Recent Comments:
In the Autoblog Garage: 2007 4-door VW GTI {Autoblog}
Aug 28th 2007 2:08PM I got one almost exactly like the test car, except it has DSG and the bodykit. I actually added the nav later (bought it off a guy on vwvortex.com). Great little car, its handling is what I would call "zesty."
Kevin: The MS3 feels like a cheap compact with a big engine. Plus HP isn't everything, especially in a FWD car.
Pentax's K100D is just Super {Engadget}
Jun 27th 2007 7:20PM I would recommend the Pentax K100D. You can get it for less than $500 with a lens these days, and I think it's a better camera than the D40. The D40 limits you to lenses with built-in AF motors (AF-S in Nikon speak, HSM in Sigma speak). That means you cannot use any Nikon or third party lens except for the aforementioned AF-S and HSM lenses. The Pentax, OTOH, lets you use any K-mount lens ever made. The killer differentiator, IMO, is the built-in shake reduction. It turns any lens into an image-stabilized lens, so no need to buy expensive IS/VR/OS lenses, though arguably in body is not as good as in lens stabilization (but so what, this camera is $400 for the body).
I also prefer the Pentax interface, it's straightforward, and despite the fact that it's not a two-dial camera (e.g. a dial on top/front and back like it's big brother, the K10D, the Nikon D80, Canon 30D, etc.), the essential controls are within easy reach and not buried in a menu. The D40 seems to be aimed at the more fire-and-forget crowd, though both cameras have both fire-and-forget modes and settings, and manual settings.
Finally, I like Pentax's selection of Limited (name, not availability) primes (fixed focal length lenses).
TUAW Tip: Apple TV, iPod and more can sync photos from Aperture {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Jun 17th 2007 2:26PM I think this has been out since Aperture 1.5 and the last round of iLife minor updates. It uses the previews generated by Aperture 1.5.
Replacement Adobe CS3 icons galore {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
May 8th 2007 10:49PM As long as they get rid of that scary clown/jester mascot it's good.
Hasselblad intros 31-megapixel H3D-31 DSLR {Engadget}
Jan 25th 2007 11:45PM And it's not even Hassy's "full frame", which is their term for a 48x36mm sensor, even though that is smaller than a 645 film frame.
The Little Things: there are only two versions of Mac OS X {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Oct 25th 2006 6:02PM Actually, there's really only one version of OS X if you want to compare apples to apples (har har). OS X Server competes with Windows Server 2003 and its successors, not the consumer line.
Also, there is no difference at all between the single and family version besides licensing terms. PRobably the same for OS X server.
Aperture 1.5 {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Sep 25th 2006 12:25PM Looks like it has the same dark gray pro-app interface it always had.
Ask HDBeat: err, we are stumped with this one {Engadget HD}
Aug 17th 2006 3:44PM Rob in comment 14,
I think you might be thinking of front projection CRTs (remember those?). Back in the day, they could be had with 7", 8" and 9" RGB tubes. Obviously, the bigger the tubes, the brighter the projector and the higher the resolution. For all the reasons above (i.e. that 1080i is about as hard to do as 540p), you needed larger, higher resolution tubes to do 720p. CRT projectors with 9" tubes were and are ridiculously expensive.
I remember seeing HD, I'm guessing 1080i upscaled by some super fancy Runco or Faroudja scaler, at CES displayed by two stacked CRT projectors with 9" tubes each (I guess the box split the alternate scanlines between each projector, and alignment of the signal would probable be horrendously tedious). It was gorgeous, looked like film, without many of the problems of digital projectors (e.g. shitty black levels), but damn, that setup was like a quarter mil.
Ask HDBeat: err, we are stumped with this one {Engadget HD}
Aug 17th 2006 2:02PM I think it goes something like this.
Cathode ray tubes are analog, with the electron guns, shadow mask, and phosphors and all that. They will display any resolution up to their limits imposed by the shadow mask, etc. (see, e.g., "multisync" monitors). There is not a fixed 1920x1080 or other sized pixel grid as there is with digital display panels.
Seems like it's the input circuitry that converts everything to 1080i because it closely matches what the display is capable of. Most CRT HDTVs seem to be able to display 1080 interlaced horizontal lines (not much different from 540p, and therefore not much different from 480 lines of SDTV), though they usually can't resolve anywhere near 1920 vertical lines. 720p would require a TV that could do close to at mythical 1440i.
Because CRTs are on their way "out" I doubt there will be much further development, even the Sony XBR2 that had something like twice the vertical resolution of prior CRTs is gone.
Samsung finally ships their HL-S5679W LED DLP {Engadget}
Jul 18th 2006 9:46AM Does it have that distractingly weird green I've typically seen on DLPs?
