Not your typical shot in the dark
Capturing a digital image in dim lighting can be tricky, no matter how many megapixels your camera has. Olympus gives digital shooters a fighting chance with the Stylus 800, a digital camera with a new technology that helps it capture pictures in dim light without having to rely on a flash. The 8-megapixel camera offers both auto and manual focusing options, including preset focusing modes for 19 scenes, such as “Behind Glass,” “Cuisine” and “Candle.” Other features include a 3x optical zoom, a 2.5-inch liquid crystal display, an xD memory-card slot and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Measuring 4.1 inches by 2.3 inches by 1.3 inches, the camera has a metal all-weather frame and is compact enough to fit in a pocket. It goes on sale in July for about $450.
www.olympusamerica.com
Magellan eXplorist GPS sets you free to roam
Hikers take note: Magellan’s eXplorist 600 Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver can help you stay on course. You can use the device’s three-axis electronic compass to gauge your position, its barometric pressure altimeter to estimate your altitude, its barometer to predict weather conditions and its thermometer to see if it’s really as hot as it seems. Before your journey, you can download GPS coordinates and calculate a route’s vertical profile. Then once you set off, the unit’s GPS navigation system will help you stay on track. The waterproof, hand-held unit features a color screen, 8 megabytes of built-in maps, 8 megabytes of available internal memory and a slot for a Secure Digital memory card. Cost is $450.
www.thalesgroup.com/navigation
Putting PDFs into a more flexible format
A new program from ScanSoft makes it easy to switch back and forth between PDF files and other formats, such as Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Priced at $100, ScanSoft PDF Converter Professional 3 boasts FormTyper, which makes any PDF form fill-able with a single click. The program also can help users modify text and graphics in a PDF file, and cut and paste the content into a Microsoft Office document.
www.scansoft.com
Dymo labelmaker sticks to the task
You can print up to 55 labels in one minute with the fast-working Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo unit. When connected to a Universal Serial Bus port on a computer, the machine uses direct thermal printing to create labels up to 4 inches long by 2.25 inches wide with Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Outlook, Palm Desktop and other programs. The compact device comes with 42 pre-programmed styles and costs about $130.
www.dymo.com
