So you’ve already dropped somewhere in the neighborhood of $6,000 on a Leica M8, but now you’ve got the itch to take it with you the next time you go diving. Now obviously the camera would barely survive a plunge in a shallow puddle, but if you’re willing to spend another ~$6,700(£4,393.47) you’ll be able to take it to depths of up to 150 feet with the Epoque UHR-LM8 underwater housing, while still being able to use the majority of the camera’s functions.
The housing is made of aluminum keeping it lightweight yet durable, and the glass components are all uncoated to provide as minimal light interference for the camera’s optics while it’s sealed up inside. Now I’m sure the whole setup will result in some great shots, but if you’re seriously interested in underwater photography I think that $12,000+ investment could be better spent elsewhere.
If you’re still relying on the kit lens that came with your DSLR I’m not going to say this is the perfect first lens for you, but if you’ve got the cash, or a reasonably priced rental house nearby, I guarantee you’ll have an enjoyable afternoon playing with Nikon’s new AF-S Nikkor 200-400mm ƒ4G ED VR II telephoto zoom lens. By ‘new’ I of course mean the lens is the successor to Nikon’s AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED lens, but the inclusion of Nikon’s VR II image stabilization system now allows handheld shooting at up to “4 shutter speeds slower” with sharper results. In addition to a host of other improvements.
You also get a maximum aperture of ƒ4 across the board, the ability to manually focus on objects as close as 6.4 feet away and a new rounded 9-blade diaphragm which more naturally renders out-of-focus areas. And of course a price tag that’s just a nickel shy of $7,000.
If you’ve been trying to find a way to convey your feelings towards a gadget-loving significant other, but those feelings don’t necessarily equate to the cost of a brand new iPhone, this collection of iPhone app icon chocolates is a happy medium. The 20-piece box set includes 4 different flavors, and the artwork on each icon isn’t a wrapper, but is actually printed in edible ink directly onto the chocolates. Each box will set you back $46.44, but that’s without a contract so it’s quite literally a lot easier to swallow than buying the real thing.
How long has it been since you’ve purchased a floppy disk? I think I recall getting a 10-pack of them on clearance five or six years ago. The last thing I can recall using one for was to install a RAID driver which for some reason could only be installed via floppy. I’m guessing that most of you haven’t used such storage solutions in a very long time either. Needless to say, it will come as no surprise to hear that Sony has announced their discontinuation of the disks.
Starting March 2011, Sony will no longer manufacture floppy disks. Strangely enough, they stopped making the drives last year. If you’re feeling nostalgic, you still have almost an entire year to get your hands on these relics. Of course, I’m not sure why you’d want to remember one of the most unreliable storage mediums of the last 30 years. Farewell floppy disks, you will not be missed.
Brilliant! The only thing worse than a rainy day is having to carry around a wet umbrella when you get inside. I usually carry a plastic bag so I can stash it in my messenger bag, but that leaves you with a wet plastic bag to deal with as well. The problem appears to be a minor issue in Japan though, where you can find these clever umbrella bag dispensers.
The dispensers can accommodate tall or compact umbrellas, and when you get inside you simply collapse and insert your wet umbrella where it will be encased in a waterproof bag via a set of old-fashioned springs and levers. No electricity needed. And so you don’t have to deal with removing a soggy bag when it’s time to head back out into the deluge, the machines take care of that for you as well. Check out the following video to see one of them in action.
With a price tag of about $1,800 plus the cost of replacement bags it might not be an economical solution for every company, but the worry of someone getting hurt and litigious after slipping on a wet floor might just make it a worthy investment.
The Wii ‘homebrew’ scene has evolved over the years to the point where you don’t need a steady hand and a soldering iron to ‘enhance’ the console’s capabilities anymore. But while the WODE (Wii Optical Drive Emulator) Jukebox doesn’t require you to know how to solder, there is some assembly required, including opening up your Wii and swapping around some ribbon cables. The WODE Jukebox connects between the Wii and its internal DVD hardware, and ends up functioning like a virtual drive, allowing you to mount ISO files which the Wii will think are actual game discs. So while there are some hardware modifications needed, you aren’t doing anything to your Wii that can’t be reversed.
The WODE Jukebox features a USB port allowing you to connect flash drives or an external hard drive loaded with homebrew software, as well as an SD card slot providing the same functionality. But it can also operate in a ‘Flat WODE’ mode allowing you to load software burned to DVDs like with other modification chips. A monochrome LCD display and a tiny joystick on the front of the Jukebox allows you to choose what titles you’d like to load, though if the prospect of having to get up to change applications isn’t that appealing to you, a special version of the WODE firmware lets you use an on-screen menu with the Gamecube controller instead.
If you’re seriously interested in the device, and aren’t scared off at the prospect of cracking open your Wii, or the $95.46 price tag, GBAtemp has an extremely thorough review on the device, including installation procedures and compatibility tests.
