Okay, count me as officially curious. I’m a huge fan of iLife and will auto-purchase whatever they release. Now tell me there’s something new and mysterious? Well, you know I like that! What could it be?
The talk is of greater Facebook integration. That sounds good. May there will be a new social media app that provides a one-stop publisher to all social media? Can’t wait to find out.
After delaying the upgrade for a bit, I finally gave into the temptation. It turned out to be quite a good deal. If you buy Lightroom with Photoshop CS5, you get a 30 percent discount. Add in the additional 15 percent discount for being a National Association of Photoshop Professionals member and it is a really good deal!
As far as the review of the software, I think the adjustments are much improved in version 3. The noise reduction and sharpening tools are great. They’ve also added a ton more presets in the development module. I’ve been a heavy Lightroom user since the first beta. Finally, the program is starting to feel mature and highly useful. I would say, “Go for it!”
Day on the National Mall by Dave McNally Photography
I shot this after a long, hot walk on the National Mall carrying my son on my shoulders and my camera gear in a backpack. It turns out the walk was worth the effort.
| Camera: | NIKON D200 |
| Exposure: | 1/40 |
| Aperture: | f/3.5 |
| Focal Length: | 60 mm |
| Exposure Bias: | 0 EV |
| ISO Speed: | 160 |
| Flash: | No Flash |
Niagara Falls 2010 by Dave McNally Photography
I hadn’t visited the Falls since I was a child. What a spectacular site and a great day to view them again!
| Camera: | NIKON D200 |
| Exposure: | 1/1000 |
| Aperture: | f/7.1 |
| Focal Length: | 60 mm |
| Exposure Bias: | 0 EV |
| ISO Speed: | 250 |
| Flash: | No Flash |
Shot entirely on my iPhone 3GS and edited in Apple iMovie! What a great day!
Convenient, yes. But when you see shots like this appear on your Flickr page, you just have to grin. Patrick, our 4-year-old, has no idea he automatically uploaded this photo to the Internet!
Technology … You gotta love it!
We upgraded our iPhone 3GS’s to version 4 last night. Installation was not seamless. We got error messages multiple times, uploading from two different Macs! Finally, after using the Restore option several times, the upgrade finally took.
I also upgraded an iPod Touch with the same install challenges.
Regardless, the new software is worth the headaches. I’m digging the new Folders for organizing like apps. The multitasking is cool too. Double tap the home key and you get a dock at the bottom of the screen. Slide your finger across the dock to select from your running apps. Also cool, if you are running a song, you can access the controls for pause/play forward and back right there in the dock … Even with Pandora!
I’m sure I’ll have more observations, but I’ll give the folks at Apple a thumbs up despite the clumsy installation!
That was quite a thunderstorm last night. This was what we saw from our deck before the rain came.
The latest talk is all about how “Google leapfrogged Apple.” Yeah, right. The best comment so far:
Googgle = 1,000 different directions, all Beta, all half-baked.
Apple = 10 directions, all polished, all complete.
We’ve been huge fans of Apple TV since we bought the first version in 2007. It does exactly what it says it does. No fuss. We subscribe to various shows, rent movies, or even buy them. The content is available throughout our Apple ecosystem (i.e., family room, desktops, laptops, iPods and iPads).
The competition will surely be good for Apple. I hardly think they’ve squandered the technology lead. One software update later, and Apple TV may be more open to Internet content. We can browse YouTube now!
Until Google starts releasing some hardware that gets actual traction (unlike their failed phone), what we are left with is smoke and carnival mirrors.
Effortlessly uploaded by Eye-Fi
The new Eye-Fi card will take photos in my Nikon D200, however it won’t wirelessly upload. Turns out the company doesn’t support adapter cards. But, all is not lost. I popped the SD card in our Canon Digital Elph and it immediately uploaded all images to Flickr and my laptop wireless — and fast! How cool is that? Looks like I’m going to try and sell my D200 and buy an SD-card based Nikon DSLR in the future!
