Recommended books about the computer revolution:
Fire in the Valley
Insanely Great
Hackers
Accidental Empires
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Jayne Mansfield
Bought this postcard recently, I think it's very funny.
You certainly can't accuse Jayne of not knowing what to do with what she had! That may be the most daring dress I've seen. And anything which can make Sophia Loren cast jealous glances askance is something else.
Mmm, I actually recall very little I've seen with either of the ladies. Any recommendations?
You certainly can't accuse Jayne of not knowing what to do with what she had! That may be the most daring dress I've seen. And anything which can make Sophia Loren cast jealous glances askance is something else.
Mmm, I actually recall very little I've seen with either of the ladies. Any recommendations?
Aurasma Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality, post/video.
It is surely in its infancy yet, since somebody has to code in an object before the app will do anything with it. But it seems quite promising if the tech catches on.
It is surely in its infancy yet, since somebody has to code in an object before the app will do anything with it. But it seems quite promising if the tech catches on.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Lady Gaga unveils a Polaroid photo sunglasses
Lady Gaga is creative director for Polaroid? This world is so dang weird. How about David Beckham becoming CEO of IBM?
Monday, January 16, 2012
Small cameras and shake
I've had a realization: admittedly I love a quality pocket camera like the Canon S90 (S95/S100), simply because you can bring it and forget it until you need it. But of course there are disadvantages. One of them I've called "handling", because there's less room on a tiny camera for real buttons/dials and for your fingers.
But one aspect of this struck me today: shooting indoors with the S90, I felt less than confident that I could do it without shaking the picture. On the contrary, going one step up in size to a Panasonic GF2 or a Fuji X10, I have surprised at just how confident I feel in taking low-light photos with a steady hand. It just feels dead-easy to squeeeeaze a steady shot of on those ones.
It seems the better grip on such a camera, combined with the bigger and better shutter button, makes a big difference in steadiness. And it's not just a feeling, I've surprised myself that with such a camera I can take tack sharp pictures on 1/15th second with a mild wideangle, and that's even with the GF2 which doesn't have stabilization if one uses prime lenses.
Going up to a DSLR, I feel less confident again, I think this is due to the mirror smash which accompanies an exposure on these cameras. But I'm not sure if this is followed by fewer sharp shots in practice though. I have a feeling it does, if nothing else then because less confidence makes the hand less steady.
But one aspect of this struck me today: shooting indoors with the S90, I felt less than confident that I could do it without shaking the picture. On the contrary, going one step up in size to a Panasonic GF2 or a Fuji X10, I have surprised at just how confident I feel in taking low-light photos with a steady hand. It just feels dead-easy to squeeeeaze a steady shot of on those ones.
It seems the better grip on such a camera, combined with the bigger and better shutter button, makes a big difference in steadiness. And it's not just a feeling, I've surprised myself that with such a camera I can take tack sharp pictures on 1/15th second with a mild wideangle, and that's even with the GF2 which doesn't have stabilization if one uses prime lenses.
Going up to a DSLR, I feel less confident again, I think this is due to the mirror smash which accompanies an exposure on these cameras. But I'm not sure if this is followed by fewer sharp shots in practice though. I have a feeling it does, if nothing else then because less confidence makes the hand less steady.
Two pub pics and more
I tried a pub for lunch today where I haven't been in a while. They have new owners and they do food all day, which is great.
Also it turned out that the burger I got was really excellent, a nice surprise, I have been wanting more choice for lunch. Heck, even the corner sofa seat I got was the most comfortable I've sat in for a while. Good lunch time.
There was this great low January sunlight, so I took these pics. (Canon S90, "you don't need to know you got it with you".)
(Clickable.)
While walking and eating I listened to David Pogue's recent novel. I used an iPod Nano in a Lunatik Lynk wrist chain. It's a pretty geeky item one might think, but it looks nice, and it works well both as a watch and an iPod.
On the way home I walked past a watch shop. Most men's watches seemed to be around 5,000 pounds sterling ($8,000). And I guess that now everybody has the time on their "moby", we can no longer pretend that pricey watches are not, well, jewelry. I wonder how such a shop survives in a working class town.
Also it turned out that the burger I got was really excellent, a nice surprise, I have been wanting more choice for lunch. Heck, even the corner sofa seat I got was the most comfortable I've sat in for a while. Good lunch time.
There was this great low January sunlight, so I took these pics. (Canon S90, "you don't need to know you got it with you".)
While walking and eating I listened to David Pogue's recent novel. I used an iPod Nano in a Lunatik Lynk wrist chain. It's a pretty geeky item one might think, but it looks nice, and it works well both as a watch and an iPod.
On the way home I walked past a watch shop. Most men's watches seemed to be around 5,000 pounds sterling ($8,000). And I guess that now everybody has the time on their "moby", we can no longer pretend that pricey watches are not, well, jewelry. I wonder how such a shop survives in a working class town.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
You never know what you have
I just found out I can watch Lovefilm films over my bluray box. Kewl. I watched Gran Torino last week over that service on my iPad, lovely movie. (It's a limited range of movies, of course.)
Imagine it, I've had that box for well over a year, but I never tried the Internet services on it before today! I only tried it now because I wanted to check a thing (X-Pro1) on youtoobs, but it was also dinner time, so it would be handy if it could be seen in the living room.
Imagine it, I've had that box for well over a year, but I never tried the Internet services on it before today! I only tried it now because I wanted to check a thing (X-Pro1) on youtoobs, but it was also dinner time, so it would be handy if it could be seen in the living room.
BW film photo
Our friend EmptySpaces took this lovely photo. Unlike me he likes working with film, this was taken on Fuji Neopan 400. And on a "Black Slim Devil", though I confess ignorance as to what that is. Aha, here we go. Surprisingly not a nickname. Looks kool, and I like the rubber grip and the super-wide lens, that's rare in affordable cameras, probably because they are tough to make with good corner-quality. Which you can't say the BSD has, but I like the look. It's out of stock, but seems to have been reincarnated as the Blue Ribbon.
Coolpix 600, 1998 Lyngby, Denmark
I just came across these couple of pics, I don't believe I've ever posted them before. They were taken in 1998 or 1999 with my first digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix 600, where I lived in Lyngby, Denmark, near Copenhagen.
Believe it or not, the linked files at 768x1024 pixels are the full camera resolution... How times have changed. I bough the camera for about $600, just marked down from over a thousand. But even at such basic quality, the immediacy of a digital camera was exciting.
(Clickable pics)
Believe it or not, the linked files at 768x1024 pixels are the full camera resolution... How times have changed. I bough the camera for about $600, just marked down from over a thousand. But even at such basic quality, the immediacy of a digital camera was exciting.
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