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Canon announces Selphy ES1 compact photo printer
Like so many others, Canon is getting the jump on the big Photokina show and announcing some of its new products in advance, including its latest photo printer, the Selphy ES1. It'll give you prints in card size (2.1 x 3.4-inches), "L" size (3.5 x 4.7-inches), and postcard size (4 x 6-inches), all of which are handled with Canon's new integrated paper and ink cartridges; this is supposed to simplify things some, but we're guessing they also make it a fair bit more expensive (Canon sez €0.29, or about 37 cents, per print). If you dig that, the ES1 also packs a 2.5-inch LCD, wireless printing via IrDA, Bluetooth or Digital IXUS WIRELESS, and an optional battery pack for printing on the go. Look for this one to be available in September (in the U.K. to start with, it seems) for about $360.[Via Far East Gizmos]
3D Printouts of Your Virtual Self
OGLE, the OpenGLExtractor, is a little piece of software that can be used to extract 3D geometry data from 3D graphics applications running on Microsoft Windows. What this means is that it can pull out images of our favorite alternate reality for our own entertaining uses. While some people use this to make backgrounds or videos, one of the most interesting uses of this technology seems to be making 3D printouts of your character, using a special 3D printer. And, most recently, color 3d models. While this little gnome may appear to be venturing around Un'goro, it's probably just sitting on a tree in someone's back yard. (Which, to a tiny gnome figurine, is probably about the same.) And if you're just that kind of fan, you might be able to get one of your very own...!
Location Switch Automator action
Location Switch is an Automator action that adds some painfully missing features to Mac OS X's built-in Locations option (y'know, that feature you never touch in the Apple menu?). Location Switch can a whole host of application preferences and settings based on which location you chose, such as sound volume, SMTP servers, default printer, etc. Before you use it, however, the action requires some customization on your part, so check out the accompanying ReadMe file for instructions, and open the action in Automator to give it your personal touch.Location Switch is available free from Automator World, but if you enjoy it, consider sending its creator, Charles Schoenfeld, a donation at his site.[via Hawk Wings]
Switched On: A direct hit
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: "Hey there. Is this place new? I've been to this mall many times and never saw it before." "Yes, sir. Welcome to The Hewlepsmark Inkjet Printer Cartridge Experience." "No kidding. A whole location devoted to just to printer cartridges?" "Not just any printer cartridges. Only Hewlepsmark inkjet printers. You see, after some failed early experiences with tech manufacturer-direct stores from Gateway and Microsoft, the past few years have seen Apple, Sony, Nokia, Palm, Nintendo, and now Pioneer move forward with their own retail stores. Even Dell and Samsung are using their own retail space to showcase their products. Soon we're bound to see Coby Corner, Craighead, and jWINdow Shopping. It's all the rage. "So, we thought, as one of the world's premiere printing companies, why not develop an environment where we can really reinforce the brand identity and provide a showcase for our great variety of inkjet colors, the best printer cartridge shopping experience possible. We also have weekly seminars, like the one next Wednesday about the link between third-party refill kits and gingivitis."
Sony expands 4x6 printer line with DPP-FP55 and DPP-FP35
We're still a little baffled by the continued rollout of new 4x6-in photo printers from the likes of Epson, HP and Sony. Sure, they're handy, but how about a little more flexibility? Where's the printer that can do both 4x6 and 5x7 shots (we know, it's the letter-size photo-capable printer we already own)? That said, we shouldn't be surprised that Sony has expanded its line of dye-sub 4x6 printers with two new models, the DPP-FP55 and DPP-FP3.5 Both use print packs that include both paper and toner, which Sony says keeps printing costs at about 29 cents per print, and both are PictBridge compatible for direct printing with most recent digicams. The DPP-FP55, which includes a 2-inch LCD for image previews, is expected to roll out next month for $150, while the DPP-FP35, which skips the screen, will go for $100.
Enable drag-and-drop desktop printing
Since I don't actually own a printer, I find it ironic that I'm posting a tip about printing more efficiently on a Mac. Regardless, this is a handy little tip right out of Apple's Pro site for all you chronic printers out there: if you print a lot of documents throughout the day without necessarily needing to edit them, you can create a "desktop printer" onto which you can simply drag and drop a file to print it. No opening the document or Office, and no dialogs to click through. It's pretty simple: select your printer in the Printer Setup Utility, go up to Printers > Create Desktop Printer (cmd shift D) to create your very own printing secretary on your desktop. Now, if only OS X had a coffee option...
