Fast, prime Micro Four Thirds lenses from Panasonic

Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm F2.8 ASPH Mega O.I.S.

(Credit: Panasonic)

The Micro Four Thirds universe gained two quality, fast-aperture, prime focal-length lenses Tuesday that go along with the new Lumix GF1 camera and its retro rangefinder styling cues: the Lumix G 20mm f1.7 ASPH and the Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm f2.8 ASPH Mega O.I.S. As with the GF1 itself, they are a reminder of times when compact rangefinders with fast prime lenses ruled–and they’re lenses photo purists will love.

Being in the Micro Four Thirds format, the Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 45mm f2.8 ASPH Mega O.I.S. is compact, at 2.46 inches in length and only 7.9 ounces.

It has a 35mm equivalent of 90mm, effectively making it a fast f2.8 90mm macro lens with full, life-size reproduction ability and a 6-inch closest focusing distance. There is a two-position focus limiter switch on the barrel for controlling the range of focus. The lens features a stepping motor in the auto focus drive system for smooth, silent AF operation while recording video.

All Zune models not named ‘Zune HD’ on the outs

Microsoft guru Paul Thurrott of SuperSite for Windows fame has read the writing on the wall. According to the reps he spoke with, production has ceased on all Zune models before the upcoming Zune HD. In other words, when supplies run out, Zune 4, 8, 16, 80, and 120 are as good as dead, with only this year’s model left standing. Shed a tear for the old guard, and keep an eye out for what we’re hoping will be some pretty sweet sales as everyone tries to clean out stock.

[Via ZuneSpring]

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All Zune models not named ‘Zune HD’ on the outs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Nokia N900 put through its paces… in Italian

We’re sure to see a whole lot more of the Nokia N900 as Nokia World gets underway this week, but in the meantime we’re super into this video walkthrough posted up by Kiamanokia.it — and not just because the Italian narration makes using the N900 seem absolutely delightful. Nope, we’re much more into the extremely-responsive interface, the rotary-zoom gesture in the browser, and the overall slickness of Maemo 5. We’ll withhold judgment until we spend some time with an actual production N900, but things are looking promising — head after the break to check the video for yourselves.

[Via The Nokia Blog]

Continue reading Video: Nokia N900 put through its paces… in Italian

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Video: Nokia N900 put through its paces… in Italian originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony to debut 3D BRAVIA TVs by end of 2010, also eyeing 3D VAIOs, Blu-ray films, and PS3 games?

The Financial Times has it on good word what the major unveil in Sony chief Sir Howard Stringer’s keynote tomorrow at IFA 2009 will, so much so that it’s quoting him with phrases he hasn’t even said yet. According to the report, the company is making a huge push into the third dimension, with 3D BRAVIA HDTVs hitting the retail channels by the end of 2010. Also on the menu is 3D-compatible PlayStation 3 titles (which we’ve kind of heard before), VAIO laptops, and Blu-ray movies, but it’s unclear from the article if they shares the same 2010 timeline. Polarized glasses will be required for use, but hey, just consider it a fashion statement. We’re now very anxious to see how close Sir Stringer sticks to this purported script for tomorrow’s big event.

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Sony to debut 3D BRAVIA TVs by end of 2010, also eyeing 3D VAIOs, Blu-ray films, and PS3 games? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IE8 Activities WebSlices for Firefox

This article was written on March 11, 2008 by CyberNet.

It didn’t take long for two different developers to start replicating some of the best new features in Internet Explorer 8: WebSlices and Activities. Come on, you knew extension developers would jump on the chance to give users very few reasons to switch to Internet Explorer.

–WebSlices in Firefox–

WebSlices are a way for you to stay up-to-date with the latest news and information without actually having to visit a website. When a WebSlice is added to the toolbar you’re able to click on it to see a specially designed small-scale version of the website. For example, in the eBay example below you’ll see a brief overview of an auction that you’re trying to keep track of.

If you want to install WebSlices in Firefox here’s what you need to do:

  1. Install the extension
  2. Go to a page that has WebSlices available, such as http://ie8.ebay.com. Do a search for a product on that eBay site.
  3. When you see the little WebSlice icon appear towards the left side of the items right-click somewhere (don’t try to right-click on the icon) and click Subscribe to a webchunk:
    firefox webslice
  4. That item will be placed in your WebSlices toolbar where you can click on it to get an instant preview of the status:
    firefox webslice view

There are three things that I don’t like about this extension:

  1. It takes up an entire toolbar which I find to be a waste of space.
  2. I naturally want to click on the little icon that pops up to add the WebSlice, but I have to right-click for some odd reason? Just let me click on the icon to add it to the toolbar.
  3. This isn’t the fault of the extension, but there are currently very few WebSlices available.

–Activities in Firefox–

The Activities extension that has been developed is also a bit rough around the edges right now. If you use it in Firefox 3 you’re supposed to be able to see a preview of the site when you hover your mouse over one of the entries just like in Internet Explorer 8. I tried it out in Firefox 3 Beta 3, Firefox 3 Beta 4, and the Firefox 3 nightly builds none of which showed a preview (I even did it on a clean profile with no other extensions installed).

What I did find impressive is that installing the Activities is no different than Internet Explorer 8. The XML files are automatically downloaded into an “activities” folder in your Firefox profile. As of right now navigating to that folder and deleting the XML file is the only way to remove one of the Activities that you add.

Once you’ve added some of the Activities they will only show up in the list when you have text highlighted on a website, and then right-click. Here’s what it looks like:

firefox activities

If the previews worked for me it would be a lot more useful, but right now it’s really just another way to perform a search on a site.

[via Mozilla Links]

Copyright © 2009 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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Panasonic Lumix GF1 banner ad hits the web, still not official

So much for subtle, ambiguous leaks. As a great follow-up to the first blurry pics we saw of Panasonic’s Lumix GF1, someone over at dpreview apparently pulled the trigger a little early and posted a vertical banner ad for the micro four thirds camera, with the tag line “DSLR photo quality in ultra compact flat design.” 4/3rumors has some of the other ad variants if you’re curious — so now that its ad campaign is primed for launch, anyone care to take a guess how much longer we’ll be waiting for its full debut?

[Via Photo Rumors; thanks, Ren K]

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Panasonic Lumix GF1 banner ad hits the web, still not official originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New S-Series Walkman: It wasn’t broke, but Sony ‘fixed’ it anyway

Sony had a major success with the launch of the S-Series Walkman in the fall of 2008. The company stepped up with a sleek and compact device that offered a bounty of useful features along with stellar sound quality and a fantastic battery life. As might be expected, when it …

Originally posted at MP3 Insider

Panasonic set to unleash 85-inch 1080p plasma for $30,000

The TH-85PF12U is the size of four 42-inch displays put together.

(Credit: Panasonic)

Large plasmas are coming down in price, but if you want to go big–and I mean really big–you still have to pay dearly. Set to hit next month, the $30,000 TH-85PF12U is billed by Panasonic as …

Review: Snow Leopard Combines Minor Improvements, Major Future-Proofing

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“Rowr!” Well, more like, “Purrrrrrr.” That’s a better way to describe Apple’s new operating system Snow Leopard, which hit stores Friday. The new Mac OS (10.6) has been optimized for 64-bit addressing. The result? It delivers minor improvements to current and previous Macs, and will have an even more significant impact on future systems. An excerpt:

From our testing, Snow Leopard indeed delivers on its promises of speedier performance and superior memory management, which in turn results in longer battery life. Thinking ahead, the OS focuses on maximizing the power of future systems armed with multiple processor cores, and its 64-bit addressing will support massive amounts of memory. With that said, the benefits combined with the OS’s low price tag make Snow Leopard definitely worth buying — but there’s no rush, even if you own one of the latest Macs.

Want the entire rundown? Check out our review at Wired.com/reviews.

See Also:


Image: Apple


Switched On: Sony plays both ends against the Kindle

Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Last week, Sony introduced Reader Daily Edition, the latest and most advanced Reader in its 2009 lineup, and attempted to recapture the excitement around the category that it had at the launch of the original Reader but then gave up to Amazon. By adding 3G connectivity to the Daily Edition, Sony’s answered the biggest perceived feature gap between its products and Amazon’s e-reader.

However, far from playing me-too, the Daily Edition tells quite a different distribution story than the Kindle, from purchasing devices to the content. The $400 Daily Edition (a term that warmly evokes printed books and newspapers without being corny) will join the $300 Touch Edition and the $200 Pocket Edition. Of these, the Pocket Edition has the most near-term potential for success due to its greater portability and low price, particularly in these grim economic times.

Speaking of which, Sony seems to have picked up more positive buzz about its library integration for free book lending than it has for adding wireless to the line. For all the struggles of subscription services, consumers don’t have any problems with renting content as long as it’s free.

Continue reading Switched On: Sony plays both ends against the Kindle

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Switched On: Sony plays both ends against the Kindle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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