Panasonic recently announced in Japan that their HDC-SD7 is now the smallest camcorder on
this planet. Forget their older HDC-SD5; this new one is even smaller - not a hell of a lot smaller, but small enough. The SD7 weighs less, at 0.63 pounds vs 0.75 pounds for the SD5, and dimensions are 2.04 x 3.42 x 4.33 inches vs 2.6 x 2.6 x 5.3 inches. Not bad, it's lighter than a can of soda.
It comes standard with Advanced O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), which detects and compensates for your nervous twitch in the hand at about 4,000 times a second. This system is essential for full HD recording and viewing as the finer the resolution becomes, the more blurry images become on a large-screen HDTV. We can't forget about the lens - a Leica Dicomar for clear, crisp images.
This vertical camcorder also provides MPEG4 recording at 1920×1080 pixels, 10x optical zoom and it comes with a 4GB SDHC card good for 40 minutes. You can get the optional 8GB card for 1 hour 30 minutes of recording. The 2.7 inch LCD screen is not bad for this size of camcorder, but 3 inches would have been nice.
The HDC-SD7 also features an intelligent pre-rec function for capturing shots right when you need them. I don't know how they did it, but when you press the pre-rec button it goes into a stand-by state. When you finally press the record button it's able to also record action three seconds before you pressed the rec button. I guess it has some kind of a buffer (holding these images in memory) that allows you to go back and add in the perfect start time. Pretty cool functionality!
It also provides 3 CCD for better recording in low light conditions. What is CCD? It stands for charge-coupled device and is basically the electronic eye of the camera. It collects light, converts it to charge, and afterwards emits the signal that results in a digital image.
This is a convenient piece of hardware that you can take with you everywhere and will be available September 8.
Friday, August 03, 2007
The Panasonic HDC-SD7 - Earth's Smallest High Definition Camcorder
This Year's Leica Oskar Barnack Award Winner
Brazilian photographer, Julio Bittencourt, has won the 2007 Leica Oskar Barnack Award for a series of portraits of inhabitants of a house occupied by homeless people in downtown São Paulo. The winning images and 5,000 Euro award were presented during the photo festival Rencontres d’Arles last month in the south of France. Honourable mentions went to Spaniard José Cendon and Norwegian Margaret M. de Lange. Held since 1979 in memory of the inventor of the first 35mm camera, Oskar Barnack, the competition focuses on the relationship between man and his environment.
Oskar Barnack was a German instrument maker who became th
e head of the microscope department at Ernst Leitz in Wetzlar soon after joining the company in 1911. Oskar was the first to develop and mass market the 35mm camera, the Leitz Camera or Leica 1. This became the new tool for photojournalists who made it possible to see the world with greater impact, creativity and through different perspectives...or I should say, a different lens.
I have a Panasonic DMC-FZ50 and for my purposes, graphic design, it's just perfect. I made sure it came with a good lens - Leica. The fact is a good lens will, at the least, prevent lens distortion in your shots and provide clear, sharp photos. For beginners, a good lens isn't as important as good composition. A good lens will do you no service if you have bad composition so practice, practice.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Why I Wish I Had A Tesla Roadster
A couple months ago I watched, "Who Killed The Electric Car?" and it was a very enlightening look into the promising EV1 developed by GM and then later scrapped - literally. There were too many good things going for that car and a lot of organiztions felt threatened - motor, government, oil and auto parts industries. So, of course they gotta bring the club down on anything that's good for the people, and that's bad business for them.
I always wonder who runs these auto companies? They had a good thing going and now they're suffering in sales because Toyota and Honda are pushing the electric hybrids and meeting the demand. It's like the domestic auto companies are running into the future backwards and bumping into street poles along the way, while the japanese auto companies are running into the future facing forwards and catching all the green lights.
The japanese auto makers aren't off the hook though. What they're pushing are hybrids which still depend on gas. So they're appeasing someone that's for sure. In the documentary, Toyota also put a stop to their EV Toyota Rav 4s, basically following suit and scrapping them as GM did.
In the end, it's too much of a good thing that will take too much of a good thing from them - "cha ching!"
And now comes along Tesla Motors with a car that's twice as efficient as the latest hybrids out there, as sleek and stylish as its cousin (Lotus Elise), and faster than what I need in a car - but I'll take it. I am so impressed with the car that I designed one of a few ads for fun (see below). Since it's out of my price range (around 100k), I won't be getting one anytime soon, but it's definitely on my wish list. The company states that they named their roadster after Nikola Tesla as a tribute to his genius and that without his brilliant contributions, they wouldn't be where they are now... and so it goes for the rest of the world.
I'd have to agree with Tesla Motors - Nikola Tesla would very much look at their roadster with understanding and approval.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
My Review on the Surefire E2D Executive Defender Flashlight
A few years ago, I got caught in the hell that was the Great Blackout of 2003 in Toronto, Canada. This black out covered most of the north atlantic seaboard and parts of the mid-west of America and lasted up to three days in some areas. I new something was wrong when drivers tried to pass through intersections at the same time. A couple of my co-workers got trapped in elevators, so I guess I couldn't complain too much, but man that was a scary time. You had stranded streetcars, road rage, no gas at the pumps, people walking out of subway tunnels en masse, citizens volunteering to direct traffic (Thank YOU!), stinky restrooms via non-working toilets, and a few unfortunate deaths. You also had beautiful starry nights with all the city lights out and people got to know their neighbors better as everyone was hanging around outside to beat the heat. Some couples decided to get busy and conceived during that time too, haha.
I got stuck downtown at my sister's apartment on the 15th floor. Trying to walk down the stairs to the lobby in complete darkness was a very slow process. Luckily half way down, a guy with one of those glow sticks you see teens twirling at raves led the rest of the way. Once on the street, I met some not-so-nice characters whom I neutralized using words, instead of fists (thankfully). It's true, the freaks really do come out at night. Ever since then I told myself I'd carry a flashlight all day, everyday. I know, I'm kind of paranoid like that.
I decided, after much research, to purchase the Surefire E2D Executive Defender flashlight. This addressed three of my concerns. One is that it meets my requirement for an ultra-bright light in complete darkness. Two, it doubles as a personal security device for when I have to deal with the freaks that come out at night. Three, it's small enough to fit in my pocket.
Just under five inches, the E2D is constructed of knurled (for good traction) aluminum with a dark hard-anodized finish, and uses a domed Xenon bulb at 60 lumens for a total runtime of about 1 hour, 20 minutes using two CR123 lithium batteries. I guess you have to sacrifice the runtime for performance as this is one of the brightest in its category. The body also gets a little warm for prolonged periods but this is a normal given its power and brightness. It's designed with wedge-type bezels at the head and butt. Surefire calls this the crenellated Strike Bezel. I tested striking on a watermelon and I
definitely wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of this. I've dropped this flashlight so many times and it works like new, thanks to its aerospace-grade aluminum body that's Mil-Spec III hard anodized - whatever that means it's all good to me.
The light is so bright, it can temporarily blind and disorient a person's night-oriented vision. The button is on the butt and you can rotate the bezel to set the light always on when you press it fully. In a self-defense situation, you'd only press it hard enough to flash the light in the attackers eyes, then run out of there pronto. If you rotate the bezel the other way it's always off for when you need to store it or make sure it doesn't accidently turn on when you're transporting it. I made the mistake of not turning the bezel to always off and the button got pushed on during transport - in my fanny pack. The batteries are a pretty penny too. But all in all, I'm happy I invested $100 in this light, and the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. This flashlight/personal security device will be in service for many more years.
www.surefire.com
Firefox 2.0.0.6 has been released
I remember reading before that when you visited Google's home page on Internet Explorer there was a link pointing you to Firefox stating, "Firefox with Google Toolbar, Tabbed Browsing, Safer Surfing." With Google getting mega-million hits per day, I'd say that little link ad easily netted millions of loyal Firefox users and Firefox doesn't have to worry about Microsoft getting ahead in this game, even with the new Internet Explorer 7. Now with that said and done, it's time to talk about Firefox's newest update.
It seems like only a few days since Firefox was updated to version 2.0.0.5 but the ever busy development team had to release the new version earlier because of a recently discovered bug in the Windows version of Firefox. The new version is already available on the Mozilla homepage and the automatic update routine is also reporting version 2.0.0.6 as the latest version already.
The new version is fixing one critical and one moderate security vulnerability that I listed below for your convenience. Make sure you update to Firefox 2.0.0.6 as soon as possible.
MFSA 2007-27 Unescaped URIs passed to external programs
MFSA 2007-26 Privilege escalation through chrome-loaded about:blank windows
Nanotechnology in Innovative Moisture-Control Underwear
Combin
ing nanotechnology and a unique patent-pending process, a company named myLACYS provides a breakthrough solution for an annoying, sometimes embarrassing issue that many women encounter - unexpected panty moisture. I think I may get this for my wife, hehe.
This patent-pending moisture-protection process helps mitigate the issue many women face in daily life, which I'll repeat again for good measure - the uncomfortable, sometimes excessive, always distracting, panty moisture. Whether you are an athletic woman, perspiring woman, pregnant woman, PTA woman, whatever type of woman you are, this peace of clothing wonder will make life a lot easier, and comfortable, for you. The benefits are:
- Convenience - you're protected the minute you put your underwear on, there's no added step.
- Comfort - a disposable liner can shift around and stick to your skin – ouch! myLACYS pad is built-in so there's no shifting or getting stuck to you.
- Cost-savings - no need to make a separate purchase for pads, saving you both time AND money.
- Environmentally friendly - because the underwear is reusable, you're not adding to our landfills.
- Confidence - now you can go about your daily activities, knowing you're protected against life's "little surprises."
- Discreet - no one knows you're wearing protection but you.
Is Home Security Really That Important?
I've heard many news stories about burglaries and home invasions, with the most recent one affecting a small town in Connecticut. My deep sympathy to Dr. Petit on his loss. While criminals will bust into your home if they really wanted to, there are ways of making it very hard for them to do so.
You'd be surprised how many homeowners neglect to think about how to secure their homes from burglars. With crime increasing year after year and slowly creeping into affluent, "safe communities," home security deserves your undivided attention.
Now without consulting the experts, (which I'll link up later on) I can come up with a few things to help deter burglars and make them think twice about targeting your home.
1. Locks - Make sure you have deadbolts on every door, even the door in garage
2. Doors - They should be solid hardwood or steel reinforced
3. Windows - Double pane would help and heavy duty sash locks
4. Timers - Place them in different areas and vary the time for each lamp to go on and off
5. Habits - It's not good to close all your drapes only when you're gone - change it up and close them all when you're home to throw off burglars who are staking you out
6. Lights - Motion sensor lights are a must for all areas where burglars might penetrate
7. Dogs - Of course a live one is great, but those electronic ones may do the trick
8. Phones - Turn ring volume down so it can't be heard from outside and never say you're gone on vacation on your answering machine
9. Garage Door - Electronic ones are best and remember to change the default password
10. System - Alarms should be a given and please put it to good use; neighbors are useful too
Now if you're thinking about defending your own property make sure you have some sort of training in the use of a gun, stick or blade. Sobering statistics indicate that most homeowners have their weapons turned on themselves. Also, be prepared to use it. There's no hesitating when the shit hits the fan. When you strike, strike with conviction. I'm an escrima (filipino martial art) instructor and I teach the use of the single stick and empty hand. I know I will not hesitate to use one of my sticks, placed in certain areas of the house, on the poor unlucky robber.
If you go to www.howtoadvice.com/HomeSecurity, you'll find more detailed explanations on how you can make your home more secure. Be safe!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Nanotechnology Comes to Armor
There is a company in Israel called ApNano that has the technology to produce armor that is five times stronger than steel and twice the strength of the best impact/shock resistant materials out on the market today. The new nano-armor should be ready for commercial sale by 2008.
The material used is some kind of inorganic compound restructured, or synthesized I think is the operative term, to give the material its remarkable durability and strength. And that's durability and strength with a capital D and S. In laboratory tests, the material withstood the shock pressures generated by the impacts of up to 250 tons per square centimeter. After close examination, the sampled material remained totally identical to the original material.
At the time of writing, which was December 2005, they were on the hunt for financial backers and I don't think they'd have trouble finding them. War has been and always will be a racket. And to be honest, I wasn't that surprised that it was Israel who was churning out this new armor for the future - for the soldiers of tomorrow. This plainly states, to me, that there will be no peace in the middle east... not in our lifetimes anyway. And when there's money to be made in war, you know they will not have the slightest problem in selling those like hot cakes.
I'll tell you what, how 'bout using this technology to help people with their knee and hip replacements or those who need new limbs? I'm sure the auto manufacturers will love to put this in their future automobiles. And if you're going to prolong the conflict there, and this might be asking too much, at least offer to retrofit some citizens' homes with this new armor so they don't have to die needlessly from bombs and wild gunfire. This should be pennies in your pockets compared to what you'll earn by selling this armor to warmongers.
Umbrellas that Forecast and Kick Ass
The umbrella has come a long way in its functionality. From mini umbrellas to push button ones, umbrellas have now evolved to help you forecast the weather so you can stay dry and fend off attackers so you can stay alive.
From ambientdevices.com comes the Ambient Umbrella - never forget your umbrella 
again! It can let you know of weather conditions before you leave the door via the glowing butt. Different light patterns will warn you of snow, rain, drizzle, or thunderstorms and it automatically receives local weather data from AccuWeather.com. I think this would be especially handy on road trips when you're out and about and you don't have access to weather reports. This will cost you $125.
From real-self-defense.com comes the Unbreakable Walking-Stick Umbrella. All I can say is wow! After watching the demonstration below, I'd say this is the perfect companion for protecting you from rain, robbers and the authorities. Why the authorities? Well, it looks perfectly harmless and it's an everyday object that no one will question you about. It come with either a curved, straight or knob handles and will cost you $149.95.
Now if only you could combine the two umbrellas above to come up with the Unbreakable Ambient Umbrella... that would be a hot seller.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Toshiba Goes Ultra Wideband
Toshiba recently announced that it has started selling the first laptops to use a new high speed technology that allows them to connect to a docking station that can support an external monitor -and it's completely wireless.
It's one of the first consumer applications of UWB, or ultra-wideband wireless technology. Just think of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on uppers. Relaying video to an external monitor using the aforementioned is difficult. But with the new Toshiba laptops it's a breeze. Oh, and it doubles as a tablet PC - sweet!
The only downside is a range of about three feet to the docking station. But then again you don't want to be too far if you're doing detailed work. Customers in the U.S. can be happy, as the UWB chips use radio frequencies that are legal in the U.S. In most parts of the world - well, you'll just have to wait. And, they start at $3,000 - ouch! Oh, and the docking station is $500 - ouch again! Comparable non-wireless docking stations from Toshiba cost $180.
I already own a Toshiba laptop and am very happy with it, but this might come in handy one day. Now for example, if you're into graphic design and for some reason or another you're doing your design work on your Toshiba laptop, you know you're not going to get the proper colors calibrated on the LCD. With this new UWB Toshiba laptop you can wirelessly attach a nice Apple LCD monitor to the docking station without all the cable clutter and use its tablet feature to draw with more control in software apps like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter. You have more flexibility in how you set up your workspace and most importantly, you have a monitor that will display the proper colors so that your client won't think you're color blind.
