Western Digital launches world's fastest SATA disk: the 300GB VelociRaptor
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/274672118/
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Storage
Monday, April 21, 2008
Video Tour of Google Earth 4.3 - Wow!!
Source: http://www.labnol.org/software/tutorials/google-earth-43-features-video-tour/2986/
This is a video tour of new features introduced in Google Earth 4.3. They will make you say wow! especially the lighting effects and the panorama street views.
Also check out gearthblog.com for a more detailed review of Google Earth 4.3. The download is available here.
Video Tour of Google Earth 4.3 - Wow!! - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS
BB FlashBack: Screen Recording Software with Advanced Screencast Editing Functions
*BB FlashBack would cost $225 per copy but some of you may have the software for free as we couple of licensed copies to giveaway.
While the basic screen recording features in BB FlashBack are pretty much the same as available in other competing titles (like Camtasia Studio), the software really shines on three counts:
2. The developers have applied some good thinking while writing the screencast video editor in BB FlashBack. It’s a linear timeline based editor where every screen is represented by a frame. You can figure out the exact location of the mouse cursor plus the state of your keyboard by looking at any of frames in the timeline.
Now comes the most interesting part - you can re-record just the movements of the cursor without having to record the full movie again. Plus you can adjust the position of the mouse cursor like send it behind a text box or hide momentarily. Can’t think of any other screecasting software that offers this level of control.
3. You can export desktop videos recorded with BB FlashBack to the regular Flash or AVI/WMV formats plus there’s a option for PowerPoint Presentations.
The screencast is exported as a Flash movie that is is automatically embedded into the first slide of a PowerPoint file so you don’t have to do the extra work.
Giveaway: BlueBarry Software has offered five licensed copies of BB FlashBack 2.0 for our readers. In case you like to grab a license, please leave a comment and also mention why you need this software. Here’s a link to download BB FlashBack.
BB FlashBack: Screen Recording Software with Advanced Screencast Editing Functions - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS
Poorly Paid Web Video Dude: I'm Happy YouTube Gives Me Anything
This has nothing to do with YouTube. It has to do with the current Internet model. If anything, YouTube is the only company that has at all helped us pay off some of our costs, as I say in the article -- YouTube is the only game in town.
Good thing the only game in town deigns to pay people for the work it sells advertising against. The bottom line is there are a handful of people can make money on the Web with crude sketches, one-man "Ask A Ninja"-type shows and the like. But Web economics simply don't support a TV-style productions, with a full cast, scripts, etc -- like the ones Yuri makes.
Earlier: Google Is Saved! YouTube Money Machine Mints $1 CPMs
Being A YouTube Star Doesn't Pay (Obviously)
3G iPhone Details: "Radically Different," May Have Keyboard
Times Online understands that Apple has placed an order with its Asian suppliers to produce 200,000 of the new 3G iPhones by the end of May, rising to 2 million - 500,000 per week - in June.
With a four week lead time between production and placement, that would leave Mr Jobs free to launch the device during an annual developers conference at which he usually speaks.
Industry sources told Times Online that the device will have a "radically different" appearance to the current device, which has a 4.5 inch screen and slick, aluminium backing. Among the possibilities are flip version, which would enable the screen to be larger, and a sliding model with a regular qwerty keyboard - as opposed to a touchscreen one.
"I think ultimately you going to see multiple versions," one Asia-based analyst, said. "One for customers who want it principally as a music and video device, which will be similar to the existing model, one for people who want to communicate - with the keyboard, and one for people who want it as a substitute for their laptop - that will let them browse the internet on a larger screen."
The new phone may also usher in a change in the way Apple strikes distrtibution deals.... Apple will eventually break with its policy of favouring one network to be the exclusive distributor of the iPhone in a given territory - possibly as early as next year.
If the new iPhone has a keyboard, it might look exactly like Research in Motion's iPhone-killer.
See Also: RIM's iPhone Killer: Just Like iPhone, But Crappier
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Giant Chandelier Harnesses The Sun's Power For Electricity and Color-Changing Abilities [Lighting]
Giant Chandelier Harnesses The Sun's Power For Electricity and Color-Changing Abilities [Lighting]
Panasonic's Hot 85U Series Plasma Reviewed by CNet: Very Black, Not Better Than Pioneer's Kuro [Plasmas]
Shadow detail was not as good, however, appearing too bright, and the sets pushed reds a bit. The set scored below average in standard def upscaling, noise reduction and to top it off the power consumption was conspicuously high for its size. It does have 3 HDMI ports. This set, for all the reasons listed above, scored a 7.7. (That's low on CNet's relatively stubby scale.) UPDATE: David writes in to say he expected more from this set, but it is still fifth best, overall. [Panasonic, CNet]
Your Digital Camera Is Obsolete: Japanese Image Sensor 100x More Sensitive Than Current Chips [Digital Cameras]
DSLR Battlemodo Follow-Up [Digital Cameras]
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/273179991/dslr-battlemodo-follow+up
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi - I originally wrote: "Live View is limited, or you might even say crippled. You can't preview autofocus—I'm not even sure the autofocus works very well in this mode." When you activate Live View, you have to enter the custom settings and enable one of two kinds of autofocus, which you then manually trigger with the press of a button. The Live View isn't so much crippled as it is overly complicated, compared to the sexier iterations in the Sony and Olympus.
Sony Alpha a350 - I noted a sluggishness with photo reviewing: once you take a shot, there's an annoying pause. The question was raised whether or not this was due to Sony's D-Range Optimizer, which "delivers suitable tonality and exposures with rich shadow and highlight detail, even under high contrast situations." While the D-RO and D-RO+ modes can add even more time to the turnaround on the a350, taking pics without D-RO still means a turnaround time about twice as long as Canon's.
Nikon D60 - I complained about something I called the "auto-focus lamp" but which Nikon refers to as AF -assist. You can in fact turn it off, but it's not exactly easy. First, you have to go to the Setup menu to enable the "full" Custom Settings Menu, or the option doesn't appear. And then you have to go into the Custom Settings Menu, locate the AF-assist option and turn it off—provided you know that the bright annoying light is even called by that somewhat indirect name. My feeling is that this option should be off as a default, like on some competing DSLRs.
Olympus E-420 - I have said repeatedly that this camera has trouble with autofocus: when shooting with the kit lens, it resets almost every time you point it at an object, even if it's the same object you were focused on a second before. Olympus suggested I update the lens firmware to see if it improved anything. While there was a patch that I successfully installed, the lens' AF behavior is unchanged.
As you can see, when all new information is factored in, my initial ranking still stays the same. It seems you get what you pay for, though it bears repeating that the real dark horse is Sony's a300, a $700 (with lens) 10-megapixel version of the a350.
One final note: Whenever I bring up DSLRs, the debate about automatic shooting modes rages with some vehemence. I love the discussion, but I want to stress two things: Cameras intended for newbies need really good auto modes, and even the $900 kits I write about are targeted at the noob crowd. Don't believe me? Chuck Westfall, head of media and customer relations for Canon USA, told me this the other day: "The Rebel demographic is skewed towards beginners," adding, "We've found that any kind of automation we can give them is a good thing."
Thanks for the lively debate, and by all means keep it rockin'. As always, I am blown away by the depth of knowledge coming from Giz commenters on this popular but often confusing subject. [Entry-Level DSLR Battlemodo]
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