Review

New York - Nikon Corp. has launched the first digital still camera with interchangeable lenses that also shoots movies. The D90 single-lens reflex camera, or SLR, takes 12.3 megapixel stills, but can also shoot movies in the high-definition 720p format. It will be available in September for $1,000 without a lens. Some compact digital still cameras can shoot movies, but only with their built-in lenses. Digital movie cameras also lack interchangeable lenses, except for some high-end professional models. Compared to a consumer digital movie camera, the D90 will provide extra versatility for a videographer, since different lenses have different looks and applications. The large light-gathering sensor of a still camera also means the camera will work better in low light. However, it captures only mono sound.

- Associated Press

New Explorer promises better speed, security

Microsoft unleashed a new test version of Internet Explorer 8, its still-dominant browser. It's been nearly two years since Microsoft last made significant changes. Internet Explorer 7 beefed up security and added tabbed browsing and a search box. But rivals, especially Mozilla Firefox, have been eating away at IE. Firefox 3, reviewed favorably in June, added speed, improved navigation and better security. With IE8, Microsoft is promising - guess what? - greater speed, improved navigation and better security. Microsoft's browser is still far and away the most used. More than 100 million people downloaded Internet Explorer 7. Net Applications, which tracks browser usage, reports a 73 percent market share for IE compared with 19 percent for Firefox. Microsoft has improved the IE8 search box to let partners such as Amazon, Wikipedia and Yahoo add search suggestions as you type. It also is working with eBay, Facebook and others to help you find stuff without many extra clicks. One way is through ''accelerators'' - clickable buttons that may appear when you highlight text on a page. You might select an address to map it through Microsoft's Live Search service. Or highlight words to bring up a tool to translate them. A Facebook accelerator helps you quickly find people or update your profile. The number of accelerators now is slim; Microsoft hopes developers will create more. Another IE8 feature with potential is called Web Slices. It lets you monitor information on sites you check frequently, right from the favorites bar near the top of the browser. Say you're bidding for a Nintendo Wii on eBay. You can mouse over the Wii in an eBay search results page and click on the Web Slice icon that appears. Once in the favorites bar, it will turn bold when the price changes.

- USA Today

Save ink, paper with Lexmark's free program

New York - A leading printer maker wants to help you do less printing.

Printing an article off the Web often produces several pages of waste, including ads, links and boxes for entering text. So the latest version of a Web toolbar from Lexmark International Inc. gives people more ways to block such images from coming out of the printer, saving ink and paper.

Some of Lexmark's tools already exist in standard printer settings, but accessing them normally requires several mouse clicks. Lexmark's free program brings those functions to the forefront. For example, one click converts a Web page into black and white for printing, extending the life of expensive color ink cartridges.

The Web software also extends the ''printer-friendly'' features many sites offer. Often those printer-friendly versions still carry logos and other graphics; the Lexmark tools let you eliminate those as well.

Although printer companies make much of their money from ink cartridges and other products that consumers constantly have to replace, Lexmark figures it can improve customer satisfaction. Most of the features work regardless of whether your printer was made by Lexmark, Hewlett-Packard Co. or another rival.

Lexmark has versions available for both Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox browsers.

Download the version 4 toolbar at www.lexmark.com.

- Associated Press