Cartridges still being tossed

Most used printer cartridges are thrown away, with less than half re-used or even recycled, according to a new report from InfoTrends, reports PC World.

The printer supplies industry is failing to support environmental goals with OEMs. And some appear to see recycling - where the whole cartridge is broken down - as a good way to avoid cartridge re-filling, which hurts profit.

It also appears that the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive is making it more difficult to re-use printer cartridges, an example perhaps of the law of unintended consequences.

Olympus has launched new imaging software, Studio 2.0, aimed at enhancing image management and editing, reports Amateur Photographer.

Aimed at amateur and professional photographers, Studio 2.0 is compatible with raw format images captured using the E-410 and E-510 DSLRs and has a new back-up function.

Olympus Studio 2.0 is available in Windows and Macintosh versions.

Due to increasing demands from camera phone vendors, Dxo Labs and MagnaChip have produced a 3.2 megapixel imaging sensor, the MC531EA, for camera phones, reports Camera-core.

This technology involves a new depth of field system for camera phones, which eliminates the need for physical auto focus.

The MC531EA means smaller phones, with lower power consumption and costs, can produce higher quality photographs.

Adobe is releasing new versions of its instructional authoring application Captivate and its technical publishing application FrameMaker, reports InformationWeek.

Adobe Captivate 3 is designed to help businesses create e-learning simulations, training scenarios and interactive quizzes. Captivate 3's new features include multi-mode recording, rerecording, new Microsoft PowerPoint import capabilities and support for rich media formats such as Adobe Flash, MP3 and AVI files.

FrameMaker 8 is designed for creating complex technical documents in XML and SGML. The new version adds support for multimedia file fomats, including Adobe Flash files, 3D content and Unicode.