Canon firmware hack unlocks features on DIGIC II-based cameras

from Engadget by Donald Melanson

This hack has been floating around the internets for a little while now, but it looks like Canon users have just recently begun to catch on to its charms, and its fairly significant benefits. For those not up to speed, the so-called CHDK firmware hack promises to unlock several advanced features of Canon's DIGIC II processor, not the least of which is support for RAW shooting, something normally reserved for higher-end cameras. Other hidden features including a live histogram, a "Zebra mode," a DOF calculator, and even a calendar, text reader, and games, among other things. While the hack should work with any DIGIC II-based camera "in theory," there's apparently only eight cameras that are officially supported, including the A610, A620, A630, A640, A700, A710, S2 IS, and the S3 IS. Of course, as with any firmware hack, you should proceed at your own risk, but those daring enough can find all the information they need by hitting up the read link below. [Via Gadget Lab]

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A Cleaner Burn: Eco Fire Fighting

from Earth2Tech by Georgia Flight

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the federal government spent $1.5 billion fighting fires last year, and with a near-record wildfire season underway, that number is sure to continue to rise. Unfortunately, much of that money was spent using equipment that spews toxic chemicals and emissions to douse the flames–sort of like saving the forest while damaging the trees (not to mention the wildlife).

Innovation in eco-fire fighting hopes to change that. Arkansas-based Working Chemical Solutions bills its Fire Blockade product as “the fastest, greenest, simplest and cleanest fire suppression system available.” (FYI, the product is the brainchild of Robert C. Smith, a former LSU Tigers defensive end turned biochemist who watched his laboratory burn to the ground — whoa.) Unlike dry chemicals and foams, water-based, biodegradable Fire Blockade doesn’t attack the oxygen in the fire; instead it alters the chemistry of the fuel surface and lowers the temperature of the fire dramatically so it can be more easily extinguished.

Summit Environmental Corp of San Diego has taken eco-fire fighting a step further–the nine-year-old company that previously developed products as diverse as organic skin care and toxic spill clean-up has recently refocused and declared itself on a “Green Firefighting” mission. The company is now 100% focused on its USDA-approved non-toxic Flameout fire suppressant and the development of technology for water and energy-saving fire vehicles.

While we couldn’t find any hybrid fire engines out there yet, if you’re ever unlucky enough to find yourself in a burning building in Sacramento, you might be cheered up by the fact that DaimlerChrysler’s one and only Mercedes Benz F-cell, the first fuel-cell powered fire response vehicle, is in service in the city as a supervisor’s vehicle. No, it doesn’t have a ladder and a hose, but hey, it’s a start.

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quick stats for MusicSamplr

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Cellphone: Semacode Bars Speed Up Shopping and Bankruptcy

from Gizmodo by Yuri Baranovsky

You know that hot half-naked woman you see on the billboard outside of your work? Well, now you can own her shirt. H&M -- or the European version of the GAP -- is creating billboards and magazine prints that will allow you to buy clothing using your cellphone's camera. Unfortunately, you still can't buy the actual model.

Black-and-white patterned boxes called Semacode bars will be placed on advertisements which carry coded information that will bring the shopper to the retailer's product catalog. You'll then be able to buy the clothes using your cellphone account, making it that much easier for your spouse to rack up an insurmountable debt and send you to an early grave. [CherryFlavor via SciFi]

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dyeSight $2 Multi-Touch Pad

By Erling Ellingsen on June 12, 2007

I guess most of the people reading this will have seen some of the multi-touch demos by Jeff Han, Apple and Tactiva. I wanted to play around with some ideas that required a multi-touch pad, but there aren't any devices available (Tactiva aren't shipping...)

Long story short, I made a simple one from a plastic bag, some dye and a camera:

Source: http://blog.medallia.com/2007/06/dyesight.html

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