7 posts tagged “kodak”

Kodak and other camera companies joined forces in 1991 to develop the Advanced Photo System (APS), which was introduced at PMA in Las Vegas in 1996.  It was intended as an alternative to or replacement of the conventional 135 film format.  APS film was 24mm wide, compared to 35mm of the 135 format, and the surface area was only 56% of 135 film.  It offered 3 aspect ratios - C type (Classic, conventional 3:2 aspect ratio), H type (HDTV, 16:9), and P type (Panoramic, 3:1).  Consumers could choose an aspect ratio for individual films on the same cartridge.  It also offered Magnetic Information Exchange which could record exposure information, date and time and other personalised information on a magnetic coating, which could be printed on to the backs of photographs.

The film cartridges manufactured by Kodak were marketed as Advantix Film.  In January 2004, Kodak announced that it would stop selling APS cameras.

Polaroid at CES 2009
Speaking of old-timers, Polaroid announced a digital camera at CES, the Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera.  It's a camera and a PoGo Printer (Episode 683) in one.  Little is known about the specs of the camera itself (apart from the PoGo printer capability).  It seems Polaroid is still hanging on to the idea of instant prints.


Getting Smug
Steve Miller thanks Dick and Leo (especially Leo) for introducing him to SmugMug to which he has moved from Flickr.  Now he is putting his old pictures and slides on to SmugMug.

All Things Obama
Mad has just had its 3rd Obama cover out, while the previous two are selling on eBay.  Leo has been invited to the inauguration ceremony for his campaign contribution, along with the rest of the public, and has been invited to buy all the official Obama merchandise.


Listen to Episode 745
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A heads-up from a listener, Charles from Berkeley, California.  No need to worry about your shopping cart with your child sitting in it rolling down the slope.  At one end of the CartStopper is a giant suction cup, connected to a bungee cord with a hook at the other end which you attach to the shopping cart.  The device is strong enough to hold in place a full shopping cart with a child in it.

Leo thinks the CartStopper might be another Purseguard (Episode 406).  That's not going to please Shopping Mom Dyanne who designed the device!

CES 2009 Preview
Dick was at the CES 2009 Preview last week.  CES has to hold a preview in order to announce the CES awards in January.

Busy Bee
Busy Bee Ludwik Trammer is at work again.  He has some ideas for Dick's site, and is going to show Dick on Go To Meeting.  By the way, Giz Wiz Search now has a new .com URL: www.gizwizsearch.com.

The Joy of Gadgets
The Kodak Disc Camera (Episode 690) brings back fond memories of a strong and vibrant company for Brent [Cascamenti] from Rochester, New York, who has been working for Kodak as an electrical engineer for 27 years.  Brent has been a faithful listener since Episode 1, and thanks Dick and Leo for bringing him the joy of gadgets.

Skunk Works
Brent uses the word "Skunk Works" in his letter, which Leo explains to Dick, with a little help from Wikipedia, first used by Lockheed Martin in 1938.  The name has its origin in Al Capp's comic strip L'il Abner.

Dick's Thanksgiving
No small talk for Dick's party at Thanksgiving, where his pineapple upside down cake is de rigueur (in addition to the gravy of course).  For more on Dick's Thanksgiving celebrations, go back to Episode 199.  Whenever Dick misses his Thanksgiving fare, he can go to "Good Enough To Eat", all year round.  This is also the restaurant Dick took Leo for a huge breakfast when Leo was in New York (listen to the beginning of Episode 334).

Ready for TTTT
Leo had numerous ideas for last week's TTTT (see Episode 697), but only after the recording had ended.  This time, he's ready.


Listen to Episode 701
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In 1982, Kodak released a new film format, the Disc Film, and the Disc Camera.  Each Disc Film was contained in a plastic cartridge, had 15 exposures (8mm x 11mm), and the disc would rotate 24˚automatically after each exposure.  Since the film cartridge is flat (unlike traditional film rolls), Disc Cameras could be made much thinner, and the film advanced to the next frame automatically.  Kodak released different models at different price points.  Other manufacturers also made the Disc Film and Disc Film Cameras.  The quality of the prints made from disc film left a bit to be desired, and the format was discontinued.


For pictures of a good range of Kodak Disc Cameras, see ozcamera.com.  For an example of a disc camera made by another manufacturer, see DigicamHistory and scroll down to the 1982 section.

Turn-It-Off Tuesday
Fellow Podcaster Jonathan Cost has been listening to DGW since Episode 1, but recently had a week of DGW shows to catch up with, and he played them in his car with his wife and 12-year-old son.  When it came to the TTTT episode, his son said it should be called "Turn-It-Off Tuesday".  He was sad to find that his son does not share his interest in his favourite show on the TWiT network.  Never mind, Jonathan, your son has a lot to learn.

Self-effacing Jonathan Cost does not specify which podcast he does.  It's Mac Tips Daily, on ThinkMac.net - short daily tips for the Mac.  Check it out.

Twitter Grader
Twitter Grader is a tool that grades the power of your profile on Twitter.  Rumour has it that Leo was once number one.

Coupon Code
If you're into Brain Toniq, get a discount using the promo code "Leo" when you buy online.


Listen to Episode 690
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Today's gadget is also the What The Heck Is It gadget for September '08, which no one cracked, not even WTHII aficionado "Marked".  Made by Totes, maker of umbrellas, the Pocket Shave, when the cap was removed, revealed a razor that flipped up and out, and inside the cylinder was compressed shaving cream released by pressing a white button.  It was the size of a fat pen, and the cap even had a clip for your pocket.  A perfect travelling companion.  No sign of it now, but you can find an article on the New York Times still archived on their website.




A Poem for Dick's Gadget Warehouse
Ed Hansen from Rexton, Canada, long-time listener since Episode 1 (see his letter in Episode 204), has been inspired by the suggested name for Dick's mansion, "Wizneyland", to compose an opening poem for the Gadget Warehouse:


Wait For Dick
The phone rings for Dick, and Leo can't wait to play the Wait-for-Dick Jingle.

Parting With Junk
As may be expected, Dick is a real hoarder and has difficulty throwing out junk.  He tried disposing of the Atari Video Music (Episode 85), still in its sealed box, but in the end retrieved it from the trash bin.  Hence the Gadget Warehouse, where in some dark corner, there ought to be, in a little Kodak film canister, a bit of Bill Gaines, which Dick has yet to rediscover.  But Dick has unearthed an old Mad box with more original Match Game Cards from 1974 and 1975.  For more details, go to matchgamequestions.com.

Dick once even went to an Anti-Clutter Class.  You can hear the story in Episode 94.

Breaking Down Barriers
Tony Colonello, aka Kwai Nor or Kwai Naawy (little water buffalo) to his Thai wife, has been prompted by Episode 671 (the Mio Knight Rider GPS) to write about his own GPS.  The TomTom GO 720T not only has voice directions in Thai, but also can record any voice so that his wife can now nag him about his driving even when she's not in the car.

In support of the Daily Giz Wiz, he is now an Audible subscriber.  Being an Amazon Kindle (Episode 472) owner, he's got his wife to listen to Audible books on the Kindle, so she can learn English at the same time, breaking down cultural and language barriers.


Listen to Episode 680
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The Zi6 from Kodak is a pocket-size camcorder that takes HD video (720p at 60 fps or 30 fps), or VGA video, using H.264 encoding, targeting the market currently enjoyed by the Flip.  It has a 1.6 megapixel CMOS, 2x zoom lens, speakers and a mono microphone.  Built-in memory is only 128MB, with a SD card slot supporting SDHC, up to 32GB.  Transfer of video files to the computer is via a USB connection that flips out from one side (where there is also a little mirror for taking video of yourself).  Component and AV output (cables included).  Controls are minimal, mainly via the central 4-way round button.  You can also take still images with the camera (3 megapixel, interpolated), with a macro function (at 2 inches).  The tripod mount is 1/4 inch standard.

Compatible with both Windows and Mac, but the video software provided is for Windows only - ARCSOFT Media Impression.  The package includes the cables, 2 AA NiMH batteries and a charger.

Pre-Letters Jingle Jingle Revisited
Pants Commander and fellow podcaster Evan Pedersen, of Fancy Pants Gangsters (who last wrote in Episode 598), is reminded by a jingles blast in a recent DGW episode of MTV's worst-ever rated show The Sifl and Olly Show, which had an "Almost the End of the Show" jingle.  Evan suggests that Dick and Leo should have a pre-letters jingle jingle, so as not to take him by surprise.

This subject has already been well covered, between Episode 266 and Episode 278.  Perl expert, recent Squeak convert and FLOSS Weekly co-host Randal Schwartz suggested a Warning for the Letters Jingle Jingle, and listener Ken from Denver has even written the lyrics for the Introducing the Letters Jingle Jingle, sung by Dick and Leo:

"Here comes the jingle, the lovely jingle, here comes the letters jingle now."


Listen to Episode 664
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This is Issue 114 for March 1985 of Gadget, "the newsletter for grown-up kids", sent to Dick by a listener.  Its 12 pages were filled with wonders of 1985 gadegetry, 23 years ago.  It had news of Sony's new 1-pound CD Player for $300, Canon's PC-20 Photocopier for $1,095, and Kodak's Kodavision "lightweight" 5-pounder 8mm video recorder for $1,900, and for an extra $300, you could get a timer/tuner for the Kodavision.  Other gems included a dental mirror, Intelliwriter, and a speakerphone.

No Letters Today
No letters today, but perhaps Dick is still looking for the letter from the listener who kindly sent him the Gadget Newsletter for the Gadget Warehouse.

Update
The listener who sent Dick the Gadget Magazine was British Columbia Provincial Court Judge Brian Davis.  See Episode 548.


Listen to Episode 510
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Leo has been using the Epson PictureMate, which is perfect for making 5" x 7" prints, but Leo wants to get a more professional printer for large format prints for his wife Jennifer who is a very good photographer.  The Stylus Photo R2400 uses 9 ink cartridges, and prints produced with the use of archival ink and paper can last up to 200 years.  It prints up to 13" x 19" borderless printing.  It has a number of black ink cartridges for making excellent black and white photos.

Sunset at Line and Twine
The local string factory in Petaluma, Sunset Line and Twine, was closing down.  Another piece of history gone.  There was an exhibition of photographs of the factory in the local Library, including some taken by Jennifer, printed with Leo's Stylus Photo R2400.

You can see some of the Sunset Line and Twine photos on Leo's Smugmug pages.  There's also a beautiful collection of photographs of the factory taken in August 2007 by a local photographer Tim May.

Dane Golden, editor at TWiT, wrote an article on the sale of the old Victorian factory building (to be converted into condominiums) in a previous life.  He's supposed to have made a video too, but it doesn't seem to be online any more.

CED Players
A listener Matt writes in about the CED Players, which he's not heard about on the Daily Giz Wiz.  Leo explains this was the RCA Selectavision discs from the early 1980's that they talked about in Episode 277.  CED stands for Capacitance Electronic Disc.

Brannock Device
Leo was at a shoes store the other day and he bored the store lady to tears with the history of the Brannock Device (Episode 255).


Listen to Episode 317
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