Gigapan Images - Widen your View

What is a Gigapan image?

A Gigipan image is a high resolution digital photograph that has an actual resolution much higher than the camera is capable of taking. This is achieved by zooming the camera in to the maximum (optical) zoom and taking a photograph, the camera is then moved left and right up and down and lots of high zoom images are taken. Back at your PC the computer stitches the photo’s together and merges all the photo’s into one large image. Images can then be uploaded to the http://gigapan.org/ for friends to view and explore the image. Notes can be added, and the image can be geotagged. Smalls details can be found by zooming in on the image and exploring.

The software to stitch the photos together has been available for sometime, however taking the photographs has never been an easy task. Luckily Gigapan systems has built a motorized tripod mount that you mount your camera on that not only does precise movements of the camera to capture the whole seen, but also has adapters available to fit most Digital SLR camera’s to capture all the images electronically. This Tripod is now available at www.have2have.co.za

A great example comes courtesy of Golf Digest (http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/arizona/tpcscottsdale)
Golf Digest photographer, Darren Carroll, shot an 18.3 gigabyte (6,104 megapixels) gigapan of the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale during the PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open. Zoom in to see PGA golfer Tom Lehman on the tee.

The technology does have faults, the biggest problem being that if something or someone moves they could be in the same photo twice, or if they move in the opposite direction to the camera mount, might evade capture. But when shooting a mostly static panorama the results can be breath-taking and a lot of fun can be had exploring.

Gigapan is a project between:

Tired of Traffic? We have a solution

The clever people at TomTom have taken the already popular GO 750 GPS unit and added a built-in SIM card, giving it almost super-power abilities (well it seems that way for some of us). This GPS will change the way you travel by performing advanced route calculations, help you to avoiding traffic and keeping your hands free while making and receiving phone calls.


HD Traffic

Just one of the new features is TomTom’s HD Traffic (High Definition) which allows the GPS to download the latest traffic information such as where there are delays, the cause of the delay, recalculated arrival times, as well as giving you the option to be guided around the delay. You also have the option of checking the traffic situation at current or selected point before travelling. As you can imagine this will save you time, money and avoid unnecessary stress.

IQ Routes
We all know that the same route is not always the best route every time. There are so many factors to consider such as the time of day (are there schools along the planned route and what are their opening and closing times, are any major roads to be used and is it during peak hours, does the route have any shortcuts). Well this feature uses data provided by other TomTom users and based on this it works out what the most optimal route you should use based on the time of day you are travelling.

Speed Cameras
The GPS is also continuously updated with the latest speed camera locations and will warn you in advance so you don’t get any nasty surprises in the mail.

Weather
The GO 750 is not just a GPS, it’s your weatherman too. It can provide you with the current weather and a five-day forecast.

Google Local Search
You can search for address and contact information directly through your GPS

Bluetooth

Make and receive phone cell phone calls via the GO 750 by easily paring your phone to the GPS’s built-in Bluetooth. You can also find and call for help from local emergency services, hospitals and even roadside assistance.



Variety of Safety Preference's to choose from


You can purchase the TomTom 750 Live GPS from Have2Have.co.za and change the way you navigate forever.

Men's Health reviews the iPad

Men's Health's first impressions of the iPad.

[via Men's Health]

Flip SlideHD Camcorder

Cisco recently introduced the Flip SlideHD Camcorder priced at under R3200 at Have2Have.co.za. Great for amateur photographers, hobbyists and those looking to buy a quality camera for someone they love, this latest member of the Flip family is worth a second look. Here’s why:

Unique features of the Slide HD

Among the best features of this little video camera tagged the Flip SlideHD is its 3” resistive touch screen that has been designed with the ability to ‘fold down’ keeping the unit compact in record mode, and during use in playback mode, the screen can be popped open to resemble a portable media player! How’s that for a truly fantastic experience you’d flip for?

That’s not all: the camera sensor contained in the Flip SlideHD is the exact same imaging sensor as found in the MinoHD and thus, it has the ability to capture images at 720p HD, though it falls short of the 1080p standard fast becoming the norm on high end screens, which would have been a welcome feature. That being said DSTV HD which everyone raves about as having superb quality also only broadcasts in 720p!

However, despite this oversight the Flip SlideHD comes equipped with a sixteen GB internal memory for recording approximately 4 hours of videos or HD photos (double that of earlier Flip models). Alternately you can switch to Space Saver format by using its FlipShare software and use it for up to 12 hours straight!

Pros and Cons

Other highlights include neat stereo speakers, a jack for the headphones, built-in USB arm that flips out (hence the name!). The Camera’s built in LI (lithium-ion) battery is charged via USB. What’s more you can use on of your own image or one of the many cool graphics available on the web for customizing the exterior of your Flip SlideHD.

Oh yes, did we mention the HDMI slot? This makes HD playback as easy as plugging in a cable to your HD TV.

With the Flip, you have lots of great new shooting features, and can enjoy a variety of cool, new playback features, LCD that slides up at an angle. 16GB of internal memory — that's double the storage capacity of previous Flip models — and allows you to capture up to four hours of 1280x720 video.

Because of the touchscreen technology in the Flip, there are minimal buttons that are usually found in older makes of video camera’s, thus the Flip SlideHD helps you gain total by simply touching one of its virtual buttons, including functions like play back for content (just by choosing a thumbnail image!)

So you are already impressed by the hardware, but Flips secret has always been its easy to use intuitive software! It’s got built into the camera firmware an easy one touch upload function. So, you can easily broadcast your video on sites like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and others.

Flip may not sport the 1080p or optical zoom that the big league guys like Canon, Panasonic, JVC Picsio, Samsung, but their prices are in the high-end range and are far more complicated to use than the Flip Slide HD, that being said the quality of the Flip is still far better than normal TV which is why we think this latest gizmo on the block manages to win hearts without breaking the bank.

Have2Have gets TopTV

Not wanting to wait a moment longer, we drove around today to various PEP stores and managed to get our hands on a TopTV set top box, herewith our unboxing pics. Now we just have to be patient for the visit from the installer.

WordLocks

Working at Have2Have, I get to play with a lot of gadgets.

Unfortunately, the problem with this is that you realise that most gadgets in people’s homes have the cool or wow factor but they are seldom used.

Just the other day, I played with a WordLock. Now it may just look like a regular lock but there is a twist to it. The passcode is made up of letters rather than numbers, so you secure the lock with an easy to remember word, instead of a number! With 10 000 different combinations, guessing your secret word is virtually impossible – unless you use your name of course.

The WordLock is available in a variety of formats including luggage locks, padlocks, sports lock, and cable locks.

The luggage version of the Word Lock is also Travel Sentry- approved. So when you are travelling abroad, especially to the US and the UK, you can feel confident that should they need to inspect your bag for whatever reason they will not need to cut your lock off leaving you lockless and open to theft for the remainder of your trip. There are even more benefits to the luggage locks. They are available in a variety of colours making identifying your bag even easier. No more standing around thinking “that looks like my bag, can it be? Wait, why is he taking my bag, stop, thief, oh wait it’s not mine”.

---

Brass WordLock's

Cable Locks

Zinc WordLock's

Apple iPad Round Up

You’ve got to hand it to Apple. The Cupertino-based company knows how to create excitement in anticipation for a device that was all but a figment of our imagination only last week. For the last two weeks there has been non-stop speculation by industry experts on Twitter, blogs, forums and even just general chit-chat about an Apple device resembling a Tablet PC which would change the computing world forever.

Well Apple managed to pull it off yet again by announcing the latest addition to their product range, the iPad. It’s said to fill the gap between laptops and smart phones, and will change the way you browse the internet, read emails, view photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, and read eBooks on the go. The iPad features an LED backlit 9-inch multi-touch screen, with storage ranging from 16GB to 64GB and packs a powerful 1Ghz Apple-branded processor, with multi-thread capabilities to ensure that your Apps always run smoothly.

It’s also a lightweight, weighing under 700 grams and is 1.3cm thick. The battery is said to give 10 hours usage and have a standby time of over a month.

There are two distinct models available, both feature Wifi (802.11N) but 3G is only available on select models.

The iPad runs the same software as what is used on the iPhone, but has been tweaked to take advantage of the bigger, higher resolution screen.

Apple’s hugely popular App Store is preloaded to the iPad giving you access to over 140 000 apps for the iPhone. It also has the ability to transform the image size from that of the iPhone to fill the entire screen.

Some noticeable Apps for the iPad

• iBooks which gives you access to eBooks from various large publishers



• iWork has been redeveloped for the iPad making use of the new GUI



• iTunes is also preloaded to the iPad and brings the convenience we have grown accustom to on the iPhone and iPod touch



• Electronic Arts has shown off the iPads gaming ability with Need For Speed Shift

Unknowns

Even though the iPad looks great and boasts some great features there are some unknowns which should be cleared up over the next few weeks.

• Phone Calls; will the 3G models be able to make and accept phone calls over the GSM network? A Bluetooth headset will be available from Apple which might hint towards it doing so.



• iBook Store; does Apple have plans on making the book store available worldwide or will it be limited to certain regions?



• Supply and demand; With the device being in huge demand, will Apple be able to keep everyone happy with stock readily available?

Cons

Not everything can be perfect, and the downside of the iPad are noticeable.

• The iPad uses a new type of sim card known as a micro sim card (3FF sim), most service providers around the world do not offer this yet. At this point only T-Mobile USA has confirmed that it will be adopting this format imminently. This limits the possibility of using the device internationally, albeit that the device is not locked to a specific carrier.



• Camera, most devices these days have at least one camera (most smart phones two) but the iPad is short in this department and would prohibit you from making video calls via Skype, Google Talk or any other similar service.



• Just like the iPhone the iPad is not able to run multiple Apps at once. This is rumored to be sorted out in the next version Of the software.