Blog of Hamlesh

I’ve been unhappy with the standard flash on my camera for a while now, and from time to time find myself in dire need of a flash gun which can be pointed at the ceiling (think indoor shots, no natural light, etc). Instances of need however are not frequent enough for me to invest in a Nikon SB-600 (yet), but they are frequent enough to be a cause of great irritation and sleepless nights.  Ok, perhaps not sleepless nights, but you know what I mean.

So, while looking around the shed for a hammer (all 3 of my hammers seem to have grown legs – don’t ask!), I came across an old flash gun that I picked up many many years ago from eBay for a few quid.

(Yes I know its a rubbish photo, taken using my phone)

After excitedly fitting it to my camera, I decided that its “intelligence” was very limited, and I mean VERY limited!  There was also no way to point it upwards – so out came the cardboard, scissors and sticky tape.

Ta da   I’ve set it to full power manual mode, the camera can only tell it when to trigger, but at least its brighter than the standard flash, and its firing light upwards.

Here is an early test shot, taken indoors, my desk lamp was the only source of light in the room.

(Isn’t this just a lovely little espresso cup – recent present from the better half)

Ok the shot is blurry, but the result I’m looking for is the gauge and quality of the light, which is spot on (for a cheap little flash gun and some cardboard).

(Odd box of cables and bits I need to put in the shed)

Again the only source of light in the room other than the flash gun is my desk lamp.  I’m somewhat pleased with the result

Naturally, give it a few months and I’ll be blogging about how this setup was rubbish and I invested in an SB-600   Then again, this “natural” hardware progression is the better way to go in my opinion.  Fudge/Bodge it until you know how to use the tools, then get good tools.

• AVG Free Anti-Virus 2008 Released, Much Improved (Windows)
  “Aside from a general interface overhaul and faster performance, the updated anti-virus scanner has added several new features with a focus on web security.”
• Harmony Downloads Album Art for Fullscreen Coverflow (Windows)
  “Freeware application Harmony integrates with your iTunes library to provide an attractive, Coverflow-like interface of your albums.”
• Xobni Beta Now Open to the Public (Windows) <// THIS IS AWESOME!
  “Xobni adds email analytics, better contact cards, fast search, threaded conversations, and more to your Outlook inbox.”
• Cairo-Dock Adds Slick, Custom App-Launching to Linux (Linux)
  “Free utility Cairo-Dock makes a strong showing, not least for its highly-configurable and slick appearance, as well as a good range of plug-ins and third-party applets.”
• OpenOffice 3.0 Beta Now Available, Adds Native OS X Support (All)
  “OpenOffice.org, the free office application suite, has released a beta of its 3.0 version to the public with a few key features rolled in.”
• PandoraBoy Brings Streaming Radio to Your Desktop (Mac)
  “Free, open source application PandoraBoy pulls the popular streaming internet radio site Pandora out of your browser and integrates it with your Mac desktop.”

Web site Linux.com offers a few tips for taking advantage of the second Ethernet port on the back of your computer. For example, in Linux you can bond your two ports for load balancing and fault tolerance.

…bonding [combines] both of the computer’s interfaces into a single interface…. The OS can alternate which interface it uses to send traffic, or it can gracefully fail over between them in the event of a problem. You can even use it to balance your traffic between multiple wide area network (WAN) connections, such as DSL and cable, or dialup and your next door neighbor’s unsecured Wi-Fi.

Most new computers come packed with a perplexing abundance of Ethernet ports—that is to say, two. But with a little know-how on your Linux box, you can get a whole lot more from them. The article focuses on Linux, but if you’ve found a use for your second Ethernet port on your Windows or Mac PC, let’s hear about it in the comments.

What can you do with a second Ethernet port? [Linux.com]

Blue Lock is a free and open source application for Windows, that monitors the proximity of your Bluetooth phone or device and automatically locks your computer whenever it’s out of range (e.g., you’ve walked away from your computer). The usefulness will depend on the strength of your Bluetooth devices, since it’s not really going to do its job if you’ve got a strong signal and receiver that keeps a connection from across the office. But if it works well with your Bluetooth devices, Blue Lock provides a simple way to keep your computer secure when you step away for a few seconds but forget to hit Win-L.