Novoflex has answered our wishes for the Micro Four Thirds system: a €150 ($192) adapter will now mate Leica M-mount lenses—some of the best glass ever made—with cameras like the Panasonic Lumix G1.
If you may recall from our G1 review, the camera’s DSLR form-factor pretty much nullified all of the potential of the Micro Four Thirds system to offer an entirely new class of compact, digital rangefinder-like cameras with interchangeable lenses. With an M-mount adapter, you can use 50 years’ worth of classic lenses made by Leica, Zeiss and others with a Micro Four Thirds digital. Now if Olympus would just get around to making the rangefinder concept they teased us with back in September a reality.
And while you may be better off capturing all that beautiful Leica light on film rather than Micro Four Thirds’s sub-APS-C sensor, it’s always nice to have options. [Amateur Photographer via Gadget Lab Photo: Enixii (Flickr)]
Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) is a technology that allows you to make phone calls through your broadband connection. VoIP service is generally cheaper than traditional landline telephone service due to the capabilities of the network cables that broadband connections are built with. Broadband connections usually utilize CAT5e or CAT6 Ethernet networking cables. They boast faster data transfer rates than traditional landlines and can move multiple voice, audio and data packages inbound and outbound simultaneously. This allows for multiple phones calls over the same connection. In addition, connections remain open only as information is being sent. Therefore, you are not paying to keep a line open while no data is being transmitted.
Although VoIP phone calls are cheaper to transfer, phone calls made from one VoIP customer to another VoIP customer (aka “in-network”) are usually free. Therefore, as more people sign up for VoIP service, it is likely that more of your phone calls will be free, thus reducing your bill even more. Now that more companies are entering the VoIP market, making the switch to VoIP is even easier. While some VoIP phones can be expensive, many companies such as 3COM also provide basic phones that are cheaper to purchase and shorten your payback period significantly when investing in VoIP hardware.
The 3COM NBX 2101 is a basic VoIP phone that allows you to make phone calls over your broadband connection. The phone features a large two-line, 24-character LCD display that improves visibility of the system’s directory of internal users. There is a 10/100 LAN uplink device switched port on the bottom of the set. Use it to connect your PC to the LAN for access to the NBX NetSet application so you can set your user preferences. A conventional alphanumeric touch-tone keypad allows you to use it just as you would use a regular phone and a landline connection. The user interface consists of LCD directory buttons, scrolling buttons, feature access buttons, a message waiting button, hold button, transfer button, call toggle button, and volume controls. This phone retails for about $275 new.
The good news is that many companies offer used and refurbished phones, giving the consumer more purchasing power. Customers can find used phones, such as the 3COM NBX 2101 VoIP phone, selling for much less than retail. Instead of paying $275 for the phone, you may find the phone for $100 or even $50. In many cases, the phones are considered “equal2new”. Many of them also include a manufacturer warranty. Purchasing them used or refurbished not only saves you money, but it also extends the life of the product, thus reducing waste, using less of our natural resources, and preserving our environment. Higher end VoIP phones can also be found selling for less in used or refurbished condition. So be sure to explore this option to save even more money when switching to VoIP.
Still haven’t found an Eee PC to your liking? Then perhaps ASUS’s new 10-inch Eee PC 1002HA model will be more to your liking, with it bringing some of the S101’s stylings to the company’s standard 1000 series. Otherwise, you can expect most of the usual specs that now haunt our dreams, including a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor,1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and, apparently, a two-cell, 4200 mAh battery. No word on a release ’round here just yet, but it looks like this one will be available in Europe in the not too distant future for €449, or about $565.
Oh Rolly… we know you’re an overpriced, 2GB dancing robot with convoluted controls and questionable sound quality. But dammit, your impractical, big-corporate ways have gnawed a soft-spot deep into the noxious cesspool we call a heart. Now this: Rolly model SEP-50BT with Bluetooth control from your cellphone or laptop. Shipping in Japan on November 21st for an expected ¥40,000 or about $427. Sold. Watch it all unfold in the video after the break.
Microsoft has, against all odds and probably their own better judgment, decided to create a branded clothing line as part of their new ad campaign. The t-shirts have sort of an Urban Outfitters feel, only without the requisite irritating irony, and feature a few designs contributed by dapper rapper Common.
These faux-vintage t-shirts were conceived by Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the marketing firm tasked with making Microsoft cool in the public eye (and you thought your job was tough). The line is supposed to invoke MS’s early days in the ’80s, and I’m not making this next part up, to “showcase the DOS days of the software company that now connects over a billion people.” Lot of people clamoring for a way to show their love of DOS, are there, Microsoft?
The line is to be called Softwear by Microsoft, because the kids are into dumb puns these days, and is expected to hit select stores on December 15th for an undisclosed price. [BGR]
The Gadget: The Uncle Milton Pet’s Eye View cam is a low-res interval-timed camera designed to clip to the collar of a dog or cat, under the assumption your pet’s life has some vaguely interesting non-eating/sleeping/pooing component.
The Price: $40
The Verdict: It’s only as good as your pet’s social life, but I actually recommend it for outdoor critters and social city beasts.
As a fan of National Geographic’s Crittercam, I was excited when Uncle Milton sent over the pet’s eye view camera. NG of course attached their cameras to penguins, whales and lions; attaching this product to our domestic lion, Wade Bob Rothman, wouldn’t be the same thing for many reasons:
• It’s a still cam—no video—so the footage is limited. • Though it seems to have pretty high ISO, the camera’s no good when there’s no light. No IR or specialized low-light mode here. • The box boasts that memory stores “over 40 photos,” not enough for any self-respecting nature documentary. • Though Wade is the butchier of our two felines, and put up with the device well enough—his sister Wynona would not have tolerated it—the thing really is sized wrong for cats, best for medium to large dogs. • As a home-bound, neutered male, Wade is the opposite of adventurous, and his personal snapshots reflect this.
The camera has two buttons, a red/green LED and a two-digit LCD indicator on the back. When I had charged up the camera via USB port, I set the camera to take a picture every 5 minutes. (I could have also chosen 1 minute and 15 minutes.) I clipped it to Wade’s collar, loosening it only a tad. He had one spell where he really tried to get it off, then suddenly was cool with it, and wore it for several hours without any problems.
The results—of which I have uploaded only the most exciting excerpts—were underwhelming:
What I learned in this brief review, however, is that a) the pet didn’t seem to mind the thing nearly as much as I would have thought, and b) if he was more active, and prone to prowling around the neighborhood, it might be fun. Again, it might be too big to put on a cat who’s used to shimmying up fences, rooting around garbage pails and slashing other cats with a vengeance, but I actually think this would be very cool for dogs. Besides, as a lightweight automatic timelapse novelty camera, it has other uses, like say, when you’re setting up a gallery designed to bring joy to readers, New Yorkers and tots who otherwise might not get toys for Christmas. Sure is cheaper than a D700! [Uncle Milton]
The Wall Street Journal investigated the mafia-like tactics of major electronics manufacturers in maintaining higher pricing. Makers like Panasonic, Samsung, and Klipsch hire offices of internet tough guys to track down discount sellers and punish those filthy capitalists for sullying their brand perception with affordable prices.
Manufacturers typically set a minimum advertised price, or MAP, that they require authorized sellers to maintain. But online retailers, including Buy.com and even poor, beleaguered CircuitCity.com, often sell products at a discount, and manufacturers believe that steep discounting hurts their brand integrity. These upset gadgetmakers have begun hiring enforcement agencies, like Phoenix’s NetEnforcers, to scour the internet for cheap deals and tattle on authorized dealers. Retribution is usually just a warning letter in this case, asking the seller to bring the prices up to the MAP with the veiled threat that lifting the price is important to maintaining a good relationship. Occasionally, an authorized seller in violation of an MAP will have their contract yanked, stopping them from selling that manufacturer’s goods.
Where this story gets dirty is in the unauthorized resellers. I’m not talking about a dude selling Panaphonics car stereos out of his car’s trunk on that shady corner in West Philly four years ago (I’m not falling for that again!), I’m talking about eBay and Craigslist. Sellers on these sites are under no legal or business obligation to match any price at all, so NetEnforcers and their ilk are attacking them in the time-honored method favored by such baddies as the RIAA: threaten the sellers with frivolous lawsuits in the hopes that the victims will just give up in the face of legal might.
NetEnforcers favors threats of copyright and trademark infringement for eBay and Craigslist users, but as eBay’s Tod Cohen says, this is incredibly transparent: “They take down the Web sites only of the unauthorized resellers that are selling at discounts, but don’t bother other unauthorized sellers if they’re selling at MAP. This suggests manufacturers are mainly interested in keeping prices up, not preventing trademark violations.”
A recent court ruling declared MAPs legal, and not in violation of antitrust laws, but representatives from both eBay and Craigslist note that this aggressive policy is effectively price-fixing, which means more expensive products for consumers. As a lifelong bargain hunter, I’m a bit upset that these internet mercenaries are taking away my deals, and their strong-arm muscling really rubs me the wrong way. [WSJ]
If hiding in the dirty bushes to stalk your ex is cramping your style (and ruining all your black outfits), then perhaps this Super-Secret Spy Lens extension is just what you need.
The extender, which is basically a $50 periscope that attaches to your SLR lenses by way of an adapter, allows you point that zoom lens at a “fake out” object, and then shoot pics of the real subject to your immediate right or left. The extender even swivels 360 degrees, in case your subject is a slippery one, and is able to dance about your periphery to your right and left with relative ease. Actually, if that’s the case, the person may have gotten wise to you, and the police could be coming soon. In any event, the pics will look fantastic.
More seriously, amateur and professional photogs alike understand that people just look better in photos when they don’t know they’re being photographed. This adapter, while somewhat creepy (just hit the link and watch the woman snap a few pics in public), gets that job done. [Photojojo]
In today’s Change.gov YouTube video, President-Elect Obama sounded off on a few tech ideas that have, frankly, been a long time coming. He notes that the States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption, and lays out his plan to bring networking to all public domains.
Usually, Obama tosses in a mention or two about how important technology is, but today, we really see what he plans to do. He pledges to have broadband internet access available to all Americans, and promises to bring networked access to every doctor’s office, public school, and hospital. Part of Obama’s economic recovery plan will go directly to modernizing public hospitals, first and foremost to digitize all medical records.
He does leave out certain important concepts, most importantly how he’s going to pay for all this, and I’m unclear on how exactly he plans to force ISPs into reaching into parts of the country where they can’t turn a profit. What do you guys think? [Change.gov]
Novoflex has answered our wishes for the Micro Four Thirds system: a €150 ($192) adapter will now mate Leica M-mount lenses—some of the best glass ever made—with cameras like the Panasonic Lumix G1.
Microsoft has, against all odds and probably their own better judgment, decided to 
The Gadget: The Uncle Milton Pet’s Eye View cam is a low-res interval-timed camera designed to clip to the collar of a dog or cat, under the assumption your pet’s life has some vaguely interesting non-eating/sleeping/pooing component.
The Wall Street Journal investigated the mafia-like tactics of major electronics manufacturers in maintaining higher pricing. Makers like Panasonic, Samsung, and Klipsch hire offices of internet tough guys to track down discount sellers and punish those filthy capitalists for sullying their brand perception with affordable prices.
If hiding in the dirty bushes to stalk your ex is cramping your style (and ruining all your black outfits), then perhaps this 
More seriously, amateur and professional photogs alike understand that people just look better in photos when they don’t know they’re being photographed. This adapter, while somewhat creepy (just hit the link and watch the woman snap a few pics in public), gets that job done. [
In today’s Change.gov YouTube video, President-Elect Obama sounded off on a few tech ideas that have, frankly, been a long time coming. He notes that the States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption, and lays out his plan to bring networking to all public domains.
Entries (RSS)