Filed under: Features, Household

What we may have is “a failure to communicate!” In previous Lockdown articles we have examined the vulnerabilities of mechanical locks and how easily most of them can be compromised. Even some popular high security locks can be easily bypassed — if you thought that installing a deadbolt would provide all the protection you may need, think again.

But if your locks will not adequately protect you, then what will? How about a portable alarm system that is affordably priced, a cinch to install, and virtually immune to the most common cause of false alarms (keypad entry errors), maybe something like the LaserShield. Still, the question arises: if a determined burglar can easily bypass this wireless system with some simple and abundant technology, is that too much of a risk to your home security?

Continue reading The Lockdown: Lasershield – convenient, cost effective, potentially vulnerable

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Basic point-and-shoot digicams is what the Stylus line is all about, and the trend continues. Up here are some shots of the 840, 850SW and 1030SW. 8-megapixels on the 840 and 850SW with 5x and 3x zoom, respectively. And if you vacation includes some light snorkeling (or you like taking pics in the rain), note that the 850SW is shockproof 1.5-meters and to waterproof to 3-meters. Need more megapixels? Step on up to the 1030: 10.1-megapixels and a 3.6x zoom and waterproof to 10-meters.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

As the press release last week made clear, Olympus did a refresh across its lineup for PMA. We’ll hit up the entry-level, ultra-compact FE series here. Across the board, the FE-310, FE-340 and FE-350 get treated to an 8-megapixel sensor and LCDs ranging from 2.5 – 3-inches. The FE-350 trades off the 5x zoom for 4x, but you get a 28-mm wide angle perspective on the world, if that’s your sort of thing. And the “HyperCrystal” LCDs were certainly bright, we’ll give them that. One definite theme we’re seeing in digicams now is the inclusion of face detection, and the FE-series is in on the party there, too.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

The TiVo vs. EchoStar case got another little push towards finally ending today, as the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that EchoStar had indeed infringed part of TiVo’s “time warp” patent. You might recall that the case had recently been on hold while the USPTO re-affirmed that the patent was valid — armed with that decision, the appeals court ruled that EchoStar had crossed the line on the software component of the patent, but that more information was needed regarding whether or not EchoStar’s hardware also infringed. That means we’re in for another round of wrangling down in Marshall — we’ll keep you updated, if we can manage to stay awake.

[Via Zatz Not Funny! Warning: PDF read link]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Fujifilm may have laid claim to “smallest 12x zoom,” but Olympus’ SP-570 UZ blows by that with a 20x optical zoom. In case you didn’t know, the “UZ” stands for “ultra zoom.” Not a bad piece of glass; f/2.8 – f/4.5 with dual image stabilization so you can actually use the 20x end of the lens. The 10-megapixel sensor and full manual control options make sense on this high-end digicam, as does the hot shoe for a flash. Not all the niceties have been sacrificed, though — face detection is in there too, for when you hand the camera over to a “less-enthusiastic” shooter.

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