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Before talking about Panasonic’s Blu-Ray, we thought it would be worth a bit of your time to answer what is Blu-Ray and why should we care?

What is Blu-Ray? In a nutshell, Blu-Ray discs can store up to 50 GB of data, many times more than a maxed out DVD disc. The Blu comes from the fact that the optical light reading the disc is blue. The DVD players are red. If you remember your physics classes back in school light colors have different wave lengths. The blue is shorter and is thus able to harness more data. Blue is a cleaner and hotter flame than red, right?

Why should we care? HD_DVDs will not be made by Toshiba - the leader in the HD-DVD area - and many other companies. Blu-Ray is the format that the entertainment folks have signed on for, and many others are lining up to sign on. There are now more than 500 titles in the US in Blu-Ray, and 250+ in Japan. So, industry it seems is telling us to move on over. There are many other signals out there asking the consumer to shift technologies - for another discussion.

Blu-Ray has been around for a few years so the pricing has reflected demand, fairly high. (Remember when video players came out? If you are old enough you can remember the high prcies paid for those. Now look at them, can you find one?)

That being said, the Panasonic DMP-BD30K 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player (under Electronics on page 5) is reasonably priced ($529) and delivers exceptional quality graphics and sound. It plays a large selection of audio and video.

Product Description

plays Blu-ray high-definition discs (selectable output resolution: 1080p signals available through HDMI output only; 720p/1080i signals available through HDMI or component video) * plays DVD-Video, DVD-R & DVD-RW, DVD+R & DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM * plays high-def AVCHD files on home-burned DVDs and SD memory cards * plays CD, audio CD-R & CD-RW, and MP3 CDs * plays digital photo CDs (JPEG) * selectable 720p/1080i/1080p video upconversion for DVD (upconverted video available through HDMI output only)

You’ll want quality to last for at least a few years, and it appears as if this is a good bet.

FUNQUE - 4

Great product, price may be a concern for some.

There’s nothing better than a great big gulp of H2O when we want to quench our thirst while active. And up until the last week or so we did so without thinking about the effects - its only water. Its the bottle not the water.

We buy almost any water bottle without concern that the bottle itself was or may have been harmful to our health - apart from the cutting of our lips, or the odd minor nuisance. However, now news and research has shown that there are versions of plastic out there deemed to be somewhat toxic -to very very minor degrees - we may have to re-think the simple pleasure of grabbing the water bottle and sucking away at our water.

Read what the Labour Alliance Environmental Society from Western Canada states:

According to several recent studies, polycarbonate plastic readily leaches a chemical called bisphenol-A (BPA) into foods and liquids that are stored in containers made from it. BPA has been identified as an endocrine disrupting chemical, or a chemical that easily mimics hormones when absorbed by the human body. In the case of BPA, the hormone being mimicked is estrogen. Exposure to this compound at the wrong time can cause a cell division problem called aneuploidy in which chromosomes do not evenly split as a cell divides, leaving the two resulting cells with more or fewer chromosomes than normal. This uneven distribution of genetic material can in turn lead to cancer, miscarriage, and birth defects that include Down’s Syndrome.

Low levels of BPA, including those well below the current regulatory safety threshold, have also been shown to affect prostate development, promote prostate tumors, affect breast tissue development and sperm counts, and even possibly create and enlarge fat cells. (www.leas.ca)

Another international perspective is the article from Chemistry World written by German scientists written in January 2006. So the discussion has been around for a while.

The plastic is called Lexan Polycarbonate and is used in CDs, DVDs, mobile phone, computers, and bullet proof windows (that we all have, right?) So don’t be alarmed, you won’t mutate or lose your fingernails. The concern is more for babies, pregnant mothers or those sensitive to the negligible effects that this plastic poses.

So what does this mean for those of you active people who consume water from bottle? Simplest thing to do is check the bottom of the bottle and look for a triangle. In the middle of that triangle there is a number such as 3, 4 and so on. If there is a “7″, then throw it our or use it for a flower pot or whatever.

While there might be risk for health using these bottles, there is undoubtedly a risk to the environment. These bottles don’t break down in refills. If they are fire blasted they release toxic fumes. So the best net is to by metal, steel or some other form of hard plastic that you plan on keeping for a while.

When you look at the aStore through the link in the top of the right panel, you will come across water bottles in the Running category, keep this discussion in mind.

FUNQUE - 2
Because of the cloudiness and concerns raised we’ll have to give the regulatory folks a downgrade on this one due to their lack of a timely response.

As part of the northern hemisphere’s activities to raise awareness on Earth Day 2008 LiveLearnShop.com is pleased to review the Amazon Kindle, a wireless and paperless reader.

This technology will inevitably be a mainstream device with which we will read text. On top of the practical application of the Kindle, the environmental benefits will be reflected in huge savings of trees and paper, printing and transportation costs, and the added expense of buying books.

Wireless readers have been around for a few years now, but the technology has not met with broad usership and support. One reason has been access to reading materials, not just books, but newspapers, magazines and other print mediums. Amazon Kindle has access to over 100,000 books and additional newspapers, magazines and Blogs.

Here are a few features of kindle .
- wireless access
- weighs 10.3 ounces
- screen has a paper-like appearance
- easy to use and operate
- easy shop-click-buy-read process
- search your library
- QWERTY keyboard
- add comments to text

We have included a very comprehensive review of kindle for further information. It is our belief that the Kindle will be the major technology in e-book reading. Further to the bold step in wireless readers is the fact that the application of this technology to our lifestyle is beneficial for the environment.

You can check out the complete Kindle description, video and specifications in the scrolling pictures above. In the spirit of earth day other other Green products in the aStore in the panel on the right are posted for your use.

FUNQUE - 4/5
Very compelling and complete wireless reader.