Electronics

The Pentax Optio S4i is a slightly updated edition of their top-selling S4 model, with a few enhancements that make it even more desirable for photographers who are frequently on the fly. Its 4 megapixel imager and 3x optical zoom lens match that of the S4 but a larger 1.8 inch color LCD monitor give it the edge in the viewfinder department, and the S4i is even lighter and more compact than its predecessor. Heres a quick glimpse of what else distinguishes the Pentax Optio S4i from both the S4 and other comparably priced digicams.

Performance Far Beyond its Weight: The Pentax Optio S4i
More improvements on the S4 in addition to the bigger monitor include a more ergonomically designed finger grip on the front and a 3x zoom that covers the same area as that of a 35-105mm lens in 35mm film and can be boosted with a 4x digital zoom to give you an impressive total zoom range of 12x. Theres also a new quick reset button on the posterior housing that takes you instantly back to Green mode, the mode that lets you take any shot you want while the camera configures all of the necessary settings.

Another significant enhancement of the Pentax Optio S4i is its 21 shooting modes accessed via the LCD, which let the user choose whatever lighting situation conditions demand and has the camera perform all necessary adjustments to white balance and metering. Night Scene is ideal (obviously) for capturing shots set against nocturnal backgrounds while Landscape mode is specially designed to bring out the richest hues of blues and greens in panoramic compositions. 3D image mode allows the user to snap two shots of postcard dimensions and then look through an optionally available viewer for a genuine 3D effect that conveys amazing depth and perspective.

Nine archived shots can be simultaneously displayed on the LCD and after one has been selected, the user can zoom in on it at 4x magnification to study intricate details. A built-in flash can be set to automatically activate whenever the camera detects that youre shooting in dusky lighting conditions. And on top of all the visual opportunities the Pentax Optio S4i supplies, the camera also offers full audio recording capabilities as cutting-edge as most stand-alone units.

The popularity of projection TVs came about in the wake of the 1980s, when American consumers began renting videotapes with abandon and craved ways to make their viewing experience more cinematic, to make their homes, in a nutshell, more like theaters. Up until October of 1986, the largest TV screen available was 27 inches diagonally. Mitsubishi then introduced a 35 inch model, but it was soon widely established that screen sizes greater than 40 inches would be untenable because of the built-in limitations of cathode-ray tube technology. Manufacturers started experimenting with flat panel technology and projection in search of ways to transmit greater numbers of pixels than ever before.

The First Projection TVs
As early as 1975, audio innovators Henry Kloss and Tomlinson Holman (the latter would later go on to create the THX surround sound format for LucasFilm) had introduced the Advent Videobeam, a two piece device that used three CRT tubes contained in a console the size of a refrigerator on its back. The Videobeams picture was projected onto a curved aluminized screen 7 feet across diagonally; the unit was such a success, it led to Kloss forming his own large-screen TV company, NovaBeam. Seven years later, the first single-box rear-projection televisions made their debut, employing similar CRT projection pioneered by NovaBeam models but augmenting the signal via a series of mirrors that reflected the image onto the rear of the screen, which allowed for much more efficient use of space.

The first LCD front projector hit the marketplace in 1988 and became a success, as did RCAs 16×9 tube TV in 1993. Then in 1997, the landscape changed with the advent of two new technologies: digital light processing (DLP) and gas plasma. Gas plasma supported the creation of flat-panel screens less than six inches thick but covering unprecedented surface areas. DLP, a system used in both rear and front projection TVs, employed a million miniscule mirrors to produce gigantic, crystalline images, all needing less space than any CRT or LCD-based projectors to date.

Quality sound was the next logical area for manufacturers of projection TVs to concentrate their creative energies. Early models sported only two speakers but with the early 1990s, more ambitious companies began incorporating subwoofers and surround sound capabilities with their units. By 1998, projection TVs had begun offering high-quality multi-channel A/V receivers as part of their repertoire. Tactile and olfactory innovations cant be far behind.

Radar detectors exist thanks to the invention of the automobile and the bottomless greed (or savvy, if you will) of state government to seize on a brilliant way to make a buck, all in the euphemistic name of safety. Traffic citations now yield upwards of 15 billion dollars a year and are a key revenue components of many state treasuries. Radar as a form of legal evidence for inflicting financial penalties on motorists became institutionalized as early as 1948, although for many decades the predominant alternatives were airborne speed detection (which was eventually decided against as too expensive) and pacing.

Radar and Radar Detectors
The drawback of radar from the police standpoint was that it couldnt tell the officer which car among many was speeding, rendering the device useless in heavy traffic. This was soon addressed by the introduction of laser speed measuring units, which are still considered dicey at best. Tagging a car a quarter of a mile away with a beam a tenth of an inch wide is difficult when taking shaky hands and the cars speed into account.

In many parts of the U.S. and Canada, using radar detectors is illegal. New radar guns have a system called VG-2 which is designed to detect frequency leakage emitted by radar detectors. Manufacturers have addressed this turn of events by offering radar detectors that provide VG2 undetectability.

Other radar detectors such as the RMR Black Widow are designed to be hidden unobtrusively behind your cars front grille, a genuine stealth device that most police officers wont notice, especially if a decoy radar detector (turned off, of course) is displayed in plain view in the users car. Many radar detectors also feature laser scrambler/jammer capability, devices which effectively scramble the signal of radar guns trained on your car and leave them unable to detect your true speed, although their use can obviously cast suspicion on you and your vehicle, and their purchase should be regarded with discretion. Needless to say, both scramblers and radar detectors are illegal in many United States municipalities.

Rechargeable batteries are the most necessary components for all of your digital equipment and spare sets should be kept on hand whenever possible. Knowing how to measure the worth of rechargeable batteries will go a long way toward saving you money in the long run. Here is a brief overview of basic battery terminology to help break down the most important information you need to know before putting any money down.

The Characteristics of Rechargeable Batteries
A rechargeable batterys strength is called its capacity, which is measured in mAh (milliamp per hour). The higher the capacity number, the longer the battery will provide energy before requiring recharging. Although the batteries with the highest capacity may look the most desirable, its important to remember that all that extra juice needs space, and these tend to be the bulkiest batteries available.

Battery size, or thickness, is a result of its type and capacity. Newer types of batteries like lithium ion and lithium polymer offer increased power density and pack more energy more efficiently into a smaller space. Similarly, battery weight is governed by the same factors as size, and because its denoted by a solid number, may be a better indicator of a batterys mass than the vague terms used to measure size — terms like slim, ultra slim, or extended.

Battery type refers to the technology by which a battery generates its energy, with the most modern type being the lithium polymer variety. These and lithium ion batteries are the least susceptible to the memory effect, a deterioration that affects older battery types and gradually shortens their lifespan with each successive recharge. Battery life is determined by its capacity and drain rate, and can vary wildly depending on the strains to which the batteries are subjected. Finally, rechargeable batteries can only hold a charge for a certain amount of time; batteries that have been sitting on a shelf for over 60 days should probably be forsworn in favor of verifiably fresher ones.

Slide projectors are a modern invention but the underpinnings of such technology date back hundreds of thousands of years to shortly after the discovery of fire. Cavemen used fire as a source of light to project shadows on the cave walls and entertain each other with stories and legends; there were probably some quite accomplished artisans of shadow projection in prehistoric times who were considered indispensable. Over the course of millenia, humans slowly refined the principles of image projection as a storytelling medium.

The First Primitive Slide Projectors
According to unearthed Chinese documents, both the Chinese and Japanese were creating artificial image projection systems as early as the 5th century AD. Their device was called a magic mirror, and used a highly polished bronze disk to reflect light from an image off the mirror and onto a screen of white silk. The first European attempts to duplicate projected effects werent documented until almost a full thousand years later, when in 1420 a drawing in a book by an Italian named Giovanni de Fontana depicted a man bearing a jar-like lantern that seems to be casting a large projected image of the devil on a wall.

Other descriptions of medieval slide projectors began to proliferate. In 1589, Giovanni Baptista della Porta published a book on optics called Magiae Naturalis Libri Viginti, wherein he spoke of an ancient art he referred to as mirror writing. Athanasius Kircher, a German Jesuit priest, embellished della Portas ideas in 1646 in a book in which he described a system of image projection using sunlight or candlelight bouncing off a convex lens.

Finally, in 1650, Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens, who would achieve immortality in the field of optics for developing the wave theory of light, conceived the idea of the magic lantern with the help of a mathematician named Thomas Rasmussen Walgensten. By 1663, their ideas had caught on to the point where London opticians were selling magic lanterns over the counter. More evolutions steadily followed such as revolving slides, projection clocks, and more sophisticated lenses and mirrors for starker, crisper images. By the late 18th century, these first rudimentary slide projectors were in wide use, and because the technology was still considered inscrutable and rather frightening to most people of the day, they were a popular medium for producing horror shows of eerie lights. These events were known as phantasmagoria shows.