FOR THE JACQUES COUSTEAUS OF YOU OUT THERE
Pentax updates its line of waterproof, compact digital cameras with the aluminum-alloy Optio W30, a 7-megapixel model out next month.
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A high-brightness setting makes the 2.5-inch screen more easily viewed in sunlight, which extends the camera's usefulness as a tool for capturing beach behavior and ski scenes.
Waterproof to a depth of 3m for up to two hours, the 159g camera is dust-sealed, which should afford protection against sand.
A small amount of memory is included in the camera, but the SD slot is set for the new higher-capacity SDHC cards, which are sold in versions up to eight gigabytes.
Under water, light can be scarce, so this camera can automatically switch to higher light sensitivities as needed, or be manually set as high as ISO 1600.
Zoom range is 38mm to 114mm, but subjects less than 2.5cm away can be shot, and then followed as they depart — perhaps swimming — in an auto-macro mode, which switches to regular autofocus as a subject moves away.
In video mode, the camera shoots 30 frames a second — all the while recording sound.
APPLE'S AIRPORT EXTREME: WIRELESS RIVALS ETHERNET
Ask any computer geek which is faster, a wired or wireless network, and they would probably tell you to reach for the Ethernet cables — unless, of course, you have upgraded to 802.11n.
Apple's latest AirPort Extreme wireless access point and router is its first to use the 802.11n draft standard, a technology that approaches wired-network speeds and is still being developed but is already popping up in many products. Apple says nearly all of its current Macs are 802.11n-capable.
In a tryout with two new Macs, large file transfers took one-fourth as long as with older 802.11g devices.
That isn't the only upgrade to the AirPort Extreme. Its clean new design is similar to the iPod and Mac Mini, and its USB port now allows sharing of a hard drive as well as a printer across the network.
The AirPort Extreme still works with the AirPort Express, which lets you extend your network and stream iTunes music around the house. Security is up to date as well, with WiFi Protected Access options throughout — to shield those things you would rather not share.
A MOUSE AND KEYBOARD TO GO WITH VISTA
Microsoft finally got its Windows Vista software out the door. Now comes the hardware.
The Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000 combines a Bluetooth keyboard with Microsoft's first rechargeable mouse. Both can work up to 900cm from the USB transmitter in the computer.
The unit was designed for Vista, but it works with Windows XP. Dedicated keys call up the Windows Vista start menu, the Windows Live instant-messaging system and Windows "gadgets" — desktop programs that offer weather, news, calendars and other functions.
The keyboard, featuring a thin, curved design, is geared to multimedia use. The left side has what amounts to a remote control for all the devices that are connected through Windows Media Center.
The included software even adds some Vista visual functions. A click on the mouse's scroll wheel displays large thumbnails of all the open windows. And the small right button can be used to magnify a portion of the screen — ideal for reading the fine print in those user agreements.
BLEND A PC INTO YOUR TV SYSTEM USING WIRELESS
Some video buffs may want to relay their high-definition programming all over the house or take it with them on the road. Pinnacle Systems addresses that urge with the PCTV to Go HD Wireless.
This device connects to an antenna, set-top box or direct cable connection and transmits video wirelessly to a nearby PC, or over the Internet for viewing (at slightly lesser quality) on a remote computer.
The PCTV to Go software also allows a computer to be used as a remote control for selecting and recording programs, as well as for rewinding and pausing live TV.
The device is compatible with computers running Windows XP or Vista and works best with Windows Media Center Edition, a more powerful version of Windows designed for media playback and recording. It can create DVDs and video CDs on any computer connected to the wireless network.
While it will extend your HDTV reach, it will not, alas, give you more time for all that viewing.
TAKING YOUR PRESENTATION TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL
If the Three Stooges were around in the age of PowerPoint, one can only imagine the result. But a small piece of hardware from NewSoft can allow any threesome of presenters to get through a meeting with nary an eye-gouge.
The NewSoft WMS100 Image Wireless Projector Adaptor connects to any VGA-compatible projector. With the included software, called Presto, up to three computers can control a presentation and capture and display their own screens at any time.
The device itself (at www.newsoftinc.com) looks like a walkie-talkie with an antenna on one side and a VGA/XVGA connection. It is compatible with three Wi-Fi standards (802.11a, b and g), and the software even enables slides to be exchanged among participants, bypassing the screen entirely.
The WMS100 works with Windows and Macintosh computers. NewSoft will soon offer the WMS200, delivering video as well as still images.
With the right material, the adaptor could help make a three-way presentation knucklehead-proof.
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
The following three paragraphs are just some of what the local Chinese-language press is reporting on breathlessly and following every twist and turn with the eagerness of a soap opera fan. For many English-language readers, it probably comes across as incomprehensibly opaque, so bear with me briefly dear reader: To the surprise of many, former pop singer and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ex-lawmaker Yu Tien (余天) of the Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association (TNCPA) at the last minute dropped out of the running for committee chair of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter, paving the way for DPP legislator Su
It’s hard to know where to begin with Mark Tovell’s Taiwan: Roads Above the Clouds. Having published a travelogue myself, as well as having contributed to several guidebooks, at first glance Tovell’s book appears to inhabit a middle ground — the kind of hard-to-sell nowheresville publishers detest. Leaf through the pages and you’ll find them suffuse with the purple prose best associated with travel literature: “When the sun is low on a warm, clear morning, and with the heat already rising, we stand at the riverside bike path leading south from Sanxia’s old cobble streets.” Hardly the stuff of your
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist