Hasta La Gadget!

Pentax may not be the first name you think of when scouting a new DSLR, but it’s certainly closer to the top now than it was prior to the K-7’s release. The semi-pro cam saw positive review after positive review flow in, giving even the Nikon and Canon faithful reason to pay attention. At right under $1,300 for just the body it didn’t come cheap, though the high-def movie capture mode, ability to snap HDR shots natively and 14.6 megapixel sensor help to justify the MSRP somewhat. What we’re really after here are your thoughts; for those that bought in, have you been pleased? Is the low-light performance sufficient? Is the autofocus snappy enough for your tastes? Or more importantly, how happy are your clients with the results? Comments are all yours, so get to it!

Filed under: Digital Cameras

How would you change Pentax’s K-7 DSLR? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Ron, who would just be happy with an ultraportable with an actual, bona fide, worthwhile GPU.

“I am looking for a 12- or 13-inch ultraportable that can also play modern games at a reasonable level, for less than $1,000. I know the brainiacs out there can help me out. Love the site, thanks!”

We know for sure that Dell’s Studio XPS 13 has the guts to pull off a few modern titles, but we know there are far more options out there than that. So, who here has a super small laptop with a discrete GPU worth bragging about? Don’t hold back now, vaquero.

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Laptops

Ask Engadget: Best ultraportable laptop for gaming? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even before Sony’s big unveil earlier this month at Cologne GamesCom, it felt like we already knew the PlayStation 3 Slim quite intimately. A leak from back in May gave us a glimpse of every angle of the hardware’s exterior, and even the final retail box. At that point, we didn’t know what to make of it, and the change in logo font definitely threw us off. Three months, thirty seconds of video, and a dash of legal paperwork later, and we’re looking at that very same leaked device, now taking up space adjacent to our hefty 60GB “Classic” model from launch day. Unquestionably, it’s smaller and lighter, but how else has Sony’s Blu-ray-playing console evolved — or regressed — over these past few years? Read on to find out!

Continue reading PlayStation 3 Slim review

Filed under: Gaming

PlayStation 3 Slim review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

Apple, Microsoft and the Mac have an interesting history: Microsoft was among the first developers for Macintosh, yet not long after, Apple would sue Microsoft for copying the look and feel of Mac OS in Windows. By the late 90s, Microsoft made a huge splash at Macworld with an announced 150 million dollar investment in Apple and promises of further development of Office and Internet Explorer for Macintosh. Office in particular was a major issue as it was a key requirement for business users. Early on, Office applications for Mac were far more advanced than their Windows counterparts. Excel was actually introduced for Mac users before Windows users could get their hands on it. But by the mid 90s, all that changed, the Mac versions of Office lagged behind Windows in terms of features and performance. It took forever to get things such as a common set of file formats, so that users of Office on the two different platforms could exchange documents with ease (it seems like something we take for granted but having managed and supported PC and Mac users in mixed shops, it was a nightmare to deal with). The latest version of Office for Mac, Office 2008 showed that Microsoft could produce top quality Macintosh software. I personally, think Office 2008 for Mac is the best version of the software that Microsoft has ever done (far better than Office 2007 for Windows, as it preserved the core part of the Mac UI while co-existing nicely with the ribbon UI). Obviously, however, a situation with such broad inconsistency is untenable.

Continue reading Entelligence: Will Snow Leopard’s Exchange support earn Apple a new entourage?

Filed under: Software

Entelligence: Will Snow Leopard’s Exchange support earn Apple a new entourage? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The votes are in, dear readers, and you’ve spoken loud and clear: from our original 23 finalists, your votes have boiled it down to five well-deserved winners who’ve clearly put time, effort, thought, determination, and old-fashioned elbow grease into their designs for gracing the metal back of Amazon’s 6-inch Kindle.

So what happens next? We’ll be working with winners and coordinating with the good folks at Adafruit Industries to turn these designs into reality thanks to some insanely high-powered precision lasers — picture that scene in Goldfinger where the film’s namesake tries to cut 007 in half to get an idea of just how high-powered we’re talking about here — and rest assured, we’ll be posting plenty of pictures as they come out of the workshop! Follow the break for the lucky five (presented in order with the most votes first).

A huge word of thanks to Amazon, Adafruit Industries, everyone who submitted entries, and the voters who figured out where these Kindles belong!

Continue reading Engadget’s Kindle design contest: we have winners!

Filed under: Announcements, Misc. Gadgets

Engadget’s Kindle design contest: we have winners! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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