Olympus Zuiko Digital 25mm pancake lens - full review and video tour

The Olympus Zuiko Digital 25mm is the smallest and lightest lens available for DSLRs based on the Four Thirds standard. Weighing 95g and measuring just 23.5mm thick, it justifies the pancake nickname, and transforms smaller Four Thirds bodies into working kits which could squeeze into larger coat pockets. With 50mm equivalent coverage and an f2.8 aperture, the lens is ideal for general-purpose use, but do its compact dimensions compromise quality or performance? Find out in our Olympus Zuiko Digital 25mm pancake lens review where we'll compare it against other Olympus zooms and the specialist 50mm macro lens. And to see a demonstration of its highlights, check out our Olympus 25mm video tour. Read More

Google Fixes Terms and conditions for Google Chrome

After many posts and panicked reactions about the following clause in the licence for Chrome

"11. Content license from you

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services."

On the official Google blog they have pointed out the following:

"Whenever we release a product in beta as we just did with Google Chrome, we can always count on our users to come up with ways to improve it. This week's example: several eagle-eyed users and bloggers have expressed concern that Section 11 of Google Chrome's terms of service attempts to give us rights to any user-generated content "submitted, posted or displayed on or through" the browser.

You'll notice if you look at our other products that many of them are governed by Section 11 of our Universal Terms of Service. This section is included because, under copyright law, Google needs what's called a "license" to display or transmit content. So to show a blog, we ask the user to give us a license to the blog's content. (The same goes for any other service where users can create content.) But in all these cases, the license is limited to providing the service. In Gmail, for example, the terms specifically disclaim our ownership right to Gmail content.

So for Google Chrome, only the first sentence of Section 11 should have applied. We're sorry we overlooked this, but we've fixed it now, and you can read the updated Google Chrome terms of service. If you're into the fine print, here's the revised text of Section 11:

11. Content license from you
11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.

And that's all. Period. End of section."

And of course they are stating this update will be retro active and cover everyone who has downloaded Google Chrome since its launch.

Good on Google, whilst they might not do everything right, and occasionally scare the bejeezus out of privacy advocates / activists,
nobody can accuse them of not being proactive!

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Olympus E-520 - full review and video tour

The Olympus E-520 is the successor to one of the best-selling DSLRs of last year, the popular E-510. The new E-520 takes the 10 Megapixel resolution, Live View, built-in stabilisation, and effective anti-dust features of its predecessor and adds new contrast-based AF in Live View with Face Detection, a bigger screen, quicker continuous shooting, support for wireless flash control, an extra IS mode for panning with the camera held of its side, and a new optional underwater housing. It also offers improved dynamic range and previews of many adjustments. So one of the most feature-packed DSLRs has just got better, but is it enough to compete with the latest rivals? Find out in our Olympus E-520 review and to see a demonstration of its highlights, check out our Olympus E-520 video tour. Read More

OLPC shipped in Niue

From Pia Waugh's blog: http://pipka.org/blog/2008/08/16/olpc-in-niue/

In late July I was very privileged to help roll out the world’s first 100% saturation of OLPC XOs to the country of Niue, in the Pacific near New Zealand. There are around 400 students, and every single one got a laptop!

She also took many photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/piawaugh/sets/72157606725170843/ The OLPC Niue wiki page has more info Various press: BetaNews | OLPC laptops now blanket the Pacific nation of Niue Niue Gives OLPC to Every Student - - Digital Trends Laptop-Computers: OLPC Conquers Niue Island OLPC hits 100% in Niue OLPC provides one laptop per student in Niue Niue: One Laptop Per Child for every kid! More news results on http://news.google.co.nz/news?q=olpc%20niue

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Olympus E-420 - full review and video tour

The Olympus E-420 is an unusually small and light 10 Megapixel DSLR aimed at point and shoot owners looking to upgrade, along with enthusiasts who want a camera they can use in situations where a traditional DSLR would be too cumbersome. It shares virtually the same design as its predecessor, the E-410, which makes it the World's smallest and lightest DSLR. New to the E-420 are enhanced Live View facilities with contrast-based AF, face detection and an 11-point AF system. The screen's also slightly bigger, there's a stack of customisation, support for wireless flash, shadow adjustment technology, a larger grip and an improved sensor. Coupled with the new slim pancake lens, the E-420 makes for an extremely compact DSLR, but does it compromise comfort, quality or usability? Find out in our Olympus E-420 review where we'll test it with the new 25mm lens, and as always for a demonstration of its highlights, see our E-420 video tour Read More

Sony Alpha A300 and Alpha A350 - compared to rivals

Sony Alpha A300 and Alpha A350 - compared to rivals
The introduction of Sony's brand new Alpha A300 and Alpha A350 have doubled the company's current DSLR range - and at kit prices of $799 and $899 USD respectively, stack-up favourably against the competition. Both new Sonys feature Live View with quick AF, tilting screens for greater compositional flexibility, and like all Alphas sport built-in sensor-shift stabilisation. They're likely to be big sellers, so if you're in the market for a new DSLR, you'll want to carefully compare their features against the competition - and we've done just that for you in our Sony A300 and A350 feature comparison, where you'll discover where they fit-in with models like Canon's EOS 450D / Rebel XSi and the Nikon D60, along with Sony's existing Alpha A200 and A700.

Microsoft Excel 2003 Functions and Formulas - Count the Number of Cells That Meet a Condition

Count the number of cells in a range that meet a specified criterion. ... Read More