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May 19, 2024
 

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Peter Crookes
For Peter Crookes's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 26, 2010
Casio cell phones in the frame; Panasonic pushing Blu-ray angle for TVs
Mobile snaps: Casio's latest cell phone, the CA005, just released by KDD's mobile phone service "au by KDDI," offers two products in one. A typical glossy clamshell mobile phone, the CA005 also packs a 13-megapixel camera into its sharply rectangular form. The phone's camera features smile detection...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 19, 2010
Sony makes the NEX move, Pioneer's iPod docks double as home theaters
Fashionably late: Sony has finally released its alternative to the already popular Olympus EP-2 and Lumix DMC-GF1 micro four-thirds, interchangeable lens cameras. Using the same technology that Olympus and Panasonic pioneered, the Alpha NEX-3 and NEX-5 are effectively compact DSLR cameras, light enough...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 12, 2010
Buffalo accelerates in speed and price; Sony's mug pours out more sounds
Revving up the hard drive: Solid-state discs (SSDs) are the sports cars of external hard drives. But running an SSD on USB 2.0 is akin to buying a Ferrari with only three gears. Buffalo is putting the foot down by revamping its lineup of external SSDs to run on the much faster and newer USB 3.0 connections....
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 5, 2010
Sony ups sound for 3-D TV sets; iPad gets a challenger
Change of view: The 3-D steamroller is far from flattening the opposition, but it is picking up pace. Sony is giving it a nudge by paying some attention to the sound that goes with it. It has just unleashed a pair of 3.1 channel sound bars, the HT-CT350 and HT-CT150 3.1. The big innovation is HDMI 1.4....
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 28, 2010
Toshiba television to stream its content from the Internet
Change of view: Traditionally, the preferred methods of delivering content have been over the airwaves or on video tape or disc. In the wings, though, is the rival technique of watching TV footage sent into homes via the Web. Toshiba is trumpeting this newer method with its latest Regza LCD televisions,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 14, 2010
Sony brings the world's radio into your room
FM flight: In the old days, listening to the radio meant turning a dial and hunting out a few signals amid waves of static. FM stations in particular have moved beyond such primitiveness, but it is on the Internet that radio has made its greatest strides. Internet radio is one of the less obvious features...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 7, 2010
Softbank's brings a smartphone named Desire to Japan's shores
Object of desire: Not content with having the famous Apple iPhone in its stable of smartphones, Softbank is now bringing the HTC Desire and its Android 2.1 operating system to the local market. Also known in Japan as the X06HT, the new phone has already created waves overseas. It seeks to live up to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 31, 2010
Onkyo notebook offers up new DIY features
Made to order: Onkyo's latest notebook computer, the DR511, is a built-to-order creation that offers something different. Onkyo highlights its own heritage with the option of an FM/AM tuner, an almost unheard of feature. The other interesting feature, which comes as a standard inclusion, is an actual...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 24, 2010
Sony steps back from 3-D rush; Panasonic reworks CD-blaster
LCD price system: Amid the expensive scramble to sell 3-D televisions, Sony has come up with a new series of high-definition LCD TV sets that are fairly reasonably priced.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 17, 2010
Sony sets up 3-D for homes; Music Planet makes bathtime groovy
To 3-D, or not 3-D: Despite the dearth of content to watch (Avatar and Alice in Wonderland aside), 3-D television is quickly rising to the top of the hype parade. Sony is determined to remain leader of the 3-D pack, despite rivals LG and Panasonic also coming out with significant offerings. Sony's latest...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 10, 2010
Onkyo's computer stands in for TV; Thanko aids shy phone users
Budget computing: Onkyo opts for a very different form of computer in the shape of its new DE411. Apart from being an all-in-one design, the DE411 also nixes a high-powered processor in favor of the low-powered, 1.6-gigahertz Atom 330 chip, one of those that netbooks favor. It compensates somewhat for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 3, 2010
Cowon puts sound before vision; Nikon camera zooms ahead
Sound choice: Korean maker Cowon is known for portable media players that have exemplary audio reproduction. Its V5HD, which is due to hit the Japanese market on March 5, follows the formula. It employs Cowon's new JetEffect 3.0 technology, which is intended to maximize the sound performance by offering...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Feb 24, 2010
Retro-looking dongle ups the sound; Sony slims down new Vaio
Back to the past: The word "retro" is inadequate to describe the appearance of the X-Tube AS301DTS. The USB dongle looks like a refugee from a museum. The gadget is intended to provide a decent impression of DTS surround sound on laptop computers. Using a VIA VT1610 chip set, the dongle plugs into a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Feb 17, 2010
3-D TV provides solo viewing fun; Canon camera hits at Nikon
Gotta wear shades: As 3-D entertainment conjures up images of goofy glasses from the 1950s, Panasonic hopes to remedy the style with its 3-D TV sets. It is touting its upcoming Viera VT2 series as the world's first full high-definition sets with 3-D ability. The series is expected to consist of a set...
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Feb 10, 2010
Fujisoft provides some robotic tenderness
Need a friend?: Artificial intelligence may remain stuck on the computer screen, but aritifical companionship seems to be rolling ahead.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Feb 3, 2010
Sony forges on with Transfer Jet; Planex device tries to do it all
Easy access: Big things have small beginnings, or at least Sony hopes. The company has launched the much- anticipated Transfer Jet system with a wafer of plastic at a miniscule 2 grams, and it comes out this month. The principle behind Transfer Jet is that the technology can transfer data at high speeds,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jan 27, 2010
Toshiba Blu-ray recorders, mCube90 make life more compact
Blu-ray recording: If you can't beat them, don't join them — just copy their ideas and improve them. Toshiba is endeavoring to do just that having abandoned its HD-DVD format and instead opted to craft versions of Sony's brainchild, Blu-ray. Nobody can accuse Toshiba of not doing a wholehearted...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jan 20, 2010
Buffalo dock serves dual purpose; Panasonic's compact cam
Dock 'n' lock: Innovation and iPods go hand in hand, but the creativity rarely extends to iPod docks. Buffalo bucks that trend in the form of its unusual HDD Dualie. In essence, this is a standard docking station paired with a 500-gigabyte hard disk. Unlike run-of- the-mill iPod docks, the Dualie does...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jan 13, 2010
Kindle upgrades, but DX e-reader is just the start of a boom
E-inking a deal: Ghosts of U.S. TV makers past would find it amusing. Sony produced the world's first e-ink device for reading books, some six years ago. While Sony is still in the e-ink reader game, U.S. giant Amazon now leads the global market. Amazon is set to land a second blow against Sony in the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 30, 2009
CJK recruits Android for new Camangi Webstation tablet
Going tablet: Android is Google's shot at hitting Microsoft where it hurts — mobile devices. Windows might still dominate PC operating systems, but it has never duplicated this overwhelming presence on the small screens of mobile phones, PDAs and the like. So far, Android has shaken things up by...
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them
A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
U.S. envoy to Japan makes landmark visit to front-line island near Taiwan
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel meets with members of the Self-Defense Forces stationed on Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture, on Friday.
Japan passes bill to introduce 'blue ticket' fines for cyclists
A new system under which bicycle riders pay fines for minor traffic violations to escape criminal punishment is expected to be introduced in Japan no later than 2026.
Japan survey finds 30% of student interns experience sexual harassment
The proportion of recent graduates in Japan who have worked as interns have experienced sexual harassment during their internship was 30.1%, according to a labor ministry survey, up 4.6 percentage points from the previous survey in fiscal 2020.
New Taiwan president to set tone for ties with China at inauguration
Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te arrives at the CyberSec 2024 Exhibition in Taipei on Wednesday.
Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
Can AI-generated inventions be patented? A Tokyo court says no.
The Tokyo court's ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit.
Massimo Bottura: 'The Japanese let ingredients express themselves'
Italian chef and restaurateur Massimo Bottura is increasingly focusing on passing on his knowledge to chefs such as Antonio Iacoviello.
Unraveling the Japanese prose of Yukio Mishima
Author Yukio Mishima accepts the Arts Festival Award in the drama category at the 20th Arts Festival Award Ceremony on Jan. 22, 1966.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Cultural properties:A Fujiya Hotel insider’s view
Cultural properties:A Fujiya Hotel insider’s view

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