Last month we fell in love with a camera. Specifically, the Sony NEX-C3 . We were so enamored with its lilliputian body and stunning image quality that we gave it a “9,” declared it nearly perfect and promptly began recommending it to everyone we know. But if there’s one thing we thought needed improvement, it was the selection of lenses. Well, it looks like we had nothing to fret about — a series of leaked shots suggest the outfit’s had at least three in the works all along. According to the shots, originally posted in DPReview , we’re looking at a 50-210mm / F4.5-6.3 zoom lens and fixed 50mm / F1.8 and 24mm / F1.8 numbers. Though the poster stopped short of revealing any pricing info, he seems confident Sony will announce them on August 24th. Now, while we typically take rumors with a grain of salt, it turns out that the tipster who posted these shots is none other than “Eddieaus,” the same guy who splattered forums with pictures of the VAIO Z next to its external Power Media Dock — the same press photos , in fact, that Sony unveiled days later. So we’re inclined to believe NEX loyalists are about to get a few new pieces of glass to play with. And if that rumored August 24th launch date is also on the money, you won’t have to wait too long to find out how many pretty pennies they’ll cost. Sony announcing three NEX lenses on August 24th? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 18:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Cirque’s GlidePoint NFC trackpad makes online shopping even lazier (video)
August 13, 2011 No Comment
We’ve seen NFC technology pop up in everything from smartphones to windshields , but a company called Cirque has now expanded it to desktops, as well, with its GlidePoint trackpad. Cirque’s system is relatively straightforward, consisting of its GlidePoint module (with an onboard NFC antenna) and a simple touch sensor. With these two elements working in harmony, users can scan a compatible card by hovering it over the module, while simultaneously using the trackpad to execute onscreen functions. The company has applied the same concept to its proprietary glass touch panel, as well, which could be integrated at payment terminals, or within tablets and touch-based smartphones. It remains unclear whether we’ll see this kind of technology pop up on the commercial level, but for more details, check out the demo video after the break, followed by the full press release. Continue reading Cirque’s GlidePoint NFC trackpad makes online shopping even lazier (video) Cirque’s GlidePoint NFC trackpad makes online shopping even lazier (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If we take a can of Spam and call it “Engadget’s precooked pork meat product,” you’ll still know it’s the same mystery meat you ate for lunch, right? Under the idea of “private label rights,” authors can do just that: sell their works to others who can rebrand and resell them. This week, Amazon cracked down on duplicate ebooks in its Kindle Store , pulling titles because they “diminish the experience for customers.” One copycat who got the smack down called it a “kick in the pants” when his 22 titles got yanked. He did, however, admit he had the swift one coming. Aping authors can expect more book banning Kung Fu as Amazon continues to rid itself of “undifferentiated or barely differentiated versions of e-books.” Hi-yah! Amazon axes copied content, duplicate Kindle Store ebooks get the boot originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Wonder where your old SDTV went to die? Wonder no more. Visualized: A gadget graveyard originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It looks like the sly fox is ready to make its worldwide debut a few days early. In typical Mozilla fashion , a complete build of Firefox 6 is now unofficially available for your downloading pleasure, three days ahead of schedule. If you’re looking for a major facelift to the desktop edition, you won’t find one here — most of the new features aren’t cosmetic. Perhaps most visibly, you’ll find the domain name of the page you’re parked on highlighted in the address bar. On the Android side, version 6 makes much bigger promises, like a “fresh visual style in Chrome Gingerbread,” enhanced image scaling, and, perhaps most importantly, it’s “faster and uses less memory.” We’ve downloaded the desktop version of the browser ourselves, and we’ve found the release quite snappy. If you’re not afraid of a little pre-release downloading, you can catch the (desktop) fox at the source links below. And as per usual, please let us know how it’s treating you. Firefox 6 breaks out ahead of schedule, gets official August 16th originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 14:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …IBM exec says PC is ‘going the way of the typewriter,’ kills our birthday buzz
August 13, 2011 No Comment
Well, this is awkward . As the IBM PC celebrates its 30th birthday today , one of its original designers is already mulling the end of its reign. In a blog post penned this week, Mark Dean, IBM’s CTO for the Middle East and Africa, reflected on the dawn of the desktop era and looked forward to its seemingly inevitable demise . “When I helped design the PC, I didn’t think I’d live long enough to witness its decline. But, while PCs will continue to be much-used devices, they’re no longer at the leading edge of computing. They’re going the way of the vacuum tube, typewriter, vinyl records, CRT and incandescent light bulbs.” Dean added that he’s glad his company sold its PC business to Lenovo in 2005, as part of a move that, according to him, allowed IBM to position itself at the forefront of the ” post-PC ” era. No word yet on when the funeral rites will be held, but you can read the full post at the source link, below. IBM exec says PC is ‘going the way of the typewriter,’ kills our birthday buzz originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line. It’s difficult to imagine what life would be like without the ability to see. You wouldn’t be reading this article, for one, and that can of soup you had for lunch — well, you probably wouldn’t have been able to distinguish chicken noodle from cranberry sauce, until it came out of the microwave you wouldn’t have been able to operate on your own. “Assistive tech junkie” Karina Pikhart is working to improve at least some aspects of life without sight. Developed while she was a student at MIT, her 6dot labeler prints Braille onto standard DYMO tape using an embossing mechanism. The 6dot was named for the six dots used in the Braille system, and includes a built-in Braille keyboard for people familiar with the writing system, and the option to connect a standard QWERTY keyboard — with characters converted in real-time, allowing the rest of us to print Braille labels as well. This incredibly practical system could literally end up being a life-saver for some blind people, who may not be able to distinguish between household chemical bottles and food, or identify pills that include only non-textured markings. Pikhart has turned to Kickstarter to fund her project, seeking $50,000 in pledges to get the Braille tape rolling. A $1,000 donation lands you one of the first available 6dot labelers, while lesser pledges will be rewarded with a variety of custom Braille souvenirs. Jump past the break to see it in action, or hit up the source link for the full scoop from 6dot. Continue reading Insert Coin: 6dot Braille labeler (video) Insert Coin: 6dot Braille labeler (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Growing up in the 80′s, many kids used their Little Tikes easels to sketch their homes, or their families, or a football or two. Mine was littered with pictures of ceiling fans. But not just the ceiling fan mounted above my playroom — no, these fans were upside-down (like a model I saw in New Orleans), daisy-chained (seen at a local arcade), and connected to a gas-powered motor (as I once noticed at an Amish farm). My obsession with ceiling fans, and really any motor-powered gadget, ran deep. At one point, shortly after I took my first steps, I began refusing to eat in restaurants that didn’t have fans. And when a particular establishment was sophisticated enough to have installed that ever-so-necessary exposed air circulator, you better believe that it needed to be running, and at full speed. My seemingly bizarre obsession with powered devices didn’t stop there. I also had an unlikely fascination with vacuum cleaners. Not with their ability to pick up dirt — I don’t believe I had any interest in what they were actually used for, much to the chagrin of my mother — but with the loud motor that sprung to life when I flipped the power switch, and the uncannily bright headlight that lit the way. Sure, vacuums today feature quiet motors and highly maneuverable ball designs , and even though life was simpler two decades ago, that mesmerizing loud hum, and bright, guiding light would be all it took to get a two-year-old me hooked. But electricity became more than a casual curiosity. My most prized possession was a wood-mounted set of outlets paired with matching switches — one was fixed, and one dimmed. My grandfather helped me build it after one of our weekend trips to the hardware store. Continue reading Growing Up Geek: Zach Honig Growing Up Geek: Zach Honig originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Hey Sony, you hear that? Sounds like you might have another leak on your hands. We got our fourth unofficial look at Sony’s Alpha A77 this morning, and now it’s time for a little accessorizing. What you see above is reportedly a shot of a new lens adapter called the LA-EA2, which would apparently bring the outfit’s translucent mirror technology to its range of little NEX shooters. As you might recall, that mini-mirror brings with it continuous phase-detect autofocus. Of course, this is just a rumor, but it does lines up with previous reports of a forthcoming NEX-7 . You know we enjoy a leak as much as the next guy, but we like hard facts even more. So what’s it going to be Sony? Sony LA-EA2 lens adapter gets ready for its close-up in ‘leaked’ render originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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QR codes may be turning up in more places than ever these days, but are people actually using them? According to market research firm Comscore, at least some of them are — 14 million in June in the US alone, to be specific, or about 6.2 percent of all smartphone users. As for who makes up that slice of the smartphone market, Comscore says that just over 60 percent are male, 53 percent are between the ages of 18 and 34, and 36 percent have a household income of $100k or more. Folks are also apparently more likely to scan QR codes at home than at a retail store, and magazines and newspapers edge out websites or product packaging when it comes to the top source of the QR code being scanned. So, not exactly an explosion in use, but still fairly impressive for a weird-looking barcode that was rarely seen outside of Japan until a few years ago. Comscore finds 6.2 percent of smartphone users scan QR codes originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 07:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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