Canon's C300 Mark II cinema camera will cost you $20,000

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/08/canon-c300-mark-ii/

More than three years after launching the C300, Canon is refreshing its line of cinema cameras with the C300 Mark II. On the outside, the C300 Mark II is quite similar to its EOS siblings, although it does come with a slightly tweaked design that features a wider body. But the most important changes are elsewhere. For one, Canon has made the new cinema camera capable of recording 4K internally, via CFast 2.0 cards -- as opposed to the first version, which couldn't handle this type of footage natively. The C300 Mark II sports a pair of DIGIC DV 5 processors, an ISO range of up to 102,400 and a brand new 8.85-megapixel, Super 35mm CMOS sensor, which can shoot video at full HD (1,920 x 1,080), 2K DCI (2,048 X 1,080), 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) and, perhaps most importantly, 4K DCI (4,096 x 2,160).

Canon's now using a high-bitrate codec named XF-AVC, with support for up to 410 Mbps; there's the option for uncompressed RAW output as well, but you'll need an external recorder to do that. Now, the C300 Mark II isn't here to replace the original model, but rather sit between it and the C500, the company's higher-end, pro-grade camera. But being in the middle of the pack doesn't mean that it'll be cheap. The C300 Mark II is set to be priced at $20,000 when it launches in September -- and Canon says you'll have the option to choose between an EF or PL mount, depending on your needs.

Filed under: Cameras, Canon

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Canon XC10 camcorder shoots 4K and looks damn good doing it

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/08/canon-xc10-4k-camcorder/

It's hard to get too excited about camcorders these days, what with most of them looking basically the same -- never mind how useful they may be sometimes. Canon's new XC10, on the other hand, is one that instantly caught our attention, thanks to its distinctive, out-of-the-ordinary design. And that's not even the best part. The XC10 can shoot 4K and 1080p video at up to 30 fps and 60 fps, respectively; on the former, there's support for both Ultra HD (3,840 x 2,160) and cinematic 4K (4,096 x 2,160), bringing it on par with the newly announced C300 Mark II. What's more, this Canon 4K camcorder features a 1-inch, 12-megapixel CMOS sensor, alongside a Digic DV 5 processor, 10x wide-angle zoom lens and optical image stabilization -- which should make for rather smooth videos.

Canon says that the XC10 is lighter than many of its DSLRs, including members of the 5D and Rebel lines, noting that it could be perfect for drone shoots. With an ISO range of up to 20,000, a continuous AF mode (with face detection), fast-motion recording, dedicated microphone and headphone jacks, WiFi and support for still photography, there's no doubt the company wanted to make this a top-of-the-line camcorder. When it arrives in June, Canon's 4K-ready XC10 will be $2,500 (64GB CFast 2.0 card included), a reasonably affordable price for a camera that's packed to the punch.

Filed under: Cameras, Canon

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Some Anonabox routers recalled for lack of basic security

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/07/anonabox-security-flaw-recalled/

The story of the Anonabox internet privacy router has a new ridiculous chapter. The initial production batch of the device has a major security flaw and Anonabox's overlords, Sochule have informed customers that it will replace those routers for free. It turns out the routers in question shipped without Wi-Fi password protection. Yup, the Anonabox "cloaking device" didn't have the simplest form of router security, a network password. Sure users could anonymously surf the Internet via Tor, but they couldn't stop anyone from within Wi-Fi range from hopping on their network and potentially hacking their devices. It was also determined that the root password of the affected devices is the incredibly easy to guess "Admin." According to a Wired report, 300 of the approximately 1,500 routers sold were about as secure as a screen door.

From its launch on Kickstarter, the Anonabox saga has been series of false claims. After blowing past its funding goal on Kickstarter, the crowd-funding site pulled the product citing false hardware claims. It was also discovered that many of the security declarations made by the company were inaccurate. After the device was moved to Indiegogo, creator August Germer's claims of involvement with the Tor community were also debunked.

Also, as noted by security researcher Nicholas Weaver, Anonabox users will most likely use non-Tor browsers on the Tor network. You should never use the same browser for Tor and non-Tor traffic because your ID cookie is logged in both instances.

Hey @anonabox, even IF your shit was secure (instead of grossly vulnerable), non-Tor Browser over Tor is EPICFAIL and known insecure.

- Nicholas Weaver (@ncweaver) April 7, 2015

Still, the company was able raise more than $82,00 and has apparently already sold about 1,500 devices. We'll never know how many of those were purchased by individuals believing the privacy hype and how many were bought by security researchers for the lulz.

[Image credit: Anonabox]

Filed under: Peripherals, Wireless, Networking

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Source: Wired, Reclaim Your Privacy

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Liquid metal printing puts flexible circuits on 'anything'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/08/purdue-inket-printer-liquid-metal/

Thanks to top universities and some companies, soft robots and stretchy electronics are already a reality. Now a group of researchers from Purdue claim they've found the right manufacturing process to produce those types of devices en masse. Their method entails printing out circuits using an inkjet printer loaded with liquid metal alloy. "This process... allows us to print flexible and stretchable conductors onto anything, including elastic materials and fabrics," said Rebecca Kramer, one of the researchers. After all, if the circuits are made from liquid metal, they can be stretched, folded, squeezed, and so on and so forth, without breaking.

They call the technique "mechanically sintered gallium-indium nanoparticles," because, well, they need to turn liquid metal into nanoparticles first before it can function as ink. That's made possible by immersing the alloy into a solvent such as ethanol and subjecting the mixture to ultrasound in order to disperse the liquid metal.

The printed circuits end up being protected by a "skin" that prevents electrical conductivity. But that can easily be removed by applying light pressure (like stamping or scraping) on the printout, allowing designers to choose which parts of the circuits to activate. The team plans to explore the technique further and perhaps put it to the test, but you can read more about their study when their paper gets published in the April 18th issue of Advanced Materials.

Filed under: Wearables, Science

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Source: Purdue University

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It's impossible to tell the difference between real life and video games

Source: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/its-impossible-to-tell-the-difference-between-real-life-1696333116

I know which one is reality and which one is video game graphics and yet my brain keeps flip flopping and pretending like the video game is real life and real life is actually the game. The graphics are so impressive that in some angles, I honestly can't tell which is which.

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