Whoa, the battle in the digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLR) market sure is heating up.

Less than a fortnight after Canon and Nikon unveiled new DSLR cameras, Panasonic on Thursday rolled out a new 10 megapixel digital SLR camera - DMC-L10.

The second DSLR camera in Panasonic’s portfolio, the DMC-L10 offers a 10.1 megapixel Live MOS Sensor, a Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-50mm f3.8-5.6 lens, 2.5-inch LCD display that can rotate 270 degrees, optical image stabilization and a Supersonic Wave Filter system to prevent dust collecting on the sensor.

The DMC-L10 includes a Face Detection technology to focus, set auto exposure and detect up to 15 human faces simultaneously.

Panasonic executives  are positioning the DMC-L10 as a bridge for consumers transitioning from a compact digital camera.

Priced at Continue Reading…

Microsoft is putting out the first service pack of its Windows Vista operating system in the first quarter of 2008.

Service packs are a collection of bug fixes and improvements that Microsoft puts out for major programs such as its operating systems.

Besides the bunch of updates the company has previously released, SP1 is supposed to address specific reliability and performance issues, support new types of hardware, and add support for emerging standards such as an Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) and an Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT).

SP1 is also set to include enhancements aimed at Continue Reading…

The FT is reporting that Indian auto company Mahindra & Mahindra is also interested in Ford’s Land Rover and Jaguar units.

According to the FT piece, Mahindra is conducting due diligence on Land Rover and Jaguar.

Tata Motors has already expressed its interest in the two Ford brands. See our earlier posting on Tata Eyeing Ford Disasters.

The top 20 private equity and hedge fund managers in the U.S. - all White men - made on average $675.5 million (Rs 2,700 crore) in 2006, or 22,255 times the pay of an average U.S. worker, according to a Forbes study cited in a new report called Executive Excess 2007: The Staggering Social Cost of U.S. Business Leadership.

The top four actually made more than a billion dollars each last year, according to the report.

And how are the others doing in the U.S.?

For the most part, American workers are doing badly. They are losing their Continue Reading…

Social networking start-up Masala Inc. has snagged $4.5 million in Series A funding from VantagePoint Venture Partners, according to a regulatory filing cited by PEHub.

Amra Tareen, a former partner at venture capital firm Sevin Rosen Funds, is behind San Francisco-based Masala Inc.

Social networking consultant Erik Sundelof is also involved in the new venture.

Amra’s background is in telecom, having worked previously at Lucent and Ascend Communications.

Originally from Pakistan, Tareen holds a BS in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and an MBA from Harvard.