Excellent Podcast...Astronomy Cast

I have been listening to a really great podcast called "Astronomy Cast". The casters cover some really interesting topics, and both the host and scientist are articulate and intelligent-sounding.

I just wanted to help spread the word on how wonderful this podcast is.

Is An Extraterrestrial Disease Plaguing Peru?

On Saturday, September 15, 2007, a meteorite was observed crashing into the ground near Desaguadero, Peru. The meteorite left a crater one-hundred feet wide and almost twenty feet deep.

Over the past few days, villagers have been suffering from a mysterious illness of which authorities do not know the cause. Could this mysterious "illness" be an extraterrestrial disease?

Unlikely, but the possibility is there. The theory of panspermia states that microbes from other worlds may hitch rides on meteorites that crash on to the surfaces of planets. Perhaps this recent impact is panspermia in action.

If you wake up with no emotion tomorrow, you can be assured that panspermia is in action!

Nikon Unleashes New Camera Squad!

Looks like Nikon just announced the expected D300 and the suspected D3.

Both of these cameras have incredible 922,000 pixel 3-inch LCD screens for your viewing pleasure. And 12 megapixels sensors for your shooting pleasure. The D3 is full frame, unlike the D300.

In addition to Nikon, Olympus just took the cover off of several new cameras, including the updated SP-560 UZ, with an 18x optical zoom and 8 megapixels.

It's an exciting week in the camera world!

Yes!!! Thank You Canon!

I know it's been a while, but some news just came to light that was too good to pass up.

Canon just announced the EOS 40d and the 1Ds Mark III digital SLR cameras!

The EOS 40d has a 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 3-inch LCD with Live View, and a 6.5 frames-per-second shooting rate. The 40d is perhaps one of the most anticipated cameras in years, with tons of leaks building up lots of hype.

The EOS 1Ds Mark III has, get this, a 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor with a 5 frames-per-second burst rate, as well as a 3-inch LCD with Live View.

In addition to digital SLRs, Canon has announced a handful of new point-and-shoot cameras, including the PowerShot G9. The G9 now includes RAW format support, which disappeared in the G7.

If things play out as expected, Nikon will soon follow suit with a plethora of new cameras, including the rumored full-frame D3...

UPDATE: Almost forgot the links!

Canon EOS 40D on DP Review: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082010canoneos40d.asp

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III on DP Review:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082009canoneos1dsmarkiii.asp

Canon PowerShot G9 on DP Review:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082005canong9.asp

iPhone is Amazing

The iPhone is the most amazing piece of technology I have ever laid hands upon.

The multi-touch system is incredible, and so is the quality of the screen. The capacity, although reaching only 8GB, is enough for most peoples' needs. Scrolling through songs on the iPhone is awesome!

I love the camera and the SMS text messaging! The keyboard on the iPhone is sensitive and smart at the same time.

You have got to see the iPhone firsthand.

Canon PowerShot S5 IS!

Darn it, my camera's outdated.

The new Canon PowerShot S5 IS was announced just the other day, and does it look good! Eight megapixels, a hot shoe for an external flash, and (finally) a 2.5-inch LCD.

Here is the link to the DP Review article if you want to read more:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0705/07050703canons5is.asp

And here is the link to the Amazon.com page in case you want to buy it (for me):

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Optical-Stabilized/dp/B000Q3043Y/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2374630-3089721?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1179104092&sr=8-1

Newly-Discovered Extrasolar Planet May Have Water and Life...

Exciting news came out today that astronomers from the European Southern Observatory discovered an extrasolar planet that orbits within the habitable zone of its sun. The habitable zone of a star system is the area around a star in which liquid water can exist on the surface of a planet. This new-found planet is significant because all other planets found in extrasolar systems are not capable of supporting liquid water or maintaining mild temperatures.

Article at Space.com:

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070424_hab_exoplanet.html

As the search for other Earths continues, humanity comes closer to determining whether or not it is alone in the universe.

It's Coming...

The evil robot-takeover will soon be upon us.

http://anybots.com/

The 8-Core MacPro

I thought this was pretty cool: an 8-core MacPro desktop. I mean, it has eight 3.0 GHz processing cores! That's amazing! Never in history has there been something like this available to consumers. If you think 8 cores is amazing, just wait: Intel has promised to make a chip with ten times as many cores in the next five years.

Link to MacPro:

http://www.apple.com/macpro/

What Can We Expect at PMA 2007?

The Photo Marketing Association show is coming up and that means optical manufacturers are going to be announcing new cameras. Although several companies have already shown us new point-and-shoots, many photographers are anxiously awaiting a fresh crop of digital SLRs. A question that has been circulating through Internet forums for months is whether or not Canon will let us lay eyes upon a potential 22 megapixel, digital SLR. Other forums have posited that Nikon will release a full-frame digital SLR, something the Japanese company has not yet done. We shall see within the next few weeks...

Vista is Out!

Windows Vista finally came out yesterday! New PC, here I come...not. Oh well, I can always dream.

Three More Days...

Three more days until Windows Vista! The sleek new operating system is now shipping with some Dell computers, as well as a few Toshiba laptops. Windows Vista, myyyy precioussssss....

Cool New Camera

The new Olympus SP-550 UZ, announced today, looks pretty amazing. According to www.dpreview.com, (and therefore, Olympus), it has an 18x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, and 7.1 megapixels of pure joy. I would definiteley consider this if I didn't already own the awesome Canon PowerShot S3 IS.

Windows Vista - Ten Days Away!

In just ten "short" days, on January 30, Windows Vista will be released! Finally, I'll be able to start thinking about a getting a computer that can actually read CD's (my current one is so old that the disc drive no longer functions). Looks like some cool new machines are coming out, including the HP TouchSmart PC and the Dell XPS 710 H2C, not to mention some cool new laptops from ASUS.

Not Another Space Article! Thoughts on Extrasolar Planets

The year 1995 was a significant point in the history of science: two scientists at the University of Geneva discovered a planet orbiting the distant star 51 Pegasi. This was the first verified extrasolar planet discovery of the time, and now, twelve years later, over 200 extrasolar planets have been found orbiting other stars.

Although most planets discovered thus far are gas giants many times larger than Jupiter, some searches have turned up planets only a few times the size of Earth. On December 27th of 2006, just a few weeks ago, the first satellite designed specifically to find extrasolar planets was launched. The orbiting telescope, called CoRoT, was put into space by the European Space Agency, and is designed to find planets a few times the size of Earth.

Planet hunts are also in the future of NASA, with the Kepler mission, SIM PlanetQuest, and others. The tentative Terrestrial Planet Finder, or TPF, will search nearby star systems for planets roughly the size of Earth. In the event of the discovery of not only an Earth-sized planet, but chemical signatures of life as well, the age-old question of "are we alone?" would finally be answered. Although planets of a terrestrial-type are the holy grail, the larger cosmic bodies will not be forgotten. Gas giant planets should not be ruled out in the search for other Earths, as moons of several thousand miles in diameter are likely to be found orbiting these giants. Titan, for example, a moon of Saturn, is nearly as large as Mars and has a thick atmosphere. It is conceivable that a hypothetical gas giant could have a moon as large as Earth.

The search for extrasolar planets continues in 2007, and will likely turn up dozens of new worlds. With so many possibilities out there, one can be almost sure that the at least part of the future of humanity will lie in space...

Here are some cool sites on extrasolar planets:

PlanetQuest- http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm

The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia-

http://vo.obspm.fr/exoplanetes/encyclo/catalog.php

The Speculation Is Over: iPhone Announced.

Today, Apple told released details of the new iPhone, and I must say, this thing looks pretty sweet. With the capability of browsing the Internet, listening to songs, watching movies, viewing photos, and, of course, making calls, the iPhone looks like it will be a hot seller in the tech world. The sleek-looking media device has a huge 3.5-inch screen, a two megapixel camera, and amazing touch-sensetive technology. And as Steve Jobs said, its unbeleivably thin.

Rumors and pictures of the iPhone have passed through the Internet for months, and now, finally, techies and Mac-addicts are gonna get what they've been waiting for...

Here is a link to Apple's website so you can drool over pictures:

http://www.apple.com/

Technology Moves Forward in 2007...

With the Consumer Electronics Show, Macworld Expo, and the launch of Windows Vista all crammed into this month of January, new gadgets and products are coming out faster than consumers can get their hands on them. This week at CES, hundreds of gadgets and products are being announced, like a Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo drive from Korea's LG, new computers, a 108-inch television from Sharp, cool new digital cameras from Samsung, and even an external GPU from Taiwan's ASUS Computer.

Macworld, the Apple Computer show in San Francisco, with its keynote set for tomorrow, has people wondering if an "iPhone" or a full-screen video iPod will be announced. I am curious as well.

2007 looks like it will be an exciting year for technology, and with the new Microsoft operating system, Windows Vista, a wave of revised personal computer tech may start to sweep through America's homes and offices like the surf on the North Shore of Oahu. But, of course, not everyone will be using Windows Vista, as exemplified by Mac and Linux users.

Happy New Year...