Gadgetstronics

Do people often walk in on your copulation sessions? Just hang a Sex in Progress Light outside your door, fire it up whenever you’re meat spelunking and no one will ever “accidentally” bother you again. And as our own Sean Fallon says, if there’s ever a “Masturbation in Progress” sign, he’ll let everyone know. [Baronbob via Nerd Approved]

Rogers has just announced the availability of the Jack, or what is more commonly known as the Samsung Blackjack II. The Jack will offer the same features as the formally named Blackjack II which include a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 display, 2.0-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, front jog wheel, full QWERTY keyboard and integrated GPS.

The Jack is currently available and will retail for $199.99 along with a 3-year agreement. For those looking for a shorter contract option you can opt for the 2-year price of $374.99 or the 1-year price of $399.99.

Product [Rogers] Via [WirelessInfo.com]

This here is a new comedy video about “Life Frite,” which is pretty much a Lite Brite used to give people horrible news. It’s hosted on the brand new UCBcomedy.com, a site that promises to cut through the piles of garbage comedy videos on the internet and actually be selective. That’s because unlike YouTube or FunnyOrDie, not everyone can upload videos. They make their own and hand-select people (mostly performers and writers from the two UCB Theatres) to upload videos, making the good to crap ratio much better than most sites. Check it. There’s an even more absurd and less topical-to-this-site video after the jump.

[UCBcomedy.com]

Disclaimer: I perform at the UCB theatre in NY.

Olympus has announced a slew of new cameras in advance of the PMA trade show, including a high-end point-and-shoot that ups the stakes in the ultrazoom race. The SP-570 boasts a 20x zoom lens that covers a focal range from 26mm to 520mm, meaning you’ve got as much close-up power as those off-white Canon missile launchers right off the bat. I’m already going apoplectic imagining all the geniuses who will try to get reasonable images from this without a tripod or other form of support. Other specs include 10 megapixels, 15 frames-per-second burst mode, a "shadow-adjustment" tool and an attachment for a teleconverter that boosts focal length to a ridiculous 4000mm. Look for it in March, priced at $500

On the rugged side is the new waterproof Stylus 1030 SW, and update of the rough-and-ready 720 SW that boosts impact resistance and adds a longer 3.6x zoom lens. It arrives in March for $400.

For everyday shooters, there are three new models of Stylus compact cameras. The 10-megapixel Stylus 1010 has 7x zoom, a March street date and a price of $300. The Stylus 1020 adds a super-bright LCD and $50 to the price tag. The Stylus 820 lowers megapixels to 8, zoom to 5x and price to $250 — it arrives late this month.

For the budget- and space-conscious, there are four new models in the compact FE series, each with 8-megapixel resolution. Differentiators include zoom and power, and prices range from $150 to $250.

New Olympus 20x, Wide-Angle SP-570 Ultra Zoom Offers Superior Versatility For Users Of All Skill Levels  
Slim Is In! Olympus Fits 7x Optical Zoom Into Ultra-Slim Stylus Point-And-Shoot Bodies, Less Than One Inch Thick
Olympus Stylus 1030 SW: World’s Toughest Point-And-Shoot Camera Adds Even More Brains And Brawn
Easy To Use, Easy To Carry, Easy On The Eyes: Olympus Compact FE-Series Models Are The Perfect "Shoot-On-The-Fly" Cameras [Olympus]

So, you want to take more professional-looking pictures. You know who takes a lot of professional pictures? Earl Miller, Penthouse Magazine’s most published photographer. He seemed an appropriate enough person to ask for some advice, so we asked him to give us some tips for shooting pictures that’ll make both aspiring pornographers and regular-old photographers take better snaps. He delivered to us five tried-and-true pointers on how to get the most out of your camera — and your burgeoning career, if that’s what you’re looking for. So gather up your leopard-print throw pillows, faux-roman columns, flea market art and a willing model and get ready to become a professional letch. It’s your destiny.

“Know your camera, whether digital or film. Shoot at 125 of a second to freeze motion and at an f-stop of at least 5.6 for a greater depth of field [The f-stop determines how much light is let in to the sensor, affecting what parts of the image are in focus and how sharp it is. - Ed.]. f11 would be an ideal f-stop. Do these things and your images will be sharp.

Use a soft light source. Outside, shoot in open shade, not direct sunlight. Inside, use window light as your main light. If you shoot close enough to the window, you should get enough light to shoot at 125 and f11. If you shoot in AUTO mode, the camera will make all these choices for you. If your light level is low, then use the on- camera flash, just for fill light. Still use as much available light as possible. The on camera flash alone is too harsh a light for glamour lighting.

Spend time with the girl on styling. Choose wardrobe, colors and settings that flatter her. Go with what she feels good in.

Have her do a soft natural glamour makeup.

Now you are ready to go for it. Don’t be afraid to shoot too much, then cut out the bad shots later. And learn from your mistakes (which you will definitely make). Give the girl some of the good shots.”[Earl Miller]

Samsung has just rolled out the L170 cell phone that looks pretty much like a candybar version of the U600 - while the metal surface behind doesn’t look as though it is capable of attracting too many fingerprints, the screen surely does otherwise, being glossy and all. Check out the specifications of the L170 below.

• WCDMA/GSM (900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• GPRS Class 12
• 102.3mm ? 45.8mm x 10.7mm
• 86 grams
• SMS/EMS/MMS/Video Messaging
• 1.6″ TFT 176 ? 220 262k color display
• 2 mega pixel camera with video recording capabilities
• 21 MB built in memory
• microSD support
• Music player with support for MP3 files, AAC, AAC + (e), WMA, AMR, MIDI, SMAF
• FM radio with RDS
• Mobile printing: BPP, PictBridge, OPP
• WAP 2.0 / NF v3.4 browser
• Java MIDP 2.0

Nokia has just announced two new handsets designed for those in “emerging markets.” The new handsets include to the 2600 Classic and the 1209, both of which seem a little dated even before the actual release, of course they are still very useful phones that offer a decent set of features at a more than fair price.

The Nokia 2600 Classic offers dual band GSM with GPRS support, VGA camera, Bluetooth, FM Radio, email, MP3 ringtones, a 128 x 160 resolution screen with 65,000 colors and runs the S40 operating system.

The Nokia 1209 offers dual band support, has a 96×68 pixel screen with 65,000 colors, a pre-paid tracker, a cost-tracking application, a multiple phonebook that allows up to five people have an address book and runs the S30 operating system. The Nokia 1209 is said to be aimed at “first time buyers.”

The Nokia 2600 Classic will be available during Q1 2008 for an estimated 65 Euros (around $95 US) and the 1209 will be available during Q2 2008 for an estimated 35 Euros (around $51 US).

Read [Nokia]

Posted Jan 22nd 2008 9:01AM by Chris Ziegler
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Just admit it: even if you don’t have Verizon service, even if you have absolutely no interest in Windows Mobile devices whatsoever, you’re just a little bit curious to know what a snow white HTC Touch looks like. We suppose we blew that surprise with the picture here… but whatever, just click on over to Engadget Mobile to see s’more shots, alright?

Before the advent of immediate gratification digital cameras, self-portraiture was an arduous process requiring oil paints, canvas and training. Polaroids made things quite a bit simpler, but photos in mass quantities still became expensive. In the electronic age, for those who don’t like the cold exterior of a camera or computer screen to view their privates inner beauty, we suggest this snapshot mirror. Framed like a classic Polaroid picture, every glance at one’s reflection becomes a full-out photo shoot. Well, at least as close as $14 will get you. [product via productdose]

For those who’ve seen the unique monster movie Cloverfield, you know that the story is supposed to be shot by the aptly-named character “Hud” with a cheapo handheld consumer camera. You know, something you could grab at Best Buy next weekend, use once and forget about forever. Convincing the audience of that point was one of the movie’s most successful angles, since much of the film was really shot on Sony’s flagship, absolute top of the line CineAlta HD camera, the F23.

It’s a 1080p camera that shoots anywhere from 1P to 60P a second, so 24P shooting (the exact framerate of film) is no problem. As for what it records to…the movie claims the video was captured on an SD card.
That’s not quite the case since such a puny card could never write an uncompressed 4:4:4 (full color space) image in real time. Instead, filmmakers probably used Sony’s SRW-1 which can hook directly to the camera to allow both easy shooting and recording speeds of 110MB/sec (versus an SD card’s 20MB/sec).

So how much would it cost to score an F23 of your own? Sony hasn’t made that number public, but their next camera down runs $115,000. And while we know Cloverfield’s main character was a hotshot VP of some sort, he probably didn’t invest that much into his Coney Island video* fund.

*You know, that movie he made to cover trying to shoot his girlfriend naked in the morning that seemed to tie the movie together so poignantly.

[sony]