These four retro-exotic beauties had nothing to do with your past exploits, but hey, Polaroid coasters make for great cocktail conversation—especially when they depict semi-tasteful, half-naked women. Rarely do we find coasters worth ruining your coffee table for, but this $12 set is so much hipper than your yellowing IKEA furniture anyway. So go ahead, put that glass right on the veneer and tell us a tale about the lovely Luna from Liechtenstein. We're listening. [GAMA-GO via Nerd Approved]
Leica's been busy lately, on the fetishistic high-end as always; their ultra-fast f/0.95 Noctilux lens wowed us a few weeks back, the new M8.2 digital rangefinder and C-Lux and D-Lux compacts also hit, and now they've expanded their digital range to include the S-series ultra high-res DSLR. Aimed at studio pros who would have been medium-format shooters in the film world (advertising, fashion, etc), the S2's specs as leaked in this page from Professional Photographer magazine are characteristically audacious for Leica.
The S2 will feature a brand new 30x45mm sensor, which sits comfortably between a full-frame 35mm sensor and true medium format (as found in digital backs like Phase One's crazy 65MP P65+). But unlike other massive quasi-medium format cameras, the S2 will have a more compact DSLR form factor similar to Leica's R-series. Nine new Leica lenses will also round out the system. No price, but you know, crazy expensive as always. [Professional Photographer scan on Flickr]
As I recall, there have been devices in the past that amplify the sound of portable devices using a system of channels as opposed to electronics, but the AirCurve from Griffin is designed specifically to work with the iPhone and the iPhone 3G. No power source is needed—the AirCurve directs sound from the iPhone speakers through a "coiled waveguide" that, according to Griffin, produces a sound akin to a set of desktop speakers.
To be honest, I'm pretty skeptical about that claim, but at least it won't break the bank at only $20. Although, that is probably more than I would want to pay for a dock that may only to a decent job of amplifying sound and is not capable of charging your phone (unless you buy a separate dock cable). [Griffin via Reg Hardware]
We know that a few of you use laser pointers for board meetings, but the majority of you probably pulled that whole laser-on-the-screen trick at movie theaters when affordable versions first hit. But the problem with the latter application, other than annoying yours truly, was that shining a laser at Tom Cruise's face did nothing to interact with the film, like reveal the green face of Xenu.
In this clip, we see a simple laser pointer interacting with a game in a similar fashion to a wireless mouse. But an installation like this (armed with a projector packing enough lumens, of course) could make for a blindingly good outdoor interactive game (if the world ever gets more awesome and such things materialize in mass throughout our public spaces). Until then, I guess there's always "enjoying" nature. [LaserGames via Engadget]
AT&T Home Manager is, essentially, a Samsung 7" (800x480) touchscreen device that brings goodies like visual voicemail, email, Yellow Pages, weather reports and a phone-syncable address book to those who prefer not to rely on their smartphone at home. It also doubles as a digital picture frame when not in use by loading pictures from SD or USB. Operating 2 hours per charge, the system (which includes a cordless phone) runs $299 from AT&T in limited markets. Maybe it's not the most mind-blowing device out there, but it could be a handy, reasonably-priced piece of tech for those still clinging to their landlines. The only catch? "Customers must agree to a two-year AT&T High Speed Internet term commitment or sign up for AT&T U-verse TV, High Speed Internet and Voice services." Read on for full details.
AT&T Revolutionizes Home Phone, Bringing Color Touch Screen, Customized Content and Wireless Applications to Traditional Voice Calling
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced today the introduction of AT&T HomeManager™ — an innovative home phone that combines access to Internet content and popular wireless phone applications with traditional home phone service. As part of its initial launch, HomeManager is available in nine AT&T markets: Chicago; Atlanta; Austin, Texas; San Antonio; Houston; Dallas; San Francisco; San Diego and Los Angeles.
Using a portable, seven-inch color touch screen frame, AT&T HomeManager provides one-touch access from anywhere in the home to a robust lineup of popular features and content, including visual voice mail, weather reports, e-mail access, local news, a portable speakerphone and more. From a broadband-enabled base station, information is sent directly to the cordless touch screen, delivering quick and easy access to relevant information.
Perfect for the always-busy household, HomeManager is designed to bridge the familiarity and comfort of traditional home phone calling with the feature-rich capabilities consumers expect from today's wireless and broadband services.
"HomeManager represents the next generation of home communications," said Brian Shay, senior vice president, Converged Services for AT&T. "We're building on the reliability of our wireline platform and advancing it with touch screens, mobile phone applications, visual voicemail and more. A phone today is not just for talking — it's about having the content and the information that's important to you right at your fingertips."
Home phone calls — both initiated and received — are completed over a traditional wireline or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connection using either the touch screen, which also functions as a portable speakerphone, or a cordless handset, which is also provided within the HomeManager package. Touch screen applications and capabilities include:
* Address Book Synchronizing. AT&T Mobile BackupSM — a mobile phone application — synchs address books across the touch screen and home handset with AT&T mobile phone contacts. * Internet Content. Access weather, e-mail, stock profiles, sports, news, photos, movie listings, recipes and more with one-touch access on the touch screen frame. * AT&T Yellow Pages. Free, unlimited access to White Pages and Yellow Pages online directories help locate both people and businesses. Use the touch screen to call, map addresses and send information to both mobile phones and e-mail accounts. * Visual Voice Mail. See and listen to messages via a single wireline-wireless mailbox on both the touch screen and cordless handset. Compatible with AT&T U-verseSM Voice and AT&T Unified MessagingSM. * Digital Picture Frame. View your favorite photos on the frame as a slide show or screen saver. Photos and videos are easily loaded from an SD memory card, USB device or e-mail attachment.
"HomeManager is perfect for the kitchen, family room or — because it's portable — anywhere families want instant access to communications and information," said Shay. "In one place, families can make phone calls and also access e-mail, contacts, local news, recipes and more. This is a convenient, simple solution for families on the run. It's quick and it's efficient."
AT&T collaborated with Samsung to bring HomeManager to life, while also building on the company's own 100-year legacy of driving innovation.
"HomeManager is a game-changing device that provides true convergence to wireless, wireline and Internet users," said Tom Jasny, vice president of wireless broadband and network systems for Samsung Mobile.
"This intelligent information device gives people the ultimate flexibility to stay connected, entertained and informed anywhere in their home. Following a long tradition of successful cooperation between AT&T and Samsung for wireless handsets, this represents the first collaborative effort between AT&T and Samsung's network business to address consumer solutions for the home, complementing Samsung's leadership as the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world."
AT&T HomeManager is available to new and existing AT&T High Speed Internet and residential wireline customers, including AT&T U-verse TV and Voice customers, at select AT&T retail locations within the nine markets for a one-time payment of $299.00. Customers must agree to a two-year AT&T High Speed Internet term commitment or sign up for AT&T U-verse TV, High Speed Internet and Voice services.
The package includes the seven-inch touch screen frame, one cordless handset and one base station. Additional handsets and frames can be added for an additional charge. There are no monthly fees for AT&T HomeManager. Other service plans for customers without AT&T services are also available.
Last week it was revealed that the Palin email "hack" was little more than a lucky guess and that a trail of evidence existed that would likely lead the authorities to an arrest. Apparently, this evidence has lead the FBI to the home of a 20-year-old student at the University of Tennessee named David Kernell. To make matters worse, David is the son of Democratic Tennessee state representative Mike Kernell. The apartment was thoroughly searched, but no criminal charges have been filed just yet. I suppose it goes without saying, but if Kernell is found guilty, this simple hack may bring both his life and his father's political career to a screeching halt. [CNET]
Cray's CX1 supercomputer looks oddly petite in its weird press shot, but we checked it out in person today, and it's actually like a small sarcophagus loaded with computer guts instead of actual guts. Unfortunately, it's still fairly early in the getting-going phase, so they don't have a lot of software running for it, much less anything that'll drill your eyeballs like Crysis at 6000FPS—though I think I convinced them that a Crysis test is absolutely critical.
The "cool stuff" will take about three weeks to get up and running, with the more visual demos coming at the tail-end of that. The one benchmark they currently have is that it hits 768 Gigaflops, which they hope to bump over 800 with some fine-tuning. Moving from Nvidia's Quadro 4600 to their newer Tesla cards should give the system a jolt as well, since they're explicitly designed for parallel computing applications, like what the CX1 is designed for.
The CX1 can hold up to eight computing blades—though the storage and visual blade each take up two slots, so the model they were showing had four computing blades, and one of each. While each blade is highly customizable, the cheapest one they had configured was about $4,000, and a fully spec'd out CX1 goes for about $85,000 (slightly higher than they originally announced). While it's not actually designed for gaming at all, for that much I'd want it to burn Crysis directly into my brain. [Cray]
Fujifilm's "super ccd" technology's been about for quitea while, but with the new Super CCD EXR it looks like the main focus is on improved image quality. It's not going to signal an end to the stupid megapixel race, but the EXR sensor has a new mosaic color filter arrangement, new pixel-binning method and totally new electronic charge control: these result in improved light sensitivity with lower noise as well as a wider dynamic range. These should make up for the image quality problems caused by the shrinkage of photo-diode sizes as megapixel count has gone up...but we'll have to see some test shoots to see if the sensor lives up to its promise. Press release below.
PHOTOKINA 2008, COLOGNE, GERMANY, September 23, 2008 —FUJIFILM Corporation, on the anniversary of 10 years of FinePix cameras, has developed “Super CCD EXR,” a revolutionary new sensor developed in the rigorous pursuit of high image quality.
There is strong demand in the digital camera market to increase the number of pixels on a sensor, which, all too often, is used as a convenient yardstick for image quality. While introducing excellent 12-megapixel cameras such as the FinePix F50fd and the FinePix F100fd, Fujifilm has had great success in increasing pixel density while at the same time controlling noise and optimizing sensitivity. Fujifilm’s campaign to improve overall image quality, while at the same time increasing sensor resolution, has been coordinated under the program of ‘Real Photo Technology.’
‘Real Photo Technology’ is underpinned by the belief that experienced photographers, many brought up using famous reversal films like FUJICHROME Velvia or PROVIA, understand that true image quality is about a combination of many factors like tone, hue, color fidelity, dynamic range, sharpness, and resolution. It is well known that increasing the pixel count on a sensor actually makes it more difficult to achieve high sensitivity and wide dynamic range. As the photodiode gets smaller, the problems of increased noise, blooming and clipping increase.
It is widely believed that ‘high resolution’ and ‘high sensitivity’ are irreconcilable opposites, and impossible to optimize on the same sensor, particularly for compact cameras, where sensors are necessarily smaller. High quality pictures are dependent on the subject. Excellent low light pictures need high sensitivity; high contrast pictures need wide dynamic range, while fine details, like the leaves of a tree or strands of a model’s hair, depend on high resolution. Fujifilm engineers set about the task of building a Flexible sensor to match the demands of the photographer. The end-goal is to produce a sensor that works as close to that of the human eye as possible. Whatever nuance of color or sensitivity of tone that makes the scene so special to the photographer should be the continual challenge of the sensor engineer. The EXR sensor is essentially a switchable sensor; changing its complex electronic behavior to suit the subject, changing its characteristics as the photographer demands, and producing the very best picture without making compromises.
“Super CCD EXR” is the latest new generation of Super CCD to be produced by Fujifilm. Over the years, Fujifilm has excelled in high resolution sensors through ‘HR’ technology (F50fd, F100fd) and high sensitivity/wide dynamic range through ‘SR’ sensors (S3 Pro, S5 Pro). The direction in the future will be to combine HR and SR technology together to produce one universal sensor suitable for all high quality photography.
The Technology of Super CCD EXR Super CCD EXR offers three main changes from previous Fujifilm sensors: 1. A new arrangement of the mosaic color filter 2. A new method of pixel binning 3. A complete revision of the electronic charge control
1. EXR: ‘Pixel Fusion Technology’ for High Sensitivity and Low Noise Boosting sensitivity by increasing gain causes the generation of random increased noise, and conventional efforts to control this noise have resulted in blurred images and loss of resolution. On the other hand, a low-noise signal can be obtained by pixel binning. However, the conventional approach to binning (along the horizontal and vertical axis) generates false colors because of the separation of pixels of the same color. Because it is necessary to suppress this phenomenon, the result is a significant drop in sharpness.
EXR changes the color filter arrangement. Two side-by-side, same-colored pixels are taken together as a single pixel. With this design, the area of imaging elements is doubled, the sensitivity is twice the normal level, and ‘dark noise’ is extremely small. Therefore it is possible to create a high sensitivity image with little noise, instead of increasing the gain from a single pixel and increasing the noise.
Another problem with traditional pixel binning is the distance between same-colored pixels. Since the pixels are combined vertically or horizontally, the distance between combined same-color pixels is large, resulting in the generation of false colors. Boasting a new technology called Close Incline Pixel Coupling, the new Super CCD EXR can prevent the generation of false colors by mixing two adjoining pixels as one, and managing to achieve both low noise and excellent sharpness.
2. EXR: ‘Dual Capture Technology’ for Wide Dynamic Range Super CCD EXR uses flexible and high-precision exposure control to simultaneously capture two images of the same scene: one taken at high sensitivity and the other at low sensitivity. It then merges the two images to generate a photo that has excellent depth and range.
Previously, Fujifilm used two different methods to improve dynamic range. The first was Super CCD SR. Through the adoption of a “double pixel structure” based on silver halide film, which comprises an “S pixel” with a large area and high sensitivity and an “R pixel” with a small area, a dynamic range four times that of conventional sensors was achieved. The second was based on Super CCD HR, where the gradation of shadows was gradually adjusted while raising the sensitivity of signal processing, and where highlights were softened to delineate an optimal curve. Similar to Super CCD SR, the new EXR sensor uses Dual Exposure Control to impart two differing sensitivities by controlling the light exposure time (the time in which charge accumulates). Unlike SR, the imaging elements are the same (large) size, which means the potential for widened dynamic range is even greater, and facilitates a greater spectrum of graduated expression.
3. EXR: ‘Fine Capture Technology’ for High Resolution The distinctive structure of the new Super CCD EXR fully exploits all the pixels in the layer beneath the new color filter matrix and takes advantage of the optimized signal processing of the new RP processor to create an image with the highest possible resolution quality. Even though the sensor has been designed for ‘Dual Capture’ for Wide Dynamic Range and ‘Pixel Fusion’ for Low Noise, it actually performs as well as previous 12-megapixel Super CCD sensors due to the new filter and photodiode design.
When light is full and even, and when fine detail is required, EXR can deliver exquisite detailed expression for landscape or architectural photography, and render the finest details of clothes, hair or jewelry in portrait photography.
EXR: The Future Fujifilm is determined to use decades of imaging know-how gained through the development of film to push the boundaries of what is possible to achieve with an imaging sensor. The market for digital cameras is only around a decade old, and Fujifilm believes that it is possible to follow the holy grail of ‘absolute image quality’ in the domain of electronic imaging, just as it did with conventional imaging. With EXR, Fujifilm can choose one engineering direction, rather than developing separate sensors for high sensitivity and high resolution. Fujifilm looks forward with excitement to introducing this sensor into its range of high quality cameras, and expects enthusiasts to see a quantum leap in image quality from anything they have seen before.
Onwards and upwards in the overclockers' heatsink game: The crazed coolant doctors at Thermaltake are now shipping what they're claiming is the first case to feature a DC-inverter micro refrigeration system onboard, which goes beyond conventional liquid-cooled setups by using the same type of compressor/condenser/coolant system found in a refrigerator or air conditioner into your PC case.
Thermaltake claims the Xpressar gains an additional drop of 20° C below liquid-cooled systems that don't feature an actual fridge compressor. But, as you know, your AC and refrigerator tend to make a lot of noise and suck down a lot of power (Xpressar's compressor is rated at 50W), so you can assume that this is not the most practical of setups. And the crazy ductwork required means only certain ATX and mini-ATX motherboards are supported, but practicality's never really been first on overclockers' minds, right? [Hexus, Far East Gizmos]
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These four retro-exotic beauties had nothing to do with your past exploits, but hey, Polaroid coasters make for great cocktail conversation—especially when they depict semi-tasteful, half-naked women. Rarely do we find coasters worth ruining your coffee table for, but this $12 set is so much hipper than your yellowing IKEA furniture anyway. So go ahead, put that glass right on the veneer and tell us a tale about the lovely Luna from Liechtenstein. We're listening. [
Leica's been busy lately, on the fetishistic high-end as always; their ultra-fast 
As I recall, there have been devices in the past that amplify the sound of portable devices using a system of channels as opposed to electronics, but the AirCurve from Griffin is designed specifically to work with the iPhone and the iPhone 3G. No power source is needed—the AirCurve directs sound from the iPhone speakers through a "coiled waveguide" that, according to Griffin, produces a sound akin to a set of desktop speakers. 
AT&T Home Manager is, essentially, a Samsung 7" (800x480) touchscreen device that brings goodies like visual voicemail, email, Yellow Pages, weather reports and a phone-syncable address book to those who prefer not to rely on their smartphone at home. It also doubles as a digital picture frame when not in use by loading pictures from SD or USB. Operating 2 hours per charge, the system (which includes a cordless phone) runs $299 from AT&T in limited markets. Maybe it's not the most mind-blowing device out there, but it could be a handy, reasonably-priced piece of tech for those still clinging to their landlines. The only catch? "Customers must agree to a two-year AT&T High Speed Internet term commitment or sign up for AT&T U-verse TV, High Speed Internet and Voice services." Read on for full details.
Last week it was revealed that the Palin email "hack" was little more than a 
Fujifilm's "super ccd" technology's been about for 
Onwards and upwards in the overclockers' heatsink game: The crazed coolant doctors at 
Thermaltake claims the Xpressar gains an additional drop of 20° C below liquid-cooled systems that don't feature an actual fridge compressor. But, as you know, your AC and refrigerator tend to make a lot of noise and suck down a lot of power (Xpressar's compressor is rated at 50W), so you can assume that this is not the most practical of setups. And the crazy ductwork required means only certain ATX and mini-ATX motherboards are supported, but practicality's never really been first on overclockers' minds, right? [