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Casio Exilim G EX-G1 hands-on
Casio's Exlim G EX-G1 certainly managed to turn a few heads when it was announced back in November, with it introducing a new angular design to complement its status as the "world's thinnest shock-resistant camera." Add to that the promise of being freezeproof, waterproof and dustproof, and you just know this is one we had to check out first hand. As we're happy to report, the $299 Exlim G definitely feels solid and substantial from the moment you pull it from its packaging, although all that shock-proofing and weather-proofing does come with a few minor inconveniences compared to a standard point-and-shoot. The first of those is that the battery compartment requires a special tool and some pretty nimble fingers to open and, secondly, the two extra side protectors that provide even more ruggedness require that you first remove some very tiny screws from the camera and then attach the protector with some slightly longer screws (Casio thankfully provides a few spares). Once you've got things set, however, the camera should easily survive life in a pocket or backpack during even your most arduous travels -- and take some decent pictures and YouTube-ready video, to boot. Be sure to check out the gallery below for our extensive hands-on look at the camera, and check back later for some sample shots and additional impressions once we've had a chance to really put the Exilim G through its paces. %Gallery-81346%
Donald Melanson01.04.2010
GPS leads couple into Oregon wilderness, snow and lack of common sense keep them there 3 days
So you're cruising along, in your GPS-equipped SUV, taking your dear wife back home to Reno. The trusty onscreen guide instructs you to "turn right" and you follow its typically reliable instructions. At what point in the next three days of plowing deeper and deeper into snow-covered Oregon do you start suspecting that maybe something is amiss? Alright, so this isn't quite on par with others driving buses into low-clearance tunnels, dipping their cars into rivers, or jamming heavy load trucks into unsuitably tight farm lanes. But we don't discriminate here, all instances of idiotic GPS dependency deserve their moment in the sun, so here's to Mr. John Rhoads and his tastefully named wife, Mrs. Starry Bush-Rhoads, who are now safe and sound after their phone pinged out its coordinates to emergency services when it began losing signal.
Vlad Savov12.29.2009
LED traffic lights don't melt snow, do cause accidents
A number of cold weather American states are reporting their dismay at finding out that LED traffic lights are so energy efficient that they do not produce enough excess heat to dissipate any snow that covers them. It turns out, perhaps in an homage to bad engineering everywhere, that the inefficiency of incandescent light bulbs was previously relied upon to keep traffic signals unimpeded. The new LEDs do not achieve the same effect, which has resulted in a few accidents and even a death being blamed on obstructed traffic lights. Feel free to apply palm to face now. It's not all gloomy, though, as the majority of people are said to treat a dysfunctional traffic light as a stop sign (how clever of them), and a tech fix is being worked on as we speak.
Vlad Savov12.17.2009
iPhone apps and tips for snowed-in TUAW readers
As I write this, snow is falling. That was the view out of my office this morning. Yes, I know it's only October 27th. Yes, I know that winter starts on December 21st. But sometimes in Colorado we get blizzards or major snowstorms in "non-standard" months. We're supposed to get two feet of the white stuff before this storm departs Thursday night. An IM conversation with Mike R. got me thinking about what iPhone apps could be useful when you're snowed in. Here's my list, and be sure to use the comments section below to leave your ideas. You're going to be getting a little cabin fever after being stuck in the house a few days, so why not go insane a bit faster? There are a number of snow globe apps for iPhone in the App Store [iTunes Link], so you can shake them up and watch those little virtual snowflakes falling, all while laughing nervously and sharpening that butcher knife. On a much more positive, happy-thoughts note, how about thinking about where you can go skiing or snowboarding when the roads are cleared and you can actually get the car out of the garage? The first thing you'll want to know are the snow depths at all of your favorite resorts. The US$1.99 Snow Reports [iTunes Link] does exactly that for over 2,000 resorts worldwide. Ski Lodge - Snow Reports [US$4.99, iTunes Link] is similar, but also provides detailed trail maps, directions to the nearest resort, and more. When you're on the mountain and riding your board, it's always fun to use iTrailMap 3D [US$4.99, iTunes Link] to trace your runs via GPS on a map, then send the map to those obnoxious virtual coworkers who keep sending you pictures of the palm trees swaying outside their San Diego offices.
Steve Sande10.28.2009
BlackBerry credited with saving skier's life, serendipity left hanging
Not that we haven't heard a few miraculous gadgets-saving-lives stories before, but this one is in a league of its own. According to the always-embellishing Sun, one David Fitzherbert is thanking his smartphone after coming entirely too close to falling 700 feet to his death. As the story goes, he got wedged between a pair of rocks after losing control of his skis in the Matterhorn, and while we aren't quite sure why he chose RIM's BlackBerry over -- say, chap-stick, car keys, his wallet or a fattening breakfast -- he credited it with adding just enough width to his person to keep him wedged. Two hours after finding himself between a rock and a hard place, rescue crews arrived and flew him to a hospital where he used the "0.5-inch wide" phone to tell his wife that he had survived a nasty spill. We still say David owes a round of thanks to genetics, luck and Zeus, but hey, what do we know?
Darren Murph06.30.2009
Frozen iPod returns from the grave
Andrew sent us this great story -- he found an iPod classic in the melting snow of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It had apparently been there "since early winter," and was frozen solid... as is the case, we'd imagine, with most things left outside there between September and April.Incredibly, though, once taken home, cleaned up, and given a warm cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese, it started right back up again. Everything was completely intact -- he says it even displayed the correct date. Pretty impressive for Apple's little music player (and mine's even stuffed in a Vaja case, so I know it'll always run for me -- assuming I don't drop it in a pile of snow somewhere). He says there is a name on the iPod, so if you've been around the Whitehorse area and have recently dropped your iPod near a place called Takhini School, leave him a note and he will probably be able to get it back to you. But do it quick -- he's giving things about a week, and then it's finder's keepers. We don't blame him: who wouldn't want an indestructible iPod?
Mike Schramm04.30.2009
Norwegian ski billboard gets snowy when texted
We've certainly seen mobile-activated bus stop ads before, but the cool factor on this one was just too impressive to overlook. Tryvann Winter Park, a ski resort that sits just 15 minutes away from downtown Oslo, was searching high and low for ways to better market itself to residents of the bustling Norwegian city. In order to do so, it turned to JCDecaux, who conjured up the brilliant idea you see to the right. Essentially, this advertisement packs a few internal fans and a bucketful of faux snow; whenever it starts snowing up at the ski resort, someone sends a text to the billboard and the flurries start to fly. This way, residents and workers in Oslo can easily see when conditions are good some 500 meters up. We're told that Tryvann "loved" the campaign and the resulting crowds that came, though there's no mention of whether it'll be implemented next season or elsewhere in the world.[Via textually, thanks Charles]
Darren Murph03.25.2009
Snowshaman!
This is brilliant -- after Anna jokingly asked for pictures of Snowshaman, she actually got one. Niyahti and her husband built this snowshaman, complete with two totems (though we're not sure which ones they are -- Wrath of Air and Frost Resist maybe?). Sure, it loses a little something in the translation from polygons to frozen water, but remember the medium. Considering it's handmade with snow, that's a pretty good snowshaman. The horns on the head must mean it's a Draenei, right? Though I have no idea what the sticks are coming out of the front.And hey, if you happen to get a nice bit of snowfall this month and feel like you can make a better one, feel free. We'd love to see it.
Mike Schramm01.02.2009
Smule's Zephyr sends snowy messages around the world
As much as I hate to do it, I'm always willing to admit when I'm wrong, and I was wrong about Ocarina. Not about the app itself, per se -- I still think it's one of the silliest, most pointless apps I've seen on the App Store. But it has been nothing but popular since its release, so apparently lots of people out there are into it. That's fine -- I'm willing to accept that there are best-selling apps out there that I think are dumb.And maybe this will be another one: Smule, the company behind Ocarina, has decided to follow up with a new app called Zephyr (not to be confused with the MacBook cooling system) that seems just as silly to me. You can draw out messages with an airy sound-and-snowflake interface, and then send those messages blowing around the world (represented, in the official video above, by Las Vegas) to random people who, if they like your messages, will pass them on around the Internet. "What's the point?" you might say, and in that opinion, I'd agree with you. There are lots of ways to send messages around the world, and more than a few of them are quite free and will let you be clearer than drawing snow with wind sounds in the background.But then again, I didn't see a point to Ocarina, and that made plenty of money. Zephyr is available on the App Store right now for 99 cents. And if you do jump in and buy it, make sure to tell us exactly why in the comments below.
Mike Schramm12.29.2008
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves teaser released -- now with snow!
Assuredly, one of the biggest complaints about Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was the lack of precipitation in the form of ice crystals, mainly of theintricately branched, hexagonal form. In a 30-second teaser trailer for the now-revealed Uncharted 2 (via GameTrailers), developer Naughty Dog has assuaged that concern by proving once and for all that Nathan Drake can exist in a frosty tundra. Don't believe us? See for yourself (video is embedded after the break). As hinted by the trailer, more information is expected during SpikeTV's Video Game Awards on December 14th.Update: New information care of Game Informer, which has "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" as its cover story. The game will revolve around Marco Polo's voyages and includes new free climbing and -- gulp -- "stealth" gameplay.
Ross Miller12.01.2008
MacNN: Snow Leopard could ship 1Q 2009
Snow Leopard could ship as early as January, according to comments made by the director of Apple's Unix Technology Group. Jordan Hubbard said at the Large Installation System Administration conference last week that Mac OS X 10.6 will ship in the first quarter of 2009, according to MacNN. This primes the Macworld Expo rumor pump: Scheduled for January 5, Steve could debut new quad-core iMacs in addition to showing off this new version of the operating system. This is not to be confused with Mac OS X 10.5.6, a minor update, which could be available as soon as Friday.
Robert Palmer11.19.2008
Final Fantasy XIII's 'blond-haired bandana guy' named
Stop the presses! The latest issue of Famitsu (you know, the one that totally hated on LittleBigPlanet) has revealed the name of "blond-haired bandana dude" from Final Fantasy XIII. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Snow Villiers. We know you'll be able to sleep more soundly now. Snow will be joining described "female Cloud Strife" protagonist Lightning in taking the world by storm. Bad weather puns aside, we can't decide who'd be more proud of the nomenclature, Mega Man or Captain Planet.The magazine (via IGN) also delved a bit into Versus XIII but lacked any gameplay details. Instead, we're given hints about each of the two main characters' personalities, Noctis Lucis Caelum and Stella Nox Fleuret (latin words literally translated as "Night Light Sky" and "Star Darkness Sword," respectively). These two have the ability to "see light," which we guess is either some incomplete translation, a metaphor for something spiritual or a hint that Square Enix is taking a cue from the story Blindness.
Ross Miller10.22.2008
Let it snow: Snow Reports for iPhone
It's late October in ski country, and that means skiers and snowboarders are getting their gear ready, trying to get into shape, and starting to watch the skies for signs of snow. Snow Reports, from Eddit Incorporated, provides the ability to create your own personalized lists of your favorite ski resorts, and then track the snow conditions and weather at those resorts. Snow Reports can access information for over 2,000 ski areas around the world through OnTheSnow.com's online service. Ski areas are listed by region and state or province, and a tap on a state or province name provides a detailed list of all the resorts in that area. A red or green "Closed / Open" sign provides immediate feedback on whether a resort is ready for visitors, and an attractive interface provides base and new snow depths.A quick tap on the resort page displays a full condition report for a ski area, or upcoming weather conditions. A video is available demonstrating highlights of Snow Reports, as well as a Flickr pool of screenshots.Snow Reports (click opens iTunes) is available now for US$1.99.
Steve Sande10.21.2008
One Shots: Snow in August
Snow? In the dog days of fall? Sure -- if you're talking about snow that appears in a game world. Of course, today's One Shots doesn't show snow so much as a graphical glitch in CoX, but we think Jeff T. has a point. He writes: NCSoft always said weather was beyond the City of Heroes/Villains game engine. Obviously they weren't thinking laterally enough. Some of my game environment files became corrupt somehow, and so many of the maps failed to load. Result? Snow in Cap! You know, that fresh thin stuff that coats everything with a gleaming white coat. This was definitely a bug, but wouldn't it look great for the winter holidays?We think it looks pretty cool -- and it would be extra fun if you could slip and slide over pockets of ice here and there like the Frostfire mission! If you have a screenshot of a glitch, strange graphics bug, or just a seasonal event you'd like to show off in your favorite game, send those our way! All you have to do is drop them into an email to oneshots AT massively.com, along with a quick description of what we're seeing. We'll do the rest!%Gallery-9798%
Krystalle Voecks08.22.2008
New Book 13 screenshots
More Last King shiny goodness! Turbine has released more screenshots from the upcoming LotRO Book 13 expansion, where folks will be treated to a Winter wonderland, full of ice, snow, and yetis. The textures in Forochel look absolutely gorgeous, and the color palette is quite a bit more varied than you'd think.To be sure, the frozen wastes are nothing to sneeze at (pun not intended) -- in addition to the standard monster fights, merely remaining out in the cold for too long will sap one's life. But hey, it can't be too bad -- look, everyone's fishing!%Gallery-18168%[Thanks, Jackie!]
Akela Talamasca04.16.2008
Wishing for weather in Outland
Prancing around Quel'Danas for my daily quests day in and day out has reminded me of something I've very dearly missed. Weather! It rains very frequently in Quel'Danas, and combined with all of the action going on around the island, it has a very strong feel of being alive.Zangarmarsh has rain as well, but I can't think of any other zone in Outland that has weather effects that come and go. Sure, some zones have Infernal rains and such inside and outside of them, but that isn't really the same. It's a constant, it's static. When you go to that zone, it will be there 100% of the time. Azeroth's weather wasn't like that. After it was added, of course. It might be raining in Stranglethorn, it might be sunshine from horizon to horizon. When it was raining, the zone had an entirely different feel. You were doing the same things, but it just felt different.I brought this up with some friends of mine a few times before, and we tried to think it through with logic at first. You know, the atmosphere is different, so maybe other zones in Outland can't rain. It's an alien world, so who knows? Even if you play the 'alien world = no rain' card, I think there are some awesome weather-related things you can do. Read on for my thoughts on the matter!
Alex Ziebart04.05.2008
AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow 4.2.5
Along with the Keynote update, today Apple posted an update for the Graphite and Snow AirPort Admin utility. You can read more information about this Admin Utility update on the Apple support website; in a nutshell, it adds Leopard compatibility -- a good thing.If you want to download the update, you can either open Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or download the installer package from the Apple support downloads site. Note that he newer AirPort Utility (v5.3.1 or later) should be used for Time Capsule, and for AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express Base Stations. The update here is for the older base stations' admin tool.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Cory Bohon04.03.2008
One Shots: Racing across the snowy wastes
With the surprising amount of news coming out this weekend, we've decided to ride far and wide to find a different perspective on One Shots for today. This screenshot is actually from the oft-shown Lord of the Rings Online, but involving a road less-traveled. Here's what Maerlin of Brandywine had to say about today's image:This is a screenshot of the northern expanse of the Misty Mountains. This particular area is pretty much a barren wasteland except for the occasional rare spawn mob that drops the oh-so-coveted Beryl Shard.We think it's interesting to see this image and contrast it against some of the other LotRO screens we've shown. While we knew certain areas of Middle-earth were gorgeous, we were wondering where the wastelands of the story were at! If you have a road less-traveled that you'd like to share with the rest of us, feel free to send those screens in to us at oneshots@massively.com. We love to see the unusual too!%Gallery-9798%
Krystalle Voecks03.02.2008
WRUP: "The weather outside is frightful" edition
It's mid-December. The snow is here (in Chicago, anyway), and with it comes the single-digit temperatures, days spent indoors, and hot cocoa and marshmellows. This weekend is the perfect time to stay inside, snuggle up to your PC, and play some MMOs.So as we ask every week, What aRe yoU Playing? For me this weekend, it's all about EVE Trinity-- I was waiting for that little boot.ini snafu to die down before upgrading, but last night after CCP said it was OK, I took the plunge and downloaded all the new files. I played it this morning for a bit (the detail! the lights! beautiful!), and this weekend, I plan to get a good chunk of all the ISK I'll need for moving up to a mining barge (which I'm just a few days from skilling up to as well). So I'll be in game as Frank Dante this weekend-- say hi if you're also flying the unfriendly skies.What MMO is going to grab most of your attention this weekend?
Mike Schramm12.07.2007
WRUP: Rabbit rabbit edition
Tomorrow's the first of December, and with that comes the final lock on Winter's door-- we're stuck with this cold and snow now until next spring (at least here in the northern US), and yet there's still about a week to go until the holidays really get underway and the family has you making cookies and putting up trees with lights on them. Sounds like the perfect time for staying warm inside and getting some good gaming done!So we're asking our weekly query again: What aRe yoU Playing this weekend? Me, I've finally gotten some momentum back with my lowbie hunter in World of Warcraft, so I'm going to be rolling as fast as I can towards that new Dustwallow Marsh content. Usually, I'd have a little non-MMO Xbox 360 game playing in there, but unfortunately I got hit by the RRoD last week-- I've got both Mass Effect and Rock Band (with drum kit assembled-- yeah, I'm dying here) sitting still wrapped in plastic in my apartment.But hopefully your gaming days are better. What are you playing this weekend?
Mike Schramm11.30.2007