| JVC GR-D750
The final word: The GR-D750 is a solid little performer that punches well above its weight; offering impressive image quality for entry-level users. If you're on the lookout for a cheap miniDV camera, you could certainly do a lot worse than this. ON PAPER at least, the GR-D750 is the unmistakable runt of the JVC litter. With its low image resolution, rudimentary feature set and cheap looking design, we certainly weren't expecting much; yet it turns out that looks can be very deceiving. From its attractive price tag to its above average video performance, this is one of the best budget offerings we've seen in quite a while. It represents excellent value for money and is a perfect introduction to digital video - provided you can live without the bells and whistles. The GR-D750 is a standard-definition camcorder that records video to miniDV tapes.
Broadcaster Airs Video of German Hostage in Afghanistan
"The German hostage Rudolf B. ... urged Germany and the United States to pull out their forces from Afghanistan and urged his country to help save his life and secure his return to his homeland and family," an Al Jazeera presenter said.
The voice of the hostage was inaudible in the video.
The man, wearing a thick jacket and pair of jeans, was shown speaking into the camera in a mountainous landscape surrounded by masked men pointing guns at him.
Images said to date from Saturday German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Jäger described the video as a "document of intimidation" and said experts would analyze and evaluate the images. Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The recent death of a Korean hostage has horrified the world Early Wednesday, however, Germany's Spiegel Online Web site reported that the video was several days old.
Coordinated blasts rock Iraqi churches; Attacks end period of relative ...
ISTANBUL Four Iraqi churches and three convents were damaged in coordinated bomb blasts Jan. 6, the day many Iraqi Christians celebrate either Epiphany or Christmas Eve according to some Eastern liturgical calendars. At least six people were injured, one seriously. "Three churches in Baghdad and three in Mosul (were hit), but there were no fatalities," Chaldean Baghdad Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Abouna told Compass a day after the attacks. He said that the blasts occurred within five minutes of each other at approximately 11 a.m. Father Bashar Warda of St. Peter’s Seminary said that the coordinated bombings sent a clear warning to Christians on the Feast of the Epiphany, also Christmas Eve day for several of Iraq’s indigenous churches. "There has been much violence against the Sunni and Shiites, while the Christians have been left alone, at least for (the past few months)," Warda told Compass.
Xacti HD1a HD camcorder adds wide display, more
Sanyo on Thursday introduced the Xacti HD1a, a compact digital media camera that records both still pictures and digital video. It does it all onto an SD flash memory card. The Xacti HD1a is coming in September for $699.99. The Xacti HD1a records video in 720p and grabs 5.1 megapixel still images. Because it uses SD cards instead of bulky tapes or optical media, it's much more compact than other camcorders. It uses a 10x optical zoom lens and 2.2-inch LCD display. New features in the HD1a include a 16:9 widescreen still picture mode, in-camera video editing, a 30 frames-per-second 320 x 240 MPEG-4 pixel video recording mode called “Web-SHQ," optimized for the video iPod. The 16:9 still image mode grabs 3.8 megapixel images in the same wide-screen format as the Xacti HD1's digital videos.
Ebook Readers the Kindle, iLiad Reviewed
Last spring, I shared my thoughts on the first-generation Sony Reader (see SLJ March 2007 "Test Drive," p. 23). While I found the ebook reading device somewhat flawed, I was quite impressed with its paperlike and retina-friendly E Ink display. Since then, I’ve had the chance to track the evolution of this technology by testing two other products that feature E Ink, the iRex iLiad and the Amazon Kindle. The iLiad. www.irextechnologies.com/products/iliad. $699. Still stoked from my experience with the Sony Reader, I was literally trembling with geeky excitement when I opened up the package containing the iRex iLiad. After all, this ebook reader promised some real improvements. For starters, the iLiad boasted a bigger touch-sensitive screen (8.1 inch, 122mm by 163mm)—one you could actually jot and save notes on.
Sheriff might seek sales tax hike Growth spurs need for officers ...
Faced with policing an ever-expanding metropolis, Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie is eyeing changes on two fronts to tackle growth both inside county borders and the county jail. The sheriff said Tuesday there is a "strong possibility" he will head to Carson City next year and ask the Legislature to approve an additional quarter-cent sales tax to hire more police officers. The message has changed from a year ago, when the sheriff said the additional tax might not be needed so soon. But sales tax revenue has fallen with the sluggish economy and would not support enough new officers to keep up with growth, he said. Gillespie credited the more than 250 officers hired under the first phase of the More Cops initiative, which raised the sales tax by a quarter cent, with helping to cut the overall crime rate last year, including drops in homicides, robberies, rapes and traffic deaths.
The semiconductor industry's shattered supply chain must be ...
With the complexity and quantity of automotive electronics steadily increasing, designers are turning to better EDA tools and programmable solutions. Military Seeks Systematic Approach to IC DesignThe EDA community is focusing on point solutions while system-level development continues to evolve. Virtual Prototypes Form ESL BridgeSometimes, the best way to understand an abstract phrase like ESL is to focus on understanding the constituent processes. Analog-RF IP Integration Challenges SoC DesignersAs market forces continue to push more analog and RF functionality into digital SoCs, designers face a host of development issues. Latest Challenges & Trends in Chip VerificationThe sophistication of verification tools and techniques has increased with design complexity.
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