In case you weren’t aware, competition’s getting some kind of fierce down in that $400 to $800 not-quite-a-DSLR realm. We’ve got interchangeable lens options galore, a new breed of high performance compacts and the Canon G12 . Nikon’s got its aim planted firmly on the latter with the Coolpix P7000 , a decidedly prosumer camera with the body of a point-and-shoot and the controls of a pro rig. The good folks over at Photography Blog recently put the P7000 through its paces, and while they adored the optical viewfinder, the build quality and the zoom range, they couldn’t quite get over the notably sluggish RAW performance. Worse still, Nikon has yet again changed up its RAW formula, with the newfangled NRW+ only being understandable by the company’s own software for the moment. They found “no unwanted noise” from ISO 100 to 400, with only mild amounts at 800 and 1600; the extra pro-like features were also lauded (neutral density filter, zoom step feature, virtual horizon and tonal range histogram), and with an exception for that sluggish RAW mode, they found it tough to not recommend. Particularly for those of you who’d prefer to stick with JPEG anyway, this here shooter looks to be a solid option if you’ve got the cash ($499.99 MSRP), but we’d recommend poring over the source link before making a final call. Nikon Coolpix P7000 reviewed: a serious contender, but sluggish RAW performance originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …It would seem NVIDIA is ready to take the plunge into selling its graphics cards directly to consumers. Only problem with this plan, however, is that the company has opted to partner up with Best Buy, who’s started stocking its shelves with NVIDIA-branded GPUs a wee bit ahead of the official announcement. As most of us already know, NVIDIA and AMD traditionally rely on add-in-board partners to build and support the actual graphics boards, but now the (original) Green Team seems set to take those reins into its own hands. HardOCP has discovered Foxconn will be responsible for building these perfectly generic GeForces and NVIDIA is promising a pretty generous three-year warranty to go with their luxurious packaging. The company’s official response to these revelations has been to say that Best Buy will be the only place the own-brand cards can be purchased and that the effort is intended as a “complement” to products from its partners. Yes, we’re positive they’ll see it that way too. Continue reading NVIDIA starts selling own-brand GPUs at Best Buy, AIB partners left befuddled NVIDIA starts selling own-brand GPUs at Best Buy, AIB partners left befuddled originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Netflix already added video out support to its iPad app a few months ago, and it’s now finally brought the same functionality to iPhone and iPod touch users as well. Unfortunately, it’s not quite bringing all iPhone and iPod touch users up to speed, as the app will only support video out on the iPhone 4 and fourth generation iPod touch. If that doesn’t pose a problem for you, however, you can grab the updated app for free right now from your favorite source of iPhone apps. Netflix brings video out support to iPhone 4, fourth gen iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 13:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Have you noticed that with each passing year, Halloween has become less about kids wearing scary costumes to go trick-or-treating and more about women dressing up as French maids, prostitutes, and Playboy bunnies? Although this concept was first brought to my attention when I took my daughter to see Lindsay Lohan in the hit film “Mean Girls” a number of years ago, the sexual imagery since has become more and more lurid. Consider that this year, some of the outfits projected by CNBC.com to be in the most demand are sexy “Sesame Street” costumes: “Guys want to be funny or horrific so they stand out at the party,” said Steve Silverstein, president and CEO of retailer Spirit Halloween. “…Girls want to be beautiful, and when they grow up they want to be sexy.” To that end, costume manufacturer Disguise, a unit of Jakks Pacific [JAKK 17.88 0.42 (+2.41%) ], has designed a number of costumes for adults that take familiar children’s characters and make them a little…um…sassier. Sesame Street’s Big Bird, Elmo, and Cookie Monster, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-even popular Hasbro [HAS 44.99 0.44 (+0.99%) ] board games such as Scrabble, Candyland and Monopoly-have been intrepreted by Disguise in a way that not only captures the essence of those iconic brands, but also fulfills a woman’s desire to wear a very attractive costume. The Sesame Street costumes, for example, use a feathery fabric that mimics the fuzziness of the puppets in the classic children’s TV show. There are also other details in the costume that reinforce the image. For example, the Big Bird outfit includes thigh-high hose that resemble the character’s legs, and a headband with Big Bird’s face. But the length of the skirt, and the bows on the stockings, all convey a flirty feeling. Isn’t that special? Now children can see their favorite Sesame Street and Disney characters with plunging necklines and semi-exposed G-strings. I guess Madison Avenue won’t be happy until innocence ends at birth.
Continue reading …Fresh from mocking Americans concerned about illegal immigration ( and from making a mockery of a congressional hearing ), comic Stephen Colbert showed his disdain for another group of Americans: Tea Partiers. In the introduction to the Oct. 4 “Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, the host said, “Then, the Tea Party reaches out to kids – I assume for help with spelling.” That’s a harmless enough little joke, except that it comes from the man who once called Sara Palin ” a f***ing retard .” In keeping with hi theme of contempt for conservative America, without pause, Colbert said, “And my guest Eugene Robinson has a new book about the four groups that make up black America.” Robinson, a left-wing Washington Post columnist, recently called the American electorate “spoiled brats” for their impending electoral rejection of President Obama’s big government policies. Robinson, who is African-American, also called Dr. Alveda King – the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – a ” figurehead or puppet ” for participating in Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally. In response to Beck’s rally and the Tea Parties, Colbert and fellow Comedy Central host Jon Stewart are staging their own simultaneous demonstrations in Washington, D.C. the weekend before the Nov. 2 midterm election. Colbert’s “March to Keep Fear Alive” and Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity” are obviously intended to mock the conservative grassroots uprising while giving an immediate pre-election shot in the arm to liberal election hopes. Colbert and Stewart are wildly successful. Just think how much more successful they’d be if they didn’t show obvious contempt for half of the American people.
Continue reading …American Values president Gary Bauer on Monday said the audience at ABC’s “Holy War” special edition of “This Week” was stocked with people that support radical Islam and the building of the Ground Zero mosque. As NewsBusters reported after Sunday’s program, host Christiane Amanpour presented a tremendously skewed view of so-called American Islamophobia cueing up advocates of the premise while attempting to discredit skeptics. One of those in attendance was Bauer who in a radio interview with WOR’s Steve Malzberg the following day said the audience was also stacked to support the Islamophobia view (audio follows with transcript and commentary): GARY BAUER: When we got there, we had all been told we can bring guests. So we ended up getting there, and our guests didn’t get in. But when Daisy Khan, the wife of the Imam planning the Ground Zero mosque, walked into the room where the audience was, this raucous cheering broke out. When Franklin Graham and myself and those on the other side walked into the room, there was stony silence. So in a city, New York, where 70 percent of the public is against the mosque at Ground Zero, they had managed to put together an audience where 90 percent of the audience was on the side of radical Islam and the side of building the mosque. STEVE MALZBERG, HOST: So you’re telling me that your guests and other guests who were on your side of the issue were not permitted in. What did they say? BAUER: Well, what ended up happening was that the audience just, the audience they had in there filled the seats very early on, so… MALZBERG: The pro-Islamic, the pro-Islamic audience. BAUER: Yes, exactly. And I know that there were some 9/11 families that were told they would be able to attend as guests of the one gentleman that had lost his son at Ground Zero. You know, they didn’t get in. There were a few other 9/11 families there, but not the others. The producers of this show and everyone at ABC News should be ashamed of themselves for this despicably biased presentation concerning this issue. That our media are once again not only on the opposite side of the American people on a key matter facing the nation, but would also do whatever they could to alter public perception should go counter to the basic tenets of journalsim. Sadly, this entire episode has demonstrated the unashamed advocacy mentality so prevalent in so-called news outlets today. It’s a wonder that anything truly American is at all reflected on the airwaves at this moment in history.
Continue reading …The VP in charge of Nokia’s MeeGo Devices has quit. Ari Jaaksi confirmed to Finland’s Talous Sanomat that he resigned last week. According to a Nokia spokesman his departure does not affect MeeGo’s rollout schedule which calls for a first device to be delivered before the end of 2010. We’ve confirmed this with Nokia as well, who tells that an “update on MeeGo” (note the wiggle room in that phrase) will be announced before the end of the year. In case you’re keeping track, Jaaksi’s departure follows the high-profile exits of Nokia’s former CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo (replaced by Stephen Elop ) and the head of Nokia Mobile Solutions, Anssi Vanjoki . Notably, Nokia’s MeeGo team picked up Palm’s Peter Skillman as the head of MeeGo User Experience and Services during the same period. It’s also worth noting that just yesterday Mobile-Review’s Eldar Murtazin said that Nokia’s N9 hardware is “near perfect” but the MeeGo software build is “not so good at the moment.” Given all this, we can’t see how Nokia could possibly ship its first MeeGo handset — a device Nokia hopes to position against the best iOS and Android handsets in the US — in 2010, do you? [Thanks, JJ Ehto] Nokia’s MeeGo device chief resigns originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 05:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Finally, at long last, after so much waiting , Skype has made its debut as a full-fledged Android app. There are no Verizon-related limitations anymore, but Android Police reports that calling through the app is only available via WiFi, you can’t use your mobile’s data connection — not yet, anyway. Another note they make is that Skype is using quite a few processing cycles to do its job, so much so that it introduced crackling on a call carried out with the EVO . You’ll need to have Android 2.1 installed to run this thing, but if you do, why aren’t you downloading it already? Let us know how your own ‘droid fares in the comments below. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] P.S. — Skype’s press release and video after the break have confirmed that 3G Skype calls will be available to all outside the US. Wow. Also, Skype’s acknowledged there are some incompatibilities with Samsung Galaxy S phones and is working to iron those out. Gallery: Skype for Android hands-on Continue reading Skype app arrives in Android Market, WiFi-only in the US Skype app arrives in Android Market, WiFi-only in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 05:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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