I was tempted to snag an iPhone when my AT&T contract ended earlier this month, but with the upcoming Palm Pre and rumors of an iPhone update, I’ve decided to wait and see how things play out.
The Pre’s combination of a touch screen and physical QWERTY keyboard caught my attention right away. The iPhone’s virtual keypad is okay, but I think I would still prefer real keys. And it looks like the Pre will have multitasking, copy/paste, and Flash capabilities.
Sounds good so far.
But there are a few other features that the Pre would need to have before I’d consider it an option. First, the web browsing experience should be at least as good as Safari on the iPhone. A poor browser implementation would be a non-starter for me. Second, the interface should be intuitive and clean. If I want something clumsy that looks like it was bolted on after the fact, I’ll just keep the phone I have now. And third, a healthy selection of third party applications. Apps clearly add value to the iPhone, and I hope that the Pre can foster the same type of development. With dozens of PreDevCamps already in the works, my hopes are high.
Oh, and I would need the Pre to work on the AT&T network. So if an unlocked phone is too expensive, or simply not available in a reasonable time frame, I’ll be out of luck.
Now if someone would just release an exciting Android-based phone, this could get really interesting.
Inspired in part by Laurie’sposts asking for input on vacation destinations, I thought it would be cool to do a little travel crowdsourcing of my own. I’m toying with the idea of taking a road trip this March, and could use some input on what I should see.
Most of my in-state travels have been to the major metro areas (Houston, Dallas, etc) and I would like to venture past the big cities. I’m thinking north/northwest. Maybe even venture into the southern part of New Mexico.
So, where you would go if you had a week to drive around Texas exploring and taking pictures. Since this is still very much in the brainstorming stage the only real restrictions are that I’ll only have about six days and I would prefer not to do any camping.
At Wednesday’s RefreshBCS, Michelle Greer gave an inspiring presentation on how social media can expand past its tech-centric nature and help bring attention to other issues. I think James Nachtwey’s newest project, one that he announced last year during his TED Prize acceptance speech, is an excellent example of harnessing the power of social media to raise awareness of critical issues.
The project’s site announced that Nachtwey’s images will be presented tomorrow, October 3rd, and asks bloggers and other social media types to help spread the word about the story that Nachtwey is about to unveil. The site provides links and embed codes of the project and Nachtwey’s TED Prize wish video for bloggers to include on their own pages.
“I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it, in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.”
This is the type of thing that excites me about the times we live in today. We can bring attention to issues, ideas, and actions in a way never before possible. You don’t have to own a printing press, radio station, or have a satellite orbiting the earth to share something you’re passionate about.
That is a powerful thing, and I hope we can use it responsibly.
My 20D has served me well for the past four years, but I have a feeling the upcoming 50D will take its place in my camera bag.
Why? The primary reason is the 50D’s more chimp-friendly 3-inch, high-resolution LCD screen. It may seem strange that the LCD is at the top of my list, but the 1.8-inch screen on my 20D is almost impossible to read outdoors or anywhere with abundant light.
The 20D screen limitations are especially frustrating when I’m out taking macros and I want to quickly check exposure and focus before moving onto the next subject (or before the current subject flies away). Instead of being able to quickly review a shot, I need to shade the screen, find a good viewing angle then zoom in to check focus. And since the LCD image can’t be trusted, I have to rely solely on the histogram to check exposure.
The 20D’s screen was good for its time, but my point-and-shoot SD800IS, with its big, bright LCD, has made me realize what I’ve been missing. The 50D boasts a 920,000 dot LCD (4x the resolution of the 40D LCD) with a 160-degree viewing angle and multiple coatings to cut down on annoying glare. A screen like that should more than solve my current LCD problems.
Of course the LCD is not the only reason I feel the 50D would be a worthwhile upgrade. I’m more than happy to get faster frames-per-second, a self-cleaning Digic IV sensor, improved ISO control and quality, plus all of the other features that have been added to the line over the years. And with almost twice the megapixels of the 20D, I can finally print images viewable from space.
I’m not in a hurry to upgrade though. The 20D is still quite functional so I’ll wait and make sure that the 50D is as impressive in reality as it is on paper. I’m not going to sell the 20D either. The amount I could get for it wouldn’t outweigh its usefulness as a second body. And even after it dies I’m sure I’ll keep it around for sentimental reasons. I mean, you can’t just throw away your first DSLR, right?
I’ve spent a lot of time at the local gardens the past week shooting macros, but I’ve had a lot of trouble finding any spiders or other non-winged creatures to photograph. I don’t know if it’s the weather or the time of day I go out (before 10am, after 6pm), but I’ve only come across one or two eight-legged subjects. And aside from a yellow garden spider, the ones I have seen were extremely small and difficult to track, even with a macro lens.
The weather was just as miserable back in March, but crab and jumping spiders were all over the place. Maybe they are just smarter than I am and decided to sit in the shade all day instead of crawling around in the heat and humidity.
As someone who just discovered Pandora, I find all of this deeply disappointing. Pandora is a fantastic service, especially for people like me who live in smaller markets with little or no radio station variety. I don’t understand why webcasters like Pandora have to pay more than their satellite or terrestrial radio brethren. No one is arguing that they shouldn’t be paying anything, but to put them in a higher royalty bracket just because the Internet is their broadcast medium is absurd.
Hopefully a compromise can be reached so that Internet radio doesn’t have to fall silent.
When I first saw photos taken with the Sigma 4.5mm fisheye over at Whateverland, one of my favorite photoblogs, I was instantly intrigued. I enjoy using wide-angle lenses and this one looked like a lot of fun. So a few weeks ago I rented the Sigma 4.5mm and headed out to Discovery Green in Houston and the local TAMU campus to see what it could do.
The Sigma 4.5mm f2.8 EX DC Circular Fisheye HSM lens offers a full 180 degree field of view (and an insanely long name) on digital cameras with APS-C (crop-factor) sensors. Having never used a fisheye lens before, I didn’t really know what to expect. It is a little disorienting to look though the viewfinder and see most of it black, with just a circle providing a view of what lays before you. read more »
I was tempted to snag an iPhone when my AT&T contract ended earlier this month, but with the upcoming Palm Pre and rumors of an iPhone update, I’ve decided to wait and see how things play out.
