Canon firmware update for XF camcorders incoming, brings broadcast friendly format along

Canon firmware update for XF Camcorders incoming, brings broadcast friendly format along
Still loving your XF video shooter from Canon, but lamenting the lack of 1440 x 1080, 35 mbps HD? Better sit down on your director's chair then, as it looks like a forthcoming firmware update for the series adds exactly this (at both 50i and 60i.) The format is popular with broadcast and news, and no doubt Canon is hoping to broaden the appeal of the XF line by bundling it in -- or smoothing the workflow of existing owners. The update will be available to all four cameras in the range (XF100, XF105, XF300, and XF305,) and you'll be able to start shooting with it from end of May.

Continue reading Canon firmware update for XF camcorders incoming, brings broadcast friendly format along

Canon firmware update for XF camcorders incoming, brings broadcast friendly format along originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'American Idol' Judges Call Competition 'A Toss-Up'

In the wake of Jessica Sanchez's near-exit, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler say season 11 is anyone's to win.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Kelly Marino


Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler
Photo: MTV News

After "American Idol" voters tried their hardest to send presumptive front-runner Jessica Sanchez packing on Thursday night's shocking results show — only to have their plan foiled by the judges, who promptly used their save to keep her in the competition — the deck has been re-shuffled, and it appears that this season really is anyone's to win.

Following Sanchez's near-exit, two of those "Idol" judges spoke to MTV News, and they weren't shy about letting their opinions be known. Simply put, they were as surprised as everyone to hear Sanchez's name called.

"I think [America] thought she was safe," Randy Jackson said of Sanchez. "I think they thought she was safe ... and I think they thought [fellow bottom-three dweller] Joshua [Ledet] was safe, because those two alone ... have been the most consistent. So, you know, yeah, I think they just forgot."

"There's just so many different singers out there. That's why it's hard for me now," Steven Tyler added. "I like to let America judge. Tonight they were wrong."

More than likely, they were. But the inclusion of Sanchez in the bottom three raises a larger question about the show: Is it possible for anyone other than a guy to actually win anymore? The previous four champions — David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze and Scotty McCreery — have all been proud possessors of the Y chromosome, and a male contestant has won in five of the previous six seasons. (Jordin Sparks was the last female to be crowned champion, way back in 2007.)

And now, with Thursday night's shake-up — and the rise of Colton Dixon and Phillip Phillips — it appears that history may repeat itself once again. Not surprisingly, though, neither Jackson nor Tyler seems to see it that way.

"I don't know, it's a toss-up right now," Jackson said. "I think it'll be a person."

"You gotta wait and see," Tyler added.

Of course, Jackson was also quick to admit that both Dixon and Phillips are strong contenders for the season 11 crown (which is probably why "Idol" mentor Jimmy Iovine spent so much time this week trying to pit them against each other), and he saved a particular bit of praise for Phillips and his, uh, unique approach to the competition.

"He's his own guy, that's what I love about him. He's an individual, Steven's an individual; that's what a real artist is made of," Jackson said. "An artist is not usually a follower; you want to be your own person. So I love that about him. I don't know if it's going to hurt him, but somebody's gotta go every week now. It's gonna be rough."

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

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Zotac ZBOX Nano XS AD11 Plus mini PC launches with E-450 APU, gets reviewed

Image
Zotac and its XBOXes -- just when you think your next dorm room PC couldn't get any smaller... it does. The latest in the stable is the long-winded Nano XS AD11 Plus, a hysterically titled small form factor PC equipped with a dual-core 1.6GHz AMD E-450 APU, Radeon HD 6320 GPU, 2GB of DDR3 memory and an HDMI output. There's also a 64GB mSATA SSD, a pair of USB 3.0 sockets (as well as a couple of the USB 2.0 variety), a gigabit Ethernet jack and a bundled MCE-compatible remote. In a smattering of reviews that also cropped up alongside the box's launch, we've learned that the E-450 moderately bests the prior E-350 rigs and soars past similarly equipped Atom-based machines; the mSATA SSD is perhaps the biggest upgrade, however, easily helping the system as a whole feel far faster than those with mechanical hard drives. Hot Hardware was pleased with the overall showing, though they did note that the include USB WiFi adapter gave 'em headaches when trying to stream high-bitrate content from a NAS / home server. Worth the $359? Hit those More Coverage links to help you decide.

Zotac ZBOX Nano XS AD11 Plus mini PC launches with E-450 APU, gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 03:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple says e-book price fixing charges 'simply not true,' Macmillan also responds

Apple says e-book price fixing charges
Not that we were expecting Apple and Macmillan to simply fess up and say, "you're right, totally tried to circumvent the free market," but both companies have come out swinging pretty hard against the allegations of price fixing. Apple has rejected the charges, calling them "simply not true." A company spokesman, Tom Neumayr, went so far as to tell Reuters that Cupertino was actually fostering competition by "breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry." John Sargent, the CEO of Macmillan, defended his company's behavior in blog post, saying the publisher had done nothing illegal and that the concessions sought by the DOJ in settlement negotiations were "too onerous." It looks like the next step for both is to face off with the US government in court -- a daunting task, no matter how large your war chest.

Apple says e-book price fixing charges 'simply not true,' Macmillan also responds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Justin Bieber Dress Up As Buzz Lightyear In 'Boyfriend' Video?

Singer weighs in on how literal the video will get and when fans might get to hear more from Believe.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Kelly Marino

<P>The countdown is on to Justin Bieber's next album release, Believe.</i> And if the response to the album's first single, "Boyfriend," is any indication, the record's appeal might span far beyond the realm of his devoted Beliebers. </P><P> </P><P>"The reaction's been great [to 'Boyfriend']; not only have I got good reactions from my fans, but great reactions from people who, you know, [might not usually listen to my music]. I've gotten messages like 'You know, I never would have listened to Justin and now I love this song,' " he explained to MTV News. "So, it's really great feedback." </P><P> </P><P><CENTER></CENTER> </P><P> </P><P>It's that kind of enthusiasm that Bieber is taking with him as he works on the record in its final stages. He's already hit the studio with folks like Drake, will.i.am, Diplo and Usher and is just chugging along before he has to wrap up and send it out into the world. </P><P> </P><P>"There's not a confirmed release date. It's this summer. I'm really happy with the outcome of it so far," he said. "I mean, we're almost done. We're just kind of putting the finishing touches on it. It should be good." </P><P> </P><P>But before then, fans will have to satisfy their appetites with the Colin Tilley-directed "Boyfriend" video, which should drop in the near future. Unfortunately, the visual won't mirror the single's choice lyrics, "I could be your Buzz Lightyear/ Fly across the globe." </P><P> </P><P>"No, no, I won't be dressed up as Buzz Lightyear," he said. "I think there's some copyright issues, I can't use that." </P><P> </P><P>We look forward to seeing whether Bieber will be "Chillin' by the fire while we eatin' fondue" in the clip.</p>

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Spiders in Borneo: More Hispo at Lambir

One big piece of news from Lambir is that we found more Hispo. I previously posted, with great excitement, the news that Edy had found a Hispo female in Mulu. I?m pretty certain it represents a species new to science, but even more exciting, it is the first adult hisponine anyone has found east of India. Well, at Lambir she found the male of the species, the first male hisponine known outside of Africa and Indian Ocean islands. Here?s the male ? it looks pretty much like the female.

Male of a Hispo species, new to science

Male of a Hispo species, new to science

Fred Wanless, the last to publish studies of Hispo, noted that the Asian species are quite distinct from the African ones, but since no male specimens were known from Asia, he couldn?t make any firm conclusions. Structures specific to males are especially helpful in determining spider relationships. Associated structures in females are harder to study and interpret, and so are not as well understood. Now that we have found a male from Asia, we can finally understand the Asian Hispo species and whether they might in fact be an evolutionary lineage distinct from the African Hispo.

But, it didn?t stop there. I found a second species, apparently the species known from Sumatra, Hispo alboguttata. The Sumatran specimen is immature, as, alas, are the two specimens I found. One is photographed here. She?s a beauty.

Immature specimen, probably Hispo alboguttata

Immature specimen, probably Hispo alboguttata

Both Edy?s species and Hispo alboguttata were found on tree trunks. We looked at many tree trunks, but found only these few specimens. Even though we found no adults of H. alboguttata, it?s still invaluable to have these fresh specimens for study. And now, we think we have broken the mystique of Asian Hispo. With our observations on location and habitat, we think it will now be possible for other biologists to find more.

Previously in this series:

Spiders in Borneo: Introduction
Spiders in Borneo: Undiscovered biodiversity
Spiders in Borneo: The guests of honor: Salticidae
Spiders in Borneo: Team Salticid
Spiders in Borneo: Mulu National Park
Spiders in Borneo: Dreaming about salticid spiders
Spiders in Borneo: Jumping spiders in the forest
Spiders in Borneo: Beating around the bushes
Spiders in Borneo: Spiders in leaf litter
Spiders in Borneo: A Vertical Life
Spiders in Borneo: Leeches and eyeballs
Spiders in Borneo: Breaking News!
Spiders in Borneo: Falling from above
Spiders in Borneo: What I carry
Spiders in Borneo: Entangled and pierced
Spiders in Borneo: Scattered literature
Spiders in Borneo: Mulu wrap-up
Spiders in Borneo: Lambir Hills
Spiders in Borneo: Replaying the Tape of Life

Text and images ? W. Maddison, under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (CC-BY)

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