HIGH DEFINITION CAMCORDER OUT IN JUNE - Next month, JVC will
release the GR-HD1, the first high-definition "prosumer" camcorder. Until now,
capturing HDTV video has required a special professional TV camera for the price
of $100,000. The JVC model comes with a two-hour battery, a cleaning cassette,
an AC adapter-charger, a remote control and TV connection cables (including the
three-headed component video cable required by HDTV sets) - for $3,500. The
model costs about $1,000 more than three-chip camcorders, which until now were
the finest camcorders you could buy. It's long and black, with a removable aluminum
handle on top (it doubles as the support for an external mike or video light), a
removable lens shade, and a list of artistic tools from the professional world. For
the complete article see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/22/technology/circuits/22stat.html (NY Times, 22
May 03)

THE FOLDABLE SCREEN - In a step toward electronic newspapers and wearable
computer screens, scientists have created an ultra-thin screen that can be bent, twisted
and even rolled up and still display crisp text. The material, only as thick as three
human hairs, displays black text on a whitish-gray background with a resolution
similar to that of a typical laptop computer screen. The screen is so flexible it can be
rolled into a cylinder about a half-inch wide without losing its image quality. Although
it's not quite the dream of single-sheet, electronic newspapers or books that can
display hundreds of pages of text, its creators said it's the first flexible computer
screen of its kind. "I think it's a major step forward. We have cleared a big obstacle
in electronic paper development," said Yu Chen, a research scientist with E Ink Corp.
of Cambridge, MA He envisions such lightweight, thin screens being used for a credit
card that could display the available balance or recent purchases. Another possible use
is a jacket with a screen sewn into its sleeve to allow its wearer to read email while on
the run, check stock prices or access maps in an unfamiliar city. "This is a peek at the
future," Wisnieff said. (CIO Insight Quick Facts,14 May 03)