I'm trying the Xjournal mentioned above.

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ok...crashing it.

All right, I am in the market for a new digital camera. I currently have a Canon Powershot A530, 5.0 MP, 4x optical zoom. I appear to have broken the focus or something so that it won't focus when the flash is enabled, so I definitely need a new camera. Also, I thought this camera was small when I bought it, but it's actually a little bulky and isn't really pocket-size like many others I've seen.

One issue I had with the camera was that it didn't take really great pictures indoors or at night. It seemed to need a LOT of light to take a decent picture without the flash, which made things look unnatural most of the time. Also, 4x zoom isn't as much as I thought it was. It looks like the most popular zoom for point-and-shoot digicams is 3x, but it feels dumb to take a step down in the zoom.

I would like a camera that uses AA batteries because it's most convenient. You can buy AA batteries anywhere. I've never had to deal with one of the lithium batteries you have to charge. How long do they last? Do you have to carry spares around all the time? Is the tradeoff worth it?

I would also prefer a camera that uses an SD card, since that's what I have.

I've looked at a lot of cameras, and I can't seem to find one that satisfies all my wishes, but I'm not sure, then, what to settle for. My Powershot was pretty good, but it'd be great if I had something a little less bulky to tote around WonderCon and whatnot. What are the best compact/subcompact cameras I can get for $200?

People were posting about audio receivers the other day, so I thought I'd share this very good price I just took advantage of:

Refurbished Onkyo SR-606 receiver (which has, among other nice features, 4 HDMI inputs and the ability to upconvert ANY analog signal to 1080i HDMI out) for $299 at accessories4less.com, with full 1-year warranty. New, this puppy has a MSRP of $499 and actually sells for somewhere right around $400.

I got $17 UPS Ground shipping and no tax, so it was $316 total. Now I just need to visit a nice audio store and do some listening; I've decided to build up my audio system one component at a time, starting with fronts, and just get really good speakers as I can afford them.

Pop tarts to say: that Palm phone does look really cool. It seems like every major US phone company now has a New Fancy Magic SmartPhone of Choice. AT&T has the iPhone, Verizon has the Blackberry Storm, T-Mobile has the G1, Sprint now has the pré. Cool. Of those, the G1 and the pré push my buttons, but I'm pretty sure my next one will be the G1 since I'm happy with T-mobile.

PC, the NYT did a review of cameras under $300 and recommended the Canon Powershot SD880 IS.

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No opinions on whether or not my Samsung monitor will play nice with a mini, etc?

bonny fides "Buffistechnology 3: "Press Some Buttons, See What Happens."" Jan 8, 2009 5:10:48 pm PST

Most macs have a standard VGA 15 pin d-sub connector for about the last 10 years now. Most also have a dvi connector.

The "Adapter for Macintosh" has not been needed on any Mac since at least 1999.

More A/V questions! This is the reciever I'm currently looking at - it's got more than enough HD and audio in/outs for me, and it's under $200. (And it's not some shady off-brand I've never heard of.)

My question is about this:

Powerful HDMI Connectivity allows for uncompressed 1080i video to pass through directly to your HDMI capable television.

Does this mean that 720p content will get converted to 1080i by the receiver and then back down to 720p by my TV (since that's the native display mode of most 32" TVs)? Or does it mean that 1080i is the highest resolution this receiver can handle?

Daniel, that was my hope, but the dvi connector on the back of the Mini (scroll down for the graphic) doesn't look the same.