itwbennett writes In a new paper (PDF), researchers from the University of California, Davis, Southeast University in China, and University College London theorized that, just as with natural languages, some — and probably, most — written code isn't necessary to convey the point of what it does. The code and data used in the study are available for download from Bitbucket. But here's the bottom line: Only about 5% of written Java code captures the core functionality.

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Google has already made a few concessions to please European antitrust regulators worried about fair placements in web search results. However, Microsoft doesn't feel those sacrifices are good enough -- and it claims to have scientific proof that ...

Microsoft this morning lifted the veil on the next generation of Photosynth, its 3D image technology, with the release of a technical preview of the new Photosynth. This is the third generation of the technology, and is now recommended for those with D-SLR or point-and-shoot cameras, says Microsoft.

The prior two versions of Microsoft Photosynth, which offer the original synths and stitched panoramas, are still available on the main Photosynth website.

Meanwhile, the updated technology now supports four basic experiences: “spin,” “panorama,” “walk” and “wall.” As their respective names describe, each offers a different kind of 3D image viewing experience – a spin around an object as small as a teacup or as large as a glacial peak, Microsoft explains, a panoramic view, a walk – like down a path through the woods, for example – or a slide across a scene.

In order to create one of these four different synth types, users upload a set of photos to Microsoft’s cloud service then the technology begins to looking for points (“features”) in the successive photos that appear to the be same object. It then determines where each photo was taken from, where in 3D space each of these objects were, and how the camera was oriented. Next, it generates the 3D shapes on a per-photo basis. And finally, the technology calculates a smooth path – like a Steadicam – through the locations for each photo, and then slices the images into multi-resolution pyramids for efficiency.

The end result is an immersive, and smoother 3D photo experience which gives you more of the feeling of really seeing what the camera had captured. You can actually really fly through the scene – it’s almost like a movie. There’s even a play and pause button. You can also share the Photosynth images to Facebook or Twitter, or even embed them.

Into the Western Cwm by GlacierWorks.org on Photosynth

For end users, there’s an “expert shooting guide” available to help them learn how to make better synths.

Microsoft says that users are being approved for access on a first-come, first-serve basis, and will be alerted via email notification when they’re allowed in.

The company has also partnered on today’s release with mountaineer and photographer David Brashears, who captured Mt. Everest during one of the highest elevation helicopter flights ever attempted.

“I’ve never seen anything as smooth and glorious as the new Photosynth of my Everest flight. It’s like a video, but you can stop on any frame and zoom in,” Brashears said of the technology.

Edinburgh Castle walk by David on Photosynth

Photosynth has for a long time been one of Microsoft’scoolertechnologies, having pushed the boundaries of 3D imagery and compositing for years.

But while Photosynth itself lets anyone delve into an immersive photography experience, Microsoft itself has been embracing 3D imagery within its other platforms, too. For example, earlier this month, the company launched a preview of its new Maps app for Windows 8.1, which included the addition of 3D imagery – something Microsoft tried a few years ago with Bing Maps online but later shelved. The release offered stunning3D maps of 70 citiesworldwide.

Today’s Photosynth technology builds on that vision, says Microsoft todayon its Bing blog, by giving everyone access to “powerful tools to capture their own favorite spots around the globe.”

Whisper, the secret sharing startup backed by Sequoia and others, has just pushed a new version of its app into the app store that’s designed to help users search and browse through various topics. The update also adds a new “create flow” that will simplify the process of making and sharing Whispers anonymously with other members of the social network.

Whisper was built around the idea of helping people to combine images and text of their secrets, and then share them with others. Sort of like a mobile version of long-running site PostSecret, Whisper allows users to express themselves freely, without having to worry about being judged or what others might think about them.

Since being launched earlier this year, Whisper has grown pretty rapidly. It now has more than 3 billion page views per month, up from 1.5 billion in May. And users typically spend upwards of 30 minutes a day getting sucked into reading other people’s secrets.

But the latest version is designed to make it not only easier to create Whispers, but also to find those on topics that interest you. The new Whisper create flow simplifies the process, allowing you to type in whatever you want to share, and then it’ll suggest a relevant photo for you that it has found. If you don’t like it, you can search for others or add one from your own image library.

All of that should encourage users to create more Whispers of their own. But like most apps, the vast majority of Whisper users are consuming content rather than creating it. For them, the whisper’s appeal lies in the ability to read other people’s secrets.

Before, they were stuck with just three options: The most recent Whispers, the most popular Whispers, and those posted nearby. But now users will be able to access a lot more.

“Before, [Whisper] was a big river of content coming through, but it was a lot of noise,” Whisper CEO Michael Heyward told me in a phone conversation. “It was challenging to give different types of people different types of content.”

The updated app now has the ability to search and browse Whispers based on topics, allowing users to dig deep into the things they most care about. To do that, Whisper had to do a bunch of work on the back end to break Whispers down into the relevant topics that they talk about.

There are more than 1 million different topics to choose from, and those topics are displayed at the bottom of each Whisper that you view. So if you searched for or stumbled on a Whisper about death, then you could follow that topic and see other related Whispers.

“We’re adding this whole other dimension to the product,” Heyward said. He asked us to imagine, for instance, what YouTube would be like if it were just a stream of the newest or most trending videos. Now Whisper will no longer be operating under similar constraints.

The addition of topics, and the fact that now every Whisper will have them, could also make those secrets available to outside developers as well. Heyward said that the introduction of new features could have major implications for a potential API, if Whisper wanted to make one available.

Whisper, which is based in L.A., now has 30 employees. The company has raised a total of $24 million from investors that include Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Trinity Ventures, Shoedazzle founder Brian Lee, and Flixster’s Joe Greenstein.

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With most 3D TVs you'll see a headache-inducing double image unless you're wearing a pair of polarizing or shutter glasses. But researchers from the Shirai Lab at Japan's Kanagawa Institute of Technology have developed a remarkable screen that can display both 2D and 3D images at the same time, without the eye-straining side effects.

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