 Nikon D700. PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE |
Camera packs features at a less-hefty price This is the latest salvo landed in the pitched battle between Nikon and Canon for the hearts, minds and wallets of serious photographers. Nikon’s D700, priced at US$2,995, packs the considerable abilities of the company’s hefty US$5,000 flagship, the D3, into a more svelte 1kg device. It uses the same 12.1-megapixel sensor and processing electronics, similar weather-resistant sealing and a magnesium frame. Both digital single-lens reflex cameras use “full frame” sensors the size of 35mm film, letting a wide-angle lens really see a broad view. Larger sensors are also more sensitive. The cameras shoot low-grain, colorful, sharp pictures at a light sensitivity setting of ISO 6,400, and they can operate at up to ISO 25,600 with less impressive results. The D700 will compete most directly with the aging Canon 5D. It lacks a few of the features found in the D3, including a bigger, longer-lasting battery, an extra memory card slot and a faster frame rate. But it adds a mechanism to shake dust from the sensor and the welcome convenience of a built-in flash. |
 EyeClops Night Vision goggles. PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE | Worried about things that go bump in the night? Then keep your eyes open
Do you have a child who is afraid of the dark? Here’s a US$80 solution, from your local toy store. EyeClops Night Vision goggles (www.jakkspacific.com) use infrared LEDs that shine a wide beam of infrared light up to 15m away. The reflected light is invisible to the eye but not to the onboard camera, which displays the images in a single-eye viewfinder in stark monochrome. According to Nelo Lucich, the creator of the goggles and a vice president at the toy manufacturer Jakks Pacific, it was the affordability and brightness of the 17 LEDs that made this type of toy feasible at its price. Powered by five AA batteries that last about three hours, the entire device straps onto your head with thick rubber straps, like wearing a heavy mask and snorkel, giving you a look that is guaranteed to send the dog into the next room, and the cat up a tree. This could be great fun on Halloween — not only do you look creepy, but you can see where you’re stepping.
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| Pinnacle Studio 12. PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE | Some postproduction pizazz for the digital video artist
Giving your digital movie the feel of opening credits in a 1970s action movie is now a drag-and-drop affair with Pinnacle Studio 12, the latest version of the video-editing software. The program’s new Montage feature has animated text and bright graphics and can play multiple clips simultaneously. It comes with 80 templates that make up 11 themes to perk up those home productions. The feature is in all three versions of the program: Pinnacle Studio (US$50), Pinnacle Studio Plus (US$100) and Pinnacle Studio Ultimate (US$130), available in stores or at pinnaclesys.com. The software works with Windows XP and Vista, and the two high-end versions can burn video to Blu-ray discs. The Ultimate edition includes several professional plug-ins for more picturesque pizazz, like a green-screen feature for adding special effects and the Red Giant Software Magic Bullet Looks tool, which lets you simulate the visual appearance of classic movies and film stocks. All three Pinnacle editions offer direct Web uploading to release the finished video quickly into the wilds of YouTube. |
 Dell Studio laptop. PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
| Colorful and well connected, a laptop that stands out
It’s summer, so why shouldn’t one’s laptop match one’s hot-pink bikini? Dell’s Studio line comes in seven colors and offers some impressive computing power inside. The laptops, which start at US$799, use Intel Core 2 Duo processors and have up to 320 gigabytes of hard drive space. Optional Blu-ray or DVD recording drives ensure you can watch a movie under your beach umbrella, while built-in Wi-Fi, cellular broadband and Bluetooth keep things connected. The Studio line comes in two sizes with 15- and 17-inch screens, and, like most Dell computers, the laptops can be modified and configured online at www.dell.com. Dell also offers color-coordinated accessories like bags and mice. The laptops weigh about 3.5kg and are about 2.5cm thick. They include a card reader and optional HDMI video output, and run Windows Vista.
You can opt for a staid graphite gray if colors like plum purple and ruby red fail to match your corporate color scheme. But Crockett and Tubbs from Miami Vice will especially enjoy the flamingo pink version. |
June 23 to June 29 After capturing the walled city of Hsinchu on June 22, 1895, the Japanese hoped to quickly push south and seize control of Taiwan’s entire west coast — but their advance was stalled for more than a month. Not only did local Hakka fighters continue to cause them headaches, resistance forces even attempted to retake the city three times. “We had planned to occupy Anping (Tainan) and Takao (Kaohsiung) as soon as possible, but ever since we took Hsinchu, nearby bandits proclaiming to be ‘righteous people’ (義民) have been destroying train tracks and electrical cables, and gathering in villages
Dr. Y. Tony Yang, Associate Dean of Health Policy and Population Science at George Washington University, argued last week in a piece for the Taipei Times about former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) leading a student delegation to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that, “The real question is not whether Ma’s visit helps or hurts Taiwan — it is why Taiwan lacks a sophisticated, multi-track approach to one of the most complex geopolitical relationships in the world” (“Ma’s Visit, DPP’s Blind Spot,” June 18, page 8). Yang contends that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has a blind spot: “By treating any
Swooping low over the banks of a Nile River tributary, an aid flight run by retired American military officers released a stream of food-stuffed sacks over a town emptied by fighting in South Sudan, a country wracked by conflict. Last week’s air drop was the latest in a controversial development — private contracting firms led by former US intelligence officers and military veterans delivering aid to some of the world’s deadliest conflict zones, in operations organized with governments that are combatants in the conflicts. The moves are roiling the global aid community, which warns of a more militarized, politicized and profit-seeking trend
This year will go down in the history books. Taiwan faces enormous turmoil and uncertainty in the coming months. Which political parties are in a good position to handle big changes? All of the main parties are beset with challenges. Taking stock, this column examined the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) (“Huang Kuo-chang’s choking the life out of the TPP,” May 28, page 12), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) (“Challenges amid choppy waters for the DPP,” June 14, page 12) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) (“KMT struggles to seize opportunities as ‘interesting times’ loom,” June 20, page 11). Times like these can
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