It has been more than 24 hours since UP has been inaccessible. I am not sure what is happening but I have a hunch that the ISP is down. I hope that someone from the Computer Center is aware of the problem and is actually working on it now. However, I am not sure if the technical staff are still in Manila considering that it is a long weekend (no work until tomorrow).
Anyway, I will continue to monitor this until it goes back online.
I never install software that comes with digital cameras. However, this time, I decided to install the software only for its RAW file format support. I thought that iPhoto supports RAW format natively but I was wrong – it does not support the Canon 350D RAW file format! So that left me with the software from the camera manufacturer.
Lo and behold! The updated software from Canon does not work either! At least the software that I use (Digital Photo Professional or DPP). Imagebrowser works fine but the latest version of DPP (2.0.3.7) does not work!!!! Argh and double argh!
Oh well – it is a good thing that I take photos using the JPEG+RAW settings. At least I have JPEG files to work with until Canon resolves this issue or at least until Apple does, too.
Joel suggested that I use Photo Mechanic. I’d love to but the USD150 price tag is too much for this purpose. I’d rather just get a copy of Photoshop Elements… when Adobe releases version 4 for the Mac!
Everytime there is a long break, shit happens to either the servers or worse, the internet connection. 
I can’t access the university websites but who cares? Can’t get anything useful off of the university sites anyway since info are updated at a pace similar to how documents are processed in a government agency! 
Email is another matter. Some use the university email as their primary address (I have shifted mine to my .Mac and Gmail accounts) and having no access to your mail during the long break sucks!
What sucks more is that the folks maintaining the services are on a well-deserved break and am no longer sure if someone has already been contacted and tasked to fix it – with no extra compensation for working overtime! Poor guy/girl. 
Oh well… that’s life.
It is a good thing that I have not disposed of my 40GB 3rd Gen iPod just yet. This iPod has Firewire and that feature alone makes it a worthy back-up — a bootable portable music-playing storage device!
The new 5th Gen iPod does not come with Firewire. Bummer! I wish that it did but USB 2.0 is sufficient for syncing… but that renders it un-bootable. Oh well…
After all the blog posts, I finally conceded and got myself this one! As it is, it is now charging and having my entire iTunes library transferred. Since it is basically an iPhoto Photo, my iPhoto library is also being synced along with podcasts and vodcasts.
See how it compares with the 1GB iPod Shuffle, 4GB iPod Nano, Motorola ROKR E1 and the 3rd generation 40GB iPod. I stacked it one on top of the other so you’d get an idea how thick (or thin) the new iPod is. Cool, huh?
First it was Kodak and then Nikon and now Canon with their new Powershot SD430. I agree with Phil Askey of DP Review that these critters will suck your battery dry in a few seconds! Unless they come up with cheap fuel cell batteries or high-powered solar-powered cells.
Anyway, I remember being able to transfer photos via an external modem using a Kodak camera. Yes, the Kodak Digita-enabled cameras have that functionality. It is a shame that that technology did not flourish. It would have been great to be able to programme your digital cameras – imagine being able to add your favorite filters or sharpening algorithms, etc. Oh well.
A few months ago, I said that I’d buy that WiFi-enabled Kodak but I decided that it is not worth it. I got myself a Canon 350D instead! 
When I started playing with Linux, I used Slackware. Have been using that for quite awhile until the distro from Red Hat and Mandrake (now Mandriva) started to become popular with their easy to use installation procedures as well as their quick update features. From then on, I used Mandrake and Red Hat (now using its Fedora Core release).
However, now I have shifted to a more elegant distribution. Yes, there is an even more elegant distribution that is free (as opposed to some that comes with subscriptions) and it is called Ubuntu Linux – Linux for Human Beings.
My most recent article in Manila Bulletin discussed this new distro. And believe me, this distro rocks! It is also named the Reader’s Choice Award for best Linux distribution by Linux Journal magazine.
So – expect me to support this new distribution. Expect the next UP Office version to support Ubuntu more than it supports RedHat or Mandriva. So – watch this space!
Angelicum is where I spent my first ten years of education – from YS2 (Grade 1) to YS11 (fourth year high school). I have fond memories of the school – from my first communion to my awakening as an activist challenging school policies that were not fair to both faculty, students and staff. I remember the times when we joined faculty members in their picket-line. Cool, huh?
Angelicum is also where I met my future wife, Charmagne, whilst in grade 2! Who would imagine that we’d end up together after being out of touch for more than 11 years (she transferred to another school after second grade!)???
This is also where I started to compete academically – first against my classmates and then against other schools. I remember having been trained by math teachers after class hours. I could just imagine how difficult it was for my siblings to wait for an additional 1.5 hours before we could go home. This competitive nature has rubbed off to my sisters and brother as well.
Anyway, I am hoping to visit Angelicum once again and perhaps help their Computer Science programme by having them be part of the JEDI consortium.
I have no more money…
I just went out and got myself the following items
The 250GB version
and
I needed a larger storage capacity to store my music, video and photos. Well, mostly for photos, actually, since I will be shooting mostly in RAW format.
It will also be easier for my wife and I to share the photos of the kids. Right now, I had to wait for her to turn on her powerbook before I can wirelessly transfer photos of the kids from her powerbook to mine. Now, she can back it up on the external storage and it will be easier for me to copy.
I also needed a small and portable speakers for the iPod. There are just times when you want to share you music with someone and sharing earphones is not that hygienic, imho. This time, it will be easier… imagine when I get an iPod that plays video? hehehe…
