Yesterday, I noticed that the camera I have been wanting since last fall was finally up for preorder on several Japanese sites. After pondering this fact for about 15 minutes, I went ahead and preordered one. HOPEFULLY, I’m one of the first 5000 people who thought to do this, because they’re only manufacturing 5000 of these a month and I really would like to go ahead and just give the local camera purveyor fistfuls of cash and walk off happily with a lovely new camera by the end of this month.
So in preparation for what will either be a moment of climactic excitement or devastating disappointment, I’ve been looking up what shiny accessories I could get for that shiny camera. And thus we have a shopping wish list (in order of most to least attainable):
- An 8GB SD card… or two.
- A carrying case of some sort.
- A lens protector filter thingy.
- A polarizing lens filter.
- An extra battery.
- 4/3s to Micro 4/3s lens adapter.
- The ZUIKO DIGITAL 25mm F2.8 pancake lens.
- That fancy hotshoe mic attachment maybe…
Dear PC World,
AH-HA!! I have caught you in your treacherous cycle of lies and deceit!! In a recent article about the Panasonic Lumix GH1, you were mistaken about the Japanese MSRP (there is no Japanese MSRP) and kit lens focal length (NOT 45-200. 14-140!).
I posted a comment on the above-mentioned article, informing you of this oversight and even providing a link to proof, but when I went to that article today, my comment was no longer there! Neither was another comment by some baffled chap who wanted some help doing something that could be easily Googled.
But in any case! Your intentions to stifle the voice of truth are clear! And I am onto you!!
… That, or you really gotta make sure your comments database doesn’t erase itself randomly, cause that kinda kills peoples’ wills to participate in online discussions on your site. Just sayin’.
Your occasional reader,
Whiney Complainersmith
YESSSSSSS THIS IS MY NEXT CAMERA
(I waited MONTHS for this…)
karenh:
Reviewing the Kindle 2 on Good’s blog
“The acceptance of a new technology isn’t always an either/or question. It depends on a matrix of advantages and disadvantages. Successful products obsolesce their predecessors only when those disadvantages begin to be heavily outweighed by the advantages. I think e-paper devices, whether Kindle-branded or simply generic, will eventually become a ubiquitous part of everyday life, especially as the color and resolution approaches that of paper…”—Joel Johnson
Acceptance of e-readers as a mainstream alternative to books is difficult for me, though I have to admit my Sony E-Reader is quite convenient for reading manuscripts. And I do have this new Amazon Kindle on my wishlist.
I literally realized last week that I want the Kindle. I have a bunch of good books left for me at my apartment, but I don’t have the time to read them and I hate carrying around books. Too bad the coolest feature (downloading from Whispernet) only works in the US. And too bad I already have an iPod Touch and an ebook reader for it.
I want the Panasonic G1. But I want it with video capturing capabilities. Here it is in comparison to the Canon G10… I say that’s pretty dang good when a DSLR quality camera has a body only slightly larger than a prosumer point-and-shoot.
I just listened to the Point of Inquiry podcast episode featuring Sir Harold Kroto (from 3/28 of last year). Kroto is a Nobel Prize winning chemist who is also an active science educator.
…Which is why it surprised me when he started talking about why kids today aren’t getting into science. His own interest stemmed from tinkering with mechanical building sets and fixing all the things around his house, and he argues that we now live in a culture of disposability and increasing complexity that makes it difficult for kids to get hands on with the machines in their daily lives… since iPods, cell phones, and computers are obviously too hard for kids to fix.
Smart as he is, the man has obviously never visited iFixit and Hack A Day.
I think now—more than ever—it is easier to get information about all these complex machines we live with… and yes, take apart / fix / modify / hack them. Kids only need the interest and access to Google, and they can build their own computer for pretty crazily cheap… or at least find out how that shiny screen on their iPod Touch works.
It’s presumptuous to jump to the conclusion that since everything is so much easier for kids nowadays, their brains are stagnating as a result. Kids are growing up with the internet and they quickly learn how to use it, sometimes to very impressive ends. What there really needs to be is proper education about WHAT this technology is and how to safely use it. Too many people treat their computers like appliances, rather than as communications portals to the world that need to be maintained, monitored, and secured. It took me until high school to recognize that… which is incidentally when I really got into technology and finding out how everything works.
Nowadays, it’s going to take a little more finesse than just giving Erector sets to kids.
kxj:
GPS system necessary.
Today’s Amazon Gold Box deal is the Dash Express, which is a GPS system that gets live traffic information from other Dash users in the area. The socially-aware part of it is the cool thing, but it hinges on other people actually using it in your area… shouldn’t be too much trouble in D.C. And it’s only $300, which is pretty damned good for ANY decent GPS unit.
My second suggestion would be any model of Garmin Nuvi 350 and above… we have the 350 back home. It has text-to-speech, so will read street names for you so you don’t even have to look at the screen. And it’s around $250 or less nowadays.
A family portrait :)
