AR2009 Photos

[tonyj]

I recieved Disc last week which Michael kindly sent me with a rear camera view on run up Pordoi , some nice puffs of diesel smoke can be seen on that one
Also is run down Pordoi with forward facing camera, I think this one must come with warning " Don't try this at home " . Couple of moments! on this one. I will send disc up to Chris at weekend to see what magic he can do with it.
Tony

[tim]

Moments! I don't like Looking forward to the vids, they made me feel ill in the hotel

[tonyj]

Yep, I am also looking forward to finished product, Once I had sorted the individual files into some sort of order there is enough material to produce some nice footage, Trip over Timmelsjoch and Mizurina.

[KR1S]

Apologies as I have yet to sort mine. I've been spending my spare time editing some of Tony's footage into a short video which I'll make available soon.

How are you getting on with the editing/sorting Chris? Still looking forward to seeing your shots as well as the video!
Chris

[ChrisN]

Apologies KR1S
Photos will have to wait as following the collapse of the FlickR idea, I intend posting an album on my own website which is suffering from a lack of regular maintenance!

Video: still waiting for reply from Tony re the two discs I posted him 14/08/09 ?

[Ballast]

I looked at Flickr a while back - there was something about the site that annoyed me. ANyhow, I'm a longtime happy Smugmug user

Thanks Michael, I have been having a (belated) look at their site and it seems pretty good. I particularly like the array of privacy options for individual images or galleries or indeed the whole site. - Presumably you can upload images and video from anywhere as long as you know the log-in so several family members or friends could all use the same account

[Michael J]

Presumably you can upload images and video from anywhere as long as you know the log-in so several family members or friends could all use the same account

Yup - my sons have access to the account. My younger son got his own, but my elder son uses it occasionally.

An example of what you can do with Smugmug - my younger son's "Locost 7" project:

http://jordanmotorsports.smugmug.com/Locost/My-build-diary/1808778_RvYxx

He no longer has the shop available (forced career change), so progress has slowed significantly.

[Ballast]

I have been thinking about an online album for some time and there are plenty of providers out there ? many completely free, but I was genuinely surprised how many features and how flexible ?Smugmug? seems to be ? I hadn?t realised that you could for example use it as a regular website. I recently helped my brother set up a site using ?Justhost? as a provider at GBP 2.95 pcm with unlimited downloads and no adverts etc which looked pretty reasonable, but Smugmug (Standard version at USD 39.95/year or even the Power version at USD 59.95/year) compares very favourably. Although my photos aren?t up to much, especially as my eyesight gets worse, it looks like a good way to keep and organise your stuff, and it?s nice share as many or as few of them as you want. What is your ?user-friendly? rating?

[Michael J]

What is your ?user-friendly? rating?

About as high as it gets, but then, I'm a geek.

The "Do what I want" and "Do what I said" factors seem to match nicely and the interface doesn't get in the way.

Some functions are a bit obscure at first, but if all you want to do is share photos and be able to limit who sees what - it works out of the box.

I've been at the PRO level for a few years now, and will (someday) start using the features that I'm paying for.

[Ballast]

I don?t work in IT but I am pretty keen on what are traditionally thought of as ?boys? toys?. I have a seriously dull job, and setting up stuff on Smugmug would I am sure be entertaining, until I run out of images ? decision made

[Ballast]

Well having signed up with Smugmug I set about tracking down some images from a few years back, most of which were on CD or a few on DVD. We are fond of gadgets and started using digital a long time before most of our friend and family. The equipment was seriously expensive compared to today and you didn't get many pixels for your money. Sadly a few images were corripted and would not open. This was annoying enough but the fact that I didn't know if a file was corruipt until I tried to open it made for a frustrating time.

My PC (yes I know everybody will say "get a MAC") also seemed to spend ages spinning up some of the disks before finally displaying the folders on my screen - same at work too. maybe as the CDs are old they are a bit slow for the readers which are much newer? I don't know if I will get round to scanning old 35mm negatives - maybe if it is a long cold wet winter...

[Michael J]

Sadly a few images were corrupted and would not open. This was annoying enough but the fact that I didn't know if a file was corrupt until I tried to open it made for a frustrating time.

Backup, backup again, and then back it up. My pics live on my main PC, a second drive in my main PC, my DROBO, and Carbonite. Pics also live on Smugmug in addition to the rest.

Why yes, I have been bitten by data loss. Odd that you should ask.

My PC (yes I know everybody will say "get a MAC") also seemed to spend ages spinning up some of the disks before finally displaying the folders on my screen - same at work too. maybe as the CDs are old they are a bit slow for the readers which are much newer? I don't know if I will get round to scanning old 35mm negatives - maybe if it is a long cold wet winter...

I have a Mac (writing this on it now). They're overrated, and just as likely to dump your data into a black hole as any windows machine. They're just shinier, and cost more.

Plus, you'll be able to look down your nose at the geeks and lowly Windows users, as you'll be above all that.

Windows 7 will be out shortly, and it is a lovely OS. I've been running the Beta and Release Candidate for a while now on two machines. VERY well behaved.

Regarding those old CDs that are taking a long time to read - they are probably at the end of their life, and the time is that the PC is having to make multiple attempts to read the data before it gets a good read.

BACK THEM UP IMMEDIATELY WHILE YOU STILL CAN READ THE DATA.

See comment on data loss above.

And your insight on scanning is spot on - nothing better than a warm scanner on a cold winter's night. Been there, done that.

[Michael J]

Oh yeah - forgot my NAS (Network Addressable Storage) box - additional backups live there, too.

I've got about 7TB of assorted disk space around the house (so far)

[Ballast]

I did lose a load of images years ago, they were on a second hard drive in my PC which I used only for files - no programs. but alas I didn't have them on CDs too. "Disk life" has always been a matter of great debate but as you say - back them up again. I don't think I need 7TB just yet.

Glad to hear positive news re "Windows 7" My partner uprgraded to Vista some time ago and is not a big fan. I also regret chosing a Vista PC when my mother decided it was time to replace her old PC. I am still running XP and I have been delaying upgrading my PC until I am reasonably confident that Windows 7 is a genuine improvement. Although that will probably mean buying a new scanner for those old photos and negatives.

P.S. Yes "his and hers" PCs plus a shared netbook - which we used for our tagged trip in May - much better size for the bike)

[Michael J]

Although that will probably mean buying a new scanner for those old photos and negatives.

You shouldn't have to - most hardware/software that runs under XP will run under Vista/7 with no problems. You may have to tag the program to run in "XP Compatibility Mode" or, better yet, get the updated software from the manufacturer.