Filed under: Features, Household

What we may have is “a failure to communicate!” In previous Lockdown articles we have examined the vulnerabilities of mechanical locks and how easily most of them can be compromised. Even some popular high security locks can be easily bypassed — if you thought that installing a deadbolt would provide all the protection you may need, think again.

But if your locks will not adequately protect you, then what will? How about a portable alarm system that is affordably priced, a cinch to install, and virtually immune to the most common cause of false alarms (keypad entry errors), maybe something like the LaserShield. Still, the question arises: if a determined burglar can easily bypass this wireless system with some simple and abundant technology, is that too much of a risk to your home security?

Continue reading The Lockdown: Lasershield - convenient, cost effective, potentially vulnerable

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Basic point-and-shoot digicams is what the Stylus line is all about, and the trend continues. Up here are some shots of the 840, 850SW and 1030SW. 8-megapixels on the 840 and 850SW with 5x and 3x zoom, respectively. And if you vacation includes some light snorkeling (or you like taking pics in the rain), note that the 850SW is shockproof 1.5-meters and to waterproof to 3-meters. Need more megapixels? Step on up to the 1030: 10.1-megapixels and a 3.6x zoom and waterproof to 10-meters.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

As the press release last week made clear, Olympus did a refresh across its lineup for PMA. We’ll hit up the entry-level, ultra-compact FE series here. Across the board, the FE-310, FE-340 and FE-350 get treated to an 8-megapixel sensor and LCDs ranging from 2.5 - 3-inches. The FE-350 trades off the 5x zoom for 4x, but you get a 28-mm wide angle perspective on the world, if that’s your sort of thing. And the “HyperCrystal” LCDs were certainly bright, we’ll give them that. One definite theme we’re seeing in digicams now is the inclusion of face detection, and the FE-series is in on the party there, too.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

The TiVo vs. EchoStar case got another little push towards finally ending today, as the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that EchoStar had indeed infringed part of TiVo’s “time warp” patent. You might recall that the case had recently been on hold while the USPTO re-affirmed that the patent was valid — armed with that decision, the appeals court ruled that EchoStar had crossed the line on the software component of the patent, but that more information was needed regarding whether or not EchoStar’s hardware also infringed. That means we’re in for another round of wrangling down in Marshall — we’ll keep you updated, if we can manage to stay awake.

[Via Zatz Not Funny! Warning: PDF read link]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Fujifilm may have laid claim to “smallest 12x zoom,” but Olympus’ SP-570 UZ blows by that with a 20x optical zoom. In case you didn’t know, the “UZ” stands for “ultra zoom.” Not a bad piece of glass; f/2.8 - f/4.5 with dual image stabilization so you can actually use the 20x end of the lens. The 10-megapixel sensor and full manual control options make sense on this high-end digicam, as does the hot shoe for a flash. Not all the niceties have been sacrificed, though — face detection is in there too, for when you hand the camera over to a “less-enthusiastic” shooter.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

So where do you turn if you want the DSLR-like ergonomics but you’re not big on the idea of picking which glass will be the best bet on your shoot? Fujifilm has some stuff to show you. New models to the FinePix lineup start out with the S100fd which lays claim to the world’s smallest 12x zoom camera. Hopefully the “Picture Stabilization” will produce crisp looking shots from the 10-megapixels when the lens is racked out without boosting the ISO to grainytown. Moving up the line to the S8100fd gets you optical and electronic stabilization (thank you) on the same 10-megapixel resolution. The top of the heap, though, is the S100FS. You get an 11-megapixel sensor and a 14.3x zoom. Dual stabilization is a given for that kind of reach, and you can crank up the ISO to 6400 by binning down the resolution to 6-megapixels. The $800 price is pretty close to DSLR territory, but like we said, some people like the simplicity.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Nikon has a raft of new Coolpix digicams at PMA to cover the range of shutterbugs, from “give me more options” to “just a shutter, please.” For those who want some more options but just can’t commit to a DSLR yet, there’s the P60. You’ll get to play around with 8.1-megapixels, 15 (!) scene modes, manual mode and 5x stabilized zoom. The heart of the Coolpix lineup belongs to the compact S550, S520 and S210 models. The S550 sports a 10-megapixel sensor and 5x zoom with electonic stabilization. The S520 has true optical stabilization attached to the 3x zoom optics and an 8-megapixel CCD. Finally, the S210 keeps the 8-megapixel sensor, but reverts to electronic stabilization. At the “easy” end of the spectrum is the L18 digicam, with 8-megapixel resolution, 3x zoom and a big 3-inch LCD; available in your choice of navy or ruby red.

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