The Bloog

For the gamers out there, Activision has released Map Pack 1 for Call of Duty: World at War. Available now, for a cost, only for Xbox360 and PS3, PC users still have to wait.

The four new maps available are:

• Nightfire
• Station
• Knee Deep
• Verrückt (Zombie Asylum)

Sample images from Call of Duty’s site:

New map: Nightfire

New map: Station

New map: Knee Deep

New map: Verruckt

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 has been released today. The previous version, IE 7 has been released on October 18, 2006. Two years and five months later, IE 8 surfaces and according to Microsoft, it is Faster, Easier and Safer. It better be after all this time!

Should you upgrade?
Well, yes! You should always upgrade to the latest browser version, if not for the added security and privacy features, which are always there in new releases, then for contributing to making the internet a better place. How? By being up to date with the latest browser, you’re making the life of the developers easier and, thusly, you’re allowing designers and developers alike to spend more time building new and nicer things instead of fixing issues and quirks of older browser versions.

But, if you still need more information, see this interesting document put together by Microsoft, which looks into different user behaviours and explains how Internet Explorer 8 helps make various scenarios easier and faster: http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/6/7/A67974CC-84E7-4F62-B09E-5C575E1E7A3C/Improving%20Consumer%20Use%20of%20the%20Web_Final%20_2_.pdf

Installing
Installing Internet Explorer 8 couldn’t be easier. A small download and few steps later, IE 8 will be installed. A restart of the computer will be required though.

Internet Explorer 8 Setup Window

Uninstalling

The first issue I looked into was whether it can be easily uninstalled in case I need to. Apparently, it is. Internet Explorer 8 can be uninstalled from the Control Panel/Remove Programs just like any other piece of software.

For more information and to download, go to Internet Explorer 8′s Home page .

Internet Explorer 8 videos available here

A great little piece from photographer Zack Arias. Take the time to watch it entirely.

There’s something exciting about going around town and snapping shots without actually looking through the viewfinder and composing the shot. Just let the camera hang by your side with your finger on the shutter (that’s how it would be when using a RapidStrap), turn sideways as if you were looking elsewhere and let it snap. New, strange, yet intriguing things may result from it.

I went inside the metro station late at night this week and I didn’t want to attract attention. Having a camera like the D300 with on-body controls for focus and metering really comes handy in situations like this. I went to the top of the stairs, rotated the metering knob, flipped the focus mode switch, focused and went for it. The result is below – the image is called “Multi-Dimensional”.

Multi-Dimensional - Which is your dimension?

Had I actually put the camera to the eye and attempted to compose, I probably wouldn’t have framed it this way. Yes, this image was purposely left unrotated, but that’s where its charm is. 

Look at it by tilting your head to the right and you’ll see one thing. Look at it straight on and you’ll see another, then look at it by tilting your head to the left and you can give yet a third interpretation. Can’t see it right away? Keep looking and it will reveal itself.

So which is your dimension?

It has a very shallow depth of field because it was shot in very low light at f2.8, ISO 1000, but I think that only adds to the image. I can picture this as a lonely print on a big empty wall, in a dark and moody loft-like place with black or red brick walls..

Here are a couple more shots, processed differently however.

Looking sideways

Waiting for the midnight bus - Processed as a lomography image.

Given to what I think may be a bent pin in the 3.5″ memory card reader I usually use, I went and got a Sandisk ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader (Part # SDDR-189-A20).

I had seen a few pictures prior to having it, but my first impression was: Wow! That’s tiny! The All-in-One reader, which is considerably taller than its little brother, the Multi-Card Reader, is extremely thin and compact. It’s no deeper than the width of a CompactFlash card and only slightly taller than two CF cards put together. It has a glossy or piano black finish, which is nice, but prone to dust accumulation.

Left side view of the Sandisk ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader

The ImageMate All-in-One memory card reader comes with a miniscule three-legged stand that allows for the reader to be fixed to it via a magnet and two small slots. Overall, due to the layout of the three legs, it’s fairly stable. I tried to knock it off as if by accident but I was unsuccessful. The reader can be quickly and easily removed from its stand for portability.

On top, a not so obvious button allows you to configure opening a favorite program. To enable this functionality, you need to install a piece of software from SanDisk’s site: the Transfer Button Application. There is also another application available, the Drive Letter application, but I haven’t tried it nor do I intend to. It may, however, come handy for some users.

Sandisk conveniently provides the usb cable required to use the Sandisk ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader

I found very little information on SanDisk’s website as to exactly which reader supports which memory cards, so here it is…

  The ImageMate All-in-One (Part # SDDR-189-A20) supports the following memory cards:

• microSDHC
• miniSD
• SD/SDHC
• MMC
• MS Pro/Duo/Pro Duo/
• xD(M/H)
• CompactFlash
   

The Multi-Card Reader (Part # SDDR-199-A20) supports the following memory cards:

• SD/SDHC
• MMC
• Sony Memory Stick Pro
• xD(M/H)

Front view of the Sandisk ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader

The Sandisk ImageMate All-in-One Memory Card Reader is listed at $28.99 on SanDisk’s website and I find it’s a fair price to pay for what you get: a sleek, compact yet performant reader that will look good on your desk.

Scott Kelby announced today on his blog a new Nikon Tips show which he seems to co-host with his partner in crime, Matt Kloskowski.

The first episode is already up and looks promissing. I personally like the format: short and to the point, yet very clear.

I’ll be checking it out weekly to see if they can show me something I don’t already know about my D300.

Link to Kelby’s blog post: New Weekly Nikon DSLR Tips Show Launches Today.

Watch the first episode at http://www.nikondtown.com/

I remember the first time I used Google as well as my first Paypal transaction. These services changed the way we use the internet; a better search engine and a simpler, more secure way of paying online. 

Here comes another name and service that is bound to cause some change: Noca. Until now, Paypal, while ubiquitous in the e-commerce world, has been charging a hefty fee to merchants for processing transactions. The fee is not far from what credit card companies like Visa & Mastercard charge merchants to accept credit cards in their place of business – from 3% to 4%.

Noca tries to change that. The new service promises a zero cost payment system to merchants. But to be fair it’s not exactly zero; 0.25% to be exact. It also allows customers to pay with their chequing account, rather than with a credit card.

Read more at Noca’s site: Noca – Transact freely

We’ll have to see how many (online) merchants will jump on the wagon and how soon. Noca definitely has potential and I will look forward to making my first transaction as soon as it will roll out internationally (currently available only in US).

More information in this CNET article.

What do you do when, all of a sudden, your computer’s monitor goes black and doesn’t turn back on? You can hear the computer still running as normal but you no longer see anything on screen… what then?

Well, let’s start at the beginning. For a while, the X-Fi Platinum sound card has been acting up, allowing me to use the headphones jack of the front panel just fine but not do the same via the digital out port that is connected to a sound system. From time to time I have to reinstall the sound card driver to restore the sound through the speakers. This time, I thought, I should also try reinstalling maybe the chipset drivers… maybe there is a conflict at that level. So I did. That’s when the screen went black and it remained so.

Intel’s chipset drivers setup must have caused some serious damage at the driver level, which caused something to interfere with the graphics drivers. It was late at night and I was just getting ready to watch a movie. This was definitely not the right time for trouble.

(continue reading…)

Last year I made one of the best moves ever as far as backing up goes. I built my own Windows Home Server system. With seven systems in the home, a mix of desktops and laptops, backing up was becoming a struggle and in some cases even completely ignored. I had external hard drives that I would use, ocasionally, to backup some files here and there, on one system or another.

Then, there was the issue of media sharing. There were shares on every computer and it had become quite a mess and just a big pain. That was before Windows Home Server.

Windows Home Server has made everything a joy. It has taken the pain out of backing up of all systems, automatically and daily, and brought the pleasure back to file sharing.

I built my own system simply because I had spare parts laying around and it seemed like a waste not to use to build a server. My only purchase was the operating system “Windows Home Server”. Had I not spare parts, I would have simply gotten an HP MediaSmart Server.

These devices are just beautiful. Unlike my homemade system, they don’t take up space and they’re not noisy. They’re way smaller than online pictures will let you believe. They’re only slightly bigger than the average external drive and look just gorgeous even on a desk. 

Now the real reason of this post, besides praising Windows Home Server the OS as well as the (HP) machine, is to bring up the fact that as of recently, Mac users will also be able to enjoy the benefits of Windows Home Server in a mixed PC and Mac environment. It has to be mixed, at least for now, because it seems you still need a PC to be able to administer the server; the administration console which allows you to setup user accounts, backups, share folders and a bunch of other cool things, will only run on a Windows OS.

For more information on Windows Home Server and how it fits in a mixed PC and Mac environment, read MediaSmartHome’s article:

Managing Your Digital Lifestyle With A Mixed Mac & PC Environment 

I installed the update for Google Earth today, bringing the program to version 5.0 that was made available starting today. What a difference! It feels completely rebuilt with scrolling and zooming smoother as never before.

Try the SpaceNavigator for a complete 3D experience when using Google Earth.

Ever since I got the 3dConnexion SpaceNavigator, using Google Earth was always a joy. But at times, panning and zooming around could get slightly sluggish and jumpy, although the system is very capable.

With version 5.0, using the SpaceNavigator to pan and zoom rapidly is smooth as milk. No more jumpy frames, no hickups, nothing. Just a very pleasing moving and flying from place to place that makes anyone wanna spend hours discovering the planet only for the sake of the smooth experience.

So if you haven’t done it already, go ahead and update your Google Earth today.

Download Google Earth.