Back then, film was, for a lack of a better word, a scarce commodity. Pressing the shutter button will take you to a point of no return where the image will be permanently “engraved” with no option of do-overs. Every time light is shone at layers of silver halide emulsions on a 35mm strip of acetate, it felt like one was burning money. Back then in order to see your shots, you had to have them processed and printed which pushed the cost further. Suffice to say, it wasn’t cheap, destructive and left a lot of us skimping on pictures.

Sometime in the mid-late 90s, digital cameras were introduced. It enabled everyone to take as much photos as they like without having to go into a second mortgage. Unlike film, if you didn’t like what you see, you can always reach for the delete button.

This will not be an argument on which takes better photos. I believe that both film and digital have their own strengths and weaknesses and it’s all a matter of how one can milk them both for what they’re worth. This, however will be about how most of us deal taking photos with both. I will be straightforward and might offend some people so I apologize in advance. I will also be telling this with a consumer’s point of view, so professionals and advanced amateurs don’t count (as they obviously know what the hell they’re doing anyway).

Back in the film days, like I said, everyone wasn’t about to waste precious shots on film. So they were very conscious about composition, and all that stuff in order to make the most out of the shot. They read manuals, framed shots evenly (I know my folks did) and some even cared about lighting and exposure. You can say that everyone had an eye for photography in one way or another because one just can’t afford to ruin a shot.

Then digital came. People suddenly took as much photos as they like and cover up any screw up with that little thing called a “delete” button. Yes, we can finally take tons of snapshots and chuck the unwanted ones. Photography has become a game of chance. The more you press that shutter button, the more odds of you getting that good shot.

Unfortunately, this caused most people to become n00bs at it. No one cared about the fundamentals of photography anymore(most don’t even have the slightest wee bit of idea on it). The only criteria now in order for one to be called a photographer is being able to hold the camera at eye-level, and knowing how to press the shutter button. You may think that pressing the shutter button is simple enough, but apparently, it’s not. Nobody cared to know that pressing it halfway before taking the shot lets it focus on the subject first. When they see how blurry the shot is, they turn to the camera then blame it for not “having enough megapixels(I actually had someone tell me that).” Everybody’s photographic skills have been dumbed down to your average bowel movement and is going down the drain. (This is what we all get for not reading the friggen manual.)

Digital cameras have undoubtedly got everyone into photography, since it’s much more affordable. It has also been more convenient to view and share images. But, let’s not forget the basics. Do yourself a favor and go the extra mile of at least knowing how your digital camera works and how to take good photos from it. You don’t need an uber ’spensive high end DSLR to take good photos. It’s just a tool. 90% of the time it’s all in the skill.

Not anymore.

Valve, the game developer/publisher behind the Half Life Series, Left 4 Dead series, and many more, announced that Steam and the Source engine will soon be available on Mac OS X.

Valve has also announced a new Steam feature called “Steam Play” which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, together with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac.

It may just be one developer, but it’s a start. Other developers will most probably follow. To all Mac haters out there, have fun using the “Macs can’t play games” argument while it lasts.

I called up Smart, my ISP and I was scheduled to get a visit from the tech at 2pm on Friday.  Surprisingly, they did come albeit being an hour late. Finally I get to have my Internet back! Not quite. They came over to my house to replace the power adapter but the thing is, they didn’t bring the goddamn part! Seriously, how the hell can you possibly forget to bring something when it’s the ONLY reason as to why you’re coming over to my house in the first place? IDIOTS!

Moving on, they took the busted adapter with them and scheduled for a second visit at 9am the next day to finally replace it with a new one. So I reluctantly gave them some consideration and agreed for a second visit. I said to myself; “After this rather embarrassing situation, I think they’d do everything to set things right. Right?” Wrong. They never came and I had to call up Smart (Which by now I strongly believe is getting a bit tad ironic) only to realize they had it scheduled to January 18^th without me knowing it. To make the long story short, I still don’t have my Internet back as I’m writing this little rant of mine and I’m also starting to get broke by being on 3G.

Fortunately, it turns out that my contract will end on February 3^rd when I asked the guy on the line. Now, I’m not going to have any second thoughts of terminating my subscription and switching to another ISP. Thanks for relieving me of that dilemma Smart Bro!

But I don’t wanna look like a snobbish selfish prick so I believe I should be careful with what I say here.
First of all, I like getting gifts. No doubt about that. And as much as I would like to give back, I don’t have the money nor the resources to do so. Neither do I have the talent/skill/inspiration to make artsy/crafty crap that people make in lieu of something with market value.

Every Christmas, I’ve been asked by people what I want. But social protocol dictates that you let the giver choose the gift, while you cross your fingers that he/she will get you something that you will really really like or really really need. Unfortunately it doesn’t always work that way.

So without further ado, here is my top-10 wish list for C-Mas ‘09.

1. A new pair of Sony headphones – my current one’s has been broken and patched up which i don’t think will last much longer.
2. CDs – I know most people nowadays are getting songs from iTunes and other online music stores, or erm… the dark side, I still prefer it if I had a tangible copy of every music I own which I like to collect. I’m currently eying either Daughtry’s new album (just because it was mixed by my fave mixing engineer; Chris Lord Alge), Paramore’s new album or Flyleaf’s Memento Mori (same mixer).
3. New 3G USB Modem - I know it sucks having to pay for internet on the go when I can get wifi for free, but wifi coverage around here is spotty. Plus, you can’t really automatically switch from hot spot to hot spot as you would normally do with cellular networks, so wifi ain’t an option in a speeding car.
4. 30 Rock Seasons 1 & 2 box set DVDs - I just love that show. It’s probably the best comedy show that doesn’t have a laugh track like sitcoms.
5. A Turntable – VINYL ROCKS!!! ’nuff said.
6. Vinyls – something I can use with my turntable. preferably by Coldplay or Anberlin.
7. Useless knick knacks that I can use as bedroom ornaments – or better called as Novelty items.
8. Books – Novels worth reading. like Dan Brown’s new “The Lost Symbol” or some other best sellers. I like thriller and mystery books. Don’t even dare to get me Twilight crap or I KEEL U!!
9. Cargo Shorts - gotta have the extra pockets!
10. Cash – to save you the trouble of falling in line doing christmas shopping and it’s also something I can feed my piggy bank with.

The current theme is the best one that I could find, and it will be my current theme until I find something better.

Feel free to suggest a good theme if you know of one. My definition of a good theme is:

• Black(or at least dark) and subtle tables
• White Text field background
• Abstract banner header; preferably Neon (think Las Vegas!)

[edit]

I just got a new header banner thanks to Firebucket and to iAlex for some php stuff

VUMeter

So i looked for one on the internet and found the app called “VUMeter”. I know they’re not that creative in naming their software, but who the hell cares anyway?

VUMeter with iTunes

VUMeter is a standalone application for monitoring sound levels on the selected audio device. The app works right out of the zip file which means, there’s no need for installation and setup. It mimics the appearance of an actual VU meter, and not to mention the way how the needles deflect and retract. A right click on the app takes you to options like choosing the sound devices or choosing a VU-dBFS scale.

VUMeter with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)

Usefulness varies depending on what you intend to do with it. For the average user, it can be used as an alternative over that boring old graph and visualizations Windows Media Player has, or whatever media player you use. It can also be used for recording and mixing in the box to measure master outputs. Bottomline is; you can use it for actual sound monitoring, or just for the hell of it.

If you like the app, you can download it here.

The new Macbook Pros as seen from the Apple Online Store

The WWDC opened up with a refresh of the macbooks, with the 13″ now integrated into the MacBook Pro family. And major design updates and features have been on the way starting with the longer life (up to 7 hours of wireless productivity) but non user replaceable battery that has a guaranteed 5 year lifetime, an SD card slot, perfect for photography enthusiasts like me, and backlit keyboard comes standard in all macbook models.

Another significant improvement apple has up its sleeve is that they’ve reintroduced firewire to the 13″ models with firewire 800. Apple also lowered the price points by $100 starting with the cheapest from $1,299 to $1,199, and so on. This price drop has been the most aggressive apple has ever attempted and can actually compete with PCs with more or less the same specs.

A polycarbonate macbook is still available with 2.13GHz of processor.

The Pros come in 2.26GHz and 2.53GHz for the 13″, 2.53GHz, 2.66GHz and 2.8GHz for the 15″ model, and 2.8GHz for the 17″.

The new iPhone 3Gs

This is just in; by the time i’m writing this, I’m watching the WWDC keynote and they just unveiled the new iPhone hardware dubbed the “iPhone 3Gs” Notable features over the current iPhone are, just to name a few:

1. Faster Processor and Media chip speed
2. 3.2MP camera with autofocus and auto exposure
3. Built in Digital compass
4. Voice control
5. Video
6. MMS

so the 4GB rumor wasn’t true, instead, for $99, you get a regular iPhone 3G 8GB, and unlike the rumors, it doesn’t have the front facing camera for video calls.

iPhone 3Gs is available in 16GB and 32GB capacities and will be coming out in June 19th