CHDK - Hacking Your Canon Point & Shoot

lifehacker.com have posted an excellent article on the Canon Hacker's Development Kit. CHDK is a free, open source project with which you can add features like RAW shooting mode, live RGB histograms, additional photographic settings, motion-detection, time-lapse, longer video recording and even games onto your existing Canon camera. The beauty of CHDK is that it is non-permanent and non-destructive, you can use when you want to; CHDK makes no changes to your camera. Installing CHDK entails having a couple of files added to your camera's memory card. Removing it involves simply restarting your camera without the memory card present.

HTC Touch Diamond ... Worthy Adversary

HTC have announced the latest challenger to the iPhone: the HTC Touch Diamond. The touchscreen phone features a new interface called TouchFLO 3D, which provides animated access to people, messaging, email, photos, music, weather and more. It even has its own browser for surfing the web on its 3G wireless connection. With some unique capabilities such as an automatic face down silent mode, and the gorgeous faceted back the phone will certainly attract a lot of users: HTC Touch Diamond Key Specifications Size: 102 x 51 x 11.33mm Weight: 110 g Connectivity: WCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional Display: 2.8-inch VGA touch screen Camera: 3.2MP, with video calling Internal memory: 4 GB Internal Storage, 256 MB flash, 192 MB RAM, Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g GPS: GPS/AGPS Interface: HTC ExtUSB™ - (mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 High-Speed) Battery: 900 mAh Talk time: GSM: up to 4 hours Standby time: GSM: up to 300 hours/100 hours with push email Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM 7201A™ - 528MHz Visit Gizmodo for more pictures and details.

Iron Man Phone

LG Electronics have unveiled the LG Iron Man phone, a limited-edition, 18-karat gold slider based on the LG Shine. The Phone is being given away as part of the promotional campaign with Paramount Pictures to promote the upcoming Marvel Studios film Iron Man. The Iron Man phone will however not be sold in stores. The only way to get one of these babies, is to win one on the Iron Man Website after the 15th April or from one of the other promotions being run by magazines and websites. If you can't win one then you can always console yourself with one of the great Iron Man Figures.

Zune XNA Games Preview In May?

Microsoft are aiming for the first community technology preview of their XNA games for the Zune to be released in May. Zune games are able to support ad-hoc wireless play, supporting up to eight players, however, the devices don't currently have hardware 3D acceleration. However Microsoft already have several proof of concept games up and running.

CD-Player For £4K

As a gadget freak I like the looks of this seriously cool looking CD Player and audio system. The Shanling CD-T3000PRO looks very much like something cooked up in an alien lab, or as a power device for Stargate or any other sciu-fi series. However it is simply a high powered CD player which is fitted with a Philips CD-PRO 2 disc mechanism, an aluminium alloy chassis and 8x Burr-Brown DAC. It also features some serious protection against mechanical and electromagnetic interference. So is it worth $7K, not to me, but then again, if you have the cash to spare, I guess it depends on whether you fancy it or not. I give it high marks on style though.

iLogic Sound Hat

The iLogic Sound Hat is a simple concept that allows you to plug your iPod or other portable media device directly into integrated speakers inside of the hat’s surface. Devices can be plugged-in via a standard 3.5mm headphone plug on a 98cm wire. The hat itself has a fleecy feel on its interior and looks quite simple. You can get the iLogic Sound Hat from I Want One Of Those for £14.99.

Powerbook To Desktop Mod

Macmod.com are showcasing a cool mod, which takes a Powerbook and turns it into a Desktop Unit ... the Modder, Richard Hunt, was quite ingenious, as he figured out how to get the Powerbook to work without the neccessary hardware around it. Like reconnecting the trackpad and glueing a tiny magnet over the sensor which lets the machine know the lid is closed. Richard states "that a USB keyboard, mouse and monitor must be connected otherwise the machine closes itself down." The Mod has it’s own built-in UPS because it still retains the original laptop battery. The machine also runs cooler, due to the extra space.

RIAA Face Another Blow In Their Legal Campaign

The RIAA's legal campaign has been fought under the assertion that making a file available for download is the same as infringement of copyright under the copyright act. According to Ars Technica; There have only been a couple of decisions addressing the question so far. One that came down today in Atlantic v. Howell is the biggest rejection yet to the RIAA's "making available equals infringement" argument, as a federal judge has denied the labels' motion for summary judgment, setting the stage for a trial later this year. The latest judgement is a big blow to their ongoing battle against the little guys ... going against soft targets like Mr. Mrs. or Ms. Average, isn't winning them any wars or friends ... they need to go after the big infringers and rethink their approach to IP.

Microsoft Announces Xbox 360 Price Cuts For Some Eastern Markets

Microsoft announced that they will be discounting the Xbox 360 in four of its five Asian markets. They are hoping that this will continue expand their market share. There are currently over 19 million Xbox owners.

Apple Fall Foul Of DOD

Apples planned acquisition of chip-design firm P.A. Semi appear to have raised some concern with the Department of Defense. P.A. Semi's chips are used by all branches of the armed services. P.A. Semi informed several current customers that it was due to be acquired and that it could not guarantee future supplies of its chips. EETimes has stated that P.A. Semi's high-performance, low-cost PWRficient CPU is used in at least 10 Defense systems.