This site is best viewed using Mozilla Firefox browser.

X

Consumer Products

Bill Emmerling

2012-11-19 11:55:49

Q- With Christmas coming, what new tech gadgets are coming that I could get my gadget happy hubby?

A- Probably the most interesting item I have seen this year is the ‘Lytro camera’ found at https://www.lytro.com/ . This camera is deceiving in appearance, appearing as a simple rectangular cube, yet holding a real change in consumer camera technology. The marvel of this camera is that after the picture is taken, the viewer can change the focus of the picture. The Lytro uses light-field technology to record the image, and when viewed, uses special software to allow you to change to the point of focus of the photograph. People and objects which appear fuzzy in the background can now be seen clearly by changing the point of focus, AFTER the photo is taken. Suppose you go to the Grand Canyon and take a picture of your kids on the rim. You of course focus on your children; however, you now have the option to view the Canyon in more detail later. This camera is designed to take interactive pictures. In other words, it is designed to share via your computer, but gives your viewers opportunity through Flash based plug-ins on Facebook and websites to interact with your picture, looking at objects at differing distances. It is possible to export or print pictures with computer software to standard JPG picture format. The software also provides the ability to chose which object(s) you want to focus on before exporting/printing (though they don’t recommend printing large versions of the pictures). To get a feel for the kind of pictures it takes check the gallery at www.lytro.com/living-pictures. The Lytro camera is available through Target, Best Buy, Amazon and Lytro.com for starting at $400.

X

Consumer Products

Aron Haynes

2008-12-31 10:43:00

Question: What’s the difference between batteries?

Answer: If you notice you can buy some AA batteries at the local bargain store. They look like Duracell but cost much less. Duracells cost around $1.50 each and these “generic” batteries cost around 10 cents each. The trouble is you probably won’t feel like your getting any value from these batteries as you’ll find yourself changing them within minutes after you put them into a device. Batteries (the correct term is “cell”, but who uses the correct term) have to have a few characteristics. • They have to be of a certain size so they fit the device • They have to produce a certain voltage (1.5 volts) • They have to deliver power. It’s obvious that the cheapies are falling down in the third aspect -- they can’t deliver enough power to make it worth using them. The irony is that some applications don’t need the cells to deliver much power. Some remote controls, for example, run quite well on cheap cells. However, it’s still not worth using them because a good set of alkaline cells will probably last a few years in the remote control, while the cheapies will go flat simply because of self-discharge. That is, they go flat even if they aren’t used. That’s also known as the shelf life. (Some cheap batteries are already half-flat by the time you buy them.) The chemicals used and the amount of chemicals used will differ greatly from a quality battery to a real cheap one. The general rule of thumb is to avoid the no-name brands unless you know that they’re okay. Another rule is that all alkaline batteries (cells) tend to be of good quality.