AllThingsApple.Net

Starting this August Japanese photo and video giant Canon will be joinig Panasonic and Sony in their latest efforts to promote a new video standard called AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition). Canon’s first camcorder using the high-definition video standard will be called HR-10. The new cam that will be recording digital video clips on MiniDVDs will be featuring a 10x zoom and a 2.7 Megapixel camera for still photos is expected to be much smaller then competitors in this class. Some Insiders even compare the new Canon cam to Sony’s newest super small HDR-CX6 camera series.

UK-based Computer Shopper magazine just got it right: “Shuttle PC’s are an excellent choice”. Not just if you are looking for a eye-catching design, but power: The Shuttle XPC Barebone SD39P2 for example, a new PC the company calls the first small form factor computer to support quad-core processors. Computer Shopper mag positively noted the “very good” performance and the low noise level which let this high-end gaming rig run “mercifully quiet.” Just perfect for the living room.

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… your TV that is. Sony has demonstrated a flexible TV screen that displays color video on curved objects. A combination of organic thin film transistor (TFT) and organic light emitting diodes (OLED) technologies, the screen is paper-thin and displays better color and clarity than other so called electronic papers. It bends like a Beckham corner-kick and won´t break if you drop it. Sony says, the idea is to put it up as wall-paper, wrap it around a lamppost or possibly wear it as clothing.

Japanese CE giant Panasonic just announced their latest addition to their Lumix digital camera family, the DMC-FX100. The company claims the new Lumix is the world’s first 12.2Mp digital camera with a 28mm wide-angle lens. We just heard a similar claim from Casio following the introduction (see Gizmonistas! report below) of their first 12.1 Megapixel compact digital camera. Panasonic’s announcement as well as Casio’s step again raise the question, if it make sense to equip a compact digital camera with a (low-quality) 12 Megapixel sensor. Certainly these cameras can deliver large images - but of questionable quality.

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Pioneer Computers has introduced what it claims to be the most powerful notebook in the world. According to the company, the DreamBook is the first notebook to be powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processor E and X series, and supports up to 3 hard disk drives and Raid 0/1/5.

It features a 17.1-inch with Glare WUXGA (1920×1200) TFT screen, Dual nVIDIA GeForce Go 7950/8800 GTX 2x 512MB (SLI) video controller and an audio system with AZALIA Audio. UAA (Universal Audio Architecture), high definition audio interface, S/PDIF Digital output, a built-in mic and four built-in speakers.

The DreamBook Power D90 notebook is available on a build to order basis, so you can add on features such as a TV tuner or 1.3 megapixel camera. It weighs 5.4 kilogram and comes with a Kensington lock. Available only in Asia and Australia for now. MSRP from AU-$4500.

(photo credit GameSpot)
Our colleagues over at Crave have an interesting story today on DirectX 10 graphics cards; the newest generation graphics hardware for pc gaming enthusiats. The Cnet-Crave folks tested Nvidia’s GeForce 8000-series of 3D graphics cards as well as the new ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT. All of these cards are DirectX 10 ready, which means they’ll be able to play the next-generation, Vista gaming titles as soon as they’re out. Thanks to the DirectX 10 demo of Capcom’s Lost Planet, they finally got some software to put that next-gen hardware to work. (…)

You’ll need Windows Vista, and either an Nvidia GeForce 8000 series or an ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT card to be able to try out the DX10 version of the demo (XP users, and Vista owners with older graphics cards can grab the DX9 version). ATI owners should note that the new Radeons haven’t been certified on this game yet. Given that ATI’s drivers are in such an early state, we wouldn’t expect outstanding performance, but the good news is that it could get better as ATI’s software matures. We won’t be testing with this demo, as its release was basically shepherded by Nvidia in response to the launch of ATI’s new card. You can find test results around the Web, though. Fairness aside, we’re just glad to finally have something to try out our DX10 hardware.

We tried a brief side-by-side with the DX9 demo on one PC and the DX10 demo on another (both Nvidia-powered PCs). We weren’t able to tell the difference in still shots, but the motion blur effects in the DX10 demo seemed more advanced. Our DX10 test bed, the recently reviewed Maingear X-Cube, is no budget PC, either, but it definitely showed signs of choppy frame rates, even at a modest 1280×960 resolution. A warning in the beginning of the demo says that it’s not final code, so hopefully, between driver revisions and a more stable shipping game, the final experience will be smoother and less demanding. If not, it’s going to be an expensive upgrade path to smooth DX10 gameplay.

Apple just announced an important update to the MacBook Consumer Notebook series: According tom the Cupertino, Ca, based Computer maker, from now on their popular entry laptop models will be equipped with the faster Intel Core 2 Duo prozessor, plus 1 Gigabyte RAM memory and larger Harddrives. Also: The newest MacBook’s will ship with an integrated iSight video camera as well as the iLife 06 software bundle and will be additionaly equipped with the MagSafe power cord technology.
According to company insiders, the company is currently also working on revisions of the MacBook Pro, Apple’s top-of-the-line notebook targeted for the professional market. Insiders report that the new MacBook Pro generation laptops will have enhanced feature chip set from Intel’s Santa Rosa architecture and should be outfitted with faster 800 MHz front side system buses as well as second generation Core 2 Duo mobile processors capable of speeds up to 2.4 GHz. Also expected: The 15″ model should be Apple’s first laptop to convert from a traditional cathode fluorescent-backlit display for an LED-backlit model.

Extreme Surfer’s and fans, ever wondered what gets the waves at the Mavericks, the #1 top-surfing spot in Northern California so big? The California Coast State Waters Mapping Project now revealed what’s underneath the monster wave and released highly detailed, three-dimensional mapping images produced with advanced sonar equipment (shipboard multi-beam echo sounders and aerial light detection bathymetric sensing instruments). They also released an animated fly-through of the Mavericks seafloor (the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary - which includes the seafloor at Mavericks). Finally, you can check out what is underneath the monster wave, and what else the surfers face each time they challenge Mother Nature.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs just published a surprising open letter about a “greener Apple” on the computer maker’s website. Like some other tech giants, Apple has long been under fire from environmentalist for questionable recycling and production practices in Asia, especially in China; during Macworld conferences in recent years, international environmentalist frequently demonstrated against the company outside the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
Talking about green and China: Former vice president Al Gore is here in Silicon Valley tonight talking about the environment and China (!?) at an event organised by Santa Clara based web portal Yahoo. We’ll keep you updated how it went …

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Some time ago, at the behest of a friend, I purchased a Micronta Biofeedback Monitor from a local RadioShack(part No. 630-0664). To be perfectly honest, I forgot how much the thing cost but suffice it to say, it was extremely affordable in Post-Reaganomics US dollars.
It purported to aid in stress reduction with regular usage. The “feedback” was an oscillating sine wave which reacted to GSR and the idea was to “make” the sine wave frequency lower by “relaxing” whatever autonomic functions under my locus of control by regulated breathing and thinking happy thoughts, etc. Of course, if I had a Wii to plug the sucker into then, I would have…But sadly, I was only able to fashion a controlled voltage adapter cable from the Micronta’s headphone output which I hooked into a Roland Juno-6’s arpeggiator tempo control.
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