text:
He's one of the biggest, most respected actors there these days — with a probable Oscar nomination for his role in Moneyball — but Brad Pitt didn't exactly take Hollywood by storm when he arrived in the late 1980s.
The handsome 48-year-old graces the February cover of W Magazine, and reveals the first big-time role he auditioned for.
"My agent sent me out for two films," Angelina Jolie's man of nearly seven years says. "One of them was The Accused with Jodie Foster. I was so excited."
Foster, 49, won her first Best Actress Oscar in the harrowing 1988 drama in which she played the victim of gang rape.
Did then-fresh-faced Pitt try out for the part of a rapist? "Probably not," he muses. "With this face, I was probably up for the guy with the conscience."
Alas, the audition didn't go so well. "I called up afterward and asked, 'How did I do?'" the Tree of Life star recalls. "There were three seconds of silence and then: 'Have you ever thought about acting classes?'"
Pitt's far more confident about his acting prowess nowadays. "I die really well, by the way," he boasts to W. "It's one of my strong points. I just take a bullet well."
For access to all our exclusive celebrity videos and interviews – Subscribe on YouTube!


text:
We polled you guys for your favorite ice scrapers — thanks! — then used that info to winnow down the field to 16 top contenders. After 15 hours of research and clearing ice attacks during Polar Vortex single-digit temps, our pick is the Hopkins 14039 Sub Zero Extendable 50" Crossover Snow Broom ($25).
It has deep, ice-scoring teeth and and an adjustable, ergonomic handle that helped it clear an iced window almost twice as quickly as the average scraper. And while it's a beast at scraping ice, its plastic design keeps it gentle on the paint compared to less effective brass competition.
For a great option for larger vehicles and a handy emergency scraper that fits in your glove box, check out our full guide.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In my hunt for the perfect clean url (smart url, slug, permalink, whatever) generator I've always slipped in some exception or bug that made the function a piece of junk. But I recently found an easy solution I hope I could call "definitive".
Clean url generators are crucial for search engine optimization or just to tidy up the site navigation. They are even more important if you work with international characters, accented vowels
/à, è, ì, .../, cedilla
/ç/, dieresis
/ë/, tilde
/ñ/ and so on.
First of all we need to strip all special characters and punctuation away. This is easily accomplished with something like:
function toAscii($str) { $clean = preg_replace("/[^a-zA-Z0-9\/_|+ -]/", '', $str); $clean = strtolower(trim($clean, '-')); $clean = preg_replace("/[\/_|+ -]+/", '-', $clean); return $clean; }
With our
toAscii function we can convert a string like "Hi! I'm the title of your page!" to
hi-im-the-title-of-your-page. This is nice, but what happens with a title like "A piñata is a paper container filled with candy"?
The result will be
a-piata-is-a-paper-container-filled-with-candy, which is not cool. We need to convert all special characters to the closest ascii character equivalent.
There are many ways to do this, maybe the easiest is by using iconv.
setlocale(LC_ALL, 'en_US.UTF8'); function toAscii($str) { $clean = iconv('UTF-8', 'ASCII//TRANSLIT', $str); $clean = preg_replace("/[^a-zA-Z0-9\/_| -]/", '', $clean); $clean = strtolower(trim($clean, '-')); $clean = preg_replace("/[\/_| -]+/", '-', $clean); return $clean; }
I always work with UTF-8 but you can obviously use any character encoding recognized by your system. Thepiñata text is now transliterated into
a-pinata-is-a-paper-container-filled-with-candy. Lovable.
If they are not Spanish, users will hardly search your site for the word piñata, they will most likely search forpinata. So you may want to store both versions in your database. You may have a title field with the actual displayed text and a slug field containing its ascii version counterpart.
We can add a delimiter parameter to our function so we can use it to generate both clean urls and slugs (in newspaper editing, a slug is a short name given to an article that is in production, source).
setlocale(LC_ALL, 'en_US.UTF8'); function toAscii($str, $delimiter='-') { $clean = iconv('UTF-8', 'ASCII//TRANSLIT', $str); $clean = preg_replace("/[^a-zA-Z0-9\/_|+ -]/", '', $clean); $clean = strtolower(trim($clean, '-')); $clean = preg_replace("/[\/_|+ -]+/", $delimiter, $clean); return $clean; } // echo toAscii("A piñata is a paper container filled with candy.", ' '); // returns: a pinata is a paper container filled with candy
There's one more thing. The string "I'll be back!" is converted to
ill-be-back. This may or may not be an issue depending on your application. If you use the function to generate a searchable slug for example, looking for "ill" would return the famous Terminator quote that probably isn't what you wanted.
setlocale(LC_ALL, 'en_US.UTF8'); function toAscii($str, $replace=array(), $delimiter='-') { if( !empty($replace) ) { $str = str_replace((array)$replace, ' ', $str); } $clean = iconv('UTF-8', 'ASCII//TRANSLIT', $str); $clean = preg_replace("/[^a-zA-Z0-9\/_|+ -]/", '', $clean); $clean = strtolower(trim($clean, '-')); $clean = preg_replace("/[\/_|+ -]+/", $delimiter, $clean); return $clean; }
You can now pass custom delimiters to the function. Calling
toAscii("I'll be back!", "'") you'll get
i-ll-be-back. Also note that the apostrophe is replaced before the string is converted to ascii as character encoding conversion may lead to weird results, for example
é is converted to
'e, so the apostrophe needs to be parsed before the string is mangled by iconv.
The function seems now complete. Lets stress test it.
echo toAscii("Mess'd up --text-- just (to) stress /test/ ?our! `little` \\clean\\ url fun.ction!?-->"); returns: messd-up-text-just-to-stress-test-our-little-clean-url-function echo toAscii("Perché l'erba è verde?", "'"); // Italian returns: perche-l-erba-e-verde echo toAscii("Peux-tu m'aider s'il te plaît?", "'"); // French returns: peux-tu-m-aider-s-il-te-plait echo toAscii("Tänk efter nu – förr'n vi föser dig bort"); // Swedish returns: tank-efter-nu-forrn-vi-foser-dig-bort echo toAscii("ÀÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏÐÑÒÓÔÕÖÙÚÛÜÝßàáâãäåæçèéêëìíîïðñòóôõöùúûüýÿ"); returns: aaaaaaaeceeeeiiiidnooooouuuuyssaaaaaaaeceeeeiiiidnooooouuuuyy echo toAscii("Custom`delimiter*example", array('*', '`')); returns: custom-delimiter-example echo toAscii("My+Last_Crazy|delimiter/example", '', ' '); returns: my last crazy delimiter example
I'm sure we are far from perfection and probably some php/regex guru will soon bury me under my ignorance suggesting an über-simple alternative to my function. What do you thing?
Source : http://cubiq.org/the-perfect-php-clean-url-generator


text:
Suddenly it's dark when I finish work and as I walk through El Cobre, the neighborhood reveals a little of its nocturnal self. The change in the time, abrupt and artificial, appears to have a very real effect – there are people around now as I go on my way that I've never seen before, stepping out of alleyways and hanging around in doorways. Of course, they were there all along; it's my routine that's been shifted forward, into the darkness – mine and anyone else who works, or who has any reason to be in a particular place at a particular time. Most of the new faces are lined; the older generation around here, having no such obligations, live the way their grandparents would have – by the sun.
The change of hours provides a glimpse of our own artifice – the gridwork of language and number that we graft onto the world. Twice a year, a little slip between clock time and real time, a tiny tremor along the fault line that runs between the two and we have an hour stolen from us, or we get this extra one that jars at first before settling in.
The gable wall of a crumbling old house glows green, bathed in the light of the pharmacy cross; I think it is green, and wonder why I've never noticed in the daytime, till it flickers. Further up toward the main road more flashes of light against a wall, this time emanating in horror movie fits and starts from a welder's workshop, frankenstein sparks flying and filling the night outside with the visual rhythms of an electrical storm. More


text:
This article is a press release from MSI-ECS, distributor of Trend Micro products.
A new nasty piece of malware is now being used in the ongoing conflict in Syria, with the ability to take over an infected computer or steal documents from it.
Computer security firm Trend Micro cited reports that the malware, dubbed as DarkComet, is being used against supporters of the Syrian opposition movement.
\"The malware used in the attacks reportedly spreads through Skype chats. Once users execute the malware, it connects to a (command and control) server in Syria … which belongs to an IP range assigned to the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment,\" Trend Micro said in a blog post.
It noted this could be a response to the opposition\'s increasing use of platforms such as Facebook to organize and spread their message.
Other supporters of the regime like the "Syrian Electronic Army" had sought to disrupt the opposition\'s activities by defacing websites and spamming Facebook pages.
Trend Micro said DarkComet is considered a widely available Remote Access Trojan (RAT).
It said DarkComet is a full-featured RAT that has the ability to take pictures via webcam, listen in on conversations via a microphone attached to a PC, and gain full control of the infected machine.
\"But the features attracting most people using this RAT are the keylogging and file transfer functionality. This way, an attacker can load any files onto the infected machine or even steal documents,\" it said.
Removal tool
Trend Micro said DarkComet, created by a coder using the handle DarkCoderSc, is still being developed and version 5 was released last January 15.
\"Since the reports of its use in connection with events in Syria, the author of DarkComet has expressed regret and while he will continue developing the RAT, he plans to make a DarkComet detector/remover available to the Syrian people,\" Trend Micro said.
Infection via Skype chats
Trend Micro said the malware bearing a Facebook icon was reportedly distributed through Skype chats.
One sample, which Trend Micro detects as BKDR_ZAPCHAST.SG, is DarkComet 5.
But another sample obtained by Trend Micro behaves differently, and involves an initial executable, which is detected by Trend Micro as BKDR_BREUT.A.
This drops two executable files, with the first file displayed to the compromised user as a Mac Address Changer tool.
But this appears to be a simple decoy because while this is displayed, the second executable then connects to a server and downloads another file.
\"These developments illustrate that targeted attacks can be conducted with widely available DIY malware tools. These tools possess all the \'complex\' functionality attackers need to compromise their targets,\" Trend Micro said.
Trend Micro products are distributed in the Philippines by MSI-ECS. For product information, pricing and availability, please contact Leo Vallente at +63 2 6883708 or [email protected]


text:
avalore necesitaba un nuevo diseño de botón o icono y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 25 diseños de 10 diseñadores freelance.
Pocket Course
We are a development agency concentrating on white label type solutions. Currently we are moving into the mobile arena starting with the iPhone. We're not corporate or stuffy, like to have fun but at the same time we know what we're looking for.
We like to develop relationships with the people we work with and usually carry on working with freelancers who have produced good work for us.
We are developing an iPhone that will be sold to college's and distributed on their behalf to potential students. The iPhone app is a version of the printed brochures they already create for students.
So the eventual end user is Students aged 18-24 (mostly), although the design should also appeal to older, professional people who will be buying the application for their college.
Attached is an example of what we would like. The icons in the example are from an existing pack, whereas we need something unique. We made the icons fit the need, but we think custom icons will depict the particular function of the app much better.
What we like about the example:
- The rounded corners
- Use of bright/primary colours for each icon (the colours do not have to be the same for each
- The apple-esque design of the buttons without being exactly the same as apples style
What we dont like/what we would like done different
- Mainly what is depicted by the icon, currently it doesn't quite match the functions of the app
- The fact that they are not unique
- Inconsistency... we dont want every icon the same colour or style but we would like something that is unique but consistent throughout all of the icons
We would like icons for the following functions
- Course List (A-Z)
- College Info
- Maps
- Video's
- Photo's
- My Details (for prospective students to store details of their predicted grades before applying etc)
- Saved Courses (Courses from the a-z that they have saved for later viewing)
- Events
- Facilities
Icon Details
- Each icon should be 60px * 60px as well a larger version available at 512px * 512px
- Icons should not have any text (this will be added afterwards during coding)


text:
Was Hugh Jackman Offered $100 Million to Play Wolverine in Four More 'X-Men' Movies?
Just how valuable does Fox consider Hugh Jackman to be when it comes to its future comic book movie plans? If sources for the National Enquirer are correct, the studio considers him to be insanely valuable -- like $100 million for four more movies kind of valuable. That's the current rumor, anyway, that Jackman is considering a massive payday unlike anything we've seen -- one he may not be able to turn down, despite his apparent desire not to keep playing a character he's already portrayed six times.
But there's a lot of pressure on Fox to create a superhero universe that's as exciting and rich as the one Marvel Studios has created with its Avengers movies. DC and Warner Bros. are already working on bringing their biggest heroes together on-screen (Batman vs. Superman is due out in 2015), and Fox may want Hugh Jackman to be the connective tissue between all its future X-Men and Fantastic Four movies. He's like Fox's Robert Downey Jr., but is he really worth the investment?
The problem with Wolverine is that he doesn't evolve much past angry and emotionally detached. X-Men: Days of Future Past will attempt to use Jackman's Wolverine in a different way -- as a sort of ambassador/savior who travels back to the past to try to stop the younger mutants from engaging in all-out war -- but while he's definitely Fox's most valuable superhero, are moviegoers tiring of the character? And if they're not tired of him yet, will four more movies bring the studio the sort of rewards it'll be looking for on that $100 million investment?
What do you think? Are we dangerously close to overdosing on Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, or do you agree that Fox should use him as much as it can as it continues to build its own Marvel universe on the big screen?
Follow @ErikDavis Follow @MoviesDotCom
Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
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text: Health & Medicine Do you trust Wikipedia with your health? Med students aim to make it better The Takeaway October 04, 2013 When you get sick, do you look to Wikipedia to help you figure out what ails you? A California medical professor thinks if you're going to do that — and many do — he might as well improve the quality of those articles. And he's getting med students to help him.


text:
We had to know something was wrong when Cobra announced that they were "exiting the market for Tour level equipment" - as I wrote here when that was announced, something just did not smell right. Well, today the other shoe fell. Many reports had surfaced over the last several months that Puma was trying hard to get into the equipment business...and those reports have at last come true.
Puma announced today that it had reached agreement with Acushnet (parent company of Titleist, FootJoy, and Cobra) to acquire Cobra Golf. Acushnet bought Cobra for $700 MM in 1995, and Cobra reported sales of $200 MM in 2008. Using some middle of the road multiples on the deal, it's not likely that Acushnet made any real profit (especially considering they held onto it for 15 years...)
This deal raises some interesting questions relative to the players...
- Cobra has a very respectable stable of young guns (Villegas,Poulter, and JB Holmes) ...I can't imagine that Titleist is anxious to lose their connection with them, as all of them have won within the last year.
- Meanwhile, Puma's "face" on the Tour (Rickie Fowler) is a die hard Titleist loyalist from a hardware perspective (Driver,Irons,Wedges,Putter,Ball, Glove, etc). I will be curious to see if they apply any pressure to switch
- Finally, Puma's previous "face" on Tour, Geoff Ogilvy, has just switched from Cobra to Titleist this year...and I can't help but think there are some bruised feelings somewhere in there.
- Rumor has it that the Olsen twins somehow play into an outing with the next Cobra staff player to win. Somewhere, Camilo is smiling...
Anyway, I hope the deal is good for all involved. It's great to see an international brand like Puma enter the golf equipment business, as they will surely need deep pockets to play in that arena.


text:
From: Thursday, June 1, 2017
To: Thursday, August 31, 2017
The program is for an overnight stay
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Mark Abernathy
(919) 459-5607
Kecia Mariotti
(919) 459-5613
Pownal, VT, United States
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text:
Norfolk, Colebrook elementary schools considered for consolidation in new study (with document)
NORFOLK/ COLEBROOK >> Although Norfolk and Colebrook share classrooms in Regional School District 7, the two towns could possibly seek further collaboration and consolidation.
The two school districts, along with the First Selectmen of both towns, formed a committee to study a regional elementary school district, and the ensuing report has been published on the Botelle School's and Colebrook Consolidated School's websites. The regional study committee will hold the first of two informational meetings on the study Wednesday night, starting at 7 p.m. at the Botelle School, followed by a second meeting on Oct. 11 at Colebrook Consolidated School.
"This is a question for the town to vote on," said Norfolk First Selectman Susan Dyer.
Voters in Norfolk and Colebrook will be asked to decide if their towns want to participate in a study of the matter, which would lead to a second, more decisive, ballot. According to Dyer -- who was not sure of the sentiment in Colebrook -- "it doesn't commit the towns to anything," although the trends in both Colebrook and Norfolk will impact taxpayers.
"It's a very big question which affects a lot of people," Dyer said.
According to Colebrook First Selectman Thomas McKeon, the trend of rising education costs and declining enrollment led the towns to consider a merger of their elementary schools. However, the final numbers in the study, which assumed no change in current trends, shocked even McKeon.
"When you look at the cost per student 10 years from now," McKeon said, "you're looking at $25,000 in Colebrook and $40,000 in Norfolk, which is a lot of money."
Those figures, combined with the projections of precipitous declines in enrollment, will put Education Cost Sharing funds in both towns in jeopardy. Dyer said that thanks to the new educational reform laws which went into effect on Oct. 1, towns which spend more than the state average -- which Dyer estimated at approximately $13,650 -- will lose ECS monies.
Additionally, enrollment figures at both elementary schools are only barely above 100 students for the current year, and the ongoing trends assume that by the 2021-22 school year, the Botelle School will only house 73 students, while Colebrook Consolidated School will only have 86 students. Dyer noted that the combined enrollment at both schools, which the report states is 212, does not even match the enrollment at the Botelle School alone in the late 1970s.
The two districts discussed a merger on an informal basis for years, wrote Jonathan Costa of Education Connection in the report, but both towns got on board after the 2011-12 school year's conclusion. The Boards of Selectmen and Finance signed on to the joint committee in June. In addition to the First Selectmen from both towns, the committee includes Sally Carr of the Norfolk Board of Education, Norfolk Board of Finance chairman Mike Sconyers, Colebrook Board of Finance chairman James Millar and Colebrook Board of Education chairman Jeanne Jones. The respective superintendents of the two school districts -- George Counter and Jay Chittum -- served as advisors.
"We had a good report from Jonathan Costa," said McKeon, "which outlined the future costs, the declining enrollment, which is pretty substantial, and a lot of new mandates that are going to be put on school systems."
McKeon remarked that the trends hammering smaller towns also affect Region 7 compatriots such as New Hartford, whose enrollment at Northwestern Regional High School outnumbers the combined enrollment figures from Norfolk, Colebrook and Barkhamsted.
"I was kind of surprised by the projection of enrollment," McKeon said. "It's not just Colebrook. It's Norfolk, it's New Hartford, it's the other small towns."
Additionally, McKeon said, the committee sought to get ahead of more state mandates, which could be coming down the pipeline. But ultimately, Dyer said, "the end result will be up to the townspeople."
"I'd prefer to do something on our own than being forced into doing something," McKeon said.
Jason Siedzik can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com, via Twitter at @RCjsiedzik, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RCjsiedzik or by phone at (860) 489-3121, ext. 321. Follow us online at www.registercitizen.com or on twitter.com/registercitizen.


text:
Saturday is Small Business Saturday — a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities. Please join the Rockford Chamber of Commerce and organizations across the country in supporting your local small business by shopping at a small business.
We have heard many times that small business is the backbone of the economy. They are the job creators, the entrepreneurs and the innovators. Think of those small businesses in our community that you highly value and what it would mean if they suddenly weren't there anymore.
Small business owners are our neighbors, our friends, and are people that are passionate about our community. The Rockford Chamber has many different kinds of businesses linked to its organization, but none so strong and so many as small businesses.
A small business is considered to be any company that employs less than 100 people. In the United States, small business employs more than half of the country's workforce. While many people think that new industrial giants are the most important factor in driving the economy, small business is actually the top dog. Without small businesses, where would half of the country work?
Did you know that if half of the employed population in our country spent only $50 a month with a small, independently owned business, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue? Think what kind of impact that can make on an economy!
Further, for every $100 spent in local stores, $68 of it returns to the community in the form of taxes, payroll and other expenditures. Spend it online, and nothing comes home. With more than 60 percent of all private sectors, nonfarm jobs coming from small business, it is a proven fact that small businesses are critical to the United States economy.
Developing personal relationships — small businesses are well placed to build personal relationships with customers, employees and suppliers. With a small business you know who you are dealing with; you can "put a face" to the person you are in contact with. Person-to-person interaction is as important as ever in building strong relationships.
Support small businesses on Small Business Saturday, and make it a habit throughout the year!
Einar Forsman is president and CEO of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce


text:
1943 : Warsaw ghetto uprising put down1943 : Warsaw ghetto uprising put down
On this day in 1943, Waffen SS attacks Jewish resistance in the Warsaw ghetto.
Shortly after the German invasion of Poland, in September 1939, nearly 400,000 Polish Jews were confined to a 3.5-square-mile area that normally housed about 250,000. The "ghetto" was sealed off with a 10-foot-high wall. Anyone caught leaving was shot on sight. As if this weren't bad enough, the Nazis strictly controlled the amount of food that was brought into the ghetto, forcing Jews to live on a bowl of soup a day. By July 1942, about 80,000 Jews had died.
On July 22, 1942, Heinrich Himmler ordered that Jews be "resettled" to extermination camps, such as Treblinka. Two months later, more than 300,000 Jews had been sent to the gas chambers. Less than two years after the internment in the ghetto, only 60,000 Jews remained. But those who survived formed a Jewish Fighting Organization, called ZOB, which managed to smuggle in weapons from anti-Nazi Poles. Armed, they were able to resist further deportations by attacking Germans from rooftops, cellars, and attics. A severe winter and a shortage of trains also prevented the SS from deporting more Jews to death camps.
But spring brought Nazi retaliation. On April 19, 1943, Passover, Himmler sent more than 2,000 Waffen SS soldiers to combat the Jewish resistance. German tanks, howitzers, machine guns, and flamethrowers were met with Jewish pistols, rifles, homemade grenades, and Molotov cocktails. The Jews were able to fend off the German assault for 28 days. Finally, SS General Jurgen Stroop set the entire ghetto block, now reduced to an area 1,000 yards by 300 yards, on fire and blew up the synagogue. By May, 56,065 Jews were dead. It is estimated that the Germans lost 300, with 1,000 wounded.
From: www.History.com


text:
Singer Alicia Keys refuses to speak negatively about her experience of "painful" childbirth to avoid traumatizing other expectant mothers.
The "Fallin'" hit maker adopted a meditative technique to help her cope when she delivered her first son Egypt in October 2010.
The process was far from easy, but Keys downplays the pain factor when talking to other women about labor.
She tells British newspaper The Sun, "I like to speak about it very positively because I don't like to scare people. I mean it was painful, hell yeah. You have to scream, unless you're totally drugged and, hell, I screamed.
"But I followed this particular technique which banishes negative thoughts. So instead of calling it a contraction, it's a surge. And I think words like that are pretty powerful.
"So it hurt, but I think I received it a little better and I can say I really enjoyed it. It's not like anything I've ever done and I think it'll be better the second time. It must be. But as everyone says, it was worth it. It was bliss and a real miracle to be part of… And I really believe that (a) new day started the day Egypt came into this world."


text:
Issachar Bible Church And Apologetics Research Institute
Frederick Meekins is an independent theologian and social critic. He holds a BS from the University of Maryland in Political Science/History and a MA in Apologetics & Christian Philosophy from Trinity Theological Seminary. Frederick holds a Doctor of Practical Theology through the Master's Graduate School Of Divinity in Evansville, Indiana. Dr. Meekins is pursuing a Ph.D. in Apologetics through Newburgh Theological Seminary.
Monday, November 17
Islamist Desecrating National Cathedral A Terrorist Sympathizer
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View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com
Texas police are looking for four robbers who they say kidnapped a man at gunpoint from a Dallas ATM.
It happened early Tuesday morning at a Bank of America on Cedar Springs Road.
Rudolph Dinwiddie, 43, of Grapevine, Texas, told police he was withdrawing cash from the ATM at about midnight when the robbers approached him and took his wallet and keys at gunpoint.
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Dinwiddie told police they forced him into the back of his car, where he was bound with handcuffs, duct tape and zip ties. He forced to withdraw money from several ATMs in Dallas and Irving.
He was then dumped in an empty Irving field, his hands and feet still bound with duct tape. A passer-by spotted him and called police.
See the original report | More from NBCDFW.com
Dallas police said it appears to be an isolated case.
Merchants in the popular Cedar Springs Entertainment District said they were were stunned by the crime. They recently hired private security to patrol and said they thought their crime problems were improving.
"We always would like more police presence in the area, but I don't know what can be done, because these things continue to happen," said Jeff Wright, of the Cedar Springs Merchants Association.
Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com
Dinwiddie was treated for cuts on his wrists at an Irving hospital. Dallas police said they are still investigating the case and working with Bank of America to get surveillance video.
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- Soldier who hit colleague with wooden mallet is disciplined
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text:
Job Growth Projections
Computer Science/Information Technology continues to be a high-growth, high-paying field
- According to the latest 10-year Bureau of Labor Statistics projections:
- The top 3 growth industries are: "Management, scientific, and technical consulting services" (77.9%), "home health care services" (55.4%), and "computer systems design and related services" (38.3%).
- The top 6 more specific occupations are: "Network systems and data communications analysts" (53.4%), "Personal and home care aides" (50.6%), "Home health aides" (48.7%), "Computer software engineers, applications" (44.6%), "Medical assistants" (35.4%), and "Computer systems analysts" (29.0%).
- Computing-related jobs constitute 5 out of the 10 highest paid jobs from among the 30 fastest growing jobs in an analysis of slightly older BLS statistics.
Reference: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/Careers/01/26/cb.top.jobs.pay/index.html.
- A study of offshoring by the main professional society for computer scientists has concluded that offshoring is probably good for the economy and computing professions in the U.S.; more information technology jobs are available today in the U.S. than at the height of the recent "dot.com boom".
Reference: https://www.cs.rice.edu/~vardi/papers/globalization07.doc .
- Computer science/engineering graduates are in high demand by employers at all degree levels.
- Large numbers of unfilled information technology jobs are being reported by the Information Technology Association of America and specific companies.
Reference: http://www.graduatingengineer.com/futuredisc/compsci.html.
- College enrollments in computer science are down nationally, creating increased opportunity for students who pursue education in this area. A recent survey found that just 1 in 75 college students planned to major in computer science, down from 1 in 30 in year 2000.
References: http://archive.cra.org/CRN/articles/march06/vegso.html, http://archive.cra.org/CRN/articles/may05/vegso.html.
- Recent data shows job openings far exceeding degree production.
Reference: http://usacm.acm.org/usacm/weblog/index.php?p=542 (UPDATED GRAPHIC)
- Studying computer science leads to a wide variety of career possibilities in a very diverse set of industries and agencies.
References: Forrester Research Data Reported by Prentice Hall, http://www.khake.com/page17.html, http://careerservices.rutgers.edu/Mcomputer.html, .


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Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 Review
- Excellent AF speed, precision
- Superb, well thought-out live view experience
- Plenty of image processing tools for both novices and advanced shooters
- Rugged body is still smaller than the smallest SLRs
- Excellent screen and viewfinder
- Lots of noise (for a DSLR) beyond ISO 800
- Lens mount limits options at the moment
- White balance system needs work
- Too expensive for its specs and market?
Quick Take
I was excited about the Lumix G1 initially, and working with the actual product has done little to dampen this enthusiasm. If you can get past the initial sticker shock, the G1 may just offer the "best of both worlds" when it comes to SLRs and point-and-shoots.
For months, we've talked about it. We've carefully studied Panasonic's press materials, theorized about its performance, and even sampled pre-production units on not one but two occasions. After all of this, the moment of truth is here: our Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 review unit rolled into the office a few weeks back and has been subjected to as much menu browsing, studio testing, and real-world shooting as our time with the camera would allow. Would the actual final version of this interchangeable-lens camera that is, to be picky, not actually an SLR at all warrant all the buzz it's generated?
As the first production Micro Four Thirds camera, the G1 represents both a revolutionary product and a fundamentally new overarching technology. Using interchangeable lenses, a large sensor, and a traditional shutter mechanism, but no mirror or optical viewfinder, the G1 is part DSLR and part point-and-shoot. The obvious concern with this "hybrid" design approach is that the resulting device will simultaneously compromise the best aspects of both point-and-shoots and SLRs: in trying to be a jack of all trades, as the saying goes, the G1 runs the risk of ending up a master of none. If the road to a final version of the G1 was paved with potential trouble spots, however, Panasonic seems to have successfully steered a course to a polished camera that feels, in our experience with the device, anything but cobbled together.
From the initial product announcement all the way back in September, the attention around the G1 has largely been due to the fact that this is the first Micro Four Thirds (MFT) camera to make its way to store shelves. Those who want more detail about what makes the MFT system unique should check out our write-up on the subject, but at its most basic, the concept behind the G1 – and behind MFT generally – is to bring DSLR image quality (courtesy of a full-size Four Thirds format image sensor) and the flexibility of interchangeable lenses to a camera with weight and size closer to that of a point-and-shoot. To this end, while the G1 retains the basic profile of a DSLR and is a ways from what could be termed "pocket size," it's also a clear step smaller than even the smallest DSLRs currently on the market.
A surface-level overview of the G1's features and performance can be found in our video review.
As a Micro Four Thirds system body, the G1 operates in a full-time live view mode with shot composition on either the camera's LCD or its electronic viewfinder, just like an advanced point-and-shoot. With on-LCD shot composition and a combination of SLR and point-and-shoot features and exposure control options, the G1 is clearly attempting to fill the "bridge camera" niche – providing many of the conveniences of an SLR (interchangeable lenses and excellent image quality) in a smaller, lighter, and easier to manage package.
It may be a combination of DSLR and point-and-shoot technologies, but the G1's most basic specs read like what you'd expect from a current consumer DSLR. At the center of it all, a newly developed 12.1 megapixel Four Thirds format "Live MOS" sensor handling imaging duties. Simultaneous four-channel data reading supplies a 60 fps imaging to the camera's display, meaning smoother, more lifelike shot composition whether you're using the camera's capacious 3.0 inch LCD or its thoroughly impressive electronic viewfinder (more on both of these in the next section).
One obvious technological challenge presented by MFT involves developing technologies to provide quick AF performance. Design considerations mean the G1 uses a point-and-shoot style contrast detection AF system, rather than the generally quicker and more accurate phase detection systems from DSLRs. In order to provide a DSLR-like AF experience, Panasonic has developed a new imaging engine, Venus Engine HD, utilizing a pair of processors. This arrangement gives the G1 an advanced 23-area auto focus system that also supports user-selectable single-area AF, continuous focus tracking, and face detection for up to 15 faces.
Because of its full-time live view operation, the G1 is also able to draw on many of the user-friendly "Intelligent" technologies developed for Panasonic's Lumix point-and-shoots. Most notably, the Lumix is equipped with Panasonic's iA Intelligent Auto mode. According to the manufacturer, iA offers an integration of several key technologies – including Intelligent ISO, Intelligent Exposure, automatic scene selection, and AF tracking – designed to improve the auto-exposure shooting experience.
The G1 isn't limited to auto-exposure shooting, though. Rather, the camera's range of shooting mode options runs the gamut from several fully automatic and scene presets with lots of new "hand holding" technologies to full manual exposure control. In short, the camera covers the complete spectrum of control levels needed to compete among consumer DSLRs. The following basic shooting modes are available:
- Intelligent Auto (iA): Panasonic's exclusive improvement on conventional auto modes claims to make, as the name suggests, more intelligent exposure choices based on more involved analysis. In practice, the mode tends to work well, serving up generally good images with a highly limited selection of user adjustments.
- Program: The G1's normal setting is a program auto mode, with adjustments for white balance, sensitivity, and the like available in the quick access and main menus.
- Aperture Priority: The photographer selects the lens aperture and the camera selects the correct shutter speed (and ISO if the camera is set to Auto ISO or Intelligent ISO modes).
- Shutter Priority: The photographer selects the shutter speed and the camera selects the correct lens aperture (and ISO if the camera is set to Auto ISO or Intelligent ISO modes).
- Manual: The photographer selects the proper shutter speed, lens aperture, and ISO for correct exposure.
- Scene: The G1 offers a total of nine scene presets – five on the mode dial, and an additional four options in the quick-access Scene menu.
- My Color: My Color mode provides straightforward adjustments for image processing parameters like color, sharpness, and contrast.
- Custom: The custom shooting mode allows you to pre-program your favorite or most frequently used camera settings into the camera for quick use.
From its My Color option to its "advanced" scene presets, the G1 provides a good measure of tweakability outside of its P/A/S/M modes – all presented in ways that are easier for novices to comprehend. Most interesting among these options is an on-screen preview function that demos the effects of narrower versus wider apertures, or faster versus slower shutter speeds, on the screen during shot composition. Crank the shutter speed down to 1/15 while pointing the camera at a moving subject, for instance, and the live on-screen preview of the subject will appear motion-blurred.
Although it doesn't offer video capture (though it's rumored that this function is on its way for future MFT cameras), the G1 nonetheless provides well thought-out integration with high-def displays via its built-in HDMI out. Conventional composite outputs are also available courtesy of the camera's included A/V cable.
Kit Lens
As an entirely new mount/camera system, you won't (initially, at least) have many lens options for your G1 beyond its kit optic. Hence, the fact that the camera's 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 optically stabilized zoom lens is a pretty solid package – both in terms of build quality and performance – is definitely a good thing.
The tiny lens is solidly built, with an alloy case and a nice, smooth zoom ring. Optical performance is also quite good, with just a hint of edge softness and some green fringing providing the only areas of possible concern. Center sharpness is also good to excellent across the normal-use aperture range. All in all, while the need for Panasonic and its partners to build a strong family of MFT lenses is clear, few casual shooters (and even many serious ones) will be disappointed with the images this kit lens produces.
As an aside, with neither the optional MFT to Four Thirds adapter nor Panasonic's optional kit telephoto to work with, note that all sample images shot for this review were taken using the 14-45mm lens.
For a detailed listing of specifications and features, please refer to the specifications table found at the bottom of the review.
Styling and Build Quality
In terms of its basic shape and footprint, the G1 is fairly conventional, looking like a slightly smaller version of a standard digital SLR. The overall shape is a little more squared off than most DSLRs these days, but basic styling is, at first glance, exactly what you'd expect from a consumer-grade interchangeable-lens camera.
A question that comes up a lot concerning the G1 is how much smaller this camera is than the smallest DSLRs out there – cameras like the Olympus E-420 and the Nikon D60. Straight size comparisons are easy enough to make with available data: the E-420, for instance, measures 5.2 inches wide by our ruler, whereas the G1 takes up 4.8 inches. Proportionally, this means that the G1 is about 90 percent as wide as the E-420, and this ratio is basically carried over into the other measurements as well. Not a huge reduction in size when you look at it objectively, is it?
But while the numbers comparing the smallest DSLRs to the G1 tell one story, actual side-by-side looks at the camera next to an entry-level DSLR of more normal proportions than the E-420's diminutive measurements paint a more realistic picture. Basically, the G1 feels and handles like an average entry-level DSLR at three-quarter size. As we've said frequently in discussing the camera since our first hands-on with it, the device is roughly the same size as a current ultrazoom – Panasonic's own FZ28 being a very close comparison in this case. Additionally, the new MFT kit lens feels particularly small next to your typical 18-55mm from Nikon or Canon, with what feels like about two-thirds the width of Nikon's beefy stabilization-equipped 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, for instance.
So the G1 is definitely smaller – noticeably smaller – than a typical consumer DSLR. But it's also definitely not so small that you'll be able to drop it into your pocket. While the small size may be a bit more manageable and less intimidating, particularly for those users with smaller hands, if you're looking for large-sensor image quality in a package that's a lot more size-conscious and inconspicuous than a full SLR, simply put, this isn't it. If size is your primary motivator (but you still want something with a DSLR sensor), better to check out the Sigma DP1 or hold out for Olympus's forthcoming MFT concept. For that matter, an entry-level DSLR from Olympus or Pentax with a "pancake prime" will take up less net space than the G1 with its kit zoom.
Although our review unit was the pedestrian black variety, Panasonic is offering the G1 in blue and red hues as well – a first, according to the maker, among interchangeable-lens cameras. If it wasn't clear before that the company is targeting a transitional market with this product (that is, people for whom the G1 would be a first system camera), the option to get a G1 in racy red or cool blue (to match your pocket camera, perhaps?) instead of boring black or silver as with most entry-level DSLRs sends that message loud and clear. Whatever finish color you choose, the G1 comes wrapped in a rubberized outer coat that I like a lot: our time with the camera suggests that the finish is durable, scratch-resistant, and easy to keep clean, and it gives off a more high-quality vibe than the smooth plastic finish used on most of the G1's competitors.
Buttons and switches are all generally rugged as well, though the plastic sliders for the power and drive mode settings feel like they might be the most vulnerable of the G1's controls. Likewise for port covers and the battery door: while the build quality here is nothing to write home about, it's certainly in keeping with other entry-level and mid-priced DSLRs, and a cut above what you'll get from most point-and-shoots.
Ergonomics and Interface
Size reductions can be great, but anyone over the age of ten who has ever tried to use the Lilliputian controls on one of Panasonic's tiny ultracompacts can attest to the fact that miniaturization can also breed ergonomic unpleasantness. This is where the fact that the G1 isn't that much smaller than a compact DSLR works in this camera's favor. Panasonic's experience building ultrazooms has clearly be brought to bear on the control layout of this hybrid camera.
At a glance, button placement is very much like what we're used to from Panasonic's FZ cameras, with a small but not outrageously tiny four-way controller and a couple of dedicated buttons (DOF preview, AE/AF lock, etc.) on the back, and controls for changing the film simulation mode or calling up Panasonic's signature Quick Menu on top next to the shutter release. The G1 is also the beneficiary of several switch and knob controls: a multi-position switch next to the mode dial enables on-the-fly changes from single-shot to continuous shooting mode, and a complementary dial on the left-hand side of the top deck is used to select between single-shot and continuous auto focus and manual focus options.
Comparatively, the G1 boasts a lot of dedicated controls in a small space, and this sometimes made field use of the camera challenging. For instance, the close placement of the Film Mode and Q. Menu buttons up top often had me pressing one (usually the film emulator control) when I was looking for the other. Overall, though, the ergonomics and physical interface aren't bad, even for shooters with larger hands. Having a large, well-defined hand grip helps. Those looking for portability might have hoped for a flatter profile, but the grip gives the camera good balance for its modest weight and a familiar feel with most buttons following logically under your fingers.
A multi-function control dial at the front of the grip is used for various scroll-style adjustments (exposure compensation, etc.), and can be clicked as well for settings confirmation or to switch between dial functions in shooting mode.
Compared to the generally simple button layout, the on-screen interface is a bit of a different story. The first time I sat down with the G1, I found the number of on-screen control options – and the number of permutations for configuring what information is displayed on the LCD and what's displayed through the viewfinder – a little bewildering. Unfortunately, that didn't really change much in using the camera over several weeks. The menus themselves are typical Panasonic multi-page affairs, but the sheer number of features on this camera also make this arrangement a little cumbersome (and as always, it seems, Panasonic could do with some more logical grouping of items within their menu structure).
Advanced photographers coming from other DSLRs shouldn't experience more than slight annoyance in diving into what the G1 has to offer. For transition shooters moving up from point-and-shoots, however, the G1's interface may be a little too much: too much information, too many menus, and too many options. Conversely, there's nothing that says that you can't lock the camera in auto mode and shoot away. While you can configure or customize just about all of the things that you'd expected to be able to tweak on an advanced DSLR with this camera as well, it also does just fine as an auto-exposure only device.
If you didn't already know that the G1 wasn't your typical interchangeable-lens camera, your first clue would be its screen and display. While the camera's tilt/swivel 3.0 inch LCD isn't unique to Panasonic (Olympus's high-end DSLRs offer the same functionality), the G1's electronic viewfinder is. That's because that viewfinder on the G1 isn't prism or mirror based at all. What you see through it isn't a reflected view directly through the lens, like in most DSLRs: to reduce size, the Micro Four Thirds format does away completely with the mirror in front of the shutter that makes this possible. Instead, the viewfinder is, like the screen on a point-and-shoot or live view DSLR (or an electronic viewfinder on an ultrazoom, for that matter), a digital image of what the sensor "sees."
Electronic viewfinders, or EVFs, have a (well-deserved) reputation for being poor substitutes for a through-the-lens view. Commonly used on ultrazoom cameras, most EVFs that have gone before the G1 have been small, grainy displays that lack the sharpness necessary to do things that you might use a DSLR viewfinder for, like determine critical focus when manually focusing a lens. Recognizing that many SLR users prefer the compositional experience that a viewfinder offers, Panasonic went back to the drawing board on EVFs with the G1, and the result is a marked improvement over any digital viewfinder that I've ever used on a still camera.
Part of the secret to the G1's EVF success is its resolution: the viewfinder display advertises 1.4 million dots of resolution. By contrast, the EVF in Canon's S5 – about par for the course in terms of EVF performance on still cameras – sports a mere 133,000 dots. While you might not get ten times the sharpness from the G1's viewfinder compared to a typical EVF-equipped camera, you'll probably feel like you've come pretty darn close. The EVF can be configured to display the same heads-up information overlaid onto the composition image on the main screen (including functions like a live histogram and grid overlay, as well as Quick Menu settings adjustments), and the viewfinder can be used to navigate menus or playback images as well.
Purists will still argue that an EVF, no matter how good, is no replacement for a through-the-lens view, and in some ways they're right. Even with the camera's auto-zoom function providing an enlarged view of the focus area when focusing manually, it's not always easy to confirm focus through the viewfinder – even under near-ideal conditions. A good focusing screen and a bright TTL view are technologies that, in spite of their simplicity, are hard to match digitally. Likewise, lag can be a problem in low light, especially. Even with these criticisms, however, the G1's high-res viewfinder and fast 60 fps image refresh rate prove that while full-time live view solutions may never take hold as a primary technology for high-end system cameras, there's certainly enough capability in this approach to meet the needs of most SLR-buying general consumers.
The G1's viewfinder is surprisingly good for what it is, but the real potential of the G1's full-time live view approach is in the flexibility provided by its screen view. With a full 3.0 inches of area and nearly half a million dots of resolution, the G1's display is well-speced.
Even better than that, the screen – as noted above – can be swiveled and tilted at just about any angle you can dream up. The ability to capture DSLR-quality shots inconspicuously with the camera at waist level makes the G1 a great tool for candid captures in particular, and while I tend to prefer composing shots through a viewfinder, it's easy to get spoiled to being able to easily shoot over your head or down low too.
There's clearly a lot to like about the G1's display, but we found some nits to pick with the screen as well. First, although Panasonic has tightened up the display's swivel mount compared to what we saw in pre-production samples, the screen still feels a bit delicate when rotated out on its pivot. Compositional images were usually bright enough to see outdoors with brightness boosted, but a more glare- and smudge-resistant protective layer atop the panel would be a welcomed addition just the same. And in spite of higher-than-average refresh rates that show off their stuff in the way of excellent smoothness when panning or tracking moving subjects in good light, the LCD trailed worse than most high-end point-and-shoot screens when gained up to deal with low light situations.
Finally, the G1 features an eye sensor that automatically switches the preview image from the screen to the viewfinder (or simply turns off the screen, if you have the LCD set to show status information). If left in auto mode, the sensor can be a little finicky: shadows passing over the sensor, for instance, would sometimes disable the screen inadvertently. A dedicated button above the LCD can be used to toggle between the two display options, however.
Timings and Shutter Lag
Design requirements of the Micro Four Thirds system mean that the G1 doesn't use the kind of auto focus technology (known as phase-detection) typically employed for DSLRs. Instead, the camera employs a contrast-detection system, which uses the primary image sensor and processor to determine focus. While such technology is the norm for point-and-shoots, DSLRs using contrast-detection AF in their live view mode (like Canon's newest Rebel models) have lagged behind – quite literally – the performance seen from point-and-shoots. A good modern compact camera may offer focusing performance in good light that's very close to what DSLRs using phase-detection systems provide, but technological limitations, particularly on the lens side, have made this performance hard to implement in interchangeable-lens cameras.
With all of this in mind, we weren't entirely sure what to expect in terms of basic performance from the G1. Pre-production versions of the camera I'd shot with felt surprisingly responsive for a contrast-detection AF system, but without controlled test results to back up this feeling I wondered if my optimism about the G1 as a whole might be coloring my subjective evaluations of the camera's performance. Having now had a chance to run the G1 through our usual battery of timings tests, I can say with certainty that while our results show some interesting tendencies, overall speed and responsiveness is indeed very competitive. For references purposes, we've put the G1 up against other entry-level DSLRs, and the fact that the camera is competitive in this crowd (if never class leading) is a testament to its solid performance all around.
Shutter Lag (press-to-capture, pre-focused)
|Time (seconds)
|Canon Rebel XS
|Pentax K200D
|Olympus E-420
|Nikon D60
|Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
AF Acquisition (press-to-capture, no pre-focus)
|Time (seconds)
|Canon Rebel XS
|Nikon D60
|Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
|Olympus E-420
|Pentax K200D
While we were pleasantly surprised with the G1's DSLR-like AF numbers in good light, it's also interesting to note the camera's somewhat slow pure shutter lag (the time from press to capture when holding the shutter release button halfway) compared to both DSLRs and even many point-and-shoots. The difference here won't likely lose many shots unless you shoot action exclusively, but the Panasonic may also require just a hair more anticipation when working with fast-moving subjects.
Continuous Shooting
|Olympus E-420
|3.4 fps
|Canon Rebel XS
|3.0 fps
|Nikon D60
|3.0 fps
|Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
|2.9 fps
|Pentax K200D
|2.8 fps
Note: Continuous shooting framerates are based on the camera's fastest full-resolution JPEG continuous shooting mode, using the fastest media type available (300x CF, Class 6 SDHC, etc.). "Frames" notes the number of captures recorded per burst before the camera stops/slows to clear the buffer.
As with its basic performance numbers, the G1 doesn't jump to the head of the class in its continuous shooting speed (and fell just a hair short of its advertised mark in our evaluation). It does offer a respectable 2.9 fps performance, however, and with a Class 6 SDHC, the camera will keep chugging along at this pace seemingly infinitely.
Auto Focus
Numbers above suggest that the G1 is a capable performer on the AF side in good light, and while we did encounter the occasional kind of slip-up more common to point-and-shoot auto focus than DSLR systems (some infinity-and-back focusing movement against subjects with limited contrast, primarily), the G1 didn't struggle to get a quick, consistent lock across the range of its kit lens at least. Low light wasn't always the Lumix's favorite place to be, but with the easy-to-cover AF assist lamp enabled, our worst recorded AF acquisition times with the G1 were around 1.2 seconds in near-total darkness (using only the assist beam to light the subject) at full telephoto.
Unlike Panasonic's point-and-shoots, which tend to feature a panoply of auto focus modes, the G1 keeps things relatively simple. In addition to the aforementioned focus drive options (for continuous focus drive as well as manual focus) found on the top-side dial, the G1's basic area modes include a single center-point setting, an automatic multi-area option, and a user-selected mode that allows you to move the focusing area to any of the system's 23 defined areas via the control pad. Showing some of the camera's point-and-shoot heritage, there's also a face detection system (which, from all indications, works flawlessly), and an implementation of Panasonic's nifty area tracking function. First seen on the company's advanced point-and-shoots, area tracking AF allows you to lock onto a specific object or area in the frame, and the camera will hold focus on that area (provided the camera is moved such that the area/object is no longer in the frame, of course). As on the company's compacts, tracking works acceptably well with moving subjects, but can also get tripped up in low light or when locking on subjects that don't contrast strongly against their backdrop.
In general, one of the nicest things about the G1's AF system is its flexibility. The ability to move the focus point around the screen in single-point/multi-area AF mode is one of the great advantages over most sub-$1000 DSLRs with their limited number of focus points, and you can even scale the size of the focus area up or down. Try doing that with your DSLR. I didn't care, however, for the somewhat confusing process by which you access point adjustment: the G1's four-way controller has to serve many functions, but when shooting in user-selected AF area mode, I'd prefer it if the controller defaulted to moving the point with a button press required to access the controller's usual functions, instead of the other way around.
A simple flip of the appropriate dial sends the G1 into manual focus mode. Like previous Four Thirds format lenses, the G1's kit lens uses a "focus by wire" system to connect its smooth-moving and nicely sized focusing ring to the actual movement of lens elements. I maintain that this system feels a little disconnected, and with the whisper quiet movement of the kit lens's internals, you'll wonder at first if turning the ring is actually doing anything. An on-screen enlargement box zooms in on the center focus area, easing the task of confirming focus either on the LCD or via the EVF. It's no replacement for a bright optical viewfinder and a through-the-lens view, but the G1's exceptional EVF and focus zoom function works well enough to assure sharp focus assuming your depth of field is a bit forgiving.
Lens Mount
As noted, the Lumix G1 is the first Micro Four Thirds camera to hit the market. Basic specs of the MFT mount are similar to its full-size Four Thirds forerunner: while the mount size is physically smaller, the 2x crop factor that applies to other Four Thirds cameras applies here as well, meaning the 14-45mm kit lens shows a field of view equivalent to 28-90mm glass on a full-frame 35mm system.
Overall, we applaud Panasonic for bringing us the first Micro Four Thirds camera. But being the first can also have its drawbacks. In the case of the G1, available lens selection for the camera's open format mount is definitely one of them. At the moment, a grand total of two MFT lenses are available, both from Panasonic: the 14-45mm kit lens used with the G1 for this review, and a Lumix 45-200mm telephoto available as part of the camera's two-lens kit. That's it.
I'll reiterate that we were pleased with the performance of the kit lens for general walk-around shooting (though I repeatedly wished for closer close focusing), and my experience using a pre-production 45-200mm was equally positive. These two lenses should serve the general picture taking needs of step-up shooters admirably. But I also can't help but think that some photographers wanting to do more with their cameras (macro shooting for starters) will find the comparatively huge array of lenses available to Canon and Nikon – and even Pentax and full-size Micro Four Thirds – shooters more appealing than the G1's excellent live view.
With an MFT product from Olympus on the horizon and a couple of exciting new lenses on Panasonic's "roadmap" for 2009, relief may be on the way. In the meantime, Panasonic is also offering an optional adapter that allows full-size Four Thirds lenses from Olympus, Panasonic/Leica, and Sigma to be mounted to the G1. Trouble is, only a handful of them (about ten, according to the most recent updates) provide even limited compatibility at the moment. That list is also likely to grow, but the limitations of the adapter at the moment – plus the bulk that it adds – make it a less attractive option than native Micro Four Thirds glass.
In short, if you're a casual shooter, you should be able to get by with the selection of lenses that Panasonic and Olympus are offering (or will be offering soon). If you have specific lens needs, though, or want the support and flexibility of a big system and want it now, you'll probably be better off going another route at this point.
(As a final aside, the first time you take the lens off of the G1, you may be shocked to see the sensor sitting happily out in the open – not even covered by the shutter when the power's off. It's a disconcerting sight that raised my dust paranoia to new heights while shooting this review. The G1 has a sensor-shaking dust reduction system that will hopefully help keep things clean in there, and although we didn't have any problems that I've noticed with dust on the sensor during our review period, following good lens swap protocols may prove to be a must with this camera given its design.)
In DSLR fashion, the G1 features both a manually deployed pop-up flash and a hot shoe. A guide number of just over 10 meters puts the on-board unit in the same ballpark as most entry-level DSLRs in terms of power, though camera's like Canon's latest Rebel models are sporting 13 meter flash ranges at baseline sensitivity these days. In our limited flash testing, performance of the built-in strobe was unremarkable, but did the job just fine with few exposure concerns. The G1 recharges a full-power flash burst in a quick 3.6 seconds – again, on par with expectations for an entry-level DSLRs.
Like all DSLRs and many advanced compacts, the G1 also features a hot shoe. As in the case of lenses, one disadvantage of buying into a camera system like Panasonic's is the comparative lack of available flashguns: with Canon or Nikon, loads of compatible models makes it easier to find a suitable unit at just about any camera shop – and certainly easier to find one used. If you're just looking for a little additional kick or some on-camera bounce illumination, the G1's hot shoe and compatible flash units can oblige, but for advanced flash control you'll want to look elsewhere. Then again, it's fair to ask how many potential G1 customers will really care or even notice.
Both built-in and hot shoe mounted flashes are controlled by the G1's TTL flash metering system, which provides the expected range of controls (primarily, flash exposure compensation) and mode options (including first- and second-curtain slow sync) for a DSLR.
Image Stabilization
Unlike many of Micro Four Thirds partner Olympus's DSLRs, Panasonic's image stabilization approach is lens based rather than body based. Hence, you'll need an IS lens to get the benefits of stabilization. At present, both of Panasonic's available MFT lenses (thus, including the 14-45mm kit lens) have optical stabilization built in. There are no on-body controls for the system; users can only disable or enable the system in total via the switch on the lens barrel.
Interpreting accurate "real world" battery life numbers for the G1 proved to be more of a challenge than anticipated. Since it's a full-time live view camera, comparisons between the G1 and the entry-level DSLRs it competes against (on which live view is used sparingly and rarely factors into our battery tests) aren't necessarily meaningful.
Panasonic advertises 330 shots per charge with the G1 when using its LCD for composition (and slightly better numbers when using the EVF only). In my nearly two weeks with the camera, I only charged the battery once, and was able to get more than 280 shots fired off over several days, as well as lots of time spent reviewing images and exploring menus, before the camera forced a shut down. With most competitive DSLRs, we'd expect a baseline somewhere in the 500-shot range at least, but comparing the G1 to Canon's G10 advanced compact, which turned in similar numbers, seems more reasonable.
Summing up the G1's overall image quality in a phrase is simple enough: it probably won't surprise anyone to learn that the camera produces images that are on par with (and in some cases, given excellent metering and color reproduction, superior to) what we've seen from other Four Thirds DSLRs.
Noise hinders image cleanliness beyond ISO 800 in the case of the G1, meaning it's not likely to replace anyone's D700 or 5D anytime soon. But if you're looking for more richness and dynamic range than even the best small-sensor compacts provide, the G1 definitely delivers.
Exposure, Processing, and Color
The G1 covers all the metering bases, with multi-segment, center-weighted, and spot metering modes providing the necessary tools for setting exposure depending on your shooting situation and preference. Working primarily in the camera's default multi mode, as most G1 shooters will likely do, I was impressed with how well the metering held together outdoors in particular, requiring little coaxing to hold most of the highlights under all but the most difficult conditions.
If anything, in fact, the camera more consistently underexposes lower-contrast scenes by half a stop or so.
On the exposure side, there's also a multi-step dynamic range control tool (Intelligent Exposure) aboard the G1. In terms of results, the degree to which the function actually expands blocked up shadows is relatively minimal; among functions of this kind, the results from Panasonic's Intelligent Exposure system were closer to Canon's very subtle d-range technology than the aggressive implementations we've seen from Sony and Nikon DSLRs.
I found the overall image look from the G1 pleasing, lacking the strongly processed look more common to point-and-shoots. Depending on what JPEG output settings you're using, you may see a few hard edges due to oversharpening, but as a rule, the G1's baseline processing produces a slightly soft image that takes post-process sharpening well.
Equally, colors with the Lumix are at once vibrant and generally accurate. As with other Panasonic cameras we've looked at, the G1's default settings do have a tendency to oversaturate reds in particular – to the point of channel clipping in vibrant scenes. This proclivity is relatively easy to tone down, though, with the help of Panasonic's system of Film Modes. As with Panasonic's other advanced cameras, the connection to "film" is a bit tenuous: you won't find presets here that invoke the names of classic films like Velvia or Tri-X. What you do get, though, is a fairly comprehensive and well considered suite of JPEG processing presets that you can further tailor to suit your needs; best of all, they're easily accessible via a dedicated button on the camera's top panel.
The complete list of processing presets is long, with six color options (Standard, Dynamic, Nostalgic, Vibrant, Smooth, and Nature), three black-and-white choices (Standard, Dynamic, and Smooth), and a pair of placeholders to store your favorite combinations of settings or tweaks to existing presets. Each setting is built from a combination of five-level saturation, sharpness, and contrast settings, and there's also a dedicated noise reduction slider for each preset option.
The selected handful of presets shown above highlight the wide range of looks that can be achieved even without further fine-tuning of the preset system. The Vibrant option sits at one extreme of the spectrum in terms of saturation and contrast; at the other end, the Nostalgic setting is generally neutral, imparting a hint of warmth while kicking the saturation down several notches.
If you enjoy shooting in-camera monochromes, the G1 also provides a wider range of adjustments than your typical DSLR, with the high-contrast Dynamic B&W setting providing a very different look than the flat, lifeless black-and-whites typical from an in-camera monochrome mode.
Of course, for those who prefer to take complete control of the processing of their images post-shot, the G1 offers raw shooting as well. At the time of this writing, however, the most current version of Adobe's raw converter (Camera Raw 5.1) has yet to provide Photoshop/Lightroom support for the G1's files. Hence, most users will have to either work their raw files through the G1's supplied SilkyPix conversion software or twiddle their thumbs until updates for third-party conversion utilities catch up.
White Balance
Consistent white balance, whether using the auto or preset settings, is a work in progress for the Lumix line, and the G1 shows the putrid brown/tan cast using auto settings under incandescent light that we're used to with the company's point-and-shoots.
Auto White Balance, 3200K incandescent light
While incandescent light is our primary "torture test" for auto white balance systems, we found the G1's system to struggle mightily at times under a range of mixed lighting conditions and fluorescent lights as well. The presets aren't always consistent either, with the tungsten setting failing to completely balance out warm tones in the rest of our studio tests. Panasonic offers a two-axis fine-tuning slider for white balance, and in our experience, it would be a good idea to tweak settings often as lighting changes (or shoot raw and fix later).
Sensitivity and Noise
With a full-size Four Thirds format sensor under the hood, we expected noise levels from the G1 at high ISOs to effectively trounce anything from a small-sensor compact with comparable resolution. With a sensitivity range that extends all the way to ISO 3200, the G1 is also competitive with entry-level DSLRs in terms of low light capabilities on paper at least. The addition of Intelligent ISO and auto sensitivity limit functions from Panasonic's point-and-shoots also makes it easy to shoot with a flexible auto ISO setting up to whatever cap you're comfortable with: the system can be configured to limit the auto sensitivity range to ISO 200 and below, extend it all the way up to ISO 1600, or use any whole-stop sensitivity between these two as the maximum value in one of the auto ISO modes.
With default output options selected, the G1 yields the following results.
ISO 100, 100% crop
ISO 200, 100% crop
ISO 400, 100% crop
ISO 800, 100% crop
ISO 1600, 100% crop
ISO 3200, 100% crop
True to form, the G1 shows practically no discernible noise at its lowest settings, and very little even at ISO 400. ISO 800 isn't perfectly clean, but noise reduction doesn't begin softening up details aggressively until ISO 1600. Splotchiness increases exponentially beyond ISO 800, and ISO 3200 is unquestionably noisy by objective standards – appreciably noisier than what we've come to expect from the current crop of super-clean APS-C sized sensors. At the same time, assuming you stay away from pushed exposures or solid fields of dark color, the camera's default JPEG processing yields a high-sensitivity image that shows mostly fine grain like you'd see from high speed film rather than patches of intrusive color noise.
ISO 3200, 100% crop
With more resolution in the same space, it's hardly surprising that the G1 also isn't quite as clean at high sensitivities as Olympus's 10 megapixel Four Thirds format sensor. We've used a sample crop from the E-520 for comparison here.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, ISO 1600, 100% crop
Olympus E-520, ISO 1600, 100% crop
The Olympus may have a slight edge here, but it also lacks the G1's extra stop of sensitivity with the latter's ISO 3200 setting. Plus, to my eye at least, the E-520 capture appears to be softened up by more aggressive noise reduction than the G1 shows. Turn the E-520's noise filtering down to low and the results are much closer.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, ISO 1600, 100% crop
Olympus E-520, ISO 1600 (low noise filtering), 100% crop
Overall, while it's not going to challenge the best APS-C equipped DSLRs for low light performance, users moving up from compacts will still likely find the G1's much more useful high sensitivity settings a welcomed improvement over a small-sensor point-and-shoot.
Additional Sample Images
Nearly everyone with whom I shared my first impressions of the G1 only wanted to know one thing: "What's the auto focus like?" Having now worked with a production version of the camera, it's safe for me to say it: the G1's AF technology is truly impressive. With specially designed lenses able to get the most out of the Lumix's contrast-detection AF system, the G1 delivers a technologically mature experience in the one area of most concern for most buyers with this system. Not surprising, really, since Panasonic has been hitting good focus speed numbers with its Lumix point-and-shoots for awhile now. Overall, if there was a nagging viability question about around contrast-detection AF in an interchangeable-lens camera before now, the general opinion around here is that it's largely been put to rest with the latest Lumix.
Not everything with the G1 is as sorted as one might like it to be, but most of my concerns (white balance, high-sensitivity noise) can be worked around without too much trouble in the course of normal shooting. Considering its target audience, my primary sticking point with the G1 is two-fold, and has little to do with the performance of the camera itself: given the potential of Micro Four Thirds, but also the "bridge camera" niche the G1 is competing in, I would have hoped for a camera that was both smaller and more cost conscious than what Panasonic delivered. Serious shooters may be turned off by the system's lens and flashgun limitations, and in light of the fact that most of the G1's competition in the entry-level DSLR space is somewhat less expensive, general consumers may find the camera's price tag hard to come to terms with.
I was excited about the Lumix G1 initially, and working with the actual product has done little to dampen this enthusiasm. If you can get past the initial sticker shock, the G1 may just offer the "best of both worlds" when it comes to SLRs and point-and-shoots.
- Excellent AF speed, precision
- Superb, well thought-out live view experience
- Plenty of image processing tools for both novices and advanced shooters
- Rugged body is still smaller than the smallest SLRs
- Excellent screen and viewfinder
- Lots of noise (for a DSLR) beyond ISO 800
- Lens mount limits options at the moment
- White balance system needs work
- Too expensive for its specs and market?
|12.1 megapixel (effective), 17.3×13.0mm Live MOS sensor
|Micro Four Thirds lens mount (full-size Four Thirds mount with optional adapter)
|3.0″, 460K dot TFT LCD with tilt/swivel function; high-resolution electronic viewfinder
|Shutter Speed
|60-1/4000 seconds
|Shooting Modes
|Intelligent Auto, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, Scene, Custom
|Scene Presets
|Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night, Close-Up, Sunset, Party, Baby, Pets
|White Balance Settings
|Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, Flash, White Set, Color Temperature
|Metering Modes
|Intelligent Multiple, Center-Weighted, Spot
|Focus Modes
|Face Detection, Focus Tracking, 23-Area, One-Area
|Drive Modes
|Normal, Continuous, Self Timer
|Flash Modes
|Auto, Auto/Red-Eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-Eye Reduction, Slow Sync, Slow Sync/Red-Eye Reduction, Forced Off
|Self Timer Settings
|10 seconds, 10 seconds (3 shot), 2 seconds, Off
|Memory Formats
|Internal Memory
|Not Specified
|File Formats
|JPEG, raw
|Max. Image Size
|Max. Video Size
|Zoom During Video
|Rechargeable lithium-ion, 330 shots
|USB 2.0, MiniHDMI, DC input
|Additional Features
|Face Detection, Intelligent Auto mode, Venus Engine HD, three body colors, hot shoe, 3 fps continuous shooting, 23-area AF, film modes


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I couldn't be more excited about LOVE! My newest fabric collection for Rowan has me reeling. I've gone over-the-top with prints and color to make a luscious and yet "bite-sized" collection of 26 quilting/fashion weight fabrics and 12 Home Dec weight fabrics. A marriage by design coming from a love affair of rich, soulful, organic florals and architectural prints passionately inspired by my recent trips to Indonesia and England. Rich tropical colors with ethnic imprints, and elegance found in over the top florals like full roses and exploding peony blossoms join together in an optimistic celebration of print and color.
~ Enjoy! XO Amy


text: Taronga Western Plains Zoo has a number of reasons to celebrate Mother's Day this year with an abundance of first time mothers giving birth over the past few months! The most recent mothers to give birth are two Eland females who now both have calves in tow. Whilst the calves are a little shy at the moment and don't venture too far from mum they are definitely cute additions to the herd. Eland are the largest of the antelope species and are native to East and Southern Africa. Both mothers and their calves are doing well. It is great to see all of our mums doing the right things and being so competent in raising their offspring.


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Best definition
the need to get a large handfull or grabing of an item. This term can be used for mostly
anything, and needs to be used in the right context
Dave asked Ryan if he could get a lockness on some of his chips. Dave then follwed up with a hand motion that involved him almost digging into something deep.


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A.J. Pollock homered twice, doubled and drove in four runs as the Arizona Diamondbacks salvaged the final game of their series against Pittsburgh, routing the Pirates 10-2 on Wednesday.
Pollock began the day in an 0-for-14 rut. He also made a diving catch in center field to rob Andrew McCutchen in the first inning.
Wade Miley (2-0) allowed two runs on five hits in 6 2-3 innings.
Jonathan Sanchez (0-2) was charged with nine runs and eight hits in 3 1-3 innings. The last two of those runs came after Sanchez left and reliever Chris Leroux walked two batters, on four pitches each, with the bases loaded in the Diamondbacks' four-run fourth.
Pollock, a long shot to make the opening day roster before spring training injuries to Adam Eaton and Cody Ross, hit a three-run homer in the second and a solo shot leading off the fourth. He had two home runs in his 81 big league at-bats last season.
Pollock, moved up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order by manager Kirk Gibson, doubled down the left-field line with one out in the first, then took off trying to steal third. Sanchez threw wildly to third and Pollock scored. Martin Prado followed with a walk, advanced to third on Paul Goldschmidt's single and scored when Miguel Montero grounded out. Alfredo Marte brought home the inning's third run with a two-out double.
In the second, there was more trouble for Sanchez. Josh Wilson reached on a walk and Gerardo Parra singled before Pollock homered into the left-field seats to make it 6-0.
Miley retired 10 in a row after Starling Marte opened the game with a double. The string ended when McCutchen walked with one out in the fourth. Gaby Sanchez singled and Josh Harrison had an RBI single.
Pollock's second homer made it 7-1. Sanchez walked Goldschmidt and gave up a one-out single to Montero Miguel, and manager Clint Hurdle had seen enough from his left-handed starter.
Leroux came on and promptly walked three straight. Another run scored on Miley's groundout and Arizona led 10-1 through four innings.
NOTES: Arizona 2B Aaron Hill got a day off after being hit in the left hand by a pitch on Tuesday night. X-rays were negative and he hopes to return on Friday night. ... The Pirates, 2-4 on their road trip, return home to open a weekend series against Cincinnati on Friday. Arizona has Thursday off, then begins a three-game home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. ... Marte had a hit to lead off all three games against Arizona. ... Pollock was 3 for 17 (.176) entering the game and hadn't gotten a hit since opening day.


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Learn More About Us
OnTrack Sport Center is a 26,000 sq.ft. indoor sport facility located adjacent to the Tarrytown train station with batting cages, two futsal regulation turf fields for team training, sports instruction, recreation and competitive programs for both youth and adults.
OnTrack's field house opened in January 2007 featuring professional grade synthetic turf – offering athletes of all ages access to various training and competitive programs across multiple sports. Soccer, Lacrosse, Football, Baseball, Field Hockey… the list goes on.
Due to its superior location within Westchester County and easy access to New York City via MTA rail, OnTrack Sport Center has been selected by the NY Red Bulls (MLS – Major League Soccer) to host their Regional Development School. This program provides local youth access to exceptional coaching and an opportunity to advance to soccer's highest levels.
The baseball center opened in January 2008 offering pitched-ball batting cages as well as a soft-toss area. Call or check online for after school programs and/or private or group instruction.
Besides offering sports training and competition for the serious (and not so serious) athlete, OnTrack also specializes in customized birthday parties. Younger children might prefer an unstructured party – and parents may opt to rent one or more of OnTrack's air castles for the children to jump and play. Older children might prefer to hire one of OnTrack's popular coaches to run sport games or relay races.


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You know, I've been meaning to get more dedicated about exploring Facebook. With these travel applications, you may just have given me the final inspiration. Thanks, David.
Facebook For Budget Travelers
For the frequent traveler, Facebook is an excellent way to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances from around the world. Is it possible, however, that the popular social network could help budget-minded travelers save time and money when looking for cheap accommodation and transportation?
These applications could help you do just that.
Find a Couch
Of course, the best way to find a free place to stay through Facebook is to mine your pool of friends. If you don't have a connection in a particular area there are many services that connect you with generous strangers. Two applications, CouchSurf and CouchSurfing, allow you to search for and book available couches through Facebook. The advantage to this over separate, dedicated, sites like CouchSurfing.com is that you will be able to use your host's Facebook profile and network of friends as an indication of his or her disposition, interests, and so on. If you are comfortable with the Facebook platform, it could save you the trouble of becoming established on a more specific site.
Reserve a Hostel
Before couch surfing, the accommodation option of choice for budget travelers was the hostel. Scary movies aside, hostels are still great places to stay if you are on a budget, especially if you are interested in meeting like-minded travelers. Two different Facebook applications, confusingly called Hostels and Hostel, help you find hostels in your destination, evaluate your options with user reviews, book rooms, and coordinate plans with your friends. If you like booking hostels on the internet, and many travelers do, these applications help streamline the process.
Find a Ride
Once accommodation is squared away, the next concern for most travelers is transportation. There are a number of applications that help you search for airfares to visit your friends, but I don't think they are particularly useful or concerned with budget travel. More useful, in my opinion, are applications that allow you to find or offer a ride throughcarshare networks. Both Carpool, an extension of the popular Zimride, and Share My Ride can help secure cheap rides most places in the United States.
Send a Postcard
As you may know, I am a huge fan of postcards. There are many applications, including Kiwee postcards and Photo Wall, that allow you to send "postcards" to your friends for free. If you are on such a tight budget that the cost of postage is a concern, this could be a solution. However, it seems that almost all of the romance of sending a card through the mail is lost on these digital interpretations. The solution may be Hippopost, which sends a printed postcard via snail mail from your Facebook account.
Find a Travel Partner
Traveling with a friend, someone with whom you can share the excitement and hardships, can enrich any trip. Having a second person who can help split costs can also significantly reduce the cost of your trip. One application,appropriately called Trips, helps you find people interested in joining you on your next adventure. It also helps you plan, document, and share your trip. With its focus on sharing something that is important to you, Trips is likely the most social of the applications discussed here.
Facebook is one of the most popular social networks not only because of its simple interface and massive pool of users, but because of its functionality as a platform for accomplishing common tasks socially. When preparing for your next trip, trying using this platform to help save you time and money.
Let us know how it works out in the comments.
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
My whole purpose in life to to live large, my definition of large that is. I need to heed all the tips I can for now on living large on my current small budget, but the goals is to live large on an even bigger budget. Until then keep it coming, I need it. Thanks
Yeah Myscha,
I think that Facebook can be a useful tool for managing connections and your online life if you put in the time to figure out how it can best suit your needs. Really, it is what you make of it.
To emdoozie: glad I could help a bit. I know that when you are trying to save up for a trip, or anything, every little tip and trick can help out.
For a online postcard service that allows you to send your own photos as postcards ANYWHERE in the world for a fixed price check out SendIt4.me. There is also a facebook version available


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Yoko Ono has issues, deep issues, she broke up the Beatles, and now, she is bringing her complete lack of talent to fashion.
The Lonely Conservative is amazed that anyone would design crap like this. I am amazed that anyone would buy such garbage. I mean these outfits make sweater vests look manly. Of course, I imagine Andrew Sullivan might think these pants are cool
Oh my gosh, this is horrible. Look at these clothes Yoko Ono has designed for men.
Those pants cost $335.00 and that thing on the right is called a "bell board," whatever that is.


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Message Board
Ruth Miriam-Garnett Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Miriam-Garnett has written!
Author Miriam-Garnett's Book Reviews
Atria, Jan 2004, 22.00, 224 pp. ISBN: 0743466306 In Peoria, the three fifty something Cates sisters are in matrimonial crisis as they share the same home with one another and their respective spouses. It is not the relationships between the siblings that have tired Rebecca, Claudia, and Gracelyn. It is the constant duty caring for their husbands as each Cates sibling is bone weary with obeying for worse all the time. Sadly, the tired trio lo...


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The entire tech world is currently focused on the upcoming IFA 2013 event, and even more so, the pre-IFA launch events by Samsung and Sony, that will see the official introductions of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the Galaxy Gear smartwatch, and the Sony Xperia Z1. With a slew of amazing devices on its way, August 2013 has been a relatively quiet month in most markets around the world.
I say relatively, because in India, we still had three major smartphone, and two major tablet, launches in the last month. Along with a host of special buyback schemes, network carrier news, Android app updates, and the current market share numbers in India, we have a lot to talk about. Let's get started!
Smartphone News
iBall Andi 5h Quadro launched for Rs 10,999
The month began with the announcement of yet another smartphone joining the iBall Andi series, with the latest offering, the Andi 5h Quadro, certainly being one of the most impressive of the lot, featuring some great specs at a more than decent price. Here's a quick look at the specifications of the iBall Andi 5h Quadro –
- 5-inch IPS display with 960×540 resolution
- 1.2Ghz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor
- 4GB internal storage (Approx. 2GB available to user), expandable via microSD up to 32GB
- 12MP rear camera with dual LED flash, 2MP front camera
- 2,200 mAh battery
- Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
While these specifications are increasingly becoming standard fare from Indian manufacturers, one of the selling points of the iBall Andi 5h Quadro is its price, available for only Rs 10,999 from online retailer Flipkart and Snapdeal. That being said, the official iBall page shows an MRP of Rs 15,999, so online stores are offering the device at a significantly lower price.
Xolo Q1000S now available for Rs 18,999
Xolo is known for releasing smartphones that not only compete against releases from other local manufacturers, but also hopes to take on similar devices from international OEMs as well. The company seems to have done that again with the Xolo Q1000S, which, on paper, is quite an amazing device. First, let's take a look at the specifications at the latest smartphone from Xolo –
- 5-inch IPS display with 1280×720 resolution, using OGS (One Glass Solution) technology
- 1.5 Ghz quad-core Mediatek processor
- 16GB internal storage
- 13MP rear camera with BSI 2 sensor, 5MP front camera
- 2,500 mAh battery
- Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Xolo manages to pack some great internal hardware, including an impressive camera and a large battery into a sleek and stylish body which is only 6.98mm thick. The 13 MP Camera is capable of recording 1080p videos and can capture clear images even when the camera is shaking using image stabilization technology, and includes other features features such as scene detection and tuning, high dynamic range (HDR), low light enhancement, face recognition, panorama capture, geo tagging, and a burst mode.
As you can see, the Xolo Q1000S is an amazing device at its price point of Rs 18,999. You can find out more about the device here, and even pick it up from online retailers Flipkart here.
Micromax releases Canvas Doodle 2, a 5.7-inch stylus-toting smartphone
Xolo isn't the only company that is looking to take own popular international device manufacturers, with Micromax gunning for the Samsung Galaxy Mega series with its latest offering, the Micromax Canvas Doodle 2. Here's a quick look at the specifications of the device –
- 5.7-inch IPS display with 1280×720 resolution
- 1.2Ghz quad-core processor
- 16GB internal storage (12.6GB user-available)
- 12MP rear camera with dual LED flash, 5MP front camera
- 2,600 mAh battery
- dual-SIM support
- Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Micromax has also upped its game as far as design aesthetics are concerned, with the Canvas Doodle 2 featuring a full aluminium body, except for a small plastic cover for the dual SIM slots. Unfortunately, this new design also means that the battery is non-removable, and for the first time, a Micromax smartphone doesn't feature expandable memory. Of course, the device does feature a stylus that pairs perfectly with the pre-installed M! Doodle app, and also included in the box is a flip cover, which can also be used as a kickstand.
The Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 is currently available for Rs 18,900 from Flipkart, and Rs 19,200 from Snapdeal, which is priced perfectly to take on the more expensive Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8, which also features comparatively inferior specifications.
Dual-SIM HTC One now available in India
After releasing in China, the Dual-SIM version of the HTC One has now popped up in India as well, which is a good move on the part of the company, considering how popular the availability of a dual-SIM feature is in the country. The dual-SIM version also features expandable memory, which is also a big plus. Unfortunately, due to current foreign exchange rates, this version of the smartphone is significantly more expensive than the single-SIM version, which is currently available for Rs 40,622. The Dual-SIM HTC One is available from online retailers Flipkart for Rs 46,257.
Apart from the Dual-SIM feature and the inclusion of microSD expansion, all other specifications of the device remain unchanged, which include a 4.7-inch display with 1080p resolution, 1.7Ghz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, 4MP "Ultrapixel" camera, 2.1MP front camera, 2,300 mAh battery, and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on-board.
To see if the HTC One is the right device for you, don't forget to check out our detailed review of the (Single-SIM version) smartphone here –
Buyback schemes roundup
HTC is offering a buyback scheme on its Desire series of phones, with a larger focus on the affordable HTC Desire X and Desire U. Under this offer, exchanging your old phone will get you up to Rs 2,500 off on either of the devices. This buyback offer effectively brings down the price of the HTC Desire X from Rs 16,790 to Rs 14,280, from Rs 14,390 to Rs 11,890 for the Desire U.
Sony has also introduced a buyback scheme for its current flagships, the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. Once again, exchanging your old smartphone will get you a minimum rebate of Rs 5,000, bringing down the price of the devices to Rs 33,790 (Xperia Z) and Rs 30,690 (Xperia ZL). Any new purchases will also include for free a case for the Xperia Z worth Rs 1,990, and a snap-on cover for the Xperia ZL worth Rs 1,490.
Finally, LG has also jumped on the buyback scheme bandwagon, by offering up to Rs 7,000 off on the LG Optimus G Pro, in exchange for your old smartphone. This offer will bring down the price of the Optimus G Pro to Rs 32,999.
Xolo announces software updates for the X1000, A800, and X900
Xolo has announced software updates for a few of its older smartphones, including the A800, X900, and X1000. The X1000, which boasts a 2Ghz Intel processor, was released back in March with Android 4.0 ICS on-board. The company promised an upgrade to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is finally available for the device now. The 208MB upgrade, which will be available OTA, introduces a host of performance improvements. Along with the X1000, the Xolo A800 will also receive an upgrade to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
Another older Intel-powered smartphone, the Xolo X900, which was still running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, will finally receive an upgrade to Android 4.0 ICS. In this case, the update will be available via USB, that is, by plugging your device in to your PC.
The Xolo Q600 and Q700, which had released with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on-board, have also received minor software updates for performance enhancements.
(Continue to Page 2 for the latest tablet and Android app releases in the last month)