Close up Filters Results...

As mentioned in one of my previous posts, I got myself a set of close up filters to go with my Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens..So, here are some of the results I got, which is also available for view in my flickr account..Most of them are taken with +10 dioptre filter attached to the lens..

---MORE PHOTOS IN MY FLICKR ACCOUNT---

Free Photoshop Brushes II

Here are few more free Photoshop brushes for you guys, in addition to my previous post on Free Photoshop Brushes..These include film strip, cloud, note paper, petals, ink splatter, artist board, abstract, music and octanes signs brushes..Feel free to download.. :)

Nikon Latest Price Hike in the UK!!

Nikon has officially confirmed a new wave fo price increases from 1st March on most of its product lines. The increase is the second in less than two months. On 12 January, Nikon had already raised its prices by up to 20%.

'The [new] price increase is due to the relative weakness of Sterling and the continued strength of the Yen,' Nikon explains. 'A range of product groups will be affected however the Coolpix series and selected digital SLRs will not see an increase.

However, more worrying for photographers, is Nikon's aknowledgment that this recent price increase could be the second in a long series. 'Nikon will continue to review its pricing structures,' it says.

[British Journal of Photography]

Here's a sample graph of the price trend of the Nikon D300 with 12-24mm lens kit:

Since Canon had also increased its price twice this year, so people are left with no choice but a whole range of more and more expensive cameras than they have ever been..Let's just have a look at the price trend of Canon EOS 5D Lens Kit (EF 24-105 f/4 L IS):
Too bad!!! This is like taking the world back to the 70's, when a camera would cost u a FORTUNE!! :(

PMS Buddy now on iPhone..

PMS Buddy - an iPhone app that helps to facilitate harmony between Mars and Venus, enables users to keep a close eye on the mood swings, headaches and food cravings that often occur at “that time of the month”. Men can use it to be ‘forewarned’ of impending PMS-related issues, while women can use it to monitor their own cycle or that of others. The app is based on the PMS Buddy web site, whose slogan reads, "Saving relationships, one month at a time!"

Yes, the idea is to give you a reminder of when that time of the month is coming, so as to avoid misunderstandings, which could lead to heated arguments and "dinner plates being hurled across the room," PMS Buddy's web site says.

“Women don’t appreciate it when you come home and maybe things are a little tense and the man says ‘Hey, do you have PMS?’” he said. “So we thought, ‘wouldn’t it be funny to automate it and make it available to the masses,” said Jordan Eisenberg, founder of PMS Buddy.

"Definitely useful for the 'WTF is wrong with me? Why am I so bitchy?' moments,"tweeted "Jemmen." "Also will be useful for couples trying to conceive."

[Retrieved from: blog.wired.com and telegraph.co.uk]

This is actually not something new as some similar apps have already been released before; iPeriod, My Girls, Calendar and PMS Meter to name a few. As long predicted, IT gadgets can do almost everything now that it can tell you when women in your life are closing in on "that time of the month" - when things can get intense for what may seem to be no reason at all. Here's a screenshot of iPeriod app on iPhone.
There's this one comment on the site which I find quite funny, yet very true.

"Warning: Asking a woman when she has PMS while she is experiencing PMS can result in the service not being needed until you meet someone new." --Posted by: EricF

And here's another comment from a user of PMS Buddy web app..Sounds like this app is really worth trying for most men out there..

"I've been using their web app for 6 months or so..now I get updates when my 2 exes are on their period. Great." --Posted by: Drew

A kid prodigy + love for his sister = iPhone app!!

Software companies big and small should live in fear of Lim Ding Wen — a nine-year-old in Singapore who's already authored an iPhone application.

His painting app Doodle Kids, free in the iPhone App Store, doesn't do much besides scatter colorful triangles, squares and plus signs on a virtual canvas, but he's way ahead of his time. Doodle Kids has been downloaded 4,000 times over the past two weeks.

"I wrote the program for my younger sisters, who like to draw," Lim told Reuters.

Lim started using a computer at age 2. He is fluent in six programming languages, and he's completed 20 programming projects. Lim is wise to get an early start on the App Store, where some developers are striking it rich with their iPhone apps. For example, independent developer Steve Demeter, said he made $250,000 in just two months with his iPhone game Trism.

Lim's father Lim Thye Chean is a chief technology officer who also writes iPhone applications.

With Doodle Kids complete, Lim is already working on his next iPhone app: a science fiction game called Invader Wars.

[Retrieved from wired.com]