Category: Software

OptiShot Puts the Green on a PC

With Halloween becoming a distant memory, Thanksgiving just around the corner and Christmas decorations up at the mall there is no denying that for much of the country the carefree days on the golf course are far and few between. But you can stay in the swing of things with a golf simulator.

There are plenty of choices with the ultra high-end models, but for those on more of a budget (and with limited space) the OptiShot Simulator by Dancin’ Dogg is the next best thing to trekking out to the back nine. This virtual golf program promises to be easy-to-use for both casual golfers and diehard hackers alike. Best of all it is replicates world-renowned courses, so can think of it as a mini-vacation every time you boot up the Windows compatible program (MSRP: $399.95).

And as we mentioned that space can be a serious issue, the OptiShot needs just eight and a half feet of swing space so you can get teed off in a home office or den. The plug and play program allows up to four players to compete with one another by hitting real balls, foam balls or even no ball at all. The device relies on infrared sensors and a durable swing pad to accurately record club head speed, face angle and swing path. Caddies not included.

OptiShot Simulator

Spin with Google Street View

The season to go outdoors for a workout is coming to a close and we’re looking for ways to make spinning on a stationary bike more enjoyable. There are plenty of programs that let you play video games with the pedal, or take you on scenic routes, but what if you want to explore some real neighborhoods and streets? Continue reading Spin with Google Street View

Get Moving with Kinect

Today Microsoft released the Kinect for Xbox 360 in stores. This is the device that uses motion capture to maneuver within games, replacing the controller. This means you pretty much have to play games standing up and in many cases pull off full body movements to play.

Here are a group of games that are also now in stores in conjunction with the release of Kinect.

  • Your Shape: Fitness Evolved (Ubisoft)
  • MotionSports (Ubisoft)
  • Dance Central (MTV Games)
  • Adrenalin Misfits (Konami)
  • Game Party: In Motion (Warner Home Video Games)
  • Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Majesco)
  • Sonic Free Riders (Sega)
  • Michael Jackson The Experience (Ubisoft)
  • Kinect Sports (Microsoft)
  • Deca Sports Freedom (Hudson Soft)
  • EA Sports Active 2.0 (EA)
  • The Biggest Loser (THQ)
  • Dance Masters (Konami)
  • Michael Phelps: Push Limit (505 Games)
  • Get Fit with Mel B (Deep Silver)
  • Kinect Joy Ride (Microsoft)

Bluetooth SIG Announces World Cup 2010 Finalists

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group has announced the finalized for the Bluetooth Innovation World Cup (IWC). These include applications that make use of the new Bluetooth low energy wireless technology feature, with an emphasis on applications for sports & fitness, health care and home automation. The nine best ideas out of all 270 international submissions have been selected by an international panel of experts.

In the low energy technology for health care are an ear worn sensor for activity recognition developed by Louis Atallah from Great Britain. It measures balance, body posture or heart rate and seamlessly transmits that information to a medical help desk. Furthermore, Ahang Baghschomali from Germany submitted an ambient assisted sensing system which combines Classic Bluetooth technology with Bluetooth low energy technology and makes life easier for people with hearing problems as it gives instructions through the hearing aid. The Oxygen Flow Controller by Jimmy Vincent from India describes an innovative way to optimize the monitoring of blood oxygen with automatic adjustment of the oxygen supply for the patient.

The Bluetooth Innovation World Cup 2010 is sponsored by Anritsu (Preferred Technology Partner), Nordic Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics, Suunto and Texas Instruments.

Bluetooth Special Interest Group Official Website

aboutGolf Helps JuniorThai Golfers

This week aboutGolf announced that it is helping a number of Asia’s top junior golfers, who are spending more time in the simulator and less on the fairways. Thailand’s Suchaya Tangkamolpraser uses the aboutGolf Simulator at the Bangkok-based Wilding Golf Performance Center, where she is being coached by Shane Wilding, founder of the center. She is not the only standout to be getting into the swing of things at the club either.

Wilding’s students use the simulator for both “on the range” to develop their swing, and “on the course,” which teaches club selection and management.  

“The aboutGolf Simulator has a proven record of improving the performance of golfers around the globe, including here at Wilding Golf in Thailand,” says Wilding, an Australian golf coach with extensive amateur and professional (including PGA TOUR stars Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, David Eger, Graham Marsh and Stewart Ginn) teaching experience in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the United States. “aboutGolf technology helped these Junior golfers reach a world-class level of performance and, as an instructor, it is exciting to have aboutGolf’s incredible technology enhancing my teaching philosophies. The accuracy of the aboutGolf system is absolutely mind-boggling.”

Let’s just hope these golfers still get out in the fresh air too!

aboutGolf Official Website

Wilding Golf Performance Center Official Website

Cycle the World Virtually

There are so wonderful places to ride a bike, but the problem is that it is really not all that easy or affordable to take a bicycle on a globetrotting trip. The next best thing might be to virtually ride the world. That’s where Virtual Active comes in. The company, which has a partnership with IndoorCycling Group (ICG) has announced the release of MyRide Version 3.0, which promises to be the next-generation media console for indoor cycles. It utilizes content from Virtual Active via a 17-inch touchscreen high-definition display.

This includes more than 60 hours of entirely of entirely new media content, with more than one million different workouts and plenty of variety to keep users riding through the winter and other bad weather. Locations include the Rockies, the Swiss Alps and even the Mojave desert, and each is available for a variety of workouts that include warm-ups, intense spinning and cool downs. The coached content is also available in English, German and Spanish. Continue reading Cycle the World Virtually

17 Controller-Free Games to Launch With Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360

Will gamers get off the couch and get fit? That’s certainly the hope with the upcoming release of Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360. The motion-control system – which sort of makes the hype about “controller-free” seem not quite accurate – is already sold-out in pre-orders.

Despite that fact, Microsoft has now announced the launch of a multiyear advertising campaign, and more importantly revealed the lineup of 17 controller-free games. Of those, the ones that are most notable for the fitness crowd include:

  • Your Shape: Fitness Evolved (Ubisoft)
  • Dance Central (MTV Games/Harmonix)
  • The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout (THQ)
  • DanceMasters (Konami)
  • EA Sports Active 2 (EA Sports), which comes with Total Body Tracking that includes heart rate data
  • Zumba Fitness (Majesco)

Kinect for Xbox 360 will be available worldwide starting on November 4. It will be released as part of a new Xbox 360 4GB console bundle for $299.99, as well as a standalone unit for $149.99.

For more information:

Microsoft Xbox 360

Radar for the Golf Course

We’ve previously heard about a radar system that could find lost golf balls – but alas that product isn’t currently being sold. So instead we did some digging, and we realized that even better than finding a lost golf ball was not losing it in the first place. And that also involves using a bit of radar. It seems this technology will help you improve your game. TrackMan is a radar unit that can measure both club delivery and the full trajectory of any golf shot, up to 400-yards. That could mean no more lost balls.

It can be used to track date on club speed, attack angle, club path, vertical and horizontal swing plane, spin loft, ball speed, and even flight time – plus a whole lot more. No calibration is needed and the TrackMan Pro can be used with a computer via a USB 2.0 port, and provide a printable report of your efforts. An indoor version can help you train in the offseason as well. Either way, with TrackMan’s unique proprietary radar tracking system and software for your computer you can get the same type of analysis that is often used by the PGA, the R&A and USGA. Of course you’ll still have to work at it to make better swings, but here is where technology can show you what you are doing wrong, and how you can improve.

And some people think golf is just about hitting a ball into a hole on nicely manicured lawns.

TrackMan Official Website

Marine Corp Marathon Gets App Coverage

Whether you’re running in a marathon this year or just watching from the sidelines, there will be an app for that! The New York City Marathon on November 7 will feature support for an iPhone app for the first time this year, and it will include news alerts as well as live video of the professional race, but for a different way to “phone in the race” there will be the RaceMate app for the upcoming Marine Corp Marathon.

The race, which is set to take place on October 31, will be the first to provide GPS coverage with real-time connection between runners and followers. RaceMate is an app for the iPhone and Android smartphones as well as the Apple iPad, which can allow a follower to track the route and location of a runner in the race. Continue reading Marine Corp Marathon Gets App Coverage

People Choice Tries on GPS Smart Shoe

While there are many tracking programs out there for children and even teens, GTX Corp introduced an innovative product aimed at adults suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Many sufferers are actually in good physical condition and thus aren’t confined to a room or even a house. To keep track of loved ones, the company came up with a novel idea – namely putting a tracking device in the footwear.

Now the GPS Smart Shoe has won the 2010 People’s Choice Award for Most Innovative Connected Location Device at the 4th Annual Locations & Beyond Summit this past week. Continue reading People Choice Tries on GPS Smart Shoe

GPS Transcends to Snow Goggles

If The Terminator ever got on a snowboard he’d likely have useful information, such as speed and temperature, right in the front of his eyes – or visual optical system or whatever it was supposed to be. The rest of us have traditionally had to look down at a device to get all that data. When roaring down a mountain looking down isn’t a good idea, so you either have to stop what you’re doing or hope for the best. But Zeal Optics will change everything beginning this Sunday, October 10, with the release of the world’s first GPS enable goggle, the Transcend GPS – which could truly transcend the way you track your activity. Continue reading GPS Transcends to Snow Goggles

Tee Off With Prostroke Golf for PlayStation Move

Bowling pretty much remains the de facto demo game for the Nintendo Wii. Even after several holiday seasons, bowling is the game that just remains the gold standard for the Wii. And soon golf could do the same for the PlayStation Move, but not just any golf. We’re talking about O-Games newly released John Daly’s ProStroke Golf, which will arrive next week in North America. Continue reading Tee Off With Prostroke Golf for PlayStation Move

Will 3D Change the Way the Game is Played

There has been a lot of talk this year about 3D, and what 3D means for sports. But most of the talk has been centered around how those sitting on the couch will experience the game, not in how it is played. So far the emphasis has been in watching sports in 3D on TV, but this weekend The New York Times reported that another facet of 3D is in the works, which could make the way the athletes prepare for the game – big and small. Continue reading Will 3D Change the Way the Game is Played