New Canon 8D digital SLR equipped with immersive 3D technology

UPDATE: April Fool's is over folks, so it's time to own up: This post is a prank. Except, of course, for the part about Japan. The folks there need our prayers and support. Japanese companies like Canon enrich our lives immeasurably, and I wish them all the best in the coming months.

This just in: Canon has announced the successor to the 7D, its flagship APS-C sensor digital SLR. The new Canon 8D surpasses the 7D with industry-leading 24-megapixel resolution, a top burst speed of almost 10 raw images per second (to a maximum of 32 images), a swivel LCD screen, full HD video, and, for the first time in a Canon SLR, support for 3D imaging.

Unlike the optical 3D technology offered by existing digital cameras and camcorders, the 8D uses sonar technology to create a 360-degree 3D rendering of a subject. The data can then be imported into surround video systems to create immersive images of landscapes and other subjects that literally wrap around the viewer — much as surround-sound systems envelop the listener in sound.

To display surround images generated by the Canon 8D, consumers will need video systems complying with the 3DS video standard, which is expected to debut in products by Samsung and Panasonic by early summer 2011.

According to a Canon spokesman, the 8D is the company's first camera to utilize a 64-bit quad-core processor, presumably to handle the large raw files and 3D images.

Getting serious
This "announcement" is, of course, an April fool's prank. But there's nothing funny about what's happening in Canon's home country, Japan. The products created by the folks at Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, and other camera manufacturers bring the world untold enjoyment and utility. I thank them for what they do, I wish them well in the coming months ahead, and I encourage everyone to support them and to keep them in their thoughts and prayers.

And yes, I'm looking forward to seeing what the real 8D will offer.
 

BlackBerry PlayBook to support BlackBerry Java, Android apps, and native C/C++

This just in: Research In Motion (RIM) has announced plans to greatly expand the application ecosystem for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

According to the press release, the company will launch two optional “app players” that provide a runtime environment for BlackBerry Java apps and Android v2.3 apps. These new app players will let users download BlackBerry Java apps and Android apps from BlackBerry App World and run them on their BlackBerry PlayBook.

Also, RIM will soon release the native SDK for the BlackBerry PlayBook, enabling C/C++ application development on the BlackBerry® Tablet OS. For game-specific developers, RIM states that it has gained support from two leading game development tooling companies, allowing developers to use the cross-platform game engines from Ideaworks Labs and Unity Technologies to bring their games to the BlackBerry PlayBook.

All this is in addition to the PlayBook's existing support for HTML5, Flash and AIR.

I'm barely scratching the surface of the announcement. Read the full version here.
 

Hyundai vehicles to run TCS navigation service on QNX Neutrino OS

This just in: TeleCommunication Systems (TCS) has announced it will ship an off-board navigational service that runs on the QNX Neutrino OS. The service will support Hyundai Blue Link, an all-new telematics platform for upcoming Hyundai vehicles.

According to the press release, the TCS solution can make driving less stressful by providing turn-by-turn navigation and alternate routes based on the latest traffic conditions. It can also provide location-based destination searching, allowing the driver to, say, find the lowest nearby gas price.

With full sensor and GPS radio integration and navigation features such as hybrid routing, the system can continue to operate in certain situations when cellular coverage isn’t available.

Stated Linda Campbell of QNX Software Systems, “the TCS solution highlights how navigation technology can improve driver function and safety… drivers receiving voice-prompted directions are able to keep their eyes on the road while being guided to their destination.”

For more details, read the TCS press release.
 

The first QNX computer and other tales from way back when

Lots of people, including Ronen at BerryReview, enjoyed my post about the first magazine article on QNX. (It turns out that an even earlier article exists... but that's another story.)

That got me to thinking: About a year ago, I published some posts documenting key milestones in the history of QNX, starting with the very first QNX-based computer.

I started reading through the posts again, and you know what? Some of them aren't half bad. Here are my favorites:

• The first QNX-based computer
• The first OS to support a PC hard drive
• Breaking the 6MHz barrier
• The first networked classroom computer
• The first QNX website
• Dawn of the Internet appliance
• The first multicore-ready RTOS

Has the world changed since 1980, or what?
 

The PlayBook countdown begins!

This just in: RIM has announced that the BlackBerry PlayBook with Wi-Fi will be available in 3 models, featuring 16G, 32G, or 64G of storage, starting April 19.

If you live in the US or Canada, you can pre-order your PlayBook starting today. Just visit your local Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, or Future Shop store, or order online:

US – www.bestbuy.com/playbook
Canada - www.bestbuy.ca/blackberry or www.futureshop.ca/blackberry

You can read the RIM press release here.
 

First QNX article, revisited

It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

Last week, I put out a challenge: Could anyone find an article on QNX that pre-dates the one published in the March 21, 1983 edition of InfoWorld?

I was pretty sure the 1983 article was the earliest one available on the web. But when doing my search, I had made a mistake: I failed to search for "Quantum Software Systems," the original name of the company now known as QNX Software Systems. Doh! I also failed to search for the original spelling of the QNX OS (i.e. QUNIX). Color me embarrassed.

A reader named Winfield (aka BlackBerrySith) twigged to this and quickly kinged me as the discoverer of the earliest known QNX article. To read the article he unearthed, published on October 11, 1982, click here.

In fact, searches for "QUNIX" yield other interesting results, such as a magazine ad from 1982.

What's with the name?
As mentioned above, the QNX OS was originally called QUNIX. The name was coined to suggest that the OS offered the reliability and programming interfaces of UNIX, but with decidedly better performance.

It sounded like a good idea. That's until AT&T, who owned the UNIX trademark, got wind of it. Their legal folks immediately fired off a letter, asking QNX Software Systems to cease and desist.

The solution was elegant: simply remove the vowels. And ever since then, QNX has had two accepted pronunciations: cue-nix, or cue-en-ex. Your choice.
 

30 years of QNX: The first QNX article?

Here's one for all you QNX history buffs, or for anyone who likes a good challenge. I've been trying to track down the first magazine article on QNX, and so far, the earliest one I've found was published by InfoWorld in 1983. (If your mental arithmetic is rusty, that's 28 years ago!)

At the time, the company was called Quantum, not QNX Software Systems, and the president was a fellow named Syd Geraghty — I'm pretty sure Syd was the company's first full-time employee.

The article mentions that the QNX OS was in rev 1.0, ran only on x86, and fit into 96k of memory. But to me, this is the most interesting bit:

"Geraghty gave InfoWorld a brief demonstration of an experimental QNX user interface designed for the IBM PC. The interface will eventually allow users to grow 'windows' on the screen and run separate tasks in each window."

Takeaway: Even in 1983, QNX saw the value of a UI that provided users with true multitasking — Holy BlackBerry PlayBook, Batman!

I mentioned a challenge, and here it is: Can you find an even earlier article on QNX? If you can, I will bow to your superior search-engine mastery.

To read the InfoWorld article, click here.