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Canon EOS 300D - $899 6 megapixel digital SLR:
This digital SLR based on the EOS 10D's superb six megapixel CMOS sensor and image processor in an inexpensive consumer body similar to the film EOS-300. This camera is designed to take the prosumer end of the digital camera market by storm, everyone is fully aware of the image quality of the EOS 10D (considered by many as the benchmark six megapixel digital SLR), and so a consumer priced digital SLR based on the same sensor is irrefutably attractive to anyone who would have previously considered an 'all in one' prosumer digital cameras.
This camera is probably the most fundamentally important step for digital SLR's since the introduction of the Nikon D1. It will place digital SLR's into the hands of consumers (with a moderate budget) and will probably also have a very strong negative effect on the $1,000 prosumer digital camera market.
The Howard Dean campaign is developing an open source "web community kit" for building grassroots campaign websites. Deanspace.org is the developer site. This is cool even though it's just a modified version of drupal.
A company I've never heard of (no big surprise) called Firetide has announced a wireless mesh router. This is very sexy technology. If you're into such things. I will be very curious to read independent reviews of this product when it ships. It's the software that will make or break this device. Seems expensive at $799 per access point, but not completely crazy in such a young market. Assuming it works. And scales.
Texas Instruments joins Broadcom, Atheros, and Philips in announcing a wi-fi chip aimed at the cellphone market. TI's chip will support 802.11a and g in addition to the older (and most widely deployed) b variant. Looks like we will definitely be seeing combo cellular / wi-fi mobile phones next year.
But it's hard for me to understand why telco's would offer such a product. Seems to me like it will be the beginning of the end for them. Do they figure they'll get the backhaul business? Are they just scared that the competition will offer this and steal their business? Do they really want to give us something cool? (Yeah, I don't believe that last one either.)
Maybe they'll incorporate wifi but still charge you minutes for using it? They could have the phones "call home" and report on your wifi usage. But that would be insane...
iRider is a new web browser (for windows) that looks really interesting. It's described as "visual hierarchical tabbed browsing." There's a long flash movie that demonstrates how it works. Worth a look. I'm jealous.
Apple finally releases new 15 inch Powerbooks.
$1999 for 1 ghz, 256 megs RAM, 60 gig hard drive, CD burner / DVD player
$2599 for 1.25 ghz, 512 megs RAM, 80 gig hard drive, CD/DVD burner