DPReview: The Sigma DP2 Merrill sports a simple design, which I like. The specs include a 15.4 megapixel Foveon X3 APS-C CMOS image sensor with 30mm f2.8 lens. The only area where it falls short is video capture: 640×480 at 30fps.
EU competition chief Joaquin Almunia:
When monopolies and tight oligopolies are allowed to occupy a market, they tend to resist change and often end up caring only about the preservation of their business models. Owners of such standards essential patents are conferred a power on the market that they cannot be allowed to misuse. I am determined to use antitrust enforcement to prevent the misuse of patent rights to the detriment of a vigorous and accessible market. I have initiated investigations on this issue in several sectors and we will see the results in due time.
Samsung is being investigated.
If we can pause, we create space. Space to breathe, to think, to be without acting.
The pause is the answer to so many of our problems. Such a small thing, and so powerful.
Ji-yoon Lee, The Korea Herald:
KT Corp., the nation’s largest fixed-line operator, said Thursday that it would limit the Internet access of smart TVs from Friday, urging TV makers like Samsung and LG to pay the costs for network use.
Samsung, obviously, doesn’t like this:
KT’s decision goes against the principle of network neutrality, under which consumers can use services without discrimination. Moreover, we need to verify whether smart TVs actually cause excessive data traffic.
This is odd. Internet connectivity is fast and affordable in South Korea. For instance, my parents in Seoul pay roughly US$20 per month for a 100mbps pipe. I doubt smart TVs will put much of a dent into that kind of bandwidth.
Apple’s pre-event weeks are often spent soliciting demonstrations from many app developers and preparing demonstrations of those apps for the live event. Our sources tell us that this selection process is continuing at an increased rate as Apple looks to finalize the lineup for the iPad 3. There is also emphasis on graphics-oriented applications with high-definition assets, which appears to be in line with the new iPad featuring a ‘Retina’ display.
The pace of iPad 3 rumors are accelerating. John Paczkowski:
Sources say the company has chosen the first week in March to debut the successor to the iPad 2, and will do so at one of its trademark special events. The event will be held in San Francisco, presumably at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Apple’s preferred location for big announcements like these.
Probably true.
DPReview: The Sigma DP2 Merrill sports a simple design, which I like. The specs include a 15.4 megapixel Foveon X3 APS-C CMOS image sensor with 30mm f2.8 lens. The only area where it falls short is video capture: 640×480 at 30fps.
Though less than 5 percent of TV households, homes with broadband Internet and free, broadcast TV are on the rise—growing 22.8 percent over last year. These households are also found to exhibit interesting video behaviors: they stream video twice as much as the general population and watch half as much TV.
I wonder what percentage of households don’t have any connection to broadcast TV, free or paid. That’s our home. Although I enjoy a show or two on Hulu I’ve recently noticed there seems to be quite a bit more commercial breaks than before. I hate stupid commercials and to get completely away from them the only way is to buy TV shows. But if they’re expensive I’ll be forced to give up on TV shows altogether; that might be a very good thing.
via Tina Roth Eisenberg. Kate Bingaman Burt:
From my experience, you can’t wait around to find what you love. You gotta work your ass off. And then you find what you love by doing piles and piles of work.
Finally she came across a floral symbol that was used in Sweden to indicate an interesting feature or attraction in a campground. She rendered a 16 x 16 bitmap of the little symbol and showed it to the rest of the team, and everybody liked it. Twenty years later, even in OS X, the Macintosh still has a little bit of a Swedish campground in it.
Unfortunately, the other thing you’re still looking at is the RAZR’s miserable 4.3-inch PenTile qHD display. [...] Text looks jaggy, whites shift to blue when viewed off-axis, and the whole thing generally feels like the concession to thinness that it is. I’m not a huge fan of the 720p Super AMOLED PenTile display on the Galaxy Nexus either, but it’s head and shoulders above the RAZR and RAZR Maxx. Motorola would have been far better off using the extra thickness of the Maxx to accommodate a better display — yes, the Maxx’s battery will run all day, but you’re not going to want to look at the screen for nearly that long.
The display sucks, but what’s surprising is a LTE smartphone running all day. You know what that means. Dan Frommer:
I think it’s safe to say we’ll see the first LTE iPhones this year.
Sad. Kodak’s Steve Sasson invented the first digital camera in December 1975.
Eastman Kodak Company announced today that, as a result of its ongoing strategic review process and commitment to drive sustainable profitability through its most valuable business lines, it plans to phase out its dedicated capture devices business – comprising digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames – in the first half of 2012.
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