Before the Cheap Digital Camera, There Was the Kodak FunSaver [Past Perfect]

Despite teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, Kodak will forever be legend. Slides! Kodachrome! Advantix! In the 2000s, they morphed into a maker of easy-to-use digital cameras and pocket camcorders. But looking back, there's one product more indelible than the others: the FunSaver.

A disposable camera? Admittedly, the FunSaver was no technological achievement. It was probably the furthest thing from such a distinction. But it took the concept of disposable cameras mainstream. I used them. You used them. Unless you're currently going through puberty, we've likely all used one at some point.

Save for hobbyist photographers who probably scoffed loudly at the thought of disposable cameras, these things were great. If you lost it, you were only out six bucks and a single roll of photos. Even better was the UNDERWATER disposable camera. It was like I was holding the future in my 10-year-old hands.

Of course, for those of us who are scatterbrained dolts, we got these photos developed just as infrequently the rolls of film in our normal cameras. Except instead of a compact cylinder, we had had these blocky white/yellow/red/black boxes littered about the house.

The digital camera rendered the FunSaver obsolete once they landed in the sub-$200 price range. In fact, nearly all non-SLR cameras went the way of the dodo after the year 2000.

I think my mother still has an entire bag of undeveloped FunSavers. I want to take them in and have them developed.

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This Cheap Air Drone Can Break Into Your Computer and Own It [Hacking]

This must be the holy grail of hacking: a cheap, do-it-yourself flying drone that can break into Wi-Fi networks and turn computers into zombies that can be controlled remotely. The coolest part for evildoers: it makes the hacking untraceable.

The SkyNET drone is a modified $300 Parrot quadcopter with a Linux computer, 3G card, a GPS unit and two Wi-Fi cards. This is how it works:

Controlled by a botmaster using 3G, the drone or group of drones fly over any urban area looking for Wi-FI networks. As they find them, they automatically try to break in. Once they get inside the network, it searches for personal computers that can be compromised. Any computer that falls to the attack gets turned into a zombie without the user ever knowing it.

After the infection process, the hackers can easily control the zombies remotely through the Wi-Fi drone-to-host connection. The zombies can be used to perform any attack through their internet connections, receiving commands from SkyNET but with no traceable internet ties to the hacker botmaster:

Subsequent drone ?ights are used to issue command and control without ever linking the botmaster to the botnet via the Internet. Reverse engineering the botnet, or enumerating the bots, does not reveal the identity of the botmaster.

It's a perfect idea. Total cost: a mere $600. Anyone can easily build a complete fleet of these.

Also, words words words Sarah Connor words words Terminators hah hah words. [SkyNET Paper (PDF) via Cnet]

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The ContourROAM Action Camera: Small, Cheap, and Mighty Fine [Video]

We just got some playtime with the ROAM, a new action-minded video camera from Contour. It's strong, no-frills design and 1080p video makes it very competitive with similarly-priced GoPros.

The build quality is terrific. It's just an aluminum bullet, and it's light, compact, and streamline. The 170 degree, rotatable lens pack a serious wide-angle and makes it tempting to point it at yourself while you're doing something stupid (see video). It's incredibly simple: push the switch forward, then it's on and recording. Smart, fast, and saves power. You can get a ton of different mounts for everything from your head to your handlebars to your surfboard. The battery meter lets you know exactly how much juice you have left, and it's got a laser site so you can tell you're shooting straight. It can shoot up to 1080p at 30fps, and it's waterproof (like all gadgets should be), rated to withstand 1 meter (roughly 3 feet) for 30 minutes.

Well, it's only waterproof to one meter. While there will be a waterproof housing for it in the near future, GoPro's $180 camera comes with a waterproof case rated up to 60 meters/180 feet. At the same time, that GoPro (the HD Hero 960) only goes up to 960p, so it depends which is more important for your applications: waterproofiness or resolution. The battery is built-in, which makes it solid, but you can't quickly swap in a new one when you're out in the field. Audio was also pretty quiet and muffled. The free Contour Storyteller application is not really an editor, as you can't even combine clips. The software might be handy for someone who just wants a quick and easy way of putting a few highlights online, but you'd be better off with even a very basic video editor.

At just $200 this is very much a viable competitor. The footage it takes looks very good. It doesn't have Bluetooth and GPS like Contour's higher end models, but if all you really need is an action camera that takes very nice video and is super easy to operate even in hairy conditions, you should definitely check this one out. Personally, I'm itching to do a Battlemodo with this, a GoPro, and a couple other tough customers. In the meantime, take a look at this hastily gathered test-footage.[$200 at Contour]

PSA: Do not strap this to your bike and go riding into oncoming traffic on a rainy night in Brooklyn. That is not what this product is intended for. Let reckless bloggers do stupid shit like that for you, and do not try it yourself. Capice? Good.

You can keep up with Brent Rose, the author of this post, on Google+ or Twitter. Related Stories

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Hey Audiophile! Five Baller Vintage Amps That Are Dirt Cheap [Audio]

A five-year-old surround-sound receiver has all the appeal of a five-year-old banana. But a five-year-old (or even 25-year-old) stereo amplifier might sound and perform every bit as good as one built last month. Much stereo equipment is timeless, which is why so many audio enthusiasts are getting back into vintage gear. And a lot of old stereo gear is also extremely affordable.

These old-school components still sound great today - and you can pick 'em up for a song.
Here are five vintage amps and preamps I've had great experiences with - and in a couple of cases still own and use. If you see these guys selling on eBay or Audiogon for a reasonable price (or even better, at a garage sale for a crazily reasonable price), give 'em serious consideration if you're in the market for something in that vein.

Kenwood KR-6170 "Jumbo Jet" stereo receiver Pictured above
Today's A/V receivers may seem feature-packed, but the KR-6170 makes them seem pathetically parsimonious. This fabled early-1970s receiver, commonly referred to as the "Jumbo Jet," is stuffed with features you'll never see on anything made today. Front and center is a spring-loaded sleep timer knob that works just like the heat lamp timers you find in motel bathrooms. A built-in rhythm box gives you a dozen different ultra-cheezy beats, and you can plug in a guitar and a microphone and play right along. There's even a spring reverb, the same type found in classic Fender guitar amps. Choose from the 50-watt, 100-watt or "full power" setting. I don't know what the KR-6170 originally cost, but you should be able to pick one up for $100 to $300. I got to play with one during my recent visit to vintage dealer Innovative Audio, and I guarantee it'll inspire more conversation and admiration than even the most high-end A/V receiver made today.

Sound+Vision gets under the hood of the best new audio and video gear—and goes behind the scenes on the music and movies that make the tech worth owning.

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