Archive for January, 2007

If you regularly read the news on this site, you know that I am not fully in favor of buying an OS software that could well be more expensive than the computer holding it (more than 500€ for the richer version of Vista). But I did not expect the announcement made by Alex St. John, chief executive of video game producer WildTangent.

Security went to the front line while developing Vista (who could complain?), but this comes against functionality. And video games are definitely sensitive applications because they include so many different functions. In-game saving may become difficult with the presence of the Rights Management feature of Vista, game network features will soon become a nightmare and ESRB video game classification (allowing total control for parents over what their children can or can’t do on their computer) has decided to deny games already installed or not yet rated (the vast majority).

Again: I advise you not to rush to install the yet-to-be-sweetened Vista…

Origin: TG daily.

For those of you who want to know where technology-based content protection is naturally leading:

Thanks to XKCD.

In the spotlight: Sony Alpha 900 Canon EOS 5D Mk II Download Nero for free Azureus configuration

Wallpapers? You’re probably wondering how I could drop as low as writing about a wallpaper website. Usually they are either bad and ugly, or ridden with so many ads that you can’t find the wallpapers. Usually, they are both at the same time.

Now there is a change. Digital Blasphemy is the web site of Ryan Bliss, a real 3D artist using the best rendering software and a very imaginative mind. The result? Amazingly beautiful images that bring a brand new colour to your desktop.

It just happens that these images make glorious wallpapers.

Most wallpapers are available in many different resolutions to ensure top-quality whatever happens. Some are completely free to download.

Sometimes, it is a bit difficult to identify the difference between two digital cameras. But, when it comes to fast mechanics, it is easy to hear and see the difference between an entry-level amateur camera like the Nikon D70 or D80 and the professional camera of a Nikon D2X. Just look for yourself.

Thanks to TomPolen.

Going from one version to the newest for a software program like WordPress that I rely upon to operate this web site is not necessarily difficult, but it is always a bit safer to work smoothly, orderly and slowly rather than rushing into the dark.

I started by updating all the plugins I use to enhance WordPress. After checking that they were compatible with WP2.1 or that they had a new version compatible with it, I went and downloaded them before installing them one after the other. I could immediately detect an issue with WP-Polls and I invalidated it after a few seconds to secure the quality of the visits (knowing that there us not yet any online polls, it wouldn’t create problems for the visitors).

Then, from a safe situation, I could download WordPress v2.1 and install it separately. Importantly enough, there are plenty of details about how to make a safe upgrade, right in the download page.

Following the instructions was fairly fail-safe and, apart from a minute of file uploading, there was no real impact on the operation.

I believe that each and every Excel user already met the case where they open a file to receive a message dialog box announcing that there is a macro in the file and asking whether or not Excel should allow its execution. Unfortunately, in 99% of the cases, there is actually no macro and you may wonder how to stop this message (whatever you answer to the dialog box, it will come again and again).

But, today, I bring you the answer, the solution, the way out. (more…)

It may be only an oddity, but didn’t you already wondered where exactly lied the oil of Arab countries? Maybe not, but here is anyway the map of oil and gas around the Persian Gulf.

Some of you may have already seen it on TV or in a theater, but here comes to Google the work of Picasso painting. All is converted into a time-lapse video that gives a very nice feeling about how the great painter was working.

Flying bees shot in macrophoto on BeeDreams.com.

Some people seem to have wondered what plugins I am using to extend the basic functionality of WordPress. So here goes the list:

• AdSense Deluxe to help me handle Google AdSense advertising and some table inclusions in the posts.
• Akismet to protect Roumazeilles.net against comment SPAM.
• WP-email to allow users to email a copy of posts.
• WP-Polls to include polls on the site (may not be ready yet when this is published; Be patient).
• Keywords to ease the management of these meta tags in posts.
• WP-DB-Backup to allow easy backups of the web site database.

Plenty of others are available, but those one make the great WordPress much better on my web site.

Posts about EOS 40D: EOS 40D initial scoop All of them

This time, this is for sure. Canon leaked information about the new D-SLR on its Hong-Kong web site. No technical data (only an empty page with the interesting name), but the name is now confirmed. We are probably only a few hours/days from real data coming from Canon.

After less than 24 hours, Canon replaced the contents with a good old description of the EOS 400D.

You certainly heard about this most-symbolic meal of Japanese culture. They are probably nearly all what we, Westerners, know about Japanese food. However, I offer you to discover -or re-discover- them through a video -dubbed in Japanese- that will make their taste ring under the discreet humor of Japanese people.