shots

Sony has three compact megazooms in its 2011 lineup; the Cyber-shot HX9V is the most expensive. It's also the only one of the three (the H70 and HX7V are the others) that's not replacing a 2010 model. It's entirely new and hosts what seems like all of Sony's latest Cyber-shot technologies. That includes (for better or worse) a 16-megapixel Exmor R sensor, a 16x ultrawide-angle 24mm-equivalent Sony G lens, and a high-speed linear-focusing system. It shoots video in full HD at 60p. It has a GPS receiver for geotagging photos while you shoot. Shooting modes go … Read more

Getting those Google Maps directions you're viewing on your PC onto your smartphone might soon be as easy as pointing the phone at the screen.

Tsung-Hsiang Chang, a graduate student at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and Yang Li, a Google employee, have developed a system that makes it much easier to transfer certain Web-based computing tasks between devices. To do this, one simply takes a photo of the computer screen that's showing the task. The phone then automatically opens up the corresponding application on the mobile device--at the corresponding stage of the task.

The same process can also work in reverse, moving data from the phone to a computer.

The system, called DeepShot, relies on the fact that many Web applications use a standard format, called the uniform resource identifier (URI), to describe their current states. A typical example of this is the link provided by Google Maps that transfers the exact current location or driving directions to another browser on another computer.

This link consists of a long string of symbols that contain URI-related information such as the addresses of the starting and ending points and codes that indicate their geographical coordinates and the approximate size of the map window. Though URIs are a common feature of many Web applications, the data contained in a URI can vary greatly and is sometimes harder to extract than in the case of Google Maps.… Read more

Boston Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara probably has enough to worry about during the Stanley Cup finals against the Vancouver Canucks to care that his fastest slapshot record can be broken by a robot.

The SlapShot XT can apparently beat Chara's world record of 105.9 mph. Developed by Hockey Robotics, a spinoff of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, the two-armed robot can repeatedly send pucks flying through the air at 110 mph.

The start-up developed the puck smasher as a method of testing the strength of hockey sticks. Since the introduction of composite sticks some years ago, broken sticks have been a problem in NHL and amateur games alike.

Golf club makers have used similar robots to test their product, but the XT is more complex because it uses two arms to wield a stick. It uses a gear, sprocket, and belt system to whack pucks into the net (see the vid below). … Read more

Canon all but abandoned optical viewfinders on its PowerShot cameras; the high-end G12 was the only one. That changed at CES 2011, though, with the announcement of the Canon PowerShot A1200, an entry-level point-and-shoot with a real-image zoom viewfinder.

Along with the viewfinder, this budget-friendly 12-megapixel compact is powered by AA-size batteries, has a large selection of shooting options, uses an f2.8 28mm-equivalent wide-angle lens with a 4x zoom, and captures 720p HD-resolution movie clips. About the only thing missing is optical image stabilization, but you can counteract hand shake by using the viewfinder.

Like most cameras in its … Read more

Screenshots are a great way to capture anything of interest on your computer, whether it's an error message that you need to send to tech support or a funny message-board comment. LightShot for Firefox is an easy-to-use browser extension that lets users take, edit, and upload screenshots. This versatile add-on could quickly become indispensable for users who have a frequent need to take screen captures.

LightShot installs easily and then appears as a small feather icon to the right of Firefox's address bar. Click the icon and the screen dims, letting you know that LightShot has been activated. … Read more

You know they do things differently in Arizona.

They like to be forward-thinking, proactive, and pure in their motivations.

So who could not be impressed with Sheriff Joe Arpaio who has decided to add a new, public-spirited, and entertaining element to Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Web site?

Arpaio, whose county covers Phoenix and a number of suburbs, decided it would be amusing to have anyone who visits the site and eyeballs the gallery of mug shots to choose a "Mug Shot of the Day."

In a nation in which "Dancing with the Stars" and "… Read more

The Department of Energy announced a $27 million research program to slash the cost of solar power by 75 percent in 10 years, making utility-scale solar the same or cheaper as fossil fuel-generated electricity.

Energy Secretary today detailed the SunShot initiative, choosing SunPower co-founder and solar industry pioneer Richard Swanson to speak with him during a conference call. Silicon Valley-based SunPower received DOE research funding dollars early in the company's development and now makes the highest efficiency solar panels.

SunShot seeks to bring down solar costs to $1 per watt installed, by focusing on advances in materials and manufacturing … Read more

One of my favorite features in Apple's iOS is the quietly-hidden capability to take screenshots. Back when I was doing deep dives on iPhone apps for stories, the feature was just there, and it worked. Outside of CNET, it let me do things like grab pictures from sites (before that feature was officially added), and put together quick step-by-step how-to guides for friends and family, turning the device into less of a consumptive tool, and into something that would help me get work done without a computer.

But in the past few months of me putting Microsoft's Windows … Read more

There have been rumors of two Sony Cyber-shot models, the HX9V and HX100V, to be announced in February, but so far there has been no concrete proof. Until now.

Photo equipment retailer B&H leaked on its online store these two point-and-shoots, complete with specifications and pictures of one shooter.

The Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V, according to the Web site, employs a 16-megapixel Exmor R CMOS image sensor, a 16x optical zoom lens that extends from 24mm to 384mm, a 3-inch LCD, full-HD video recording, 3D Sweep Panorama, and optical image stabilizer. The top view of the snapper indicates that this camera will have manual exposure control and stereo audio capture. It has a pop-up flash, too.

There weren't any pictures of the HX100V, though its specifications were clearly listed on B&H's site (as we expected, B&H has removed the listings). It also has a 16-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor, and the zoom range is 30x (27mm to 810mm). The remaining features, such as LCD size and video capture, are similar to the HX9V. … Read more