Gizmodo: fall

48 Stunning Photos of Fall

Mark Wilson — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EDT

Earlier this week, we issued our first shooting challenge "fall leaves" to the photographers among you. And holy crap are there some impressive photographers among you.

First Place
Wade Saathoff: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.4, 1/100th, f/3.2, ISO 320, 14 bit RAW, .nef converted using Raw Therapee and edited in Photoshop 7

Second Place
Tess Davis: Sony A350, 18-70mm kit lens, f/4.5, 1/200s, ISO 100

Third Place
Neal Rosenblat: Nikon D90, 50mm lens, f1.8, 1/2000

Thanks to everyone for making the first Shooting Challenge so much fun. And since these results are completely subjective, enjoy the full gallery below before mocking my taste in the comments. Still, I don't think there's a lousy shot in the bunch.

Kindle DX Surviving a 30-Inch Drop

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:40:00 EDT

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.According to this Amazon video, the Kindle DX can survive a 30-inch drop with ease. Good, because apparently the old Kindle can't survive some shaking in a padded sleeve, inside a laptop bag.

Like Matt's real life Kindle problem shows, it doesn't matter how many tests you run, something will always screw your toys. [Silicon Alley Insider]

Four Segways Enter, Three Segways Leave (One Faceplants)

Jason Chen — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:42:17 EST

There's nothing more you have to do than point and laugh at this poor woman and her Segway. You would have thought the other woman would be the one to eat it, karmically speaking. [BBG]

New Xbox 360 Dashboard Experience Installable On Hacked Xbox 360s

Jason Chen — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:41:10 EDT

Some leaky monkey at or near Microsoft has just dumped the new Xbox 360 Dashboard "Experience", also known as the fall update, onto the internet. For most of us, this means that that we've got new videos like the one above that illustrate some of the features we didn't get to see at E3. For people who have a hacked Xbox 360, it means they can actually install this and try it out for themselves, but risk brickage in the process. This reminds us of the story of the tortoise and the hare, except instead of animals you have super nerds that want to install stuff months too early. [Xhavok87 via Xbox Scene]

Xbox 360 Fall Update Full Details (DivX! XviD!)

Jason Chen — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:40:23 EST

Update: Apparently there's actually something good in this update! Too bad they didn't actually include it in the press release, but the Xbox 360 will support DivX and XviD! Hurray! Here's what we got from the Xbox team:

**15. What types of AVI files are supported?
The Xbox 360 supports files encoded using MPEG-4 Part 2, Simple and Advanced Simple Profile. These files are often referred to as Xvid or DivX® video files. Many common PC DVD authoring tools, cameras, and camcorders are capable of encoding files using MPEG-4. Note that some files authored for DivX devices may also contain additional functionality(menus, subtitles, multiple audio tracks, etc). The Xbox 360 will attempt to play these files, but does not support any of the additional functionality and in some cases will be unable to play the file.

16. Why don't some of my older versions of DivX® files play?
Since we only support Mpeg-4 compatible codec implementations, we will not be able to play video files older than DivX® 5.0.

Original post, before we knew about DivX:

We thought that the previously released details of Xbox 360's Fall Update were kinda lame, and hoped the rest of the yet-to-be-released features would make up for the fact that seeing your friends' friends, parental timers, and downloadable Xbox 1 games are so-so at best. No such luck. Microsoft's just dropped the rest of the details, and they're not so great either.

The new features are Xbox LIVE Arcade Hits (a plan to discount older XBLA games permanently), Inside Xbox (a news stream from Xbox.com to your Dashboard), an enhanced online profile (you can enter in more details about yourself), full-screen movie previews, and slightly changed navigation. Here's the full release:

MORE DOWNLOAD OPTIONS:
Xbox Originals - With this new service, announced on Nov. 13, consumers can download-to-own full original Xbox games that were previously only available at retail. The digital shelves will always be stocked with classic titles, such as "Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex," "Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge," "Halo," "Fable," "Fuzion Frenzy," "Psychonauts," and more as the catalogue grows over time, at 1200 Microsoft Points per game.

· Xbox LIVE Arcade Hits - On Xbox LIVE Arcade, the Arcade Hits program kicks off where some of the best sellers will become available at permanently reduced prices, making it easier than ever for everyone to build a library of downloadable games! The first games to become Arcade Hits will be "Bankshot Billiards 2" and "Lumines LIVE," which will be available for 800 Microsoft Points each, and "Marble Blast Ultra," "Small Arms" and "Zuma Deluxe," which will be available for 400 Microsoft Points each. With free trial downloads for every game and over 100 games to choose from, Xbox LIVE Arcade offers something for every member of the family.

NEW WAYS TO KEEP UP TO DATE AND CONNECTED:
· Inside Xbox - A new direct feed brings current news straight from Xbox.com into the Xbox LIVE Dashboard providing members an easy, predictable entry point where they can discover what's new in: game releases, events, and Xbox LIVE Marketplace offers.

· Enhanced online profile - Members interested in sharing a few more details about themselves will have the option to go beyond their motto and further personalize their profile with an expanded bio. The extended bios will be visible to "Friends Only" or the entire Xbox LIVE community.

· Expanded Friends List access - A quick and easy way for gamers to expand their personal community on Xbox LIVE, members will be able to see the Friends Lists of other Xbox LIVE members, boosting their social networking experience on the service.

ENHANCED OVERALL EXPERIENCE AND CONTROL:
Enhanced Parental Controls - Family Timer, a strong and flexible new addition to the Xbox 360 Family Settings, enables parents to set the amount of time their Xbox 360 can be used on a per-day or per-week basis by their children or other members of the household.

New video features - The convenience of full-screen movie previews and enhanced video codec support further expand the options when it comes to the Xbox 360 entertainment experience.

· Easy-to-use navigation features - With several noteworthy changes in the Xbox LIVE Dashboard, from the new Game Store button to the Video Store button to enhanced visuals and descriptions in the video library, Xbox LIVE members can find what they want, when they want it.