| Gadgets Kodak Shows World's First 1.4 Micron 5MP Camera Chip
Kodak cut its teeth in the world of print photography and film based cameras with a history going back for decades. With the advent of the digital photography revolution, Kodak has been reinventing itself as a player in the digital photography industry rather than a maker of film and film-based cameras. Kodak leveraged its vast patent library to devise a new camera chip that could make camera phones much more usable. Anyone who has tried to use a camera phone knows that typically the images turn out dark and blurry because the camera portion of most phones is something added on as a secondary function. Kodak sees its new camera chip as making the camera portion of the phone one of the main features in the future. According to the Associated Press (AP) the new Kodak sensor is the world's first 1.4 micron, 5 megapixel camera chip.
Kodak aims for 5-megapixel phone cameras
"We believe we've created a new camera sensor product that rivals that of real cameras, but it's small enough to be used in a camera phone," said Fas Mosleh, manager of CMOS market work for Kodak's professional and applied imaging group.
There have been nice cameras in high-end mobile phones such as Nokia's N95, but Kodak believes its technology, built into a 5-megapixel sensor product to ship by the end of the year, will help bring better cameras to mainstream mobile phones.
Semiconductor chips currently detect light essentially by counting how many electrons result from light striking a pixel on the image sensor. More intense light means more electrons, and that electronic signal can be converted into digital data.
But Kodak believes it can get some improvements by rewiring the image sensor design to detect the absence of electrons instead--in effect counting "holes" rather than electrons.
Going Out Guide: Find something to do this weekend
Picture with Santa, pizza lunch, crafts, Santa's gift shop and raffles, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 8, Queen of Peace Church, 2550 Millville Ave., Hamilton, (513) 863-8705, www.queenofpeacechurch.net. SANTA BRUNCH: Fourth annual event featuring Waffle House waffles, drinks, photo with Santa, free children's crafts and gift basket raffles. Proceeds benefit Mason High School cross country, track and field teams. For tickets, email santabrunch@embarqmail.com, 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 8, $6, $2 children younger than 2, Mason Middle School, 770 S. Mason Montgomery Road, Mason. LIGHT UP FINNEYTOWN: 7 p.m. Dec. 9, coincides with "Light Up Wyoming." (513) 931-0243. PIONEER CHRISTMAS: 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 9. Santas will be at the 1833 Keehner Park Log Cabin. Guests should bring their own camera for photos.
Lil Find: A Diaper Bag For Pigskin Lovers
I can think of a few football fanatics who would flip for this football diaper bag. They're also liable to slap some "Chargers" or "Patriots" bumper stickers on the tote, but as long as the adhesives stay off the baby's skin, I'm okay with it. The brown vinyl tote is sure to score some serious points with the Super Bowl obsessed parent. .
Is Homeland Security Too Focused on “Guns, Guards and Gates”?
September 11th was a brutal reminder that there are people out there who have the desire and means to kill us in a mass attack, and we have to stop them. "The best defense is a good offense", we like to say, but in this case it's a little trickier than that. We need an offense mindful of long-term gains and a defense more nuanced than smash-mouth football. "Guns, guards and gates," our bulwark against external threats, remains an essential part of our defense. Yet consider this: attacks attempted or carried out in the UK involved insiders, young Brits willing to kill their fellow citizens. It's hard to employ a simplistic "us vs. them" strategy, when "they" are living and working alongside us. To better understand this quandry, I recently caught up with Juliette Kayyem, Undersecretary of Homeland Security for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a former adviser with the National Commission on Terrorism.
Small, wearable cameras could help keep an eye on cops
As leaders in Seattle and elsewhere call for stronger police accountability, three former Seattle officers hope to cash in on that movement with an action cam for police. The officers' fledgling company, VIEVU, has developed a small, wireless digital camera that could be a tool to record officers' interactions during an arrest or traffic stop. The camera is lightweight, about the size of a pager, and waterproof -- the latter feature being something that officers on Seattle's rainy beat know is paramount, said Chris Myers, who ended his 18-year police career in January to join VIEVU. The PVR-LE easily clips onto an officer's lapel or belt. Four gigabytes of flash memory record up to four hours of video. If someone accuses an officer of wrongdoing, the camera should reveal the truth.
Power pole knocked down after crash
A crash at Old St. Augustine Road and Pine View Drive knocked out a power pole, but no one was seriously injured. The intersection was blocked off for several hours after the 3 a.m. crash so the power pole could be repaired, but it is now open, said Lt. Ken Bergstrom, of the Tallahassee Police Department. .
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