A Blu-ray disc recorder and a VHS video tape machine may seem unlikely bedfellows, but that hasn’t stopped Panasonic from wrapping them up together in the same box for the DMR-BR630V. The 630V can write BDRs at six times speed, has digital and analogue tuners, new second-gen MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 encoder chips as well as all the standard HDMI and analogue connections and Panasonic’s Viera link for device interconnectivity. It also records to DVD. There’s even a 320GB hard drive inside, capable of recording video and later letting you dub it onto BDR or VHS. You’ll have to wait until October 1st for its Japanese release, though, if you’re absolutely desperate to get your collection of low-res, blurry Friends VHS tapes safely transferred onto spiffy high-res BDRs. And it’ll cost you around US$1,450 for the privilege. [AVWatch]
If I wasn’t writing and editing the Australian version of Giz (the best job in the world), I reckon I’d be finding out who I’d need to kill to get the 2nd best gig in the country – editing Kotaku AU.
You see, gaming powerhouse and current editor Logan has been given an opportunity to stop writing about games and start designing the games themselves at Tantalus. Which means that there’s currently an Editor’s position going over at the country’s biggest and best gaming blog.
If you think you have the cajones to pick up where Logan leaves off (he’s still got a few more weeks before he goes for good), then you’ll want to be sending an email to jobs@alluremedia.com.au with your CV, a sample post or two and some reasons why you reckon you’ve got the skills to take the role.
In the meantime, congrats go out to Logan on the new gig – considering the crazy bastard actually designed a game a week for about a month, I’m sure we can expect some pretty awesome things to come out of Tantalus in the near future.
newVideoPlayer("/minifigbuild_gizmodo.flv", 520, 410,""); One of the best parts of my trip to Lego and exploring their factory was the minifig production lines, where the head and body of the most famous toy citizen in world gets painted and assembled at uncanny speeds. To celebrate its 30th Anniversary, here’s a video showing how they are built, from raw plastic to final assembly.
Olympus’ tough-as-nails Stylus 1050 SW updates the 1030 SW with a tap-control feature that makes it easy to take pictures in extreme environments. While the specs are nearly identical to the 1030—10.1MP, 1.5 metre shockproof, 3 metres waterproof, -10°C freezeproof—the 1050 uses an accelerometer to allow button-free control. Tapping the top, back or sides of the camera cycle through different options, so you can make adjustments to your pictures even if you’re wearing gloves. It’ll be out in October, and for US$300, I’d tap that. The Stylus 1040, one of the best looking Olympus point-and-shoots we’ve seen, down below.
I’m all for hydrogen–or any alternative fuel source for that matter (Shai Agassi, my man, let’s get cooking already!)–but if you’re going to heavily promote your cross-country trek as the “first ever” for hydrogen-powered vehicles, at least make sure large, 1,000-mile stretches of it did not involve having the vehicles carried along on flatbed trucks. This was the case today as the “Hydrogen Road Tour ’08″ wrapped up in Los Angeles after its 60-strong vehicle fleet entered the Los Angeles Coliseum. From Rolla, Missouri, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, the caravan was carried on the back of carbon-belching flat bed tractor trailer trucks. Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of an alternative fuel road trip right then and there?
In order to prove how far Sony has come since ATRAC3 and long-playing MiniDiscs, a new ad attributed to the company shows a NYC subway map traced in its entirety by black Sony earphones, accompanied by a Network Walkman. As if it wasn’t enough to try to retake ownership just one iPod-saturated public transit system, a search revealed similar designs for both the London Underground and Sydney’s Metro. That last one makes sense, since Sony retained the Sydney office of badass ad agency Saatchi and—repetition is key to messaging—Saatchi for the inspired work. One prob though: As any seasoned straphanger will tell you, you kinda need the colours, or else all the lines run together. [The Cool Hunter]
David, Steve and Jr. you guys are the lucky winners of our Tropic Thunder Competition. Congratulations! Everyone else – stay tuned for our next competition, which is shaping up to be 370 degrees of awesome. I can’t say too much just now, but it’s going to be fantastic!
Either this is proof that contract manufacturing is a lightning-fast miracle of modernity, or that the bloggyverse is a noisy-as-hell echo chamber: No sooner does Kevin Rose prophesy that the next-gen iPod nano will be tall and skinny and rounded, but Chinese makers report case orders that meet their specs.
We saw this snapper a few weeks ago when it was first announced globally, and now the powers that be at Fujifilm have deemed us fit to see an Australian release.
The camera, which features 720p HD video recording as well as 1920×1080 still images, is available now for the bargain price of $399. For that price, you also get face detection, a 10-megapixel sensor, burst mode of 13.5 frames per second (3MP only), up to ISO 6400, and a 15x optical zoom.
It’s a pretty impressive spec list for such a bargain priced snapper. ind of makes you wonder how they can afford to sell it so cheaply, doesn’t it?
If you happen to be driving through the desert near Doha, Qatar and notice an unusual number of Bentleys and Ferraris parked in front of a sand dune, you may find you’re actually looking at the Museum of Modern Arab Art, a two-level, air-conditioned 350,000-square-foot facility celebrating over 10,000 works of art. galleryPost('ArabMOMA', 4, '');
