Palestine was conquered by the Islamic Empire following the 636 CE Battle of Yarmouk during the Muslim conquest of Syria, and the Muslims gave relief from burdensome Roman taxes and religious persecution of Christian heretics. In 661 CE, with the assassination of Ali, Muawiyah I became the uncontested Caliph of the Islamic World after being crowned in Jerusalem. In 691, the Dome of the Rock became the world's first great work of Islamic architecture. The Umayyad were replaced by the Abbasids in 750. From 878 Palestine was ruled from Egypt by semi-autonomous rulers for almost a century, beginning with Ahmad ibn Tulun, and ending with the Ikhshidid rulers who were both buried in Jerusalem. Over these centuries many heretical Christians had converted to Islam. The Fatimids conquered the region in 969. In 1073 Palestine was captured by the Great Seljuq Empire, only to be recaptured by the Fatimids in 1098, who then lost the region to the Crusaders in 1099.
Their control of Jerusalem and most of Palestine lasted almost a century until defeat by Saladin's forces in 1187, after which most of Palestine was controlled by the Ayyubids.
A rump Crusader state in the northern coastal cities survived for another century, but, despite seven further Crusades, the Crusaders were no longer a significant power in the region. The Mamluk Sultanate was indirectly created in Egypt as a result of the Seventh Crusade. The Mongol Empire reached Palestine for the first time in 1260, beginning with the Mongol raids into Palestine under Nestorian Christian general Kitbuqa and reaching an apex at the pivotal Battle of Ain Jalut. In 1486, hostilities broke out between the Mamluks and the Ottoman Turks and the Ottomans captured Palestine in 1516.
During World War I the British government issued the Balfour Declaration of 1917, simultaneously promising the area to the Arabs in return for support with the anti Turkish Arab Revolt and with the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement dividing the territory for itself. The British captured Jerusalem a month later. The League of Nations formally awarded Britain a mandate over Palestine in 1922. The land west of the Jordan River was under direct British administration until 1948, while the land east of the Jordan was a semi-autonomous region known as Transjordan, under the rule of the Hashemite family from the Hijaz, and gained independence in 1946. The 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine was a nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs against British colonial rule and mass Jewish immigration.


And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books which were written.
The very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.
As Jesus and His disciples journeyed through the land, people gathered around Him. He was a master communicator. With wonderful stories and illustrations, Jesus taught people the ways of God and called them to live according to those ways. Jesus had compassion for the outcast and the brokenhearted. He convicted those whose hearts were full of pride. He spoke with the authority of one sent from God, but He was not just a man of words.
Jesus expressed His compassion and proved His authority with miracles. He was reported to have calmed storms and walked on the sea. On two occasions, He took just a few loaves of bread and a handful of fish and multiplied them to feed thousands of people. Jesus gave sight to the blind, caused the lame to walk, and healed people of horrible diseases. He cast demons out of people, and He even raised people from the dead. For thirty years, Jesus had lived in obscurity. But now, He was demonstrating His power over the physical and the spiritual world, over life and death.
During the three years between His baptism and His death and resurrection, Jesus traveled throughout the land of the Hebrews ministering to the people. There were two main aspects to the public ministry of Jesus. The first of these was His teaching.
As we read about the teaching of Jesus in the Bible, it is characterized by authority (Matthew 7:29, Mark 1:22, Luke 4:32) and wisdom (Matthew 13:54, Mark 6:2). Amazed (Matthew 7:28, Mark 1:22, Luke 4:32) and astonished (Matthew 13:54, Matthew 22:33, Mark 6:2, Mark 11:18) are the words used most to describe the reactions of those who heard Jesus teach. Even among those who doubt that Jesus is the promised Deliverer, His teaching is considered remarkable. His "Sermon on the Mount" and numerous parables1 are viewed to be among the greatest wisdom literature in the world.
The second aspect of Jesus' ministry had to do with the miracles He performed. Most of today's lesson will be concerned with the miracles of Jesus. But before we go further, let's define our terms. The modern word "miracle" is derived from the Latin word miraculum, which means, "a wonder" or "something wonderful."2 In the Bible, there are four words (two Hebrew and two Greek) that are translated as the word "miracle." In each case, these words describe an intervention by God in which the ordinary course of nature is overruled, suspended, or modified.3 The Biblical term "miracle" means something much more than its Latin root.
Note that the Biblical use of the word doesn't simply refer to the involvement of God in the affairs of man. It refers to what C. S. Lewis calls "a divine interference with nature by a supernatural power."4 God does innumerable things for us on a daily basis, but He doesn't necessarily supersede the laws of nature to do them. However, if you had terminal cancer one day, and then the next day it was gone, that would be completely contrary to the laws of nature. A miracle defies natural explanation because it defies natural law.
The Bible records 35 miracles performed by Jesus during His three years of public ministry. These miracles range from walking on water to raising people from the dead. To see a listing of these 35 miracles go to the section on the Miracles of Jesus at the end of this study guide. But keep in mind that these are only the miracles that are recorded. The Bible also says that that there are many other things which Jesus did; so many that if they were written in detail the world could not contain the books! (John 21:25).
A primary purpose (if not the primary purpose) of the miracles recorded in the Bible was to serve as signs that confirmed the presence or revelation of God. This is true of the miracles of God in the Old Testament as well as the miracles of Jesus. The miracles of Exodus 7–11 confirmed that Moses was speaking for God. In the New Testament, Jesus said that His miracles proved who He was and that God the Father sent Him (John 5:36). Jesus performed miracles so that people might believe He was who He said He was. As you consider the miracles of Jesus, do you believe?
Do you agree with the Biblical definition of a miracle as stated above? Why or why not?
Jesus performed miracles so that people might believe in Him. But in some situations Jesus did not perform a miracle because He knew they would not believe. Their hearts would not be receptive even with a miracle. "And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief" (Matthew 13:58).
People sometimes reason that if God would only do something in their lives, then they would believe. But God has already done something. He sent His son, and He came performing miracles so that we might believe. In Mark 9:23, Jesus said, "All things are possible to him who believes." We may want God to prove Himself, but according to these words, a believing heart comes first.
Take some time to read through the recorded Miracles of Jesus which are listed at the end of this study guide. Ask God to teach you about Himself as you read through them.
John Piper, Jesus Is Precious Because His Biblical Portrait Is True, Part 2. (© John Piper, Desiring God , 2006). (http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1982/333_Jesus_Is_Precious_Because_His_Biblical_Portrait_Is_True_Part_2/). Retrieved November 1, 2006. A sermon delivered by John Piper on February 14, 1982.
2Miracle [LAT. miraculum, from mirari, to wonder]. (© Net Industries, Online Encyclopedia, 2006; originally appearing in Volume V18, Page 572 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica). (http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/MIC_MOL/MIRACLE_Lat_miraculum_from_mira.html). Retrieved November 1, 2006.
3Miracles of Jesus – Man on a Mission. (© AllAboutJesusChrist.org, 2002 – 2006). (http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/miracles-of-jesus.htm). Retrieved November 1, 2006.
4John–Erik Stig Hansen, Do Miracles Occur? (©John Visser, Into the Wardrobe: A C. S. Lewis Website, 1994–2006). (http://cslewis.drzeus.net/papers/miracles.html). Retrieved November 1, 2006.


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Q: count number of divs for each container in jquery How can I count the number of divs with the class of "slide" in each set. In the example below the first group "item" will and up with three and the second group will have two. I've been trying to use .length but it adds all of the "slide" divs up.

A: This will get you an array of the counts of .slide divs within each .item, using .map:
var counts = $(".item").map(function() {
    return $(this).find(".slide").length;
}).get();

Try it here. In your markup, the second 'item' div has the ID 'item' instead of the class name. I changed it for the demo. Alternatively, you could just use the selector .bar instead of .item in the above solution, and the result will still be the same.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Clockwise, from top: Chloé EDT, $109, 50ml; Gucci Bamboo EDP, $129, 50ml; Stella McCartney Stella EDP, $115, 50ml; Givenchy Dahlia Divin EDT, $119, 50ml; Christian Dior Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet EDT, $164, 50ml; Lancôme La Vie Est Belle Intense EDP, $163, 50ml.
Not all that enthused about switching your usual go-to scent out for something light and citrusy over the summer months? Now is your chance to break all the rules: the scent of summer. These seductive oriental scents are bound to come alive in the sultry heat.
Clockwise from top left: Amouage Epic Woman (100mlEDP, $515 from WORLD); Narciso Rodriguez Narciso (50ml EDT, $140); YSL Black Opium (50ml EDT, $140); Marc Jacobs Decadence (100ml EDP, $190); Orto Parisi Boccanera (50ml EDP, $299 from WORLD); Chanel Coco Mademoiselle (50ml EDP, $180).


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Q: How to transfer binary file in SFTP? How to transfer binary file in SFTP?  Will it be same as normal file? Or is there any different process?

A: A binary file is a normal file.
You are possibly referring to a text/ascii vs. a binary transfer mode, known from an FTP protocol. The FTP protocol defaults to the text/ascii mode, so one usually had to ensure that the mode was switched to the binary not to corrupt the transferred binary files.
SFTP protocol also supports a text/ascii vs. binary mode distinction in its newer versions. Though contrary to the FTP, the binary mode is the default and one has to explicitly force the text/ascii mode, if desired.
Moreover the ascii/text mode is supported by an SFTP version 4 and newer only. And many SFTP servers/clients (including the most widespread one, the OpenSSH) support an SFTP version 3 only. So they will not even let you use the text/ascii mode.


Should we abandon all hope of ever being connected to the NBN? Fred Plodge, Australia's leading public bar commentator on politics, believes it would be life-threatening to hold your breath.
I just don't seem able to shake the conviction that the NBN is a non-event.
Initially I was an enthusiastic supporter regularly peering down my street in eager anticipation of seeing cables being laid. Lately however I've become utterly disillusioned and am resigned to being offered an expensive third-rate service around 2025.
This was originally a Kevin idea so I should have known better. Then Stephen Conroy kept reassuring us that the NBN was on track and on budget and obviously I should have recognised the warning signs.
Next Tony came to power and ensured Malcolm wouldn't be able to bask in ministerial glory by lumbering him with the NBN.
From the getgo Malcolm described the NBN as a laughable Labor lemon singularly lacking in juice. He may have succeeded in transforming it into a mere disaster but how the hell can anyone tell? Naturally Labor is now claiming that Malcolm has trashed their technological triumph into something akin to the Jacqui Lambie Network.
According to Malcolm it was only his dedication over and above the normal call of duty supported by State Disaster Relief Services that has saved the NBN from a place in the Global Disaster Hall of Fame alongside Kevin's other great legacy Pink Batts.
Meanwhile low-speed and low-rent internet users like me have to accept that there's absolutely zero chance of picking up speed with the NBN until 2025 at the earliest. In fact I reckon the next budget surplus will beat it by quite a few years.
Here in the public bar we still nurture faint hopes of a high-speed video link with our mates at the pub down the road which can facilitate graphic depictions of their many character defects in glorious living colour.
With no news of any NBN cables being laid within a hundred mile radius for the time being we'll have to make do with hacking their on-line banking sites and charging our bar tabs to them.


Complaint: SEC v. Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V.
1. From at least the fourth quarter of 1996 through at least the second quarter of 2000, Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. ("L&H" or "Defendant") engaged in a variety of undisclosed and deceptive transactions to inflate L&H's reported income and, consequently, the price of its stock. These deceptive transactions included guaranteed and conditional sales and sales that were secretly financed by L&H. The eventual result of this fraudulent conduct was the destruction of L&H as an operating company and a financial loss, borne by investors in the U.S., Belgium and elsewhere, of at least $8 billion in market capitalization.
2. In this action, the Securities and Exchange Commission seeks to permanently enjoin L&H from future violations of the anti-fraud, reporting and recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws.
3. The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") brings this action pursuant to the authority conferred upon it by Section 20(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") [15 U.S.C. § 77t(b)] and Section 21(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)].
4. This Court has jurisdiction over this action, and venue is proper, pursuant to Section 22(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77v(a)] and Sections 21(e) and 27 of the Exchange Act, [15 U.S.C. §§ 78u(e) and 78aa]. The Defendant, directly or indirectly, made use of the means and instrumentalities of interstate commerce or of the mails, or the facilities of a national securities exchange in connection with the acts, transactions, practices and courses of business alleged herein.
5. Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V., is a Belgian corporation formed in 1987. During the relevant period, L&H was a developer, licensor and provider of speech and language technologies, headquartered in Ieper, Belgium and Burlington, Massachusetts. L&H's common stock is registered with the Commission pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. §78l(g)].
6. At all relevant times, the Defendant's common stock was listed on EASDAQ (now known as NASDAQ Europe) and the NASDAQ National Market System. Trading in L&H common stock was suspended by EASDAQ and NASDAQ on November 9, 2000. The Defendant's common stock was de-listed by NASDAQ on December 6, 2000. Subsequently, in March 2001, the Defendant voluntarily de-listed from NASDAQ Europe. The Defendant's common stock is currently quoted on the "Pink Sheets" disseminated by Pink Sheets LLC.
7. At the beginning of the relevant period, L&H was a "foreign private issuer," required to file annual and other reports on Commission Form 20-F and Form 6-K, pursuant to Section 13a-16 of the Exchange Act. In fiscal year 2000, L&H acquired two U.S. technology corporations (Dictaphone Corporation and Dragon Systems, Inc.), and, thereafter, was required to file periodic reports pursuant to Sections 13a-1 and 13a-13 of the Exchange Act.
8. After failed attempts at reorganization, the Defendant is presently in liquidation proceedings in the U.S. and Belgium.
Dictation Consortium N.V. and Brussels Translation Group N.V.
9. Between 1996 and 1999, L&H improperly recorded over $60 million in revenue from transactions with two Belgian entities -- Dictation Consortium N.V. ("Dictation") and Brussels Translation Group N.V. ("BTG") -- formed for the purpose of engaging in transactions with L&H. Transactions between L&H and these two companies were arranged to allow L&H to fraudulently claim revenue from its own research and development activities, which otherwise would not have resulted in reported revenue unless and until the projects resulted in marketed products.
10. Within one day of its creation in September 1996, Dictation, which L&H disclosed in its Commission filings to be a related party, entered into a $5 million agreement with L&H to license certain speech-to-text technology, including the right to develop applications from the technology. Approximately three months later, Dictation and L&H entered into a second agreement whereby Dictation would pay L&H $25 million to develop software using the technology previously licensed to Dictation. This agreement gave L&H an "option" to buy back from Dictation the rights to the license and any software developed. During 1996, 1997 and 1998, the years immediately following its 1995 initial public offering, L&H recognized revenue from its purported software development agreement with Dictation of $7.5 million (24% of reported revenue); $18.9 million (19% of reported revenue) and $333,333 (under 1% of reported revenue), respectively. Dictation was L&H's largest reported customer in 1996 and 1997.
11. In May 1998, before L&H developed any marketable product for Dictation, L&H purchased Dictation for $43.3 million. Thus, L&H bought back the product of its own research and development at a premium of over $16 million.
12. Because the transactions between L&H and Dictation were disguised loans and not sales or service contracts, L&H should not have recognized revenue from those transactions under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). By failing to properly account for its transactions with Dictation, L&H materially overstated its reported revenue for 1996 (by $7.5 million or a 31% overstatement) and 1997 (by $18.9 million or a 23% overstatement); consequently the financial statements filed with the Commission by L&H for 1996 and 1997 were materially false and misleading.
13. Brussels Translation Group N.V. ("BTG") was established on March 13, 1997, and on that same day entered into a $3.5 million licensing agreement with L&H. The agreement was amended in May 1997 to increase the amount of the license fee to $5 million. At the same time, BTG contracted to pay L&H $30 million for research and development services. L&H recognized $15 million in revenue in 1997 from its transactions with BTG (or 15% of reported revenue), $18 million in 1998 (8.5% of reported revenue) and $2 million in 1999 (under 1% of reported revenue). In June 1999, L&H acquired BTG for $42 million and the assumption of $17 million in debt.
14. Because the transactions between L&H and BTG were disguised loans and not sales or services transactions, L&H should not have recognized revenue from those transactions under GAAP. By failing to properly account for its transactions with BTG, L&H materially overstated its reported revenue for 1997 (by $15 million or a 18% overstatement) and 1998 (by $18 million or a 9% overstatement); consequently, the financial statements filed with the Commission by L&H for 1997 and 1998 were materially false and misleading.
15. L&H, through its senior management, knew or was reckless in not knowing that its improper accounting for the BTG and Dictation transactions rendered its periodic reports filed with the Commission for the period 1996 through 1998 materially false and misleading.
16. By late 1998, L&H could not obtain any further revenue boost from the Dictation and BTG transactions. In addition, it had not developed sufficient commercial applications for its technology to provide for continued significant revenue growth. To bolster its reported revenue, L&H launched a new and elaborate scheme to, in essence, create additional L&H customers. These new customers, dubbed "Language Development Companies" (or "LDCs"), enabled L&H to claim revenue of $102 million in license fees and $8.5 million in prepaid royalties from the LDCs in 1998 and 1999, giving the false impression of exponential growth. Moreover, the LDC revenues were not separately identified by L&H in its financial statements, but instead were buried in overall revenue figures.
17. The LDCs were structured in a manner that masked their actual role at the time of their creation. All were private companies. Most were incorporated in Singapore, although they had no actual operations in that country. The "managing director" of many of the Singapore LDCs was a Belgian national associated with L&H.
18. L&H, in its public disclosure, contended that the LDCs were formed to develop new markets for L&H technology by licensing the Company's basic code-generating software to start-up entities in various parts of the world. These entities were supposed to then develop speech recognition and translation software applicable to various regional languages. In actuality, the LDCs were little more than shell companies created, like Dictation and BTG, as a means for L&H to improperly fabricate revenues. The LDCs had few, if any, employees, and were dependent upon L&H personnel for research and development activities. None of the LDCs produced any significant product.
19. L&H supplied or arranged for others to supply financing for at least some of the LDCs. For example, in late 1999, L&H solicited an investment bank in Bahrain to help in the search for investors for two LDCs. The investment bank advanced L&H $8 million for technology licenses for the LDCs, with the understanding that L&H would repurchase the licenses at a substantial premium (resulting in a 25% internal rate of return) if the investment bank was unable to locate investors to fund the LDCs.
20. Thus, to the extent L&H obtained funds from the LDCs, some or all of these funds were subject to material conditions imposing on L&H significant potential liabilities which were not reflected on its balance sheet, and which L&H did not disclose to its shareholders or the Commission. Under those circumstances, the accounting applied to the LDCs did not comply with GAAP. For the period from 1998 to 1999, L&H reported revenue from the LDCs of $110.5 million, a material portion of which was improperly recognized.
21. L&H, through its senior management, knew or was reckless in not knowing that its improper accounting for the LDCs rendered its periodic reports filed with the Commission for the period from 1998 to 1999 materially false and misleading.
22. From September 1999 to June 2000, L&H reported approximately $175 million in sales revenue from its Korean operations ("L&H Korea"), the majority of which was fraudulent. The purported dramatic growth in sales from its Korean subsidiary accompanied the inflation of the price of L&H stock. The majority of this revenue was fraudulent because L&H Korea: (1) entered into oral and written side agreements with customers freeing them from any definite payment obligation; (2) disguised the uncollectibility of the receivables resulting from some of these fraudulent sales by factoring the receivables to Korean banks, subject to side agreements protecting the banks from any risk of non-collection; and (3) secretly arranged to fund the pay-down of receivables resulting from other bogus sales.
23. L&H Korea sales people were instructed to agree to whatever terms and conditions were necessary to induce customers to sign purchase orders. The result was a series of "sales" subject to written and oral side agreements that did not appear in the L&H Korea contract files. These terms included, in some instances, agreements by L&H Korea not to pursue collection of license fees unless and until the "customer" generated sufficient revenue from use of the L&H software to cover those fees. L&H Korea had no legitimate expectation of collecting payment from those customers.
24. To prevent uncollectible receivables from remaining on L&H Korea's books, thereby raising questions about the quality of the company's reported earnings, a series of transactions with four Korean banks were staged to give the impression that the receivables had been factored to those banks on a non-recourse basis. In fact, L&H Korea entered into side agreements with those banks requiring L&H Korea to maintain blocked deposits to cover the amounts of the "factored" receivables, which the banks could apply to satisfy any collection shortfalls. Thus, these transactions were essentially fully secured loans from the banks to L&H Korea, rather than sales of receivables from L&H Korea to the banks.
25. In another fraudulent scheme to disguise that its escalating accounts receivable did not reflect genuine sales, L&H Korea arranged to have third parties "purchase" the licensing agreements from the original customers. The transferees would then obtain loans, collateralized by L&H Korea assets but not reflected in L&H Korea's books, and use the proceeds to pay L&H Korea through the original customers. By this scheme, L&H Korea, in effect, paid down its own receivables, while creating the appearance of successfully collecting customer payments, which in fact had not been collected.
26. Through the fraudulent Korean sales, L&H overstated its revenue for the period from September 1999 to June 2000 by at least $114 million.
27. L&H, through its senior management, knew or was reckless in not knowing that its improper accounting for the Korea sales rendered its periodic reports filed with the Commission for the period from September 1999 to June 2000 materially false and misleading.
28. As information about the company's financial fraud became public through the press, the price of L&H stock declined dramatically, falling from a lifetime high of $72.50 in March 2000 to $.76 on December 29, 2000. On November 9, 2000, L&H disclosed that its financial statements for 1997, 1998 and 1999 could not be relied upon and acknowledged that errors and irregularities would require the company to restate its financial statements for 1998, 1999 and the first half of 2000. A preliminary L&H report prepared at the direction of the Audit Committee, dated November 20, 2000 and made public on or about December 17, 2000, admitted that L&H had materially misstated its financial statements for 1997, 1998 and 1999 and that a significant amount of revenue recorded in the first six months of 2000 would have to be restated. That report also recommended disciplinary action against those in senior management believed responsible for the irregularities. No such restatement has been made to this date. On November 29, 2000, L&H filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the District of Delaware. On December 27, 2000, L&H filed a voluntary petition under Belgium's insolvency statutes. Both courts subsequently determined that reorganization and recovery were not possible, and L&H is presently in liquidation proceedings in the U.S. and Belgium.
Violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)], and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)] and Rule 10b-5 [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5] thereunder.
29. The Commission re-alleges and incorporates by reference the allegations contained in Paragraphs 1 through 28 above.
30. As set forth more fully above, defendant Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V., directly or indirectly, by use of the means or instruments of transportation or communication in interstate commerce, or by the use of the mails or of the facilities of a national securities exchange, in connection with the offer, purchase or sale of securities or securities-based swap agreements: has employed devices, schemes, or artifices to defraud; has, to obtain money or property, made untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or has engaged in acts, practices, or courses of business which operate or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person.
31. By reason of the foregoing, defendant Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. has, directly or indirectly, violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.
Violations of Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78m(a)] and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-13, and 13a-16 [17 C.F.R. §§ 240.12b-20, 240.13a-1, 240.13a-13, and 240.13a-16] thereunder.
32. The Commission re-alleges and incorporates by reference the allegations contained in Paragraphs 1 through 31 above.
33. By engaging in the conduct described above, defendant Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. filed materially false and misleading annual reports on Forms 10-K and 20-F and materially false and misleading quarterly and other reports on Form 10-Q or 6-K with the Commission during the period from 1996 through June 30, 2000. By reason of the foregoing, defendant Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. violated Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-13, and 13a-16 thereunder.
34. L&H has failed to file annual, quarterly and other reports with the Commission for the period from June 2000 to the present. By reason of the foregoing, defendant Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. violated Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules13a-1, 13a-13, and 13a-16 thereunder.
Violations of Sections 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. §§ 78m(b)(2)(A), 78m(b)(2)(B)].
35. The Commission re-alleges and incorporates by reference the allegations contained in Paragraphs 1 through 34 above.
36. By engaging in the conduct described above, defendant Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. failed to make and keep books, records and accounts which accurately and fairly reflected its transactions and dispositions of its assets, in violation of Section 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act, and failed to devise and maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that its corporate transactions were executed in accordance with management's authorization and in a manner to permit the preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, in violation of Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act.
Grant such other relief as this Court may deem appropriate.


Vendor Early Signup Discount Available Until October 20th 2017.
Two full days of Fun, Arts & Craft Vendors, Fresh Local Clams & Seafood and other Great Foods, Two full days of Live Music, Games and Rides and Contests.
The Annual Event will be held on Saturday, January 27th, and Sunday, January 28th.
This is a family event with Kids Games and Rides, Two full days of Live Music & Contests, Arts and Craft vendors as well as some of Pine Island's Best Fresh Clams & Seafood right off the boats of our local fishermen. We have added more seafood vendors, since last year it was in such a demand.
Specially Created dishes with Top Neck, Middle Neck, Little Neck, Steamers & Venus Clams Eat them at the event or buy them by the dozen or pound on ice and take them home for later. Other great foods available for those who can't eat seafood, Hamburgers, Hot dogs, Pulled Pork, BBQ Goat Meat, BBQ Chicken & Ribs, and maybe Pizza etc. . . . .
Island Information, Fishing Seminors by Capt Terry Fisher, a staff writer for Lee County Boating Magazine and considered one of the top SW Floirida fishing guides. Clamming information and Cooking Demonstrations by Chef Warren, who is a chef and full-time writer who studied at the Southeast institute of Culinary Arts and an award-winning author. Also Cocktails by Spence featured on the Food Network, USA Today, Tails of the Cocktail, and a cocktail feature for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Taliaferro is considered one of the most influential mixologists in SW FL.


Did you think that corner-to-corner crochet was only for blankets? Not so! Join crochet expert Jennifer Pionk to learn all the ins and outs of this popular technique while you create two exclusive designs that will enhance your wardrobe.
This class includes complete, step-by-step instructions and color charts for two exclusive projects, including the Scattered Pixels Cowl and the Swirling Pixels Slouch.
Very detailed instruction. I love your video.


If you have previous employment experience in hospitality and the restaurant, fast food, or bar industry (such as an assistant restaurant manager, a waiter, waitress, bartender, chef, barista, grocery associate, kitchen manager, line cook, prep cooks, restaurant assistant managers, servers, stewards, crew, food and beverage managers, cooks, bakery cafe associates, or banquet servers) you might also consider partnering with Uber. Already have a hospitality, restaurant, fast food, or bar job? You can always make extra cash between shifts with Uber. This posting is for independent contractors partnering with Uber.


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'What was it for?': the mental toll of China's three years in Covid lockdowns
December 16, 2022 [email protected]
After China's abrupt scaling back of its zero-Covid restrictions, many ordinary Chinese people are struggling to cope with the mental trauma from three years of frequent lockdowns and are demanding answers for the heavy price they have paid.
On Friday, one of the top shared posts on Sina Weibo – China's Twitter-like platform – was an article citing medical experts as saying depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by the population would probably take between 10 and 20 years to recover from.
Lu Lin, a fellow at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said at a forum on Friday that as many as 20% of health workers, patients and members of the public may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and nearly one-third of those quarantined at home have displayed symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia. Other experts called for emergency services to support the community's mental health.
Shanghai in lockdown in January 2021. Photograph: Alex Plavevski/EPA
"What is even more frightening than the coronavirus is the fear and mental anxiety," said one Weibo comment.
"How about the impact of arbitrary abuse on each citizen?" asked another.
Many are cynical about the policy reversal. "Yesterday they said the virus was lethal and today they say the virus is milder than flu. What can you do?" said a post.
Many questioned whether the heavy human price over the past three years had been worth it.
People should be held accountable and the government should pay out compensation.
Xiao Han, a liberal legal academic, tweeted: "For this, we supported all those crazy lockdowns, halting of production and business [that resulted in] bankruptcies, suicides and fires?… [They] ignore the humanitarian disasters, for this so-called sacrifice for the greater good. Can the victims now ask: 'What for?'"
An academic based in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou daringly urged his local government to be accountable for its mistakes and to "heal the wounds", but his post on social media platform WeChat was swiftly deleted.
"The first step should be to admit the mistake, mourn the deceased and to apologise to the citizens," wrote Li Gongming. "Then, people should be held accountable and the government should pay out compensation."
In Beijing, people held white sheets of paper in protest over Covid restrictions, after a vigil for the victims of a fire in Urumqi. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters
Known tragedies connected to "zero Covid" range from the deaths of infants and young children denied medical treatment due to Covid curbs, to a bus accident when 27 people were killed on their way to a quarantine facility in the south-western province of Guizhou.
The final straw for some Chinese people appeared to be the deaths of 10 people in a fire in Urumqi in the far west region of Xinjiang which triggered last month's rare nationwide protests.
Three years of milling around, and now we're told it's just a cold.
The sudden pivot in official policy and the perceived dangers of the virus brought alarm and fear to many people and triggered panic buying of fever medicine. Health experts have warned that China may be unprepared for a sharp rise in infections and deaths in a subsequent wave.
This week, anger flared up over the sudden death of a 23-year-old student doctor in Chengdu in south-west China – officials say he died of heart failure but social media users blamed it on the heavy workload at his hospital.
Some hospitals in Beijing have up to 80% of their staff infected, but many are still required to work due to staff shortages, according to a Reuters report.
On Friday, China set out urgent plans to protect rural communities from Covid as millions of city-dwellers planned holidays for the first time in years after the government abandoned lockdowns and travel curbs.
But the Communist party is firmly in charge of the narrative. The state-run People's Daily on Thursday published a front-page article lauding the heroic victory of three years of pandemic control fought with "minimal cost" and painted a picture of life returning to bustling streets across the country.
Not everyone shares the excitement.
"Three years of milling around, and now we're told it was just a cold," read one Twitter post.
PlainAsia Pacific, China, Coronavirus, Mental health, World news
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


These dashboards provide information related to Core Safety Measures adopted by Federal and State transportation safety agencies. Use the radio buttons at top right to view the same measures as 3-year and 5-year averages.
Data Source: ODOT crash data, 2007-2016 -- incidents on the roadways reported by law enforcement, emergency responders, and motorists.


After a long and busy week, I was still able to slip in some time to write my review of the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS. The PowerShot SX20 is an evolutionary upgrade to last year's SX10, featuring 12 megapixels, a flip-out and twist LCD screen, full manual controls and now, a 720p HD movie mode. You can also check out photos taken straight out of the camera in the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS photo gallery. What are you waiting for? Hit that link for the full review of the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
The PowerShot SX20 is Canon's newest super-zoom digital camera. It's not a huge jump from its predecessor, the SX10, but the PowerShot SX20 IS adds in a couple of small improvements that some may or may not find useful – such as 12 megapixels of resolution (up from ten on the previous camera), a 720p HD movie mode, mini HDMI port and a new 'hints and tips' feature.
Should the Canon PowerShot SX20 be your next camera during this holiday season? Let's have a look now!
The PowerShot SX20 measures exactly the same dimensions as the 10 megapixel SX10. Most of the competitors remain unchanged since the SX10 due to different release times (the SX10 announced last fall is already a year old, while most of the competition, released earlier this year, is barely 6-9 months old).
The PowerShot SX20 is average in size for a super-zoom camera but a good 100 grams heavier than the group average. Is that a big difference? Not really, in my opinion, if you're going to be slinging the camera around your neck/shoulder or in a bag, the difference is not very noticeable and shouldn't bother most people.
During my time with the PowerShot SX20, I also had the Panasonic Lumix FZ35 super-zoom with me so let's take a little break for me to talk about how I felt about each camera 'in-hand'. The Panasonic is about 200 grams lighter (and smaller too) and the camera certainly felt more comfortable to carry around. I did, however, prefer the Canon SX20's heftier body for telephoto shooting – the Panasonic FZ35's lightweight felt a little 'wobbly' and not as reassuring (but that's just me).
The PowerShot SX20 doesn't come with any memory, at all, so you'll have to use your own memory card (or shop for one). The SX20 takes SD/SDHC cards as well as MMC's. I would recommend sticking to SD/SDHC since they're typically faster and available in larger in capacities versus MMC. And while we're at that, I'd suggest making the card high-speed too since the PowerShot SX20 can perform faster using one. A 4 GB high-speed SDHC is a good place to start in terms of capacity/speed – it can hold quite a bit of data and write movies into the card quickly.
The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS uses 4 AA batteries but comes with a set of non-rechargeable alkaline batteries. I've got both good and bad news: Good news is the bundled batteries will last for quite a while before dying (rated to 340 shots); BUT they'll eventually run out of power and end up in the trash anyway. You'll have less trouble with most of the competition which comes with proprietary batteries (and a charger), though AA batteries are way more versatile (you can find them anywhere and they're usable on a wide range of devices).
With the PowerShot SX20, you'll have to get a set of rechargeable AA NiMH batteries and a charger yourself. With rechargeable batteries, the Canon PowerShot SX20 trumps the competition with a class-leading 600 shots per charge (just like the SX10).
The list of accessories available for the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS is just as short as the one for the PowerShot SX10. You can attach an external flash to the camera but not conversion lenses or filters. The official flash units from Canon are the 270EX, 430EX series and 580EX series models. You can also opt for third party flash units, but only Canon models will sync automatically with the camera.
Other than that, you'll find optional rechargeable AA batteries and charger, an AC adapter and various camera cases for the PowerShot SX20. One new accessory available for the Canon PowerShot SX20 is a HDMI cable so you can hook it up to your high-definition television set via the new mini HDMI port on the camera. The use of HDMI cables is becoming more common nowadays, and they're non-proprietary (means you can use them on other devices too), but they're still on the expensive side.
Like its predecessor, the Canon PowerShot SX20 is a sturdy, good looking super-zoom camera. You'll be hard-pressed to spot the differences between the SX10 and SX20 actually – besides the megapixel/model badge changes and new mini HDMI port on the right; they're essentially the same camera.
The camera is nicely built and easy to hold with a large, rubberized lens barrel and partially-textured grip. There are plenty of buttons on the PowerShot SX20, making it seem a bit daunting at first for beginners but a positive thing in the long run since most functions are easily accessible. One thing that hasn't changed for the better is the command dial on the back: its lack of tactile "clicks" makes it difficult to judge how many stops you've changed without looking at the screen.
Above the lens is the PowerShot SX20's manual popup flash. The flash here is even more powerful than the one found on its predecessor. At wide-angle, it covers a range of 50 cm to 6.8 m, shrinking to 1.0 to 3.7 m at telephoto (Auto ISO). If that isn't enough power, you can attach an external flash to the Canon SX20.
Then there are the just three round circles above the lens: they are the PowerShot SX20's stereo microphones and the autofocus assist/self-timer countdown lamp on the right. The PowerShot SX20 does NOT support wireless remote control (and there's no remote receiver here), unlike the SX1.
The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS has a flip-out and rotate LCD screen. It measures 2.5 inches diagonally and sports a resolution of 230,000 pixels.
What's great about the LCD is that you can flip it out and then rotate it upwards for ground shots or downwards for taking pictures above head level.
You can even face the screen to the front for self-portraits or 'close' it inwards to protect it when not in use. The screen is pretty sharp with good visibility in low-light and just average visibility outdoors.
Directly above the LCD is the electronic viewfinder which comes in handy when you want to steady the camera against your eye or improved visibility outdoors. The EVF has 230,000 pixels so it's as sharp as the LCD. It also has dioptric correction, adjustable via the knob next to the viewfinder.
To the left of the EVF is the print button which also serves as a shortcut button; it can be assigned to a function of your choice in shooting mode. I've got a full list of functions you can assign to the shortcut button later on in the review.
To the other side of the viewfinder is the dedicated movie button. Using this button, you can start/stop movie recording anytime, regardless of shooting mode. Next to the movie button is an empty bit of space where your thumb can go while holding the camera.
At the upper right corner of the PowerShot SX20 are three buttons; the upper-most button is for entering playback. The other two are for exposure compensation/playback jump and focus point selection/delete photo respectively. The SX20's exposure compensation covers the usual +/-2 EV, adjustable in 1/3 step increments.
The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS has a Face Self-timer mode that works in-conjunction with the camera's face detection technology. The camera will watch the scene until an 'extra face' is detected, then start counting down to take up to 10 pictures in a row – it really helps so you don't have to run to the camera the instant you press the shutter button. Of course there's the regular 2 and 10 second countdown modes available as well as a custom timer mode which allows you to set the countdown period and number of shots the camera will take.
The custom option in the My Colors/Photo Effects area enables you to manually tweak contrast, saturation and sharpness up to +/- 2 in 1 step increments).
The PowerShot SX20 has two bracketing modes: one is the usual exposure bracketing feature which allows you to take three shots in a row with different exposure settings. The other mode, focus bracketing is more unusual – the camera will take three photos in a row with different focus settings (one normal, one back-focused, one front-focused) in "small, medium or large" increments. There are no specific indicators of focus distance in bracketing mode.
The last two buttons we have are the DISPLAY (which toggles LCD display information) and MENU buttons (to bring up the camera menu).
We're not done yet, there's more stuff located on the top of the camera. On the left side is a button used for changing the camera's flash setting; it doubles as a quick access button to voice recording in playback mode. The modes available for the built-in flash include auto, manual, flash on and flash off, redeye reduction and slow sync – there are options to adjust flash power and compensation in the flash menu as well.
Next to that is the camera's built-in flash unit (pulled up manually when you want to use it) along with the flash hotshoe. You can use any external flash with the camera but only Canon-branded units will sync automatically with the camera. The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS can sync as fast as 1/250 sec with an external flash.
On the left side of the PowerShot SX20, there's the speaker and nothing else (there are no more buttons on the camera's lens barrel). This is the Canon PowerShot SX20's lens at wide-angle, by the way.
This is the PowerShot SX20's lens at telephoto position. There are little indicators on the lens barrel which show you the lens focal length (in both native and 35 mm equivalent terms).
On the right side of the PowerShot SX20, you'll find the camera's SD/SDHC memory card slot located under a door of decent quality, plus two pairs of ports located under two different covers. Under the first door is a mini-B port (top) for connecting the camera to your computer as well as a mini HDMI port (button) for hooking up the Canon SX20 to your high-definition television set.
Under the second door are two circular ports which look a whole lot like headphone jacks. The one of the left is actually the DC-IN port, used to connecting an external power supply to power the camera, while the port on the right is the stereo A/V Out port for connections to more conventional TV sets.
At the bottom of the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS are the camera's metal tripod mount (which is not in-line with the lens!) and battery compartment. The compartment door is quite sturdy.
The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS tells you just about everything you know about still image and movie shooting on-screen (only a battery indicator is missing). There's exposure and shooting details, a live histogram, zoom indicator, mode position, focus point, compositional gridlines with a 16:9 widescreen framing guide. If all that sounds too intimidating, not to worry, you can customize what you want and don't want to see in the camera's menu – you can even have separate settings for the LCD and electronic viewfinder.
The 12 megapixel SX20 IS allows you to mix and match from multiple image sizes and compression modes. You can choose to use full 12 MP, 8 MP, 5 MP, 2 MP, VGA and widescreen (8.3 MP) and between Fine and Standard for compression. A 4 GB card will hold around 1,350 Fine photos at full resolution.
The 'Super Fine' compression option has disappeared and to answer the question "Does the Canon PowerShot SX20 have RAW mode" (that a lot of people have been asking about), the PowerShot SX20 I handled did NOT have a RAW image option. I went around to a few local camera shops to check out their Canon SX20's and not one had any RAW mode either.
The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS is able to brighten dark areas of your photos (at the cost of more noise and some extra processing time) via its iContrast feature. You can also apply iContrast after taking pictures via the playback tool.
There's also a custom "My Menu" where you can add several items of your choice for easy accessibility. You can pick any menu items of your choice and place them in this custom menu, and even opt to set it as the default menu (first thing you see when you press the MENU button).
The Canon PowerShot SX20 has Canon's standard face detection system. The camera can pick up faces looking directly at the camera as well as optionally warn you of any closed eyes in photos (toggle Blink Detection in the menu). There's also software-based redeye removal which detects and removes any redeye in your people photos (and the system works).
The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS features two macro modes. The first "normal" macro option lets you go as close as 10 to 50 cm to a subject at wide-angle while the other mode, called Super Macro mode, lets you go right up against your subject, literally. With a minimum focusing distance of 0 cm (yes, zero), Super Macro mode lets you take close-ups of almost anything you want, provided you have enough lighting around. The only catch is that the lens is locked at wide-angle in Super Macro mode.
The photo above was taken with the PowerShot SX20's lens right up against the subject (in this case, the secondary status display of a Canon EOS SLR). I had to turn on the display backlight in order to photograph it, and yes, backlighting is what you'll definitely need if you plan to shoot subjects with the lens directly against it (which, of course, blocks out natural light around you).
One of the improvements found on the Canon PowerShot SX20 is in its movie department. The camera can now record 720p HD movies, versus VGA clips on the SX10. You can record 1280 x 720 resolution movies at 30 FPS with stereo sound up to 4 GB or 30 minutes per clip (whichever comes first). A 4 GB card will hold about 20 minutes worth of HD video.
You can also opt to lower recording size to VGA (640 x 480) or QVGA (320 x 240) to extend recording times. The 4 GB per clip file size limitation remains but the time limit per clip goes up to a maximum of 1 hour if you choose any of these two lower settings. Movies are still recorded at 30 FPS with stereo sound and a 4 GB card will hold 45 minutes worth of VGA movies.
Regardless of setting, movies are recorded in the efficient H.264 codec and the camera allows you to use both optical + digital zoom and optical image stabilization while recording. Continuous focusing is also available. The Ultrasonic Motor lens drive comes in handy here as the lens operates very silently so the PowerShot SX20's dual microphones don't pick up any unwanted noise. You can also play around with the microphone sensitivity level and toggle the camera's wind filter if you like.
The PowerShot SX20's predecessors have consistently been the top few 'hybrid' photo+movie cameras in the market from year to year and the SX20 takes things one step further by including a 720p HD movie mode here. Overall quality of video and audio were both very good. For most people, the PowerShot SX20 and its 720p movie mode is more than enough for most purposes, but just a side note here: the more expensive Canon PowerShot SX1 is able to record full HD 1080p movies.
All performance testing of the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS was performed using a high-speed 4 GB SanDisk Extreme III SDHC card.
The Canon PowerShot SX20 boots up quite quickly, in about 1.4 seconds. Focusing speed with good light around typically takes 0.2 to 0.4 seconds at wide-angle; more towards 0.4 to 0.6 seconds at telephoto. In low-light, focusing time can vary from 0.4 to 0.8 seconds in the 1-10X zoom range and going above 1 second as you go above the 12X zoom range. The good news is the SX20 was pretty good and accurate at focusing most of the time, save low-light situations at telephoto where it's hard to lock focus.
If you want better low-light focusing, more flash power and/or faster flash cycle times, consider picking up an external flash to use with the camera. I did notice the camera hunted less when focusing using the AF-assist solution of an external flash.
The SX20 IS has three continuous shooting modes; all of which allow you to shoot continuously at full 10 megapixels until the memory card fills up. Normal mode is your typical continuous shooting mode that shoots at a little over 1 frame per second. Continuous AF and Continuous Live View (LV) shoot at the same 0.8 frames per second – with Continuous AF refocusing between shots and Continuous LV keeping the live preview image on the screen.
Zooming action is exactly the same as the SX1 and SX10, seeing Canon's three super-zoom models share the same 20X lens. The lens' Ultrasonic Motor allows you to select between two zooming speeds, depending on how much pressure you put on the controller. You can be really precise in low-speed mode, while high-speed zoom gets you from wide-angle to full telephoto in a mere 1.5 seconds. Shut down time was just as fast, taking roughly two seconds to retract the lens from telephoto and power off.
Overall, the Canon PowerShot SX20 performed almost identically to its sibling, the SX10 – quick on its feet in terms of focusing, startup, shutdown and zooming. Shot-to-shot and continuous shooting speeds (Down to 1.0 FPS from 1.4 FPS in normal mode) have both slowed down slightly, though the camera is still just as fast (or still faster, in some cases) compared to most of the competition. The camera still feels pretty darn fast in most cases. Focusing, however, does get thrown off if you shoot at telephoto in low-light. If you need high continuous shooting frame rates, you'll have to settle for the CMOS-wielding PowerShot SX1.
As you might expect from any digital camera, the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS takes some pretty clean photos at ISO 80. Going up to ISO 100, there's a wee bit more 'speckle' noise and just slightly more at ISO 200. Photos from ISO 80 to 200 should print out just fine, up to large sizes with plenty of details and nicely saturated colors.
At ISO 400, noise doesn't increase significantly because noise reduction steps in to keep pictures clean. However, the noise reduction done by the PowerShot SX20 does introduce some image softness and loss in fine details. Noise goes up at ISO 800, limiting you to mid-sized prints, and up again at ISO 1600, this time with saturation loss and increased softness. The ISO 3200 setting is available as a 'scene mode' (called ISO 3200 mode).
The PowerShot SX20 shows some mild lens distortion in its photos. Chromatic aberration (color fringing) and edge softness were both pretty prominent, though you could remove the latter using computer software. Redeye and vignetting were both not issues.
With the exception of the lens flaws mentioned above – fringing, edge softness and some distortion – the Canon PowerShot SX20 takes vivid and sharp photos with relatively low noise. Image quality isn't much worse than its predecessor, as you'll see below in some comparison crops, and image quality is generally usable up to ISO 800. If you don't mind being forced to stay with small prints, you could go even higher. The camera's noise reduction no doubt makes images softer and muddier, but I appreciate that it doesn't introduce artifacts or color bleeding like in some competing cameras – this makes pictures still 'printable'.
The PowerShot SX20 seems to be producing cleaner images than the SX10, despite packing more megapixels. It's probably due to an increase in noise reduction, but images do look a touch softer on the SX20.
Same thing as above. Cleaner yet softer (muddy details) pictures on the SX20.
Seeing that high ISO is where all the action is, I took the crops from my PowerShot SX10 review and compared them to the ones taken with the SX20 here. When 'zoomed out', the difference between the two cameras is subtle, not noticeable if you're making medium to moderately large sized prints or using such photos as your desktop wallpaper. Upon close inspection at 100%, you'll notice that the PowerShot SX20 uses more noise reduction (at the cost of image sharpness), yet introduces less artifacts than the SX10.
Check out full-sized, unedited photos taken straight out of the camera in the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS photo gallery.
The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS has the same, very good playback mode as the PowerShot SX10. You can view your photos (complete with transition effects as you browse through them) and play back videos with sound. Basic functions like print marking, image protection, rotation, trimming and resizing are present, so is image magnification (up to 10X) and fancy slideshows.
You can view the pictures you've taken as individual photos, in sets of thumbnails (you can now select between 4 to 130 images to be viewed at one go), by category or date. Rotating the rear command dial allows you to scroll through 3 pictures at one go. Pictures can be deleted one-by-one, by range, date, category, folder or all images.
The camera includes the ability to categorize your photos as well as three image editing features. You can brighten photos (iContrast), remove redeye or apply My Colors effects (The ones I mentioned in the Function menu) to photos. There are no editing movie tools however, besides a simple 'trim' function.
The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS shows shooting details, mode, exposure information (with shutter speed and aperture value) and a brightness histogram in playback. There's also an overexposure alert feature which "blinks" overexposed areas of your photos to warn you about them.
If you liked the Canon PowerShot SX10, that I reviewed earlier this year, then either you'll be more pleased or disappointed with the PowerShot SX20 IS, depending on how you look at things. The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS brings forward the same features of its 10 megapixel sibling, including the 20X optically-stabilized zoom lens, full suite of manual controls, flip-out and rotate 2.5 inch LCD, class-leading battery life; and throws in a few small changes.
Ergonomics and build quality remains very good – the PowerShot SX20 IS is well built and easy to hold. There's plenty of buttons (not TOO many, though) which may intimidate first time users but you'll learn to appreciate that many options and settings can be changed with minimal menu-surfing. There's also a customizable shortcut button, a custom mode spot, to which you can assign your own settings and a "My Menu" section to hold your favorite menu items. However, I didn't like the fact that the rotary wheel around the camera's navigation pad gave very little tactile 'clicks' and the tripod mount not being in-line with the lens may bother those who want to twirl the camera around on the tripod.
The Canon PowerShot SX20 has a suite of manual controls, which includes full control over exposure, flash and a custom white balance option. You can also opt to attach an external flash to the camera for additional flash power or better autofocus assist. The PowerShot SX20 does disappoint, however, in the sense that it does NOT have any RAW mode (at least on this unit, and those I checked out in local camera stores) – right now, we can safely assume that Canon wants you to pony up for the SX1 if you want RAW, unless they come up with a firmware update for the SX20 in the future.
For those not too used to messing around with camera settings, there are plenty of scene modes and automatic functions as well. Face detection, blink detection, full auto shooting – those features are here. The PowerShot SX20 also has an excellent macro mode for everyone. The camera's macro mode allows you to go right up against your subject, provided you have enough (External) lighting of course.
One of the three main changes on the PowerShot SX20 is found in the movie department. The Canon SX20 features a step-up in movie recording resolution; you can now record 720p HD video with stereo sound. Other things that made the movie recording experience on its predecessors great remain here – the ability to use optical zoom, optical image stabilization, adjust microphone sensitivity and toggle the wind filter. Picture taking performance was above average, very speedy compared to other super-zoom cameras, though the increase in megapixels (hence, file sizes) took its toll on burst speed.
Image quality was generally quite clean, there isn't a much difference or increase in noise compared to its predecessor, despite the increase in megapixel count, which is change number 2 on the SX20. Image resolution is now 12 megapixels, up from ten on the old camera, and image quality still does pretty well up to ISO 800. You could make large prints with ISO 400 photos, or small ones if you want to push ISO to 1600 or 3200. Redeye was a non-issue too, and colors were very nicely saturated. The only bad things are the prominent color fringing and edge softness in photos (the latter is removable in your computer), that's expected from a lens covering such a large range.
The Canon PowerShot SX20 is essentially the same camera as the SX10, plus three 'big' new features: increase in megapixels to twelve, 720p HD movie mode (and a HDMI port) and 'hints and tips' for beginners. If you'd like to take pictures, plus record high resolution video now and then without buying a separate camcorder, then the PowerShot SX20 offers possibly the best bang-for-buck for a HD-hybrid camera. If your focus is on slightly faster still picture shooting or lower price, then consider the old PowerShot SX10.
Hi Brad I'm deciding between the Canon sx20 and the Sony hx1. They are priced about the same now so that makes me more confused. Why is the sony so much cheaper? Is it because its not a good camera? Which is the better camera for everday use and videoing my sons football games. Also i know the Canon sx20 lets you take a picture while you are zoomed in and videoing, does the Sony hx1 let you do that? Thanks for your help.
This camera is very cool, my friend has it and I like to play with it. While the images are crystal clear that visor thingie sticking out always makes me nervous.
I am not totally in agreement with the review you provided on Canon SX20 IS. Your reviews was one of the reasons for my purchasing this camera but as it has come out, the camera is not as good as it is rated. The picture quality is below average and my canon A710 IS performs better as far as image quality is concerned. The bottom line is a camera is as good as its picture quality and other features like zoom and flex LCD do not matter. Average camera, not worth the money.
Hi Maninder, perhaps you have received a unit of the camera that performs below averagely (ie a bad/lemon unit). Maybe you could try comparing it to another SX20 at a local shop and, if required, have your SX20 exchanged for a new unit?
SX20IS IS THE BEST CAMERA AVAILABLE IN MARKET IN THE RANGE OF SUPERZOOM DSLRs, THE BEST THING IS YOU CAN TAKE SUPER MACRO SHOT FROM EVEN THE DISTANCE OF OVER 0C.M. & THE OPTICAL IMAGE STABLIZER IS THE VERY HELPFULL WHILE TAKING SHOTS.
Well, in my case, I read a lot about this new Canon release before to purchase it, and upgrade my camara. I have been owner of the S3 and S5, which I was completely fullfitted with its performance, despite of hear about the poor quality pictures, I ( Trusting on Canon's team ), bought the camara …… and ….. COMPLETELY DISAPOINTMENT !!!!
Doesn't matter how you program it, the resulting photos are with really poor quality, and night pictures are worse.
I had a sx10 and I bought a 450d … now i've checked the sx20 and asside the video part, I see no big diference to the sx10 … for me, it is a 5* camera … if you want more sharp, go to a reflex instead (but get ready to spend money on lens).
sx20 (and sx10) are cool cameras if we consider the value 4 the money and I do have cristal clear and sharp photos from my sx10 … I miss the zoom (no even my 70-200is 1500€ L canon lens covers).
Just to finish … you all, who claim that those cameras are garbige … should practice on photos first before posting this way. How closer a camera is to a professional cam, how more squils are quired to get good shots … I am sure that for you guys would be easyer to get good photos with a ixus instead.
This Canon SX20IS camera I bought really disappointed me, picture is not sharp at all, color very dull. My old camera Olympus c-760 only 3.2 megapixel is much much better, nice color and sharp picture. I really regretted buying it. Now I do not what to do with it, make me feel reluctant to take photo. Is there any firmware to upgrade and improve its performance, Canon please help, otherwise I will not buy Canon again.
I was playing around with my SX20is today and I seemed to have run into a problem. On the top of the screen it says card locked and the shutter doesn't work. What did I do wrong?
Solved it. The little white tab on the memory card slid into the locked position.
I use this package only for the RAW feature. But it is really worth installing in the memory chip. Now I really enjoy the pictures.
canon sx20 or canon sx 210?
i love this canon sx20is powershot. i have excellant pictures with the combination of the camera and my software to print my pics. i am disabled and have a hard time with things and this camera is so easy to use. would recommend to anyone.