Just finished reading this and I liked it a lot. I am a bit reluctant to link to this review because think it contains a spoiler. The mysteries of the story aren’t really the point of this book even though despite it’s unusual protagonist, it still functions well as a page turner.
There seems to be something of a fad going on for Images that have either been manipulated or, using in-camera techniques, taken in such a way that they make ordinary scenes look like miniature models. Our own Editorialgirl is really into this lark and has posted about it on her blog with links to her own, as well as other people’s work.
The most impressive one is a video made from time-laps images of Sydney harbour. It was taken using a tilt and shift lens, rather than manipulation after the fact, which makes sense since messing around with so many pictures wouldn’t be very fun.
I haven’t been very impressed with the range or the quality of basic peripherals for Macs. By basic, I am talking about mice and keyboards.
The last generation keyboards from Apple had a dreadful mechanism and it took me an excessive amount of time to get used to their odd feel. The one advantage they had was design: these keyboards were both attractive and functional, with a layout that resulted in a compact keyboard that never felt cramped.
The latest Apple keyboards not only unnecessarily adopts the mechanism from MacBook notebooks, but changes the layout around in a way that’s less than useful. The bluetooth keyboard is even worse, doing away with the number pad completely.
It has therefore been a puzzle to me as to why the peripherals manufacturers haven’t dived all over this market. Keyboard and mice specifically made for Macs are often much worse than those available from Apple and a great deal more ugly to boot. This is why I actually use a Dell bluetooth keyboard and mouse at work, since I really couldn’t find anything that was nearly as good. That isn’t to say that Dell keyboard and mice are anything but average.
It is interesting that Targus are coming out with a range of peripherals for Macs. I haven’t had much of look, but at least superficially, they look better matched to Apple’s design than most other things I’ve seen from third parties. The laptop cooler in particular looks like it might be something I’m interested in.
However, I see no sign of a keyboard, which is disappointing. I really believe there is a market for a keyboard with the same general layout as Apple’s old white keyboards but with a normal mechanism and a USB 2 hub.
Any takers?
A great collection of images around the theme of Ramadan, which should be ending today, or yesterday or tomorrow …… oh who knows.
Via Tao Of Mac.
I have been waiting for Canon to update the 5D for a long time. When I first saw the specification, I was pretty convinced that the Nikon D700 which came out several months earlier would be a better camera for me.
Well, that is until I saw this short film shot with a pre-production EOS 5D MkII. When I first read about DSLR with video modes and tried to imagine the kind of images those wide aperture lenses would produce, this is exactly what I imagined. Then I promptly forgot about it because I didn’t think they would be able to pull it off. At least not with the first set of cameras with the feature.
All of a sudden, the decision between the equivalent Nikon and Canon is much harder. The Nikon D700 seems to have a superior flash and auto focus system, but no video mode. The Canon has higher resolution (not important to me) but pretty unimpressive auto focus, no built in flash and that fantastic sample video.
I think I’m going to have to sit on my hand for a while.
No time for anything but a link-and-run post. This one is from Wired magazine and it’s about some of the designs and ideas developed by Buckminster Fuller.
Holly crap! I had no idea Thierry played the Oud.
Dr. Mo and I were talking about this exact thing last night:
America’s largest women’s rights organisation delivered a snub to Sarah Palin’s history-making candidacy yesterday by endorsing Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s bid for power.
The National Organisation for Women (NOW) is 500,000 strong and hugely influential. The feminist organisation almost never supports a presidential candidate, but the Alaska governor’s Christian fundamentalist faith and her opposition to abortion rights has forced its hand.
I assume that this not going to be a surprise to anyone but Dr. Mo. As a rallying point for conservative Republics reluctant to support McCain, she is a great choice, but if the McCain campaign intended Palin to appeal to a wider political base, they really should have done a better job of vetting her.
Mr Munger also asked Mrs Palin if she believed in the End of Days, the doomsday scenario when the Messiah will return. “She looked in my eyes and said, ‘Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime’.”
Or more appropriately, “slow down you crazy mother fucker!”.
Just to give an idea, the video shows a former F1 driver taking his wife out on the track, soliciting some colourful language.
Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Can’t go wrong.