LONDON: The computer technology shown in science fiction like ‘Minority Report’ and James Bond flicks are drawing closer to reality, with a Los Angeles-based company designing a system that can consign the mouse to history. John Underkoffler, chief scientist at Oblong Industries that has created the technology, says that the new technology called G-Speak may fundamentally change the way we interact with computers. He says that rather than having to use one hand to control a mouse, a user can communicate with a PC intuitively by “slipping on special gloves” and “using both hands”. “Human hands are the most sophisticated manipulating tools in the world,” Times Online quoted him as saying. “The idea is to drop the mouse and let hands do what they’re fully capable of. That is to describe and push, poke and pull and manipulate the world,” he added. G-Speak allows selection of objects on screen through pointing. When the user brings his hands closer to his body, the object seems to have come closer and appears larger. Pushing the hands to one side moves the object to a different screen. Underkoffler reveals that things on screen are interacted with as if they were real.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...
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