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The RED Scarlet, if you don’t know, is a compact professional camera being released by RED as a more portable alternative to the more full-featured modular system that’s been brewing for so long. Key word here is professional! Many are under the impression that this is their consumer offering, but RED is not a consumer-oriented company. The Scarlet may be cheaper and more compact, but it is still an extremely serious camera and creates footage that a layperson would have trouble editing. That said, this thing looks pretty bad-ass, and I might have to go halvesies on it with a certain RED owner who’s on a trip to Poland right now. Yeah, you know who you are.
We heard about some of this stuff about a month ago, but these specifics are good to have.
It’s being offered with a fixed 8x zoom or an regular interchangeable mount; the spec sheet actually doesn’t note the F values of the lens, which suggests it’s not finalized. I’d guess it’ll be T/2.8 or thereabouts. There are a lot of specs and modes listed in the announcement which you can read there, but the price is quoted at $4750 at the moment for the fixed lens and $2750 for the brain only. The fixed lens version comes with an LCD, battery, and other accessories however, so for a filmmaker on a budget it might be a good unit. Plus, everything about it is compatible with the Epic modules, so you’re not wasting money on two different systems if you’re going for both.
If you're one of the 600,000 people who bought a Samsung Intensity (SCH U-490) or Samsung Trance (SCH U-450): good news! You've got an over-the-air update coming your way. One of our sources just came through with the patch notes for both handset's respective updates, which are scheduled to begin as early as tomorrow.
Stardom Storage Solutions announced on Monday the new Safe Capsule, a two-drive RAID 1 solution designed to work with Time Capsule. Easily connected via USB, the...
So I made a big deal about the supposed $10,000 premium Apple was charging to make an iTunes LP. As it turns out, that wasn’t the case, and Apple responded to the controversy by saying “Hey buddy, we’re going to be releasing all this stuff for free in a little bit anyway. Chill out.” Or something like that. Well, two months later, they’ve done it: you can now roll your own iTunes LP or Extras, and it costs no more than a click.
It looks remarkably straightforward and there’s no flimflam to be found on the iTunes LP for Developers page, so I think that it really is what it looks like. They’ve included some templates and design guidelines as well, and you better stick to them; Apple will be scrutinizing all submissions, and once it really opens up in Q1 2010, you better be ready for as long a wait as if it were an app.
There’s already been quite a bit of ink spilled over the demise of the CrunchPad but I thought I’d add a few drops. My opinion is this: the CrunchPad was a testament to the power of online media and a fascinating study in the ability of new media to enact real changes on the real world. While the product faltered, it’s fascinating that the project went as far as it did given the forces arrayed against it.
Think about what happened: if we reduce this to its component parts you have some dudes in California who talked to some dudes in Singapore and who agreed to work together on a piece of hardware. I’ve seen the prototypes and the thing worked and worked well. Most hardware manufacturers can barely take each others meetings let alone coordinate a massive project while separated by a culture and an ocean.
I won’t speak on the problems with Fusion Garage but up until a few hours ago the entire TC/CG team expected to see the CrunchPad at some point in our lives. This is a massive change in this industry. A few years ago a blogger couldn’t get a press pass to CES let alone enough attention to build out a massive and mass-market hardware project.
Other organizations should learn from this or ignore it at their peril. It would behoove the New York Times, for example, to build something like the CrunchPad for consumption of the newspaper. They won’t do it because it is seemingly off-mission. This is what separates new media from old – the acceptance of risk. You can inject that instinct into old media but, as Devin wrote, “old” media can’t make the same mistakes we can.
Michael wanted to make a CrunchPad. It very nearly happened. This marks a sea change in what our media can accomplish as well as a testament to the good will it has engendered in its readership. In the end, a harsh accident intruded. This is an important distinction because from where I sit this clearly wasn’t a case of harsh reality striking down this project but something far stranger.
So goodnight, sweet CrunchPad. Some day your time will come.
Although the concept here is good, I can’t help thinking that if you need a Band-Aid (elastic bandage, sorry) longer than an inch or so, you probably need something more than a Band-Aid. Except for things like grass and paper cuts, injuries more than an inch in any direction generally don’t just go in a straight line. And what about covering up hickies?
I appreciate the concept, but I don’t think this machine will… cut it. (da dun tssh)
It’s just as Rob over at BoingBoing says: you don’t have to be mean, negative, or hip to make a good point. The Sun and its ilk are still worthwhile and will continue to be so for at least a few years. Don’t forget what years of experience, local contacts, and a nice big tabloid layout can do for you.
I’m pretty sure I wrote the complete opposite story several days ago, but who cares, right? It’s cold and rainy and there’s not much else to talk about. So! As you’re probably well aware, Jay Leno’s new show isn’t doing too well. Why is that? Well, you can try to sit down and analyze if the show is any good or not (note: I haven’t seen the show), or if the show’s earlier time slot isn’t conducive to that type of show. You know, just try to examine what’s going on. That, or you can blame those damn DVRs for ruining everything. Let’s go with that one.
DVRs are now in one-third of Americans households. In the past year, according to Nielsen data, NBC has lost an average rating of 1.8. Simultaneously, DVRs use is up by a ratings point of 1.4.
Coincidence? Maybe, but that’s not how the powers that be are reacting.
Network executives are complaining that, yes, people can skip commercials when viewing shows via DVR. At the same time, they admit that they’d rather have DVR viewers than no viewers at all. That sounds like having their cake, and eating it, too.
Leno’s new show is an interesting one to study. It’s the first really big show to have launched in the DVR era, one that NBC put an awful lot of money behind. (Or don’t you remember all the ads for Leno when the show first debuted?) NBC wanted to make it a nightly show, as opposed to weekly like Saturday Night Live (which would have made it a lot easier to come up with material), so that it would be “DVR-proof.” Like, you can’t DVR the show because he’s talking about today’s news… today.
Only that didn’t happen at all.
If people know that a show is all about topical humor, why would they go back and watch Monday’s show on Thursday night (when they have two hours free)? Let’s assume that tonight Leno runs Tiger Woods jokes, but that on Wednesday, I don’t know, Rush Limbaugh slips on a banana peel while at a political rally. So, do you want to hear Tiger woods jokes or Rush Limbaugh banana peel jokes?
You know what I mean. Because the show is so tied to the day’s events, unless you watch it on the day of release it won’t be worth your while.
So, not DVR-proof but rather DVR cryptonite.
It’s one thing to watched a recorded sitcom a few days later, but a recorded, topical, variety show? That’s a hard sell.
This is before you even factor in that today’s 18-49 year-olds aren’t necessarily going to either A) sit down and watch some TV show live or B) a few days later on DVR delay. We live in an age of streaming Netflix movies, Spotify, iTunes, Xbox Live, PSN, Steam, Twitter, nook and Kindles, etc.
Believe it or not, people can entertain themselves these days without having to sit back and watch TV.
And here’s another idea: maybe Leno’s show just isn’t any good? Again, I haven’t seen it, but I can’t imagine it’s easy coming up with material five days a week, so maybe the product suffers? I never found Leno funny during his run on The Tonight Show, but I know he’s a funny guy. You have to play to your audience. He can’t exactly get away with comedy club-level content on NBC, now can he?
In conclusion, I’m not sure that DVRs, per se, have killed Leno’s show. That’s a gross oversimplification of what’s probably going on: people’s media consumption habits are changing, and NBC relied on people staying in tune with the old model.
But what do I know, I’m over here trying to figure out if I should go AMD or Intel with a gaming PC I’m very close to building.
The quad-core iMac may among the fastest Mac models. But the 27-inch all-in-one desktop might be at risk for a feature that Mac users will not find as...
Looking to author your own interactive extras for the iTunes store? Well, à la the App Store, Apple has now opened up iTunes LP and iTunes Extras for independent...
The G-Drive external hard drive line has been out for a bit now. But the latest model is loaded with the Hitachi 2TB 7200RPM 3.5-inch hard drive, which means I had to check it out. Let’s just say, this boy is big, bad, and fast.
Features
2TB 7200RPM SATA II hard drive
eSATA, FW800, FW400, USB 2.0 interfaces
White LED strobe light
MSRP of $349.99
Pros
Fast
Quiet
Sexy
Cons
Pricey
Design
Let’s get one thing out of the way first. This could be the best-looking external hard drive on the market. It looks amazing even if you don’t have a Mac Pro. It’s housed in an aluminum enclosure with a modestly-sized heat sink on the bottom and a very bright activity light that could double as a strobe on the front. At 2.6 lbs, it’s actually quite beefy, too. The backside houses the power rocker and all the ports: a Kensginton lock port, eSATA, twin FW800, USB2.0, and the power input. It’s just an external hard drive, folks. Really nothing fancy here.
Thankfully the drive is as solid as it looks. Each piece is milled from aluminum and held together with counter-sunk screws. It’s really quite beautiful and simple but you’ll void the warranty if you tear yours apart.
Performance
Speed and sound. That’s the name of this game. Who cares if it looks gorgeous but is as slow as a snail? So I ran a few files through each one of the interfaces and came away satisfied.
A 6.7GB file
eSATA = 1:34 @ 71MB/s
FW800 = 1:54 @ 59MB/s
USB 2.0 = 4:27 @ 25MB/s
Those numbers are right on par with what a 7200RPM hard drive with a 32MB cache should do. Of course eSATA was the fastest but Firewire 800 isn’t a slouch either. For comparison, a USB 2.0 bus-powered drive transferred the same file in 4:48 @ 24MB/s.
Unlike a lot of other external hard drives, the G-Drive doesn’t make that much noise. I heard occasional clicks of the hard drive but it’s definitely one of the quieter drives I’ve heard. The solid aluminum enclosure and noise dampening feet are probably to thank for that.
Features
As the Mac-inspired design suggests, the drive is aimed at the OS X crowd, but it works just fine on PCs too. The hard drive comes HFS+ formatted and Time Machine ready, but the included software, or Windows’ Disk Management tool can easily reformat it to NTFS.
Surprisingly, given the $349 price tag, there isn’t any included backup software. I guess Hitachi feels most buyers are probably Mac users and therefore will stick with Time Machine. Still, some users might appreciate and use a basic backup software program.
Overall
The 2TB G-Drive delivers. It can hold a crap-ton of data and manages to keep its transfer speeds up with the best thanks to the fast Hitachi hard drive. Plus, it looks great next to a Mac or a PC. Too bad the $349 MSRP sets it north of most other options and therefore out of sight for some potential buyers.
With the mobile smart-phone market already highly saturated with devices and operating systems, it seems as though that isn't enough of a deterrent for Samsung. The technology giant has announced bada, the next mobile operating system for smart phones.
You only have a few hours left for this deal, but it’s totally worth it. PlayOn easily adds Hulu, Netflix, ESPN, YouTube, Adult Swim, and so many other Internet video sites to any DLNA-enabled home media device like the PS3 or many network-attached players. Normally it’s $40, but through tonight, it’s only $20. Just use coupon code HOLIDAY when checking out to drop the price.
I could say that there's nothing I like more than helping someone in need, but, well, video games and television weigh pretty heavily on my time too. However...
I don't know what kind of beverages they serve at Psystar's Miami headquarters, but I'll take a double helping, thanks. In what can only be termed "extremely...
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Finally an answer to the age-old question of what can be done to improve skateboards and/or make them more dangerous. Hammacher Schlemmer’s doozy, “The 19 MPH Skateboard” is the answer.
It accelerates from zero to 19 miles per hour in four seconds and weighs 40 pounds. So if you don’t hurt yourself falling off of the thing, rest assured that you could incapacitate would-be skateboard thieves with a swift knock to the head delivered by a 40-pound longboard.
The battery is good for a range of 10 miles and takes about 4 hours to recharge. The maximum rider weight is 225 pounds, and I don’t have to tell you that if you see a 225-pound man careening towards you on a 40-pound skateboard at 19 miles per hour, your day is about to get a whole lot more interesting.
If you're one of the 600,000 people who bought a Samsung Intensity (SCH U-490) or Samsung Trance (SCH U-450): good news! You've got an over-the-air update coming your way. One of our sources just came through with the patch notes for both handset's respective updates, which are scheduled to begin as early as tomorrow.
Finally an answer to the age-old question of what can be done to improve skateboards and/or make them more dangerous. Hammacher Schlemmer’s doozy, “The 19 MPH Skateboard” is the answer.