Αναβάθμισε την Eλλάδα ο οίκος Fitch

Στην αναβάθμιση της πιστοληπτικής ικανότητας της Ελλάδας από B- σε B, προχώρησε ο οίκος αξιολόγησης Fitch, με σταθερές προοπτικές (stable outlook) αλλά και της "οροφής χώρας" (country ceiling) από "Β+" σε "ΒΒ", όπως ανακοίνωσε σήμερα ο οίκος αξιολόγησης...

Facebook Adds Shazam-Like Music, TV Identification

Facebook today announced a new feature that will identify the song, TV show, or movie that's playing while you're writing a status update.

Similar to Shazam, Facebook's new optional identification feature will listen to your surroundings as you type in a new update, and give you the option to add to your status that you're listening to...

Microsoft Introduces Thinner Surface Pro 3 with 12" Display Starting at $799

Microsoft today hosted a media event in New York City to introduce the Surface Pro 3, the company's next-generation tablet device. 

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eBay Urges Users to Change Passwords After Hack

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Μειώνεται ο ELA στην Τρ. Κύπρου

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Η μείωση προκύπτει παρά τη σταδιακή αποδέσμευση καταθέσεων που είχαν μετατραπεί σε γραμμάτια κατά τη διαδικασία εξυγίανσης της Τράπεζας και παρά τη σταδιακή χαλάρωση των περιορισμών στην εγχώρια διακίνηση χρημάτων...

General Motors: Ανακαλεί επιπλέον 2.420.000 οχήματα στις ΗΠΑ

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Ταυτόχρονα η General Motors ανακοίνωσε ότι θα ξοδέψει επιπλέον 200 εκατομμύρια δολάρια κατά το δεύτερο...

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Στην εσωτερική έκθεση της Τρ. Κύπρου καταγράφονται τα χρεωστικά υπόλοιπα, τα ανοίγματα εξασφαλίσεων και τα μη εξυπηρετούμενα δάνεια 24 ομίλων εταιρειών. Η έκθεση περιλαμβάνει σωρεία στοιχείων για το ιστορικό, τα προβλήματα και τους μελλοντικούς...

Man United announced the appointment of Louis van Gaal as new manager

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Όπως αναφέρει το πρακτορείο Bloomberg, οι τιμές...

AT&T to buy DirecTV for $49 billion

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Researchers say they've found the biggest dinosaur ever

Three years ago, a family of rural farmers stumbled across an incredible archaeological site on their land in the Patagonia region of Argentina. The family notified nearby Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio (MEF), and now researchers at the site have...

IBM discovers new class of ultra-tough, self-healing, recyclable plastics that could redefine almost every industry

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This might not sound quite as...

The First Full-Length Interstellar Trailer Is Spectacular

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FT: Γιατί η Μέρκελ επέλεξε να σώσει το ευρώ και την Ελλάδα

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How to use Google Maps offline mode on iOS, Android

When Google revamped the look of Google Maps for iOS and Android, users were upset about the lack of traditional features. Some users were so upset, the option of reverting to a much older version of the app was the answer...

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Apple Launches In-Store iPhone Upgrade Event to Boost Sales

Apple's iPhone upgrade event has officially begun, as the company has started to send out emails encouraging upgrade-eligible older iPhone owners to trade in their phones for newer models. iPhone 4s users started receiving emails on May 8, with the...

Sony Cyber-shot HX60V review

The latest big-zoom point-and-shoot to trot out of Sony’s stable, the HX60V is pitched as your go-to snapper for holidays, trips and general day-to-day photography.

It’s a top class all-rounder: the Ian Botham of snappers. Few cameras offer this level of versatility in such a compact, lightweight package: there’s a 30x optical zoom lens, 1080p video, manual controls and GPS for location tagging – plus NFC and Wi-Fi for cable-free photo sharing.

The HX60V’s predecessor the HX50 was our favourite compact camera of last year – so does its replacement carry on the tradition?

DESIGN AND BUILD

The camera looks almost exactly the same as its predecessor. There’s not much visual flair in the design, but it exudes a handsome, utilitarian air and feels pleasingly solid in your hand – a fact which is aided no end by the chunky, rubber-clad grip.

The buttons and other controls are also nicely chunky, particularly the mode and exposure compensation dials. And the thing is nicely compact, too: you probably won’t fit it in your trouser pocket (not without attracting some strange looks, anyway) but it should slip into a jacket or handbag just fine.

The camera shares the same 30x optical zoom lens as the HX50, and while we generally like to see manufacturers making improvements every year, we can’t claim to be overly disappointed here – because this lens is really quite something.

It goes from wide-angle to super-telephoto in seconds, and thanks to Sony’s excellent optical image stabilisation, gives superb results through the whole 30x range even when handheld. The zoom actually extends to 60x with digital aid, and while we don’t normally hold much truck with digital zoom, it does yield sharp, usable images here.

STILL AN EXCELLENT PERFORMER

The 20.4MP stills turned out by the HX60V are generally fantastic. What's more, Sony has done a good job of making the camera near idiot-proof by including two automatic modes: iAuto and Superior Auto. 

Superior Auto is designed primarily for low light shooting without a flash, and uses a compositing process by which several shots are taken and combined to produce a clear, low-noise image of even gloomy interiors. The process can take a few moments but usually results in surprisingly crisp and correctly exposed photos. iAuto is more suited to daytime and outdoor use, and is a mite quicker at delivering its shots, which are also generally impressive.

If you wish, you can also shoot using scene modes (pet, food etc) - which mostly worked as they should - and in various manual modes, including fully manual. In our experience, the automatic performance was so good we rarely felt compelled to get our tweaking boots on.

The main difference between the HX60V and the HX50, image-wise, is the new processor inside it, the Bionz X, which composites shots more quickly. It doesn’t appear to do much in terms of improving quality over the HX50, but that was already very good.

Sony HX60V tech specs

Sensor 20.4MP CMOS

ISO range 80-3200

Lens 30x optical zoom

Screen 3in, 921,600-dot LCD

Connectivity MicroUSB, micro HDMI, Multi Interface Shoe, Wi-Fi, NFC

Dimensions 108.1 x 63.6 x 38.3mm

Weight 272g

VIDEO QUALITY

The 30x optical zoom is available while capturing 1080p HD video and, coupled with the excellent image stabiliser, this makes the HX60V better than many dedicated camcorders. Footage can be shot in either MP4 or AVCHD formats, with 1440x1080 and 1920x1080 their respective maximum resolutions, and is both detailed and smooth (even when you’re walking around like a pirate on shore for the first time in months).


CONNECTIVITY AND FEATURES

The HX60V comes with GPS, which geotags photos with location data (but doesn’t seem to work inside very often), plus Wi-Fi and NFC.

We can’t really say we found any of these hugely useful: the GPS is too patchy to be relied upon, while sharing images between the camera and a smartphone using Wi-Fi and NFC isn’t as painless as it needs to be – the devices take too long to pair and you’re better off just transferring pictures and videos to a computer using an SD card or USB cable.

Fortunately, if GPS doesn't interest you at all, you can buy a non-GPS edition of the camera - called simply the HX60 - for around a tenner less.

One other smart feature is the option to remotely fire the shutter and zoom in or out using an app, but it’s more of a curiosity than something we can see anybody using regularly.

There’s a built-in pop-up flash but, unlike most point-and-shoots, the HX60V also features a Multi Interface Shoe that supports external flashes, microphones and electronic viewfinders. That adds even more flexibility.

SONY HX60V VERDICT

The Sony Cyber-Shot HX60V is everything a compact camera should be.

It's small of body but long of zoom, takes great pictures and offers as much or as little control as you want from it.

While we can’t say that it represents a great leap forward over the HX50 it’s replacing, it retains all of that camera’s best traits while increasing operational speed and adding a couple of new features. 

All of which means that it'll be taking its predecessor's place at the top of our Top 10 compact cameras list. 

Source:http://www.stuff.tv/sony/sony-cyber-shot-hx60v/review?utm_content=buffer49ca0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=plus.google.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Apple reportedly near $3.2 billion Beats acquisition

Apple is reportedly negotiating the purchase of Beats for $3.2 billion, according to a new report from The Financial Times. The deal would include both the streaming Beats Music subscription service, as well as the part of the company that produces headphones and speakers. The move, which would be Apple's largest acquisition ever, could be announced as soon as next week, the paper says. Citing...