In late 2006 there were rumors that Apple was going to run Adsense ads in their online music store iTunes. This never happened, but obviously stated that Apple was looking to get an online presence. So, with that in mind, why shouldn’t Apple just buy digg? I mean it would at least give them something and hell most of the articles on digg are written about Apple anyways?

Someone is going to buy digg.com, now that Google showed some interest, somebody else wants it. Microsoft offered $500 million for just 5% of Internet giant Facebook, and last time I checked they had not turned a profit. Or am I completely wrong? Was it Google’s backing out on the deal that could be discouraging someone from buying them out? Social media sites like digg along with blog networks seem to be on the decline. With two blog networks closing in the last two weeks, along with many AOL blog authors forced to write free, has the social media revolution took a turn for the worse?

Of course the car companies would like to blame testing, government regulations (especially the EPA) and of course the consumer market for their faults and in the technology world the blame would go to trademarks and patents, again the government (this time the FCC) and last but not least limitations in science.

But the truth of the matter is all this is false. Yes some claims are true but I don’t think after ten years of making cell phones a company is still going to have problems with the FCC (after all they’re not releasing a new technological instrument) or GM is going to have problems with the EPA when they already know their standards. Of course the whole blame game thing is nothing new (Garden of Eden…HELLO) but it’s funny that the same companies that blame each other for stifling new technological advances are doing the same thing.

There are three major reasons why new technology is scarce including the fact that researches are scared that certain tech might be too powerful to let out in the public domain. Second is that the government likes to keep a tab on its citizens and certain of the new tech has the potential to put that “invisible” shield around its wanted citizens. But the major reason is that new technology means that researches and manufacturers have to change their way of thinking and also they do things.

An example is the computer. Back in the 80’s when the first PC’s were being released to the public for exorbitant prices many thought that this was all new. Than in the 90’s when the internet came into being the same thought was passed around. But a quick look at history proves otherwise. In fact the internet and the computer had been around for at least 20-30 years. But the US government had restricted the use to military use because it was the middle of the cold war and they were afraid that the Soviets would get their hand on the new tech and make it harder to spy on them.

Another example is the Quad Core processor. For those who are familiar with computer jargon the word has been thrown around for years. But it was not until the last 2 years that this became a reality. It was not that this technology was in testing for all that time, it was because computer manufacturers and OS publishers (Apple, Linux, and Microsoft) were not interested in creating new form factors (Intel, AMD) to meet the specifications of the new tech. this of course led us to be stuck with PC’s that were just barely giving us 512MB and of RAM and 80GB HDD.

So the buck stops at researches and developers. Yes the researches are doing their job, but they are not that likely to let the technology out of the bag unless they get a sizeable cut and since developers are not interested in doing complete overhauls more than once every decade it’s not a wonder why we are stuck with PC’s that barely give us 4GB of RAM and 500GB HDD. And yet we think this is the best so far.

Information from apple.com

Performance is probably going to be your biggest concern. Is it possible to get the performance out of an ultra mobile PC that you could get out of a regular notebook? The answer is yes. In fact most ultra portable notebooks can outperform average notebooks in performance. On the other most of them do not quite match up to the specs of most “performance powerhouse” notebooks not to mention gaming systems.

The two main things that ultra protectable notebooks lack is upgradability, of course smaller HDD and the lack of optical drives. Thanks to some advances in technology (especially Toshiba) a lot of the newer models now carry optical drives. In terms of expandability they generally carry few options and most do not have the option for anything other than an integrated video graphics card.

Another factor is performance. Many of the ultra portable notebooks do well in terms of regular everyday tasks such as watching movies, desktop publishing, music and web browsing. But when it comes to other high end tasks such as video editing, picture editing and other high end tasks will not perform best. But certain high end machines will handle these tasks fine although you will have to be willing to pay mega bucks for them. Be advised though that they will never come near to the performance of a dedicated desktop system.

Price is another big factor. As with all new technologies the ultra portable notebook is expensive mainly because the components to make it are also expensive. So is it worth it to pay $2,000 (the average price of most systems) for a notebook that will probably become obsolete in three years? Well considering that many of this technology is being outperformed by newer systems; unless you have the money to spend on a system it is quite irrelevant to take the money for a regular notebook (one that might outperform an ultra portable system.

So unless your company is giving you a complimentary system or you are rich enough to afford one, buying an ultra portable system might not be the wisest decision at this point. Mainly because of the price, they are quite expensive and while they can match the performance of regular notebooks they do not live up to performance notebooks of their price.

The best advice would be to wait until another 2-3 years until the price drops and of course the specs get a lot better. On the other hand if you do get a good deal on one it might not be that bad. Whatever you do, don’t be too disappointed if it lasts a lot less than an average computer.

So why all this Microsoft hatred? Although Apple brought us the home computer, Microsoft was the one that made it actually do something else than making calculations and editing documents. And let’s not forget that they were the one who brought down the price from $2,000+ in the 80’s to $3-400 today. But no matter how much Microsoft has done every company keeps taking puck shots at them from big old Google all the way down to tiny Apple. The only major companies who seem to be on their side these days is of course HP, Toshiba, DELL and IBM, which is obvious seeing Microsoft was one the major reasons why these companies became the giants they are today (although IBM and Michael Dell will disagree with me).

Now don’t get me wrong. Microsoft (as with any major company) has its problems. But all this crap about Vista being the worst OS over (that title goes to Window’s ME) and this other stuff about them copying Apple (Vista has been in the works for over 7 years, way before Apple’s OS became so advanced) are just not flying because there is hardly any proof. But the major though on this matter is competition is good. Many said for years that Microsoft was unbeatable because they were the giant (Mozilla and Apple and Google proved that wrong). All three companies have taken different segments of the company and chipped away at it. But what people hardly realize is that this encourages competition which drives technology.

Take Mozilla for example. After Microsoft came out the triumphant winner in the browser wars back in the 90’s we were stuck with a lackluster internet browser that was good but not best. Than out of the ashes of Netscape rose Mozilla. While Mozilla has not posed any major competition to the giant yet Microsoft has taken notice and thus we have a more secure internet explorer and one that actually rivals and beats Firefox in many features.

Another example is Apple. Back in the late 90’s Apple was in so much trouble (after kicking Jobs off the job) that Microsoft was about to buy them out (literally), than Jobs came back and with a series of victories to his name including the iPod, iPhone, Final Cut Studios (but minus Apple TV) has set himself as one of the leading men of the digital revolution. How has this helped the consumer? Well it made Microsoft Windows just a bit better and the upcoming Window’s 7 (codenamed Vienna) will be Microsoft’s major step into an OS that is 10x more secure with better CPU and memory usage (to simplify the complicated).

But the major example has been Google. Started by two college students in their dorm, Google has moved from being just a tiny company with hardly any life to the biggest player in the advertisement industry. And with their step into the mobile platform as well as Internet based OS programs it has really put Microsoft on its toes.

So yes Microsoft has its problems but had it not been for the “bad” company you would not actually have a choice between MSN and Google, or Mac and Windows, or IE and Firefox and most importantly the choice to live a Microsoft free life. Although the latter is impossible because whether they like to admit it or not Apple, Mozilla and Google are only successful because they have someone who is better than them to compete with. Take Microsoft away and we’ll see where the technology revolution will be in the next 20 years.

1. Availability is one of the major reasons why Microsoft has become so popular. Thanks to the idea that Bill Gates had to put a computer in every home Microsoft has been seen all around the world from Los Angeles all the way to Tokyo. This means that as Microsoft moves on in the US many other countries that now use their products will move along with them.
2. Habit: we humans are creatures of habit and nothing has sown us this fact better than history. While we cannot say that a whole generation has grown up in Microsoft’s backyard it sure seems like that. Many Apple fanatics will agree with this point that the major thing holding Apple back is the fact that people do not like change. If they are used to something chances are they are going to stick with that even if something can outperform what they are currently using (not to say that Apple outperforms Vista).
3. Price: One of Microsoft’s major advantages and Apple’s big weak link. Although it might not seem like a lot it’s not impossible to see that Apple is a lot more expensive than Microsoft. Where can you get an Apple system in the sub 300’s? Yet Microsoft has been able to manufacture systems in the economic range. While they do not carry the same performance as many of the bigger systems, it’s still affordable for families, individuals and companies who might not be able to afford a better system.
4. Customizability: Ask any gamer if they would trade their Alien Ware or Dell XPS for a Macbook Pro and the resounding answer will be NO. While you might be able to get a knock off of the Apple OS X on a mobile phone (something Microsoft has done with its Window’s Mobile for years) yet you still do not have OS X tablet PC’s, gaming rigs, or dedicated systems for such things as programming, CAD or 3D animation. This gives Microsoft a huge advantage which means that Microsoft has built an OS that is able to run in a multitude of devices and thus secure itself a spot in the digital revolution.
5. Last but not least is integration. Microsoft X-Box integrates with Windows Media Center. Now you have Window’s Home Server which allows you to store all your data such as pictures movies and videos (even work documents) on a server in your own house and access it from any computer in the world (granted internet is available). And now with the addition of their new MP3 player - the Zune it’s going to be a touch challenge but its looking like Apple iPod finally has some real competition.

1. The only other OS that competes in this area is Linux. Window’s is one of the few OS that has the ability to work on multiple devices with few configurations. While Microsoft did not do so good at this a few years ago (as they were in new waters) they have began to refine it and it’s looking a lot better. Not only that but with their advances to a new BOOT system this means that more devices will be able to run their own version of Windows. Not to mention the fact that it also runs on many enterprise servers which means that it’s possible to integrate an entire company on one network.
2. Thanks to the popularity of the Eee PC and many other small lightweight and inexpensive PC’s it is now possible for many developing countries to have the power of the PC in their hands. And since many of these companies such as Asus have secured a deal with Microsoft, they are now able to install the Home version of Windows XP on these systems. Thus Windows is making a ground breaking entry into the developing world. This means that finally smaller countries will be able to afford a piece of the cake in a smaller and more affordable version.
3. Microsoft is one of the main reasons why our computer revolution is where it is. Due to the rivalry and the competition among Microsoft and its competitors it has caused better systems to be produced. Within the last five years computer performance and specs has nearly been doubled and thanks to the competition posed by Apple, Linux and others it has done nothing but provide better options for the consumer.
4. Bill Gates once told Steve Ballmer that his intention was to put a computer in every home. Although he has not succeeded he has become the closest of any company. If it were not for Microsoft we would not be able to do most of our shopping at home not to mention that most of the things we either use in our office or at home would not be there. Thanks to Microsoft it has transformed the western world into the leader of the digital revolution.
5. Microsoft is largely responsible for the progress we have made in communication. Before the advent of the company, communication other than fax, mail or phone was unheard of except for short distances where people could use 2-way radios. From the 90’s VoIP and other communication types such as web cam (which sadly has been abused by the adult entertainment community) and of course IM has seen the price of telecommunication drop drastically within the last decade.

So yes - Microsoft does have its problems but thanks to it we are a better connected world, and although they were wrong on certain tech revolutions (most notably HD-DVD) they have more wins under their belts than losses.

The aperture of FZ28 can be made to vary from f/2.8 to f/4.4. The minimum view distance can be as low as 1cm. The high speed single point autofocus feature is complimented by multi-area focus system. FX28 also has a face detection capability of 15 faces per image. There are also many features available after detecting the face of a person like its possible to make the FZ28 autofocus on a single person even when he is moving around the scene.  

ISO sensitivity ranges from 100 to whopping 6400 in high sensitivity mode. Shutter speed can also be controlled manually. There are also many preset white balancing modes along with the manual mode. FZ28 also has an intelligent exposure system which adjusts itself according to the scene and thus captures natural-looking images and also suppresses blocked shadows and blown highlights. There are 37 screen modes available. Thus, there is one screen mode for every situation that you can imagine, so even you don’t know the correct manual settings you can just select an appropriate screen mode according to the scene.  

Like every good camera, FZ28 also has a red eye reduction feature. The most interesting feature of this camera is that there is an image leveling function which detects whether the camera was tilted at the time of image capture and FZ28 crops and enlarges the image if the camera was tilted. Further, there is an intelligent option available for all novice users. You can just select the intelligent option and camera would automatically adjust the aperture, ISO settings and all other things. Images captured using the intelligent option are as good as those captured by professional photographers. 

FZ28 uses secure multi media cards for storing images and it also supports the latest SDHC types. FZ28 has 50MB in-built memory. Connectivity can be established through USB 2.0, NTSC video output, and HD component video output. It has a 710mAh, 7 volt battery. Bundled software includes everything free that you could find from adobe and other image processing companies. Panasonic does not want to increase the cost of the unit on this ground.