The Bloog

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.

I used to use Outlook 2007 to read feeds that required authentication. Everything went fine for a while, until it completely stopped working. The feeds would no longer update and it seemed to me that the RSS functionality in Outlook had simply broken.

Indeed it had. The RSS folder icon in Outlook 2007 was no longer an RSS icon. It was simply a folder icon, just like the rest of the folders. Additionally, right clicking on the RSS folder would no longer give me the option to add an RSS feed. I only the same options as for regular folders: copying, moving, deleting… 

So I just gave up on it for a while. Until today.

Committed to find a solution to this problem, I did. It seems that some files Outlook 2007 uses for RSS purposes and for establishing a connection to the Common Feed List in Vista had become corrupted. The solution was to simply delete these files, restart Outlook 2007 and let it rebuild these files with “fresh” ones.

See this article for more information: Outlook 2007 RSS Feeds not Updating — a Solution… - Realtime Windows Server.

So I did. But that fix didn’t do anything at first. 

It occured to me that upon restarting Outlook, it was launching just too fast. And the files I had removed were not being rebuilt. I closed it again and brought up Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Escape) to check the Processes tab and make sure that Outlook was not running anymore. But it was still running although I had exited the program! I right clicked and selected End Process and launched it again. Outlook started normally, the files were recreated, the RSS folder icon was back to normal and Add a New RSS feed was again available as an option in the right click menu.

Oh joy!

There is one trick however to getting authenticated feeds to work in Outlook 2007. Make sure that Outlook 2007 is not set to synchronize with the Common Feed List.

When you first start it, or when deleting the files mentioned above, Outlook 2007 will prompt you with a window asking whether you want it to synchronize with the Common Feed List. You should answer No. If answered Yes or if you no longer remember what the setting is, go to Tools/Options click on Other tab and then Advanced Options: Sync RSS Feeds to the Common Feeds List should be unchecked.

Then, you can add rss feeds by right clicking the RSS Feeds folder and selecting Add New RSS Feed. Paste the link to the feed and then you will be prompted to enter the username and password for the feed.

Enjoy your (restored) Outlook 2007 RSS Feed functionality.

This is a quick post to let you know the Ray Flash has arrived today. I will be posting soon some unpacking pictures and first impressions. So stand by…

What do you know… a logo redesign from a major player: Pepsi. Have you seen it in stores yet?

From a design perspective, I like the new font. I have always been a fan of sans-serif fonts, but the new Pepsi logo takes a little step further by giving it an extra edge with a smile-E . Notice the curve in the letter “e” in Pepsi, which somewhat ressembles the curve in the old logo, but reversed. Also notice that the new logo does away with the all caps name (PEPSI) and goes instead for a small caps identity (pepsi).

Having done a number of logo designs myself for a number of clients, one challenge that emerged from time to time is the issue of entire small cap words. People and clients with limited design experience or exposure, have a hard time grasping the concept of having a title or a name without a (first) capital letter. Although in schools we are taught that names and titles should always start with a capital letter, in the design world, going for a all-small-caps look, like the new “pepsi” logo, is fairly common and good looking when properly used. So next time clients bring up that argument, hand them a can of pepsi.

Another feature that I notice in the new cans, is what I like to call the “caffeinometer”. The logos or symbols have different size curves in them, depending on, I assume, the level of caffeine in them. Actually, the logo could also be looked at as a left eye of a (evil) person or… something; the white part representing the actual eyeball, the red part the eyelid and so on. The eye is bigger for those cans with more caffeine, like the pepsi max and less so for the pepsi diet and pepsi zero. It had to be done on purpose as it cannot be a mere coincidence.

We now count two very subtle, but well crafted, references to the eye in the new logo. The first one is the smile-E which ressembles a smiling, cheerful eye and the second, somewhat evil stare of the logo. Maybe the title of this post should have been: “New Pepsi logo: Have you eyed it yet?” 

Does that remind you of a familiar figure, like the Joker in the Dark Knight? Cheerful and evil at the same time…

Read more at the Typophile site: New Pepsi Logo: What Grade Do You Give It? | Typophile.

Ever since I upgraded to version 3 of Picasa, I have come to really enjoy viewing images with the bundled Picasa Viewer. It’s light, fast and I really like the transparency effect.

Today, I opened up a photo that had been saved in .PNG format and attempted to print it. To my surprise, the options that are usually available within the viewer, Print, Email, “Blog This!” or even “Edit in Picasa” were grayed out. I switched to a JPG image and the options were again available. So why wouldn’t the viewer, which does support viewing of PNG files, allow me the usual options?

I checked the viewer’s configuration and a checkmark was indeed present next to the PNG file type in the configuration window (evidently, since the PNG file was opened with the Picasa viewer). Committed to find a solution to this, I fired up the actual program, Picasa 3, and after some snooping around I ended in the Options window (Tools menu / Options). On the file types tab, the PNG file type was not checked, so I checked it. I hit OK for the Options and opened up the original PNG file again with the Picasa Viewer. The options for editing with Picasa, printing and emailing were back again!

Why the extra hurdle for some basic operations on a file type that is already supported by the viewer, I don’t know. But at least there was a fairly simple fix to it and I thought I’d share it.

 What I, you, we always wanted to see. The exact composition of a monster of a camera and lens. Enjoy!

More images at the TokyoBling blog

Nikon D3 with 14-24mm lens dissected

…or How to temporarily turn off the SB-800 flash on the D300

Although the show didn’t announce itself too exciting, I decided to grab some gear and go; at least to take some pictures if for nothing else. I had the D300 with the SB-800 and the 50mm f1.8 on, with the 18-70mm in the pocket for some wide shots (like the yellow Lamborghini one). I wanted primarily to see how the 50mm will make itself useful. The show floor lighting was fairly dim: black or dark carpets and walls with high tube lighting in most places. 

For those cases when some fill light was required, I had the SB-800 to help. There was one aspect of using the flash that was particularly annoying to work with: turning the flash on or off for different shots. For example, I would take a shot without flash and then I wanted to see how it would look with the flash, so I would turn the SB-800 on, take the shot, then turn it off to move to a different car. Too much button pressing between shots that required me to take the camera away from the eye. I remember wishing that there was a way I could just select whether the flash should fire or not without turning it on and off. Recently I just found out, to my pleasant surprise, that there is! Because the D300 makes it possible.

The Nikon D300 has two buttons close to the lens that can be customized with different functionalities: the Fn button and what is by default the Depth of Field Preview button. The Fn button, I kept it as Auto Bracketing when used with the command dial, and as Spot Metering when simply pressed. Here’s where the magic happens though: for the Preview button, on press, I assigned it to Flash Off, which does exactly what it says; doesn’t fire the flash if the button is pressed. Just what I wanted… now I can simply leave the SB-800 on and if I don’t want it to fire, I just press the button before pressing the shutter release. Perfect! 

See the pictures from the car show below:

The D300, unlike previous bodies, has a different way of attaching to the optional MB-D10 battery grip. Instead of using the old system of removing the battery door in order to allow for the insertion of the optional grip into the battery slot, the D300 allows for the battery pack to attach to the body directly by connecting to a couple of contacts on the bottom of the D300 body that are normally hidden under a rubber cover.

Until tonight, the rubber contact cover used to rest in a little pocket of my camera bag, hidden between a variety of rarely used small plastic accessories. Tonight, however, I noticed something that made appreciate the new battery pack even more. The (ingenious) Nikon people took in consideration the fact that in order for the battery grip to be attached to the body, the rubber contact cover must be removed from the body and stored somewhere so it can replaced at a later time. So what better place to store the rubber cover than in the battery grip itself?

If you look closely, the MB-D10 has a little slot where the rubber cover fits perfectly, and not by accident. Like this, if you ever need to remove the battery grip and want maximum protection for the body, you won’t need to look for the (lost) rubber cover through your bag, or, worse, remember that you actually left it home. Just remove it from the battery grip (assuming that you placed it there originally) and cover the contacts on the body. Really simple and very practical. Good job Nikon!

The MB-D10 Battery Grip slot for the body's rubber contact cover.

The MB-D10 Battery Grip with the rubber contact cover in its dedicated slot.

Sean Connery shot by Annie Leibovitz! In pictures, of course… and for Louis Vuitton that is. Annie seems to have used a Photek Softlighter II to lower the ambient light and then overpower Sean Connery with it, creating a nice balance as you can see in the image below. This shot is from the international site of Louis Vuitton.

Sean Connery by Annie Leibovitz for Louis Vuitton