Peter Crookes - The Japan Times

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Peter Crookes

For Peter Crookes's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Oct 15, 2008

Headset lets you engage your inner Borg

Warp factor: "Star Trek" has done far more than just entertain us over the decades. It has also inspired technology creators to reach for the stars (quite literally, if we ever manage to invent warp drive for faster-than-light travel).

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Oct 8, 2008

Boost portable audio to surround sound

What goes surround: Death and taxes aren't the only things in life worthy of the tag "certain." Equally unavoidable is the obsolescence of technology standards: What was cutting-edge yesterday will be so last week by tomorrow.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Oct 1, 2008

These babies offer a different perspective

Right angles: Photographic creativity lies in the choice of focus. Being able to isolate the subject while the rest of the picture is reduced to a blur is an eye-catching technique.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Sep 24, 2008

Micro Four Thirds standard breaks mirror

Capture the moment: In the world of photography, the unveiling of the Micro Four Thirds lens-mount system last month was a truly historic event. This new standard for next-generation digital SLR cameras, though easily overlooked by the average consumer, is being hailed as the most significant camera-market development of the year.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Sep 17, 2008

Casio entries put on a cute face

Baby faces: Toughness and cute fashion cachet appear to be mutually exclusive concepts. Casio begs to differ with its latest incarnation of Baby-G watches, the petite sibling of its popular G-Shock tough guys of timepieces. The 14 new models are coming out in four different series: the all-digital BG810 and Sweet Colors, and the mix analog/digital Gemmy Dial and Glossy Gold.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Sep 10, 2008

Sanyo sheds some clean light on subject of renewable energy

Bright energy: Japan is known far and wide as the Land of the Rising Sun, but it desires to be known (again) as the Land of the Solar Charge. Once the world's leader in installed solar power, Japan has since 2005 slipped second behind Germany, which now has about double Japan's capacity. Politicians have been vowing to recharge clean-energy initiatives since even before the July G8 summit in Toyako, Hokkaido.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Sep 3, 2008

Nikon offers first consumer DSLR with video capability

DSLR with video: Change is rarely as dramatic as it appears. In the world of camera makers, the digital onslaught has seen the rise of electronics firms such as Sony, Panasonic and Samsung, while that venerable creator of cameras Minolta has disappeared, sold to Sony.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Aug 27, 2008

Sharing summer memories becomes even easier

Hard copy: Camcorder owners have always had it a bit tougher than their still-camera counterparts. Sharing their memories after the (usually) fun part of imitating a Hollywood cameraman involves more steps and more time, especially with high-definition video.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Aug 20, 2008

This mask is used for seeking, not hiding

Photo mask: Underwater photography for the average consumer usually entails picking a waterproof instant camera with a good wrist strap, or in extreme cases, encasing valuable equipment in some expensive one-of-a-kind plastic capsule, either way ending up with often disappointing results.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Aug 13, 2008

Gamers can tap into their neural impulses

Head games: A magician's hand may be faster than your eye, but is your eye faster than hands on a keyboard? PC gamers now have the chance to find out with the new Neural Impulse Actuator (NIA) from OCZ Technology.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Aug 6, 2008

Make a splash with your music

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Jul 30, 2008

New compact Lumix makes room for better summer memories

More sensor: Increasing the number of pixels in a digital camera's sensor without increasing the sensor's size is an underhanded act designed to sell more cameras, and in that regard, Panasonic is as guilty as any compact camera maker. But the Japanese electronics giant is earning early points for parole with its latest compact digital camera.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Jul 23, 2008

New entry adds zing to Wii swing

In motion: Nintendo Co. became the big dog in the console-game arena by never resting too much on its laurels and always trying to squeeze one more success or innovation out of its best achievements. (For some reason, the name "Mario" keeps coming to mind.)

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Jul 16, 2008

Glasses make movies a personal experience

Eyes front: Video may have killed the radio star, as the song says, but television has only bruised the movie screen, despite 70 years of trying to offer an experience to rival the cinema experience. Now cell phones and other mobile devices are competing with television.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Jul 9, 2008

Canon's new photo printer boasts a bucketload of style

Photos on the go: Canon appears to be taking the concept of thinking outside the box seriously in its approach to the competitive market of photo printers.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Jul 2, 2008

These won't bust your bonus

Compact in disguise: Among digital-camera makers, Ricoh is known as a small player, but one that likes to do things differently. Its latest burst of independence is the just-announced Caplio GX200, an evolution of its GX100 compact that raised eyebrows last year.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Jun 25, 2008

Lighting's on the wall for niche products this summer

Game on Playing games is serious business, as any boy who never grew up will tell you in virulent tones. Your basic off-the-shelf computer these days can cope with the entire Microsoft Office suite without raising a sweat. But try running any resource-hungry game on the same machine and your workhorse can turn into a nag in a hurry. The maxim is simple: If you want to play serious games on your computer, invest in some serious hardware — muscle up or wimp out.

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Jun 18, 2008

A kiss closer to obsolescence

Kiss me: Canon Inc. sparked a revolution in digital photography five years ago when it created the EOS Kiss Digital, justly acclaimed as the first digital SLR camera priced for the average consumer.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Jun 11, 2008

Style is substance . . . sometimes

Pretty pebble: As far as actual technology goes, all flash-memory MP3 players are pretty much the same. If you're thinking about the iPod Touch as an exception, think again, since the Touch is an actual computer, complete with a central processor, RAM and an operating system. But side by side, most solid-state MP3 players are identical, give or take a luxury function or two.

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital / IGADGET

Jun 4, 2008

Get your ergo on for summer

In your ear: Listening to music via the earbuds that typically come bundled with MP3 players can be like drinking champagne out of a plastic kiddie mug. Most users seem content to put up with the buds' inadequacies, but it doesn't mean you have to.

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

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.

The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces

By Stephen Mansfield

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