Gadgets Base

Filed in archive Lens by jim on March 30, 2008

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In all types of photography everything starts with the lens.

It makes sense that everyone who uses digital cameras for anything more than the few times per year casual snap shots be well informed about lenses.

You have to know about quality, i.e. what makes one lens perform better than others, and the various uses for which different lenses are designed.

Lenses come in different types, "normal", which give full frame coverage, "wide angle", which allow a picture to capture a wider field of view, and "telephoto", which magnifies distant objects.

Of course most photographers use "zoom" lenses of varying focal length in order to provide a little of each of the above.

Check out this excellent website and learn all you can about digital camera lenses and see what you've been missing.

Take a camera with you whenever possible, and look around, you'll find a picture somewhere.

Source:www.dpreview.com

Then take a look at Wakozi. Yes, it’s an online Web 2.0 site. Plug in your address and it shows you what liquor stores and delis near you that deliver. Click on a store and you can see what they sell, how much it costs and then you can create a shopping list, checkout, including paying with a tip.

By the way, this entire freaking site is a huge Adobe Flash application, developed using Adobe Flex. So don’t bother trying to pull this site up if you’re still on a modem. For that matter, we’d be pretty surprised if you’re reading GfG over a modem! Today’s dynamic, content rich sites have become too large and dependent on bandwidth for them to even dream about having a modem-friendly version.via Techcrunch.

Let’s face the facts - the iPod doesn’t exactly come with the largest display in the world now, does it? Being a portable media player to boot, screen real estate is a very important criteria to consider if you plan to watch countless hours of video on it.

This is the portable DVD player that integrates with 5th Generation video iPods, allowing you to watch iPod videos on a 8 1/2″, 16:9 widescreen LCD that is 2 3/4 times larger than the iPods screen. Using active matrix technology, the LCD can redraw images faster than typical LCD monitors, resulting in a sharper, more detailed resolution. An iPod slides into the front of the video player and is protected by a clear plastic cover, and the dual headphone jacks allow two people to use the video player without disturbing fellow travelers. The device has an AV port for output to a television, charges an ipod while in use, and has an on-screen menu display for quick set up. Rechargeable battery allows three hours of continuous DVD playback on a five-hour charge; four hours of iPod® video playback. Includes AC and DC adapters, carrying case, headphones, remote control, and a strap for attaching to a car headrest. Supports DVD, VCD, CDs, MP3 CDs, and iPod® video/music files.

Hammacher is currently carrying this item for $269.95.

Posted Mar 30th 2008 12:13AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. gadgetsWe’ll go ahead and warn you: if you’re hoping to purge your mind of all things science this weekend, this post isn’t the one to be reading. For the rest of you knowledge seekers, Arizona State University researcher Wayne Frasch has developed a biosensing nanodevice that could possibly revolutionize health screenings and speed up that grueling airport security process. Put simply (well, as simply as possible), he discovered that the enzyme F1– ATPase can be equipped with an optical probe and “manipulated to emit a signal when it detects a single molecule of target DNA.” Currently, a prototype of the DNA detector is already being worked up, but there’s no word on when (or if) the device will escape the lab and hit the commercial realm. Still not geeked out? Hit the read link and hold on for dear life.

[Via Physorg]

China Mobile Communications Corp, the largest network provider in China are ready to begin testing of their 3G network using the TD-SCDMA standard. The test which is set to begin next week will include some 20,000 phones and 5,000 data cards that will be issued throughout Bejing and seven other cities. While there has not been any indication on how long the testing phase will last, China has previously stated that they hoped to have an active 3G network in place before the beginning of the Beijing Olympics, which begins in August.

Beijing has been trying to get the new infrastructure in place since 2001, but the network being as large as it is, needs a mammoth overhaul. Once the government allows the licenses, it will pick carriers to provide the country. The sheer size of China means it is an enormous and significant market, and the change could prove lucrative for a country with some 520 million subscribers.

Read [Wired News]

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Posted Mar 29th 2008 8:38PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: cellphones
Those crafty kids on the iphone Dev Team have already hacked the 2.0 firmware, but now they’re getting ready to release the oh-so-creatively-named PWNED tool, which takes iPhone hacking to the next level by patching the bootloader to let you load any firmware image you want — even images not signed by Apple. That means custom patched firmware can now be loaded directly from iTunes, which simplifies the jailbreaking / unlocking process tremendously, and also means that a patched version of the 2.0 firmware is coming soon. We’re putting the tool through its paces right now and we’ll have a hands-on with it (and the Dev Team’s patched 2.0 firmware) as soon as we get it all working, but check out some highlights after the break, and hit the read link for more info.

Following up on the recent announcement to lift the ban on computer and DVD player sales, the Cuban Government has decided to lift the ban on cell phones. While Cuba has not been a cell-phone free country, the available phones have been primarily used by government officials, foreigners and those who were able to get their hand on one from a third-party, which meant very few had access. The good new is that beginning soon, according to ETECSA the phones and service will be available “within days,” can actually be used by anyone (assuming its affordable) and without worry or fear of getting in trouble.

The service will come as a joint venture with Cuban telecommunications monopoly ETECSA and Telecom Italia. It does of course have some drawbacks, but I suppose just being able to legally obtain a cell phone should out weigh those. Cubans who want to get service will have to use CUC’s (a foreign currency) which is said to be valued 24 times more than the Cuban peso. This alone will make it difficult for many to obtain service. A few good points are that the service will be a pre-paid service, so no long term contracts to get tied into, and they will be able to make and receive international calls.

Read [Reuters]

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Google, trusty search engine and email provider for many actually has a clause within its fine print which states that those under 18 are not permitted to use the site, or any of its features. The Google conglomerate covers Google’s search, Gmail, YouTube, news and images.

The Terms of Service state that:

“You may not use … Google’s products, software, services and web sites … and may not accept the Terms if … you are not of legal age to form a binding contract with Google.”

Of course to those within the USA, the legal age to form a binding contract is 18, meaning anyone under the age of 18 is currently violating Google’s terms, which judging from a huge number of YouTube videos, that number is going to be high.

It is funny how Google’s simple interface looks very child friendly, not to mention their recent ‘Doodle 4 Google’ contest where school children could draw a logo for the homepage. Certainly sends a mixed message. While the message is unclear, I find it hard to believe that Google would actively enforce this policy, but instead use it as a good way to protect themselves should something happen with a juvenile. In a way its kind of funny, at least one Gadgetell member has a young daughter, who searches Google daily, and even has a personal Gmail account.

Read [CNET]

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Posted Mar 29th 2008 8:50PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. gadgetsShortly after hearing a sad tale of a 7-year old cancer patient having his medication and PSP stolen whilst en route to treatment comes yet another story of the world’s meanest preying on the helpless. This go ’round, a group of griefers (assuming to be members of Anonymous) managed to invade a support forum established by the nonprofit Epilepsy Foundation and use JavaScript code and messages littered with flashing animations to effectively assault dozens of visitors who suffer from the disorder. The Foundation managed to catch wind of the problem within 12 hours of the attack, and while the boards were closed down temporarily to purge it of offending messages, many readers (such as RyAnne Fultz, pictured) experienced headaches and seizures before rescue arrived. Let’s just say we sincerely hope the culprits get what’s comin’ to ‘em.

With CTIA beginning on April 1 this year, its becoming difficult to judge whether we are seeing some April Fools jokes or good information. However in the case of the Motorola Z9 and the complete lack of secrecy up till this point I tend to believe when they say it will be launched on April 1.

So far we have seen a leaked pic, then the Z9 showed up with the FCC, some white papers were leaked, then a scanned ad showing the price, and finally the last piece of the puzzle—the release date.

In addition to the release date, which according to the BGR, it will indeed be launched with AT&T on April 1, the Z9 will also include AT&T Navigator support. The Navigator, which will be the new name for TeleNav is a GPS solution, but its still unclear if the Z9 will feature an A-GPS solution or true GPS support. Based on all the leaks up till this point it seems the next time we mention the Z9 should hopefully be the official announcement from AT&T.

Via [Boy Genius Report]

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