I recently had some fun creating panoramas with the Kodak EasyShare V570, which broke ground as the first dual-lens digital camera when it debuted earlier this year. But it wasn’t the dual-lens feature that I thought was so cool. It was being able to use the really wide-angle, 23mm fixed lens (35mm equivalent) along with the in-camera panorama stitching mode that allowed me to piece together three shots. I just let the camera process the three pictures (which took about a minute) and voila! A panorama that stretches a full 180 degrees. The results weren’t seamless, but I was intrigued by how easily I could capture the shots. And there’s an almost trompe l'oeil quality about the pictures, which makes me think there’s a lot more to explore in this technique.

I’ve included two recent panoramas that I took in NYC’s Madison Square Park, with a view of the Flatiron building, a rather historic landmark for lovers of photography since it was shot by both Edward Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz. One of my shots is a traditional horizontal panorama, while the other one was done vertically, where I’m actually shooting up at the sky in the second shot. In a few places, you can actually see where the photos don't quite line up perfectly. Still, I thought the results were striking. And I didn’t have to fuss with Photoshop or even transfer the images to my computer. It certainly scores high on my “non-fuss, fool-the-eye, in-camera-tricks” meter!

For those who want to know about the Kodak EasyShare V570, here’s my review. 

...except who will win, of course. I pulled together this quick primer on the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats and the battle so far for PC Magazine. We have also created a site that will collect all of our Blu-ray and HD-DVD coverage, from the latest reviews of Blu-ray systems to a few of Dvoraks's rants.

Of course, as soon as my primer pubbed, talk of a hybrid Blu-ray HD-DVD players started up. This seems like a pipe dream to me. And even if such a mythical player did ship, I agree with Kiltak over at Geeks are Sexy:

This player will be insanely expensive, even more than the Blu-Ray one which is currently priced at $1000USD. Eventually one of the two technologies will die, and if you buy a hybrid drive, you will have paid way to much money for a player that will be come half-useless in the near future.

You are going to have to choose one or the other eventually.

No matter what age you are, everyone loves remote-control cars.

Today, RadioShack is introducing a limited-edition line of remote-control cars designed after the main characters (Lightning McQueen, Sally, and Mater) from Disney Pixar's Cars. If I remember correctly, I first saw the preview of Cars when I went to see The Da Vinci Code in theaters. It looks like such a funny movie with the voices of Owen Wilson and George Carlin. And I really like the remake of "Life Is A Highway" by the Rascal Flatts.

Lightning McQueen, Sally, and Mater ZipZaps micro RCs come with working headlights, a 6-way remote, wrist strap, flat head screwdriver, a collectable trading card, and charge in about one minute, which I'm excited about since all you want to do when you buy something is take it right out of the package and try it out!

Plus, each micro RC is just 2.75in. (L) x 1.25in. (H) x 1.25in. (W), so they fit right in your pocket for on-the-go entertainment. These units can produce speeds of 1.7 mph up to 546 feet per minute, and can run on a single charge for about 3 minutes of continuous play.

Get the ZipZaps micro RCs for $19.99 each exclusively at Radioshack and Radioshack.com while supplies last.

[via RadioShack Press Release]

I found this cable on the PC Mag giveaway table, and I'm thoroughly perplexed by it. I'm hoping someone out there has a clue as to what this is for.

One end of the cable appears to be an RJ-11, with three wires (red, black, white) connected. The other end genuinely appears to plug into an old Atari joystick port. Or something that looks a lot like an old Atari joystick port.

I may not be an 31337 h4x0r (that's "elite hacker"), but I'm pretty techy, and I'm stumped. Anyone have any ideas? Click on the picture for a bigger image.