by Shahid Saeed / @shahidsaeed
Canon EOS 5DS
The Canon EOS 5DS features an all-new 50.6 megapixel CMOS sensor, along with dual DIGIC 6 processors. The autofocus system has a total of 61 points (in a ‘high density reticular array’), 41 of which are cross-type. It uses the same 150,000 pixel RGB+IR metering system as the EOS 7D II with a scene detection system. The metering system also has an anti-flicker function for shooting under sodium vapour lights. The ISO range on the camera is 100-6400, expandable to 12800. The 5DS has a more rigid chassis than the EOS 5D III in order to minimize camera shake and improve rigidity.
Scanadu: The Medical Tricorder from Star Trek is here
It’s called “Scanadu Scout” — after Xanadu, an ancient city of great splendor and scientific progress, made famous by English poet S. T. Coleridge — and the greatest thing about it is that it’s not a design concept, nor a million-dollar prototype, but an actual product. After a successful crowdfunding round via Indiegogo, the Scanadu has begun shipping to backers at the end of January. It is a tiny, round and rigorously white device — even though a black version is in the plans. You place it on your forehead, and then through its sensor, and in a matter of seconds, the Scanadu measures heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, oxygen level and provides a complete ECG reading.
BITS AND BYTES
Cyber bank robbers steal $1bn
Up to 100 banks and financial institutions worldwide have been attacked in an “unprecedented cyber robbery”. Computer security firm Kaspersky Lab estimates $1bn (£648m) has been stolen in the attacks, which it says started in 2013 and are still ongoing. A cybercriminal gang with members from Russia, Ukraine and China is responsible, according to news reports. Kaspersky said it worked with Interpol and Europol on the investigation. It said the attacks had taken place in 30 countries including financial firms in Russia, US, Germany, China, Ukraine and Canada.
Google’s Vint Cerf warns of ‘digital Dark Age’
Vint Cerf, a “father of the internet”, says he is worried that all the images and documents we have been saving on computers will eventually be lost. Currently a Google vice-president, he believes this could occur as hardware and software become obsolete. He fears that future generations will have little or no record of the 21st Century as we enter what he describes as a “digital Dark Age”. Mr. Cerf made his comments at a large science conference in San Jose.
Watch Pallab Ghosh’s full interview with Vint Cerf, internet pioneer, on his “digital Dark Age” warning:
