Jumped on the RC just before it went official late this afternoon (EST) so that I could beat the crowds. One of the faster upgrades that I have experienced with the package downloads taking around 20 minutes on my 6MB DSL and the install and clean up taking a little under an hour. So easy it was kind of boring.
Highlights are the revamped network manager which now has support for mobile connections which will make it easier for me to poach one of the Verizon data cards from work should the need ever arise. The new Bluetooth wizard also appears to have upped the functionality and UI quotient so I’m looking forward to pulling out my headphones and going wireless again.
Downsides are that the shutdown button has been subsumed to logout/fastuser switching something I nearly never do but could understand the logic for a desktop user but, seriously, who uses a desktop these days anyhow? Unrelated to the actual upgrade but still nagging issues are the Glipper crash on launch and the fact that my webcam still remains unsupported (05e3:f192 Genesys Logic, Inc.)–I’ve got to complain about something, right?
Overall, I’m happy with how things turned out. Thumbs up to the Ubuntu team for all their hard work. Thanks!
Several cups of coffee into the day I am struggling to keep track of what file I am editing and which services need to be restarted on the servers and my eyelids feel leaden, pulling my chin down to my chest. So I took a short break to sort through photos from this weekend.
One thing that I am realizing in shooting with the 50mm is my utter lack of technical skill with the camera. Good focusing that compliments the composition continues to allude me and I really need to carve out the time to really understand white balance bracketing. However, I am getting better at editing, My ratio of keep to toss is improving as my eye grows more critical, though, the 1:36 ratio seems so far off as I try and climb past 1:6 but I suppose that I am too emotionally attached to most of my subject matter.
After working too hard for too many months Management finally talked me into treating myself to a present, a Canon EF 50mm 1.4. I’m finding it a challenge working with a prime lens in that it requires more legwork to set up a composition. The depth of field is awkward for me in that where I think I have the right focal point via the viewfinder only to find out I missed the mark and ended up with something less than eye pleasing. That said I love being able to shoot in low light conditions without relying on the flash for every shot, however, I am now even more hungry for a 430EX as I think that it would work really well with this lens.
