Microsoft, Nikon sign patent-sharing deal

Microsoft and Nikon have signed a cross-licensing deal that gives each company access to the other's patents.

The deal is one of a growing list from Microsoft, which has been seeking to establish the heft and significance of its intellectual property effort.

Detailed terms of the Nikon deal weren't disclosed, but the companies said Nikon is compensating Microsoft through the alliance.

"The companies believe that this patent cross-licensing agreement will substantially benefit customers of consumer products including digital cameras," the companies said in a statement Wednesday. "Both parties will be able to innovate openly with each others' technologies, enabling new features and products to come to market."

Nikon and Microsoft didn't indicate what new products and features would be enabled through the patent agreement, but they did point to existing cooperative efforts involving wireless cameras and raw image formats.

Raw images are taken directly from a camera's image sensor with little or no in-camera processing; the formats more detailed and flexible than JPEG, but they're also proprietary and specific to each camera model, and they require processing with software to become useful to most consumers. Windows Vista has the ability to display raw images as long as a camera maker supplies the necessary encoding and decoding software plug-in, called a codec.

Via CNET Blogs

SanDisk card perfect for shiny, new Nikon D90

Already saving up to get the new Nikon D90? You might want to add at least another US$65 to your budget for SanDisk's new 30MB/s Extreme III SDHC cards.

Available worldwide in September, the cards offer a 50 percent speed boost from 20MB/s cards, and the Nikon D90 is the industry's first dSLR to take advantage of the speed.

That means that with the 30MB/s Extreme III, the D90 can record 39 6MB JPEG images at 4.5 frames per second in continuous shooting mode. Getting them off is almost as fast, too, when used with SanDisk's new ImageMate Multi-Card USB 2.0 reader/writer.

Prices for the cards are US$64.99 for the 4GB card, US$109.99 for the 8GB card, and US$179.99 for the 16GB card.

Via Crave CNET

A computer that fits in your space suit pocket

Should a computer ever be described as "cute"? The Space Cube shows that's surely open to debate.

After drooling over the tiny available-only-in-Japan Space Cube, PC Pro finally got one, and has done a rather lengthy review of the adorably twee computer. The Space Cube measures 2 sq inches on each side of the cube, and is made by the Shimafuji Corporation. The price? Reportedly 1,500 pounds, or US$2,750. (Ed. note: Wow.)

The guys over there are clearly smitten. Since the Space Cube has arrived, it's been "inspiring awe and provoking disbelieving reactions across the PC Pro office", according to the review.

OK, but what's inside?
Read more »

Facebook: The Movie: Now, who should play Mark Zuckerberg?

If a recently created group on Facebook is to be believed, entertainment stalwart Aaron Sorkin--creator of The West Wing and A Few Good Men--is working on penning a movie for Sony and producer Scott Rudin about the origins of Facebook. Someone claiming to be Sorkin's researcher created the group so that he can learn more about the site, and several hundred Facebook members have already joined.

So maybe it's real and maybe it isn't real. But let's start asking the really important questions: which young actor should play founder Mark Zuckerberg?

I say Jason Schwartzman. He's slight and prone to geeky roles, he's already played Ringo Starr and Louis XIV, and it can't be that hard for him to dye his hair blond and wax philosophical about the "social graph". Alternate: Arrested Development star Michael Cera, who already has the blond hair and can play geeks like nobody's business. (Thanks to Elliot Schimel for that suggestion.)
Read more »

Viewsonic demos 120Hz desktop LCD at NVISION 2008

Viewsonic showed off a 22-inch, 120Hz desktop LCD display prototype at NVISION 2008 on Monday in San Jose, Calif.

While most computer LCD displays refresh at 60Hz, the Viewsonic prototype achieves virtually double the refresh rate, which can be beneficial when watching a movie. Since the 24 frames per second (fps) framerate that film is shot at can be evenly divided into 120Hz, it makes for a smoother framerate than what you get with a 60Hz display, especially during action scenes.

In my experience, movies running at 120Hz look like video as opposed to film and takes away from that movie-like feeling. Some people prefer the 120Hz look, but I really can't get used to it. It just feels like I'm watching a very big budget home movie. Games I have not seen at 120Hz, but there is evidence that there could be smoother performance 120Hz-compatible displays.

The prototype display is also compatible with Nvidia's Stereoscopic 3D technology.

In addition the Viewsonic prototype has a 3ms gray-to-gray response time, integrated 2Wx2 stereo speakers and a Dual Link DVI input.
Read more »

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