JVC camcorder aimed at YouTubers

Digital video
Video makers chasing YouTube fame (at least those I know) are coming to realize that production quality matters. And there is no excuse for doing the webcam thing, as prices for camcorders and video editing software are coming down fast.

JVC last week unveiled the GZ-MS100, a camcorder that plays nice with YouTube; it has an upload button specifically for the video website.

The GZ-MS100 records to an SD card, which is not included. It uploads your vids to YouTube via a Windows PC. (That makes the upload less than direct, in my book.)

The GZ-MS100 weighs less than a pound, so it's practical for those who want to play citizen journo at hemp-fests and other gatherings.

The camcorder's 2.7-inch LCD screen adjusts its brightness to changes in ambient lighting, another handy feature. The camera comes with a rechargeable battery that provides about two hours of run time.

If you push the camcorder's upload button before pressing the trigger, it will cut your recording off at the 10-minute mark, making it a perfect, if unedited, package for YouTube delivery.

J&R Electronics lists the GZ-MS100 at about $350. It should be available next month.

Home audio

Pipe your music into every room, wirelessly

Unless you are a true vinyl aficionado, all the music you own is baked onto CDs or a single iPod. No turntables, tape decks or tuners, either.

The Sonos digital music system will put some hardware back into your living space. It's a tidy, modular system that streams music in as many as 32 rooms.

And it all comes under the control of a single sleek, hand-held controller.

You can play different music in each of the rooms where the system is set up at the same time.

Sonos is clearly aimed at people with big houses, not my wee saltbox in Milton.

The starting price, about $1,000, might also be an obstacle. But it's enough to get you circulating your music around the house in minutes, right out of the box.

The system can relay your music even farther, if you extend its wireless signal with additional bridges, as they are called.

The controller has a large color screen and a flywheel for navigating through your libraries and controlling your musical output, room by room.

The latest Sonos software also connects Napster users seamlessly to the online service's catalogue and music discovery service, as well as to playlists.

Sonos owners can subscribe to Napster, after a free 30-day trial, for about $10 a month.

Books

Restoring hope for young chemists

I don't know whom to blame for the demise of chemistry sets: nervous moms or Homeland Security. Mom worried that my brother and I would splash ourselves with acid. And science junkies today claim that chemistry sets are toothless, with the best materials removed, because manufacturers fear lawsuits and terrorists.

If you're feeling cheated by your store-bought kit, the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments (about $30 at Oreilly.com) is for you.

The guide, by Robert Bruce Thompson, will help you set up your own chemistry set. It includes projects for the kitchen table, from cracking water into hydrogen and oxygen (electrolysis) to acid-base chemistry experiments.

I am intrigued by projects such as synthesizing oil of wintergreen from aspirin and rayon from paper. (Who knew?) But I am danged tired of the forensics thing, courtesy of the CSI franchise, which is turning up everywhere from the Museum of Science to Second Life. The book includes tests for fingerprints, blood, and drugs, for example.

Just how many forensics experts will we need in the future?

Innovative last week

More help for weak golfers

It must be the green grass I've been seeing, but I've got golf on the brain.

Last week, I spotlighted a gyroscopic driver that straightens your swing. This week, it is the Golf Launchpad Tour (electricspin.com), which now works with your DVR box, so you can play right alongside pro golfers on the tele, with your own clubs. (As if that will improve your odds.) The launchpad has embedded sensors that track your club as you whack its tethered ball, measuring angle, velocity, acceleration, and path. The Golf Launchpad Tour also works with Windows, Playstation, and the Mac and will be available in the next month or so.