Here are some quick tips on how you can photograph fireworks for the 4th.

Use a tripod Easy enough, fireworks require a steady hand. So setup with your tripod.

Use a remote Again, steady is the key, any sort of bump is going to blur your pictures.

Low ISO Definately do not set ISO Auto as your camera will likely crank up the ISO to comepensate, which will result in grainy photos.

Manual Focus Again, the camera has a hard time trying to do this for you in such low light. Manually set the distance and see if you can focus on a distant object (tree, skyline, etc).

Start with an aperture of f/5.6 at ISO 50 and ISO 100, and f/8 at ISO 200.  If the photo is too dark, use an  f/4.  If it’s too bright, use f/11.

These quick tips should help you take some better fireworks photos.  Remember, it’s not about the camera as much as it is about getting out there and getting shots.  The photo above was taken in 2004 with a pocket Sony Cybershot camera, NOT the wonderful Nikon D50.

New album for Chevelle titled Sci-fi Crimes, due in September.  New single out now, Jars. [Zune]

July 8th next week, Battlefield 1943 will hit Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 points. This one looks to be one of the biggest arcade titles to come out on Live. Based on the Frostbite engine from Battlefield Bad Company, this should be one of the best looking arcade games as well. A first person shooter, multiplayer only game with 2 sides, 3 classes, and 4 maps.

Look for it next week.
http://www.battlefield1943.com/

“What the h__l does this mean?“

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http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/tour

I’ve recently been testing Microsoft Security Essentials Beta.  A new offering in the anti-virus/anti-spyware software market for individuals and small businesses.  This will be a free offering from Microsoft.

 Paul Thurrot explains the product best :

Put simply, MSE is OneCare minus the stuff that’s not related to fighting malware. It doesn’t have a managed firewall, can’t manage a “circle” of computers on a home network, doesn’t help prevent applications from putting icons in the system tray at boot-up, and doesn’t have any online photo backup capabilities. What it does have, however, is all good stuff: MSE is small, fast, light, and effective, and since it’s built on the same award-winning underpinnings as Microsoft’s other security products you know you can trust it.

After using it for sometime, I am quite happy with it’s performance and effectiveness.  Paul’s thoughts

There’s been a lot of interest in Morro/Microsoft Security Essentials and I think even the beta version of this product will prove quite a hit with users. It’s free, effective, lightweight, and quiet and is, in other words, exactly what I’m looking for in a security solution. And it comes with no strings at all. As long as you’re running a genuine Windows version, you can install this product without worrying about up-sell advertisements, yearly renewals, or other silliness.

Get more information here, http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Just picked up this new monitor from Dell.  21.5″ widescreen, 1920X1080, DVI, VGA .  Works great, definately a bit more screen real estate. [Dell]

However, the latest release “Windows Media Center TV Pack 2008″ does not appear to be “Fiji”.  I could be totally wrong.  The TV Pack seems to be some behind closed doors commercial update.  “Fiji” was about UI updates, extenders, and special new features; certainly not just QAM, HD recording, and teletext.

“Fiji” show yourself and show us what we’ve waited for.

Why is the Playstation Store live and online already.  XBOX Live is bigger and better, but ours isn’t online yet with any new features.

http://store.playstation.com/video/index.vm

Me