Samsung launches 10.2-megapixel L210 point-and-shoot

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Now isn't this bugger just as cute as a button? Even if red isn't your hue of choice, Samsung's L210 point-and-shoot comes in black and silver motifs too, and while the 10.2-megapixel sensor is probably a bit much for a shooter this size, we suppose Sammy's just following the trend. Aside from the pocket-friendly design and 3x optical zoom lens, you'll also find a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, red eye correction, optical and digital image stabilization, face detection, an SVGA movie mode and ten whole megabytes of internal storage. Should that fill up on you during your outing (we know, chances are slim), you can slam an SD / SDHC / MMC card in for additional space. Not too terribly shabby for $199.95, yeah?

[Via Gadgets-Weblog]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Full Story

NVIDIA drivers responsible for nearly 30% of Vista crashes in 2007

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

That huge bundle of damning emails and documents Microsoft produced as part of the Vista-capable lawsuit is full of fascinating information about how the company developed, planned, and launched Vista, but the latest juicy nugget to come out if it suggests that a lot of problems faced by the troubled operating system are actually NVIDIA's fault -- nearly 30% of logged Vista crashes were due to NVIDIA driver problems, according to Microsoft data included in the bundle. That's some 479,326 hung systems, if you're keeping score at home, and it's in first place by a large margin -- Microsoft clocks in at number two at 17.9 percent, and ATI is fourth with 9.3 percent. Now, the chart doesn't contain a ton of additional information that would help put it in context -- a specific time period in 2007 would be nice, as would and driver and OS versions -- but we've been hearing about NVIDIA issues with Vista from the start, and this seems to confirm it. So that's pressure by Intel to support incompatible chipsets, outrage by Dell and Wal-Mart that the Vista Capable program was confusing customers, Microsoft executives saying they had been "personally burnt" by Vista, and now what looks like a huge NVIDIA driver problem -- who knows what else is going to come out of this lawsuit? At this point we're half expecting a photo of Gates signing a Save XP petition.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Full Story

Surface to hit consumerdom in 2011, maybe sooner

Filed under: Desktops

The last we heard about a consumer-oriented version of Microsoft Surface, Steve Ballmer was saying that the company was trying to get it out ASAP -- which is apparently three years, we've just learned. That's the word from Tom Gibbons, the MS VP in charge of Specialized Devices and Applications, who says Microsoft can "absolutely see how" to get Surface to consumers by 2011, but that it'll try to beat that deadline if possible. Of course, the $10,000 commercial version of Surface still hasn't been released to high-profile customers like T-Mobile and Harrah's, and although it's starting to make semi-random promo appearances here and there. Still, though, 2011? We're getting pretty sick of old-school Hungry Hungry Hippos here, people -- let's make this happen.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Full Story

Aptera to make cameo in next Star Trek film?

Filed under: Transportation

For those unaware, "veiled in secrecy" is an extreme understatement when it comes to the next Star Trek flick -- if there actually is a next Star Trek flick, that is. Nevertheless, an undercover photographer managed to grab some recent shots of a film production operating under the title "Corporate Headquarters," and a few snaps caught a vehicle that looks awfully similar to the 300MPG Aptera. Coincidentally enough, said craft was also missing from last week's New York Auto Show. Look, we aren't piecing together clues in a valiant attempt to get you stoked about seeing a space aged automobile in a movie that may or may not even be real (okay, it's real), but then again, it's hard to shake the evidence.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Full Story

Collective Licensing for Web-Based Music Distribution

Two weeks ago we discussed a proposal from music industry veteran Jim Griffin to implement a monthly fee from ISPs in exchange for the legal distribution of copyrighted music. Now, quinthar brings news that Warner Music Group has hired Griffin with the intention to make that proposal a reality. Warner wants Griffin to establish a collective licensing deal with ISPs that would let the ISPs stop worrying about their legal responsibilities for file-sharing while contributing to a pool of money (potentially up to $20 billion per year) that would be distributed amongst the music industry. "Griffin says that in just the few weeks since Warner began working on this plan, the company has been approached by internet service providers 'who want to discharge their risk.' Eventually, advertising could subsidize the entire system, so that users who don't want to receive ads could pay the fee, and those who don't mind advertising wouldn't pay a dime. 'I.S.P.'s want to distinguish themselves with marketing," Griffin says. "You can only imagine that an I.S.P. that marketed a 'fair trade' network connection would see a marketing advantage.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Full Story

Is There Room For a Secure Web Browser?

An anonymous reader points out an eWeek story about researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who are designing a new web browser based on security. The new software, code-named OP for Opus Palladianum, will separate various components of the browser into subsystems which are monitored and managed by the browser kernel. Quoting: "'We believe Web browsers are the most important network-facing application, but the current browsers are fundamentally flawed from security perspective,' King said in an interview with eWEEK. 'If you look at how the Web was originally designed, it was an application with static Web pages as data. Now, it has become a platform for hosting all kinds of important data and businesses, but unfortunately, [existing] browsers haven't evolved to deal with this change and that's why we have a big malware problem.' The idea behind the OP security browser is to partition the browser into smaller subsystems and make all communication between subsystems simple and explicit."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Full Story

Large Hadron Collider Sparks 'Doomsday' Lawsuit

smooth wombat writes "In what can only be considered a bizarre court case, a former nuclear safety officer and others are suing the U.S. Department of Energy, Fermilab, the National Science Foundation and CERN to stop the use of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) until its safety is reassessed. The plaintiffs cite three possible 'doomsday' scenarios which might occur if the LHC becomes operational: the creation of microscopic black holes which would grow and swallow matter, the creation of strangelets which, if they touch other matter, would convert that matter into strangelets or the creation of magnetic monopoles which could start a chain reaction and convert atoms to other forms of matter. CERN will hold a public open house meeting on April 6 with word having been spread to some researchers to be prepared to answer questions on microscopic black holes and strangelets if asked."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Full Story

The Next Leap In Space Exploration

An anonymous reader writes "The crew of the space shuttle Endeavor recently returned to Earth as ambassadors, harbingers of a new era of space exploration. Scientists at NASA are saying that the recent assembly of the Dextre bot is the first step in a long-term space-based man/machine partnership. '"The work we're doing now -- the robotics we're doing -- is what we're going to need to do to build any work station or habitat structure on the moon or Mars," said Allard Beutel, a spokesman for NASA. "Yes, this is just the beginning." Further joint human-robot projects will "be a symbiotic relationship. It's part of a long-term effort for us to branch out into the solar system. We're going to need this type of hand-in-robotic-hand [effort] to make this happen. We're in the infancy of space exploration. We have to start somewhere and this is as good a place as any."'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Full Story

Researchers Play Tune Recorded Before Edison

Tree131 writes "The New York Times is reporting that sound recordings pre-dating Edison's made by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, a Parisian typesetter and tinkerer, were discovered by American audio historians at the French Academy of Sciences in Paris. The archives are on paper and were meant for recording but not playback. Researchers used a high quality scan of the recording and an electronic needle to play back the sounds recorded 150 years ago. 'For more than a century, since he captured the spoken words "Mary had a little lamb" on a sheet of tinfoil, Thomas Edison has been considered the father of recorded sound. But researchers say they have unearthed a recording of the human voice, made by a little-known Frenchman, that predates Edison's invention of the phonograph by nearly two decades.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Full Story

Today's featured article

What To Do When Windows Wont Boot
Passwords Used In Microsoft Word Documents
A Peek Into the Near Future of Electronics Technology
Speed Up Your Surfing with Bookmarks
Microsoft Great Plains as ERP and Microsoft CRM as CRM
LaserJet Printer Advice
Not All Project Management Software is Created Equal
Basic Steps To Optimize Your Internet Security
USB Hubs and Ports Explained
Macromedia Flash Work Practices
Cisco Certification: The OSI Model, Part I
Interactive Charts are Reinventing Visual Data
Microsoft Small Business Manager eCommerce – Overview
TV Viewing Distance and Screen Placement in the Home Theater
How to Shop for Inkjet Printer Cartridges
Corporate ERP of the Next decade: Microsoft/Unix/Java – Coexistence & Harmony?
Investing On A 1D Bar Code Reader
Another Title by Atari Released on StarForce Protected DVDs
PDA Solar Charger Review
Hear It in Digits
SMS Gaming - Text Paging Games that can be Played by Anyone
Keeping Passwords Secure
USB Drive Popularity
Basic Computer Maintenance
Build Your Own Computer