Some new technology down under lets users see a reflection of themselves, and manipulate virtual clothes over their body so that they can see how they look like in a snap. Pricing and availability info are displayed on top, and users can have photos of their virtual outfits sent to their mobile phones for later perusal.

It’s understandable that retail shops want to make things easier for guys who apparently don’t like to try clothes. After all, making shopping as simple possible means more potential for profit. But the gesture-driven interface already looked clumsy in the above video, and user experience expert Jakob Nielsen once asserted that:

Many user interfaces designed for the movies feature gestural input and 3D data visualizations. Immersive environments and fly-through navigation look good, and grant for more dramatic interaction than clicking on a linear list of 10 items. But, despite being a staple of computer conference demos for decades, 3D almost never makes it into shipping products. The reason? 2D works better than 3D for the vast majority of practical things that users want to do.

To be honest, the virtual changing room seems more like novelty than convenience.

Tags: hallenstein’s, virtual changing room, virtual dressing room

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Time is running out for the web companies to decide if they want to plough on regardless or put their deal on hold, possibly for good (as we explained here.) Today comes a white paper from the American Antitrust Institute calling on the companies to give an undertaking about their future behaviour before the deal is cleared:

The government should insist on a consent decree which preserves Yahoo

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With the new section of the blog being formed, the “IT Confessional” and the contest where you’re going to win a free, awesome keyboard, I figured I’d open it up to you guys and gals as to what to call the confessional. Please select an answer from the poll below, add your own or comment and let me know what you’d like to see it called. We’ll be calling on graphic designers next to help us brand this section of the blog.

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The concept is simple: take a yoyo, and place a small lithium-ion battery that juices up whenever you play with the yoyo. Add a USB power port, and you’ve got yourself a portable charger! Questions remain about the viability of the “iYo”, especially how many yoyo play sessions it would take to fully charge the battery. And, why the iPhone focus? Does the concept designer realize that the iPhone isn’t the only gadget out there?!? (dvice.com)

Tags: iYo, yoyo charger

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You might remember stories about how a royalty payment dispute threatened the existence of web-based radio services like Pandora and Live365. You may also have noticed headlines this week about the music industry and web-based companies reaching a deal on royalties.

It might seem logical to assume that the deal in question solved the problem you’d read about earlier. Indeed, some stories about the deal implied that it had.

But this week’s deal — while important in many ways — has nothing to do with the impasse that still threatens Pandora and its ilk.

The Byzantine complexity of the music industry forces anyone who wants to play music commercially to pay different fees to songwriters, song publishers, performers, music companies and others.

And royalty rates to each of these groups differ for different types of businesses.

Have you ever wondered why restaurants that sing happy birthday to guests never sing the traditional version of “Happy Birthday”? It’s a copyrighted song. Restaurants would owe royalties for singing the traditional version.

Anyway, if you’re really interested in learning which will see issues have been settled in which remain under dispute, the LA Times explains the basics in its blog.

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The sad fact with self-assembled Personal computers is that the importance of power supplies are forgotten. This component deserves some weighty consideration, especially since many make the mistake of buying a power supply that provides more than they really need. This obviously ties up money that could’ve been used for a superior video card or processor.

Before you even think of assembling your own PC, you should take a look at AnandTech’s article on Debunking Power Supplies. The money quote:

If people really took the time to analyze system power stipulations, we would see a tremendous increase in sales of 300W to 400W PSUs. The truth is that the vast majority of systems would run optimally with such a “small” power supply. Even if you’re running SLI/CrossFire, you don’t actually need a 750W power supply. (Of course, we suggest purchasing a good quality power supply, as there are certainly “750W” PSUs out there that can’t reliably deliver anywhere near that much power.) To help dispel some myths relating to power requirements, we’ve put together a couple of charts.

Check out the whole article here.

Tags: anandtech, choosing, power supplies

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My colleague Paul Taylor will be writing a fuller hands-on review of the first Android phone, T-Mobile’s G1. For now, though, here are some initial thoughts from the press conference to unveil the phone, which has just ended in New York:

- The G1 looks like a playground for Google services, though T-Mobile has suppressed the Google brand in some cases. For instance, click on an address in the address book and go straight to a Google map. Click again, and see a Google Street View. If you pull down a separate Window and start a chat with a friend the familiar Google “Talk” bubble appears on the screen. In none of these cases, though, does the Google name itself appear.

- There is one-touch search: a button on the pull-out keyboard that takes the user straight to a Google search box.

- The phone reads Microsoft’s Word and Excel documents, as well as PDF. There’s no Exchange support, though T-Mobile recommends that this is “a perfect opportunity for a third celebration developer” to create it.

- The most glaring thing about G1: it lacks the clear simplicity that accounts for both the intense aesthetic pleasure and great usability of the iPhone. There are nice touch-screen features that echo the Apple device, such as the ability to”swipe” across the screen to move things around, but the applications look cluttered and confused.

- The phone will cost $179 ($20 less than the iPhone) with a two-year data plan from T-Mobile. Importantly, though, there are no immediate details of how much the data plan will cost, so the full cost is unclear. The phone will launch in the US on October 22nd, in the UK in November, and in other European countries next year.

NOTE: The right-hand column of this page now carries a “live” feed of breaking news and commentary, posted by FT writers and editors. It can be viewed on this page or, by clicking on the “View room feed” link at the bottom, in a full version on FriendFeed, a new social media streaming service.

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(Solar panels were stolen from Jim and Shayna Powell’s roof in Palm Desert, Calif. Photo by J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times)

As solar panels become lighter, more efficient and more appealing to ordinary homeowners, they’re also becoming more attractive to thieves.

No one keeps statistics about this particular crime, but the New York Times reports solar panels are disappearing left and right — particularly in California, where so many trends begin.

Investigators do not believe the thieves are acting out of concern for their carbon footprints. Rather, authorities assume that many panels make their way to unwitting homeowners, sometimes via the World wide web.

Last November, someone tried to sell solar panels stolen from a toll road in Newport Beach for $100 each on eBay. Detectives from the local police department entered the bidding and won the panels, which were worth nearly $1,500 apiece, according to Sgt. Evan Sailor, a Newport Beach police spokesman.

It makes sense when you consider it. Solar panels are relatively heavy, but they’re extremely valuable and they have to be out in the open.

I’d guess the key to solving this problem won’t be arresting thieves. Instead, it will probably be educating buyers and convincing them to stay away from black-market sales.

I can’t envision how angry I’d be if I spent $25,000 on solar panels and someone took them a few months later.

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Check it out: mimicking the classic wooden setup, but in the words of Boing Boing, “this one has a working safety and is far prettier. (And heavier!)”

Tags: DIY, Metal, Rubber Band Gun

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Netflix has signed deals to add 350 older Television programs from CBS and 500 older Television programs from Disney (which owns ABC, ESPN and many other channels).

What does “older” mean? In some cases it means one day after initial broadcast. In many cases, however, it will probably mean after a series stops running.

Some of the higher-profile shows include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Hannah Montana. (Netflix has a similar arrangement to stream NBC shows like Heros.)

Some observers think the lack of current movies and TV shows makes Netflix less attractive than some competitors that stream newer material. This isn’t particularly logical — does it really matter when something was made if it’s new to you? — but consumers apparently care.

Still, Netflix has one major advantage: price. A $9 monthly subscription (and a compatible box from Roku or several other makers) purchases you all the content you can stream AND brand new DVDs by mail. And Netflix is definitely expanding the streaming video library. It has added 2,000 titles since June.

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