The Olympus E-PL2 is due to hit retailers soon, and we’re starting to see pictures of the accessories that will be available. Sure, there’s the standard fisheye, macro, and wide angle lenses; but what other camera has lights on flexible arms?
Olympus is also coming out with some specialized lights intended for macro photography. These lights are powered off the hot shoe (that mount on top of the camera where you put your flash), and mounted on two flexible arms, allowing you to light your subject using just the camera. No word on when the lights will hit stores, or how much they’ll cost. Props to Olympus for coming up with this clever lighting solution.
[via Electronista]
According to a post that’s just gone live on Boxee’s blog, users of the Boxee Box won’t see VUDU or Netflix content on their TVs until January. We know, the wait will be painful. According to the Boxee team, VUDU offerings should hit the platform as soon as next week, but Netflix won’t be made available until the end of the month. The company claims that both services are up and running in its offices, but more time was needed to “test each application to make sure they are ready for launch.” It’s nice to know where we stand, though it would have been even nicer to get more frequent updates on the status of these apps, instead of a last-minute blog post on New Year’s Eve.
Still, the post has equal touches of hopefulness for the bright future Boxee sees for home entertainment, and acknowledgment of the massive challenges the startup faces in the coming year. In their words: “As we get ready for the New Year tomorrow and CES next week, it’s clear that in 2011 we will be competing with companies that spend more feeding their employees that we have to pay ours. We’re confident though that our small team will continue to push the envelop of what people expect from their TVs.” Here at Engadget, we’re eager to see how it all plays out, but we’re definitely rooting for underdogs like Boxee who have pioneered so much of what the world is just waking up to. 2011 is going to be a crazy year!
Netflix and VUDU not hitting Boxee Box till January… as if you couldn’t have guessed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Lots of companies are getting in the flexible display R&D, but few have actually shown anything but prototypes. That’s not likely to change at CES this year, but we may see a few new items; Samsung is now showing off a 4.5″ AMOLED display that’s both flexible and transparent. Nice!
It’s different from the other screens they’ve shown off, and of course it’s not e-ink like some of the ones we’ve seen. Whether the flexibility would remain once you’d added a CPU and touch-sensitive panel is of course hard to say, but I’m liking where things are going.
Hybrid cars have officially jumped the shark, boring drivers from coast to coast as they smugly hypermile wherever they’re going. Meanwhile, those with big trucks have been relatively out of luck, having to stop frequently for gas — and to scrape the remains of those little hybrids out of their fender wells. That’s changing soon, with Via Motors taking its rebranded Chevy trucks (dig that flying V on the grille) and offering them to fleets in 2011, with sales to individuals coming two years later (you can get in line now for $ 1,000 down). Big companies like, apparently, PG&E will be able to roll in these so-called E-REV trucks that offer either 20 or 40 miles of electric range, augmented by an onboard generator. Yes, it’s a series hybrid layout similar in theory to the Volt, with the internal combustion engine charging the batteries which, in turn, send juice to the 268hp motor. Interestingly, though, that generator can power other things as well, providing 120 or 240V to tools, lights, maybe even hot tubs if you’re a super cool contractor. No word on anticipated vehicle cost nor efficiency, but we’re not expecting miracles on either front.
Continue reading Via Motors E-REV hybrid trucks power your commute and the job site too (video)
Via Motors E-REV hybrid trucks power your commute and the job site too (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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There are rumors going around right now that Sony is going to make a play for IMAX. Since IMAX is a major (so to speak) venue for 3D films, it makes some sense, and the sale would put Sony in control of a large amount of high-profile theaters around the country. How does that sound to you? Not so good? Yeah, same here.
Actually, I doubt it would make too much difference; it’s not like Sony theaters would fail to show movies you wanted to see. The deal would be a good one for IMAX, with the offer rumored to be $ 40/share and the company currently valued at around $ 26/share. It’s all unconfirmed, but it would make some sense. Sony likes to put itself in positions of power in the distribution structure, and the “last mile” of having control over IMAX would be a coup for them.
[via Electronista]
Over the past two weeks we’ve been incorporating a lightweight flexible technology into our workflow. Usually, of course, just about everything we write is routed through a processor, operating system and application and immediately reflected on an LCD using some multitasking user interface. However, we have been seeking a way to organize to-do lists on a separate display so that they are not lost in the course of a day’s work or taking up undue screen real estate. As it happens, we were invited to an exclusive press event extolling the latest version of paper.
Paper is a thin, foldable substance that can accommodate a wide array of styli to produce words and graphics. The catch is that, much like printer cartridges, these styli must be refilled with ink or replaced. But there is a wide ecosystem of these devices that are broadly available.
The developers of paper have really put a lot of forethought into a wide array of uses. The tool has almost no learning curve and data entry is so simple that young children will have no problems mastering its basics. Paper yields high contrast when used with the appropriate ink and consumes no power. And, simply put, there is no display on the market that can fold as flexibly as paper, allowing us to slip a small sheet imperceptibly into a shirt pocket or wallet.
Continue reading Reserve Power: Paper 2010, The Inkgadget Review
Reserve Power: Paper 2010, The Inkgadget Review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Been hoping to play a little Xenogears or Vagrant Story, but don’t want to drag out your old PS One? Well, you’re very lazy and should be ashamed of yourself. But soon it won’t matter, because these classics are coming to the PS3 as downloadable PSN games.
Yes, Xenogears, Legend of Mana, Threads of Fate, and Vagrant Story are all headed your direction, likely for similar pricing to that of the classic PS One Final Fantasy games.
Here’s the question, though. Will they run as well and look as good as they would if you used a Playstation emulator on your PC? Because those things run like butter and offer options like anti-aliasing, freeze frames, and all kinds of other stuff. I’m just saying. If you already own the games, there’s no reason to buy them again.
Kodachrome film is iconic enough that there have now been several ‘goodbye, Kodachrome’ news stories, and we just couldn’t resist one more. This time, our tale is of Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas (which we’ve had occasion to reference once before), a film processing store which has the distinction of being the final place to accept Kodachrome for development. The problem? The store has been flooded with packages of undeveloped film from all over the world as the window for its processing comes to an end. It turns out that having that distinction will get you hundreds of rolls of film a day, and Dwayne’s Photo said that it would not process any films that arrived after Thursday. Yes, that was yesterday, though the mail is undoubtedly still arriving.
Kodachrome film is seriously at the end of its life — again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The State Ministry of Industry in China has “outlawed” VoIP calling, suggesting workers use good old China telecom for their important calls out into the Capitalist wilds. According to a report, the ministry suggested that 30 million current users are using “illegal VoIP operators” and they have been given a number to call to report use of VoIP in their neighborhoods.
Generally this looks more like a power play by China Telecom and the other carriers to maintain its user base than any real concern over legality. However, it’s fairly obvious that VoIP is harder to police than POTS but considering the official Chinese carriers offer VoIP of their own, it’s pretty hard to swallow the security angle.
via Inquirer
We’ve already seen leaked images of the Olympus E-PL2, the much talked about follow up to the E-PL1. The Micro Four Thirds is expected to boast a new 14-42mm f/3.5 – 5.6 kit lens, a ‘direct movie’ button, a high-resolution 3-inch display, and an optional Bluetooth model. From the new image above, however, we can see that there will also be an optional ‘Medusa’ version of the cam with a closeup spotlight for all those insane macro shots you’ll undoubtedly be taking. The adjustable LED will also not require an extra battery, so this is one add-on we’ll definitely be seriously considering.
New image of Olympus E-PL2 leaks, shows off macro spotlight originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 14:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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