Posts Tagged iPhone
If a picture paints a Thousand words?
Posted by Mark Dalton in Personal, Technology on February 5th, 2010
For a long time now I have been slowly drawn into the field of Digital Photography and more recently Digital Video. I don”t have any great artistic leaning, or for that matter skill but I do like the idea of capturing memories. It wasn”t until I returned from India that I realised that looking at a picture only reminded me of the event but didn”t convey anything more to others. Take for example the day we stopped at traffic lights in New Delhi. A normal day, the normal sounds, and the normal chaos of horns beeping and young children running between the cars trying to sell there wares before the lights changed. When all of a sudden I look out of the car window to see an Elephant standing at the traffic lights next to the car. I smiled as my driver said “Elephant Sir!”, like I had never seen one. Well, he was half right, I have never seen one stopped at traffic lights. As the lights changed I saw the little man sat on his back. He had no cane, no whip, 
and no saddle. This fellow was just sat high up there on the elephants back, almost asleep. The elephant didn”t need any instruction when the lights changed, its like he knew!
The photo I took was out of the back side window and the elephant is clear to see. Now I remember what happened but anybody else looking at the picture would just see a photo of an elephant taken out of a car window. It was this that attracted me to the idea of digital video. On one of my trips back to the UK I purchased a Sony HandyCam (HDR-SR7).
This is a great camera but is still a little big to carry around every day just incase you see something interesting. All is not lost however as technology hasn”t stood still. In fact it has moved on in leaps and bounds. Now just before Christmas I was in Liverpool and Don McAllister had a new toy, the Kodak Zi8. He had brought it to play around with an idea he had for YouTube and was putting it through its paces. At the time we all had a look at it, discussed it strengths and weaknesses, and then forgot about it. Well, it wasn”t until a couple weeks ago when it snowed heavy I thought it would be great to get some video footage. I did this without any problem at all using the Sony HandyCam, but got me thinking about the Zi8, and in the end I ended up ordering one.
Well, I have been playing around with it for a couple of weeks now and I must say I am quite impressed. Some of the issues we had discussed in Liverpool have subsequently been fixed by way of a firmware update and it now goes everywhere with me. So watch this space for some hopefully interesting video footage in the near future.
Technical Specifications.
Sensor type: 1 / 2.5–type 5 MP CMOS
Lens: 6.3 mm, f/2.8, fixed focus lens. 35 mm equivalent: 61 mm (1080p), 46 mm (720p/60 fps, 720p, WVGA), 42 mm (still)
Zoom: 4X digital
Display: 2.5–type LCD
Storage: 128 MB internal memory*, SD/SDHC card expansion slot
Focus modes: normal, macro;Focus range: normal: 100 cm–infinity. macro: 15 cm
White balance: auto
File formats: video: H.264 (MOV), AAC LC, still: JPEG
Capture mode: 1080p (1920 × 1080, 30 fps),720p/60 fps (1280 × 720, 60 fps),720p (1280 × 720, 30 fps),WVGA (848 × 480, 30 fps),Still (5.3 MP, 16:9 widescreen, interpolated)
Microphone: yes (monaural)
Speaker: yes
I/O interface: USB 2.0 (high speed), AV out, HDMI, DC in, external microphone jack (support stereo)
Tripod mount: 1/4 in. standard
Power: KODAK Li-Ion Rechargeable Digital Camera Battery KLIC-7004, AC adapter;Dimensions: 62.0 × 113.2 × 21.5 mm (2.4 × 4.5 × 0.9 in.)
Weight: 110 g (3.9 oz) without batteries
Flight Contol
Posted by Mark Dalton in Fun on May 3rd, 2009
So like most iPhone owners I struggle to stay away from the App Store but every now and again just can’t help myself. This weekend after hearing a number of people talking about it I went ahead an purchased “Flight Control” from Firemint and I haven’t been able to put it down since.
The game is extremely simple in terms of understanding the aim, which is to land the four different type of aircrafts (Helicopter, Light weight plane, and two types of passenger jet) by dragging a flight path to there respective landing area’s which are signified by there colour.
My highest score currently stand’s at 62, which is sad given the fact that the highest score logged stands at an impressive 4442.
The game allows you to save your scores to an online tracking board over at CloudCell which is a nice addition, if a little frustrating when you see some of the scores that people are achieving. There is also a forum, which is still in its early days but people are already starting to share tips and strategies. [($0.99 / £0.59) App Store Link]
Not much of anything
Posted by Mark Dalton in Personal, Work on November 1st, 2008
Well, I have not been posting much recently for one simple reason, I haven’t been doing much. The last few weeks seem to have been nothing but work. Not that work has been really busy, well not any busier than normal, but I have just felt really tired, and by the time I get in have made myself some dinner all I feel like doing is vegging out in front of the TV.
Last Sunday I did however venture around to Mum & Dad’s for Sunday lunch, which was really nice, but we were all really tired and not much company. This week it has been really cold, it even snowed on Wednesday morning. The highlight this week was ordering and receiving a case for my iPhone. I opted for a case from Griffin via Amazon and I must say it’s just the ticket. I was starting to get a little worried about it getting scratched in my pocket.
Today I have decided, as it’s to cold outside, to have a day inside and catch up with some house stuff. I have been working on scanning all my old paper work onto the computer, and clearing out my “toy” cupboard and eBaying the items that may have some value. Not exactly the height of excitement but it needs doing.
Tomorrow I am off to Katrina’s with Mum & Dad for Sunday Lunch. It will be good to all be together and to see the kids again. As for next week its back to the grind, but I have promised myself that I will clean out the toy cupboard and the scanning work by Christmas, so will try and spend a few hours each evening working on these projects.
I am also looking into completing my Day Skipper sailing qualification next year and am currently looking into courses. The aim is to do the theory and then do the practical at the same time as Dad does is Competent Crew course.
Poor Service
Posted by Mark Dalton in Personal on October 18th, 2008
Okay so one thing that drives me nuts is poor customer service. So on my recent trip to Criccieth in North Wales, a trip that was difficult to start with as it was for my grandmothers funeral, I booked myself into what looked a good hotel, The George IV. My experience however was a nightmare. On checking in they claimed to have no booking for me, when I stated I had booked it over the phone and received email confirmation I was told that this was impossible as they didn’t have email. I pulled out my iPhone and pulled up my email and showed them the email I had received, oh they said yes she does have “the email”. They then asked how I would like to pay, I once again showed them the email and how it stated that I had paid in advance.
After checking in I was advised that the room wasn’t ready and it would be an hour or so, my mind being else where I asked if I could leave my luggage. They agreed I could leave it in the room, and sat there and pointed me in the direction of the lift. Well, I should have known at this point that I was in for a bad experience but as I said, my mind was elsewhere.
The lift looks like it was very much an afterthought and was more representative of a broom cupboard than anything else. I opted to struggle up the two flights of the stairs and found my way down the narrow corridors to the room.
The room was basic, but I didn’t intend on spending much time in it so I dropped off my bag and then made my way to my Nan’s house.
Later that evening I made my back to the hotel and was in desperate need of a beer and headed for the bar with my laptop to catch up on email. I was just settling into my second pint when I felt a drip on my neck. Before I knew it the staff were running in with buckets as water started to pour through the light fittings.
I quickly grabbed my laptop and placed it in its case. I asked the staff what was going on and they simply shrugged. I asked to see the manager and this disheveled Italian man appeared. I asked what was going on and if it was safe and it assured me that it was a small leak and suggested I go to bed and not worry about it. I told him that I wasn’t convinced and that water and electricity generally didn’t work well together and asked him to reassure me that it was safe. At this point he lost it and ordered me to go to bed. I wasn’t persuaded but headed to my room. When I saw that not only was water dripping through the light fitting in my room, but it had gone all over the suit that I was due to wear to the funeral I completely lost it. I collected my belongings and left.
I checked myself into the Marine Hotel and I received a lovely welcome. I explained what had happened and they looked knowingly at me. I had a fantastic stay there and the couple that run it were very pleasant and accommodating. The hotel itself was lovely and clean, and the rooms were very homely and comfortable. The price was significantly less that the George, and breakfast was included.
eMail woe’s resolved.
Posted by Mark Dalton in Personal on September 19th, 2008
So the problems I have been having with forwarding me email finally seem to be resolved. The MobileMe Support team have added my ISP’s email servers to there white lists and email forwarding is finally working.
Family Photo Archive Project
Photos (view gallery)
