untapped.essence

Busy

2009-03-07T17:27:00.001-08:00

School has made it difficult to be able to even think about this blog, along with the other numerous changes of my life. My computer died in October, and needed replacement. My images are loaded onto a 320GB IDE drive that used to belong to the old computer, but unfortunately this new computer does not have an IDE interface, instead completely using SATA. I hope to maybe have a picture up in the near future. I also plan to put a few reviews here on some consumer products.

I'm back

2008-08-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Alright, I apologize for no warning in advance, but I've taken a month of vacation. Now I'm back. I will be reformatting my computer tonight and will work on restoring it tomorrow and maybe the day after. Basically, I will fully return sometime this week.

PADKBFD/31

2008-07-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

I have been very, very tired recently. Update flows can be late..

"Orange"
Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 8.5mm (equiv. to 40mm), 1/250, f/5.1, ISO 400, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, flash WB

Love how the colours just pop. Should've used a lower ISO.

PADKBFD/30

2008-07-04T23:46:00.001-07:00

"Texture"
Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm), 1/75, f/3.4, ISO 64, center-weighted metering, program auto no flash, daylight WB, cropped with SmugMug

Thirtieth PADKBFD! Anyone know what this is?

PADKBFD/29

2008-07-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

I now contribute regularly to Wikinews. Check them out and contribute some news!

"Orca"
Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm), 1/148, f/4.3, ISO 200, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, flash WB, cropped in Picasa 2

This is a letter opener I got when I took a trip to Ottawa, ON. I purchased it from the Musée Canadien des Civilisations (or Canadian Museum of Civilizations for non-bilinguals, even though I have a limited high school knowledge of French) in Gatineau, QC, which is right across the Ottawa River. From what I remember, I believe it was designed by a local First Nations artist. The letter opener is very well made of stainless steel and is sharp like a knife. The Orca is supposed to symbolize a 'traveller' or drifter.

PADKBFD/28

2008-07-03T04:14:00.001-07:00

I apologize for being late, I fell asleep.

Click to enlarge
"Too Caught Up in Their Lives"
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 26.3mm (equiv. to 123mm) 1/680, f/7.3, ISO 200, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, fluorescent WB

This was made inside of a car when leaving Metrotown Centre (the second largest mall in Canada and one of the largest in North America. This was underexposed by a huge margin but still expresses the message of people being 'too busy' to stop and smell the roses.

PADKBFD/27

2008-07-02T00:00:00.001-07:00

Right on the dot. Because of Canada Day and this being a favourite: a special extra large version.

"Sunrise, Vancouver"
Click image to enlarge.
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm), 1/170, f/5.4, ISO 64, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, AWB, cropped in Picasa 2

A Canada Day special. This is amongst my favourite images. I originally intended to upload this yesterday but I decided to push it a PADKBFD. No other comments.

Canada Day

2008-07-01T04:29:00.000-07:00

It is July 1st and it's Canada Day! 141 years ago, on this day, the British North America Act made us a country. It is a national holiday (but some still have to work, like my dad). I am in a way patriotic and now have a large Canadian flag hanging from my balcony. Also, Independence Day for the Americans down south of here is on July 4th, so early "Happy Independence Day".

PADKBFD/26

2008-06-30T23:41:00.001-07:00

"What a Mess!"
Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 10.1mm (equiv. to 47mm), 1/60, f/3.1, ISO 64, center-weighted metering, shutter priority, flash fired, flash WB, colour, exposure, and curves adjusted in Lightroom

This was a very technically challenging picture to take. My camera obviously has an on-camera flash, and I don't have an external flash. I spent an hour or two constructing my new macro table, which now has white paper reflectors on all sides, a removeable arched hood, slot for tripod and camera, and an opening for any external lighting. I used it for a flashlight mounted on a music stand as a lightstand. The flashlight can be used to illuminate dark photos, as well as it helps me better see what's going on inside when the hood is in place. I'd say it was worth it. And I get to keep the table for future shots.

Nikon D700

2008-06-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

This is it. The Nikon D700 has been announced by Nikon to join the D3 in their FX lineup. It has the same 12.1MP full frame sensor as the D3. Basically it's a D3 with a D300's clothing. The robust body has a taller viewfinder hump (compared to the D300) to accomodate the larger pentaprism. It has 95% frame coverage but will still be much larger than any DX/APS-C viewfinder. Surprisingly, but possibly useful, there is a pop-up flash in which some would question the robustness of. The frame rate at 5 fps is one frame per second slower than the D300, but the optional battery grip increases it to an equal 8 fps, but both are still slower than the D3. Scheduled to launch in the summer, it is priced at about $3000 US body only.

Personally, this drives me completely crazy. I was leaning most towards the K20D and a lot of lenses for a large dSLR investment but now this drags me back. DSLRs that I consider are: Pentax K20D, Canon 5D, Nikon D300, and now the Nikon D700. Nikon's got a lot more speed than both the K20D and the 5D, plus an FX sensor for the D700. The D300 on Nikon's side is probably a more wise choice for me. Entering a new system is an investment, as you have lenses, flashes, etc. locked into the system.

Milestone

2008-06-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

I have just noticed that the amount of posts in this month alone has surpassed all posts combined in 2007! I guess the 'PADKBFDs' convince me to keep coming back and occasionally make the odd post (like this one) here, rather than completely forget about the blog and site. I still keep the old posts around for archival purposes. People who have seen the older posts may have noticed a sizable shift of interest since then. I still love technology, it's just that there's not a lot to post about it.

But speaking of which, congratulations to Bill Gates, who is now retired from working at Microsoft. You have changed the world and the way we think, and Microsoft will never be the same without you. I hope you will further change the world and wish the best of luck for your future endeavours in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. You will be missed. Microsoft is now all Monkey Boy CEO Steve Ballmer..

PADKBFD/25

2008-06-29T23:57:00.001-07:00

"Self-Portrait"
Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm), 1/106, f/3.8, ISO 64, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, daylight WB, cropped and converted to B/W in Picasa 2

This is my shadow projected on a wall during a sunrise shoot. I thought it might be good as an emotional black & white.

Also, check out the revised version of yesterday's PADKBFD (24).

Rumour: the Nikon D700

2008-06-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

Rumours are flying around again that this week or in August, Nikon will release a new dSLR with the body of the D300, but the FX sensor of the D3, and with a slower framerate for continuous shooting. There is frenzied speculation that this direct competitor to the Canon 5D will be priced at around $3000-3500 US. There is also the long tireless rumour that Canon will also update it's immensely popular 5D to a Mark II revision. There are guesses that this week or in August Nikon will release the D700, and if not, at Photokina in September, along with the "5D MkII". Personally I think this would partly cannibalize D3 and D300 sales (but certainly not for journalists and sports photographers because of the speed). The image shown here is a Photoshopped D300 that spread around the internet, but was debunked by the appearance of the original image. This could be exciting news and if released, could pique my interest.

[Engadget]

PADKBFD/24

2008-06-28T23:58:00.001-07:00

Whoo.. today had sweltering heat.

Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm), 4 sec., f/2.7, ISO 216, center-weighted metering, shutter priority, no flash, AWB, cropped and warmed colour temp. in Picasa 2

Alright, it isn't the best of images but Firefox kept on going berserk I'm surprised I could even upload this in the first place. I think it might be connected to Windows because the CPU usage was maxing erratically for extended periods of time, and not only Firefox, as the whole computer was going crazy. I couldn't even access my memory card! This long exposure was intended to be used in my secret (not so secret anymore) upcoming review of the P5100 and was supposed to demonstrate its low-light long exposure capabilities. This particular picture looks like it's daytime (well, before I warmed the image a bit). I promise to do an extra PADKBFD to make up for this one.

EDIT: PADKBFD/24 Compensation:

"Waking Up from Under the Covers"
Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 12.9mm (equiv. to 60mm), 1/8, f/3.5, ISO 64, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, daylight WB, aggressively cropped and soft focus effect in Picasa 2

This image is to compensate for the "just to make the quota" image yesterday. It was morning and my dog was rummaging under the sheets (she likes sleeping completely covered, unless it's a very warm night). She was just coming out because she knows it's morning and I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped this while she was just poking out. She looked surprised to see me there. I used a soft focus effect on this image in Picasa later (think Lensbabies) to emphasize the subject and to get rid of distracting elements.

PADKBFD/23

2008-06-27T23:02:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm) 1/30, f/2.7, ISO 64, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, AWB, partially edited in Lightroom, converted to B/W and cropped in Picasa 2

I tried to get an unusual angle so I had to bend perilously back over a balcony barrier like I was doing the Limbo to get this particular angle. I initially tried to post process this in Lightroom to see what I can make of the image (the JPEG that came out was very bland). It couldn't get appeal but I didn't want to scrap the image. I later converted it to black and white in Picasa and cropped it. It has an indescribable meaning to me, which protected it from the horrors of deletion initially.

PADKBFD/22

2008-06-26T23:55:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge image

Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm), 1/226, f/5.4, ISO 64, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, AWB, taken in 4:3, cropped to 3:2 in Picasa 2

Another sunset type situation. This time I was travelling on a bridge and this was through a tinted car window, which sort of acted like a UV/neutral density filter as well as changing the colour a bit. I cropped the image because there was lots of 'dead' black space at the bottom with no detail showing (unless I boost the shadows). I sometimes shoot in 3:2 and sometimes in 4:3 depending on situation.

PADKBFD/21

2008-06-25T23:48:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 26.3mm (equiv. to 123mm), 1/1000, f/7.3, ISO 64, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, AWB, cropped in Picasa 2

Reminds me of a an industrial plant because of the 'pipes'. This is another (yes, another, and another, and another) high contrast image and the camera can't cope with that kind of DR. There's slight clipping in the shadows and plenty of clipping in the highlights. Of course I always leave the contrast to +2 for more punchy images, so some fault on my part. Oh well. Anyways, this is actually in front of an IKEA store. The 'pipes' are the rails above that link the side rails of the shopping cart return. If you boost the shadows more, you can see a shopping cart symbol, but I cropped this image for effect so it's no longer in the frame.

PADKBFD/20

2008-06-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm), 1/276, f/5.4, ISO 200, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, fluorescent WB

I took this while visiting a relative and the sun was setting. The colours weren't really like this. I had accidentally left the white balance to fluorescent and this is how it turned out. I think it's very pretty.

Prints

2008-06-24T19:40:00.001-07:00

I will be shutting off the ability to make prints from my galleries, like anyone visits my site anyways. This reason is solely to protect my interests, and to not seem like a commercial photographer.

Some Fuji stuff

2008-06-24T17:19:00.001-07:00

I've always liked Fujifilm to satisfy my needs so I've picked up some Sensia 100 for my first venture into colour reversal (slide) film. I'll see how it turns out, but I'm fairly certain my point&shoot film cameras will underexpose since of the low ISO. Well if I get it back ruined I guess it wouldn't matter. I still have two rolls of Superia X-TRA 800 (yes, the cheap film available at supermarkets) halfway through inside the cameras and with my erratic use, might be awhile till I use it. I have the Sensia in the freezer at the moment so it won't 'go bad'. I've also bought Fuji Premium Plus inkjet photo paper to try it out. So far it seems to be richer and warmer in colour and more matte in feeling and looks (less fingerprints!), but more thinner than the previous HP Premium Plus I've used for my Photosmart.

P.S. I have just realized when I looked at my feed that it's the middle of 2008, and the copyright footer still reads 2007! Doh!

PADKBFD/19

2008-06-24T01:06:00.000-07:00

Yes I know I'm late again, but I was watching Discovery and lost track of the time.

Click to enlarge image
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 6.2mm (equiv. to 38mm), 1/400, f/8, ISO 64, spot metering, auto exp., no flash, AWB

I took this shot way back with my Casio and I'd always wanted to share it. I accidentally underexposed by a huge margin and rescued some of the shadows in Elements. This has a sort of "clearing of the storm" look in my opinion. It happened by accident but I like how it turned out. This is one of my favourite images because it was one of the first that turned out decently in my endeavours of photography.

PADKBFD/18

2008-06-23T00:58:00.000-07:00

Yes I know I'm late. Nobody's perfect. But I feel guilty that I had all day to do it.

Click to enlarge image.
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm), 1 sec., f/2.7, ISO 64, center-weighted metering, shutter priority, no flash, AWB

I shot this when the sun was just dissappearing behind the horizon. This is a pretty accurate rendition of what I saw, save for there was a greenish layer between the blue and the yellow of the sky, and the clouds near the top of the frame were not nearly that bright, but I boosted the shadows and I liked the effect. Quite a bit of noise though, but that's my fault for being slider happy with the Fill Light tool.

PADKBFD/17

2008-06-21T23:35:00.001-07:00

Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm), 1/60, f/2.7, ISO 215, center-weighted metering, program auto, no flash, AWB

Don't look down! Okay, I know, that's lame. I tried to go for a perspective of looking down a building. It's actually the tower fan in my room.

PADKBFD/16

2008-06-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

Let's get creative today:

Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 7.5mm (equiv. to 35mm in 35mm), 8 sec., f/2.7, ISO 176, center-weighted metering, shutter priority, no flash, AWB

This was a very very long exposure of eight seconds. I left the camera for two seconds to get the base houses and sky, then moved it all over the place to get the lines and streaks. To me it reminds me of either an electricity disaster, or Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (which was a pretty bad movie). I thought I'd get creative with the modes on the P5100.

PADKBFD/15

2008-06-19T23:49:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge image
RIP Casio Exilim EX-S880: 18.6mm (114mm equiv.), 1/60, f/5.2, ISO 200 multi-metering, auto exp., no flash, cloudy WB

Okay, I'm sorry but I was very lazy today and I admit I didn't really shoot anything at all except for a few long exposure night shots. I didn't use them for today's PADKBFD because I usually have a two day to a week turnaround for my workflow unless it's urgent. Yes, I'm that lazy to dump my card. I have like, 270 queued pictures that passed the "garbage photo filter" pending my full review and approval, and post-processing, if needed. Instead of organizing, like I should, I fiddled around with my printer because like the average consumer printer, it ruined my black and white prints because it used other colours to help substitute. So I pull out this photo from my Casio (god bless it in camera heaven). I like to think of this picture like a "Family Portrait".

PADKBFD/14

2008-06-18T23:33:00.001-07:00

I really should get dedicated B/W film. I like the look of Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros but I probably can't find it anywhere in Vancouver. The only B/W I can find is Kodak "Professional" BW400CN but I prefer Fuji. I could always just shoot in digital and tweak it to look film-ish.. but it just isn't the same. I rarely shoot film at all, because of cost and inconvenience but I occasionally still do. But anyways, to the photo:

Click to enlarge image

Pentax Espio 60S: 30mm, shutter and aperture unkown, ISO 800, multi-metering, auto exp., no flash, daylight WB, Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 800, converted to B/W in Picasa 2

I took this on my street with some Superia on an overcast day when the blossoms were in full bloom. I darkened the shadows and deepened the saturation, then converted to black and white in Picasa to attempt to achieve a B/W film look. I'm not very good at post-processing, or photography on that matter.

PADKBFD/13

2008-06-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge image
Pentax Espio 60S: 30mm, shutter and aperture unkown, ISO 800, multi-metering, auto exp., no flash, daylight WB, Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 800, converted to B/W in Picasa 2

Wow. I was stunned when I converted this to B/W, the tree just seems to.. pop. I've always coveted this kind of 3D feeling so much. I guess the true 30mm focal length helps, rather than the cropped lenses of today's compact digitals.

I have a question for lens aficianados out there. Is the "3D pop" feel coming from the depth of field of the lens? This may not be the most impressive people have seen, but hey, I have limitations.

PADKBFD/12

2008-06-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge image
Nikon Coolpix P5100: 26.3mm (123mm equiv.), 1/104, f/5.3, ISO 64, multi-metering, auto exp., flash fired, AWB

Was trying out the new camera when we took a trip to Chinatown.

Replacement

2008-06-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

It was quick but I have replaced my lost Casio with a Nikon P5100. This is considerably more upmarket than the Casio, but there are some aspects I dearly miss the Casio for. The most noticeable at first is the sheer size of the P5100. It's quite large. I'll will try to continue shooting and acclimate to this new Nikon.

PADKBFD/11

2008-06-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

Minutes before the day ends:

Click to enlarge image
RIP Casio Exilim EX-S880: 15.3mm (94mm equiv.), 1/60, f/4.6, ISO 200, auto exp., multi-metering, shade WB

Unfortunate event

2008-06-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well..

..

I was out shooting around the neighbourhood today with the Casio. The sun often ended up in the frame, and one of the times was when I had the macro loupe on. Very stupid mistake. I saw small wisps of smoke rising out of the lens assembly and I quickly shut off the camera and removed the loupe. I tried turning it on and taking a picture of something back home. The results were not pretty. The photos were washed out and there were horizontal lines every other pixel row. After a long, closer examination with that god forsaken loupe and a flashlight. I believe I have found out the problem. It was beyond ruin.

the sensor must have been fried a bit, therefore we have the horizontal black lines
I am to believe the shutter mechanism is built into the lens (as it is not interchangable), and I notice that shutter does not cut off during the exposure (the shutter is permanently jammed open, therefore everything is washed out)
the aperture rings (they don't seem like blades) is just destroyed, it's melted and deformed and can no longer be widened or closed.
there's a gold coloured object seemingly in the middle of the aperture. At first I thought that was the shutter but I was horrified when I discovered it was a melted lens element

As you can probably tell.. I'm.. just devastated and heartbroken. It's beyond repair, and even if I can get the entire lens assembly and a new sensor as replacements, the cost can't be justified for the price of this camera.

I still have two film cameras and my phone camera, so I will try to continue making PADKBFDs, as I have made a committment.

Domain

2008-06-15T15:25:00.001-07:00

You might have noticed, maybe not, but I have a new domain name. It should now resolve to akcyong.com. Blog.akcyong.com leads to this blog automatically. This was a seamless conversion and I should thank Google and SmugMug for easy transitions.

PADKBFD/10

2008-06-15T00:35:00.001-07:00

Click to enlarge image
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 55mm, 1/160, f/3.3, ISO 64, multi-metering, auto exp., no flash, cloudy WB

This was shot during a walkaround. I'd thought I'd post this because I like the angle and I just love the bright and strong colour. The sign looks large, bold, and menacing here but in reality it's small, less than 25, maybe even 20cm wide.

PADKBFD/8 + 9 + Super Doublebonus

2008-06-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Blah I couldn't get this through due to posting problems, but if you checked my SmugMug, the photos would be there. Anyways to compensate, I'm posting the two I missed, and two extra bonus photos. Today's photo will come later in the day.

PADKBFD/8:

Click to enlarge.
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 38mm, 1/640, f/2.7, ISO 64, multi-metering, auto exp., no flash, cloudy WB

I made this shot when I mentioned it was overcast. I tried my hand at PP and tweaked it a bit in Lightroom. I tried to rescue the highlights and shadows as much as I can, as well as reduce a bit of noise. Unfortunately this is as much I can go before the evil in-camera sharpening halo gremlins cause an uprising at the fence edges. This is one of the few times I wish I had RAW capability. But, there is still plenty of sharpness left.

PADKBFD/9:

Click to enlarge
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 47mm, 1/60, f/3, ISO 64, multi-metering, auto exp., no flash, AWB, converted to B/W in Photoshop Elements

This I made in my room when light was pouring in through the open balcony door. Unfortunately I missed an earlier shot when the light was much more pronounced and much better for B/W when my battery died on me. There was a little barrel distortion that I fixed in Elements too.

Super Doublebonus:

Click to enlarge image
"Painting the Fence"
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 55mm, 1/100, f/3.3, ISO 200, multi-metering, auto exp., no flash, cloudy WB, focal B/W effect in Picasa 2

This shot I also made during that overcast day. I tried different effects on it, but I liked the idea of "painting the fence" so I tried the focal B/W effect in Picasa. I quite like it.

Click to enlarge image
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 55mm, 1/100, f/3.3, ISO 64, multi-metering, auto exp., no flash, daylight WB
+ 8x loupe over lens

I tried a jab at nature macro photos. It's very difficult to focus since to focus, I have to move the camera back and forth since I used a regular 8x loupe (what you would use to look at film on a light table). I think these first few shots were alright.

Well thank you for your patience. And enjoy the bonus! (they are available on my Mug also)

SUN

2008-06-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

OH GLORIOUS SUN! After I finished one of my exams today, the sun started peeking out. Right now it's bright beaming sun! This boosts my mood so much, at least until my room starts heating up like a sauna. I am choosing today's PADKBFD right now...

Overcast blues

2008-06-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

Well I'm finally off from school, and have four more days of exams..

It's summer but it's been overcast for the past week or so. It's wonderful for lighting up the house, but frankly it doesn't serve the best conditions for photography. I'm running out of ideas!

I have a few ideas I got when staring out the window so I'm going to go out shooting and try it out.

PADKBFD/7

2008-06-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

I feel somewhat patriotic today:

Click to enlarge.
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 79mm, 1/800, f/4.1, ISO 64, multi-metering, auto exp., no flash, AWB

I snapped this when I was in North Vancouver and playing around with the colour filters on my Casio (yes I should of taken this in colour first, then convert it to B/W but oh well). I thought this was a standalone flag some ways away until I looked up from the camera and realized it was the flag on the antenna of the car. I like the flag but I think it looks washed out. It was cropped in Picasa 2 for effect. And there's still plenty of detail to spare!

Here's the uncropped version:

Click to enlarge image.

iPhone 3G

2008-06-11T01:40:00.000-07:00

Apple has announced the new iPhone 3G. See it at there site. 3G, GPS, new back, lower price. Ho-humm.

I am a fan of Apple software but not so much hardware. I'm too tired to explain right now, but I will someday. The iPhone, even the new one, just doesn't seem like a phone. I have an iPod touch (retired by a Samsung P2) so that's my experience since it's basically the iPhone without the phone. Generally it doesn't feel like a phone, it feels like a toy and bores me after awhile. The phone feature seems like an afterthought. I strongly prefer phones that have software like Sony Ericsson's A200, Symbian (inc. UIQ and S60), and BlackBerry OS (the new one with the Bold). It just seems more logically done for everyday utilitarian use.

PADKBFD/6

2008-06-11T01:23:00.001-07:00

Ack! One hour late... It's the thought that counts though..

Click to enlarge image.
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 38mm, 1/800, f/2.7, ISO 64, spot metering, no flash, auto exp., AWB

Better late than never I guess. This one I took outside on my balcony. The sun was just going behind the horizon (from my view), and the stretch of clouds and colour were just stunning. I wish there was something that can capture exactly what our eyes see, the field of vision, sharpness, etc. Then we'd have 1000 megapixel files! It was one of those, you had to be there, moments. The sillouhette looks great with the orange. But that wasn't the intended effect.

PADKBFD/5

2008-06-09T23:27:00.001-07:00

Oh my gosh I almost forgot about this. Here's today's pic:

Click to enlarge image
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 114mm, 1/125, f/5.2, ISO 100, spot metering, flash fired, auto exp., AWB

I love the serenity of this picture of my dog. The shallow (for a compact) depth of field in the back gives it a more soothing effect. This is one of the few fill flash photos that turned out great (IMO).

PADKBFD/4

2008-06-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

Day 4 of the series, another macro product shot.

Click to enlarge image.
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 55mm, 1/4, f/3.3, ISO 200, multi-metering, no flash, auto exp., AWB

I love the colours in this shot (although the phone is supposed to be black). The light came reflected from my monitor, which had an orange sunset with blue sky. The dust is a bit distracting though.

I wouldn't be able to recreate this shot if I wanted to.

PADKBFD/3

2008-06-07T19:53:00.001-07:00

Day three of my photo a day.
An unrealistic image today:

Click image to enlarge.
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 114mm, 1/400, f/15.4, ISO 64, auto, spot metering, no flash, auto exp., shade WB

This was taken on a hill near a restaurant I was eating at for a birthday party. I deliberately underexposed and added shade white balance. I'm really happy with how it turned out, especially with the crepuscular rays. It gives a powerful effect, and I also like the little shrubs on the hill making a silhouette.

This is the first image on this blog that I'm hosting on SmugMug, just so you know.

New photo hosting

2008-06-06T22:30:00.001-07:00

I've just decided to jump ship of Picasa Web Albums (by Google) and head to the other side of the fence where the grass is greener. PWA is an excellent service, yes, but it's rather slow and limited. So I'm switching to a Power account at SmugMug. You can customize most things there and it's speedy. Wish me luck with this new host!

I'm torn

2008-06-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

I'm consider possible future successors for my beloved Sony Ericsson W910i.

But there's so many choices it's difficult. I've lined up contenders in alpha order here:

HTC
Touch Diamond - stylish touchscreen WinMo with a new stylish interface to complement
Touch Pro - Touch Diamond w/ full QWERTY keyboard

Nokia
N78
N82 - fantastic 5mpix, xenon flash, Zeiss optics camera assembly (results are good, for a cameraphone, from what I see)
N95 - similar to N82, except just LED flash
N96 - successor to the N95

Samsung
F480 - stylish touchscreen with a very useful AND pleasant interface

Sony Ericsson
K850 - flagship Cyber-shot phone, but the N82 has more accurate colour and better sharpness

When it comes down to it, I'm leaning more towards the N82 (good camera to carry around, Symbian, GPS, WiFi, 3G [Europe/Asia only for now]) for function. For plain showing off and "just cause", I'd get a Touch Diamond or F480. Yes I know that's shallow. The N82 is fantastic and it'll fill all my wants of a cell. But the other two.. damn. They look fantastic.

P.S. Apple iPhone is absolutely out of the question.

Edit: As part of my 'convergence', I possibly might use the next phone as my primary mobile media device. The Nseries are particularly good since they have a 3.5mm jack. If I use a phone, I can actually use a physical keypad to quickly find music.

Edit 2: The leaked 8.1MP Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C905 "Shiho" slider phone looks nice too. But noise is a concern for me (EIGHT MP). Test results and reviews will reveal.

PADKBFD/2

2008-06-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well this is the second day. I'm going to post this up before I head off today.

This was taken with the same camera, and no it does not have this ridiculously close macro by default. A little camera shake, no post-processing (I never like PP, I prefer getting it right the first time, but I still have to PP sometimes).

Click to see full image.
Casio Exilim EX-S880: 47mm, 1/4 sec, F3, ISO 200, multi-metering, no flash, auto exp., AWB

Can you guess what it is? If so, what brand?

A Photo a Day Keeps the Blog From Decay

2008-06-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

Well I think I'm going to do one of those "Photo a Day" things. This blog desperately needs updates.

I'm going to do it with a compact camera: the Casio Exilim EX-S880.

It's a fairly run of the mill superthin ultracompact. 3x zoom (wide angle not wide enough unfortunately), 8.1 megapixels on a tiny sensor, and almost complete automatic camera control. I'm afraid of using ISO 400 on this indoors. For the next little while I'm going to upload photos I already have, and when I run out of photos that are just enough not to blind someone, I'll upload newer ones. By then exams will be over.

In no way do I guarantee that I'm going to stay committed to this, especially on weekdays. It's exam crunch right now. To kick off:

Click on image to see full size.
For EXIF aficionados; Casio Exilim EX-S880: 38mm, 1/125, F8, ISO 64, Auto Exp., Flash fired, MWB

On a side note, I was bored and imported this image into Photoshop Elements and did massive random post-processing.Don't try this at home. I ended up with this:

Click on image to see full size.

Overprocessed.

Unsolicitated Advertising

2008-05-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

Yeah, check out this site: "TibiaRP". It's great for people who roleplay and play the game Tibia.

Cleaning

2008-05-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

In an effort to help clean up this unmaintained blog, many labels have been removed. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Pentax and Samsung: the Alliance

2008-04-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This short has been written by a blogger with no prior history or experience of professional photography. Written in April 2008, information may or may not be accurate according to when you are reading this. This is solely my opinion and I am not representing nor affiliated with either Pentax or Samsung. Please take this with a grain of salt, as I am a consumer.

Pentax. What does that name bring up? Cameras, decades of high quality optical experience. Oh, right. Now what does Samsung bring up? TVs, computers, monitors, flash memory, cellphones, and home appliances. The do-it-all Korean conglomerate. You have to admit though, a lot of their products are superb, and I just love my P2. Now, not surprisingly, they make dSLRs too.

But they decided to play it safe and rebadge other cameras to tackle in a place in the already saturated market, dominated by the likes of Canon and Nikon. And look who they partnered with. Pentax Corporation (formerly Asahi Optical) of Japan. Some would call this an "unholy alliance", what with one being a respected cameramaker, and the other being a conglomerate. The fact that one is Korean and one is Japanese also runs deep into historic, bitter feuds between the two countries (the youth now don't mind). But this is fantastic for the market. More competition to bring down the 900 kilo monsters Canon and Nikon.

Apparently though, Samsung joined with Pentax a little late. Developement was already deep in for the *ist D and later, the DS and DL (rebadged as Samsung GX-1S, and 1L, respectively). Then came the GX-10. I'd figure it to be a 90% Pentax, 10% Samsung effort, with Pentax providing the body and the image stabilization, while Samsung supplying DDR2 memory and electronics. The sensor was, like many, from Sony. The K10D was and is a massive success for Pentax, and Samsung received more recognition as a quality brand (their model, the GX-10, is cheaper than the K10D yet identical!). With things going like this, Pentax was given new life, and Samsung claimed that they were going to reach the 3rd largest camera maker (including compacts) behind Canon and Nikon by the year 2010. A bold endeavour, yet that's never stopped the huge company from getting whatever they want.

More recently, Pentax has been purchased by Hoya and merged just months ago, as of this writing. Samsung, believe it or not, achieved their goal. In 2007. Three years ahead. They now sit comfortably behind Canon and Sony [Nikkei]. My, my, the market has shifted. It goes to show you, determination and a large, and I mean LARGE, budget can help you do almost anything.

Around PMA 08 a few months ago, both Pentax and Samsung announced their K20D, and GX-20, respectively. I'd say both these cameras are breakthroughs, albeit a little overpriced considering the competition (the price will probably free fall within months like it did for the K10D and GX-10). This dSLR packs a mind-blowing 14.6 megapixels into a small APS-C sized CMOS sensor. More on that later.

This is what I bluntly say. Honestly, this new camera is 90% Samsung, 10% Pentax. What I have just said is a very bold claim. But let me elaborate. The new camera(s) features a bigger 2.7" Live View LCD screen most likely manufactured by Samsung and marginally increased autofocus and dust-reduction system undoubtedly improved by Pentax. Some of the camera Almost all of the camera body is exactly the same as its predecessor. Which means that Pentax could slash its research and developement by a substantial percent, or at least shift it to something else. There is one distinguishing feature that sets it apart.

The sensor, as I said before, is an APS-C sized 14.6 MP CMOS sensor, probably bringing a lot more noise, what with so many more pixels. This sensor you don't find anywhere else on the market, because it is made by none other than Samsung. Apparently this new sensor reduces the size of gaps on the sensor, rather than just making the pixels smaller. The micro lenses, which also are larger and have fewer gaps, and the dividers between the pixels are also closer to the sensor, supposedly also improving performance without comprimise. Samsung boasts its prowress and has diagrams on the GX-20 product page here. An impressive feat to say at the least. And the results speak for themselves. At a nearly 5 MP increase in resolution, noise remains at the impressive levels of its predecessor, and you can now pump it up to ISO 6400. Throw in Live View into the mix and you've got a very appealing camera.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Pentax, they are a fantastic company and my first cameras have been all Pentax. The only camera I have that's not a Pentax is a small Casio Exilim. I'm just thinking maybe Samsung should get more credit this time. Pentax is like the twin that always gets more attention than the other. Neither company could of created this fantastic piece of equipment without each other.

Bottom line, this has been an exciting partnership and hopefully, more great products form from this alliance. Anyone considering a semi-pro dSLR should seriously check out a K20D or GX-20, as it goes up heavily against the Canon 40D, Nikon D300, Sony A700, and Olympus E-3. In fact, I might just pick up one of these in the future.

Am I dead?...no

2007-11-05T04:17:00.001-08:00

Yeah I've been gone for awhile... or ages in internet years. There's been a lot going on these past months. And I'll get to updating this blog when I feel like it.... But I guess it's only read by 1 or 2 people worldwide. Well this post is just a reminder that I've still got access to the blog and I still might update. We'll see.

Brief: New Apple products

2007-08-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Today, Apple announced a slew of new products, which include the much rumoured aluminum iMac, which apparently has the same sort of design except much thinner. Today also saw the death of the 17" iMac, and price drops on all the models (20", 20", and 24"). Of course, this new iMac also came with a new keyboard. Which is what you've seen on the internet already. There are two versions: a shorter wireless one that uses Bluetooth, and a longer version that is wired.

And what would this even be without iLife? iLife '08 contains new versions of each application, including event organizing in iPhoto, a rewritten version of iMovie, and .Mac Album. Speaking of .Mac, the minuscule 1GB that was given has now been upgraded to 10GB.

Also, iWork '08 was released. It contains a new application: Numbers. The direct competitor to Microsoft Office.

That is the brief of what was released today.

A small reminder

2007-08-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

Just as a small reminder for Apple fans that tomorrow is the big Mac announcement for the imminent update of the iMacs and probably various other things MacBooks, Mac Pros, Mac mini, .mac, iWork/iLife. For live coverage during tomorrow's event, see Engadget's live update page:

[link]

The times when the event starts in different time zones are:

7:00AM - Hawaii
10:00AM - Pacific
11:00AM - Mountain
12:00PM - Central
1:00PM - Eastern
5:00PM - GMT
6:00PM - London
7:00PM - Paris
2:00AM - Tokyo (August 8th)

P.S. This IS a MAC ONLY event! That means no iPods or iPhones, sorry.

VMWare Fusion launched

2007-08-06T18:38:00.001-07:00

Today, after a long awaited period of time, VMware's Fusion launched today. For those who don't know who VMware is. VMware is the leading company that provides virtulization products for servers and workstations. Anyway, Fusion is a direct competitor of the seasoned Parallels Desktop for Mac. Both enable you to run Windows and many other operating system simultaneously while running Mac OS X. Both are reported to be very similar, but Parallels offers more features, while Fusion offers better reliability and performance. All in all, I would say Fusion is the winner because not everyone needs the features and Fusion offers better performance.

Here are some screenshots (click to enlarge):

Parallels Desktop for Mac:

VMware Fusion:

Cool 3D video

2007-08-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well I saw this video awhile back, but with the hype about tomorrow's Mac announcements, I thought I'd post this here

It's pretty cool. It was made in Blender (I went to a course for Blender a few weeks ago) and Final Cut Express.

Thoughts (Brief): The Mac event this Tuesday (August 7th)

2007-08-06T01:11:00.000-07:00

Well there's been a bit of a buzz about this week's Mac announcement at Apple Town Hall in Cupertino, California. Most have been centered around the new iMac, expected to be encased in brushed aluminum with a brand spankin' new keyboard. But what I would really want is an update of the Apple Cinema Displays, and to have LEDs implemented throughout the entire MacBook family. This would offer a redesign opportunity for Apple, as LEDs are much thinner (or they can just make the screen thinner, and increase the thickness of the lower body so they can squeeze better cooling, larger battery, etc). But the Mac mini is the one that deserves an update the most... It's still stuck with Core Duo processors (Core 2 Duos are the thing now). Anyway that's what I want for this Tuesday. Can't get my hopes up.

A Mystery Solved: ‘Fake Steve’ Blogger Comes Clean - New York Times

2007-08-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Fake Steve Jobs, a satirical blogger who assumes the identity of the CEO of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs has been unmasked by the New York Times.

For a long time, many technology sites have been attempting to find out his true identity, as his readership increases (which includes the real Steve Jobs and Bill Gates). He has now been identified as Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes magazine by Brad Stone of the NY Times.

For more, follow the link.

A Mystery Solved: ‘Fake Steve’ Blogger Comes Clean - New York Times

Also, check out Fake Steve's post about it:

http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/08/damn-i-am-so-busted-yo.html

Greenest Host launches

2007-08-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Today, Greenest Host (http://www.greenesthost.com/) opened up for service. This service claims that their datacenter is completely powered by solar panels, and it'll be the first one to do this. They also offer competitive prices to some other conventionally powered hosts.

First Peek: Gran Paradiso, aka Firefox 3.0

2007-08-01T04:06:00.000-07:00

I recently just installed Gran Paradiso, the current alpha of none other than Firefox 3.0. This new version is available for public download, yet it is still a development alpha version, so expect a lot of bugs. I've been using it for barely 15 minutes and I've noticed a huge increase in speed of loading websites. That's because they are using a new graphics engine and Gecko 1.9. This bodes well for Firefox users (everyone should really switch to Firefox, it's so much better than Internet Explorer). I've not really noticed a significant change to Firefox, but it feels more solid and well built. Everything feels more smooth and fast. That's just my first peek into things.

Vista Performance and Reliability Pack hits the web prematurely - Engadget

2007-07-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

Engadget reports that a 'Vista Performance and Reliability Pack' is imminent to be released. Some of the features are:

Vista Performance and Reliability Pack hits the web prematurely - Engadget: "# Increased compatibility with many video drivers.
# Improved visual appearance of games with high intensity graphics.
# Improved quality of playback for HD DVD and Blu-ray disks on large monitors.
# Improved reliability for Internet Explorer when some third party toolbars are installed on Vista.
# Improved reliability of systems that were upgraded from XP to Vista.
# Resolves an issue where creating AVI files on Vista may get corrupted.
# Improves the performance of Vista's Memory Manager in specific customer scenarios and prevents some issues which may lead to memory corruption."

OLPC users abuse their donations!

2007-07-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

The well known One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project has gone horribly awry. For those who don't know, OLPC is a project to try to get an educational laptop to every unprivileged child out there ("Third World"). It turns out these kids are using these laptops to surf pornography! So much for educational!

Story from Gizmodo:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/booby-trap/kids-use-us+donated-laptops-to-surf-the-porn-of-course-280715.php

Thoughts: Spam

2007-07-18T00:12:00.000-07:00

I'm kinda annoyed that spam is repeatedly sent to my inbox. Who are these people trying to fool? In this day in age, only idiots should fall for that kind of spam. Really, special offer on 'AD0BE S0FTWARE'? Who's going to take that seriously. I'm glad Gmail has a super quality spam filter. It catches spam extremely well. It's sad how people spend their days trying to abuse the internet and trick people, but thus is the nature of the human race.

This also comes off as a warning for people to be aware of their messages and watch out for phishing attempts, as well as hack attempts. Everyone should keep their software up to date, with their operating system patched up complete. Also beware of the evil attachment. Even the 'harmless' image file can masquerade as a full blown worm that will destroy your system or allow a hacker to access your system. Always keep an up to date antivirus, firewall, and antispyware. Extremely important.

Anyways back to my rant. I'm really annoyed how losers with no life send emails to regular people, and some get scammed and get ruined financially. It's ridiculous!

All this just sickens me.

Breaking News: Man angry at cell service uses APC on rampage

2007-07-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

A man apparently enraged by his cell service in Sydney, Australia, reportedly used an Armored Personal Carrier to destroy 6 cellular broadcast towers. The police managed to halt his rampage on the way to a seventh tower. No one was reported to be injured. More from Engadget and InfoWeek.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/16/miffed-cell-suscriber-goes-on-tower-destroying-rampage-in-apc/

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/07/man_uses_apc_to.html

Thoughts: Windows Vista

2007-07-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

Like many people, I have an opinion about Microsoft's latest operating system. I think it's swamp muck.

Windows Vista was touted to be the most secure, reliable, flexible operating system ever to come from Microsoft. Of course the big player in Redmond failed at convincing people that this OS was the way to go. There were many confirmed findings that Vista was very unstable to run. It has OUTRAGEOUS hardware requirements, requiring most users to upgrade their hardware (minimum 1 gigabyte of RAM to run it, a 256 MB graphics card with 2 gigs of RAM, and a 2.0 GHz processor are recommended). Also, a major factor affecting users is that a lot of software and hardware configurations no longer work with Vista. Also, drivers from graphics companies such as ATI and Nvidia are not mature enough, and performance cripples in Vista. All that Vista really is, is extra features, plus plastic surgery. It's all eye candy to me.

This operating system took Microsoft 5 years to make, yet it still feels incomplete. Many manufaturers such as HP and Dell are now offering Windows XP along with Vista, by popular demand. This shows how Vista is a big bomb for Microsoft. Though I was a supporter of Microsoft previously, I am now led to believe that Apple and Linux are the clear winners. While I am a strong supporter of open source; I support Apple as well. They have a good customer experience.

Essentially, I feel Vista is incomplete and the public is beta-testing it for Microsoft. Many have hopes for Vista when Service Pack 1 is released. Also Microsoft is stating that their next version of Windows, Vienna will be built from ground up. They claim that it will be available within 3 years, but Microsoft always promises, but rarely delivers. Bill Gates truely was a visionary in my opinion, but he is not routinely involved in the day to day tasks at Microsoft. Microsoft has become too large to handle, and I wish them best of luck. They'll need it. The Macintosh platform has a startling growth at almost 3x faster than any other platform. That's saying a lot.

Well those are my brief thoughts on Vista, just a spurr of the moment.

3D animation is hard

2007-07-16T13:50:00.001-07:00

It really is. But it's much more simpler to do this in Blender than in most other applications. We're working on a monkey that can move.

Nevermind

2007-07-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

Nevermind it works now. We can see it on the projector.

Something's up with the faculty accounts

2007-07-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

I'm in class at the moment at BCIT. Teacher can't seem to log in. IT was called. Damn I hope we won't have to all huddle around a computer screen. >.<

Don't wear music players when you're out jogging during a thundershower... in fact don't go jogging at all in a thundershower

2007-07-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

A jogger was hit by lightning while jogging with an iPod in his ears. The lightning travelled up the electrical headphone cords and damaged his eardrums, chest, face, and arms. Talk about unlucky.

More on: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=278128

Blender 3D Table Top rendering

2007-07-11T02:12:00.000-07:00

I started using Blender (http://www.blender.org/) yesterday and today I made a table top rendition. Not bad for a beginner...

PC World - Report: T-Mobile to Sell iPhone in Germany

2007-07-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

PC World - Report: T-Mobile to Sell iPhone in Germany

According to PC World, the iPhone WILL be sold in Europe by the 4th quarter. Still no news of Canadian availability.

iPhone for Europe?

2007-07-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

According to Engadget, four very interesting files appear deep within the iPhone system. The files show the carrier AT&T/Cingular in the file name, but the other two files have T-Mobile and Vodafone displayed in the file name. Does this mean that the iPhone will be available for Europe?

Hopefully Canadian support will be added too!

Officially complete

2007-07-04T01:26:00.000-07:00

The transition has been done swiftly. The blog is now proudly run under the Google Blogger engine. I trust Google enough to closely integrate my site with their free services... Hopefully Blogger will provide better ease of use. Also has tight integration with the rest of Google.

If you haven't already, I highly suggest you register for a Google account. I've made it so you must have a Google account to comment, and there's also that kind of image you must verify you're human. Sorry for the inconveniences but it's a must to prevent spam. Maybe I'll let off the need for a Google account later... but the verification is a must ;)

Register at: https://www.google.com/accounts/

You should also try: http://www.gmail.com/ <-- very good email [spam filter is excellent](needs Google Account)

And make your own blog at: http://www.blogger.com/

Hopefully I'll start to blog more. Even though this is probably read by 4 or 5 people worldwide. But I just like voicing what I have to say. It'll probably be a lot about technology... I love tech stuff.

See ya!

Done.

2007-07-04T01:17:00.000-07:00

Well the transition is complete... Now to do the grand finale.

(This is pretty bad, don't harsh on me!) Dump your old PC into the trash, It's time to build one.: Originally posted 2007-03-14/11:40:35 am

2007-07-04T01:14:00.000-07:00

Your computer sucks? Outdated too fast? Want the best computer to fit your needs? Build your own computer!

A lot of people complain that their computer is slow and gets outdated too quickly. Usually these people are people who purchased pre-built computers from huge corporate giants like HP (Hewlett-Packard), IBM, etc. And they usually come with an OEM version of OSes, most likely; Microsoft Windows. All these pre-built computer usually comes with a plethora of free software you don't even want! All these extra programs clog up your 'new and shiny computer'.

So are you tired of getting all these extra pressures on your computer? Want a lightning-fast computer? Want to choose how powerful you want it to be? Build your own computer.

Building a computer is relatively easy, and sometimes you could get the system of your choice for cheaper than the price you get in stores, but if you really want the POWERFUL computers, they could cost you much more...

WARNING! The following parts of this article may contain some technical bits.

Well really... building a computer is quite easy and there are very comprehensive guides available on the net. Lots are on forums, but easy to find since many have a built in search feature. Or just type in Google: "Build computer". One particular guide I found was PC Mechanic's guide, which can be found here.

Well I can cut the requirements down, but I don't know much about it unless I have a guide.

Anyway, first of all you need the

Tools/Requirements/Equipment:

Here are some basic needs of constructing a computer.

CPU, also known as Processor - Well obviously you need this, it processes your computer. I would personally use an Intel Core 2 chip whether it'll be quad core or duo core, as they are powerfuller than AMD chips.

Motherboard - This is sort of like the highway that connects everything, and offers some features like sound etc. Some example companies are ASUS, or Intel.

Graphics/Video Card - On some motherboards this is built in, and for some it is included, but for the best graphics; you should pick your own cards. Some example card companies are ATI and nVidia.

Hard Drive - This is where you store all your piles of data. Usually you can find a good hard drive for very cheap that gives 300 GB. Add about a hundred or two dollars and you can reach 500GB, 750GB, or even 1TB (1000 GB)

Operating System - The application your PC will run on. There's a big hype about Windows Vista going on, but Linux also offers a solid operating system for those with low budgets.

PC Case - Well you need this for holding all your hardware!! I suggest getting a noise-reducing case with features like cooling, but the case should not set you back much.

CD/DVD Drive - Should have one of these so you can read these.

More or less that is the BASIC need for computers.

Now some suggestions about the processor are that it really depends on the type of user you are. Intel is an excellent choice (the best choice when this article was written). You may know them from their popular Pentium line (ie. Pentium 4 [P4]), which the Core 2 line has completely succeeded, as it offers much more. The recent releases of the Duo and Quad-core Intel Core 2 and Intel Core 2 Extreme chips are a ray of light for extreme users of computers, such as video viewers, video editors, gamers etc. But the prices are low enough to support mainstream users as well. If you just use your computer to check email or surf the net occasionally, I recommend an Intel Core 2 Duo E6600. Now on the other side of the spectrum, you have those hard core users. I would recommend either an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 (Quad-core) or an Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 (Duo-core). Either/or, you'll have an incredible processing speed, but I'd also might hold out for the upcoming Intel 'Penryn' chips with 45 nanometre technology which are scheduled to be released by the last-quarter of 2007 according to PC Magazine.

But let's not overlook AMD! Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was the leading producer of chips (about 11,000 employees according to Wikipedia) until the much larger producer and corporate giant Intel (about 9,000 employees according to Wikipedia) gave them a slap in the face by releasing the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 in around November I believe; the world's first quad-core desktop processor (it's still the world's powerfullest desktop processor). Well anyway, the AMD Athlon line has been long lasting favourite of many, and the recent Opteron line can't be overlooked as well. I do recommend Intel the most, but some may prefer an AMD chip. I don't know as much about AMD chips though, so you might need to do some digging up, but I hear the AMD 64 chips or AMD FX chips are good. I myself use an AMD Athlon XP (2.08 GHz) at the moment (desperate need of update people!), but planning on upgrading later this year.

But many things can factor in your decision of a chip. Most of my decisions root from number of cores, temperatures, and clock speed (GHz, MHz etc.). A 1.5-2 GHz processor is good for average users, while 2-5 GHz are for more high end users. Usually 2.5 or 3 GHz and higher are for extreme users, but anyone can use a good chip (Quad-core is mainly for multitasking, while dual-core is for power, but they are roughly the same).

Another point of purchasing parts for a computer is the graphics. Many motherboards have built in graphic cards but if you need high-end graphics, I suggest you purchase an extra plug-in graphic card (some call it video card but in this article I will refer it as graphic card). There are many card manufacturers including ATI (part of AMD), and nVidia. While those are great cards, there are producers who use those cards and have their own features or what not. A very powerful card example is the Foxconn GeForce (nVidia) 8800 GTX, which supports DirectX 10.0 graphics. For people who cannot shell out that much cash, the cheaper solution is the Foxconn GeForce 8800 GTS, which is a downgraded version of the GTX, but also supports DirectX 10.0.

A big factor in building computers is the operating system. Many use the popular Microsoft Windows line of products, but there are also other, cheaper alternatives to the expensive OS. The most popular alternative in my opinion for PCs is Linux. It's open source (love open source) so it's free. There are many builds of Linux, including SimplyMEPIS, CentOS, and many more. You'll have to do some digging for that.

On the Windows side of things, the new Windows Vista offers many different builds of the platform, which include Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Small Business, Enterprise, and the oh-so-flashy Ultimate. I absolutely do not recommend Home Basic, since the highlight of this Windows OS update is the flashy Aero glass effect, which is only available on everything BUT Basic. I think you can chip a little bit more for the Premium. But according to Microsoft, Home Basic is for... well the most basic of users; Home Premium are for gamers and such; Small Business is for... well business related things (productivity); Enterprise is restricted to corporate yada yada; and Ultimate is for productivity, and entertainment. Sort of like Home Premium + Enterprise/Small Business + some extra stuff. Only buy Ultimate if you are the most intense of multi-taskers.

A PC case would obviously be needed... otherwise how will you store all your things! I recommend snooping around for a nice PC case designed for quieting and cooling. Because you'll definitely need a case with good air circulation. Otherwise your PC can overheat and damage all your precious hardware. Oh and also the PC case must look good, depending on where it's stored. You don't want an ugly case next to you whenever you work. You'll just keep staring at it.

Well I guess that can conclude this short article. It wasn't much, but it broke the ice I guess. I hope you enjoyed reading it!

I'm Alive?: Originally posted: 2007-03-10/6:28:13 am

2007-07-04T01:11:00.000-07:00

Wow... I survived the LipSync!!!! There were 4 winners. Third was: FunkyTown by Lipps Inc. Second was a tie: Daddy Cool by Boney M, and Thriller by Michael Jackson. First place was Shake Your Groove Thing by Peaches and Herb.

It was hilarious watching everyone...

P.S. Our song was I Feel Good by James Brown

I FEEL GOOD!!!

The LipSync Heebie Jeebies: Originally posted 2007-03-08/2:05:00 pm

2007-07-04T01:09:00.000-07:00

Ahh! Today and tomorrow we're gonna have to lip sync to a Rock n' Roll song from the 50s - 80s. The whole grade at my school has to do it. I'll guarantee you one thing; it'll be hilarious. It was fun practicing, and it doesn't really scare me as much as before... And I have to say that most of the songs groups are lip syncing to are very catchy. Well, gotta jet... wish us luck!

City of Tuttle - City Manager vs. CentOS: Originally posted 2007-03-03/8:11:29 am

2007-07-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

Well this is a pretty funny story... but it's pretty self explanatory.

http://www.centos.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=127

Then watch:

“SeaWorld’s Punishment for Shamu”: Originally posted 2007-02-26/6:35:21 am

2007-07-04T00:57:00.000-07:00

While looking around YouTube, I found this hilarious video about SeaWorld's Punishment for Shamu...

It's from the David Letterman show on CBS.

Enjoy!

Featured Download: Originally posted 2007-02-26/5:47:49 am

2007-07-04T00:55:00.000-07:00

MediaWiki 1.9.3

MediaWiki is a very famous wiki; but most know it as the engine behind the oh-so-famous Wikipedia. You can download this at http://www.mediawiki.org. The installing instructions should be there as well.

Enjoy!

P.S. MediaWiki also powers OmniWiki.

EDIT: I now added a mirror to download MediaWiki.

You can find it here: http://www.omnicloud.net/download/ldflai359yj2mg4

Migration

2007-07-04T00:53:00.000-07:00

Ok I am beginning to move all the posts to Blogger.

This will be brief. Expect a whole new engine.

Blogger is solid

2007-06-18T04:37:00.000-07:00

So far it seems Google Blogger is pretty solid in terms of blogging. I'm glad I've given it this second chance.

Blogger

2007-06-18T00:37:00.001-07:00

In an attempt to 'Googlize' this site, I've decided to give Blogger another chance... It will remain in this test area to familiarize myself with it then see if it's more suited for me.