jpelg

^That shot will mean a lot to him & his (now & future) family, many times, for many years to come.

Ari, do you need RAW?

INFJ

They sell off your data to the highest bidder on that new show "Internet Storage Wars"

Ok, I forgot "that doesn't cost US$7000".

Download speed is a matter of network bandwidth. Which network do you want to use? Your Internet provider's or your cell phone provider's? Storage space is a matter of what you are willing to pay for solid-state storage. How much storage do you need/want in a portable device? Both of those become affordable over time with no other impetus from audiophiles. My (minor) issue is the fact that the process of obtaining & backing up my music will still require effort from me. Today I buy a CD or DVD-A, and rip it myself to the format my players (home & portable) can play. That won't change with downloads when shiny discs go completely away. Tomorrow I will download a hi-rez album & then have to back it up to a disc for safe keeping. The same process, just in reverse. And now I have to pony up for the backup medium.

How much more does it cost for companies to maintain & distribute multiple formats (say...full/hi-rez (up to 24/192), hi-quality mp3 (320k), lo-quality mp3 (128k), & streaming quality) and allow the consumer to choose? Is it worth it for them? My 64GB Touch can play all of that, including full-rez Redbook & downsampled hi-rez, in Apple Lossless, AIFF, FLAC, & WAV formats. This, in a portable player that fits in my palm & slips into a shirt pocket. How much more do I want on the hardware side other than full hi-rez?

I don't get it either. I think the Olympus designers missed the point. Those of us who used to shoot film are hankering for a digital camera that handles like our old film bodies & has resolution & dynamic range that approaches our old film medium. I want a shutter speed dial. I want a real aperture ring. I want an ISO dial. I want the brightest, clearest viewfinder to make it easier to manually focus. I want lenses with markings to allow for easy zone prefocusing. Fuck LCD's with buttons, & menus, & submenus. Making the same digital camera, controls and all (or lack thereof), in the shape of a classic OM camera does not cut it, imo. But what do I know...*shrug*

Jeff makes me miss NYC.

Happy Birthday! For some reason, your handle always makes me think of "gelato" (which is not a bad thing at all) *shrug*

Obvious improvements already, Absorbine_Sr!

Is there an indexing function that might be slowing things down & could be turned off?

Gorgeous baby, Ric. Huge congrats to you & the missus! Cheers!

Vicki, I am very sorry to read about your Dad. Hope your Mom is better soon. Great story. Thanks for the chuckle!

My condolences Mike. Miguel, sorry to hear about your mom. My best to your dad as well.

Absorbine_Sr, that is a crazy story. My best wishes to you during your recovery.

My belated condolences to both Pars & pigmode and your respective families. With an 81 year-old dad in declining health, I can truly sympathize.

Sony NEX-5K/B w/kit zoom lens $450 shipped: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MPWBB6?m=A185V8Q901AMWI

Canon S95 for $280 shipped: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&N=0&AID=10848188&PID=552179&Q=&Ntt=EMBL1212CA95&A=endecaSearch&SID=VHVpUWZBb0JDamdBQUVuVUFRd0FBQUc1

Is there a possibility of obtaining the form in a Word or Excel format? From there you could do a simple mail-merge from your Excel data. Then save the results in PDF format, which Office can do without Adobe Acrobat Pro. Even if you don't have access to the form in an editable format, it might be worth spending some time recreating it in Excel (assuming it's not overly complex). Or even better, spending the $$ for Acrobat Pro, compared to your time spent doing more mundane things, especially if this is more than a one-time function.

Happy Birthday Tom - enjoy the 'Scampi'!

Thanks for all the responses guys. Are there any issues using a SATA III drive in an older laptop with a SATA II controller (other than missing out on the speed advantages)?

I'd like to extend the life of a 3.5 y/o laptop by replacing the stock HD with an SSD. The plan is to use it for OS (Vista64) & apps only, with data kept external. Don't want to overspend since it is an ever-aging laptop, so I figure the 64GB models strike a good balance between capacity & price (~US$100). Trying to catch up on this tech by reading various reviews & comparing to what is for sale these days. It seems older models were plagued with reliability issues, which I don't need. Brands with better track records include Plextor, Crucial, & Samsung. Surprisingly, Kingston has more than their fair share of negative reviews. So, although they cost a bit more, I will likely stick with the former brands mentioned. Since many of you are computer-tech cognoscenti, including building silent HTPC's & such, I thought I'd pose the question before pulling the trigger. Any other recommendations, or pitfalls to avoid (obvious or not-so-obvious)? Thanks y'all.

You are getting better & better Jeff. I love this one: