I have a Richo GR Digital (the first one) as well as a Leica D-Lux 3 and a new Olympus E-P1.

The Leica is going up on Craigslist and the plan was to throw the GRD on Craigslist in order to help pay for the E-P1.... but I just can't bring myself to sell the Ricoh. This is a camera with a cult following because there is something really wonderful about it.

You need to know a couple of things about the Ricoh. First, it is built to weapons grade standards that you won't find on anything short of a magnesium body DSLR. Second, it's flaws (noise and such) for some reason actually add to the experience and it almost always takes fantastic photographs, sort of like a film camera. Three, it is VERY small and slips into a pocket like a submarine slips beneath the water. The Leica/Lumix LX-3 class cameras are sort of a PITA to carry - too big to fit in the pocket and too small to really want to strap it around you like a DSLR.

The UK price is way expensive, but I suspect we will see the GRD III for about $600 here. It sounds like they fixed everything I didn't like about the original GRD, with the exception that I do wish they would add IS. I'll buy one as soon as I can.

If you love making photographs, I don't think there is a better "Always with you" camera out there than the GRD.

What is the point of this? What exactly are WalMart and Apple testing with this "pilot" program?

- They are only selling to WalMart employees.
- Those employees are being selected in a raffle.
- "Winning" the raffle gives said employes the privilage of paying the same for an iPhone as if they walked into their local ATT or Apple store.

So as a pilot program, this is stupid.

Better still though - what does Apple have to gain from this? The iPhone is readily available at any ATT store and any area where ATT has deployed 3G is silly with ATT or Apple retail outlets. WalMart makes sense if Apple/ATT are going after customers in more rural areas where ATT/Apple retailers don't exist... but is gaining access to that market worth sullying the iPhone brand with the notoriously low market WalMart brand?

I am sure Apple's blue chip marketing and branding experts thought long and hard about that question, but I would love to hear their logic.

Everyone should unbunch their panties for a minute and just ponder the fact that Tesla hasn't actually released their FIRST product.

Sure sure, Elon Musk obfuscates this fact in interviews. He says "we are actually building these vehicles" when, in fact, Tesla has delivered only 3 Tesla roadsters over the last 6 months, all of which went to top level executives at the company (including Musk). He also says "We have 1000 customers" when Tesla only really has 1000 pre-orders for the Tesla.

This is a company that has expertly navigated the waters of modern PR, but they have let their ship date slip numerous times, changed the vehicle specs numerous times and fired much of the original Tesla team. They throw out a lot of talk and bravado, but the fact is that they have yet to actually ship a product they announced well over a year ago.

Until the Tesla roadster ships, "White Star" and a sub $30k electric vehicle are all just pie in the sky talk. Like Musk and company are pumping up the PR machine so they can go back to Sand Hill Road with the hat out looking for some more VC funding. I wouldn't put much stock in Tesla's current PR blitz coming a reality any time soon.