All about shapes - Matoumba

- 1 days and 2 hours ago

New on Turbulence.org:

“Bronx Rhymes” by Claudia Bernett and Maria Ioveva. “Bronx Rhymes” illuminates the history and significance of Hip Hop in the Bronx by tagging important locations for Hip Hop (1520 Sedgwick, for example) with posters. Each poster describes the historical significance of that location in the form of a rhyme, and invites people walking by to join in a rhyming battle by txt-ing their own rhyme from their mobile phone. The website bronxrhymes.org displays the artists and locations along with all the submitted rhymes elevating the most recent submission.

“Reflection (hope and reconciliation)” by Michael Takeo Magruder. Pervasive mass-media in the information age offers us a continuous stream of mediated realities. Countless events of varying and often questionable significance emerge as scrolling columns of headline news and then quickly fade into the soon-forgotten annals of our time. Within this saturated datascape of history, there are singular defining moments that rise above the ubiquitous monotony of the everyday. These events shape the consciousness of individuals and nations alike by transcending their epoch, and are indelibly situated within greater historical overviews that inform the perceptions of both present and future generations. In an era of unjust wars and monumental acts of terror, some of these events have eroded our most precious institutions and sustained fear within all strata of society, while others have instilled within us hope and offered us a means to reconcile our past transgressions. “Reflection (hope and reconciliation)” re-mediates one such moment. Through the distillation of its aesthetic elements - images, words, voice, music - we experience the event with changed, but undiminished intensity.

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intensity,submission,realities,music,maria

Nicolas Valcárcel: Updates

Planet Ubuntu

- 1 days and 2 hours ago

img class=face src=http://planet.ubuntu.com/heads/nxvl.png alt= pIt#8217;s has been a long time since i haven#8217;t write a new post, so it#8217;s going to be a bunch of updates of what#8217;s going on and what have i been doing/plan to do:/p pstrongWork @ Canonical/strongbr / It#8217;s has been almost 3 months working on a href=http://canonical.comCanonical/a and i need to say that is an awesome company, more than co-workers i feel like i have a lot of friends that share my interests, love the same i do and have passion for their work, a lot of really intelligent and funny people all over the company doing what they love: develop free software.br / Also being in the OEM Solutions Group gives me the opportunity of working on an market that is still in development with the bleeding edge of technology reaching a lot of people working with the big companies, i just love to have the opportunity to be in such a nice company doing what i love./p pstrongTravels/strongbr / I#8217;ve been traveling a lot lately, long flights over the weekends meetings with a lot of nice people and having a lot of fun. I was on a href=http://2008.latinoware.orgLatinoware/a and had an awesome time, meet a lot of ubuntu, gnome and debian people as well as other Free Software enthusiasts, it was a wonderful time in Brazil. Also and for work reason i#8217;ve been visiting Boston a lot where i meet people like a href=http://mako.ccmako/a, a href=http://www.radian.orgivan/a, a href=http://staticfree.info/Steve/a, a href=http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/sj/sj/a and some others and had an awesome time with them.br / Also it was nice to meet with some other canonical friends and make face-to-face work, have some beers and just talk about our plans and what we have been doing./p pstrongJaunty/strongbr / Jaunty repos are open and the development has started again, i will focus myself on having augeas on the shape we want it to be this summer (i#8217;m a South American, so in a month) writing lenses, testing, and hopefully starting the development of a tool that uses it to manage the system and services, i will look forward to discuss about this at Fosscamp/UDS with the people interested on it./p

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passion,ubuntu,long time,oem,lenses

Tetris + Jenga = 99 Bricks

Advanced Digital Painting in Adobe Photoshop (The Techniques of Christian Lorenz Scheurer)

Fat Burning Workout: Chest Exercises

Officially Official: The new Nissan Cube! (JDM, with U.S. tease)

Autoblog

- 1 days and 5 hours ago

pFiled under: a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/la-auto-show/" rel="tag"LA Auto Show/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/economy/" rel="tag"Economy/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/japan/" rel="tag"Japan/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/hatchbacks/" rel="tag"Hatchbacks/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/nissan/" rel="tag"Nissan/a/pa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-nissan-cube-us-model/1167830/"img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/usa_cube_hi_01_opt.jpg" alt="" //abr / div align="center"emstrongsmallClick above for high-res gallery of the US-market Cube. Click a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2009-nissan-cube-jdm/"here/a for the JDM car. /small/strong/embr //div br /Here it is. It's "tomorrow" in Japan, and Nissan has unleashed the motherlode of new Nissan Cube photos - including three showing the U.S.-Spec version that'll be rolled out at the a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/LA-Auto-Show/"LA Auto Show/a tomorrow. There's no accompanying press release at the moment, but the Japanese media is running their stories as we speak. JDM Cubes are equipped with a 107-hp/109 lb-ft 1.5L four-cylinder mated to a CVT transmission. Front- and four-wheel-drive versions are available. We'll get a different engine with more power that should deliver fuel economy in the Versa neighborhood. More on that tomorrow from our team in LA. br /br /The three shots of the U.S.-market bodywork show, as expected, the reverse of the JDM car. Kudos to Nissan for doing a second body for left-hand drive markets. Inside, the simple appointments of the current Cube are updated with better shapes and, hopefully, a bigger, more upscale mix of materials. The bench seat returns in the JDM car, and there's no reason to believe we won't see it here as well. A water-droplet theme introduced in that a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/12/new-nissan-cube-teaser-vid-shows-nothing/"silly teaser video/a we showed you last week is present in the cupholders and also available as ceiling trim inside the passenger compartment. Check out the galleries below for photos of just about everything, including the Japan-specific Lifecare (disabled access) and Autech Rider versions. br /br /Come back tomorrow, when the gang in LA will deliver live coverage of the U.S. car's debut. We a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/03/in-the-autoblog-garage-2008-nissan-cube/"liked the JDM version/a, and we're really looking forward to trying out the Cube again now that it's been engineered for our market's needs. br /br /div class="postgallery"pstrongGallery: a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2009-nissan-cube-jdm/"2009 Nissan Cube (JDM)/a/strong/pa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2009-nissan-cube-jdm/1167838/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/jdm_cubeext_hi_01_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2009-nissan-cube-jdm/1167839/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/jdm_cubeext_hi_02_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2009-nissan-cube-jdm/1167840/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/jdm_cubeext_hi_03_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2009-nissan-cube-jdm/1167841/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/jdm_cubeext_hi_04_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2009-nissan-cube-jdm/1167843/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/jdm_cubeext_hi_07_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //a/divbr /div class="postgallery"pstrongGallery: a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-nissan-cube-us-model/"2010 Nissan Cube (US Model)/a/strong/pa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-nissan-cube-us-model/1167830/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/usa_cube_hi_01_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-nissan-cube-us-model/1167831/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/usa_cube_hi_02_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //aa href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-nissan-cube-us-model/1167828/"img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/usa_cube_hi_03_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" //a/divbr /[Source: Nissan]p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/18/officially-official-the-new-nissan-cube-jdm-with-us-tease/"Officially Official: The new Nissan Cube! (JDM, with U.S. tease)/a originally appeared on a href="http://www.autoblog.com"Autoblog/a on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:14:00 EST. Please see our a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/"terms for use of feeds/a./ph6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"/h6a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/18/officially-official-the-new-nissan-cube-jdm-with-us-tease/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry"Permalink/anbsp;|nbsp;a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/1376332/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email"Email this/anbsp;|nbsp;a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/18/officially-official-the-new-nissan-cube-jdm-with-us-tease/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry"Comments/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/T0v_ZdV5zEMgzY2bxN6hYo0Vu2Q/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/T0v_ZdV5zEMgzY2bxN6hYo0Vu2Q/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?a=tSV3NBeq"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?i=tSV3NBeq" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?a=4FowxN28"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?i=4FowxN28" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/weblogsinc/autoblog/~4/Ld_HIf7X91s" height="1" width="1"/

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economy,ceilings,cvt,email,three shots

MacNN: Cygnett unveils GrooveBassball portable speakers

GrooveBassball speakers

Cygnett unveils GrooveBassball portable speakers

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 Review: World's First Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera [Cameras]

Gizmodo

- 1 days and 9 hours ago

pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/panasonicG1_main_2.jpg" width="800" height="570" style="display:block;float:none;" /Companies that aren't Canon or Nikon have it rough in the digital camera marketâ€”particularly outside the cheap point-and-shoot area. Some band together for strength in numbers, creating cooperative standards like Panasonic, Olympus and Leica's new Micro Four Thirds systemâ€”a spec for smaller cameras with digital viewfinders like a compact, but interchangeable lenses, manual controls and higher performance like a DSLR. We tested Panasonic's 13-megapixel Lumix G1, paying close attention to the fact that it's the first contender in a totally new camera category andâ€”like that other G1, the Android smartphoneâ€”it sets the stage for what's to come./p pThere is a single photo that you should think long and hard about before deciding whether to plunk down $800 for the G1. And oddly enough, it wasn't even shot with the camera itself. Want to see it?/p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/panasonicG1_main_1.jpg" width="800" height="503" style="display:block;float:none;" /br Yeah, there it isâ€”the G1 posing next to my Canon Rebel XT. As you can see, for all practical purposes, they are the same size and shape. The G1 is smaller by a hair, but unless you're carrying both at the exact same time, it's a difference you would never, ever think about. This seemingly small fact completely undermines the system's potential to set itself apart from the big boys' entry-level DSLRs, which are the G1's direct competitors whether Panasonic likes it or not. The G1 fails to deliver on Micro Four Thirds' potential to produce cameras with small, unique form factorsmdash;those Leica-style "digital rangefinders" we pined for when the system was announcedmdash;that could be very worthy of your consideration. For now, an entry level Canon or Nikon DSLR is a better bet, coming in with humongous lens and accessory systems and lower price tags./p pThe thing is, a Micro Four Thirds camera doesn't have to look like a conventional DSLR. There is no pentaprism, which allows for a direct through-the-lens viewfinder in a DSLR and is responsible for the traditional bulge up top. There is no long legacy of lenses and hardware that dictate how the camera body should be formed. But there the G1 is, with its faux prism bulge and totally traditional DSLR shape./p pPanasonic apparently chose this route to drive home the fact that the G1 is a serious camera, not just a gussied-up point-and-shoot. I guess that makes some logical sense for a minute, but for people who buy an $800 camera based on more criteria than just the way the body looks (read: most), it will probably prove to be a fatal mistake. Which is too bad, because when form factor is ruled out, Micro Four Thirds' unique characteristics show a lot of potential for greatness. Let's look at those./p pstrongLive Viewfinder/strongbr img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/2008/11/custom_1227035975912_panasonicG1_viewfinder.jpg" width="340" height="237"When you look through the G1's viewfinder, you see a digital image of the sensor's live view output. Generally this is a really terrible way to compose a photograph, but the G1's is actually really usable. It's not jerky at all in good light (it does tend to slow down in low-light, though), and it's sharp, bright and clear for focusing thanks to a resolution of 1,440,000 dots. It's the best digital viewfinder I've ever used personally./p pFor auto focus, the G1 uses a 23-area contrast-based system, again because there is no mirror to reflect light to a dedicated AF sensor found in most DSLRs (contrast detection is also occasionally used by DSLRs when they're in live view or video capture mode). It tended to work well in good light and in bad. Manual focus is also possible, but a zoomed-in view PIP-stylemdash;like many DSLRs havemdash;would have been nice./p pThere is a dedicated button for switching between the digital viewfinder and the LCD, which you can swivel out from the camera's back. There's a sensor next to the viewfinder that automatically switches between the two depending on where your face is./p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/panasonicG1_inline_3.jpg" width="800" height="533" style="display:block;float:none;" /br strongThe Sensor/strongbr Micro Four Thirds (like the Four Thirds true-DSLR system that came before it) gets its name from the 4:3 aspect ratio of its 13-megapixel "Live MOS" sensor. The sensor is basically a hybrid compact/DSLR typeâ€”the 4:3 aspect ratio is more common in compacts (although you can set the aspect ratio to the more traditional DSLR standard 3:2 easily), but the sensor's physical size is more on par with the APS-C sensors found in low-end DSLRs. That's a good thing, because a bigger sensor always equals less noise at high ISO sensitivities, more control over limited depth of field, and better image quality all around. That's why the prospect of a truly compact camera with a Micro Four Thirds sensor is so exciting./p pAs you can see, though, with the lens removed the sensor is directly exposed to the elements. If you have an industrial grade clean room in your house, I would advise changing lenses in there. Dust spots on your sensor are the worst./p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/panasonicG1_inline_2.jpg" width="800" height="531" style="display:block;float:none;" /br strongInterchangeable Lenses/strongbr img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/2008/11/custom_1227034150650_panasonicG1_inline_1.jpg" width="340" height="226" class="right"Right now there are only two Micro Four Thirds lenses: The 14-45mm/F3.5-5.6 kit lens and a 45-200mm/F4.0-5.6 telephoto zoom. Thankfully, you can mate the G1 with the larger selection of standard Four Thirds lenses via an adapter (which includes some nice high-end Leica glass). Here you see a Lumix/Leica 14-40mm mounted.br clear="all"/p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/panasonicG1_inline_4.jpg" width="800" height="533" style="display:block;float:none;" /br strongControls/strongbr Controls and menus are generally well thought out. There's a bunch of flexibility built in hereâ€”from the customizable ISO intervals (full or 1/3 stop) to the handy Quick Menumdash;which lets you access just about all of the basic shooting functions from within the viewfinder without diving into a menu./p pMad props for the clickable main scroll wheel. I don't know if this is standard on Panasonic's other performance cameras, but it's incredibly helpfulâ€”a single press cycles between controlling the aperture or shutter speed (depending on your mode) to setting a quick exposure compensation or going between shutter and aperture in full manual mode, all with a single wheel. Nice./p pI can easily live with the annoyances noted above, balanced as they are by the niceties I also mentioned. However, the G1 does have three dealbreaking drawbacks:/p pstrongISO Noise/strongbr Noise levels are not great. Here you can see a progression of shots from ISO 100 to ISO 3200. As you can see, ISO 3200 is pretty useless:br img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/ISOcomparison.jpg" width="800" height="600" style="display:block;float:none;" /br And here, a quick and dirty crop comparison with a Rebel XT (which is three generations old, keep in mind) at ISO 1600 (the XT's max). Even my three-year-old Rebel does better at ISO 1600. The Micro Four Thirds sensor is large, but it's still smaller than APS-C and not as adept at handling noise as Canon or Nikon sensors, which get trickle-down sensor tech from noise-busting high-end cameras. You can see the full uncropped 1600 images here: G1 ISO 1600, Rebel XT ISO 1600br script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" galleryPost('g1isoseries', 6, ''); /script/p pstrongNo Video/strongbr This makes absolutely no sense: The G1 does not have a video capture mode, even though all the challenges of recording video on an SLR are completely non-existent here. Panasonic has said that its future Micro Four Thirds cams will have HD video. This is precisely where the system has a natural leg-up on entry-level DSLRs and it's a shamemdash;perhaps a fatal omissionmdash;that the G1 couldn't take part./p pstrongCost/strongbr Panasonic G1 with 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens: a href="http://www.jr.com/panasonic/pe/PAN_DMCG1A/"$799/abr Canon EOS Rebel XSi with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens: a href="http://www.jr.com/canon/pe/CAN_REBELXSIBKT/"$669/abr Nikon D60 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens: a href="http://www.jr.com/nikon/pe/NKN_D60_SL_KIT/"$599/abr As long as that's the competitive landscape, the G1 has no chance./p pstrongConclusion/strongbr I am optimistic about Micro Four Thirds, but there's just no reason anyone should buy a G1. Less money could get you a real DSLR that is, for all practical purposes, the same size. The G1's digital viewfinder is excellent, but it's no comparison to looking at the real world as you shoot. Factor in the G1's relatively poor high-ISO performance and tiny lens selection and it's a no brainer./p pAll is not lost for Micro Four Thirds. Remember Sigma's DP-1, the super-compact, rangefinder-looking point-and-shoot that packed a DSLR-sized sensor and manual controls? Micro Four Thirds could add to that paradigm a great electronic viewfinder and a system of interchangeable lenses. How about a Leica M-looking body with a few interchangeable prime (not zoom) lenses? What about using actual Leica lenses via a rumored M-mount adapter? Sign me up for that any day. There is hope that a remedy is coming soon, as Olympus, Panasonic's partner in this endeavor, will unveil its Micro Four Thirds camera early next year. For now, though, it's back to the drawing board for Panasonic, and back to DSLRs for me./p pstrongTest Shots/strongbr All full-resolution shots straight from the camera with no cropping or processing.br script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" galleryPost('G1testshots', 17, ''); /script/p br style="clear: both;"/ img alt="" style="border: 0; height:1px; width:1px;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?i=6490a993e2f181a0128648deca44f7b8" height="1" width="1"/ img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=6490a993e2f181a0128648deca44f7b8" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=aqCBaIl6"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?d=120" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=g61qusMj"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=FniX4pce"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=FniX4pce" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=uMfV7STk"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=uMfV7STk" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/tP1JgD-S7uE" height="1" width="1"/

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supers,g1,sensors,cameras,photograph

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 Review: World's First Micro Four Thirds Digicam [Review]

Gizmodo

- 1 days and 9 hours ago

pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/panasonicG1_main_2.jpg" width="800" height="570" style="display:block;float:none;" /Companies that aren't Canon or Nikon have it rough in the digital camera marketâ€”particularly outside the cheap point-and-shoot area. Some band together for strength in numbers, creating cooperative standards like Panasonic, Olympus and Leica's new Micro Four Thirds systemâ€”a spec for smaller cameras with digital viewfinders like a compact, but interchangeable lenses, manual controls and higher performance like a DSLR. We tested Panasonic's 13-megapixel Lumix G1, paying close attention to the fact that it's the first contender in a totally new camera category andâ€”like that other G1, the Android smartphoneâ€”it sets the stage for what's to come./p pThere is a single photo that you should think long and hard about before deciding whether to plunk down $800 for the G1. And oddly enough, it wasn't even shot with the camera itself. Want to see it?/p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/panasonicG1_main_1.jpg" width="800" height="503" style="display:block;float:none;" /br Yeah, there it isâ€”the G1 posing next to my Canon Rebel XT. As you can see, for all practical purposes, they are the same size and shape. The G1 is smaller by a hair, but unless you're carrying both at the exact same time, it's a difference you would never, ever think about. This seemingly small fact completely undermines the system's potential to set itself apart from the big boys' entry-level DSLRs, which are the G1's direct competitors whether Panasonic likes it or not. The G1 fails to deliver on Micro Four Thirds' potential to produce cameras with small, unique form factorsmdash;those Leica-style "digital rangefinders" a href="http://gizmodo.com/5033161/olympus-and-panasonic-launch-micro-four-thirds-system-for-smaller-rangefinder+like-digicams"we pined for when the system was announced/amdash;that could be very worthy of your consideration. For now, an entry level Canon or Nikon DSLR is a better bet, coming in with humongous lens and accessory systems and lower price tags./p pThe thing is, a Micro Four Thirds camera doesn't have to look like a conventional DSLR. There is no pentaprism, which allows for a direct through-the-lens viewfinder in a DSLR and is responsible for the traditional bulge up top. There is no long legacy of lenses and hardware that dictate how the camera body should be formed. But there the G1 is, with its faux prism bulge and totally traditional DSLR shape./p pPanasonic apparently chose this route to drive home the fact that the G1 is a serious camera, not just a gussied-up point-and-shoot. I guess that makes some logical sense for a minute, but for people who buy an $800 camera based on more criteria than just the way the body looks (read: most), it will probably prove to be a fatal mistake. Which is too bad, because when form factor is ruled out, Micro Four Thirds' unique characteristics show a lot of potential for greatness. Let's look at those./p pstrongLive Viewfinder/strongbr img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/2008/11/custom_1227035975912_panasonicG1_viewfinder.jpg" width="340" height="237"When you look through the G1's viewfinder, you see a digital image of the sensor's live view output. Generally this is a really terrible way to compose a photograph, but the G1's is actually really usable. It's not jerky at all in good light (it does tend to slow down in low-light, though), and it's sharp, bright and clear for focusing thanks to a resolution of 1,440,000 dots. It's the best digital viewfinder I've ever used personally./p pFor auto focus, the G1 uses a 23-area contrast-based system, again because there is no mirror to reflect light to a dedicated AF sensor found in most DSLRs (contrast detection is also occasionally used by DSLRs when they're in live view or video capture mode). It tended to work well in good light and in bad. Manual focus is also possible, but a zoomed-in view PIP-stylemdash;like many DSLRs havemdash;would have been nice./p pThere is a dedicated button for switching between the digital viewfinder and the LCD, which you can swivel out from the camera's back. There's a sensor next to the viewfinder that automatically switches between the two depending on where your face is./p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/panasonicG1_inline_3.jpg" width="800" height="533" style="display:block;float:none;" /br strongThe Sensor/strongbr Micro Four Thirds (like the a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Thirds_System"Four Thirds true-DSLR system/a that came before it) gets its name from the 4:3 aspect ratio of its 13-megapixel "Live MOS" sensor. The sensor is basically a hybrid compact/DSLR typeâ€”the 4:3 aspect ratio is more common in compacts (although you can set the aspect ratio to the more traditional DSLR standard 3:2 easily), but the sensor's physical size is more on par with the APS-C sensors found in low-end DSLRs. That's a good thing, because a bigger sensor always equals less noise at high ISO sensitivities, more control over limited depth of field, and better image quality all around. That's why the prospect of a truly compact camera with a Micro Four Thirds sensor is so exciting./p pAs you can see, though, with the lens removed the sensor is directly exposed to the elements. If you have an industrial grade clean room in your house, I would advise changing lenses in there. Dust spots on your sensor are the worst./p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/panasonicG1_inline_2.jpg" width="800" height="531" style="display:block;float:none;" /br strongInterchangeable Lenses/strongbr img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/2008/11/custom_1227034150650_panasonicG1_inline_1.jpg" width="340" height="226" class="right"Right now there are only two Micro Four Thirds lenses: The 14-45mm/F3.5-5.6 kit lens and a 45-200mm/F4.0-5.6 telephoto zoom. Thankfully, you can mate the G1 with the larger selection of standard Four Thirds lenses via an adapter (which includes some nice high-end Leica glass). Here you see a Lumix/Leica 14-40mm mounted.br clear="all"/p pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/panasonicG1_inline_4.jpg" width="800" height="533" style="display:block;float:none;" /br strongControls/strongbr Controls and menus are generally well thought out. There's a bunch of flexibility built in hereâ€”from the customizable ISO intervals (full or 1/3 stop) to the handy Quick Menumdash;which lets you access just about all of the basic shooting functions from within the viewfinder without diving into a menu./p pMad props for the clickable main scroll wheel. I don't know if this is standard on Panasonic's other performance cameras, but it's incredibly helpfulâ€”a single press cycles between controlling the aperture or shutter speed (depending on your mode) to setting a quick exposure compensation or going between shutter and aperture in full manual mode, all with a single wheel. Nice./p pI can easily live with the annoyances noted above, balanced as they are by the niceties I also mentioned. However, the G1 does have three drawbacks that, when considered with the baffling form factor decision, are dealbreakers:/p pstrongISO Noise/strongbr Noise levels are not great. Here you can see a progression of shots from ISO 100 to ISO 3200. As you can see, ISO 3200 is pretty useless:br script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" galleryPost('g1isoseries', 6, ''); /scriptbr And here, a quick and dirty crop comparison with a Rebel XT (which is three generations old, keep in mind) at ISO 1600 (the XT's max). Even my three-year-old Rebel does better at ISO 1600. The Micro Four Thirds sensor is large, but it's still smaller than APS-C and not as adept at handling noise as Canon or Nikon sensors, which get trickle-down sensor tech from noise-busting high-end cameras.br img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/ISOcomparison.jpg" width="800" height="600" style="display:block;float:none;" //p pstrongNo Video/strongbr This makes absolutely no sense: The G1 does not have a video capture mode, even though all the a href="http://gizmodo.com/5051331/giz-explains-why-dslrs-are-finally-shooting-video"challenges of recording video on a DSLR/a are completely non-existent here. Panasonic has said that its future Micro Four Thirds cams will have HD video. This is precisely where the system has a natural leg-up on entry-level DSLRs and it's a shamemdash;perhaps a fatal omissionmdash;that the G1 couldn't take part./p pstrongCost/strongbr Panasonic G1 with 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens: a href="http://www.jr.com/panasonic/pe/PAN_DMCG1A/"$799/abr Canon EOS Rebel XSi with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens: a href="http://www.jr.com/canon/pe/CAN_REBELXSIBKT/"$669/abr Nikon D60 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens: a href="http://www.jr.com/nikon/pe/NKN_D60_SL_KIT/"$599/abr As long as that's the competitive landscape, the G1 has no chance./p pstrongConclusion/strongbr I am optimistic about Micro Four Thirds, but there's just no reason anyone should buy a G1. Less money could get you a real DSLR that is, for all practical purposes, the same size. The G1's digital viewfinder is excellent, but it's no comparison to looking at the real world as you shoot. Factor in the G1's relatively poor high-ISO performance and tiny lens selection and it's a no brainer./p pAll is not lost for Micro Four Thirds. Remember a href="http://gizmodo.com/362721/sigma-dp1-first-grope"Sigma's DP-1/a, the super-compact, rangefinder-looking point-and-shoot that packed a DSLR-sized sensor and manual controls? Micro Four Thirds could add to that paradigm a great electronic viewfinder and a system of interchangeable lenses. How about a Leica a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_M6"M-looking body/a with a few interchangeable prime (not zoom) lenses? What about using tons of legacy Leica lenses via a rumored M-mount adapter, in addition to the Leica (non-Micro) Four Thirds lenses that already exist? Sign me up for that any day. There is hope that a remedy is coming soon, as Olympus, Panasonic's partner in this endeavor, will unveil its Micro Four Thirds camera early next year. For now, though, it's back to the drawing board for Panasonic, and back to DSLRs for me./p pstrongTest Shots/strongbr All full-resolution shots straight from the camera with no cropping or processing.br script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" galleryPost('G1testshots', 17, ''); /script/p br style="clear: both;"/ img alt="" style="border: 0; height:1px; width:1px;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?i=c905790a0cba4164960a9cb3fc3d3fee" height="1" width="1"/ img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=c905790a0cba4164960a9cb3fc3d3fee" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=f7MZ4OiI"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?d=120" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=G0CgN0HY"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=UA7ItwAD"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=UA7ItwAD" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=qhXdzZPf"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=qhXdzZPf" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/24W6qT-Vhjs" height="1" width="1"/

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Netgear Launches GearHead Home Network Support Service, Has Geek Squad and Firedog in Their Crosshairs [Help]

Gizmodo

- 1 days and 9 hours ago

pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/netgear.gif" width="234" height="219" /Netgear is launching their new GearHead service, which provides support and assistance in setting up any of your home networking gearmdash;whether it's made by Netgear or not. The brand independent service is a service in the same vein as Best Buy's a href="http://gizmodo.com/tag/geek-squad"Geek Squad/a, except it's focused soley on home networking (and they probably won't a href="http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/busted%21/video-proof-of-geek-squad-stealing-porn-275285.php"steal your porn/a). It's available 24/7, and comes in two different pricing plans: An annual subscription that offer's unlimited support, or a one-off, pay-per-incident service./p pFor either $66 or $90, you can receive unlimited GearHead support for six months or twelve months, respectively. This service includes help with hooking up and/or troubleshooting most devices that interface with your in-home broadband, such as routers, computers, printers, scanners and VoIP devices, not to mention support for the Windows platform, MS Office, and Adobe Acrobat. GearHead also provides a desktop client that will let their technicians go in and remotely control your desktop./p pThe pay-per-incident works a little different. There's the Internet Access service which, for roughly $37 will provide you 30 minutes of remote assistance in getting your internet connected properly. For about $50 you can buy the PC Tune Up service, where a technician will go in and remove useless files and programs, bugs from your registry and adware. /p pWhile, most you techies have no problem keeping their home networks running in tip top shape, I'm sure you have parents, grandparents and siblings who can't help but constantly keep their computers in a state of disarray. When you get tired of playing computer repair man, you can now just point them over to GearHead and wipe your hands clean of the whole ordeal. More information on GearHead can be found over at [a href="http://gearhead.netgear.com"Netgear/a]./p blockquotep NETGEARÂ® GearHead Services Provide Affordable, 24x7 Technical Support Service to Help Consumers Resolve PC-Related Problems /p pNew One-Stop Technical Support Service Provides Remote Support for Computers, Peripherals, Software, and Other Computer-Related Products/p pSANTA CLARA, Calif. â€” November 18, 2008 â€” NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR), a worldwide provider of technologically innovative, branded networking solutions, today announced the launch of NETGEAR GearHead Services, a comprehensive, affordable 24x7 remote technical support service that provides consumers with a one-stop resource for troubleshooting and resolving many of the most common computer-related problems in the home. One of the first of such comprehensive services from a consumer electronics vendor, the GearHead program is designed to ensure the best possible home networking experience for consumers that want to make the Internet their primary communications and entertainment platform for the Digital Home. /p pNETGEAR’s GearHead Services provide 24x7 PC and network support on both a subscription and pay-per-incident basis. SupportPak 6 and SupportPak 12 provide six or twelve months of unlimited 24x7 phone-based technical support to help consumers resolve a variety of issues related to computer hardware, home networking, Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office applications, and antivirus and antispyware programs. NETGEAR also offers two pay-per-incident services including the Internet Access Service, which helps consumers to troubleshoot and correct hardware- or software-based Internet access problems, and the PC Tune Up Service, which steps consumers through the process of eliminating unnecessary files, adware and unused programs to optimize performance of the PC. Interested parties can find out more a href="http://gearhead.netgear.com"here/a./p p“While NETGEAR has always been dedicated to delivering the best possible end-user experience across our broad line of wired and wireless networking products and networked devices, getting all of the hardware and software components of a computer system to communicate and work together can be complicated and frustrating,” stated Winston Sze, Senior Service Product Manager at NETGEAR. “Consumers don’t care whether their computer problem is hardware or software related â€“ they simply want the problem resolved as quickly as possible. Our new GearHead Services eliminate the frustrating exercise of having to speak with the tech support groups for a variety of different vendors by providing consumers with 24x7 access to an affordable one-stop technical support hotline that will help them troubleshoot and repair almost any computer-related issue.”/p pOne of the most important aspects of the GearHead program is its vendor neutrality and focus on solving problems unrelated to NETGEAR products. The GearHead SupportPaks provide hardware support for desktop and notebook PCs, wired and wireless routers, modems, printers, scanners, fax machines, USB PC devices, home networking devices, and sound cards. In addition, technical support is provided for software-related issues with Windows operating systems (2000, XP or higher), Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat, in addition to anti-virus and anti-spyware software from McAfee, Norton, AVG, eTrust, and BitDefender. The GearHead SupportPak 6 and SupportPak 12 provide six or 12 months of unlimited technical support for only $65.95 USD and $89.95 USD, respectively./p pThe pay-per-incident services provided by NETGEAR GearHead includes the Internet Access Service, which provides up to 30 minutes of remote technical support for customers experiencing problems with accessing the Internet. The GearHead PC Tune Up Service helps customers eliminate unnecessary files, adware and unused programs to improve their PC’s performance. The Internet Access and PC Tune Up Services are priced at $36.50 per incident, and $49.50, respectively. /p/blockquote br style="clear: both;"/ a href="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/ht.php?t=camp;i=649fc78b182407d28bcf88f020334299"img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/ht.php?t=vamp;i=649fc78b182407d28bcf88f020334299" border="0" //a img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=649fc78b182407d28bcf88f020334299" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=OfSR9Z6g"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?d=120" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=MxdsnN2r"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=jqXMGXPO"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=jqXMGXPO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=RYVBinLY"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=RYVBinLY" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/L_1lZ36FM8k" height="1" width="1"/

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Librarians are the Ultimate Community Managers

Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology

- 1 days and 12 hours ago

I had breakfast with Meg Canada last weekend, while finishing my teaching duties in St. Paul. She shared with me a post she wrote at her blog called “How Librarians can be the Ultimate Community Managers.”

Meg writes:

What is a Community Manager? My friend,Â Connie BensenÂ introduced me to the concept at my first social media gathering. I know she has collaborated on theÂ wikipedia definition, and as a librarian herself, and I hope she agrees with my assertion. Community managers help shape online spaces by representing organizations through starting and/or contributing to discussions. They are social media mavens and power users. Community managers solve problems, offer the best customer service, and give organizations a human face.

I’ll be adding this to the list of emerging LIS jobs. How are we training new librarians to be Community Managers? Did you ever think that might be a role you’d play?

Later she tape into that important bit about the ongoing conversation:

Not enough of us tweet outside our community or seek out our users in other social media. Some success with MySpace and Facebook is promising, but we can’t just friend and fan eachother. We need to connect with our patrons, customers and users in online communities. Historically we may not be known for savvy communication skills, but here’s another opportunity.

Gathering community input is also a key role of librarians. As we plan services, build new facilities, and evolve into our 21st century selves, libraries have to listen to what our community needs. Let’s face it Gen x and y aren’t attending community meetings at the library. The meetings are happening online. Do you Google alerts point to blogs, microblogs, or comments that reflect how patrons feel about the library? Are you listening and responding?

This so ties in to what Cliff Landis and I discussed over on ALA TechSource this summer:

MS: That brings up something that has been on my mind for the past few months as I watch more libraries diving into creating Facebook pages and other sites. What do you think about the Facebook pages for libraries that have a bunch of other librarians as fans? Frankly, it disappoints me. I’ve actually curtailed some of my “fan-ing” of pages lately. I’d rather leave the fandom to the users and watch to see how it goes from outside. How do the users find and adopt the page. What are the patterns of use and what types of outreach builds the community. Tapping into that is most important for understanding user needs.

CL: This is another symptom of librarians talking to each other, saying “Hey! Look at this neat thing I did!” and never involving the users. What do you suppose would happen if the person managing the library page wasn’t a librarian, but a student? (I can already hear the gasps of thousands of librarians.) Let’s face itâ€“we’re control freaks.

And what David Lee King blogged aboutÂ here.

Wouldn’t you rather be a community manager instead of a control freak?

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Fake-Weapon Suitcases May Not Be Your Friend at Airports [Weaponize Suitcases]