Let's talk digital
My terrible experience with T-Mobile and Mobile Phones Direct – Be Warned!
Aug 4th
I signed up on a 24th month contract with the Nokia N900 through Mobile Phones Direct.
Firstly they promised a free case, which never arrived, that should have shown me what kind of operation they were running. 2 months later my phone stopped working, and I called T-Mobile and they said that the phone they had on record for my account was an N95, not my phone at all and they could not help me at all, they said to call the people who supplied me the phone, Mobile Phones Direct. I called Mobile Phones Direct and they told me that they only support the phones they sell for 14 days after the purchase date! Which is against consumer protection laws..
Now after many calls and emails to T-Mobile who take forever to get an answer out of they have told me that the serial number of my phone has been black-listed. And they won’t tell me why or by who until I provide proof of purchase with the serial number on it, I got sent a receipt by mobile phones direct but they didn’t put the serial number on it, and now they told me they don;t have it on record. So effectively I have a phone that doesn’t work on a 24 month contract and no one will do anything about it.
I highly recommend you do not signup or go near T-Mobile or Mobile Phones Direct, save yourself the risk of these kind of problems happening to you!
Update 06/08/10 – Aparently the phone mobile phones direct sold me was used and has been black-listed due to fraud. This Phone was sold to me as brand new and cannot be unblack-listed. And to cancell my account with T-Mobile Early will cost me £462!!! I am awaiting Mobile Phones Direct solution but so far they are saying it is T-Mobiles fault.
Multifunctional Home Digital Photo Frame-new Fashion Trend
Jun 30th
What will attract your attention when you enter into an exhibition hall which is full of creative masterpieces? Of course the pictures in the frame which is fixed on the wall. But with the quick development of science and technology, In modern time, traditional still displaying is being replaced by the hi-tech mobile digital frame due to the intelligent people.Digital picture frame becomes more and more popular.
Globeoffer home digital photo frame bring you to a new world of digital audio and video. Multifunctional digital picture frame with 7 inch TFT high resolution display, instant display high resolution pictures reach 8 mega pixels, clear and vivid. It is not only a photo displayer but also an audio and video player, it just like a mini TV. You don’t have to buy lots of frames to put up in your living room or bedroom, a multifunction media photo frame will solve all the problems. It instantly display all the pictures and videos you captured with your Digital camera or camcorder, slide showing the pictures when you insert SD card, MMC or Memory stick; background music playing function bring more comfortable atomsphere, IR remote control makes it more convenient to play when you sit far from the photo frame.
Let’s focus on the detail specification:
-Bright 7” TFT active matrix LCD screen
-Displays digital pictures (JPEG) without a computer
-Simply insert a compatible flash memory card into the Digital Picture Frame to show photos
-Play MP3 music and support video files
-Compatible with flash memory cards include Secure Digital Card (SD), Multimedia Card (MMC) and Memory Stick
-Instantly plays MP3 music with the integrated speakers
-Instantly plays MPEG1,MPEG4 files stored on supported flash memory cards
-Supports up to 8Mega Pixels image files (JPEG format)
-Compatible with most digital cameras’ stored JPEG images and motion GPEG files
-IR remote control
-Automatic slide show with multiple transition effects
-Plays slide show with MP3 music on the background (The MP3 file must be in the same folders as the pictures)
-Support Play Format: JPEG, MP3, WMA, MPG1, AVI, MPG4, DIVX2, DIVX3
-Multi-language
Such multi-media photo frame will bring you more colorful and pleasant audio and visual life.
interesting in consumer electronics and gadgets, like car dvd players, car monitors, car mp3 players, stylish mp3/mp4 players, camera and camcorders.
Digital Photography on Canvas
Jun 30th
In the past few years, digital photography has turn out to be very popular. It is not only affordable, but it also provides the opportunity to transform their digital photos on the canvas easily. People can hang them on the walls of their homes and offices or can gift them to near and dear ones.
Thus, digital photography has totally transformed the world of photography. Digital cameras available a few years back failed to produce pictures of higher resolution. However, digital cameras of present generation are advanced and their resolutions match the resolution of film cameras.
With the growing popularity of digital photography, printing digital photos on canvas has become the latest fad for many photography lovers. Individuals can select the size of canvas depending on how large they want their canvas photos to be.
To print photos onto canvas, photography experts obtain pictures and store them in a resolution-measuring device in bits. They then transform the photos on software, induce changes and print photos onto canvas.
Other Details:
Several companies offer services of printing photos onto canvas. Individuals just need to scan as well as burn the negatives on a CD and send it to such a company, which prints digital photography on canvas. If individuals do not know how to scan the CD, they can visit any photo studio and ask them to help store the negative on CD.
Individuals can obtain photos on canvas in matte format or in glossy format. Thus, instead of simply printing the photos on paper, individuals can opt for canvas printing. Printing digital photography on canvas enables give photos an artistic look, which other traditional forms of printings lack.
Printing photos onto canvas is a tough job and artists combine different details as well as vibrant details in their photos and print such photos on canvas.
Some people still think that printing photos onto canvas is an expensive procedure, but in actuality, this process is very affordable. The price of rendering digital photography on canvas may be around $30, depending on the size of the canvas. Thus, opt for photos on canvas and obtain a memorable piece of picture art.
Written by Marcia Henin on behalf of magnipic.co.uk – a provider of online service of printing photos on canvas across the UK, offering printing of your digital photography on canvas using advanced techniques of printing photos onto canvas.
The Advantages of Digital Printing
Jun 30th
The digital age has officially begun. With the coming of the 21st century, many changes have occurred and improvements in technology results in helping our lives continually being more efficient and comfortable. Businesses are being more efficient than ever. Things that used to take like days and even weeks to be done can now be ready in just a few minutes or even seconds.
One of the industries that are greatly affected by the coming of the digital age is the printing industry. Digital printing uses the newest technology available in the market today and helps you in acquiring quality printing materials at very affordable prices. Not only that, digital printing reduces the time it takes for your prints to be done as well as lessens the labor needs of your company.
There are many digital printing options that you can choose from. With these options, there are so many more advantages that you can attain:
VARIABLE DATA PRINTING
Direct mail campaigns can greatly be improved with the use of variable data printing. Variable data printing allows you to mass produce your custom prints thus making it easier for you to make that personal connection with your target market.
For example, those personalized brochures or postcards that you get from your mail that advertises or markets different products and services – they are probably created from digital methods. Upon inspection of the prints you would notice that your letter includes your name, location and other personal information. When you go to your neighbor, you will see the same thing. Direct mail letters have their personal information printed also.
Variable printing is responsible for this. Through variable printing, you can state which elements of your design remain static and which elements you want varied from print to print. As such, the design of your prints as well as the over all layout of your materials remain the same while the name, address and other information about the customer is variable.
In the past this type of printing is hard to do since offset printing does not alow for short run prints and in more geared towards producing large amounts of copies of a single print. However, through today’s technology variable printing has become a viable option.
EASY WORKFLOW
The workflow of digital printers is also so much easier as compared to the workflow of offset printers. When printing your materials through the digital process, you will not need to go through the different mechanical procedures such as film stripping and color separation. Also, plate production is no longer an issue since the digital process uses direct to printer technology that allows you readily print your materials once they are uploaded to your printer’s computer.
PRINT ON DEMAND
The most useful feature of printing through the digital process is that you can print your materials on demand. You can specify how your prints will be done and when you want them finished. You can also specify the number of copies that you want and are no longer limited to ordering bulk orders in order to be cost effective.
This article aims to provide the reader comprehensive ideas about digital printing. For additional information regarding printing services please visit Digital Poster Printing Company
Try These Tips for Successful Digital Photo Printing
Jun 30th
Digital photo printing is an arena all its own in the world of computers, scanners, and printers. Gone are the days when to print something, all you had to do was push a button or click the mouse. People had very little say in how the printed materials quality turned out. Things have come a long way since then, and photo printing leads the way. There are many things that people can do these days to control how a picture that is printed turns out.
Tons of software and different hardware are available to accomplish hundreds of fun tasks with photos. If you are interested in improving your skill at printing high quality digital photos, here are some tips to keep in mind and get you started.
Digital Photo Printing: Paper and dpi
One thing to consider with digital photo printing is the paper you are using. Any picture can be printed on standard printer paper, but the quality is extremely poor, especially looking close up. You can buy the more expensive, good quality photo paper, which will help tremendously, but dont forget to change the type of paper in your printer settings from standard to photo. These settings can be found in the Printer Setup menu. The photos wont be in top shape, even with good photo paper, if the printer thinks it is printing on the standard stuff.
Another good idea when it comes to digital photo printing is to really familiarize yourself with the concept of dpi. The dpi, or dots per inch, of a printed picture will determine the quality of a printed photo when it is enlarged. The higher the dpi, the better the quality will remain for larger size printouts. We have all seen that digital cameras are many times classified according to how many megapixels they operate with.
To figure out how many pixels you will need to produce a high quality printout, multiply the dpi by the picture size. For instance, an 8X10 photo with a dpi of 150 would need 8*150X10*150 pixels, or 1200X1500 pixels, which most 2 megapixel cameras can handle with fair to good quality.
There are many people who are not interested in messing with the pixels, the printers, the papers, the ink, the dpi, and so on. For those who would rather not deal with it all, there are many stores, online and otherwise, that you can take your digital memory storage device to who will take care of the digital photo printing for you. These days, just about anywhere that develops 35mm film will be able to print out your digital photos for you as well. Rest assured, these professionals know all of the numbers and settings that will give you top notch printouts that youll love for years.
For more information on digital photo printing, please visit our website.
3 Tips For Making Digital Signage More Effective
Jun 30th
A chief concern among businesses which are considering the use of digital signage is that such a network will be ineffective. Indeed, much of what we’re witnessing in the industry suggests that many businesses don’t understand the potency of the technology nor how to harness it. This is likely due to digital signage being a new and innovative technology. Though many advertisers are experiencing success, standards of usage haven’t been firmly established.
For example, newspaper or television advertising follows proven models of successful. The strategies that are deployed in those media are based upon what has proven effective in the past. Digital signage is new and therefore lacks a benchmark approach. That being said, traditional advertising yields helpful clues regarding what works.
Why The Customer Matters
As advertising has evolved, so too has the consumer’s receptivity to marketing. No longer is the typical consumer content to be bombarded with a litany of marketing messages. Today, they focus on what is relevant to them and quickly discard – or ignore – the rest. Whether you’re deploying a digital signage network in a movie theater, casino, shopping mall, or a small chain of kiosks, the messages you broadcast across the system must address the concerns of the customer in a compelling manner. The experience must be engaging for the customer. Below, you’ll find 3 tips for making your digital signage efforts more effective by focusing on the customer.
Tip #1: Encourage Participation
It’s easy said than done. But, it is possible to create a broadcast that encourages your audience to interact with your message. This can be as simple as leading them through a tree of choices. Or, you can design a complex series of messages that builds your audience’s expectations about your products while allowing them to creatively select their own path through your inventory. There are many ways to encourage participation. You need to identify your customer’s concerns and then engage them.
Tip #2: Use The Data
The digital signage networks that are available today can yield valuable data regarding customer choices. This is one of the reasons why encouraging their participation is critical. When customers interact with your displays and proactively make selections, they do so based upon their interests and the effectiveness of your message and presentation. By reviewing customers’ choices, you can identify parts of your message that are ineffective. That provides the opportunity to modify or eliminate them.
Tip #3: Make The Experience Personal
Whether the experience that a customer has while interacting with a digital screen will be positive or negative is largely dependent upon how personal that experience is. For example, assume that a customer is looking through an inventory of shoes. Each selection will further identify that customer’s concerns. This can provide a framework around which you can tailor your message to address specific concerns based upon gender, age, vocation and other factors. Each selection builds upon the element of personalization. And the more personal your digital signage broadcast is, the more engaged the customer will feel.
Making Digital Signage Effective
Most fundamental principles of marketing address an audience’s interests, concerns and passions. Digital signage is no different. To leverage its effectiveness, you need to engage your customers with messages that are compelling to them. By reviewing the data that your network yields, you can create an experience for your customer that feels personal and encourages them to interact.
Four Winds Interactive is a leading provider of digital signage networks and software.
Ricoh R8 Digital Camera Review
Jun 30th
The Ricoh R8 is a 10 megapixel digital camera. It has a 7.1x wide angle lens. The design is different to all the more standard digital cameras out there, with a stylish, retro look.
Why Buy the Ricoh R8?
The R8 is a step up from the more simple point and shoot cameras. This is true when it comes to build quality and picture quality. Among its features are image stabilisation, a 2.7 inch LCD screen (I found easy to see even in sunny conditions) and a face recognition setting for portraits. It also has an option to produce square photos.
Image Quality Ricoh R8 test shots
Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
This is a shot with a lot of contrast. There are the bright areas of the boats and the wooden slats underneath the roof of the building. In addition there are plenty of shady areas under the trees. The R8 manages to bring out an impressive level of detail, especially in the lighter areas where it outperforms many cameras. This helps to make the detail on the boats stand out.
Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
In this photo sharpness stands up well and the scene also shows vivid colours. Many digital cameras tend to lose sharpness when the lens is fully zoomed out, but this camera copes with the scene better than most cameras manage.
Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
As in the first test shot the light colours on the boats are handled well. There is a very small amount of purple fringing, but in my opinion the R8 handles this very well when you take into account the longer than standard zoom lens. Focusing is again above average.
Outdoor 4 (Building)
The R8 does very well in this test. The brickwork on the building is sharply focused. Even in the shady areas the camera does a good job. When it comes to focusing the R8 is up there with the best compact digital cameras.
Outdoor Portrait
Looking at this photo I can see that the colours are very strong. That is fair enough if you like strong colours, but they are a bit too powerful for my own taste. Otherwise the level of detail the R8 manages to pick out is impressive.
Indoor Portrait with Flash
The sharpness of this photo is very good indeed and the R8 picks out the eyes very well. The skin tones are overdone. They give areas of the cheeks and nose a vivid pink that does not exist. This can also be seen in the lips.
Indoor Portrait without Flash
When I looked at the indoor shot with flash I felt the skin tone problem may have been down to the light produced by the flash. Even with the flash turned off the skin tones are harsh. Otherwise the photo is o.k., but could do with a touch of extra brightness.
Colours
The colours produced by the R8 have a different feel to them than those produced by most other digital cameras I have tested. They are certainly vivid and have plenty of brightness too. In some cases the strength of colour is too much for me.
Macro
This is another example of a sharply focused shot with plenty of definition. The R8 is well above average when it comes to close up shots.
ISO 400 and ISO 1600
At ISO 400 you should still be able to take a decent shot in brighter conditions, but darker areas will attract noise. Picture quality has broken down even more than usual at ISO 1600.
Overall
I found focusing and definition to be some way above average. The R8 also handled contrasting scenes well. Colours are very strong and I would prefer to see these toned down in a number of my test shots.
Shutter Lag
Shutter lag times were 0.34 seconds for a single photo and 8.98 seconds for five photos. With flash on times increased to 0.51 seconds for a single shot and 14.4 seconds for five shots. All of these times are standard times.
It took 2.36 seconds to turn the R8 on and take a picture. This is in line with the majority of digital cameras I have tested recently.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Style: Ricoh have given the R8 a bit of an old fashioned look. This helps it to stand out from the crowd. It is available in black, silver and in a two tone version.
Dimensions: 102 x 58.3 x 26.1mm
Weight: 168g
Batteries: Ricoh estimates you should be able to get around 270 pictures before the lithium ion battery needs to be recharged. Both a battery and charger are supplied with the R8.
Memory cards: 24mb of storage have been built into the R8. This is enough for around 7 photos. The camera is also compatible with SD and SDHC cards.
Ease of use rating: Good. There are one or two extra features to get used to when compared to a more basic point and shoot model. If you are planning to use the R8 as a fully automatic camera then you should be up and running in no time.
Points I like:
LCD screen clarity – novel design – sharpness
Where it could improve:
Skin tones in some portrait shots
Alternatives
There are not that many digital cameras that strike me as a clear alternative to the R8. Other 10 megapixel cameras with a wide angle lens include: Samsung NV24HD.
Verdict:
I like the Ricoh R8. It is certainly worth considering alongside some of the more widely recognised brands such as Canon, Sony and Panasonic. Aside from some issues with colour the R8 takes a decent photo in most situations.
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
Kodak Easyshare Z1275 Zoom Digital Camera
Jun 30th
Kodak Easyshare Z1275 Zoom Digital Camera is the in thing in the industry of digital cameras. This camera from the house of Kodak is very simple and easy to use. The camera has very user friendly features with a high resolution picture quality.
Key Features
Kodak Easyshare Z1275 Zoom Digital Camera has a CCD imaging sensor. CCD sensor works by converting light into electrons. Also CCD sensor is known for creating images that are high on quality and low on noise. The CCD imaging sensor is powerful 12.1 megapixels. The LCD screen is also 2.5? large. This gives you the opportunity to view whatever you want to capture quite clearly.
User Friendly Aspects
The usage of Kodak Easyshare Z1275 Zoom Digital Camera is very simple and easy to understand. It comes with PictBridge option which makes the printing of the pictures very easy without the intervention of the computer. If a camera supports PictBridge then you can directly to the printer and get the snaps that you want.
Another feature that will appeal you to own this camera is the Red-Eye Reduction mode of the camera. With this option, you definitely do not need to worry about the quality of the picture. You will not find those red eyes again in the snaps taken by you from this camera.
The Metering feature of Kodak Easyshare Z1275 Zoom Digital Camera is one of the most interesting features of the camera. It has three metering options, namely: Multi Metering, Centre Weighted Metering and Spot Metering. By Multi metering gives the right exposure to the image when the whole subject is very bright. Centre Weighted Metering gives the right exposure when there is a bright subject on dark background. Spot Metering allows only a small area of the whole frame to be metered and the exposure of the rest of the frame is ignored. This is useful for highlighting the subject and enhancing the visual impact, and also for capturing the details in a highlighted section.
Know More
Kodak Easyshare Z1275 Zoom Digital Camera comes with 5x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom.
The dimensions of Kodak Easyshare Z1275 camera are 89.5 x 31.6 x 64.5 mm and the weight is 161 grams without the battery set. This is quite heavy for a camera in this range.
Conclusion
Kodak Easyshare Z1275 Zoom Digital Camera is one of the best buys from the house of Kodak.
To know more about KodakEasyshare Z1275 Digital Camera visit : http://www.naaptol.com/buy-online/WO-best-shopping-deals-W74O/cameras/digital_cameras/kodak_easyshare_z1275_zoom_digital_camera.html
Monty Alexander is a well known writer and has written many articles on different topics. His articles cover many topics and suggest you to visit http://www.naaptol.com/buy-online/WO-best-deals-shopping-W66O/cameras/digital_cameras/kodak_easyshare_c743_zoom_digital_camera.html to buy kodak digital camera.
Digital Signage – How To Do It Well
Jun 30th
A few recent experiences with digital signage offer some insight into best practices for the content the signs contain.
Let’s start with the commuter train I recently took into the city. Small screens were distributed throughout the train car. They appeared above the seats on either side of the car, with perhaps four or five screens per side. The main focus was a news feed from a national TV network, so I assumed the goal was to keep people occupied while they rode. The screens were visible, but as digital signage goes, this particular network did not fare well:
? The images (e.g. those used in the weather report) were not very clear, perhaps because of the screens or the quality of the images themselves.
? There were video news clips, but no audio, which may make sense in this setting, but it seemed counter-productive to show people talking when viewers couldn’t hear them.
? The ticker that ran across the bottom did not coincide with the video clips and it presented a strange assortment of news. A brief statement about stock market closings was followed by a headline about a celebrity and then a quick sentence about federal politics, followed by some sports and then more business news.
From this viewer’s perspective, the disconnect between information segments was jarring and slightly annoying. Reading the signs became an exercise in frustration, trying to decide whether the information was relevant to me or not. Like the vast majority of the riders I saw, I chose to disregard the signs and focus instead on my newspaper.
Contrast that experience to the subway platform. The signs were visible and offered relevant information in well-defined segments, i.e. business news followed by general headlines followed by entertainment. There was a good amount of local news. The weather and time were presented clearly. This digital signage was ideal for subway riders – it presented small blurbs of useful information that could easily be read during the short wait for the next train.
I found another successful digital signage installation in a food court. The signs were highly visible, even from a great distance. The “blooper” type videos of animals and professional sports were amusing and provided a great distraction for the people there. Children were especially interested. The loops of video did not repeat in the time I was there, clear evidence that the digital signage was designed to hold people’s attention for the duration of a typical food court meal. I noticed the advertising but it was subtle enough that I did not feel overwhelmed by it. This digital signage network had struck the right balance between entertaining and marketing and it worked beautifully.
Lessons to Be Learned
What do these examples show us? In digital signage, as everywhere, content is crucial. Even the latest technology and high-resolution screens will not ensure success. If the content does not resonate with the viewer, or worse, if it annoys the viewer, the digital signage network could diminish the image of the company behind it.
For more information on digital signage, contact a narrowcasting expert at http://www.ek3.com/digital-merchandising-products/digital-signage.htm
Digital Photo Printing & Views of People About it
Jun 30th
Digital Photo Printing- It is the modern art of taking photographs which is completely different from the traditional techniques. Those days are no more when folk enjoyed limited freedom in taking photographs of their memories. It is known to all of us that in the past people had to pay big amount of money for getting an ordinary sample of photograph. Now these questions are no more in the minds of modern people. Today these people are much satisfied and are happy with the photographs which comes in a great variety.
At present, people have accessed to digital cameras which are helping them to capture the most beautiful moments of their life. Modern science has come up with new digital technology which is in the progressive mode and are practically used in the field of photography. None of the founders of digital technology had ever imagined that this technology would change the whole concept of photography.
Now at a lower price people can have multiple photo prints as many as they want. Isn’t this an advantage of the digital technology ? Of course, it is. Put your outdated cameras in the trash bin and get the modern digital cameras to your homes. Otherwise, there are many photo printing websites which provide many online digital photo printing products and services which are very helpful.
The other familiar advantage of the websites offering digital photo printing products as well as services is that these products and services are quite higher in their qualities. The price of these products and services are unbeatable by any competitors in the markets. Never waste your bucks in the worthless photo studios which are found on the high streets. Instead of it, you should move with the digital photo printing websites and their effective services. Hence, we have seen what is the common perception of people about the growing digital photo printing websites.
Author: Thomas Jack is an expert in the field of digital photo printing and has been associated with it since years. After years of professional life Thomas jack now wants to share his information about photo printing with others.