Quick Focus

by Charles Fulton
February 2004

Can't Recharge? Recycle!
If you've been using your camcorder (or wireless phone, or any other device that uses rechargeable batteries) for some length of time, chances are good you've had to replace your battery. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation would like you to know that you can recycle your old, unrechargeable nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium-ion and lead acid batteries. You'll find free drop boxes provided by several national chain stores, including Home Depot, RadioShack, Sears, Staples and Target. Drop boxes have images of Richard Karn, who played "Al" on Home Improvement.

The RBRC also provides tips on the best use of rechargeable batteries, including not leaving the battery or device in the charger, not attempting to "top off" fully-charged batteries, keeping battery contacts clean, and following manufacturers' charging guidelines.

For a battery recycling location near you, visit www.rbrc.org or call 1-800-8-BATTERY.

Logitech Diversifies to Include Memory Card Camcorder
You almost certainly know Logitech as a manufacturer of computer mice, keyboards, Web cams and speakers, but camcorders may not immediately spring to mind. From our Offshore Sightings file comes the Logitech Pocket Video 550, currently being marketed in the United Kingdom for £150 (approx. US $260). Gateway and Panasonic are marketing similar memory card-based camcorders in the US, which all use MPEG-4 video compression. The Pocket Video 550 shoots video at 320x240, 20 frames per second, yielding standard quality, 400kbps video or fine quality, 800kbps video. A 256MB SD card can hold up to one hour of fine-quality video or two hours of standard-quality video. The camcorder weighs a scant 83 grams (approx. 3 ounces). The camcorder runs on two alkaline AA batteries and includes Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator LE. Recorded footage can be transferred to the computer via the camera's USB connection.

The Pocket Video 550 also has a big brother, the Pocket Video 750, which upgrades to a 1.5" viewscreen and 2x digital zoom, and weighs 165 grams (approx. 6 ounces). It requires four alkaline AA batteries. It retails in the UK for £200 (approx. US $350).

New Internet Speed Record Set
CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) and the California Institute of Technology sent 1.1 terabytes of data at 5.44 gigabits per second. This speed is 3,626 times faster than a 1.5Mbps residential cable modem or DSL connection. We'll leave it to you to decide what you'd want to stream through that connection.

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