Jul 22

Olympus announces new FE and mju range 12 megapixel shooters

Posted in: camera, olympus, Today's Chili

It looks like the camera fanatics at Olympus just don’t know when to stop. Just as we’re trying to figure out how to cadge an EP-1 for our own greedy amusements, the company is back with a handful of budget compacts, which may lack a bit of “the sexy” but are obviously a touch more affordable. Among new additions to the FE range you can count the FE-5020 (5x super wide optical zoom), FE-4000 (4x wide optical zoom), and FE-26 (3x optical zoom). Aside from the differences in lens size, these bad boys are all pretty much the same, hitting the ground with 12 megapixel CCDs, 2.7-inch displays, advanced face tracking, intelligent auto mode, and both xD-Picture Card and microSD compatibility. If that weren’t enough, the FE-5020 and FE-4000 also include “Magic Filter” functionality (which some might call “tacky filters,” if the fish eye lens and sepia tone effects aren’t really your bag). While we’re at it, we might as well mention the company’s newest addition to the mju line: The mju 7010 sports a 7x optical zoom, but otherwise looks pretty much the same (12 megapixel, 2.7-inch display, advanced face tracking and intelligent auto mode, magic filters, etc). All the aforementioned devices are due to hit the streets this August. We don’t have a price yet on the FE cameras, while the mju is said to retail for £249 (that’s about $400).

Read – Olympus announces FE-5020, FE-4000, FE-46 and FE-26
Read – Olympus mju 7010

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Olympus announces new FE and mju range 12 megapixel shooters originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 22

OnStar Pushing Car Chase Avoidance

Posted in: Law, Today's Chili

GM_OnStar.jpg

Call it factory LoJack: OnStar has unveiled OnStar Ignition Block, a feature that lets law enforcement disable a car’s ignition once it has been stolen. The idea is to avoid dangerous car chases that could put the public, the police, or the thief at risk.

In addition, OnStar claims it already works with law enforcement to attempt recovery of about 600 stolen vehicles per month using the service’s embedded GPS chip. OnStar also helps slow down cars that are involved in chases–against the will of the thief.

The new Ignition Block capability is available on selected 2009 and 2010 GM vehicles equipped with OnStar, and will build on the company’s Stolen Vehicle Assistance services already in effect.

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Jul 22

iPhone Public Radio app adds on-demand content

Posted in: Today's Chili

Listen to your favorite public radio shows on your schedule.

Is today my birthday? No? Because I just got one helluva gift: Public Radio Player 2.0, the latest version of the killer radio-streaming app, which now lets you listen to your favorite shows on-demand.

Missed last week’s “This …

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

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Jul 22

Disney to offer films on microSD cards, consumers to pass on by

Posted in: flash, Japan, memory, Movies, storage, Today's Chili

We’ve never seen a shred of evidence adumbrating that movies loaded onto flash cards move the proverbial meter, but evidently they’re moving well enough in Japan for Walt Disney to dive into the madness. Just today, the outfit responsible for classics that filled your childhood with innocence is announcing plans to offer pre-recorded microSD cards together with DVDs in the Land of the Rising Sun. The dual-format package will supposedly give DVD viewers the ability to easily watch their favorite films on the go, but that’s assuming you can even find a portable media player that accepts microSD cards. The bundles are expected to ship in November for around ¥4,935 ($52), or ¥1,000 ($11) more than the DVD alone. Eager to hear what titles will get this special treatment first? The “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “National Treasure” series — huzzah!

[Via HotHardware]

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Disney to offer films on microSD cards, consumers to pass on by originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 22

Little King’s Story: The best Wii game you’ve never played

Posted in: Today's Chili

Take our advice and be a sad little king. You won't regret it.

(Credit: XSeed Games)

Those who complain about there not being enough good original Wii games, you’d better put up or shut up this week. Yes, there’s a certain game called Wii Sports Resort

…

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Jul 22

Roundup: Latest cameras from Fujifilm, Olympus

Posted in: Today's Chili
Fujifilm S200EXR

The new Fujifilm S200EXR megazoom

(Credit: Fujifilm)

Fujifilm and Olympus have separately announced several new cameras. All of the new models are previewed below.

Fujifilm brings EXR sensor to its megazoom line
The replacement for the FinePix S100FS has the same lens but incorporates Fujifilm’s latest version of its …

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Jul 22

iPhone video of the day

Posted in: Today's Chili

Right after the new iPhone 3GS launched, I wrote an article about how the impending onslaught of iPhone videos would just lead to more losses for YouTube. Well, the onslaught has begun, and so have the reader e-mails asking me to promote their YouTube videos.

Andres writes:

“Hi, I think that these 2 videos that I recorded with my iPhone are really good and could be used for Apple’s iPhone advertising. Please let me know if you like them.”

Well, Andres, I kinda do like them. They’re a little slow but have a Zen quality to them. But let’s put them out to a wider audience and see what a few thousand people think (feel free to comment). And hey, while we’re at it, if anybody else wants to submit an iPhone video to me to appear on Crave, you can. But it has to be shot with the iPhone, and it’s gotta be good.

Comments?

See Andres’ second video, “Filming lizard eating fly with iPhone 3GS” after the jump.
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Jul 22

Mac drivers for Clearwire WiMAX coming in August, Linux DIY code to follow

Posted in: Apple, Linux, Mac, mac os x, MacOsX, Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX

From August 17, a free download will contain all a Mac user will need to connect to Clearwire’s slowly expanding WiMAX empire. Well, there’s also the matter of a $79.99 Clear 4G+ USB modem, available from the beginning of the month, but you can rationalize that purchase by noting it can also hook up to Sprint’s 3G network. Once you’ve got those things, and you’ve paid your dues — $30 per month for mobile services — we’re sure they’ll finally let you in on the superfast mobile browsing party. Linux users have nothing to smile about here, unless they consider Clearwire CTO John Saw’s promise to release code from which to build their own drivers a reason to cheer.

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Mac drivers for Clearwire WiMAX coming in August, Linux DIY code to follow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 22

Dell Drops Adamo Price to MacBook Air Levels

Posted in: macbook air, Today's Chili, ultraportable

Dell’s ultra-light Adamo is getting a price drop, which should make a bit more competitive with Apples’s entry into the space, the MacBook Air. The low-end Adamo now costs $1,500–the same as the low-end Air.

The company has dropped the price of its high-end Adamo down to $2,230, which is still a bit pricier than the top-of-the-line Macbook Air, which runs $1,800–though for the record, that configuration of the Dell has 3G built-in and twice the RAM of the Apple at 4GB.

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Jul 22

Survey: 34 Percent Wont Buy the iPhone 3GS Because of ATT

Posted in: Apple, att, Today's Chili

AT&T logo.jpeg

AT&T’s service is still proving to be an obstacle for new iPhone buyers, according to a small survey conducted by PriceGrabber.com.

PriceGrabber, which operates a price-comparison site for online shopping, said it conducted a poll of 2,411 respondents between June 12 and July 10, asking them about why those consumers have chosen to wait to buy the iPhone 3GS. About 10 percent of those polled already owned one of the versions of the iPhone, PriceGrabber reported.

Roughly a third of those polled blamed AT&T for their decision not to switch over, although why they disliked AT&T wasn’t apparently called out. The network provider has been criticized, however, for its dropped calls and spotty coverage.

During Apple’s conference call announcing another record quarter, however, chief operating officer Tim Cook said the relationship with AT&T was strong. “We have an excellent relationship with them and we’re very happy with it,” he said.

One reason for not purchasing the iPhone 3GS that PriceGrabber failed to turn up was a simple lack of them. Apple executives also revealed that the iPhone 3GS is supply-constrained; they weren’t able to predict when those supply constraints would end.

Some sample questions from the survey after the jump.

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