IBLOG SPACE

I think that the Leica line of cameras are some of the best looking digital cameras out there. I really like the more simplistic and retro looks of the cameras they offer. Leica has added a new digital camera to its product mix called the D-Lux 5 . The new camera has a faster Leica DC Vario-Summicron 5.1 to 19.2mm F2-3.3 ASPH lens than the older D-Lux 4 digital camera. The lens has a 35mm equivalent of 24 to 90mm focal range. The camera has many options for photographers looking for macro and wide-angle architecture shooting. The camera can also record 720p HD video in AVCHD-Lite format and has a large accessory range. The rear LCD is a 3-inch unit with 460k pixel resolution. The optical zoom offered by the lens is 3.8x and the digital zoom is 4x. The camera has face detection and 23-field auto focus. The sensor is a 1/1.63″ CCD with 11.3MP total and 10.1 effective megapixels. The camera offers a full range of automatic and scene modes and can shoot continuously at 2.5 frames per secon

AT&T has announced that it has several new mobile computers for customers to choose from that come with pay as you go mobile broadband service. The new machines include the Acer Aspire AS1830 notebook, the Acer Aspire One 532h netbook, and the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 HD netbook. The Acer AS1830 notebook and the Mini 10 HD can both be purchased in the 2200 AT&T retail stores around the country. The AS1830 has a Core i3 CPU, 2GB of RAM, 250GB of storage, and an 11.6-inch screen. It sells for $239.99 with a 2-year contract. The Aspire One 532h sells for $39.99 with a 2-year contract and has a 10.1-inch screen Atom N450 CPU, and more. The Mini 10 HD sells for $39.99 with a new contract and has a 250GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, and a 10.1-inch screen. All three of the machines can be purchased with pay as you go broadband at $449.99 each. The pay as you go data is $15 for a day with up to 100MB of use, 300MB for a week’s use is $30, and a monthly pass is $50 with 1GB of usage.

I just mentioned the new Lumix GH2 digital camera that Panasonic unveiled today. I mentioned that there was a new 3D lens that was compatible with that camera and the lens is compatible with the entire series of G cameras from Panasonic . The new lens is called the H-FT012 and it has two optical systems in one thin and compact lens. The lens is a 12.5mm/F12 until that puts those two optical elements within the diameter of the lens. Panasonic says that its new lens system allows the user to shoot images with no lag between the right and left images, which allows the user to take 3D photos of moving objects. The images taken with the lens can be viewed on Panasonic 3D Viera TVs. The photos can also be viewed via Panasonic 3D Blu-ray players as well. It is impressive that the lens is so small and compact, other 3D lenses we have seen are very large and bulky. The lens will sell for $249.99 and will ship in November along with a new 14mm/F2.5 lens at $399.95 and a Vario 100-300mm lens at $

Panasonic has added a new camera to its line of micro four-thirds interchangeable lens cameras called the Lumix GH2 . The new digital camera has some really cool features like the ability to take 3D photos when using the new 3D lens and a new cinema mode among other features. The new cinema mode lets the users take video with cinema-style gradation. The camera also has a variable movie mode where the frame rate can be tweaked to 80%, 160%, 200%, and 3000% for slowing down scenes of speeding them up. The camera also uses touch auto focus where the user can touch the rear LCD and the camera will focus on the spot touched. The image sensor in the camera is a 16.05MP multi-aspect LIVE MOS sensor and it can shoot bursts at five frames per seconds in full resolution with a mechanical shutter. The rear touch screen is 3-inches and has a resolution of 460K dots. The screen rotates 180-degrees side to side and 270-degrees up and down. The GH2 will come in black or silver colors and will ship in

TerreStar’s GENUS hybrid satellite/cellular phone has finally arrived on AT&T, though you’ll need deep pockets if you want to enjoy seriously remote coverage. Unlike previous satellite phones, the GENUS is intended to be used as an everyday phone, only flipping into satellite mode – for voice, data and messaging – when no regular coverage is available. To that end the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 smartphone has a full QWERTY keyboard and a chassis that’s reasonable in line, with respect to size, to cellular-only phones. However the price is significantly higher: $799, and that’s before you get to the satellite call rates. AT&T’s satellite tariff is a further $25 per month on top of your regular call plan, with voice calls charged at $0.65 per minute, data at $5 per megabyte, and messages at $0.40 apiece. You don’t even get worldwide coverage, either: just satellite calls in the US, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and in territorial waters.

Apple has quietly licensed IP belonging to digital content protection and media information specialists Rovi, according to a document filed by the company, prompting analyst speculation that the Cupertino firm is still working on an HDTV with integrated Apple TV . Rovi is responsible for much of the program guide and copy protection technology used in cable set-top boxes and online media portals, and in recent years has been buying up entertainment metadata firms such as Muze and All Media Guide. That expertise has prompted bombastic Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster to predict that Apple will use the Rovi IP in their oft-rumored HDTV. ”We believe this announcement is further evidence that Apple is developing live TV and DVR features for its Apple TV product,” he wrote in an investors note “and will likely launch an all-in-one Apple Television in the next 2-4 years.” The technology will first show up in Apple TV, he suggests: “Apple would be clear to add live TV, DVR, and guidance

ARM has dismissed rumors of an acquisition by Apple as “completely nonsensical,” and says that while Intel may make more money from their chips, ARM’s customers are well ahead in sheer numbers. Speaking to theNYTimes, ARM CEO Warren East said that “our customers sell about 4 billion chips a year,” and that he “laughed about” the takeover rumors “with the folks at Apple.” When it comes to the ARM/Intel battle, though, he’s more serious: “We don’t look like Intel, we’re never going to be a $100 billion outfit.” In fact, East dismisses the idea of a “David and Goliath” fight between his company and Intel, blaming commentators and press for attempting to hype the division between the two firms. ”We evolved under … low-power pressures,” says ARM VP of research Krisztian Flautner, “it set us on a different evolutionary path.” That path chases the lowest possible power consumption rather than the highest possible performance, a tactic that has seen ARM take pole position in the smartphone

Microsoft has announced the next phase of expansion for its Zune multimedia platform, and it means that theZune Pass subscription download service is finally spreading outside of North America. As of v4.7, the Zune software will also be the tool for managing Windows Phone 7 devices; Microsoft will roll it out in over 20 countries, together with bringing Zune Pass access to the UK, France, Italy and Spain. Those four countries will get unlimited streaming for £8.99/€9.99 per month, while the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany will get non-DRM MP3 purchases. There’ll also be video on offer, either to rent or to buy depending on where you live (rental supported in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Mexico, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; purchases supported in the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). That video content can be watched on a Windows PC, through Xbox Live or sync’d over to a Windows Phone 7 h

via press release: “THE NFL ON CBS” RATES HIGH THROUGH TWO WEEKS OF NFL ACTION WITH HIGHEST RATINGS AND VIEWERSHIP IN 23 YEARS Through two weeks of the 2010 NFL regular-season, THE NFL ON CBS has earned an average national household rating/share of 11.7/25, up 18% from last year’s 9.9/21. This year’s 11.7/25 is the highest average rating for the first two weeks of the AFC television package in 23 years dating back to 1987 (as far back as CBS records go). Through two weeks of the 2010 season, THE NFL ON CBS is averaging 19.382 million viewers (Persons 2+), a +19% increase over 2009’s 16.226 million viewers. This year’s 19.382 million viewers is the highest number of average viewers for the first two weeks of the season for the AFC television package in 23 years dating back to 1987 .

ABC NEWS’ “NIGHTLINE” IS No. 1 IN TOTAL VIEWERS IN LATE NIGHT FOR THE 2009/2010 SEASON VICTORY MARKS “NIGHTLINE’S” FIRST SEASON WIN AMONG TOTAL VIEWERS IN 15 YEARS ABC News’ “Nightline” was the most watched late night program among Total Viewers for the 2009/2010 season, according to Nielsen Media Research. This marks the first time in 15 years “Nightline” has outperformed the “Tonight Show” and “The Late Show with David Letterman” in Total Viewers. “Nightline” placed second for the season among Adults 18-49. “Nightline” tied for second with “Letterman” among Adults 25-54 for the season. “This is a very proud day for all of us at ABC News,” said James Goldston, executive producer of “Nightline.” “Every member of our show works extraordinarily hard each day to bring great stories and unique journalism to all of our viewers. This team has earned all of the success that ‘Nightline’ has achieved in recent years.”

September 23, 2010 Ratings Report: ABC News Programming For the Week of September 13 – September 17, 2010 Plus Third Quarter 2010 and 2009-2010 Season RATINGS FOR ABC’S “GOOD MORNING AMERICA” “GMA” Only Morning Show to Gain Total Viewers Versus Third Quarter 2009 “GMA” Cuts Total Viewing Gap with NBC Versus Last Season, Third Quarter 2009 and Same Week Last Year “GMA” Extends its Total Viewing Advantage Over CBS Versus Last Season, Third Quarter 2009 and Same Week Last Year For the week of September 13 th , ABC’s “Good Morning America” averaged 3.920 million Total Viewers and a 1.3/10 among Adults 25-54. “GMA” narrowed the Total Viewing gap with NBC’s “Today” by -7% year to year. Additionally, ABC’s Total Viewing (1,560,000) lead over CBS’ “Early Show” was +12% larger versus the same week last year. Note: Robin Roberts was on assignment Monday 9/13/10.

via press release: ABC Turns in its Strongest Wednesday in Nearly 10 Months “Modern Family” Opens as Wednesday’s No. 1 TV Show and The Top-Rated Comedy of the New TV Season in Adults 18-49 [...] Wednesday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.) With its season premiere Wednesday line-up, ABC turned in its strongest performance on the evening in nearly 10 months among Total Viewers (7.9 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.8/8) – since 12/9/09. “The Middle” (8:00-8:30 p.m.) Shifting into the lead-off position for ABC’s Wednesday night comedy block, the sophomore season premiere of “The Middle” greatly improved the 8:00 p.m. half hour year to year among Adults 18-49 (+24% – 2.6/8 vs. 2.1/7 – “Hank”) and finished a solid No. 2 in the slot to CBS’ “Survivor: Nicaragua ,” beating Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” premiere by 8% (2.4/8) and NBC’s “Undercovers” debut by 30% (2.0/6).

Fox hasn’t bounced Lone Star from its Monday time slot yet, and has confirmed it will air next Monday at 9p. I chalk that up to Fox being so stunned with the numbers it is somewhat paralyzed and needs to see another week of data to believe the numbers could be that bad. Will ABC too wait a week to announce scheduling changes for The Whole Truth ? Perhaps Fox hopes that clear of the premiere week hoopla, more will check it out. I could see it going up a little, but from a 1.3 that’s not saying much. I’d be surprised to see it bounce up to a 2.0, but even if it did, Fox has to be hoping for more post House . I think the extra week is just to give Fox more time to think about what to put there instead. In the event that Lone Star has an epic rebound, all the speculation will be moot. But until then…

ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” is Up Week to Week and Over the Year-Ago Week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 “JKL” Beats CBS’ “Ferguson” in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, Topping the CBS Program for the 6th Time in 7 Weeks in Young Adults “JKL’s” is Up in the 2009-10 Broadcast Season Over the Previous Year in Total Viewers and Key Men Demos “JKL” Outdraws NBC’s “Fallon” in Total Viewers During the 2009-10 Season Weekly National Ratings: On the final week of the broadcast season (week of 9/13/10), ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was up over the previous week by 10% in Total Viewers (1.48 million vs. 1.34 million) and by 16% in Adult 18-49 audience (576,000 vs. 498,000) . “JKL” improved on the year-ago week (w/o 9/14/09) in both Total Viewers (1.48 million vs. 1.47 million) and Adults 18-49 (576,000 vs. 564,000) .

HBO SPORTS® AND THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE JOIN FORCES FOR 24/7 PENGUINS/CAPITALS: ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC, A FOUR-EPISODE ALL-ACCESS SERIES LEADING UP TO THE NEW YEAR’S DAY SHOWDOWN OF THE PITTSBURGH PENGUINS AND WASHINGTON CAPITALS, DEBUTING DEC. 15, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2010 – HBO Sports’ groundbreaking “24/7” reality franchise, which has captured 12 Sports Emmy® Awards, will join forces with the National Hockey League to take viewers inside one of the NHL’s great rivalries, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, for 24/7 PENGUINS/CAPITALS: ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC, an innovative four-episode, all-access reality series, it was announced today by Ross Greenburg, president, HBO Sports and John Collins, chief operating officer for the NHL.

via press release: Editor’s Note: With DVR penetration now at 38%, up from 33% last fall, playback continues to have an impact on ratings beyond same day viewing. CBS Research has provided audience estimates below, representing total audiences for each CBS program including live plus DVR playback viewing that occurs within 7 days of the live broadcast. CBS SWEEPS WEDNESDAY IN VIEWERS, ADULTS 18-49 AND ADULTS 25-54

Vice President Joe Biden on the Premiere of MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” Mon. Sept. 27, 10PM ET First Week of “The Last Word” Also Includes Michael Bloomberg, David Axelrod, Meghan McCain and Levi Johnston NEW YORK – Sept. 23, 2010 – Vice President Joe Biden will sit down with Lawrence O’Donnell on the premiere of “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” Monday, Sept. 27 on MSNBC, 10-11 p.m. ET. O’Donnell will ask Biden about Christine O’Donnell’s campaign for his Senate seat, Bob Woodward’s book “Obama’s Wars,” and Democrats’ strategy for the congressional elections. Also on the first week of “The Last Word,” O’Donnell will host New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod, Meghan McCain and Levi Johnston.

MTV ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF “THE SEVEN,” A DAILY POP CULTURE- DRIVEN LIVE NEWS SHOW THAT COUNTS DOWNS THE DAY’S SEVEN MUST-KNOW STORIES HIP HOP SENSATION DRAKE AND CAST OF THESOCIAL NETWORK(JESSE EISENBERG, ANDREW GARFIELD & JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE) TO SERVE AS FIRST LIVE IN-STUDIO GUEST INTERVIEWS September 23, 2010 – MTV today announced the launch of The Seven, a daily, half-hour, live studio based show that counts down the seven must-know pop culture-driven stories of the day, along with live interviews and performances. Hosted by former Chicago radio personality Kevin Manno and former “Mets Weekly” host Julie Alexandria, the show will be presented live in front of a studio audience in New York’s entertainment hub, Times Square. The show will debut on September 27th at 5pm ET/PT with hip hop sensation, Drake, and the cast of the film, “TheSocial Network” (Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield &Justin Timberlake), slated as the show’s first live in-studio guests.

LET THE ULTIMATE FOOD FIGHT BEGIN – BRAVO’S ‘TOP CHEF ALL-STARS’ WILL PREMIERE DECEMBER 1st AT 10 PM ET/PT Anthony Bourdain Joins As Series Judge And Carla Hall, Spike Mendelsohn, Marcel Vigneron, Fabio Viviani And More Past Chef’testants Return For A Shot At Redemption NEW YORK – September 23, 2010 – They’re back and they’re ready for redemption – Bravo’s “Top Chef” congregates a dream team of 18 past chef’testants who nearly won the title to return to see if they have what it takes for the premiere of “Top ChefAll-Stars,” on Wednesday, December 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The 2010 Primetime Emmy Award-winning “Top Chef” returns to New York City for season eight with host Padma Lakshmi and head judge chef Tom Colicchio, alongside judges Gail Simmons and new this season, best-selling author and chef, Anthony Bourdain. The powerhouse of chef’testants going head-to-head include Carla Hall (season five finalist), Spike Mendelsohn (season four, top five), Fabio Viviani (voted fan fav, season fiv

Scoreboard Adults 18-49: Rating/Share 3.6/10 2.9/8 2.8/8 2.8/8 1.7/5 1.1/3 Adults 18-34: Rating/Share 2.4/7 2.7/9 2.4/7 2.4/7 1.7/5 1.3/4 Total Viewers (million) 12.878 6.568 9.538 7.925 4.133 2.569 CBS won the night with adults 18-49 and total viewers, and Fox took the top spot with adults 18-34. Modern Family got off to a hot start for ABC with series highs in the age demographics and total viewers and its 5.0 adults 18-49 rating was tops for the night. In addition to leading Fox to the top spot with adults 18-34, two hours of Hell’s Kitchen was enough to grab second place for the night with adults 18-49.

CENTRIC Brings The Classic Sitcom ‘THE COSBY SHOW’ to the Network Five Nights a Week Beginning Monday, September 27 at 8 PM*A 12-Hour Marathon Airs Sunday, September 26 to Launch the Premiere of the Series on CENTRIC NEW YORK, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ — Bill Cosby’s legendary comedy series THE COSBY SHOW joins the CENTRIC line-up with classic episodes beginning Monday, September 27 at 8 PM*. Bill Cosby stars as the patriarch of the Huxtables, an African American family living in Brooklyn, NY. The show was #1 for five consecutive seasons and has won multiple awards including five Emmy awards including “Outstanding Comedy Series” in 1985, a People’s Choice award, NAACP Image awards, and a Golden Globe.

If you don’t like any spoilers at all, what are you waiting for? Get out of here already! Otherwise, here are the October episode descriptions: BOARDWALK EMPIRE OCTOBER EPISODES Episode #3: “Broadway Limited” Debut: SUNDAY, OCT. 3 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) Other HBO playdates: Oct. 3 (11:00 p.m.), 5 (11:30 p.m.), 6 (10:15 p.m.), 9 (9:30 p.m.), 17 (1:30 p.m.) and 20 (8:00 p.m.) HBO2 playdates: Oct. 4 (8:00 p.m.), 7 (10:00 p.m.), 8 (11:45 p.m.), 10 (2:30 p.m.) and 30 (2:30 p.m.) Jimmy’s (Michael Pitt) future is clouded by an unlikely witness to the woods massacre; Margaret (Kelly Macdonald) takes a new job; Chalky’s (Michael Kenneth Williams) team pays a big price for his success. Written by Margaret Nagle; directed by Tim Van Patten.

Sesame Street’s 41 st season premieres this Monday, September 27th, and Sesame Workshop, producers of the series, have chosen not to include a scheduled appearance by Katy Perry in the PBS broadcast which was slated to air later this year. Here’s their statement: SESAME WORKSHOP STATEMENT RE: KATY PERRY “Sesame Street has a long history of working with celebrities across all genres, including athletes, actors, musicians and artists. Sesame Street has always been written on two levels, for the child and adult. We use parodies and celebrity segments to interest adults in the show because we know that a child learns best when co-viewing with a parent or care-giver. We also value our viewer’s opinions and particularly those of parents. In light of the feedback we’ve received on the Katy Perry music video which was released on You Tube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers. Katy Perry fans will s

Disclaimer: these early household metered market results measure household viewing in the 56 largest markets only. They can not be converted into viewer numbers and there is no good way to project age demographics like adults 18-49 from these numbers. We’ll have the fast national information with viewer averages and demos up some time around 11:30am ET. Check back. With the disclaimers out of the way….

The most talked about change to Thursday night’s this season has been the move of CBS ratings heavyweight The Big Bang Theory to 8pm. But that’s not the only change. There are 3 series premieres ( My Generation , $#*! My Dad Says , Outsourced ), and ten season premieres ( Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Big Bang Theory, CSI, The Mentalist, Community, 30 Rock, The Office, Bones, Fringe ).

JOAQUIN PHOENIX RETURNS TO CBS’S “LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN,” WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22 (Click Here to Watch a Preview of Phoenix’s Interview on Tonight’s LATE SHOW) Actor Joaquin Phoenix returns to the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN tonight, Wednesday, Sept. 22 , his first television appearance since his much-talked-about February 2009 visit to the CBS broadcast. “You know I’ve always liked you,” Letterman said at the beginning of the interview, “I’ve been to see your movies, I’ve always liked you. I recognize you as a powerful talent – that Johnny Cash thing, you were tremendous in that. And then a year- and-a-half ago, you come out and, honestly, it’s like you slipped and hit your head in the tub. And I knew immediately when you sat down, something ain’t right, because if you’re really the way you appeared to be, you don’t go out. You know what I mean? People don’t let guys like you out if you’re really like that. You don’t go out.” “Right,” Phoenix responded. “Yeah,” said L

Teen Mom dropped 0.2 with adults 18-49 versus last week, but still led all of cable in that demographic. Sons of Anarchy rode to the same 1.8 adults 18-49 rating it grabbed last week, though it had more viewers of all ages last night than last week. We already posted about the season two finale of Warehouse 13 , but it was up a few viewers but down a tenth with adults 18-49 to a 0.8 rating. (Note: originally I’d written that W13 was up a tenth this week, I apologize for the confusion).

Small 1/10th adjustments, with the second hour of DWTS rising to a 4.4 rating with adults 18-49 in the finals versus the preliminary numbers. Glee rose to a 5.6 adults 18-49 rating (and a whopping 8.9 rating with women 18-34). NBC’s Parenthood rose a tenth to a 2.5 rating with adults 18-49. Running Wilde dropped a tenth to a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating and Detroit 1-8-7 also dropped down a tenth to a 2.3 rating.

via release: SECOND SEASON FINALE OF SYFY’S WAREHOUSE 13 SCORES MORE THAN TWO MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS POSTS DOUBLE DIGIT INCREASES OVER SEASON ONE FINALE NEW YORK – September 22, 2010 – Facing stiff broadcast competition on the first Tuesday of the new fall season, the second season finale Syfy ’s hit original series Warehouse 13 grew 10% year-to-year to “snag, bag and tag” 2.4 million total viewers. Even more impressively the dramedy grew 17% in Adults 18-49 (1.1 million) and 6% in Adults 25-54 (1.3 million) to rank as Tuesday’s #1 cable program in its 9PM (ET/PT) timeslot and as the #3 cable telecast overall among Adults 25-54.

Live + Same Day Cable News Daily Ratings for September 21, 2010 P2+ Total Day FNC – 1,182,000 viewers CNN – 411,000 viewers MSNBC – 431,000 viewers CNBC – 174,000 viewers HLN – 257,000 viewers P2+ Prime Time FNC – 2,344,000 viewers CNN – 670,000 viewers MSNBC –892,000 viewers CNBC – 157,000 viewers HLN – 400,000 viewers

In the entire country Detroit 1-8-7 drew a 6.5 household rating, and a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating. via press release: Detroit 1-8-7 is a Favorite With WXYZ-TV Viewers! SOUTHFIELD Mich., Sept. 22 — The highly anticipated premiere of ABC’s new cop drama Detroit 1-8-7 on WXYZ-TV , was a huge success. Nearly one third of the all the households in the Detroitmarket were watching when the show aired Tuesday, September 21 at 10 p.m. Detroit 1-8-7 earned a 30.6 Household rating/47 share , and a 20.8 rating/45 share among Adults 25-54 . The performance made ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV number one in the time period with ratings that doubled the combined ratings of its competitors. According to the Nielsen television rating service, more than 834,000 people watched the premiere.