Ricoh releases the second firmware update - version 1.22 - for the R8 digital camera. This update should improve the accuracy of white balance. The first firmware update, released a month ago, provided improved accuracy of exposure at continuous shooting with full-press.
Ricoh releases its firmware with an unrivaled rate and I’m still puzzled whether this is a good or a bad thing, even more because firmware update can be a tricky process for the inexperienced user…

Goto the Ricoh R8 firmware download page

Ricoh’s firmware release track record
July 2, 2008 R8 firmware (ver. 1.22) is ready!
June 24, 2008 GR DIGITAL II firmware (ver. 2.04) is ready!
June11, 2008 R7 firmware (ver. 1.28) is ready!
May 27, 2008 R8 firmware (ver. 1.20) is ready!
May 15, 2008 GR DIGITAL II firmware (ver. 2.03) is ready!
May 1, 2008 GR DIGITAL II firmware (ver. 2.02) is ready!
April 8, 2008 GR DIGITAL II firmware (ver. 2.01) is ready!
March 6, 2008 Caplio GX100 firmware (ver. 1.18) is ready!
December 21, 2007 GR DIGITAL II firmware (ver. 1.12) is ready!
December 20, 2007 Caplio R7 firmware (ver. 1.26) is ready!
December 19, 2007 Caplio 500Gwide firmware (ver. 1.10) is ready!
November 22, 2007 GR DIGITAL firmware (update ver.2.40) is ready!
October 31, 2007 Caplio R6 firmware (ver. 1.45) is ready!
October 30, 2007 Caplio R7 firmware (ver. 1.25) is ready!
September 21, 2007 Caplio R7 firmware (ver. 1.20) is ready!
August 22, 2007 Caplio R6 firmware (ver. 1.43) is ready!
August 2, 2007 Caplio GX100 firmware (ver. 1.16) is ready!
June 12, 2007 Caplio R6 firmware (ver. 1.39) is ready!
May 29, 2007 Caplio GX100 firmware (ver. 1.14) is ready!
May 21, 2007 Caplio 500SE manuals are available!
May 11, 2007 Caplio GX100 firmware (ver. 1.13) is ready!
May 2, 2007 Caplio GX100 firmware (ver. 1.12) is ready!
April 27, 2007 Caplio R6 firmware (ver. 1.36) is ready!
April 20, 2007 GR DIGITAL firmware (ver.2.31) is ready!
April 12, 2007 Caplio R5 firmware (ver.1.61) is ready!
March 30, 2007 GR DIGITAL firmware (update, ver.2.30), is ready!
February 8, 2007 Caplio R5 firmware (ver.1.60) is ready!

Additional information: Check-out the Ricoh R8 specifications & reviews

From www.dcviews.com

Acer has launched two new projectors for home cinema fans, but it looks like they’re only set for the Japanese market for the moment.
The new models are the P3250 and the P5280.
The P3250 provides an image in 1024 x 768 resolution, a brightness of 2000 lumens or 1600 lumens in Eco mode, and a contrast ratio of 2000:1.
It also features RGB/HDMI connectors, and built-in 2 watt speakers for an expected price of around 600 euros.
The higher end P5280 provides a brightness of 3500 Lumens or 2800 Lumens in power-save mode, again a contrast ratio of 2000:1, and a resolution of 1024 x 768.
It also offers HDMI, DVI, Analogue, RGB, S-Video, and composite connections for 660 euros.
The last European launch was the H5350, which was announced way back in April and is now on shelves for around £589.

 

 

From www.pocket-lint.co.uk

LEICA M8 Promotion in the US, Canada, Central and South America

For the first time, the LEICA M8 is part of a sales promotion in the US, Canada, Central and South America. From July 1, 2008 to September 30, 2008, customers can save $500 with the purchase of a brand new LEICA M8 or $800 for a brand new LEICA M8 and a new and current M lens from any authorized Leica dealer in the US, Canada, Central and South America.
This mail-in rebate is only valid when all the following terms are met:
1. Products imported by Leica Camera Inc. USA and sold through authorized Leica dealers.
2. Purchased a brand new M8 or a new M8 and a new and current M lens during the promotion period.
This mail-in rebate is not applicable to special edition lenses. This promotion cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion.
The customer will only have to send in the rebate form, copy of the sales receipt and registration card(s) for the new M8 or the new M8 and the new M lens to receive the Leica USA check for either US$500 or US$800 respectively. The check will be issued to the name on the registration card. No other forms of payments or substitutions will be made by Leica Camera Inc. Processing of all mail-in rebates will take between 4 to 6 weeks after registration has been processed.

From www.imaging-resource.com

Okay, so we’ve got hard evidence the Wind is shipping out somewhere in the world, but the latest status check on Amazon reveals that it’ll be another 3 to 5 weeks before Americans can indulge. Granted, we’ve seen these dates slip around a bit, so hopefully it’ll slide to “sooner” if anything. Interestingly enough, the Advent 4211 rebadge is shipping this very moment to customers in the UK for £279.99, though that currency conversion is apt to be a real thorn in your side when looking to import.

For more information visit Engadget

Motorola is developing a new version of the RAZR2 with AT&T’s navigation services in mind, says Engadget. Called the RAZR2 V9x, the phone would add the assisted GPS mapping of the Z9 slider to be used with the TeleNav-run AT&T Navigator service. In a unique change, however, the GPS functions would work even through the RAZR2’s external screen and supply directions (though not controls) without having to flip open the handset.

Expectations also have the phone shipping in an all-black color scheme versus the red of the original V9, though the 2-megapixel camera, microSD storage, and software features should largely remain the same. Support for AT&T’s Video Share one-way video calling feature may be added out of the box, however.
Launch information for the V9x isn’t provided along with the leak, though the existence of press photography along with the conservative hardware upgrade suggests the phone will be introduced in the near future with pricing above the original RAZR2 V9.

 

From www.electronista.com

Insider Apple sources are reporting that the company is hard at work on an iPhone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and even has prototypes currently on show.
Said to be aimed at the enterprise market, it’s thought to be the one missing feature that could mean the iPhone sees wider business world acceptance.
Newswireless.net says that reports from inside mobile operators suggest Apple is “canvassing” the idea with operators, along the lines of: “If you had a keyboard version, how many would you take?”.
Actual prototypes are said to have been sent to senior executives inside the operators, although the keyboard on these early models is said to have “‘issues’ which are not yet resolved”.
These same sources apparently say that “they are definitely expecting to see one [QWERTY iPhone], aimed specifically at corporate buyers, around this time next year”.

 

From www.pocket-lint.co.uk

Money is no object for some. For the rest of us who aren’t loaded with cash or living off daddy, money can be quite the issue and often means we can’t treat ourselves to those must-have gadgets. The emergency charger, whether solar powered or not is a useful gadget to have lying around in the pit of your bag, as it’s more than likely that one day you’ll really *really* need it.

From Shiny Shiny

MIT’s Tech Review “>has the scoop that Intel’s wizards have come upwith a new chip entirely made out of silicon that “can encode 200 gigabits of data per second on a beam of light” versus the measly 100 Gbps that the fastest optical networks currently churn at—which aren’t made of silicon. Which means they can’t scale nearly as fast or cheaply as Intel’s silicon wonder. And this is all on the way to making a fingernail-sized chip that can crunch a terabit of data. Here’s how this photonics business works.

Intel’s chippy takes a beam of light and karate chops it into eight channels, each of which has a modulator that encodes data onto light. These data-ified beams are then recombined, and boom. This all at happens at a rate of 25Gbps per modulator. This stuff is the building blocks of a computer future where copper is replaced by beams of light. But before that happens, Intel wants to cram 25 modulators onto a single chip, with each one running at 40Gbps, maybe with hybrid lasers built onto the chip to toss light at the modulator instead of an optical fiber.

Time to market? Three to five years. Fingers crossed.

From Gizmodo

Flexible Platform for Books, Gifts and Other Creative Photo Products Provides MOTO Franchises Tools to Grow Business

Vienna, Va., July 2, 2008 – Lucidiom Inc. announced it is the exclusive provider for one-hour photo books to MotoPhoto® franchises across the country. The MotoPhoto® System Lucidiom Partnership Program provides MotoPhoto® franchisees with aggressive pricing on the Lucidiom EQ System, including APM kiosks and software (Photo Folio and Lab 50). MotoPhoto® stores also receive propriety content, such as templates for posters, books, cards and calendars. 

“For more than 25 years we’ve provided our customers with high-quality products and services, most of which we have been able to deliver in one-hour. The Lucidiom EQ allows us to extend our offerings to include the popular photo book and card products all delivered within an hour at a quality and price point our customers have come to expect,” said MotoPhoto® President and CEO Harry Loyle. “Plus our franchisees receive more than just equipment and software. Lucidiom also provides the training and marketing support to assure our stores’ ability to create and capitalize on consumer awareness of these hot new products.”

In addition to special pricing and templates, MotoPhoto® franchises receive a Lucidiom EQ Gifting trial.  The trial features an initial launch of 500 different photo gift items available from multiple suppliers. With Lucidiom EQ Gifting, the photo gift management process is streamlined for retailers: Photo gifts are ordered directly from the APM and shipped to the store for final delivery to the customer; individual stores are invoiced a wholesale amount monthly from Lucidiom for all items ordered.

For more information visit www.imaging-resource.com

Microsoft has unveiled “Equipt”, an all-in-one security and productivity software subscription service for consumers.
With one installation, Microsoft says the service delivers anti-malware protection technology, features to simplify PC management and improve performance, productivity tools people use to organise their lives, and online services that help make it easy to keep in touch.
Equipt offers consumers Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, giving them the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for their personal and school projects; Windows Live OneCare, the all-in-one security and PC management service as well as Windows Live tools, such as Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Photo Gallery.
In addition it includes Office Live Workspace, the service that allows users to save documents to a dedicated online Workspace and share them.
Anytime a new version of Office or Windows Live OneCare is released, Microsoft Equipt customers will get the version upgrades as part of their subscriptions.
Microsoft Equipt is $69.99 for a 1-year renewable subscription with each subscription good for three home PCs, it will be sold in nearly 700 Circuit City stores in the US starting mid-July 2008, no word yet on a European launch.

 

From www.pocket-lint.co.uk