HP first to get Leap Motion tech onto a computer

The new HP Envy 17 Leap Motion Special Edition is the first computer with Leap Motion's technology built in.
(Credit: Leap Motion)

From the beginning, Leap Motion's founders were certain their gesture-control technology was a natural to be embedded directly into computers.

That bet paid off Thursday when Hewlett-Packard became the first computer maker to build Leap Motion's technology into one of its machines. Starting in a few weeks, the San Francisco startup said, the HP Envy17 Leap Motion Special Edition laptop will go on sale.

Leap Motion's technology is designed to allow users to control their computers with hand gestures alone. Until now, the only way to use it was with the Leap controller, a USB stick-sized device that plugs into a computer's USB port. The technology measures -- and translates to the computer -- motion with an accuracy of a hundredth of a millimeter. Already, more than a hundred applications have been built to leverage the technology. They are available through Airspace, the company's app store.

In January, Leap Motion announced its first bundling deal, with Asus, in which its controller was packaged alongside a number of Asus' computers. Then in April, it announced it had struck a deal to embed its technology into then-unspecified HP computers. The Envy 17 laptop is the first fruit of the HP partnership.

Embedding the technology directly into a computer is possible, explained Leap Motion CEO Michael Buckwald, because the company has significantly reduced the size of the module housing the Leap's sensors and other hardware. Buckwald said the new module is 70 percent smaller than its predecessor.

Leap Motion's new module (right) is 70 percent smaller than the exiting Leap controller.
(Credit: Leap Motion)

For now, HP is the only manufacturer signed on to embed the Leap technology. But Buckwald said Leap Motion is in similar discussions with others. In fact, those discussions are, at least in part, geared towards the company's ultimate goal -- getting its technology build into smaller devices, such as tablets or smartphones. "We want to be embedded everywhere," Buckwald said.

While the actual applications for such a melding of hardware would be up to developers, Buckwald said he can imagine things like a smartphone with embedded Leap technology being used as a remote control for another device. Such an integration would not be possible with the Leap controller on the market today, but would be entirely feasible with the company's current technology.

Via CNET

Libyan PM freed after being seized over US raid

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. PHOTO: REUTERS

TRIPOLI: Former rebel gunmen freed Libya’s prime minister (PM) on Thursday after holding him for several hours in reprisal for the capture by US forces at the weekend of a Libyan al Qaeda suspect in Tripoli.

“I am fine, thank God,” PM Ali Zeidan tweeted after his release. “If the aim of the kidnapping operation was for me to present my resignation, then I won’t resign.

“We are taking small steps, but in the right direction.”

“The prime minister has been released,” a government official confirmed. A security source also said PM Zeidan was free.

A Reuters journalist outside the Interior Ministry building where the prime minister was held by militiamen linked to the government said people demanding his release had opened fire at one point. PM Zeidan was seized at dawn from a luxury hotel where he lives under tight security and was held for about six hours.

Two years after a revolution ended Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year rule, Libya is in turmoil, with its vulnerable central government and nascent armed forces struggling to contain rival tribal militias and militants who control parts of the country.

The militia, which had been hired by the government to provide security in Tripoli, said it “arrested” PM Zeidan after US Secretary of State John Kerry said Libya had a role in the weekend capture in the city of Abu Anas al-Liby.

“His arrest comes after … (Kerry) said the Libyan government was aware of the operation,” a spokesman for the group, known as the Operations Room of Libya’s Revolutionaries, told Reuters.

Before his release, an official in the Interior Ministry anti-crime department told the state news agency that PM Zeidan, a former diplomat and exile opposition activist against Gaddafi, was being held there and was being treated well.

The Libyan government in a statement confirmed the premier was taken at dawn to “an unknown place for unknown reasons.”

The prime minister, who is in his early 60s, was taken from the Corinthia Hotel, where many diplomats and top government officials live. It is regarded as one of the most secure places in Tripoli.

The kidnapping, however brief, raised the stakes in the unruly OPEC nation, where the regional factions are also seeking control over its oil wealth, which provides Libya with the vast bulk of government revenues.

Brent oil prices rose on the news.

“Everybody is watching this… We still haven’t seen any disruption to supply from Libya, so we don’t expect a spike in prices,” said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity sales manager at Newedge Japan.

A mix of striking workers, militias and political activists have blocked Libya’s oilfields and ports for more than two months, according to Oil Minister Abdelbari Arusi, resulting in over $5 billion of lost revenues.

He said on October 2 that oil exports could return to full capacity in days once the strikes ended.

Repsol and Eni, involved in western Libya, have seen output largely restored since fields reopened last month. But companies invested in eastern Libya are entering a third month of closures at several important export terminals.

Oil companies have become more wary of North Africa after an attack in January on the Amenas gas plant in neighboring Algeria, a top gas supplier to Europe and an oil-producing OPEC member.

Unknown location

US special forces on Saturday seized Nazih al-Ragye, known by his alias Abu Anas al-Liby – a Libyan suspected in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Liby is being held on a Navy ship in the Mediterranean Sea.

After PM Zeidan was seized, the US State Department said it was “in close touch with senior US and Libyan officials on the ground.”

The Operations Room of Libya’s Revolutionaries had been affiliated with the Interior Ministry which assigned them to provide security in the capital as part of a program to reintegrate former fighters.

Guards at the hotel said there were no shots fired or clashes during the incident.

Al-Arabiya television channel quoted Libya’s justice minister as saying that PM Zeidan had been “kidnapped” and showed what it said were video stills of PM Zeidan frowning and wearing a grey shirt undone at the collar surrounded by several men in civilian clothes pressing closely around him.

PM Zeidan said on Tuesday Libyans accused of crimes should be tried at home, but that the raid to capture Liby would not harm US ties – trying preserve relations with a major ally without provoking a backlash from militants.

But the raid angered militant groups, including one blamed for the assault on the US consulate in Benghazi in 2012, who called for revenge attacks on strategic targets including gas export pipelines, planes and ships, as well as for the kidnappings of Americans in the capital.

Bale Fit For EL Classico??

Gareth Bale and Xabi Alonso are working full out in Valdebebas to be fighting fit for the big game in the Camp Nou, which, as was confirmed last Monday, will be held this Saturday 26th at 6:00 pm.

After eight league and two Champions League games, Real Madrid seems to still be having trouble getting out of first gear. Things aren't turning out as expected, and some of the Real Madrid faithful are beginning to question Ancelotti. "El Clásico", as the Real-Barça games are called, will be the Italian manager's acid test.

His constant changes in the team's structure since the start of the season have not gone down well with the Bernabéu higher-ups. To date he has tried Khedira-Modric, Khedira-Illarra, Isco-Modric, Illarra-Modric, Khedira-Modric-Isco and Khedira-Modric-Illarra in midfield. None have convinced him. It is evident that 'Los Blancos' are in much need of their midfield playmaker from last season, Xabi Alonso. The last game Xabi played was in the Copa del Rey final against Atlético de Madrid last May.

Gareth Bale, meanwhile, is getting himself ready for the big game at the Camp Nou in two weeks' time. If Carlo Ancelotti, does finally have him available for the big game, he will be treated with kid gloves, as if the Welshman does make it on time, it will be a very close thing indeed.

Aisam-Rojer progress to quarter-finals

Aisam and Rojer will now play fifth-seeds Marcel Melo from Brazil and Croatia’s Ivan Dodig in their next match. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

KARACHI: Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Dutch partner Jean-Julien Rojer, who had received a bye in the first round, cruised into the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters men’s doubles event yesterday.

The fourth seeds defeated the Polish duo of Mariusz Fyrsten and Marcin Matkowski 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 in an hour and 16 minutes in the second round of the tournament. Earlier, Fyrsten and Matkowski had overcome German’s Andre Begemann and Martin Emmrich 6-3, 7-6 in their opening-round match.

Aisam and Rojer will now play fifth-seeds Marcel Melo from Brazil and Croatia’s Ivan Dodig in their next match.

Melo and Dodig defeated Roger Federer and local player Zhang Ze 6-1, 1-6, 10-8 in their second-round encounter.

Federer crashes out of event

Federer crashed out of the Shanghai Masters yesterday at the hands of flamboyant Frenchman Gael Monfils — another damaging defeat in a miserable season for the former Swiss great.

Monfils went toe-to-toe with the 17-time Grand Slam champion during a feast of attacking tennis, eventually emerging on top 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3.

Federer, playing his first tournament since the US Open, started in the worst possible way, limply losing his first service game to immediately hand the initiative to Monfils, who went on to take the opener.

Despite vocal support from a partisan crowd, Federer was broken midway through the second set but he broke back, sealing the game with an overhead smash.

Monfils, clad in bright orange, drew first blood in the tie-break but crucially put a relatively straightforward forehand long when he had a chance to engineer match points, allowing Federer back into the set and the Swiss made no mistake.

With both players sticking to a plan of all-out attack, Monfils grabbed the initiative, breaking to take a 3-1 lead and managed to save the break points that Federer carved out before going on to seal the match.

Federer, who made early exits at Wimbledon and the US Open, came to Shanghai seeking much-needed points as he bids to reach next month’s World Tour Finals, which he has won a record six times.

Earlier, seventh-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga brushed aside Kei Nishikori to reach the quarter-finals as Juan Martin del Potro progressed with a walkover

Wayne Rooney reveals Fergie frustration

Rooney’s relationship with Ferguson deteriorated last season before the legendary manager announced his retirement. PHOTO: AFP

LONDON: Wayne Rooney confirmed he had become frustrated at former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson’s decision to play him away from his favoured central striker position.

Ferguson retired at the end of last season after some 27 years in charge at Old Trafford, an era laden with trophies, and bowed out with United crowned champions of England once again.

But it was clear his once close relationship with Rooney had soured, the England forward often left out of a starting line-up where Robin van Persie was now the star striker and lead goal-scorer.

But new United manager David Moyes made keeping the forward at Old Trafford a key task amid suggestions he would have asked for a transfer had Ferguson remained in charge.

“There came a point where I had to be a bit selfish for my own career,” said Rooney. “Everyone at the club knew where I wanted to play. That wasn’t happening.

“I’ve had no problem playing out of position in the past, but I’m a forward and I felt I deserved the right to play in my position.

“Moyes has come in, he’s playing me up front, and I’m enjoying it.”

The 27-year-old striker reiterated he had no plans to leave United in the summer.

“I know from the outside looking in it might not have seemed like that, but I have been settled all summer. I spoke with the people who matter at the club and we knew what we were doing.”

Communication technology: Digital media still unexplored in Pakistan

The increase of over 80% in digital ad spend is quite remarkable given the fact that the total ad spends of the industry increased about 18% over the same period.

KARACHI: 

Entrepreneurs should start treating the digital arena as a strategic component of their businesses rather than an extension thereof, said Fazal Ashfaq, CEO of B Solutions, a Lahore-based digital advertising agency, while speaking to The Express Tribune on Wednesday.

Despite rapid rate of growth in digital ad spends, its share in Pakistan’s total ad spend remains tiny. Digital ad spends increased from Rs560 million in 2011 to Rs1 billion in 2012 – a year-on-year rise of more than 80%. But the fact remains that its share in the total ad spend of the industry – estimated to be $386 million − is still less than 3%.

“If digital is not a key component of your business strategy, you risk playing catch-up to your competitors,” said a recent research report that B Solutions prepared and shared with The Express Tribune. The company conducts social media research and has been providing clients with advertising services since 2010.

The increase of over 80% in digital ad spend is quite remarkable given the fact that the total ad spends of the industry increased about 18% over the same period. The lack of interest in digital advertising on the part of Pakistani businesses is inexplicable given the fact that a typical enterprise can now reach more Pakistanis by mobile (voice) than it can through TV and print media combined.

According to the report, about 70 million people, or 36% of the total population, have access to TV. Similarly, only eight million people, or 4% of the total population, enjoy access to newspapers. In contrast, as many as 100 million people, or 52% of the population, have access to mobile (voice). The number of people with access to mobile (SMS) is 36 million, or 18% of the population.

In spite of the overwhelming statistical evidence in favour of digital advertising, it is astonishing that TV and print currently enjoy 56% and 30% shares, respectively, in the country’s total ad spend as opposed to digital segment’s 3% share.

“Mobile has changed the landscape and it’s just getting warmed up. In a commonly misunderstood country like Pakistan, there is a need to rely on facts as opposed to hearsay,” the report said.

Ashfaq says an affluent minority exists in Pakistan which − along with a ‘massive middle class’ − is driving growth in the country’s overall ad spend. He backs his statement with statistics obtained from the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics and Asian Development Bank.

According to the data, as many as 80 million Pakistanis, or 42% of the total population, earn between $60 and $300 per month. On the contrary, 56% of the population earns less than $60 per month while another 2% earn more than $300 every month.

“Understanding the landscape and where your audience resides therein is the first and foremost step any stakeholder should take,” it said

OBR overestimated business investment in UK recovery forecasts

Robert Chote, the OBR's director, suggested weaker than expected private investment growth may be down to sub-par profits and uncertainty about government policy. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA

Flatlining investment by Britain's battered businesses was the main reason the independent Office for Budget Responsibility drastically overestimated the likely strength of the economic recovery, it conceded in its latest forecast review.

The OBR, set up by George Osborne to provide a check on Treasury number-crunching, said in its annual forecasting evaluation report that when it set out the expected path for the recovery in June 2010, shortly after the coalition came to power, it was projecting that business investment would bounce back strongly, as in previous recoveries.

Instead of the 8.9% rise in real GDP since mid-2010 the OBR had forecast, growth had been just 3.2% by the second quarter of this year; and instead of expanding by 4.2% in real terms, private investment has declined by 0.4%. What recovery there has been since 2010 has been dominated by a jump in private consumption.

The OBR's director, Robert Chote, suggested several reasons for weaker-than-expected private investment growth, including sub-par profits, and uncertainty about government policy.

Lack of a recovery in business investment, which fell by 8.5% over the past year according to the latest official figures, has not just stymied forecasters, but alarmed analysts hoping for a rebalancing of the economy away from consumption, towards a Britain that can "pay its way in the world," as George Osborne has put it.

However, the unfavourable balance of the recovery has been better news for the Treasury's coffers, since consumer spending is likely to be taxed more heavily – through VAT, for example – than business investment, which can be offset against tax.

Chote said that helped to explain why despite the OBR's 2010 forecasts being over-optimistic on the likely pace of the recovery, the deficit had come in almost as expected.

The OBR director also repeated his assessment from last year, that its forecasts had not been blown off course by a larger-than-expected hit to growth from the government's deficit-cutting strategy.

A Treasury spokesman welcomed the report, saying, "when it comes to the reasons for slower-than-forecast growth in the UK over the last three years, [the OBR's] conclusion remains the same as last year: there is no convincing evidence that the impact of the government's deficit reduction plan has been larger than the OBR originally expected in 2010."

However, the OBR also sought to explain why the 2012-13 budget deficithad come in lower than expected in the forecasts published alongside the March budget, at £115.7bn, against £119.9bn. It found one key factor was that the Treasury had deliberately intervened, "bearing down on" Whitehall departments to encourage them to spend less than they had been allocated.

"Borrowing would have been on course to rise over the year. But the government chose to offset most of the impact on the deficit by bearing down on spending by central government departments," the OBR said.

Underspending had traditionally been a result of unexpected changes in departments' plans; but Chote said that like any forecaster, the OBR's job had been complicated by recent large-scale revisions of GDP data by the Office for National Statistics, which saw the early-1990s recession become shallower, and the 2008-09 downturn even deeper, than previously thought.

"History is being rewritten year by year, even two decades later," he said, "for many years to come, these are early drafts of economic history.