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Piaget Emperador Coussin Tourbillon Automatic Ultra-Thin Watch Hands-On

Posted: 08 Feb 2011 05:03 AM PST

Piaget was really proud about releasing this watch, but also I think they were a bit nervous as to the reaction. The design of it is very experimental and not something you are used to with a typically clean face Piaget watch. The brand's highly popular Altiplano Automatic 43 has a dial that is thematically opposite to this tourbillon. What they share is a "thin" outlook on life. They are both very thin in size for what they are. The Altiplano Automatic 43 is the thinnest automatic watch in the world, and the Tourbillon Automatic is the thinnest automatic tourbillon watch in the world. But Piaget designed them to look like really distant cousins despite being under the same brand name.


Video: Humanoid HRP-2 Doesn’t Avoid, But Walks Over Obstacle

Posted: 08 Feb 2011 05:03 AM PST

Do you remember the impressive and extremely agile humanoid HRP-2 we’ve shown you in December last year? Its makers, a group of researchers working at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, apparently used the last few weeks to teach the robot a new trick.

The video embedded below shows HRP-2 identifying and then stepping over a 15cm high platform (instead of walking around it). That doesn’t sound like much, but considering how clumsy the way most humanoids move out there is, the new trick is actually quite an accomplishment.

Here’s the clip:

Via Plastic Pals

Myriad’s “Alien Dalvik” Brings Android Apps To Non-Android Phones (Video)

Posted: 08 Feb 2011 01:38 AM PST

You wanted to buy an Android phone, but noooooo. “The N900 is the future, man!” promised that one dude from your wife’s IT department who seems to know his stuff when he’s not busy hitting on your wife or complaining about Firefly getting cancelled.

Flash forward a year and a half. Between the shaky economy and your unshakable stubbornness, you’re still stuck with the N900. You’ve hacked MeeGo onto it — but still, it’s just not Android.

Enter Myriad’s “Alien Dalvik”.

Read the rest at MobileCrunch, because I wrote this at 1:30 A.M and somehow managed to avoid swearing >>

Sony Announces 3 New BRAVIA TVs (That Are Not 3D)

Posted: 08 Feb 2011 12:45 AM PST

Sony announced [JP] three new BRAVIA-branded TVs today, and – big surprise – none of them are 3D-capable. The main selling point here is that all models come with a built-in 500GB HDD and allow users to transfer content from the hard disc to external HDDs via USB.

The flagship model, the 40-inch KDL-40EX52H (pictured above), also features an LED edge-lit display with full HD resolution, a double digital TV tuner, Ethernet, 10W×2ch speakers, and 3 HDMI ports (price: $1,800).

Sony also announced two more basic models, the 32-inch KDL-32EX42H (pictured above) and the 22-inch KDL-22EX42H. These models share the main features of the big-size BRAVIA, but their screen only features 1,366×768 resolution (prices: $1,340 for the 32-incher and $1,100 for the 22-inch TV).

Sony plans to roll out all three models in Japan on March 20.

Daily Crunch: Another World Edition

Posted: 08 Feb 2011 12:00 AM PST

HP “Updates” Notebook Designs With New Pavilion Laptops

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 09:32 PM PST


HP is taking things in a bold new direction, with design decisions that can only have been made by a peyote-addled design team locked in a room with nothing but soap and knives. Wait, no. Looks like things are actually pretty similar to last year, but with Sandy Bridge Intel Core processors and better audio. There’s been a bit of trickle-down from the higher-end Envy series.

The new 15.6″ dv6 and 17.3″ dv7 have CoolSense (intelligent heat routing), Beats audio (the dv7 has a sub), and metal finish. More metal is always nice; I’m always ready to trade a little weight for durability and stiffness. They have the aforementioned Sandy Bridge processors, which are no joke, and may warrant an upgrade just in themselves, plus the new chipsets all support USB 3.0, which is something you appreciate more as file sizes grow.


You can get up to a terabyte in the dv6, and 2TB in the dv7. Both have HD webcams and optional Blu-ray drives.

HP also released the g4, g6, and g7 budget laptops starting at ~$500 give or take a hundred.

I’ve only included pictures of the dv6, since the dv6 and dv7 look pretty much identical, and the g series isn’t too remarkable. Lots more pictures here. Want to buy one of these suckers? The g series is available now, and the new dv series should be coming in “Spring.” Woo!

Fujifilm Finally Makes The X100 Officially Official

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 08:59 PM PST


Although I would have said that a camera is “official” when you announce it and make a whole microsite about it, Fujifilm is slightly less cavalier about their camera lineup, and only today are making the gorgeous and powerful X100 truly real. We’ve talked about it before, even played with it at CES, but I’ll just put the final specs and info here for good measure.

The X100 is a compact camera with a DSLR-grade APS-C sensor producing 12 megapixels. It has a 23mm (35mm equivalent) F/2 prime lens, a 480×320 LCD, and what they’re calling a “hybrid viewfinder,” which works both as an EVF and a regular optical rangefinder. This feature would be worth mentioning even if the rest of the camera didn’t look so damned sexy.

Fujifilm “married” the lens to the sensor, optimizing image quality for that focal length and glass. There are dedicated focus and aperture rings on the lens, allowing for full manual control. The sensor is supposedly high-sensitivity, going from 200-6400 ISO (expandable to 100-12800), but what really matters is that fast F/2 lens. It’ll do 720p video as well.

The hybrid viewfinder works either as a high-res EVF (800×600) or as a traditional rangefinder that uses the LCD to display extra information. You can switch between the two modes quickly with a dedicated switch, and I can confirm that it works great.

Its retro style is based on the rangefinder cameras of yore, and the body and dials are metal. The black part is “leather-like,” but we’ll forgive them. Probably there will be special editions with real leather and other materials.

Now, let’s get the the hard part: this camera costs $1199.95. That’s twice as much as some very capable DSLRs, and more than similarly compact micro four-thirds cameras like the Olympus E-PL2 and Panasonic’s G-series. There’s only one way to find out whether it’s worth the money: read our review when the camera comes out in March.

Here’s the full press release; you can read more at the X100 microsite.

FUJIFILM ANNOUNCES THE FINEPIX X100 PREMIUM DIGITAL CAMERA
BUILT BY PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Captures Extraordinary, High Quality Images with a Combination of Modern Technology –
APS CMOS Sensor, Fixed Focal Length FUJINON Lens and Debuting the World's First Hybrid Viewfinder – All Presented in a Classically Beautiful Design

Valhalla, N.Y., February 8, 2011 – FUJIFILM North America Corporation today announced the U.S. debut of its FinePix X100 premium digital camera which will begin shipping in March. Inspired by the groundswell of requests by professional and advanced amateur photographers from around the world, Fujifilm has developed a digital camera that was specifically engineered to appeal to this group's desire for capturing the highest quality images through a high-performance, beautifully crafted compact digital camera.

The FinePix X100 is a high precision digital compact camera that combines modern technology with a traditional camera design to deliver the ultimate in image quality. Featuring an APS-C CMOS sensor (12.3 megapixel), a FUJINON 23mm Single Focal Length Fixed F2 lens, a 2.8" LCD 460K, and the world's first Hybrid Viewfinder, the FinePix X100 captures exceptionally high quality images.

"It has always been important for Fujifilm to introduce products that are in a class of their own and with the FinePix X100, we have achieved that level," said Go Miyazaki, division president, Imaging and Electronic Imaging Divisions, FUJIFILM North America Corporation. "The combination of a hybrid viewfinder, large APS-C sensor and a precisely matched prime lens, make this camera unique to anything else in the market, and is presented within a rangefinder design that makes it an instant modern classic."

Quality Within – Custom 12.3 MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
The FinePix X100 features a custom 12.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS high-performance sensor, internally optimized and developed exclusively for this model. Optimization of the angle-of-incidence in conjunction with the specially developed lens maximizes light gathering efficiency extending to the perimeter of the sensor for a sharper image with exceptional clarity. When shooting HD movies, the combination of the large-sized sensor and the large aperture F2 lens, lets users create a soft out-of-focus image — a capability not available in conventional compact cameras. The ideal combination of a fixed focal length lens, high-sensitivity sensor (approximately 10 times the sensitivity of a conventional compact*) and a high-performance image processor captures extremely high quality images from low sensitivity to high sensitivity. In standard form, the planned ISO range is from 200 to 6400, but this can be expanded to include 100 and 12800.

The newly developed EXR Processor takes EXR processing to new heights. Combined with the high-sensitivity sensor, the EXR Processor achieves the highest resolution, sensitivity and dynamic range ever produced by a FinePix digital camera for the ultimate in image quality. The high-speed CMOS sensor read-out and the EXR Processor's enhanced focusing system contribute to the high-speed AF performance, while the combination of the optical viewfinder and extremely low shutter lag time enhance the image capture experience.

A Quality All Its Own – High-performance 23mm F2 FUJINON Lens
The FinePix X100 comes with a new FUJINON non-collapsible lens structure that expands the realm of photographic expression with sharper resolution from the center to the corners. It has a 23mm (135 equivalent: 35mm) F2 lens, with eight elements in six groups. One aspherical glass molded lens. The adoption of the non-collapsible lens structure with minimized lens length not only contributes to the compact size, but also eliminates telescoping of the lens when the power is on. It's ready to start taking photos the moment the user turns it on. In addition, the lens features not only the large F2 aperture value, but also an optical architecture that maintains a high degree of resolution even when closed by 1 to 2 stops. The adoption of a 9-blade aperture diaphragm combined with the large F2 aperture and high-quality optics lets users take photos with a beautiful circular soft out-of-focus (bokeh) effect. With macro shooting capability as close as four inches, users can explore the fun and fascination of close-up photography. The built-in ND filter (equivalent f-stop reduction of three) can be switched ON/OFF via simple in-camera settings.
Quality You Can See – World’s First Hybrid Viewfinder
The true enjoyment of photography begins with the thrill of seeing the world through a viewfinder. The new Hybrid Viewfinder has been developed to reintroduce users to this essential camera experience. It combines the window-type "bright frame" optical viewfinder found in rangefinder-type film cameras such as the classic 135-size or medium-format cameras, with the electronic viewfinder system incorporated in most compact or mirrorless digital cameras. By integrating a prism for the 1,440,000 dot LCD panel image on the viewing screen in the reverse-Galilean optical finder, the Hybrid Viewfinder can show both the shooting frame and a variety of electronic shooting data. It can also be used as a high-quality electronic viewfinder to compose or playback shots. With this ability to instantly switch between optical and electronic viewfinder modes using the simple "one touch" control, the new Hybrid Viewfinder offers users expanded freedom in the composition and enjoyment of photography in a wide range of challenging shooting conditions.

The reverse Galilean optical finder with a 0.5X magnification features all-glass elements made from high-refractive index glass and demonstrates low chromatic aberration and distortion.
In optical viewfinder (OVF) mode, the brightness of both the "bright frame" and text data is automatically adjusted according to the brightness of scene area, ensuring that shooting information is always easily and clearly viewable. Also, the displayed shooting data is constantly updated according to changes in shutter speed, exposure, sensitivity and other settings, so that the user’s eye never has to leave the viewfinder. In electronic viewfinder (EVF) mode, the photographer can preview the picture or playback the result with the "through the sensor" image review and high-resolution 1,440,000-dot quality. With a flick of the one-touch lever, the user can switch to EVF to preview and confirm exposure settings, depth-of-field, and white balance – an especially useful capability when shooting macro shots and other scenes that are hard to confirm with only an optical viewfinder.

Quality of Beauty – Stunning Retro Design
The FinePix X100 features a beautiful, high-quality design inspired by the classic look and feel of traditional film cameras. The top cover of the upper control deck and the bottom surface have been die-cast from magnesium alloy (semi-solid metal casting), contributing to a high-precision camera body. All dials and rings are precision milled from metal. The ergonomics of the design offer the perfect balance between compact convenience and user-friendly functionality. Traditional 'manual' dials lets the user confirm the position of the settings without turning on the power. The camera's controls have been carefully thought out to give the photographer simple and speedy access to aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation…etc, allowing maximum creative expression with minimum hassle and enabling the user to view settings – even when the power of the camera is turned off. Custom modes can also be accessed with a one-touch settings change. The chassis has been finished with high-quality leather-like accents and is both a delight to use and a pleasure to hold.

RAW Quality – Image Enhancement Functions
Capturing the scene in RAW format is easy with just a press of the readily accessible RAW Button on the back of the camera. Photographers can use the built-in RAW Development function to process the RAW data in-camera using the camera’s image quality settings. In addition to Fujifilm’s original Film Simulation Modes that give photos the distinctive look of Velvia, PROVIA and ASTIA color reversal film emulsions, X100 expands the scope of photo expression with Monochrome Mode that can be fine-tuned with R/Ye/G filter settings. Separate adjustment of shadow tones and highlight tones lets users reproduce the rich tonality of high-contrast subjects.

Added Quality – The FinePix X100 also offers these additional features:
EVF/OVF Focus Area: The FinePix X100 offers users the choice between the 49-point auto EVF focus area or the 25-point OVF auto focus area as well as the selection of 5 different focus area sizes in EVF mode. Depending on the needs of each scene, the FinePix X100 offers easy focusing by design.
HD Movie mode: Lets users capture the action in 720p high-definition detail. Just like taking still photos, users can capture movies with aperture-priority AE and enjoy a soft, defocused background effect. In addition, the built-in HDMI Mini connector allows users to easily and directly connect the FinePix X100 to high-definition TVs for showing stills and movies with plug-and-play ease.
Motion Panorama: With the built-in Motion Panorama function, it is easy to capture 180° and 120° panoramic photos. Later users can print the results as pin-sharp A3-size (11.7" X 16.5") enlargements and share the enjoyment of high-quality panoramic photography.
Multi-Bracketing Functions: The FinePix X100 has four types of bracketing functions: AE, ISO, Dynamic Range and Film Simulation. One click of the shutter captures 3 bracketed images of the scene so the photographer knows he's captured the moment.
Star Quality – Premium Accessory Lineup
The FinePix X100 has these additional elegant accessory options:
Luxury Case: To perfectly compliment the look and premium quality feel of the X100 camera body, a retro leather “quick shot” case with matching strap has been designed to fit the X100 like a glove. Made out of luxurious leather it has been designed with uncompromising attention to detail, ensuring the ultimate ease of use and practicality.
Lens Hood and Adapter Ring: Precision milled from metal, the lens hood and adapter ring will be available as a set. The adapter ring is also compatible with commercially sold 49mm filters.
Auto Flash (TTL – Through The Lens): EF-20 (Guide Number:20) and EF-42 (Guide Number:42) will be newly added to the TTL flash lineup.

Pricing and Availability
The FinePix X100 digital camera will be available in March 2011, and will be priced at $1,199.95.

*Compared with other FinePix compact camera models.

Drobo Takes Aim At Small Businesses With New 12-Bay Version

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 08:15 PM PST


Over the years we’ve seen Drobo expand its portfolio of devices from a strictly consumer-oriented lineup to a broader and more business-friendly one. October’s DroboPro FS made a beeline for small businesses by mashing up its networking-centric FS series with the 8-drive Pro series. And now they’re taking that a step further with the 12-bay version of the same.

There’s a naming convention change, too, with numbers and everything, something I never thought I’d see Drobo do. The new B1200i denotes the 12 bays it has and the iSCSI interface. What was wrong with “DroboDozen”?

Naming aside, the new Drobo actually does have some new tricks. It’s got three iSCSI ports on the back and a new priority on actual fileserver duty and virtualization. It’s got support for thin provisioning too, and of course all that off-site backup jazz and data optimization magic that makes Drobo Drobo. It’ll be shipping in Q2; you can get one kitted out with 12 2TB drives (24TB total) for under ten thousand, it seems, which definitely isn’t home user territory. Unless you’re rich and addicted to high-definition —entertainment.

The 8-drive Drobos have also gotten a facelift, literally with the new design, but also in the form of new names and capabilities. The 8-drive versions come in the B800i and B800FS varieties, sporting iSCSI and traditional Ethernet ports respectively.

Here’s the full press release, which goes into a little more detail, but if you’re really thinking about using one or two of these for your business, it’s probably best to get specifics from IT before setting your heart on them.

Drobo Means Business

New Drobo Business Line Delivers "Big Storage in a Small Box" -
Unprecedented Combination of Technical Sophistication, Ease of Use and
Affordability for Small and Medium Businesses

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – February 8, 2011 – Drobo
, makers of the award-winning data storage products for businesses and
professionals, today introduced a new line of sophisticated yet
easy-to-use and affordable storage solutions for small and medium
businesses (SMBs). Designed specifically for customers who need
critical business storage capacity without the complexity and price of
legacy storage solutions, the new Drobo business systems are optimal
as primary and secondary storage for Microsoft Exchange®, Sharepoint®,
and similar business applications, departmental file-sharing or
offsite backup, and server virtualization deployments including those
using VMware solutions.

"VMware recognizes the importance of affordable storage alternatives
for firms implementing virtualization as they continue on the path
toward IT as a service," explained Parag Patel, vice president, global
strategic alliances, VMware. "Like larger organizations, SMBs are
looking for ways to improve productivity and lower IT costs. Drobo
streamlines VMware-virtualized storage for SMBs by delivering storage
that is simple, scalable, and automated – all with an affordable price
tag."

With over 150,000 customers worldwide, Drobo has already been embraced
by individual professionals and small businesses globally; the new
Drobo business systems up the ante with improved system performance
and redundancy, a new business-oriented dashboard and control panel
and upgraded business support options – all while maintaining Drobo's
breakthrough ease-of-use and the BeyondRAID™ data protection
capabilities that define the Drobo brand.

“A complex quote, full of techno-babble and corporate speak, wouldn’t
represent Drobo fairly," said Mark Peters, senior analyst at
Enterprise Strategy Group. “Now available for small-to-medium
businesses, Drobo is what it has always been – surprisingly advanced
and scalable storage, packaged and priced for people who don’t need to
have doctorates or second mortgages to have easy, functional,
sophisticated capabilities at their fingertips."

"Our customers aren't shy; they have tried Drobo for themselves and
are now demanding more Drobos for the rest of their business," said
Tom Buiocchi, CEO at Drobo. "Our new Drobos for business storage
continue to meld even more 'big technology' and 'Drobo ease-of-use'
for the best storage experience ever."

Today's announcement covers a new Drobo family of products designed
with business in mind. These products include:

· 8-bay file sharing Drobo with remote backup (Available now)

· 8-bay SAN (iSCSI-attached) Drobo (Available now)

· 12-bay SAN (iSCSI-attached) Drobo with expanded redundancy
features, support for thin provisioning and deprovisioning and new
data-aware tiering technology (Reserve now, shipping Q2-11)

Drobo's new business line also includes performance enhancements, new
management software and extended business support and services, in
addition to the existing ease of use, affordable capacity and storage
features that set Drobo apart from any other storage product on the
market. The systems are based on the patented BeyondRAID
™ technology and are
certified for VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Exchange and Symantec backup.

Prices start just above $2K. The new line of business products is
available for purchase at http://www.Drobo.com
.

Drobo also announced its new Business Premier partner program and
customer milestone of 150,000 sold. Both press releases can be
accessed online at http://www.drobo.com/news/press_releases
.

About Drobo
Drobo makes award-winning data storage products for Small and Medium
Businesses and Individual professionals that provide an unprecedented
combination of sophisticated data protection and management features,
affordable capacity, and ease-of-use. Based on the patented and proven
BeyondRAID™ technology, Drobo's ability to deliver "Big Storage in a
Small Box" creates the best storage experience ever for small and
medium businesses and hundreds of thousands of individual
professionals worldwide, who use it to support their file backup and
media archiving, server virtualization, and email application needs.
To learn more, visit http://www.drobo.com or follow us on Twitter
@drobo.

###

Data Robotics, Drobo, DroboPro, DroboElite and BeyondRAID are
trademarks of Data Robotics, Inc., that may be registered in some
jurisdictions. VMware is a registered trademark and/or trademark of
VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All
other trademarks used are owned by their respective owners.

Apple’s WWDC 2011 Will Be June 5-9

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 06:12 PM PST

WWDC is a pretty fun time of the year: all the rumors that we tirelessly cover are put to rest. Last year had a lot to do with iOS and iPhone 4, we even got to see FaceTime and the introduction of the Retina Display. Pretty amazing stuff. This year’s WWDC probably will be just as exciting when it lands June 5-9, 2011.

Appleinsider has spotted a mystery event on Moscone West’s schedule during those dates with the placeholder “Corporate Meeting.” While this is not guaranteed to be WWDC , the rest of the month has bookings for five different events, likely giving Apple that window as their only option.

8-Bit Memory Take An NES Cartridge And Ups Storage A Few Billion Bytes

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 05:48 PM PST

If you consider yourself a gamer, then you likely have a few NES cartridges lying around the house. If not, leave now. Rather than letting them continue to collect dust, 8-Bit Memory turned a bunch into external USB hard drives. You can get whichever size and style you want and you can even get USB 3.0. For example, a Dr. Mario Nintendo game cartridge will cost $130 for 500GB, $150 for 750GB, or $180 for 1TB. There are an assortment of games to choose from and if there’s something you don’t see, you can just ask for it.

[via gearlog]

Sprint Unveils The Kyocera Echo: Has Two Screens, Runs Two Android Apps At Once

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 04:04 PM PST

How many times have you been sitting there reading your e-mail and thinking to yourself, “Dang. I wish I could play Angry Birds right now. But I also need to check these e-mails. But.. but.. Angry Birds! If only I could do them both at the same time!”

Well, friend, Sprint and Kyocera have heard your cries (which is weird, because you were thinking them to yourself. Get out of our heads, Sprint.) Today at their event in New York City, the two companies unveiled their newest shiny cellular toy: the Kyocera Echo, a dual-screen Android 2.2 phone capable of running one app on each screen simultaneously*.

If only you had a Kyocera Echo, you could be reading the rest of this post at MobileCrunch on TWO SCREENS AT THE SAME TIME! >>

Video: Unmanned Naval Stealth Fighter’s First Flight

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 03:52 PM PST

The X-47B is a new stealth unmanned aircraft intended for the US Navy. The plane is a large step toward virtual warfare, something claimed to help save lives. Not only does it require no human to fly, but it can take off and land on a carrier and refuel mid-flight, both considered one of the toughest challenges for today’s pilots. The X-47B has the ability to stay in the air almost indefinitely thanks to the refueling making for one deadly machine.

On Friday at Edwards Airforce base in California, the project leaders sent the X-47B into it’s first flight, successfully taking off and landing. So check out the unmanned aircraft do what was once only possible in the future.

Motorola Xoom Will Cost $800 And Require A Data Plan, Says Leaked Best Buy Ad

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 03:16 PM PST

When we first saw of the Motorola Xoom at CES, we thought and said good things. How could you go wrong with a dual-core full Honeycomb tablet? Then we heard rumors that Motorola wanted to sell a lot, so that got us thinking that the price would be competitive. Then we started seeing rumors of an $800 price tag, and that made us sad. And now it has been all but confirmed that it will cost $800 when it shows up February 24th. A leaked Best Buy ad shares the Xoom’s price along with some interesting, but odd, news.

The ad showing the $800 price tag also mentions some sort of Wifi lockdown of the device. The ad says:

To activate WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of one month data subscription is required.

So, in order to get the features we pay for initially, we have to have a data subscription with Verizon for at least a month? Thanks, but no thanks, Best Buy. We’re hoping that this is just some scam that only Best Buy is doing and that other retailers are just selling the Xoom — $800 plus a data plan makes me want to buy a Mifi and an iPad (Wifi-only).

[via intomobile]

Live From Sprint’s Mystery Product Unveiling In New York City (Starts At 3 PM Pacific)

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 02:33 PM PST

We’re live at Sprint’s Mystery Product announcement in New York City, where we’re promised the carrier will be unveiling “yet another industry first”. What exactly might that be? A Sprint iPhone 4? Probably not (that’d be tough to call an “industry first”, you know?) A dual-screen Android handset called the Kyocera Echo? Probably.

Join us after the jump for all the up-to-the-second details, brought to you by our own John Biggs.

Kindle Update Brings “Real” Page Numbering And More

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 02:21 PM PST


If you’re one of the Kindle users who is bothered by inconsistent page numbering between editions, this update should come as a pleasant surprise. Amazon is adding page numbers that correspond to the printed versions of books, so you can use the old citing style or just tell your friend reading the paperback that it’s “on page 215.”

They’re also adding a new “Public Notes” feature that lets you make your annotations public, allowing anyone to read your extensive notes on The Lost Symbol. This could be really nice for, say, English classes, where you could easily write up a note for the end of every chapter and share it with your teacher. You turn this feature on and off at the book level, so your Twilight fanfic scribbled in the virtual margins of New Moon will remain private, with luck for all time.

There’s also a new layout for newspapers and magazines, but you’ll have to install it yourself to find out what that’s like. Probably not wildly different.

It’s officially just a preview at the moment, so you have to install manually, but it’ll go out over the air when it’s fully baked. No word on when that’ll be. More details at the Kindle blog post.

This CD Player Is A Late Addition To The Steampunk Movement

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 02:15 PM PST


This is either a steampunk CD player or an evil pneumatic crab. I’m hoping the latter of the two. Can’t you just picture a horde of the little guys angrily chasing after protagonist in a Beauty and the Beast steampunk mashup? Too bad it’s not.


Pentax Releases Silver K-5 And Limited Edition Lenses

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 02:06 PM PST


Despite having only ever used one for a few minutes, I’m a fan of the K-5. It’s a solid-feeling camera, and it’s got a lens selection going back decades. And with Pentax, if you don’t like the look of the camera, wait a few months and they’ll put out one with a new paint job. This month, it’s silver!

The camera itself is the same, and the price is the same at $1700 for body-only. It really is just a paint job.

The lenses are the same, too. Now you can get the…

  • 21mm F/3.2 AL
  • 40mm F/2.8
  • 70mm F/2.4

in silver.

Does your next project involve werewolves? This might be a good investment, even if it’s just paint. The werewolves don’t want to take the risk, really.

New Pentax WG-1 Rugged Cameras Look Adventure-Proof

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 01:59 PM PST


I managed somehow skipped Pentax’s rugged camera when I last did a rugged roundup, but I’m definitely not missing this one. The WG-1 is the “12th rugged generation” camera from Pentax, and looks to be quite a solid piece of kit. It’s just got that rugged look too, you know?

The camera has a 14-megapixel sensor and a 5x zoom (28-140mm equivalent) F/3.5-5.5 lens, and the 2.7″ LCD on the back is a industry-standard 320×240. It’ll take 720p video and ISO goes from 80-1600, though you can reduce the megapixels and it’ll pixel-well the sensor to produce a higher ISO (up to 6400, but I wouldn’t go there).

The point of this guy is the ruggedness, though, so here’s how it holds up:

  • Waterproof to 33 feet
  • Dropproof to 5 feet
  • Crushproof to 100 \”kilogram-force,\” which sounds like it can withstand a sit-down but not a car
  • Dustproof… a side effect of waterproofing, really
  • Coldproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit — that\’s really more cool-proof, but hey

It’s also got some image stabilization and a nice LED ring on the front there for lighting or macro work. The WG-1 also has a cousin, the WG-1 GPS, which as you might expect has a GPS component for geotagging and such.

All in all it’s a nice-looking camera. The non-GPS version will cost $350, and the GPS version will cost $400. Pretty expensive, but this is probably about as nice as rugged point-and-shoots get.

Verizon iPhone 4 Jailbroken Already (Update: Jailbreak Tool Now Available)

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 01:21 PM PST

Well, that’s that. Verizon iPhone 4′s just started hopping off the delivery trucks a few hours ago, and it looks like their jailbreakability is already confirmed.

Read the rest at MobileCrunch, where our slogans are “Hugs, Not Drugs.”, “Jailbreak, Not Heartbreak.”, and “Matt, your red bull is in the freezer” >>


Tenba Announces New Vector Collection Of Camera Bags

Posted: 07 Feb 2011 12:52 PM PST

We’ve always had a soft spot for Tenba camera bags — they are pretty versatile and tough — and now there are new ones. Today, they announce their new Vector Collection of camera bags that come in four different colors. The Vector Collection is positioned at the consumer/prosumer level for camera bags and there are a variety of sizes, shapes and features to fit what ever lifestyle your photography takes you. The top loads, shoulder bags and daypacks all come with an all-weather wrapping to help keep the outer elements out. The new Vector camera bags are available now priced from $12.95 to $79.95.
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