TechPin

If I tell you I’m going to buy a plasma display in a few months, you’d probably think I’m a plasma display supporter. The thing is I’m actually looking forward to buying a projector and I’m just waiting for those Super Hi-Vision models to pop up in 2009 or 2010. 1080p are OK but there still are issues with the brightness and the lamp life. Good thing LEDs are now replacing the old lamps, but that is actually going to cost us more. I’m not counting the ventilation noise problem here. As you can see, there’s still room for improvements and cost effectiveness. Speaking of ventilation noise and LED light source, Taiwanese company Chillin Technology have recently showcased World’s 1st Lamp Free 1080p Projector with Liquid Cooling Technology at CEDIA EXPO 2008.

The liquid cooled projector was developed in partnership with Luminus Devices and Texas Instruments. Basically, the Taiwanese company managed to integrate the new Luminus PhlatLight LED and the latest Texas Instrument 1080p (1920x1080) DMD technology together with a liquid cooling system that should provide extended life to the lighting source, as well as keep things cooler and eliminate the ventilation noise problem.

According to the press release, Chillin’s projector boasts some impressive specs including 600 ANSI lumen and >100,000:1 Contrast Ratios. This enables a 128% NTSC color gamut, which is 80% greater than that achieved through conventional UHP projectors, and a little over 30% greater than what most of the current LCD HDTVs can display.

“Building on our 44-year heritage of superior technical capabilities, we at Chilin are very enthusiastic about the harmony of artistry and technology that we have achieved with our new LED based projector, “said Alex Wang, senior product manager of Chilin Technology. “Though we may be a newcomer as a Taiwan OEM/ODM supplier in the custom home theater arena, we are focused on delivering ultra high end projectors that provide our customers superior color management, picture quality and thermal management systems.”

Chilin’s unique liquid cooling technology can dissipate heat directly from the Phlat Light LEDs which is operated at a high electric current of 30A which is much higher than common LED application. This means that you won’t be required to replace the light source, since the estimated lifespan of the Phlat Light LED is up to 50,000 hours when paired with Chillin’s liquid coolers.

No info regarding availability and price, but I bet it’s going to be twice as pricey as current high-end 1080p projectors.

Together with the release of Google’s new browser – Google Chrome – the corporation introduced Picasa 3.0 and the improved version of Picasa Web Albums, a photo-sharing web application which allows users with accounts at Google to store and share 1 GB of photos for free. Picasa Web Albums reached remarkable figures from its release: it is now used by millions of people from all over the globe who upload billions of photos everyday.

Photographs are the logical consequence of the human being’s vivid imagination and Picasa Web Albums makes them a public display of the free spirit. Whether they capture moments, ideas or perspectives, the most important thing they have in common is the fact that the person behind the camera is guided by the desire of sharing experience with friends, family, and why not, even strangers.
Preoccupied with a better way of sharing and enjoying our photos with others, Google has developed major technology upgrades for both Picasa and Picasa Web Albums.

Starters will most surely appreciate a brand-new feature called “name tags” because it allows them to quickly label all the people in their photos. That way, they can organize photos based on who’s in the picture. This “name tags” feature is the result of an advanced technology which makes easier the automatic grouping of similar faces together. You label your pictures and then you can create a slideshow, for example, with you and your best friend starring the pictures, or you can share party photos with everyone who appears in the photo album.

But the changes do not end here. The site has a new fresh look that does not contorts the clarity of photos and features a new “Explore” page where you can browse the most interesting content of the site, including “Recent Photos”, a near-real-time view of public photos added to Picasa Web Albums. Another possibility is for you to send photos to Picasa Web Albums via email.
In addition, because Picasa Web Albums has always been integrated with Picasa, Google’s free photo management software for your PC, the beta version of Picasa 3 is made public at picasa.google.com.

The main advantage of Picasa was always the fact that it made sharing photos look like a simple action, handy to all kinds of people, with more or less technical knowledge. In the given context, Google pretend to have made sharing a whole lot easier in Picasa 3; so easy, as a matter of fact, that users don’t have to bother at all. There’s a new “sync to web” button which synchronizes specified albums on your PC to the web. Therefore, whenever you edit or add photos to the album on your PC, due to this button’s function, the changes will automatically apply to Picasa Web Albums. Moreover, you have the total control over who can see your pictures and who can’t through the Picasa software itself.



In addition, there are new powerful editing tools to retouch and restore photos, that will help you detect and fix red-eye pictures, or to add text to your images. As if this wasn’t enough already, Picasa is now fun to experience, because the overhauled photo collages and slideshows give you the chance to be creative regarding composition and layout. It must not be forgotten the brand-new movie maker that blends photos, video, webcam capture and music, in order to create customized movies that you can further share on YouTube.

If you’re curious about changes Picasa Web Albums have suffered or anxious to find some hot new stuff about Picasa 3, you can do this on Google’s official blog, where there will be daily posts about its new features.

(Source The Official Google Blog)

Sony’s new digital photo frame showcased at CEDIA 2008 is similar with the wireless digital picture frames from Kodak that we talked about in July. At the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association show, Sony unveils a smaller frame than the Kodak’s, measuring just 7 inches in diagonal. It is a nice solution for home desks and small offices, coming with Wi-Fi connectivity for over-the-air file sharing and Internet access.

With this new type of digital photo frame you can send and receive emails with pictures from friends, as well as stream Internet radio, and read the latest news on the web after subscribing to different RSS newsletters.
VAIO CP1 produces over 16 million rich colors on its 7-inch LCD screen using a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels.
In addition, you can connect to Google Picasa to browse through 4 web albums at a time and upload your coolest pictures in your online account.



Besides all these high-end functionalities, VAIO CP1 is basically a digital photo frame and comes with support for your Memory Sticks, SD cards or digital cameras, so you can transfer your trip memories onto the gadget via a direct and fast connectivity. It has built-in 128MB internal storage capacity, which means you can store by default up to 100 pictures to create a nice slideshow with special effects using the Flow function. Disolve is a mode that displays a slideshow of your images by fading one picture into the next one, while Slideshow shows movie-like presentations.
Don’t forget to set your favorites sounds to play on the background of your slideshows. The frame has built-in stereo speakers for a clear sound.



If you are curious about the price, let’s say that it’s reasonable compared to other models, and it will be of $300 starting October when the VAIO CP1 frames will be shipped to the Sony Style stores.
Xavier Lauwaert, product manager for VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics makes a nice declaration:

"How many times have you uploaded images to your PC - vowing to share them - never to see them again? This new frame provides an easy way to retrieve and share these precious memories that otherwise would have been forgotten."

When Sony decided in the summer of 2005 to replace the “LCD WEGA” brand name which was used for their LCD TVs, Bravia became the company’s new brand for high-definition LCD televisions and front and rear projection TVs. Starting that moment, all new Sony high-definition flat-panel LCD televisions in North America carried the Bravia logo.

But here comes the news: the Sony Bravia has struck TV gold again. They launched on the Japanese market (and hopefully on the European one soon) the ultra-portable XDV-W600 1-Seg, a round and white portable device that is waterproof. I’m sure that many of you like to watch TV by the swimming pool or in the bathtub. Some might even like to watch their favorite shows by the beach. But TVs are not waterproof and may stop working at the slightest contact with water. With the new Sony device you don’t need to be afraid of the water breaking the electricity.

The mini TV is configured with a 4-inch LCD screen, full waterproofing, which might not impress big-screen TV snobs, and carries an IPX7 and IPX7 waterproof rating. That means that Sony Bravia XDV-W600 is submersible for up to 30 minutes (assuming a depth of one meter) and can take a beating from whirlpool jets. The new TV has 16,7 million color and a 272 x 480 pixel LCD, is provided with a digital tuner and there’s even a FM tuner. In addition, it features 2GB of internal memory to record up to 10 hours of 1-Seg television broadcasts and allows up to 23 hours of viewing time off the internal rechargeable +2x AA alkaline batteries.



The Sony Bravia XDV-W600 carries an IPX7 and IPX6 waterproof rating, which means that it’s submersible for up to 30 minutes (assuming a depth of one meter) and can take a beating from whirlpool jets. As you might expect, this mini TV will ship to Japan first, on October 30, for around ¥39,800 (about $368 USD).
As expected, the mini TV will ship to Japan first, on October 30, for around $368.

(Source: Dvice)

Whether we have something worthy of people’s attention to say or not, many of us just love the public speaking. It might be the fully understandable desire of sharing thoughts and events or the belief that one human being’s experience can turn into a great help for those who are willing to listen to. And then we talk, and talk, and we forget to shut up, and the seasons change, and we’re so very into it, almost screaming at the top of our lungs, even if there’s no one listening to what we have to say.

There might also be the case of an emergency, a sudden crisis, when we must lead people around us, reassure them and inspire them. It’s when the strength of our spirit should make a statement about who we really are. And when you find yourself in the middle of nowhere and you’re in the position of improvising a speech to the crowd, the Orator’s Briefcase PA System will be the real manna, adding a significant level of professionalism to your words and ensuring that everyone in a block’s radius will hear your message thanks to a 20-watt amplifier and dual 4-inch speakers.

A very useful and handy accessory, especially for politicians, in the election seasons, the briefcase opens up and reveals a microphone and a document holder, converting itself into a lectern and battery powered public address system in just seconds. In other words, you have right in front of you a convenient platform, the perfect background for you to have your presentation materials organized and the lectures amplified. The built-in sound system is provided with a 20-watt amplifier and 4-inch speakers that produce crisp sound from the briefcase’s front panel and ensure the clarity of the speech. The 14" by 15" lectern props up the briefcase and accommodates legal pads and note cards.

If you’re concerned about the microphone, you should not worry at all, because the system is provided with two options: a 3/4 lavaliere model that clips to a tie or lapel which allows you to step into the crowd and a handheld condenser microphone with nine feet of cable. The control panel is set on the side of the briefcase and enables tone and volume adjustments. The 13-inch gooseneck arm is attached to the briefcase also and adapts the handheld microphone at your height. The components are all stored inside the briefcase, leaving enough space for you to keep there your documents.
The security of the system is also taken care of through an attach combination lock, meanwhile the line-out ports ensure the connection to external speakers and a tape recorder.

The Orator’s Briefcase PA System can be powered by eight C batteries (which are not included) for up to four hours of use, but you can also plug it into AC power.
If you like to acquire it, you can do this from Hammacher Schlemmer for $349,95. From now on, no one could ever stay in the way of your freedom of speech.

(Source Dvice)