impact is … Read more

This debt management tool allows users to manage their debts using built-in formulas that automatically calculate the total amount owed and total interest paid. Users familiar with Excel will find it easy to use.

The Debt Management Calculator has three tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet: Calculator, Payment Schedule, and Chart. The program explains different methods of managing debt, namely the "snowball" or "avalanche" methods. The "snowball" method advises the user to pay the debt with the lowest balance faster, where the "avalanche" method advises the user to pay the debt … Read more