The 2006 Emmys opening act
Funniest one yet. 
Make sure you watch the whole thing- the end’s the best part.
Canon releases Digital Rebel XTi (EOS 400D)!
Canon, today, released their successor to the Digital Rebel XT (350D) called the Digital Rebel XTi (400D). The XTi is to replace the XT as Canon’s entry-level digital SLR.
Canon Rebel XTi (400D)
- 10.1 Megapixel 22.2 x 14.8mm CMOS
- EOS Integrated Dust Cleaning System (!)
- DIGIC II
- 2.5″ TFT screen with 230K pixels and 160 degree viewing angles (!)
- 3 FPS up to 27 JPEG/10 RAW
- 9-point AF (!)
- No more LCD info display (!)
- When eye is placed on viewfinder, LCD shuts off
- Same body design and colors as Rebel XT
- Ships mid-September for $799 for body or $899 for body with 18-55mm EF-S lens
The Rebel XT will available rest of the year. Its price will drop to $699 for body or $799 for body with 18-55mm EF-S lens. Canon hasn’t officially announced this details have already been leaked from their new 400D webpage at the Canon UK website.
In addition, officially announced today is the new EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens.
EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens
- Same size as the EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens (!)
- Enhanced weather sealing and image stabilization
- Circular diaphragm to create more natural looking background blur, and distance information to aid autofocusing and automatic flash exposure.
- Suppresses flare and ghosting with advanced coatings and optimal placement of its 20 lens elements in 15 groups.
- A ring-type Ultrasonic Motor (USM) provides fast and silent autofocusing, while the full-time manual focus function provides maximum control even when the lens is set for AF.
The EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM will be available in November for an estimated selling price of $1,249.
Update: Canon has released the White Paper for the Digital Rebel XTi (400D) documenting specifics on the specifications. (Warning 2.3MB PDF file).
Update: Canon has put up the Digital Rebel XTi on the Canon USA website.
Update: dpreview explains the new features and specs of the Digital Rebel XTi.
Get Comcast to lower fees or upgrade your service for FREE!
Comcast, like any other business, never wants to lose its customers. If you try to cancel or downgrade your account, they’ll transfer you to their retention department. The retention department is made up of a group of employees who are paid to retain the customer at all costs. They’re even willing to lower the price of your service or upgrade your account for free, if necessary.
This morning, I called 1-800-COMCAST and pressed “4,” the option terminate/downgrade my current plan. I threatened that I would cancel and switch to Verizon FiOS unless they were willing to offer a better deal than the current $44.95/month 15MB/2MB plan from Verizon FiOS. Without hesitation, the lady offered to upgrade my plan to 16MB/1MB to slightly match Verizon without any additional cost.
Your mileage may vary depending on who you talk to, but just keep trying and you’ll get some kind of discount. If the customer service representative actually attempts to cancel the account, just hang up and call again later. I was able to save around $10 a month by getting a free upgrade, but if you don’t need the extra bandwidth, you can get them to lower the fees of your current plan instead.
Update: Over at MWYN, Mike was able to get his prices lowered to $34.99 for a whole year. Proof that this works. 
Post success stories in the comments! If anyone is able to get a plan upgrade and lowered fees, definitely let everyone know how you did it.
Free Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 CD