Upgrade HTC Artemis (P3300) from WM5 to WM6

 Last week I upgraded my HTC Artemis to WM6 operation system. I followed this how-to (in Czech language only).
The main steps were:

• "unlock" the device - start_uspl.exe
  
• upload WM6 O2 ROM - RUU_Artemis_O2_UK_3.4.206.2_4.1.13.28_02.67.90_Ship.exe
  

Other also useful installations were:

• HTC Home - HomePluginWM6.cab
  
• HTC DialPad - Wizard_reTOUCHed_Dialer2.cab
  
• BateryStatus - BatteryStatusExt.1.04.CAB (easy overclocking)
  
• HTC Theme - Htc_default.tsk
  
• and HTC Home Config - HHCv08b.cab
  

You can find all those files here.

I also installed TodayAgenda Plug-In. Now I have HTC Home and TodayAgenda the only Plug-Ins on my Today screen.

All installation went easily - no problem occurred. The WM6 looks better now and are really faster even without overclocking. Additionally my HTC Artemis is working at 273MHz (original 200MHz).

You can find further information at xda-developers.com

Compact Digital Camera Under $200

I'm looking for a compact digital camera for daily use with full manual modes.
I found Canon PowerShot A570 IS good solution. 
Basic features:

• 7.1 MPix Resolution
  
• 4 x optical zoom (35-140mm equivalent of 35mm film)
  
• Manual mode, Aperture Priority mode, Shutter Priority mode
  
• Image Stabilization
  
• SD card, 2 AA Bateries
  
• dimensions 90x64x43mm 
  
• approx. price $180
  

Digital Camera Resolution - Is Higher Always Better?

Todays compact digital cameras have 6MPix resolution and higher (up to 12MPix). Even some cell phones have 3MPix cameras. So when you buy a digital camera is the resolution the main feature what we should look for? Absolutely NOT!
Let's count what resolution we really need. The printer resolution is enough from 200 to 300DPI (Dots Per Inch) - let's count 300DPI. The most common used format is 4x6'' (10x15cm). So if you plan to shoot (and later print!) mostly on this format the picture size should be 1200x1800 pixels. That is 21600000Pix = 2,16 MPix. So the 3MPix digital camera is just fine even for 4.5x7'' (12x18cm)
Bottom line is that when you look for a digital camera more than the physical resolution focus on modes and functions you really need. Ask about the lenses, focal length, "zoom", etc. Consider the size and ergonomics.

Looking for LCD TV

Requirements:

• 37" (16:9)
  
• S-PVA technology (or S-IPS)
  

Not sure about resolution yet

• 1920x1080 px (full HD)
  
• 1366 x 768 px
  

The palyers so far:

• SAMSUNG LE37M87BD (don't know screen technology yet)
  
• SAMSUNG LE37R86BDX
  
• SAMSUNG LE37S71 

The SAMSUNG website doesn't indicate the LCD techology of TVs. Regarding to this page I found out that Panel -"Super Clear" means S-PVA. Unfortunately SAMSUNG LE37M87BD doesn't use this technology.

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How Do I Store My Pictures

I have three copies on three physically separated medias. The chance that all of them crash at the same time is almost zero. It's important not to use the same disk and different partitions because if the disk would e.g. be physically damaged you loose all your data at once.
I do not trust optical medias like CDs or DVDs so I use three external hard drives (USB and Fire Wire). They became really cheap these days.
I sort the pictures out into folder named by year and then subfolders yyyy_mm_dd_description.
My idea is to mirror all my pictures in some kind of "thumbnails" in monitor-resolution-size on my laptop internal hard drive.
All this work I do manually.

How to manage To-Do List

I have been inviting the best system how to manage my To-Do list. Finally I decided to split my tasks into 3 categories:

• Next 24 Hours
  
• Next 7 Days
  
• Long Time
  

I use the MS Outlook (the obsolete version 2002 which came with my HTC P3300 mobile device) for my agenda. I can tag each task with the priority flag so I use High for "Next 24 Hours", Normal for "Next 7 Days", and Low for "Long Time". Then I made Outlook sort those task descending by priority. To manage my task I switch the priority flags manually.
And it works good for me.

What Software for converting RAW pictures?

It's very clever to shoot to RAW image format. It takes much more space on card but the potential is much higher. It's because there is much more information in RAW (5.5MB - Canon EOS 300D) compare to JPEG (2.5MB).
Because we can not work with RAW pictures directly we need to transform them into some common image format (TIFF, jpeg, HDR, etc.).
I found RawShooter Essentials 2006 the best solution for me. It's powerful and has almost all I need. And it's free. 

• What do I really like: Simplicity, Speed (it's very FAST), Highlights/Shadows clipping, Comparison of various image corrections, 16bit TIFF output. 
  
• And what I'm missing: Levels and Curves, Crop tool, Picture Rotation.
  

Other software options is e.g. Canon DPP raw converter or some commercial programs like Adobe Lightroom ($299).