First impressions: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2
A fter the kerfuffle last week, I recorded the camera from Novatech.co.uk (UK based this time..) and received it yesterday. I was very busy yesterday (lots of video editing going on at the moment!) so didn’t really get a chance to use it until the evening. When I finally managed to open it and play, the first thing that struck me was just how small it was. This shouldn’t have surprised me, because I knew how small it was, I’d seen video reviews of people using it, but I just couldn’t help but be amazed by the compact size. This small size doesn’t make it feel cheap though, it’s a nice weight, and feels well built (if you can actually ‘feel’ these things). Holding the camera isn’t as comfortable as a bigger...
The Dangers of Shopping Online
T his isn’t the kind of post that I’d usually write, but the Internet is built on opinions, so I thought I’d add mine (as a kind of public announcement I suppose..) I ordered a camera at the end of last week (Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2), and I found it cheapest from simplyelectronics.net. Having never heard of them, I looked at a few reviews, and it all seemed ok. I placed the order (paying via Paypal) and thought that would be the end of it. I decided to check on the status of my order last night, and there had been no progress. I was wondering why, and just browsing round the SE website, and discovered that deep in their terms and conditions, were several things that I wished I’d already seen. Although they give the impression that...
Is the Kindle the way forward?
A couple of weeks ago, for some reason, I decided to buy an Amazon Kindle. I’m not sure what it was that made me consciously acknowledge it as a potential purchase; perhaps I’d seen more ads/articles about it than usual, but whatever it was, I started to look into. I love reading, but it’s something that’s taken a real backseat ever since I’ve been at university. Aside from the sometimes hectic schedule, I put this down to the fact that I don’t have all of my books with me. You see, I like books, and I like owning them. Perhaps then, it seems bizarre that someone like me would consider the jump to an ebook reader. The fact is, I don’t even know where all of my books are. I assume they’re being stored in a loft for...
Home Theatre Solutions
A s soon as I got my new tv (see here), my immediate concern was how I was going to stream all of the content from my home server, to the TV. In my last post, I mentioned that the TV can stream stuff out of the box (using UPnP) although the interface is extremely clunky, and the whole process is slow, not to mention that it has trouble with HD content, so I started looking for some alternatives. First, I looked at the Western Digital TV Live. This is a tiny little device that is far more powerful than it lets on. It plays full HD (high bitrate stuff) without a problem and only costs around £80. Immediately though, I got annoyed with the interface. It is a little slow to respond to the remote, and finding files is cumbersome. I sold this pretty quickly and looked...
A TV can be TOO big.
F or Christmas, a conglomeration of people (including myself) got me a TV! Everyone knows how difficult I am to buy for, so it was left to me to find one and let people know what was going on. The original plan was a 32″ one, but then, rather dangerously, I got thinking.. I’m almost at the end of university, so I’ll soon be moving somewhere (London most likely) and will have very little money. So perhaps investing a little extra on a bigger TV would be a good idea? I didn’t think this would go down very well, but on the contrary, it was deemed to be a good idea! All of this means I have a 42″ LG 42LD490 TV in a room that is far too small for it (only temporary though), but nevertheless, I’m very happy! The sheer size makes...