Allegheny River near Franklin, PA
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
GPS vs. Cell Phone GPS
GPS vs. Cell Phone GPS - LAPTOP Magazine
We use the GPS Navigator feature in our Verizon wireless phone often. I had originally wanted to purchase a dedicated GPS unit - but the price was prohibitive. I didn't really need it for work, its just that I like gadgets and this was essentially an expensive toy. I couldn't quite justify $700 + for a new toy right now.
At that time I was due a new phone from Verizon under my contract. Low and behold - the new phone does GPS. And it does it quite well. We find ourselves using it more than we thought. Kids travel soccer games - check. Funeral home - check. Vacation navigation - check. Meeting friends for a bike ride somewhere - check.
My wife is the kind of person that doesn't know she needs these electronics until she gets them, uses them, and realizes their usefulness. She didn't get why we needed a TIVO at first - now just try to pry it away from her. If that TIVO goes bad she would be sending out immediately to get it replaced.
GPS on your phone positives
We use the GPS Navigator feature in our Verizon wireless phone often. I had originally wanted to purchase a dedicated GPS unit - but the price was prohibitive. I didn't really need it for work, its just that I like gadgets and this was essentially an expensive toy. I couldn't quite justify $700 + for a new toy right now.
At that time I was due a new phone from Verizon under my contract. Low and behold - the new phone does GPS. And it does it quite well. We find ourselves using it more than we thought. Kids travel soccer games - check. Funeral home - check. Vacation navigation - check. Meeting friends for a bike ride somewhere - check.
My wife is the kind of person that doesn't know she needs these electronics until she gets them, uses them, and realizes their usefulness. She didn't get why we needed a TIVO at first - now just try to pry it away from her. If that TIVO goes bad she would be sending out immediately to get it replaced.
GPS on your phone positives
- No upfront money needed. The first month is free, $10 a month afterwards. There is also the option of using it occasionally for $4 for a 24 hour period.
- Its handy - always there.
- It constantly has the latest software AND location maps - no upgrade required
- Advanced features (ie. voice directions, local search) for the low pricing structure.
GPS on your phone negatives
- Small screen is not as visually appealing as a full sized unit.
- If you keep it on for an extended period you could have purchased a full unit for the cost.
At any rate, its a good option to try it out and see if GPS navigation works for you and fits into your life. You can always upgrade to a full featured model if your situation warrants.
[update]
It was pointed out to me that another benefit of the cell phone GPS model is that when you do a local search for some establishment, you can press the send button and call them. Can't do that with a dedicated GPS!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sony Cybershot
Digital Cameras. There are a bunch of them out there - all competing for your hard earned money. What sets one above the other? Why did you pick the one you have?
I just purchased a Sony Cybershot DSC-T20. I did my due diligence and researched many products. Here are the reasons I chose this model...
I just purchased a Sony Cybershot DSC-T20. I did my due diligence and researched many products. Here are the reasons I chose this model...
- Sony reputation. I have owned Sony products before and have always been satisfied with performance and style of the products.
- Face Detection. If you take alot of portrait pics, this will interest you. The camera will identify up to 8 faces in the photo (highlighting them in the live view!) and automatically adjust focus, exposure, white balance & flash to favor the faces. This means that if the faces are not in the center of the exposure, the camera will set focal point to the face distance. Think about that for a second. Most digital cameras have square in the center of the viewer that serves as the focus area. Often you frame your pics so that the subject face(s) are not in the center of the frame. This feature handles those times perfectly.
- Large LCD screen (2.5 inch)
- Its compact - less than 1/2 inch thick.
- Better pics under low light conditions. Sony’s Super Steady Shot optical image stabilization counters camera shake and stabilize images so you can easily shoot with longer exposure times. Armed with high light sensitivity (up to ISO 3200), you can also shoot at higher shutter speeds without using the cameras’ flash and spoiling the mood of the pictures. Sony’s Clear RAW noise reduction technology will help reduce the picture noise common to low-light exposures.
- Response time. Sony’s new T-series cameras are powered by the Bionz processing engine, first used in Sony’s Alpha digital SLR camera system. Not only does this robust processing engine deliver the fast image processing speeds needed to produce color-rich, detailed pictures for true high-definition photo viewing, it also speeds up the cameras’ response times and extends battery life.
- 8.1 Mega pixels
I'll be posting pics from this camera in the coming weeks. Watch for this week's upcoming TGIF photo shoot.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Google Robots bagged me...
Well I haven't posted for the better part of a week now. Google's SPAM robots tagged my site as a possible spam generator. Took 4 days to get it cleared.
Here's the message I got...
This blog is under review due to possible Blogger Terms of Service violations, and is currently unpublished. You can view your blog's posts here in Blogger, but not make any changes.
Back on track now... TGIF pic and review of Cryptonomicon coming up soon!!
Here's the message I got...
This blog is under review due to possible Blogger Terms of Service violations, and is currently unpublished. You can view your blog's posts here in Blogger, but not make any changes.
Back on track now... TGIF pic and review of Cryptonomicon coming up soon!!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Tsotsi
Tsotsi - 2005* Spoilers included *
Tsotsi won an Oscar in 2006 under the category "Best Foreign Language Film". Its rare to see a film where the bad guy gravitates toward good instead of the other way around. This is a powerful film that shows a killer who learns humanity from a baby.
The film is shot in Soweto, a township near Johannesburg, South Africa. I travelled through Johannesburg last year on a trip to Mozambique. I saw the squalor of the ghetto from the safety of my bus - but I get it. The movie portrays the ghetto as a place where life is cheap... there is a scene where we witness orphans living in huge concrete pipes as if they are condos.
Tsotsi is presented with the challenge of caring for a baby - the by-product of a car jacking. The child evokes in him a reflection of his own brutal childhood. The flashbacks build for us a picture of growing up in this part of the world at this cultural level. As we watch Tsotsi develop his humanity around the baby - we see him essentially fight back against what he has himself become.
Ultimately, there is no good deal waiting for Tsotsi. The ending is a bit subdued, but appropriate. He is left to deal with the next section of his life at this point. We envision him thinking of how the next chapter of his life will be as the camera pulls away.
Ultimately Tsotsi doesn't simply become a good man - he just looses some of his evilness. This can be contrasted with City of God, [a film in my Top 100 Greatest Movies of all time list]. Tsotsi is more personal and close.
If you liked City of God, give Tsotsi a try. Similar story, different viewpoint.
Monday, August 13, 2007
100 Greatest Movies List
The AFI recently came out with their list.
This is my list.
Its quite a task to list your top 100. The first 60 roll off easily. The last 20 are difficult because you are deciding if a movie will make the cut. After 100, if I see another movie that I want in this list - then something has to come out.
Watch for comments as I edit this list as I see more movies.
I encourage all movie lovers to develop their own list. It's a great way to look at film more critically.
In alphabetical order...
Research all of these movies on Amazon.
This is my list.
Its quite a task to list your top 100. The first 60 roll off easily. The last 20 are difficult because you are deciding if a movie will make the cut. After 100, if I see another movie that I want in this list - then something has to come out.
Watch for comments as I edit this list as I see more movies.
I encourage all movie lovers to develop their own list. It's a great way to look at film more critically.
In alphabetical order...
African Queen - 1951
Research all of these movies on Amazon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)