News

January 2005

Internet Explorer for blind people: a software program (Read-E) able to read aloud documents and web sites.

CD Burner XP Pro: One of the very few freeware programs able to burn a CD-R or DVD-R with the new CD/DVD burner you just bought for a nice bargain price but without any software.

Dynax 7D tip #3 : In order to ease handling of the files generated by your DSLR when transfered to your computer (without the need of renaming them all), I advise you to set the File number memory.

Set File # memory On.

1€ MP3 albums: All legal download on the russian web site of AllOfMP3.com.

Dynax 7D tip #2: My prefered recording format for images stored on the 1GB card: Raw+Jpeg_Fine; It costs some memory space but gives a combination of features fairly balanced between a high quality original (the Raw image is the digital equivalent of the original negative) and an easily usable image file (the Jpeg image).

Dynax 7D: My very first images have been taken on a sunday afternoon in Bois de Boulogne (Paris). For once, I'll provide full resolution images and not only 800*600 copies.

Dynax 7D tip #1: In order to increase slightly battery life, you may want to switch off the Anti-Shake (AS) feature. But it would be a shame since this is pure magic. You can use nearly any speed and keep a stable image (actually it's 2 stops more ;-).

Dynax 7D: I finally got mine! The Postal Service delivered my new Digital Single Lens Reflex from Konica-Minolta. You'll read more later here and you may see some photos if they are of good-enough quality.

HalfLife2: A Christmas gift I started only a few days after clearing headaches and alcohol from my system; Finished today in "Easy" mode. My first comments:

The images are really impressive.
It is really fun to play (Notice: Learning lessons are spread around and not all stuffed in the beginning of the game).
Adversaries are really tough as should be expected from the sequel of Half Life.
Friendly units behave very realistically. You need them in some parts. Not good!
The scenario is sufficiently long in solo mode. The complexity is enough to provide varied forms of fun (without need the - ugly - visit of Xen the ET planet of Half Life 1).
Loading times (between levels or at each step are abnormally long: between 45s and 2mn!).
Difficulty is adequate, ammunitions are fairly easy to find but need to be spared a little (shoot to the head!)
I hate snipers: They are deadly and very difficult to kill.
The overall feeling of street combats in the last third of the game is really nice and stressful for a IA-based game (Gunshots everywhere; Beware of stray bullets; You'd believe this is a movie).

The game is obviously recommended to any PC action game (First Person Shooter).

My best wishes for 2005: and thanks for your visits here.

The next big P2P: When you speak about file-sharing in P2P mode, it seems that the giant to follow today is BitTorrent. But it has a significant weakness: the trackers are its clay feet (in terms of performance as well as robustness). Here comes a miracle cure, the solution to all problems: Exeem is currently in closed beta-test with 5000 users. The solution?

iBiblio: The public's library and digital archive.

Shell extension city is the right place to look for those little technical gems that make your MS-Windows more powerful, more pleasant, better looking (and maybe a little less stable, sometimes).

Murphy's law origin: You certainly heard about this law of nature that says that if something can go wrong, it will. Probably, you did not know who was Murphy, but I believe this is a problem solved by this paper and it tells an interesting tale of American technical adventure.

Steganography: the science of hiding in plain sight: A good paper introducing to this rather difficult (and often misrepresented) science of hiding useful data into an image or sound file while maintaining it apparently unmodified.

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January 2005

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