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Nikon’s latest Coolpix cameras focus on durability and versatility, the waterproof, shockproof and freeze-proof AW120 leads the way 

Nikon has announced seven new Coolpix cameras sporting a variety of features to complement different lifestyles from rough and rugged to slim and stylish.

The Coolpix AW120 leads the pack with a 16-megapixel camera and is waterproof to 18m, shockproof to 2m and freeze-proof to -10°C for £329.99. 

Meanwhile the 13-megapixel Coolpix S32 is an easy-to-use camera that’s shockproof, dustproof and waterproof for an active family lifestyle for just £99.99.

The high performance entries on the lineup are the Coolpix P600 and super-zoom P530.

Both cameras are compact with high zoom power and include a built-in electronic viewfinder that allows you to snap photos on the move.

The Coolpix P600 will set you back £429.99 whilst the P530 costs £329.99.

Nikon has also released the stylish Coolpix S9700 and S9600 cameras with built-in WiFi so you can upload and share images via your smart device which can also act as a remote control for the camera.

The S9700 is priced £329.99 whilst the S9600 is cheaper at £249.99. 

The last of the lot is the compact 12-megapixel Coolpix P340 that also comes with built-in WiFi for £349.99.

Apart from the P530 that arrives on February 13, the Nikon Coolpix range will be available February 27.

In a press statement released by Sony, the company said that it is selling off its VAIO brand and concentrate more on smartphones and tablets, citing “drastic changes in the PC industry”. Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) will take over the business, with the deal expecting to be completed by the end of July this year. 

The statement also said that Sony will “immediately cease planning, design and development of PC products”. It also said that manufacturing and sales will be discontinued after they release their Spring 2014 lineup. Sony also assured customers that they will still get after sales support even if the deal has been completed.

Always associated with elegant design, the VAIO line of notebooks has always been one of the preferred brands by some, including Steve Jobs – to which he even envisioned VAIOs running on Mac OS X.

5 Most Exciting Gadgets for 2014. 2014’s shaping up to be another game-changing year for tech. Once again, smartphones and tablets are set to become shaper, faster and cooler. But beyond those staples of the scene, there are some hugely exciting new pieces of kit.

 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) announced that cumulative sell through for the PlayStation 4 (PS4) worldwide has surpassed 2.1 million units as of December 1, 2013.

The number includes the 700,000 units sold through in Europe and Australasia launching on November 29.
The PS4 system became available on November 15 in the United States and Canada and on November 29 in Europe, Australasia and Latin America and is now available in 32 countries globally.

“PS4 delivered the best launch in PlayStation history with the North American release and we’ve continued this incredibly successful start in Europe, Australasia and Latin America,” said Andrew House, President and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

“Demand remains incredibly strong and continues to overwhelm the supply worldwide, but we are diligently working to meet those growing demands and to deliver additional PS4 units to our retail partners throughout the holiday season.  We are extremely grateful for the passion of PlayStation fans and thank them for their continued support.”

PS4 consumers embraced the deep social capabilities offered by the PS4 system, including heavy use of live broadcasting on Ustream and Twitch and sharing content through Facebook and Twitter.

The PS4 system’s games portfolio expands in 2014 with games like the highly anticipated franchise favorite inFAMOUS: Second Son and MLB 2014: The Show from SCE WWS, as well as brand new IP including Destiny from Activision, Watch_Dogs from Ubisoft Entertainment, and The Order 1886 and #DRIVECLUB from SCE WWS.

Looking ahead, the PS4 system will evolve through PlayStation’s cloud gaming services, available in the U.S. in 2014.  Based on Gaikai Inc.’s cloud-based technology, the service will enable users to have access to a catalogue of critically acclaimed PlayStation 3 games on PlayStation 4 and PS3, followed by PlayStation Vita.

The Latest NASA Launches Instagram Account One little step on a social newspapers platform is one giant leap for Instagram. That's because NASA launched an authorized Instagram account on Friday — a communal profile it says will "take its followers on an out-of-this-world excursion through images of soil and beyond." According to a report issue, with content including aeronautics, astrophysics, soil science and human spaceflight, the NASA account will provide a outlook of the bureau by distributing new and historic images and videos.

On its first day on Instagram, NASA concentrated on the launch of its Lunar Atmosphere and dirt Environment Explorer, or LADEE, at 11:27 p.m. from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops isle, Va. NASA states LADEE is a robotic research objective that will orbit the moon to gather data about the structure and composition of the lunar air and determine whether dust is being lofted into the lunar atmosphere.

By 11:30 p.m. ET on Friday, NASA was up to 32,000 followers on Instagram — including 4,000 as of that noon all through the day, NASA posted historic moon images and real-time photographs from the launch convoluted premier up to and encompassing liftoff. As of Saturday, 6,400 Instagram users had admired the LADEE launch likeness.

"That's the topic for the day - Instagram moon day," states John Yembrick, NASA's communal media supervisor, supplementing the search to the moon would be visible from the Carolinas to Maine. According to Yembrick, NASA's Ames Research Center and Goddard Space air travel Center have living Instagram accounts, which NASA was "testing to glimpse how it went." Instagram is a good platform for the bureau because "NASA is such a visual organization," Yembrick states.

NASA has countless images to share, including those from the Hubble telescope as well as the sun.

"What we launch today with images from the moon is such a dynamic article to tell visually," he adds.

The agency furthermore utilises Flicker, Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to share photos. "NASA is trying to motivate the world to investigation and discovery. We'd actually like to come to out to let people know what we're doing in space investigation and how it impacts their lives and forms the world," Yembrick states. "I'd also state we'd like to hit persons who use the [Instagram] stage. One of the things about [Instagram] is that you proceed on to share an facet of your life and through it you can discover what NASA is doing. You don't necessarily expect to discover, but you can if all of a rapid it's in front of you. It's not just images - it's telling the NASA story."

Also on Friday, Instagram handed out a tweet to welcome NASA. By the next day, it had been re-tweeted 1,000 times and favorited 500 times. The agency's primary Twitter account, @NASA, has 4.7 million followers, which NASA states is more than any other government bureau.

NASA furthermore has a occurrence on YouTube, Foursquare and Reddit, among other stages.

"We're endeavouring to evolve," Yembrick says. "We've been on Instagram for awhile, but I wish we were on it sooner. occasionally the government doesn't move as fast, but I think it's a large stage for us as we evolve and are endeavouring to come to a different demographic and audience."

NASA was established by leader Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. The association states its dream is "to reach for new heights and disclose the unknown so that what we do and learn will advantage all humankind."

It's the end of summer and many students are coming out of a brief dip into the professional world  working alongside adults and performing entry level tasks, only to return back to classes in the fall. Some are paid, some are not  some provide both learning opportunities and a chance to build one's network, others less so. Across the board, most students will say that an internship is a better investment of time than sitting at home, or working a regular summer job. 

But some students have found summer experiences that are, arguably, better for their careers — especially those students interested in entrepreneurship, not joining corporate life.

I asked seven students who participated in Lightspeed Venture Partners' summer fellowship — a program that behaves like a startup accelerator without taking equity from the teams — how the experience compared to a summer internship, and what knowledge they'll be taking back to school.

Would you consider a non-traditional summer program? Tell us in the comments.

I read Y Combinator's Hacker News quite a bit. One day when I was browsing, I came across this. We decided to apply and the rest is history. - William Zhou, Planboard

Several of our friends have gone through the Lightspeed program and we heard only good things. - Feross Aboukhadijeh, peerCDN

Through the Stanford Bitcoin Group, a small collection of 8 students with a common interest in Bitcoin. - Matthew Rials, TryBTC

I think so. At Stanford, various friends were poised to drop out or take time off of school to start a venture. I can't help but think that these folks may have missed out on some of the wonders of American college life. - Giancarlo Daniele, Drive Pulse

You're never too young to start a company. I started my first company when I was in Grade 10 in high school. My former Co-Founder, David Kim, and I started a web design firm. Slowly, our client base grew, but we were tired of all of their rules. We decided to scratch our own itch. We ended up launching Draftboard for the designer community [2] in Grade 12. That just shows you how young we were in our ventures. - William Zhou, Planboard

We certainly plan to carry on our project as we transition back to Stanford, once summer has ended. We are very passionate about the notion of spreading Bitcoin to the world and easing the average user's transition into the new currency, and we will continue to work on TryBTC for as long as that takes. We have already raised enough money to keep things running through school, and our investment terms allow for us to remain enrolled in classes. - Matthew Rials, TryBTC

Absolutely. During this summer we’ve had amazing traction with Contastic – our mobile CRM product. The team has grown from 1 person (just me) to six during the 10 weeks. Together, we’ve been able to build a complete product and land pilots at several fortune 500 companies. With the support of Lightspeed and our early customers we’ve been able to develop a truly unique product that will improve the lives of salespeople worldwide. - Cy Khormaee, Contastic

There are few more rewarding ways to spend working hours than to directly think up and build products and wait to see how people use them. You can't usually do this at a traditional internship. - Giancarlo Daniele, Drive Pulse

There's nothing in the world like working for yourself — no pointy haired boss, no managers — just complete control over how you spend your time and what you make of your life. Starting a company is a high-stress, high-risk decision, but it's also high in learning, impact, and fun. We don't wish that we were doing anything else. - Feross Aboukhadijeh, peerCDN

While its true that I became a better programmer, the majority of what I learned this summer would fall into the "professional development" category. There are an astonishing number of soft skills that are absolutely crucial to managing a company, and the people that work for it. 

For instance, taking a product from prototype to production involves managing relationships with hardware designers and manufacturers, electronics designers and manufacturers, packaging designers, retailers, your own internal sales team, your product development team of engineers, your lawyers, your investors, and co-founders. If for example, you didn't know what to look for in a designer when you interviewed your first, you certainly get a better sense by the time you speak to the tenth. Lastly, the most empowering takeaway from the summer is the following: 

I validated that being an entrepreneur is what I was born to do. Whether in this venture or another I have equipped myself with the skills I need to be a successful visionary and leader, and am incredibly grateful for the opportunity Lightspeed gave me to do so. - Aaron Konigsberg, Lapshark via

Now Oyster Releases the First True Netflix-for-E-books App. Netflix and Spotify have built multi-billion dollar enterprises by offering subscription services for film and music, respectively, but no company has actually made this form work for digital publications. Now, Oyster has disclosed its first try to change that.

Oyster, a New York-based startup, made headlines late last year when it broadcast lifting $3 million from Founders finance to construct out a service that would offer "unlimited access" to e-books. On Thursday, the startup commenced its e-reading app for iPhone, which is accessible on a first-come, first-served invitation-only cornerstone for now.

With the iPhone app, users get access to more than 100,000 ebooks from hundreds of publishers including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Melville House and one of the "big five" announcing houses, HarperCollins. Oyster will ascribe users $9.95 a month to read as numerous e-books as they like.

"People love accessing things when they desire it with one price," Eric Stromberg, co-founder of Oyster, said in an interview with Mashable. although, he believes a couple of obstacles have held back most startups from endeavouring to do the lone cost subscription form with e-books: "Any company that does this desires to be actually good at technology, at merchandise and on the joint venture side of things, and construction a centre area of know-how in each of those."

Another new ebook startup, is also trying to make the digital publication subscription notion work, but with a very distinct charge form. Rather than charge on flat monthly rate for unlimited reads, eReatah offers three tiered charges extending from $16.99 a month for two reads to $33.50 for four reads a month.

While the tiered pricing form could verify to be a better deal for publishers and authors, Stromberg states his group endeavoured to discover from living digital subscription services and put simultaneously a income model that "really places the rightsholder's interest first and makes sense over decades." That said, the group is somewhat open to other charge structures in the future. "If we can provide a large experience kind of in a freemium form, we'll work in the direction of that," said Willem Van Lancker, one of the three co-founders.

The novelty of the subscription model for ebooks almost overshadows some of the more subtle but important changes Oyster is trying to make to the e-reading know-how. Like Netflix and Spotify, Oyster doesn't just provide easier get access to to content, but furthermore aspires to help users discover and share content. The publications are coordinated into genres similar to Netflix and every client has a social profile in the app and can pursue the reading undertaking of other users they're connected to. There are furthermore constructed in choices to share books to Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram.

after that, Oyster made the interesting alternative to focus on the smartphone reading experience first, rather than tablets, where one might assume most persons do their long reading. The reasoning, according to the founders, is easy: many more people carry round smartphones than tablets. To make it work, though, Oyster's group rethought the e-reading design: Users scroll through the text from peak to bottom rather than right to left, and they have more customizability over font kind and dimensions.

The two large-scale matters for Oyster are of course cost and selection. Oyster's 100,000 books encompasses a pleasant variety of classics and up to date titles, but at launch it's lacking numerous bestsellers and brand new releases. For the casual client, giving $120 a year for a service like this makes the most sense if you don't have to pay much more on top to read other issues not available to rent. In my own know-how, many of the publications I sought for — from well-known authors like Jonathan Lethem, George Saunders and Anthony Swofford — were unavailable. That may change if the service gets more traction amidst users and thus expanded leverage amidst publishers.

At $9.95 a month, Oyster is slightly more costly than Netflix's streaming-only option. That is a better worth proposition in the sense that you need only lease one ebook a month to at smallest shatter even, while you would need to watch multiple movies or display seasons a month on Netflix to come out ahead of usual rental charges in bricks-and-mortar video stores. Unfortunately, a Pew survey from last year discovered that just 27% of Americans read the matching of one or more publications per month — digital or physical — which proposes the $120/year could be seen as steep cost to pay for many.

For better or worse, the success or malfunction of Oyster may assist as the ultimate litmus check for whether digital apparatus boost the consumption of publications — in the way that they might with movies — or undermine it.

"You glimpse all the times someone says I'm really enjoying shattering awful, it's on Netflix, you have no apologise not to go at smallest give it a shot. We seem that same way with books," Stromberg says. With an get get access to to form, he states, "You spend less time conceiving about making a buy, less time conceiving about if you should read this publication and actually just start reading it. That's ultimately the way you'll be adept to notify you like it."

Buy Glue, the second-screen app for movie and TV lovers, on Thursday released an iOS update directed at giving users more command. The app update boasts a redesigned where-to-watch direct, a remote-control function for DirecTV subscribers and additional communal tools for the app's 4 million listed users to add memes, GIFs, items and videos to mails.



The issue is optimized for the imminent launch of the iOS 7 mobile functioning system and the fall TV season. The overhaul resembles a digital TV direct. The listings are prioritized by what's on right now, making it easy to supervise trending content. As with previous app releases, personalized check-in facts and figures assists GetGlue tailor content to users.


The What to Watch characteristic boasts a real-time direct on what's streaming online, on TV and in theaters. That includes Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, HBO proceed and On Demand. More than 100 systems and movie partners use the app to promote content.

The new seek & find out function allows users to select by genre or pre-picked recommendations such as binge observing, laughing, bawling and other moods. DirecTV subscribers can connect the app to their twisted cord cartons and change channels in the On TV Now part of the app (more than 20 million Americans are DirecTV users). one time they're paired, users can tap the play button in the GetGlue direct to swap DirecTV channels.

"As user flips through the channels, the GetGlue app pre-fills what show [you're] watching and makes it faster to check in," GetGlue CEO Alex Iskold told Mashable. Revamped show pages use filters allowing users to see live comments, videos and photos from other fans. Connecting your Facebook or Twitter accounts gets your friends' tweets synched into the app. Plus you can make the app even more social by adding media to posts, including memes, videos, articles, and photos — functions that were previously only available on the desktop version of the service.

"Fan-generated media and reactions to it are the fastest growing trend on GetGlue right now," Iskold says.

When GetGlue debuted in 2008, it focused on helping users get recommendations. A year later it morphed into an entertainment check-in service and started gaining traction. Around that time, the app began partnering with major networks and film companies.

GetGlue's popularity has been buoyed by the rise of second-screen tools. Some 88% of U.S. homes own at least one device with that capability, while 87% of consumers operate at least one device while watching TV, according to the consumer market research firm NPD.

The way we consume content is changing, but Iskold says the one constant is viewers' love for that material.

"The goal of the app is to first and foremost connect people socially around their favorite shows, help them stay in touch and get cool GIFs, memes, videos, recaps, news about the shows and lastly help people find new things to watch."

Do you use GetGlue? Will these new updates make you spend more time on the app?

In a press release today, Nintendo announced that starting Sept. 20, the Wii U Deluxe set would sell for $299.99, down from $349.99 at launch. Also on Sept. 20, Nintendo will release a Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker bundle – complete with the game, a bunch of limited-edition artwork, and a "GamePad with Zelda-inspired gold accents" – for $299.99. 

So what's behind the announcement? Well, for one thing, the Wii U has been selling rather dismally. According to Reuters, Nintendo has unloaded 3.6 million Wii U units since launch, which sounds like a big number until you consider that the Wii U launched all the way back in November of 2012. Globally, in the months spanning April 1 and June 30, the Wii U sold a measly 160,000 units. (That figure is "really, really bad" Kotaku has noted.) 

But there's also the small matter of the impending launch of the Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4. Microsoft is said to be eyeing a Nov. 8 release date for its device; Sony has confirmed that the PS4 will hit shelves on Nov. 15 in the US and Canada. (To put things in perspective, the PS4 will sell for $399 and the Xbox One for $499, but then again, both consoles are considerably more powerful than the Wii U.) 

The press maelstrom that is likely to follow the debut of both devices certainly won't be good for Nintendo, which puts extra pressure on the Japanese company to get consumers interested in the ailing Wii U.

And who knows? If there's one thing that can rouse a torpid fan base, it's a new Zelda game. [via]

Eye-Fi wireless memory cards deliver the next generation Eye-Fi experience in the form of the the award-winning Eye-Fi Pro X2. We are talking about faster-than-ever wireless photo and video uploads, improved performance, and virtually endless storage capacity with Endless Memory mode.

 makes your camera wireless
The Eye-Fi card is the 1st wireless memory card. It looks, stores media, and fits into cameras just like a regular SDHC card. On top of that, the Eye-Fi card has built-in Wi-Fi that uses your wireless network to effortlessly transfer photos and videos.

uses your home Wi-Fi network
Upon setup, specify which networks the Eye-Fi card uses to transfer your media. Add up to 32 networks for your card to use. The next time your camera is on within range of a specified network, your photos and videos will fly to your computer and to your favorite sharing site.

One tool that I’ve been missing at my lab at home is function generator. They tend to be a bit expensive, so I haven’t bought one. I thought this might be a good opportunity to try and make one myself. I found a pretty common DDS (direct digital synthesis) chip, called AD9833. Then just strap a USB-enabled AVR micro there and maybe some analog electronics.

This board doesn’t do any of the special analog magic to allow for variable amplitude or offset for the signal. The output is fixed to 0-4v. I’m planning to make another completely analog board for adjusting amplitude and offset. [Link]

Christe is a very well known projector manufacturer. The opening of The Atlantic in Dubai was, in fact, done using the company's projectors. They are at Gitex to showcase some of their new products this year.

One of them is the Christie J series range, a compact (in its class) projector solution that combines the best of the company's innovations into one affordable package (if ever these things can be affordable). The most interesting feature of the projector is the Christe Twist, a hardware-based pixel mapping technology that can adjust any image onto the surface it is projecting on, and stitch multiple images into one seamless image. An example is below.

The Christe J series is also fitted with the 3-chip DLP platform along with 22,000 lumens of Xenon brightness to help deliver proper color accuracy and clean, crisp images. The J series comes in various low to high-end models, with the Christe Roadster HD20K-J featured above carrying a price tag of USD 80,000.

Although electricity is a ubiquitous and there are times when it is not possible at all to connect your equipment to an electrical outlet. The purpose of the KIWI-Powered U-passes is to provide energy to any type of mobile device.

A bionic bird known as SmartBird has been developed by German company that can takes off, fly and land without human interference and with minimal consumption of energy. The size of the SmartBird is about 150 cm wingspan, the wings feet long, and a torso of more than one meter. Despite the dimensions, the SmartBird is very lightweight. It is powered by two small lithium batteries with half amp charge.

Despite the high technology used in its mechanical structure, the key to the secret of seagull flying mechanic is within your torso. While motion sensors indicate the exact position of the wings and an accelerometer provides information about the displacement and tilt the bird, a small microprocessor system calculates the exact angle of twist of each wing and tail of the bird, which allows him to fly in different directions, take off and land without human interference. However, you can also control it via a microwave radio system known as ‘ZigBee’, which combines rapid response and low power consumption.

Genius Mouse DX-BlueEye ECO is the world’s first wireless mouse without batteries for PC & Mac users. No battery? Yes, the secret is the use the of the built-in capacitor (gold capacitor) that replace the battery and can be used up to 100,000 times refill.

According to Genius, all we need simply refill it for 3 minutes then the mouse can be used for a full day. With Genius Mouse DX-BlueEye ECO, it means we do not need extra money to purchase external battery pack and also preserve the environment. Genius Mouse DX-BlueEye ECO is using a frequency of 2.4 GHz and can be used within a maximum distance of 15 m and have a 800/1600 dpi. it will be sold with price of $ 39.99.

A revolutionary NiMH rechargeable battery - the USBCELL, saves you money and battery waste and is easy to recharge from a USB port. When empty, all you have to do is to plug the USBCELL in PC port. This cool eco-friendly gadget is of AA sized battery and costs $10-20. USBCELL has also been designed in the AAA format with an instant foldout full-size USB, and with a mini-USB. AA cells can also be used with convertors to create C and D size cells.

Introducing the C-1, the world’s first gyroscopically-stabilized “rolling smart phone”. This vehicle combines the efficiency and freedom of a motorcycle with the safety and convenience of a car. Offering the “alternative to alternatives” on an exciting and safe platform, the C-1 transforms your daily commute into something to look forward to. Influenced by Scandinavian design, the exterior of the C-1 is both approachable and simple, enveloping the human in subtle curves, softened volumes, and lots of glass.

The overall design foundation is based on its waist line, which wraps around the vehicle’s circumference, and is grounded by the swooping rocker panel, highlighting its unique gyroscopic components. Discs of light glow from the wheel hubs, illustrating the electric hub motors. With design key words: “subtle”, “simple”, and “human”, the C-1 is as happy to be seen as it is to be touched.

The C-1 was designed with you in mind. Lit Motors’ human-centered approach to design makes sure that the experience of sitting in such a unique transportation device is both comfortable and spacious. Through numerous mock-ups and user studies, we determined how much space people want and need. There is even enough room in this device for a friend to ride in the back for short city excursions.

Using electronically-controlled gyroscopes located under the floor – generating over 1,300 ft.-lb. of torque – the C-1 balances at a stop and stays upright, even in a collision. In-hub, direct-drive electric motors (20 kW) provide power and regeneration, while center-hub steering keeps you pointed in the right direction. With a top speed of 100+ MPH and battery packs providing up to 200 miles per charge, the C-1 is perfect for commuters and city dwellers alike. As we are hard at work developing this concept for production, please be patient for the future. Expect to see the C-1 in showrooms by the end of 2014.