02 HYPER TECH 05 2012 www.airasia.com/travel360
TECH TRAJECTORY
New technology in printing not only helps you save on paper and resources, it also finds alternative uses for paper. This and other exciting innovations in this month’s instalment of Travel 3Sixty.
PRINTS CHARMING The future of printing lies in alternative material other than paper. Wax, plastic and even wood can be used, and the print job can be done remotely from another location altogether. The paper saved will be put to good use in the form of innovative material for building computers.
3D PRINTER
PAPER ALLOY
If you wish to carve a wooden toy, you no longer need to use carving tools. A printer machine like the iModela from Roland can easily print, or carve out the 3-dimensional object for you with a series of rotating bits to punch holes, cut and mill. You can use wax, plastics, Styrofoam and even balsa wood. http://icreate.rolanddg.com
With almost everyone opting for eBooks, a lot of paper is sitting around idly. Taiwanbased company PEGA D&E is recycling and mixing the paper with PP (polypropylene), creating a new material called Paper PP Alloy. The new ‘paper’ is then used to make casings and outer shells of computer bodies and other gadgets. www.pegadesign.com
INTERACTIVE EBOOK PUBLISHING Inkling Habitat does print jobs but not on paper. While digital texts or eBooks are common, this company introduces extras like interactive material such as guided tours, 3D exhibits and quizzes, and audio and video features in the customer’s eBook. www.inkling.com/habitat
USING SOCIAL MEDIA IN YOUR BLOG Here’s a quick guide to make your blog more visible on the Internet using Social Media sites.
X Position your Social Media icons or buttons where readers can easily see them – on top of your blog.
X To drive traffic, submit your posts to StumbleUpon.
your posts or images on their Pinterest boards. X Make sure your username is the same as your blog.
X Join Facebook blogger groups.
X Submit your blog’s RSS feed to your LinkedIn.
X Create a Facebook page for your blog and copy the links onto your blog.
X Put in a Pinterest plugin for your readers to share
X Lastly, promote other blogs so that they return the favour.
PLANET OF THE APPS
WORDS: PETE KING
Some of the latest apps for your tablets and smartphones.
50
SCALADO REMOVE
JUST AWESOME
STUMBLED UPON
For amateur photographers who use their smartphones to take pictures but end up having unwanted objects moving into the shot, this app helps delete the intrusions by exposing the image for an extended time so that the phone can find the static background parts first and next, remove the non-static parts with a mere tap. OS: Android Price: NA
Besides shooting single shots, you can shoot in slow and fast bursts, in intervals or with a self timer. You can choose ‘Big Button’ to touch on any part of the frame to trigger the shutter release. Framing can be performed with composition overlays like Horizon, Thirds, Golden or Trisec, or you can apply preset effects. Finally, save the pix to your phone or tablet or share on Facebook and Twitter. OS:iOS Price : Free
Stumbleupon lets you pick a subject and helps you explore the Web by randomly searching for images, videos, pages, news, blogs and websites based on that subject. Some of the returned results could also be other users’ recommendations. If you think your friends should also see them, you can share them via Facebook and Twitter. OS: iOS Price : Free
TRAVEL 3SIXTY˚