Switching to MAC

My Windows laptop was taking forever to boot up and once booted, logging in was another long wait. The the Virus scanner starts afterward and before I can start working on it , a frustrating half an hour would have passed. So I decided to upgrade to something more powerful and reliable. That's when I thought of an iMAC.

Since I am a unix guy by profession, I had an inclination to unix based O/S than the messy windows. The timing was right. Apple released it's new range of iMACs and it was available at the IT SHOW in Singapore (March 12 -14). I went and ordered one - a 24 inch iMAC.

After using it for a while now I feel home with it. OS X is a decent OS. Simple and efficient. Setting it up was so easy and It recognized my wireless network with out any configuration.

The first thing I tried on it was "Time machine", the backup software that comes with OS X Leopard. It is the easiest backup software I have ever seen and quite efficient too. Almost nothing to configure to enable the backup. When you attach a new external Harddisk OS X will ask you if you want to use it for "Time machine". Say yes and your backup is configured. After that it will back up the files every hour. Restoring is also very easy. Click on the "Time machine" and it will hide all other open windows and bring up a new window where you can select the date of the backup that you want to restore and then search in the "Finder to locate the file you want restored. Click restore and if the file already exists at the destination it prompts you to give a new name for the restored file. How cool !!! probably this will take care of all my backup requirements.

So far I am happy with my purchase and still exploring the possibilities of OS X Leopard.

My New Toy

After a long wait of almost an year for a full frame DSLR I finally bought Canon EOS 5D MK2. I felt it like a good upgrade from my Canon EOS 30D even though it is an overkill for my purpose.

I bought it on 2nd March 2009, and still haven't had chance to experiment enough on the the outdoor / landscape shots because of the heavy rains here. From what ever I shot so far I am really happy with the results. What really impressed me is the ISO performance. I am able to get usable photos even at ISO 3200. Below are some advantages that I enjoy in the new 5DMK2 that my 30D lacked.

• Less noise at high ISO. Even ISO 3200 is quite usable.
  
• Great menu and controls, very easy to use
• Auto ISO when you are in a hurry
• 21 Mega pixel means freedom to crop
• The wide angle advantage of full frame sensor
• The video is good enough
  

While still toying with it , I am liking it more and more day by day.