This projector patent also describes support for a gesture-based interface that sounds broadly similar to the Kinect peripheral for the Xbox 360. The advantages for Keynote presentations are obvious, and it’s likely that third-party game developers would jump on this feature too. Between the gesture-based interface and the projected images, this all sounds very evocative of the computer interface from the early 00s film Minority Report.

Apple may just be covering its patent bases and may have no plans to actually debut this feature any time soon, but MacRumors notes that Apple did recently purchase the applepico.com domain, possibly related to these new pico projector concepts.

AppleInsider describes today’s other major patent application, Schematic Maps. This patent describes a feature whereby relevant features on a map would be emphasized for a user. For example, roads along a driving route could be distorted to represent only those roads relevant to the route, with distances warped so the entire route could fit on an iPhone’s small display.

This would of course render the map inaccurate in several other ways, but it would definitely simplify navigation compared to the current Maps app, which must zoom in and out among various levels of detail for longer routes with multiple turns. This would also be more in line with how most users actually think about navigation; the emphasis is usually less on accurate representation of distances, cartography, etc., and more about finding landmarks and relevant points of interest along a route.

AppleInsider notes that this second patent is credited to two former employees of Placebase, a Google Maps competitor that Apple purchased nearly two years ago.

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/08/11/apple-patent-roundup-pico-projectors-and-schematic-maps/

We are sending pico projects and camcorders to NGOs with the intention of supporting them from afar. As some of these participating NGOs make meaningful progress, we’ll visit them in person, conduct training and set-up monitoring and evaluation. If you know of an NGO that is curious about using video, please contact us.

The patent, which was originally filed in 2009, describes a system of using a solar panel for charging different portable devices, including a notebook computer, tablet, phone, or other handheld gadget.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20028398-54.html#ixzz1AvyE3tlN

The user can edit video within the camcorder

Pocket projectors are becoming brighter, with increased resolution and battery life, boding well for the rapid growth of the sector, a market research firm asserts.

In a report this past spring on the pocket projector market, Pocket Projector Technology and Market Forecast Report, DisplaySearch predicted that more than 140 million pocket projectors will be in use by 2018. The company had identified the need for simultaneous improvement in these devices’ resolution, brightness, and battery life, and says that trends typified by recent product introductions and announcements bear out its rosy outlook.

All girls class in a public secondary school. The girls were marveling at a camcorder.

Wo

The children and staff of the Rudhapadar Project in the District of Gamjam. A five hour car ride from the Bhubaneswar airport. One of the most remote places that I’ve ever visited.

A village entrepreneur who rented a TV and charged a few rupees for people to watch DVDs

When I demonstrated a pico projector, the children were awestruck.

These residents of a small village had never seen an image of themselves on a camcorder.

This is a workshop with Digital Green staff on their NGO partners in rural Orissa

A lovely lady who acme out to see what was going on.

Teaching the staff how to use a video reflector

It was good to see the motivation of the ladies. They love making video!

The group was fun to work with.

Here are a group of villages describing their adoption of agricultural techniques featured in the videos.