The Toys just keep on coming...

It's a jungle out there, especially if you are a gadget freak like me. Every day there seems to be a new "must have" or a replacement for the previous must have that you bought last year. This month has seen both.

After a disappointing start with Apple's announcement at the start of the month - effectively giving the new Ipod touch a lick of paint rather than the 64 GByte upgrade I wanted - the gadget scene has just got a lot better.

I have decided to take a foray into geotagging, that means loading GPS data into your RAW camera files so that they can be displayed on mapping software like Google Earth. After about a week of research assisted by my time away in London I chose the Garmin Etrex Venture HC which as you will see has a colour screen and uploads GPS data to my PC. This data synchronises with the camera files and the file is tagged with the GPS data. - Cool uh?

Most importantly however is the long awaited announcement of the replacement for the Canon EOS 5D (which I have). It's the 5D MkII and it looks like a great camera with features such as 21.2 MP and the ability to record 1080p HD Video. Not released until November I am very keen to see this "in the flesh". Typically we make expensive purchases in the Winter when we are bored and the weather isn't so good so there may be some activity in the early part of next year. 

No trip to the boat show this year which under the circumstances is probably a good thing...

Mobile Computing just got smaller...and Cheaper

Laptops have been around fro quite some time now and they are getting lighter and faster all the time.

I have been considering a laptop for some time but needed an excuse to buy one - well I do have a works PC and 2 desktops. The opportunity arose recently when I found out about the Advent 4211. as you will see its a "net book" which means its typically lacking on power compared to the latest laptops but really portable. The reviews are good and the price was too.

Since buying it I have upgraded the memory, installed a  few pieces of software including Google Chrome, Open Office and Picassa. The plan is to use the PC on holiday to download and view my photos, surf the Internet check my emails and make the odd VOIP call. The 80 gig Hard Drive helps to store all the piccies I intend to take in Egypt and New Zealand.

In fact I'm typing this blog on it whilst watching TV (the excuse for the typo's).

Other accessories include a case and an MS mouse - Nice

Been away quite a bit recently Sunderland and London over the past two weeks but the coming work is a little quieter. Poor weather has impacted on the sailing so its been a case of playing around on the computer (the desktop too) and I have noticed that there are a lot more applications that written specifically for 64 bit PC's - which is what I run at the moment and hopefully use a little more of that 8 GByte of memory that's lurking in the machine.

Finally been playing with Magic Packets which has allowed me to put my computer (in the loft) to sleep and wake it up again by sending a special data packet to it. This means that I can put it on standby when I'm not using it and help save the planet.

Finally, Finally the next post may well contain a comment or two about the new Canon 5D replacement (allegedly) it follows around 18 months of speculation over the specification (21 MP) and lot's of other goodies. Of course I don't need to change my camera - after all there is nothing wrong with the one I have already...