Month: January 2009

Comparing Win7 and WinVista

On By Asian EdIn Computers and Internet, Windows 7Leave a comment
After using Win7 for a couple of weeks, I’ve started finding things that are subtle differences from Vista. Beyond the obvious changes like the Superbar and sidebar, a couple of other things caught my eye. Here are just a couple I’ve stumbled upon:
 
The first thing I noticed was changes in MSPaint. For the first time since Windows 95, Paint has a new look! Not only did it get a facelift, but it also has a bunch of newly added editing features. Most of these are fairly rudimentary, but are welcome nonetheless (crop image, anyone?)
 
Paint in Vista
 
Paint in Win 7
 
Next thing I noticed was Calculator. Vista calc is on the left and 7 calc is on the right. Again, mostly a facelift, but includes new features like unit conversion, date dalculation, and a mortgage calculator (all found under the options menu). Also included are a scientific mode, programmer mode (for logic, base conversion, etc.) and statistics mode.
 
         
 
Another subtle change is in the performance rating. Notice the new statement about the WinEI range. The value for each stat now maxes out at 7.9 (previously 5.9). Not really sure if this means much, but it’s neat nonetheless.
 
 
Lastly, the consolidation of the Add hardware, Printers, and Scanners and Cameras control panels make for an easier one-stop-shop for managing connected devices without digging into the device manager.
 

Breaking in the new camera

On By Asian EdIn Computers and InternetLeave a comment
Over the past week, I’ve done a decent job experimenting with the new camera and seeing what it can do. It’s the first camera I’ve had with so many buttons and settings, so it’s taken some time for me to figure out what everything does. I’ve also done some more experimenting with Photosynth and I think I’m really starting to get the hang of it. The most recent attempts have been scoring 90%+ Synthy, with 2 of them at a nice 100%.
 
These are a couple of synths that I’ve done so far:
 
Each synth has a corresponding album with other shots in the photo gallery. Check it out!

New Camera!

On By Asian EdIn Computers and InternetLeave a comment

Yesterday marked the arrival of my new camera, a Canon PowerShot SX10. It’s far more feature rich than the PowerShot SD1100 it’s supplementing, including adjustments for manual focus, aperture, and shutter speed. It also has a really neat face-detect self timer, which sets the timer as soon as an additional face is detected (useful for giving the photographer time to get into a group shot).

What better way to break in a new camera than to do a photo shoot? Check out a sample of the pictures taken here. My personal favorite is the one with Alicia-san and my cat. She managed to sit up there on her own and it took a good 15 attempts to get one that actually looked decent. Cats can have very low attention spans and can be easily distracted by camera shutter clicks…