Archive for August, 2007
Sigma 18-200mm DC OS lens drops below $500
August 21st, 2007 | 
Author: Amazon.com has the Sigma AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS (Optical Stabilizer) Zoom Lens for under $500. The shipping is $8 so this is a great deal!
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Canon Adds High-End Consumer Cameras
This is dead sexy!!
Canon’s droolbait for the prosumer market is a new model in its PowerShot G line of advanced shooters. The G9 is a 12.1-megapixel model that shoots in RAW mode, boasts a 6x zoom lens and has the by-now obligatory advances in image stabilization and face detection. As before, you also get a thread mount for adding all kinds of spanky filters and lens add-ons. Look for it in October, priced at $500.
A pretty interesting article on mistakes Microsoft made with Vista
I’m not really a fan of Vista. Currently, I don’t see the point of it. It’s image catalogging, file copying, disk management and high end video requirements make me pass on this one. Not to mention the ridiculous price of upgrading. I mean, everyone wants a free lunch, but not only is their pricing confusing, it’s just too much.
My 3.0Ghz Hyperthreaded (remember that short lived term?) Windows machine works very well for me. Vista just doesn’t offer any features I feel I need.
But here is an interesting article from Brad Wardell of Stardock/Wincustomize. For those who don’t know, this company produces the WindowsBlinds and Object Desktop Suite of applications which modify/customize the look and feel of Windows. I can’t stand that Blue, Olive or Silver look of XP. I’ve been using WindowBlinds for about 4 years and love the way I can always change the appearance of the desktop, buttons, toolbars, etc.
But apart from Wardell running a company that makes cool toys, these guys really know Windows. They are very heavily involved in the inner workings of the UI and have even been asked by MS to make “skins” and other tools. If anyone can give a true technical and objective review of Windows and software in general, it’s these guys.
You can read the full article here (plus tons of comments):
http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=41979
The 5 mistakes Microsoft made with Vista
#1 The UAC
#2 Windows Vista was shipped before drivers were ready.
#3 The new Start menu.
#4 Unbelievably bad desktop performance.
#5 Upgrade Pricing is a joke.
I think MS needs to take a look at how Adobe handled the beta and release of Lightroom. I know there is a difference between an OS and an app, but Adobe wanted everyone to try it, so they made it available to everyone. They pressed for feedback, like and dislikes and really wanted to make their new app shine. And they did a great job. It was met with high praise and they quickly followed it up with an update to continue to address concerns.
Like I said, Vista is a hell of a lot bigger than Lightroom and does substantially more, but if MS wants to release apps people want they need to start getting out there in the hands of the people. If they were to offer public betas where you could just download it and Microsoft assumes no damage or liability for it’s use, the next version of Windows would be so much better, faster and tighter it would be unbelievable!
Microsoft is not releasing software to high praise anymore, it’s being release to criticism and ill will.