Why Not

July 15, 2009

Canon Vixia HFS100 Camcorder Raw AVCHD Sample

Canon Vixia HFS100 – Retail Price $1099.99
Canon Vixia HFS100 is priced as low as $969.00 at Amazon.com (July 15th, 2009).
Canon Vixia HFS100 is priced as low as $869.00 at Buy.com (July 15th, 2009).

Check out the sample video from Canon Vixia HFS100 below.

ISO of the raw AVCHD files is also available here.

Canon Vixia HFS100 features:

1920×1080 HD video recording
24p and 30p recording mode
10x Optical Zoom with O.I.S.
1/2.6″ 8.59 Megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor
24Mbps Recording

Canon Vixia HFS100 is pretty much the same camcorder with Canon Vixia HFS10. Canon Vixia HFS10 records to SDHC card and the bbuilt-in 32GB Flash Memory Canon Vixia HFS100 records only to SDHC card. If you’re looking to buy Canon Vixia HFS100 and want to check out the recording quality, download the raw AVCHD files from Canon Vixia HFS100. The 1/2.6″ CMOS Image sensor makes both Canon Vixia HFS10 and Canon Vixia HFS100 stand out among their competitions. Sony HDR-XR520V has a 1/2.88″ CMOS sensor.

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Disclaimer:

If you bought anything through Amazon link above, and I get some kickbacks.

“If you buy Canon Vixia HFS100, I can buy this Canon Vixia HV40 HDV Camcorder or the Canon Vixia HFS100” to paraphrase the great Robert Schimmel.

July 15, 2009

Apple Releases iTunes 8.2.1

iTunes Icon

Apple releases iTunes 8.2.1 today.

iTunes 8.2 now supports iPhone or iPod touch with the iPhone 3.0 Software Update. iTunes 8.2 also includes many accessibility improvements and bug fixes.

iTunes 8.2.1 provides a number of important bug fixes and addresses an issue with verification of Apple devices.

iTunes 8.2.1 is available for Mac OS X 10.4.11, 10.5.7, 10.6 and Windows XP/Vista.

Of course a lot of people are speculating and reporting that iTunes 8.2.1 breaks Palm Pre syncing.

July 15, 2009

Panasonic HDC-HS20 Camcorder Raw AVCHD Sample

Panasonic HDC-HS20 – Retail Price $749.95
Panasonic HDC-HS20 is priced as low as $609.95 at Amazon.com (July 15th, 2009).
Panasonic HDC-HS20 is priced as low as $618.06 at Buy.com (July 14th, 2009).

Check out the sample video from Panasonic HDC-HS20 below.

ISO of the raw AVCHD files is also available here.

Panasonic HDC-HS20 features:

1920×1080 HD video recording
80GB HDD & SD Card Hybrid
16x Optical Zoom with O.I.S.
LEICA DICOMAR Lens
iA Mode with AF Tracking & Touch Screen

I do not like Hard Drive based camcorders for personal reasons. The Hard Drive capacity is getting bigger and bigger; I am having hard time archiving the raw AVCHD files. Panasonic HDC-HS20 also uses SDHC card as recording media. I’d get Panasonic HDC-SD20 instead of Panasonic HDC-HS20, but that’s just me. Having to own and use numbers of Panasonic and Canon AVCHD Camcorders, I’d now go with Canon Vixia HV40 HDV and Canon Vixia HFS100. The 1/6-inch MOS image sensor is a bit small to produce crisp and vibrant video. Compared to Canon Vixia HFS100 and Sony HDR-XR520V, Panasonic HDC-HS20 is way outclassed. But considering the price, it is a much better choice for those who are looking for an HD camcorder at a lower price.

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Disclaimer:

If you bought anything through Amazon link above, and I get some kickbacks.

“If you buy Panasonic HDC-HS20, I can buy this Canon Vixia HV40 HDV Camcorder” to paraphrase the great Robert Schimmel.

July 14, 2009

Apple Seeds Snow Leopard Developer Preview Build 10A411

Tuesday July 14th, 2009 afternoon; Apple seeds Mac OS X Snow Leopard Developer Preview Build 10A411. The update is available through Software Update and weighs in on 748.1MB.

As usual, Apple Developer Connection members are bound by the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

From Software Update:

This Snow Leopard Developer Preview Update is recommended for all users running the Snow Leopard Developer Preview Build 10A402 or later. This update includes general operating system fixes for stability, compatibility, and security.

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Developer Preview is not recommended for casual users and production system since it still contains numbers of software bugs.

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This Snow Leopard Developer Preview Update is recommended for all users running the Snow Leopard Developer Preview Build 10A402 or later. This update includes general operating system fixes for stability, compatibility, and security.

Build 10A411 also includes Safari 4.0.3 to Snow Leopard.

Safari-4.0.3-build-6531.4-Snow-Leopard

July 14, 2009

Apple Seeds iPhone OS 3.1 beta 2 build 7C106c.

Apple Seeds iPhone OS 3.1 beta 2 build 7C106c and iPhone SDK 3.1 beta 2 build 9M2804
Build date: July 13th, 2009

icon_ipsw

There are some API changes, but there is nothing major yet. For those who doesn’t do any development on the iPhone OS should have no reasons looking for the disk image. There are no visible major changes.

Changes are found in camera and the video editor.

Please do not install this beta software unless you want to deal with the bugs. Plus the beta software will expire at a certain date and your iPhone will be rendered useless until you update to the newer software builds. As usual, Apple Developer NDA is in effect.

iPhone1,1_3.1_7C106c_Restore.ipsw
iPhone1,2_3.1_7C106c_Restore.ipsw
iPhone2,1_3.1_7C106c_Restore.ipsw
iPod1,1_3.1_7C106c_Restore.ipsw
iPod1,2_3.1_7C106c_Restore.ipsw

July 14, 2009

Sony HDR-XR520V Camcorder Raw AVCHD Sample

Sony HDR-XR520V – Retail Price $1,499.99
Sony HDR-XR520V is priced as low as $1,240.99 at Amazon.com (July 14th, 2009).
Sony HDR-XR520V is priced as low as $1,248.00 at Buy.com (July 14th, 2009).

Check out the sample video from Sony HDR-XR520V below.

ISO of the raw AVCHD files is also available here.

Sony HDR-XR520V features:

1920×1080 HD video recording
12.1 MP still image capture
240GB hard disk drive
1/2.88″ Exmor R CMOS sensor
Geotagging support with built-in GPS receiver

One of the first consumer grade High-Definition AVCHD camcorders with GPS receiver that I have ever played with. Another feature I really like about Sony camcorders is the NightShot capability which is practically absent from other brands. Sony HDR-XR520V is also capable to record up to 240 fps.

Smooth Slow Record:

The Smooth Slow Record mode increases the record rate from 60 frames per second (fps) to 240 fps, allowing you to capture 3 seconds of fast motion and play the video back in 12 seconds. This is a great tool for analyzing a golf swing or a viewing a bird in flight. In addition, you record an audio track to narrate the video footage.

I only have a short time to play with this camcorder, I found the on-screen menu is a little bit less intuitive. Overall I like this camcorder, the sticker price is a little bit high.

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Disclaimer:

If you bought anything through Amazon link above, and I get some kickbacks.

“If you buy Stargate Atlantis: The Complete Fifth Season, I can buy this Canon Vixia HV40 HDV Camcorder” to paraphrase the great Robert Schimmel.

July 13, 2009

Bing: Microsoft is Cheating.

It is a surprise, not! Microsoft claims that Bing is on the rise and people are using it more as CNET reported. Some technology pundits also reported that Bing has been gaining marketshare shortly after its official launch. Let’s take a look at the Microsoft’s claims closer.

Bing automatically replaces Live search in Internet Explorer.
Bing is the default search engine in Hotmail interface.
Bing is the search engine in Microsoft’s own website.

When I’m looking for Knowledge Base article using Microsoft.com search, I’m actually using Bing.

When I’m searching for something in Microsoft Download page, I’m actually using Bing.

Well done Microsoft, old habits die hard.