Is all that money spent on outer space exploration justified? It costs millions, no billions, to send the shuttle into space, to maintain the International Space Station, to send probes to Mars and the other planets for scientific studies, etc. Some critics say it’s all money wasted.

Ah, but what if we discovered life on other planets? According to Jim Kasting, the chair of NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group, other Earths may be quite common though we have not seen any yet. Why? Because stars are very bright and planets are very dim. Telescopes with very wide apertures (8m, which is more than three times bigger than that of the the Hubble telescope), called Terrestrial Planet Finders (TPFs), are what we need…

Read the article at: Toronto Star.

Canon PowerShot SD3500 IS / IXUS 210

“The IXUS 210 is fun and surprisingly intuitive to use given its almost complete reliance on the well-thought-out touch-screen control system…. The ability to focus on your subject simply by tapping the gorgeous 3.5 inch screen in the right place is mind-blowingly simple to use.”

We’ve added a new Canon PowerShot SD3500 IS / IXUS 210 [Specs] Review to our Reviews Matrix.

PhotographyBLOG has posted their review of the Canon PowerShot SD3500 IS / IXUS 210, a point-and-shoot ultra compact digital camera with 14.1MP resolution (1/2.3-in. CCD), 5x ultra wide-angle optical zoom (24-120mm equiv.), optical image stabilization, 3.5-in. Touch-screen LCD (460k-dot), Smart Auto, P, Scene Modes, Face Detection Self-Timer, Wink Self-Timer, Smile Self-Timer, and HD 720p Movie 1280×720 @ 30fps.

You can read the full Canon PowerShot SD3500 IS / IXUS 210 Review at: PhotographyBLOG.

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Just what is Google up to? Is it a search engine or is it more? It hopped onto email with Gmail [competitor: Microsoft Hotmail, Yahoo! mail], dabbled in mobile technology with Android [competitor: Apple iPhone], created a browser overnight with Chrome [competitor: Microsoft IE, Firefox], provided a new translation software with Translate [competitor: AltaVista (now Yahoo!) Babel Fish], gave away Web services with Docs [competitor: Microsoft Office], bought YouTube [competitor: none really], … and now has indicated that it wants to be a player in the Internet TV arena with the help of Sony and Intel [competitor: Apple TV].

All of this made possible by the search you and I type into its search engine every day. In-cre-di-ble!

[ via TrustedReviews ]

Olympus TOUGH 8010

PhotographyReview has published their hands-on preview of the Olympus TOUGH 8010 [Specs], an ultra compact perfect for those with an active lifestyle and featuring 14MP resolution (on a 1/2.3-in. CCD), 5x wide-angle optical zoom (28-140mm equiv.), Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization, 2.7-in. LCD (230k-dot), Intelligent AUTO (iAUTO), Face Detection, In-Camera Panning Panorama, Perfect Shot Preview, Red-Eye Fix, Beauty Mode and HD 720p Movie 1280×720 @ 30fps. The TOUGH label indicates it is also shockproof (from drops of up to 2m/6.6 ft), waterproof (as deep as 10m/33 ft), freezeproof (to -10°C/14°F), and crushproof (withstand up to 100kgf /220lbf).

You can read the Olympus TOUGH 8010 hands-on preview at: PhotographyReview.

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The Apple iPad does not support Adobe Flash which, according to Adobe, runs on 85% of all Web sites and which powers most of the cool animation and videos you encounter on the Internet. Apple claims that Flash is too buggy and drains the power from its devices. To prepare for the arrival of the iPad, major sites have announced Flash-free versions. Sites include The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and Virgin America.

[ via Network World ]

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Focus Numérique has interviewed Hidenori Toyoda, Head of Marketing for Image & Sound at Sony Japan.

Main extracts:
- The new compact alpha DSLR will use the Exmor CMOS APS HD and shoot video HDTV 1080 (AVCHD), available later this year (probably at Photokina).
- Sony is busy incorporating the HDR feature and video in all their new DSLRs.
- Sony will be presenting a 3D camera sometime later this year, not sure about a 3D camcorder at this time.

Read the interview at: Focus Numérique.

Ricoh GXR

Ricoh has posted their first firmware update for the GXR units A12 and S10. This firmware update addresses various AF issues and improvements.

Download the firmware update at: Ricoh.

Avast Antivirus is reporting a virus that targets display advertisement. Javascript code in the malware runs as soon as the ad displays on your screen and does not require you to click on the ad. Dubbed a malvertising virus, the ‘JS:Prontexti’ malware may have already infected the big ad services such as Google, Yahoo and Fox.

[ via BizReport ]

Read the Avast Antivirus Press Release »