 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. |
May 26 to June 1 When the Qing Dynasty first took control over many parts of Taiwan in 1684, it roughly continued the Kingdom of Tungning’s administrative borders (see below), setting up one prefecture and three counties. The actual area of control covered today’s Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The administrative center was in Taiwan Prefecture, in today’s Tainan. But as Han settlement expanded and due to rebellions and other international incidents, the administrative units became more complex. By the time Taiwan became a province of the Qing in 1887, there were three prefectures, eleven counties, three subprefectures and one directly-administered prefecture, with
It’s an enormous dome of colorful glass, something between the Sistine Chapel and a Marc Chagall fresco. And yet, it’s just a subway station. Formosa Boulevard is the heart of Kaohsiung’s mass transit system. In metro terms, it’s modest: the only transfer station in a network with just two lines. But it’s a landmark nonetheless: a civic space that serves as much more than a point of transit. On a hot Sunday, the corridors and vast halls are filled with a market selling everything from second-hand clothes to toys and house decorations. It’s just one of the many events the station hosts,
Among Thailand’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) villages, a certain rivalry exists between Arunothai, the largest of these villages, and Mae Salong, which is currently the most prosperous. Historically, the rivalry stems from a split in KMT military factions in the early 1960s, which divided command and opium territories after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) cut off open support in 1961 due to international pressure (see part two, “The KMT opium lords of the Golden Triangle,” on May 20). But today this rivalry manifests as a different kind of split, with Arunothai leading a pro-China faction and Mae Salong staunchly aligned to Taiwan.
Two moves show Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) is gunning for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) party chair and the 2028 presidential election. Technically, these are not yet “officially” official, but by the rules of Taiwan politics, she is now on the dance floor. Earlier this month Lu confirmed in an interview in Japan’s Nikkei that she was considering running for KMT chair. This is not new news, but according to reports from her camp she previously was still considering the case for and against running. By choosing a respected, international news outlet, she declared it to the world. While the outside world
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