For a little more than $150, the Pentax Optio P80 offers some extras the competition doesn't have at its price.
There are a lot of ultracompact cameras available and for many people the decision comes down to price. But picking a camera simply because you settled on spending $…
Oki Pokey
Jeff has the day off today, so you know what that means: TOTAL CHAOS AND DESTRUCTION! Well, not exactly…Wilson has a little trouble getting the show started, but eventually we get off the ground and welcome our guest on today’s show, Mr. Tim Geisenheimer. However, we only get to chat with Tim 1-on-1 for a second before Natali Del Conte pops in to help us out too, making it an all-star lineup!
So after a quick Seinfeld moment about the woes of moving Ikea furniture, we break into a story about a real life “Gaydar” developed by two MIT students which uses social networking data to determine the sexuality of a user. Our major issue with this “study” is that the computer program takes statistical analysis way too seriously. It assumes that if you have a high volume of gay friends, then you must also be gay yourself…interesting jump there. Subscribing to a “birds of a feather, flock together” adage, the two students trained their “Gaydar” to be “very accurate” on men, but not so great on bisexuals or women.
Speaking of women, apparently a group of 3,000 female participants voted the SHOWER RADIO the worst gadget ever invented. It’s unclear whether or not they forced the women to choose overtly female-target gadgets (which tend to be cheesy anyway), but Natali has a few things to say about the other gadgets on the “worst ever” list, which include electric fluff removers at #8, egg slicers at #10, and the electric can opener at #18. Although I think we’re all starting to doubt Natali’s sanity after she tells us all the infomercial junk she’s bought over the years…can you say…SLAP CHOP?
Have you heard about CNET TV’s newest show called CNET Conversations? To kick off the first episode, CNET’s Molly Wood and Ina Fried will sit down with Steve Balmer at the Microsoft offices in Redmond, Washington, and they’re bringing questions from viewers. If you have a question for Balmer, head over to the CNET Conversations blog and ask it in a comment!
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Originally posted at The 404
It’s been a long wait since NVIDIA and Adobe announced their plans for GPU-accelerated Flash video back in January of this year, but it looks like the pair now finally have something to show for themselves. While it’s not quite clear how official it is just yet, the folks at NotebookJournal have nonetheless published a video that shows 720p Flash video running smoothly on a netbook (an ION-powered HP Mini 311, to be specific). Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll still have to wait until sometime in the first half of 2010 to see the technology become publicly available (at least if the slides in the video are any indication), but you can now check out the demo for yourself after the break. Just be sure to stick with it for a while or skip ahead to the 1:20 mark — they show a non-accelerated video at the beginning for an all too painful comparison.
[Via Liliputing]
Continue reading GPU-accelerated 720p Flash video gets demoed on a netbook (smoothly)
Filed under: Laptops
GPU-accelerated 720p Flash video gets demoed on a netbook (smoothly) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The PSPgo isn’t even in stores yet, and the hardware mavens at iFixit have already stripped it down to its logic board.
Continuing their tradition of tearing down shiny, expensive new gadgets almost as fast as the gadgets hit the market, the iFixit guys grabbed a new PSPgo and pulled it to bits. Among their discoveries:
Check out the entire PSPgo teardown on iFixit’s web site, or watch the embedded video (and a couple more photos) below. And don’t miss Wired’s review of the PSPgo and our gallery of PSPgo photos.
Sony provided warranty warnings in English, French and Spanish, just to make sure you know they don't want you in here.
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Reduced to its components, the PSPgo reveals its elegant engineering. Sony used chips from Samsung, Cirrus, Sharp, Oki, Fujitsu, and Foxconn, but the main processor is Sony's own chip.
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IFixit’s 2 minute, 33 second video shows how the PSPgo compares to other PSPs, and provides stills of many of the disassembly steps. Note: If you don’t care for annoying, bloopy electronic music, you can mute the soundtrack — you won’t miss anything.
Photos courtesy iFixit
[Via Shanzai.com]
Filed under: Cellphones
Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXV: TigerG3 looks like a Hero, doesn’t act like one originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading Video: PSP Go torn down, owners counseled on warranty violation
Filed under: Gaming
Video: PSP Go torn down, owners counseled on warranty violation originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mitsubishi, mostly seen in this space with displays for your living room, has finally got some recognition for its display that could be your living room (a subtle yet important distinction). Yes, that’s right: the Guinness folks are presenting the scoreboard at Cowboys Stadium with the coveted World’s Largest High-Definition Video Display award. Consisting of four Diamond Vision LED video screens (the two main displays measure 72 feet high by 160 feet wide while the end-zone displays are 29 feet high by 51 feet wide), this bad boy is suspended 90 feet above the center of the playing surface and might prove something of a “punt magnet.” To celebrate, the Engadget editors are going to take another stab at the Publication With The Most Editors Sporting Beards Made Of Bees award. Huffington Post, it’s on! Full PR below.
Four-Sided, High-Definition Screen Equivalent of 3,268 TVs Hangs Above Cowboys Stadium Playing Field
CYPRESS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mitsubishi Electric gained yet another entry in the Guinness World Records book with the recognition of its revolutionary Diamond Vision video boards at Cowboys Stadium as the World’s Largest High-Definition Video Display. The official certificate presentation will take place during a pre-game ceremony on September 28, just prior to the Cowboys vs. Carolina Panthers Monday Night Football game, which will be aired nationally on ESPN.
The world’s first four-sided, center-hung, high-definition video display in a stadium consists of four Diamond Vision(R) LED video screens, with the two main sideline displays measuring 72 feet high by 160 feet wide, and two Diamond Vision(R) end-zone displays measuring 29 feet high by 51 feet wide. Weighing 600 tons, the screens are suspended 90 feet directly over the center of the playing surface and stretch from nearly one 20-yard line to the other.
With a total viewing area of 11,393 square-feet, the Diamond Vision(R) display is equal to 3,268 52-inch televisions, and has 10,584,064 LED lights.
“This was probably the most exciting project we’ve ever been involved with,” said Mark Foster, general manager of Mitsubishi Electric’s Diamond Vision Systems. “The Dallas Cowboys are one of the most innovative teams in the NFL, and their new stadium reflects that. These scoreboards and displays are the realization of the Cowboys’ commitment to their fans and the sport. We are very proud that the Cowboys organization turned to Mitsubishi Electric to deliver their vision as part of this incredible project.”
“We’re extremely proud of our world-class Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Vision screen,” said Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones. “We have designed everything about Cowboys Stadium to provide an unequalled experience for our fans, and this screen is the centerpiece of what we have created for them.”
Mitsubishi Electric has now been recognized by Guinness World Records five times for its accomplishments, and the Cowboys’ board is the fourth Diamond Vision screen to be honored by Guinness. The first came in August 2003, for the World’s Longest Video Display for the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong which was installed in August 2003. In March 2005, GWR recognized the Diamond Vision(R) LED display at Turner Field in Atlanta as the World’s Largest High-Definition Television Screen, and in September 2005 the Mitsubishi Electric video board at the Japan Racing Association Tokyo Racecourse was certified as the World’s Largest Television Display. In 1993, Mitsubishi Electric was recognized for designing and installing the World’s Fastest Elevator – capable of traveling 750 meters per minute (approximately 28 miles per hour) – at the Landmark Tower in Yokohama, Japan.
Filed under: Displays
Dallas Cowboys HD scoreboard makes the Guinness Book of World Records originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Several months have passed since our last encounter with Project Natal, Microsoft’s controller-free, gesture-based interface. Developer enthusiasm and rumored release dates aside, since that time there hasn’t been much in the way of new, concrete details or any title announcements. That didn’t stop Kudo Tsunoda and gang from coming to Tokyo Game Show to give the Japanese audience a taste of the title. We managed to get ourselves some more time with the system, which included previous demos Ricochet and Burnout Paradise, along with newcomers Beautiful Katamari and Space Invaders Extreme. This time around, things felt a bit more glitchy than before, with some weird graphical maladies around our virtual wrists and a few occasions where recalibration was required (which is simply accomplished by covering up the sensor with your hand for a couple seconds). Our Engadget Japan correspondent Ittousai couldn’t get his hair to detect, but Tsunoda inferred that it was something they were working on as the project continued. Going through the menus, we spotted Lumines among the other games on the console — Tsunoda wouldn’t comment on it, but he did note that adding Natal support isn’t something that’s likely to be patched into existing titles. Care to take another peek at what you’ll look like when Natal eventually comes to your living room? Video demonstration after the break.
Continue reading Video: Project Natal hands-on goes round two with Katamari Damacy, Space Invaders
Filed under: Gaming
Video: Project Natal hands-on goes round two with Katamari Damacy, Space Invaders originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
With its upcoming PSPgo, Sony is betting that you like sexy, shiny new gadgets more than you like saving a few coins.
That’s not to say that we dislike it. In fact, the PSPgo is attractive, playable and pleasingly compact. The fourth entry in the PlayStation Portable line is considerably more toteable than its predecessors. It’s about half the size of the original PSP; to access the controls, the bottom section slides forward with with a smooth but firm mechanism that seems sturdy enough to resist clumsy gamer hands. For such a tiny device, it’s surprisingly playable, too.
Drawbacks? It won’t work with any USB peripherals you might already have for your older PSPs — and you’ll have to re-purchase any UMD games you own, since they won’t work with the PSPgo.
So the real question is why you’d buy a $250 PSPgo instead of a cheaper Nintendo DS or PSP 3000 — or a pricier but far more capable iPod Touch.
Continue reading Wired’s review of the PSPgo, by game gadget gearhead Nate Ralph, over on Wired.com Product Reviews. And don’t miss our gallery of mouth-watering PSPgo closeup photos.
Photo credit: Jim Merithew / Wired.com
TomTom has already delivered its LIVE services to an array of its higher-end personal navigation devices, but now the company is pushing the Google love onto less expensive siblings. Er, one less expensive sibling. The mid-range XL 340S LIVE has just been launched, complete with Google-powered Local Search, real-time traffic information, real-time fuel prices, local weather and the company’s own IQ Routes, which gets you from one point to another via the most efficient route possible. Essentially, this is simply a 4.3-inch (320 x 240 resolution) XL 340S with connected services, and as with Garmin’s latest, said services are being provided courtesy of AT&T. Unfortunately, the $299.99 asking price only includes three months of LIVE; after that, you’ll be shelling out $9.95 per month and hating every minute of it.
Filed under: GPS
TomTom pushes Google services to mid-range XL 340S LIVE originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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