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  • Canon announces new Wireless File Transmitter units for latest pro models, enables DSLR hive-minding

    Canon announces new Wireless File Transmitter units for latest pro models, enables DSLR hive-minding
    Canon’s 5D Mark II, 7D, and 1D Mark IV have all been released within the past year, more or less, and now they’re finally getting the WFT treatment. Canon’s Wireless File Transmitter units naturally enable the wireless beaming of pictures from camera to computer, but this latest generation adds some new functionality. 802.11a joins the b and g modes found on earlier models, and once connected the camera can act as an FTP site (available over the internet, if you wish), can beam a realtime preview image to a connected computer, act as a DLNA server, and can even synchronize itself with up to 10 “slave” cameras that all fire at the same time. Naturally this kind of tech won’t come cheap, with the 5D’s WFT-E4 II A and 7D’s WFT-E5A costing $699 (no price yet for the 1D Mark IV’s WFT-E2 II A) and yes, rather sadly none are compatible with each other. Did you really think it’d be any other way?

    Canon announces new Wireless File Transmitter units for latest pro models, enables DSLR hive-minding originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • RCA Lexi e-reader sports Barnes and Noble software, Audiovox hardware

    Quite frankly, readers, it looks like Audiovox is out of control. It’s already deluged us with RCA branded camcorders, digiframes, and iPod soundsystems, and now it looks like the company is entering the e-book game. The RCA-branded Lexi e-reader sports a 6-inch (800 x 600) 16-level grayscale display, 2GB storage, and a battery life of some 7,000 page turns. Other features include ezTurn functionality (for the south paw in your life) and something called Auto-Magic content synchronization. As for content, this bad boy ships with Barnes & Nobles Desktop Reader for purchasing, managing, and, yes, reading the latest Dan Brown bestseller (some sort of sinister conspiracy, we believe). But that ain’t all! Adobe Reader Mobile is also included, making it interoperable and fully compatible with PDF and ePub formats. Look for it in May for $229.99. PR after the break.

    Continue reading RCA Lexi e-reader sports Barnes and Noble software, Audiovox hardware

    RCA Lexi e-reader sports Barnes and Noble software, Audiovox hardware originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Can You Help Me Give Up Meat for Lent? Good Questions

    Q: I am thinking about giving up meat for Lent. But I do not know much about cooking vegetarian meals. I don’t want to confine myself to eating only salads and soups.

    I am looking for simple, delicious meals that won’t take forever to make. I’m into comfort food, Southern food, Italian food, and Mexican food.

    Sent by Tara

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  • InFocus updates IN2100 and IN3100 series projectors, boosts brightness, burns retinas

    InFocus updates IN2100 and IN3100 series projectors, boosts brightness, burns retinas
    “With the adoption of flat panels in schools and businesses, expectations for what’s ‘bright enough’ have changed.” That’s the lead-off on the explanation for the new IN2100 and IN3100 series DLP projectors from InFocus, reasoning that we can definitely get behind. Both lines were initially announced back in 2008 and the 2100 line is now getting some subtle tweaks, longer-lasting bulbs, “dramatically increased” brightness, and more inputs for better institutional performance. The 3100 adds HDMI to the existing outputs, wireless connectivity using Wireless DisplayLink, and PC-free presenting from a USB stick via LitePort. Lower-end models in both series are available now, with the top-shelf entrants dropping later this quarter. IN2100 models start at $599 and IN3100 models begin at a rather spendier $1,499, but hey, it’s a business expense, right? Go crazy.

    InFocus updates IN2100 and IN3100 series projectors, boosts brightness, burns retinas originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • A year in gaming quotes: Kotick, Beatles, Tony Hawk




    2009 certainly was a busy year for gaming. We’ve had curious console refreshes, boycotts of blockbuster games, and more peripheral-laden games than you can shake a stick at. We even got to shoot people in an airport. And what better way to celebrate the year that was 2009 than by looking at some of the more interesting things said by games industry folks. Here is your 2009, in quotes.

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  • Gov. Quinn and Sen. Durbin Joint Statement on COGFA Vote to Close Thompson Correctional Center

    Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn today commended the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) for their 7-4 decision in favor of the closure of the Thomson Correctional Center.

    Sen. Durbin and Gov. Quinn issued the following statement:

    “We are pleased the bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability has endorsed the sale of the Thomson Correctional Center to the federal government and rejected the partisan rhetoric.

    Elected officials, community and business leaders and the residents of Northwest Illinois are wholeheartedly supporting this proposal because they understand that this is an opportunity to create up to 3,800 jobs and generate more than $1 billion in a region that desperately needs both.

    Fully utilizing Thomson and upgrading this facility to make it the safest prison in the nation will not jeopardize the safety and security of our country or our state; we would never endorse a plan that would do so.

    Despite the fear-mongering and nay-saying of a vocal few, we stand with state, county and local law enforcement officers and state’s attorneys from across the area, and with our nation’s military commanders, who know that this is about making our country safer by removing the deadly recruiting tool that Guantanamo has become.

    This should not be a political or partisan issue. This is about doing what’s right for our troops, for our national security and for the people of Illinois.

    We will continue doing everything we can to make this sale a reality and bring the jobs and other economic benefits to our state.”

    Please see this list of support for the federal acquisition of Thomson Correctional Center.


  • Flash Player on the Nexus One

    What most smart phone browsers lack is having a Flash Player. The developers at Adobe and members of the Open Screen Project are very close at solving this problem. The Nexus One has become the ideal device to test Flash Player 10.1, with its Snapdragon 1GHz processor. The video below shows Flash on the Nexus One in action.

    We seem to be slowly inching towards a full release from Adobe.  Tell us what you think about this.  Are you holding off getting a smartphone because of Flash?  Perhaps you are on the other side of the spectrum.  Do you even care at this point?


  • prośba, głównie do mieszkańców Szczecina

    Ludy, bracia itp itd!
    prośbę mam następującej treści – w którymś ze szczecińskich wątków widziałem zdjęcia z rozbiórki obiektów na jakiejś działce szykowanej pod grubą inwestycję (strzelam, że jest to rejon prawobrzeżny na południe od stoczni), na których widać było fragment zadaszenia jakiejś hali, i o ile dobrze kojarzę, widziałem tam żelbetowe belki typu ażurowego (jak niżej)

    byłbym niezmiernie wdzięczny za wskazanie mi linku do tematu, którego nie jestem tego w stanie samodzielnie odszukać (a straciłem już ponad godzinę)

    pozdrawiam!
    Mariusz

  • Tessin’s palace | Stockholm, Sweden

    Located in the historic part of Stockholm. It was built between the year 1694 and 1700 as a recidence for the architect of the new royal palace. On the outside it looks like a regular city block but inside it reveales a barock style palace in miniture. The perspectives inside the garden makes it looks bigger than it actually is.

    The front facing the street.

    Main entrance

    The garden facing the part of palace against the street

  • Morgan Solar Increases Series A Funding to $8.2M

    We’ve been following Morgan Solar, which has developed a novel concentrating photovoltaic module, for a while. Until last fall, friends and family largely backed the startup, launched by a University of Toronto graduate. Then, in October, the company raised $4.7 million in an inaugural round of funding backed by a string of blue-chip investors, including Spain’s Iberdrola Renewables. The Series A funding helped put this promising solar venture on the map.

    Yesterday, Toronto-based Morgan Solar said that it has increased its Series A funding to $8.2 million. Turnstone Capital Management, a New York-based asset management firm, led the funding. Morgan also got cash from the Iberdrola and Nypro venture capital firms and two unnamed Canadian VC groups.

    When we last spoke to company founder John Paul Morgan in October, he had indicated that the company was looking to significantly grow its Series A funding.

    Nicolas Morgan, the company’s head of business development and brother of John Paul Morgan, said it plans to use the proceeds to scale production of its concentrated photovoltaic solar panel, the Sun Simba HCPV.

    Initial commercial deliveries of the panels are expected by the end of the year, according to the company.

  • Report: Toyota to offer hybrid Scion iQ in sedan, five-door

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    Scion iQ Concept – click above for hi-res image gallery

    You know that Toyota iQ your cousin’s seen running around Europe and Japan? It’s making its way Stateside, first to next week’s Detroit Auto Show, then to a Scion dealer near you as a hybrid. This is according to a scoop by Inside line. We’ve known for a while now that the iQ will be showing up as a Scion, just not for certain as a hybrid. Also, according to IL, the fate of the brand hangs in the balance. Also-also, they might (yay!) drop the name iQ.

    That’s right, the diminutive Toyota with the silly name is going to greet us as a youth-branded Scion. In multiple flavors, too. First will come a five-door hatchback, followed next by a four-door sedan. The latter is almost a little puzzling – who on earth wants a four-door sedan version – but then we recall all the other cars PR types tell us the American market forces into four-door guise and we’re not surprised one bit. The Scion iQ will also come as a three-door hatch. Expect the five-door to show up first, towards the end of 2011.

    The engine options are pretty interesting. If you so desire, a 1.3-liter four-banger will produce 93 horsepower. However, most folks will probably opt for the hybrid version. First of all, the gas and electric propulsion is so cheap that Toyota will be able to sell it for $15,000 or less. Second, expect a 1.5-liter four and some sort of electric motor to produce between 100 and 120 hp and return 60 mile per gallon. Not bad at all. Again, Inside Line ends their scoop explaining that if the iQ doesn’t get youngsters buying Scions, nothing will. Er, make that nothing will have a chance to, as Toyota is likely to fold the brand.

    [Source: Inside Line]

    Report: Toyota to offer hybrid Scion iQ in sedan, five-door originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Wirelessly Transfer Files From Your DSLR with Transmitters From Canon [Dslr]

    Owners of the EOS-1D Mark IV, EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D can now wirelessly beam photos from their camera to the computer with the WFT-E2 II A Wireless File Transmitter, WFT-E4 II A Wireless File Transmitter or WFT-E5A Wireless File Transmitter (respectively). Can also be used to fire up to 10 cameras simultaneously. Units are priced at $700. [Canon]







  • Medtronic Invests in GI Dynamics

    Luke Timmerman wrote:

    GI Dynamics, the Lexington, MA-based maker of a device for treating obesity and diabetes, said today that the device giant Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) has made a strategic investment in the company. The amount wasn’t disclosed in a statement, although GI Dynamics submitted a regulatory filing that says it just raised $15 million from a single investor. The GI Dynamics technology, called EndoBarrier, is like a sleeve that lines the gut and creates a barrier that controls how food is absorbed into the small intestine. Last month, the company received clearance to market the product in Europe.







  • Volvo Tests Viability of the C30 BEV

    Swedish carmaker Volvo is currently evaluating the viability of introducing an entirely electric-powered car known as a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) on the market, after already announcing a plug-in hybrid for 2012. In 2009, a small number of prototype versions of the C30 BEV have been built and tested internally by Volvo.

    "The Volvo C30 is the first model we will try out with electric power. This car’s excellent properties in city traffic and its relatively low weight make… (read more)

  • T-Mobile and ICD Announce First Mobile Connected Tablet for Busy Families

    Remember that  Innovative Converged Devices (ICD) Vega we talked about a few months back?  You know, the one with a Tegra chipset inside?   Well, it’s officially on its way to T-Mobile UK for release later this year.  Touted as a “family hub tablet’, the unit is designed with one-touch access to a household calendars, giving families the ability to organize their schedules. The schedule can be accessed anyone, wherever they are, over the web or mobile device. 

    The unit comes with a T-Mobile SIM card inside so easy, hands-free calling on-board, it’s easy to make a quick hands-free call at the touch of a button. Other features include WiFi web browsing, on-demand TV, access to social networks, video chat and games, and an FM radio.

    T-Mobile UK and ICD are in the final stages of development and expect to have this out later in 2010.   As mentioned before, the ICD Vega tablet is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 250 mobile web processor and provides full HD 1080p video playback even when undocked from the base.

    Visitors to CES are able to get a glimpse of the device.  If you’re in Vegas this week, head over to the T-Mobile UK booth!


  • 2010 Geneva Preview: 2011 Nissan Juke teased, remains true to Qazana concept

    Nissan Juke Teaser

    While all eyes will be on the 2010 Detroit Auto Show starting Monday, Nissan is reminding us today that the next major show will be held in Geneva in March. The Japanese automaker announced today that it will debut the new Nissan Juke at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show with sales to begin shortly after.

    Inspired by the Qazana concept, the Nissan Juke extends the crossover philosophy to the compact car segment. Nissan says that the Juke will fit into the Nissan range between the Note compact family car and the Qashqai crossover.

    The Nissan Juke will be produced alongside the Qashqai, Qashqai+2 and Note at Nissan’s facility in Sunderland, Great Britain.

    Powertrain and availability details will be announced next month.

    Make the jump for the press release.

    2011 Nissan Juke Teaser:

    Nissan Juke Teaser

    Press Release:

    JUKE: NISSAN’S NEW SMALL CROSSOVER

    * Sales to begin in Autumn for Europe
    * Extending the Crossover philosophy to the small car segment
    * Nissan’s fourth Crossover in Europe – reinforcing Crossover leadership
    * Manufactured in UK

    One month before its global media unveil on February 10th, Nissan today confirms the name of its forthcoming small Crossover. The Nissan Juke will go on sale from October, following its global public premiere at Geneva Motor Show in March.

    The Nissan Juke will inject some much-needed dynamism into the small car segment, offering European car-buyers an alternative to the traditional, uninspiring small hatchback. As the fourth Crossover in Nissan’s European range, “Juke” reinforces the brand’s pioneering Crossover leadership in Europe.

    The car was inspired by the Qazana concept car that received such a warm reception at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, and will fit into the Nissan range between the Note compact family car and the Qashqai crossover.

    Nissan’s customer research identified a large proportion of European small and compact car buyers whose needs are not met by what they perceive to be uninspiring and unoriginal options available to them where copycat hatchbacks dominate.

    The Nissan Juke has been designed and developed to give customers an alternative to the traditional small hatchback in Europe. We know that there are a lot of customers that are looking for a car which combines striking design, agile handling and driving pleasure, user friendly technology but not at the expense of practicality and convenience. These unique attributes will allow Juke to occupy a unique corner of the European market,” said Simon Thomas, Nissan’s European Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing.

    “Nissan caught the mood of the European car-buying public with Qashqai crossover and we’ve worked hard to study the market in the same way for Juke to be sure we meet the needs of European customers. We’re confident that Juke will bring a new generation of customers to Nissan, in the same way that Qashqai did. Our philosophy of challenging conventions with Qashqai has been a huge success. We’ve just reached the 500,000 landmark and we’re applying many of the lessons learned from Qashqai to Juke. We’re confident we’ll have another success on our hands,” added Simon Thomas.

    Juke will be manufactured alongside the Qashqai, Qashqai+2 and Note at Nissan’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Sunderland, Great Britain.

    With the introduction of Murano in the US in 2003, the Crossover concept was introduced to consumers who were looking for a vehicle that combined the dynamic design and handling characteristics of a passenger car, but with the added benefit of all-wheel drive traction and the improved visibility of a raised seating position, but without the boxy shape of an SUV.

    In Europe, the introduction in 2007 of Nissan’s Qashqai heralded the mainstream introduction of the Crossover concept for the first time, providing an alternative to the traditional C-Segment offering. In just over two-and-a-half years, and with a half-a-million buyers in Europe, customer feedback shows they love its combination of understated, but sophisticated design which combines the lower body robustness of an SUV, but the upper body profile of a passenger car. Such has been demand for Qashqai that production was increased at the plant in Sunderland, UK, to meet supply. The Qashqai concept was followed by the introduction of the stretched wheelbase version, the Qashqai+2, offering extra interior space allowing the inclusion of a third row of folding seats to meet the needs of larger active families who need extra space or accommodation.

    Details of forthcoming refreshments to the Qashqai were released earlier in December.

    Full details of Juke will be released on 10th February 2010.

    – By: Kap Shah


  • Project Natal Consumes Just 15 Per Cent of the XBox’s CPU Power [Project Natal]

    According to Alex Kipman, chief developer of Project Natal. It’s a result of Microsoft gathering “terabytes” of data of gaming postures. Must have been fun for the researchers.

    [Tech Radar UK]







  • Surprise! Study Suggests Cell Phone Use Could Actually Fight Alzheimer’s | 80beats

    miceradiationBack and forth go the studies investigating whether cell phone uses increases the risk of brain cancer (the latest one to get major press, released last month, found nothing there). This week, though, new research has grabbed the headlines by declaring that our ubiquitous communication and time-wasting devices could actually provide a health benefit.

    In a study set to come out today in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (and funded in part by the National Institute on Aging), a group led by Gary Arendash argues that the radiation from cell phones that we’ve been worrying about could protect against Alzheimer’s Disease. But it’s far too soon to advise people to start medicating themselves by talking even longer on the phone.

    Researchers at the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center arranged about 70 mouse cages in a circle around a central antenna that emitted electromagnetic waves typical of what would emanate from a phone pressed to a human head. They were exposed to the radiation for two hours a day over seven to nine months. About two dozen other mice served as controls [Los Angeles Times]. Arendash’s team used mice they had genetically engineered to develop the brain buildups and memory problems typical of Alzheimer’s when they got older. The team says that the memory problems of those mice exposed to the radiation began to disappear during the study. Not only that, but normal mice (that hadn’t been genetically engineered) also showed memory improvements after exposure.

    Why? The researchers showed that exposing old Alzheimer’s mice to the electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones erased brain deposits of beta-amyloid, a protein strongly associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Clumps of beta-amyloid form so-called brain plaques that are a hallmark of the disease [LiveScience]. According to the scientists, the slight increase in brain temperature brought on by the radiation could’ve caused the mouse brains to release those plaques.

    Arendash surprised himself, saying that before the study he’d expected to see that cell phone use would make dementia worse. “Quite to the contrary, those mice were protected if the cell phone exposure was stared [sic] in early adulthood. Or if the cellphone exposure was started after they were already memory- impaired, it reversed that impairment,” Arendash said [Reuters]. When the benefits for the mice continued without any noticeable detriments, he was sold.

    Glowing from success, Arendash and USF colleagues said future research could determine the best “dosage” of radiation for targeting these brain plaque deposits: the 918 megaHerz in US mobile phones, 800 megaHerz in European phones, or another frequency — and how long effective “treatment” would have to be [AFP].

    Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, though. The work by Arendash opens up all kinds of avenues for possible research, but research on the health effects of cell phones seems prone to long, drawn out studies and occasionally contradictory headlines, like those we see about red wine or coffee being good or bad. William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, warned against self-medicating with extra cell use based on these findings. (And just yesterday we covered the scientist smackdown over whether a virus truly causes chronic fatigue syndrome, with the British researchers now arguing that the link isn’t proven, and warning people not to seek out antiretroviral drugs.)

    The next steps: Other researchers will try to replicate Arendash results in mice, and if they do so, scientists can go on to test whether electromagnetic waves have the same effect on humans.

    Related Content:
    80beats: Can You Fear Me Now? Cell Phone Use Not Linked to Brain Cancer
    80beats: Cancer Doctor Issues Warning About Cell Phones, And Causes Panic
    80beats: Scientist Smackdown: Is a Virus Really the Cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
    80beats: Lack of ZZZZs Linked to Alzheimer’s in Mice
    80beats: Electrical Brain Stimulation Prompts Big Hopes—And a Dash of Concern

    Image: University of South Florida


  • Help Me Find Good Bowls for Mixing and Baking Good Questions

    Q: I cook and bake a lot, especially during this time of the year. A lot of these recipes need to have the ingredients beaten. I can’t afford a stand mixer right now, so I use my hand blender. The problem is all the bowls I have are so small that it gets everywhere!

    Can you recommend a bowl that wouldn’t get damaged by a hand blender, but be good at keeping the mess in?

    Sent by Shawn

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  • The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin

    Before I even finished the book, I had already preordered multiple copies of Gretchen Rubin’s latest title, The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. Which means if you’re looking for an enlightening, laugh-aloud read, get the book and forget the rest of this review. If you need more convincing, let me count the monthly ways….

    Gretchen Rubin already had a pretty good life. She’s married to the man of her dreams, has two “delightful” daughters, is a bestselling author with a Yale law degree, is healthy, and lives in her favorite city surrounded by supportive family and friends. But she’s also prone to misbehavior that undermines her well-being: she loses her temper over trivial things, and fights melancholy and insecurity, not to mention that unshakable guilt.

    One morning on a city bus, Rubin had a startling epiphany: “I was suffering from midlife malaise – a recurrent sense of discontent and almost a feeling of disbelief … ‘Is this really it?’” Asking herself what she really wanted, her answer seemed simple: “I want to be happy.” Like most of us, she “had never thought about what made [her] happy or how [she] might be happier.” But unlike most of us, she actually figured out how: “I decided to dedicate a year to trying to be happier.” And she gives the rest of us great hope because she did so without making radical changes like running off to Indonesia. Rubin assures us, “I wanted to change my life without changing my life, by finding more happiness in my own kitchen.”

    First she planned and prepared. She compiled her own “Twelve Commandments,” which begins with the all-important “Be Gretchen,” and her “goofier list” of “Secrets of Adulthood,” which includes tried-and-tested gems like, “By doing a little bit each day, you can get a lot accomplished,” and Luddite-loving zingers like, “Turning the computer on and off a few times often fixes glitches.”

    Armed and ready, Rubin set off on her year-long journey. Superbly organized into amusing step-by-step months, Happiness Project is a definite success – just reading it will make you happier. Rubin manages to offer plausible, solid suggestions for what worked for her; she’s great at navigating that delicate line between “just do this,” and “you might want to try that.” As self-help books go, Rubin’s works because it’s filled with open, honest glimpses into her real life, woven together with constant doses of humor. She begins the year boosting her energy to be better prepared for the next 11 months: In January, she sleeps more, exercises better, and cleans out her closets. February is spent working on her marriage: She vows to nag less, fight right, and “not to eat a half pound of M&Ms on an empty stomach.” …[click here for more]

    Review: Christian Science Monitor, January 7, 2010

    Tidbit: Hee hee ho ho … a dear friend emailed me to let me know that apparently I made Gretchen Rubin pretty happy … scroll down to bottom of her post on her Happiness blog.

    Readers: Adult

    Published: 2009