Hello everybody,

I’ve just got myself a new photo bag. After extensive search on the internet I’ve decided to buy the LowePro SlingShot 100 AWbag.

I wanted this kind of bag because it’s very easy to use/carry. Because of the sling shoot design you can carry it on the back and when you need to take your camera out you just sling it and that’s all. Another thing I like is the you can rest your arms on it when taking photos so you take more stable shoots without a tripod.

My Nikon D60 fits perfectly (so would a D40 / D80 and maybe others) with the 18-55mm lens attached. The interior has velcro pads so you can make it fit your needs. I would guess that you can carry a DSLR camera with an attached lens and have spare room for an extra lens, flash and some other cables, chargers etc.

The bag has a special memory card pocket and a protective cloth to protect the LCD screen.

Another great feature is the all weather skirt which you can mount in seconds and save your precious equipment.

The bag also has 4 sliplock extensions pads where you cand attach different cases to increase the utility and carry capacity of the bag.

Price here: aprox 55 Euro

Official link

Specifications:

Size(Interior):
7.5W X 5.1D X 9.8H in./
19 X 13 X 25 cm

Size(Exterior):
8.1W X 6.7D X 15.7H in./
20.5 X 17 X 40 cm

Weight:
1.59lbs/0.72kg

Photos:

Will at real life photos soon.

I’ve just got myself a new USB stick. Because my old SanDisk Cruzer had only 2GB I decided to replace it with a new 8GB Corsair Voyager stick.

Because I used a lot the U3 application on my old stick I decided to also to install some software on this stick. I chose the WINPENPACK software and I’ve installed the 1 GB pack. Now I have everything I need with me, from IM clients, to OpenOffice, to FTP servers, to graphic software etc.

What I like about this stick is the rubber case which makes it resistant to shocks. The transfer rates are normal (or similar to the 2GB SanDisk Cruzer) nothing spectacular here. The GT version has transfer rates up to 3 times faster then normal USB stick.

And another thing, many people complain that the rubber cap loosens and you can easily lose it. I’ve found out on the official site that you can request more stick caps.

All this said I’m pleased with this stick and I recommend it.

Price: 22 Euro

Link

Emag shop http://www.emag.ro/memorii_usb/flash-pen-corsair-voyager-8gb-usb-20–pCMFUSB2.0-8GB

Corsair Flash Voyager http://www.corsairmemory.com/products/voyager/default.aspx

Request replacement caps http://www.corsair.com/helpdesk/cap_replacement_request.aspx

WinPenPack http://www.winpenpack.com/

A couple of days ago I’ve bought a new camera, a Nikon D60. Although I was considering a D40 after hours of net research I’ve decided that a D60 would be a better solution for me. The price difference between them was approximately 100E.

For around 460 Euro I got a Nikon D60 body + Nikon 18-55 II lens (no VR ) + 2 Gb SD card + Nikon bag + 6 months subscription to National Geographic + BONUS a cleaning cloth and 3 LCD protection screens.

With out turning this into a review I want to mention why I chose the D60 over D40. First of all was the sensor resolution (10 MP vs. 6 MP – I know that I won’t make big prints to use those 10 MP but still …). Then was the dust removal system which I believe could be very useful in some situations. Then followed all the other new features of the D60 (active d-lighting, a stop-motion recording mode, orientation sensor, in camera retouching etc ).

There are 2 thing I don’t like about this camera (but not that necessary ) : only 3 auto focus points and no AEB.

Sample photos (with auto color enhance via GIMP):

Price  – 460 Euro

Link

F64 shop – http://www.f64studio.ro/det.php?id=412&pid=7153

Review DPR http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012910nikond60.asp

I don’t know how to start a description of Paris without using any clichés, but Paris is Paris. Everybody has a general idea about it.

Before leaving I surfed the net for traveling guides and general information. I even saw people creating their itinerary before reaching the destination. Personally I think that the best way to visit Paris is to walk as much as you can and don’t rush to see all the tourist attractions because you will miss the whole feel of the city.

As this was my first trip abroad I don’t have any comparison point except Bucharest (Little Paris as it was once known). But lets start with the beginning.

I’ve booked the hotel (Hotel Paris Villette) online via booking.com with about 2 months in advance. Everything was nice and easy. With about one week before leaving for Paris I’ve sent an email to the hotel to double check my reservation. They responded very promptly and even gave me step by step instruction to reach the hotel. The price was 55Euro/night/double room – total 275 Euros for 5 nights (breakfast not included).

The plane trip was generally OK (there were some delays because of the weather). As I’ve said in an older post the plane tickets were around 500 Euros.

After we landed (the Beauvais airport was closed so we landed on Orly) we took the metro to the hotel. With the help of my GPS (Eten Glofiish X600) I found the hotel right away.

The hotel is very good for anybody who wants to visit the city and just wants a decent place to rest and sleep. The receptionist was very kind and polite and even provided us with a plan, route and timetable to get to the airport.

Without getting into many details here’s what I recommend and what not.
Visit Paris by foot, its the best way to feel the city, don’t rush. If you are tiered or want to go to a place that is far away use the metro (it runs flawlessly). Another thing I liked was to sit at one of the many coffeshops and watch the world go by. I don’t recommend the many museums (unless you are an art fanatic). You will waste much time. Personally I only visited a part of the Louvre.

Go there and have fun.

If you want more information feel free to ask.

Links

Booking http://www.booking.com/

Hotel Paris Villette http://hotel.paris.villette.free.fr/

Blue Air http://www.blueair-web.com/

Airport Beauvais http://www.aeroportbeauvais.com/index.php?lang=eng

Beauvais Airport shuttle http://www.paris-beauvais.fr/

What can I say … It’s a cool game … and no, I’m not a fan of the movie, I only saw 2-3 episodes. I’ve came across it by accident and decided to try it.

The game is split into 7 episodes, has some playable flashbacks and some minigames. You can collect different object and

trade them with some NPC. Also collect all the fuses you can find .

The game has very good graphics, it reproduces many of the shows elements, the jungle is rendered almost perfectly. Also there are some nice sound efects.

The character is easy to control and the moves feel natural. It doesen’t have too many controls which is a plus in my book

.

All and all I guess it’s a must for the show fans but it’s also a good game for the rest.

Pros

-graphic
-story
-sound efects

Cons

-to short (can be finished in under 5 hours)
-the ending (personaly I didn’t get it)
-sometimes when restarting from the last checkpoint the entire video summary is replayed

Minimum Requirements for Lost Via Domus

The game runs perfectly on my new PC, in 1440 x 900 resolution with full details and options.

Supported OS: Windows Vista / XP (only)
Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon MP 2400+ (3.5 GHz Pentium 4/AMD Athlon or 2.5 GHz Core 2 Duo/Athlon 64 X2 recommended)
RAM: 1 GB (2 GB recommended)
Video Card: 128 MB DirectX 9.0c–compliant, Shader 3.0–enabled video card (256MB recommended) (see supported list)*
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c–compliant sound card
DirectX Version: 9.0c (included on disc)
DVD-ROM: 4x DVD-ROM drive
Hard Drive Space: 5 GB
Peripherals Supported: Mouse, keyboard, Windows compliant gamepad or joystick

*Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:
ATI RADEON X1300-1950 /HD 2000 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6600-6800 / 7 / 8 series

Laptop versions of these cards may work but are NOT supported.

These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game.

According to … UBISOFT

First of all I want to say that I’m very pleased with this PDA. It has all I want (GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, touchscreen etc.).

* The screen

The screen is great, it has nice colors and the movies are great. It has a nice sensitivity. I recommend that you buy a 2.8″ protective foil (it was a protective foil in the box but it was too small 2.5″ I think), not only to protect the screen from scratches but it also improves visibility in the sun-light.

* The camera

The x600 has a 2 MP camera. It’s not very good but it’s ok. It has lag updating the image when moving the camera. It doesn’t have a flash (sadly), its worst then other mobile phone cameras but who cares, if you want quality photos use a standalone camera.

* The GPS

The PDA has a GPS receiver with SiRF Star III chipset. I guess that you all’ve heard about this chip set. It connects in about 1 minute, sees plenty of satellites, evens gets some signal from inside the house.

The PDA does not come with any preinstalled navigation software, so I’ve installed iGo 2006 (with updated maps). It works really well, it calculates 200km routes in a couple of seconds, frankly I was surprised .

* The Wi-Fi

Without getting into technical details I want to say that it connects very easily to Wi-Fi networks and has a good speed and signal stregth. I’ve tested it with a couple of routers and free Wi-Fi hotspots.

* The Bluetooth
Not much to say here. Everything works just fine. I use my x600 with a Nokia headset and works just fine.

* Problems
Until now I’ve found 3 problems.
1. The battery life. It lasts 2 days if you don’t use GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and talk about 30min/day. Any thing more than that and the battery life will drop.
2. Minimized applications. This is very annoying. Each time you close an application in fact it is minimized, and if the phone starts to work slowly be sure to check the task manager and close the opened applications. A more permanent solution is to install an application called Magic Button which replaces the close button with one that really closes the programs.
3. Echo. Many people who called me said that they could hear them selfs with echo, there are some solutions for this on the Internet but one of the most simple one is to lower the volume.

* Misc
Many people complain about a 2 second delay between answering a call and actually hearing the other person. Personally I don’t find this disturbing, I just answer the phone and in 1 sec I can speak, it’s just like answering via a bluetooth headset.
I’ve also found some lag when receiving a phone call while the navigation software is active.

Purchase – If you want to buy this phone and it’s not available in your country I can ship it to you for 10% .

full specs here http://www.gsmarena.com/eten_glofiish_x600-2162.php