Computer Information - myOddPc
Canon PowerShot SD790 IS reviewed, predictably great
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Canon has the art of the compact digicam down to a science by now, and the
PowerShot SD790 is no exception, according to PC Magazine. The new shooter nabbed the publication's Editors' Choice award for "superior image quality" that pulled it ahead of the likes of Panasonic's
DMC-FX55 and Sony's
DSC-T2. The SD790 includes a new physical scroll wheel that took a bit of getting used to, but turned out to be a quicker way to skim through menus. The camera includes a new motion-detection feature to automatically switch ISO and exposure to keep the images sharp, and it worked as advertised. Other automatic settings have been tweaked for better images, and the camera performs notably well in high ISO shots. The flash isn't super powerful, and the reviewer would've preferred a wider angle lens at this $350 pricepoint, but all-in-all there seems to be plenty to love about this latest Digital Elph.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Full Story
Edirol spruces up its high-end voice recorder with the R-09HR
Filed under: Portable Audio
Nothing like a minor spec bump to a digital audio recorder to get the blood pumping on a Saturday evening, but we're real suckers for
these things. Edirol released its high-end
R-09 portable recorder back in 2006, and now they're taking things up a notch with the R-09HR, which can handle 96KHz recordings (up from 48KHz) and supports SDHC up to 8GB instead of the 4GB max of the old model. The recorder also includes a monitor speaker, remote control and playback speed control -- a big win for fans of Alvin and the Chipmunks or for those who need to transcribe interviews, two camps which we conveniently find ourselves in. No word on a US release, but the R-09HR is available in the UK for £249.00, about $497 US.
[Via
Brad Linder]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Full Story
University of Washington Tracking the Edge of Privacy
Roland Piquepaille writes "We've been told for several years that RFID tags would eventually be everywhere. This isn't the case yet, but researchers at the University of Washington would like to know if the future of social networking could be affected by these tags and check the balance between privacy and utility. They've deployed 200 antennas in one UW building and a dozen researchers are carrying RFID tags on them. According to the Seattle Times, all their moves are tracked every second in the building. Of course, it can be practical to know if a colleague is available for a cup of coffee but this kind of system (if in widespread use) has some serious implications. As the lead researcher said, 'what we want to understand is what makes it useful, what makes it threatening and how to balance the two.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Full Story
ISPs Using "Deep Packet Inspection" on 100,000 Users
dstates writes "The Washington Post is reporting that some Internet Service Providers (ISP) have been using deep-packet inspection to spy on the communications of more than 100,000 US customers. Deep packet inspection allows the ISP to read the content of communications including every Web page visited, every e-mail sent and every search entered, in short every click and keystroke that comes down the line. The companies involved assert that customers' privacy is protected because no personally identifying details are released, but they make money from advertisers who use the information to target their online pitches. Deep packet inspection is a significant expansion over tools like cookie in the ability to track a user. Critics liken it to a phone company listening in on conversations."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Full Story
Verizon Reveals Plans For "C Block" Airwaves
eldavojohn writes "Now that Verizon has beaten Google in the 'block C' spectrum auction, what are they going to do with it? Well, as of today they've revealed their plans for world domination: they plan to speed up wireless internet connections. It may come as no surprise that they'll also be making this available for other manufacturer's devices. AT&T plans to do the same with their auction winnings, 'AT&T was second to Verizon, winning $6 billion in spectrum licenses, which it also plans to use for high-speed Internet service. But its executives said they didn't bid for the portion subject to the open-access rules. The parts it did land cost AT&T nearly three times as much per unit of spectrum than the portion Verizon bought.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Full Story
RIAA's Boston University Subpoena Quashed
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "As first reported by p2pnet, the motion to quash the RIAA's subpoena seeking identities of Boston University students has been granted, at least for the moment. In a 52-page opinion (pdf) the Judge concluded that she could not decide whether or not to quash until she had seen the college's 'Terms of Service Agreement' for internet service. It was only then she could decide what 'expectation of privacy' the students had. She quashed the subpoena calling for the student identities, and told them they could go ahead with a subpoena just for the terms of service agreement. Interestingly the decision was issued on the very same day as the judge in Elektra v. Barker came to some of the same conclusions."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Full Story
Vista is Slower, But XP Is Still Dying
An anonymous reader writes "Though the Redmond software giant may be extending the lifetime of XP on low-end laptops, the end is nigh for the aging OS. That extension makes perfect sense, as recent studies have shown XP is far faster than Vista across a number of platforms. Still, Microsoft is 'sticking to its guns' when it comes to drop-dates for most other uses of the XP operating system. 'There are several dates that apply, but the one you're probably thinking of is the June 30 deadline that Dix referred to. That's the last day when large computer makers -- the Dells, HPs and Lenovos of the world -- will be allowed to preinstall Windows XP on new PCs. It also marks the official end of XP as a retail product.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Full Story
Disk Failure Rates More Myth Than Metric
Lucas123 writes "Using mean time between failure rates suggest that disks can last from 1 million to 1.5 million hours, or 114 to 170 years, but study after study shows that those metrics are inaccurate for determining hard drive life. One study found that some disk drive replacement rates were greater than one in 10. This is nearly 15 times what vendors claim, and all of these studies show failure rates grow steadily with the age of the hardware. One former EMC employee turned consultant said, 'I don't think [disk array manufacturers are] going to be forthright with giving people that data because it would reduce the opportunity for them to add value by 'interpreting' the numbers.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Full Story
Computer System Makes Best Sports Bets
schliz writes to tell us that a new computer system using the "Logistic Regression Markov Chain" (LRMC) has proven to be the most efficient system at predicting sporting event outcomes. The system was tested on the 2008 US NCAA basketball season and picked all four of the finalists. "Similar to other rankings systems, LRMC uses the quality of each NCAA team's results and the strength of each team's schedule to rank teams. The method has been designed to use only basic scoreboard data, including which teams played, which team had home court advantage and the margin of victory."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Full Story
Alcatel Awarded $367 Million in MS Patent Case
eldavojohn writes "For violating two Alcatel-Lucent patents in its Windows user interface, Microsoft was ordered to pay Alcatel-Lucent $367 Million Friday. From the article, 'Microsoft, which will seek to have the verdict overturned, said Alcatel-Lucent was seeking $1.5 billion in damages related to the four patents named in the case. Microsoft said the jury found that Microsoft did not infringe on Alcatel's video decoding technology patent. The fourth patent in the lawsuit was asserted only against Dell Inc, which was found not to have infringed, according to Microsoft.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Full Story
Disclaimer
Please note that this website is for information only. Whilst every care has been taken to provide accurate information you should always seek the advice of a professional before attempting any repairs or making any purchase(s).
You need to take special care to ensure that the information given applies your system.
