Life & Technology

 

 

Spoke with Steve about the different plans both the Government and opposition are offering with regard to the NBN. Without going into all the gory details and boring you to death, it comes down to this: The government is offering up $45 billion that will more or less cover everybody with great speeds. The opposition is offering up $8 billion, and not everybody will have access to the high speeds. At the end of the day it comes down to either:

1)      Expensive and everybody has speed

2)      Cheaper but not as much speed.

Dave wanted to know about the iPhone 4, and about the business of the antenna playing up. The only way I could see if there were antenna problems was squeezing the bejesus out of it, and only then did it drop a receiving bar. I like the iPhone and I don’t use one because it is not as good to use overseas as other units.

Sam has an iPhone and was wondering about compatibility if he bought overseas. You have to make sure the frequency will work on our networks, so it should be OK.

Barbara was wondering about advice on digital radios for the visually impaired. While I don’t know of any that are produced specifically for that market, both Yamaha and Pure digital do produce some good units. I’m sure there will be something suitable in their product ranges for the visually impaired.

Not was not happy with ADSL 2 speeds so he has cut back to ADSL and is very happy. He had a T-box and the speed were not up to scratch so he had to give it back. He also wanted to know about the HTC Wildfire. It has a lot less features than most smartphones, but is also a lot cheaper, so it depends on what you want.

Bob wanted to change from Optus to TPG, but was told he would have to join up for the TPG’s $1 phone line rental promotion  but was told that it would take them five weeks to set him up. He wasn’t happy about it, but I’m unsure as to why there is a waiting period.

Sharon said that when she set up her broadband wifi it is affecting the television signal. There is no technical reason why it would affect it because the wifi signal is a lot lower than the television signal. Although it appeared

 

Sarah Harris from the Today ran a piece on Format Wars – VHS vs BETA, Blu-ray vs HD-DVD and music discs vs MP3s. I was asked to comment and pointed out that the best technology didn’t necessarily win through, but the best marketing plan did.

Check it out…

 

Spoke with Karl this morning about the different types of camera you can get depending on your different needs.

First up we looked at the Canon IXUS 300 HS, which is a compact camera. Compact cameras are popular because they are usually pretty small and can fit nicely into a travel bag. Most take good pictures, and quite a few have good video capability. Most importantly, these types of cameras are the most affordable.

Next we looked at the Samsung NX10 hybrid unit. A hybrid camera is a compact camera, but with some DSLR features. What is a DSLR? This is a digital single lens reflex camera, which in layman’s terms means it has a better sensor, most choices of aperture and ISO – in other words more features to help you refine your picture taking experience. So, a hybrid takes the small form factor of a compact and adds a few features. It must be noted that these are not fully featured units like the DSLR.

Next was the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 digital camera, which fits into the fast-growing ‘tough’ category. These types of camera usually have some pretty decent technology under the hood, but they are also waterproof, dustproof, shockproof and can handle cool temperatures generally down to about -10 degrees Celsius. As mentioned, they do have a few features you’d find on the DSLR and compact cameras, but they are designed to take the knocks as well.

Then we looked at the mother of all lens, Nikon’s Nikkor 600mm, which comes in at about $17,000. This beauty is designed for professionals, but we wanted to showcase some of the more intricate and top-end technology that is available and the lengths some photographers will go to to get that perfect shot.

Finally we look at the more reasonably priced Nikkor 18-55mm VR lens, which is a good product for any budding photographer who likes a bit more detail in their shots. This is especially true of the increasing number of people who are taking up photography as a hobby.

Three Tips

1. Flash cards: These are important and can be up to 8GB in size. They are a form of storage that can be put into a camera. This allows you to save more pics and video files than can be stored on the camera itself.

2. Cheap camera – cheap shots. If you buy a cheap camera don’t expect your pictures to come out like they been taken by Herb Ritts of Annie Leibovitz. There is a reason they are cheap – sensors and lenses are not as good quality as some of the pricier models.

3. 2-in-1 are now the future of cameras – a camera that offers both still and video is now the norm. With HD video and more than 14 megapixels available on some compacts and most DSLRs, the day of the point-and-shoot only camera is well on the way out