Each and every Friday I post a desktop wallpaper which I have taken personally on travels and outings with my Canon 350D. The wallpaper is sized at a resoultion of 2560×1600 pixels, big enough to be used on a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display, so no-one will miss out.

On another note regarding my Desktop Wallpapers, starting next week I will be offering two versions. The full 2560×1600, and a second version for the iPhone/iPod touch at 320×480.

Green Haven

| This image above was taken with the following settings: f/2.8 | 50mm | 1/500th | ISO 100|

Feel free to leave any comments or constructive criticism about this wallpaper below - it helps me grow and learn the art of photography. If you have suggestions for Desktop Friday, feel free to shoot me an email. Have a great weekend!

Download this weeks desktop wallpaper here. Want more? Check out the archives.

After having my new Apple Wireless Keyboard for two weeks now, this afternoon I decided to throw in the towel and switch back to the wired version after a few frustrating weeks of tapping away at the keys.

Aesthetically, it’s beautiful. I love the form factor, the way it’s shaped, and the lack of wires - so what’s the problem with the keyboard which has made me so furious?

One “error” message which states “Keyboard Disconnected” keeps appearing every few minutes which is beginning to disrupt my workflow as I don’t know whether the keyboard is connected and working or not. Occasionally I start typing and the keystrokes appear on screen seconds later, other times nothing appears at all while I’m tapping at the keys. Understandably this would annoy anyone, I want to type and have the text appear instantaneously on screen, something the Apple Wireless Keyboard isn’t currently offering me.

Before anyone comments on how this issue could be due to a flaky bluetooth connection between the keyboard and my Mac Pro, I’ve already connected it to three other Macs and am getting the same issue. Could my problems be down to the following “feature” on Apple’s website?

Intelligent power management conserves battery life by automatically powering down the keyboard when you’re not using it and turning it on the instant you start typing.

Not so intelligent in my eyes..I’m interested to see if anyone else is having similar problems. For now, I’m off to call Apple and demand a refund.

Credit: Flickr photographer Jeremy Bogan

As a daily user of Elgato’s wonderful and highly praised EyeTV Hybrid (review coming soon), I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the version 2.5 software update which was released yesterday.

The main addition to the application is the ability to stream recorded television shows to your Wi-Fi enabled devices such as the iPhone and the iPod touch. Once this setting is switched on you’re able to head to a pre-defined web-page in Safari on the mobile device to be presented with all your recorded television shows for on-demand streaming.

This feature won’t impress everyone who owns the EyeTV Hybrid, though those who own the EyeTV Hybrid and an iPhone/iPod touch will most likely be impressed. I’m really looking forward to my iPod touch arriving tomorrow afternoon to give the streaming a spin. If it lives up to my strong expectations, Elgato could possibly hold one of the first highly innovative ways of taking advantage of Apple’s new Wi-Fi enabled product line.

In addition, the software update adds one-click export of files for the iPhone and iPod touch, improved H.264 HDTV playback for machines with Core 2 Duo or more powerful processors, and time-shift recording for analog tuners.

Each and every Friday I post a desktop wallpaper which I have taken personally on travels and outings with my Canon 350D. The wallpaper is sized at a resoultion of 2560×1600 pixels, big enough to be used on a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display, so no-one will miss out.

Grass Straws

| This image above was taken with the following settings: f/5 | 160mm | 1/1250th | ISO 200|

Feel free to leave any comments or constructive criticism about this wallpaper below - it helps me grow and learn the art of photography. If you have suggestions for Desktop Friday, feel free to shoot me an email. Have a great weekend!

Download this weeks desktop wallpaper here. Want more? Check out the archives.

As I’m sure most of you will know, the iPod touch is now freely available in most Apple Stores in both the United States and the United Kingdom. However many who pre-ordered via Apple’s website a couple of weeks back haven’t had theirs shipped yet - including me.

I ordered my 16GB iPod touch the day after it was announced, and still have an estimated shipment date of the 28th September, with delivery on the 2nd of October. The fact this hasn’t been brought forward has got under my skin over the past few days, and I’m rather frustrated.

I believe Apple should have started shipping the iPod touch to those who pre-ordered online either before, or alongside those who can now walk into an Apple store and pick one up on impulse.

Don’t undervalue your big spending and loyal customers Apple, we’re stuck here sitting and waiting for our product because why? Because we were loyal and ordered as soon as we could - via the online Apple Store.

Although relatively inexpensive, I’ve heard good words about Canon’s consumer 50mm prime lens for a long, long time. I’d been meaning to pick up one for myself since I bought my 350D 18 months back, and finally did just that last week on impulse.

The lens I bought is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8. Widely known as the cheapest Canon prime lens with the best image quality. I also picked up the optional ES-62 lens hood as a precautionary measure for eliminating reflection and glare while shooting in wide open daylight.

Build Quality

One thing this lens isn’t well known for is a top notch build quality, in fact, this lens really lacks even a medium quality build. It uses a cheap looking plastic EF mount, and feels very flimsy. I wouldn’t want to drop the lens, even on a soft surface. It’s quite apparent the slightest knock will break the lens.

If you’re after something with a better quality build which an be knocked around a little more, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 might be what you’re after ($329 USD).

| This image above was taken with the following settings: f/2.8 | 1/100th | ISO 100|

Image Quality

Abeit the low quality build, the image quality and sharpness for such an inexpensive lens is remarkable.

Low light shooting really is a joy with the lens wide open at f/1.8. The possibilities of different shots using f/1.8 and an ISO of 1600 really open up so many potential frames you couldn’t capture on anything else.

In lower lighting conditions where I still have a little light to play with, I tend not to use the lens wide open, rather opting for slightly higher aperture value of 2.2 for added sharpness - and bumping the ISO speed by one notch to make up for the aperture difference.

I’ve found the lens to be sharpest when opened up past f/2.8, daylight performance at f/2.8 is a little disappointing, with a noticeable lack of sharpness around the focus point. Cranking the aperture up eliminates this, and the lens really starts to shine at f/3.2.

| This image shows the overall image with a 100% crop to show sharpness|

Conclusion

If there is one single lens you should pick up when you purchase your first DSLR, this is the one. Albeit the low quality build, the image quality for such an inexpensive lens is remarkable.

It makes shooting in low light much, much easier. I’ve also found shooting with a prime lens has opened up the bar for my creativity - I’ve started to think about composition so much more which results in better images.

For $80, you really can’t go wrong with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8. It really has me thinking about my future lens lineup, and the overall sharpness has me thinking about going with a lens lineup completely comprised with primes.

Here’s this weeks overview of the latest videos published to YouTube and iTunes on The Glenn Wolsey Show.

In addition to checking out what has been produced each week here, you can subscribe to the show on YouTube, or iTunes.

iPod Touch 8GB Or 16GB

Jan asked which iPod touch is the best value, 8 or 16GB. I bought the 16GB so it’d last me a little longer, what about you?

Watch iPod Touch 8GB Or 16GB on YouTube.

Mac Compatible Displays

Which display is the best value to purchase along side the Mac Pro. I recommend a Dell 24″ display if you’re on a budget. I also demo the cool swivel feature of the Dell screens.

Watch Mac Compatible Displays on YouTube.

Thoughts On Apple’s New Keyboards

I’ve received countless questions regarding different keyboards over the past three weeks. In this video I go over my views of the new Apple Keyboards, and the Logitech diNovo Edge. My new Apple Wireless keyboard just shipped too, looking forward to that arriving.

Watch Thoughts On Apple’s New Keyboards on YouTube.

iPod Shuffle Case Giveaway

I’m giving away three iPod Shuffle 2nd generation cases to three of my 300 YouTube subscribers. Subscribe on YouTube to win - when I hit 300 I’ll announce the winners. Keep in mind I already have prizes lined up for future giveaways, including a larger scale one..

Watch iPod Shuffle Case Giveaway on YouTube.

Each and every Friday I post a desktop wallpaper which I have taken personally on travels and outings with my Canon 350D. The wallpaper is sized at a resoultion of 2560×1600 pixels, big enough to be used on a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display, so no-one will miss out.

Architecture

Feel free to leave any comments or constructive criticism about this wallpaper below - it helps me grow and learn the art of photography. If you have suggestions for Desktop Friday, feel free to shoot me an email. Have a great weekend!

Download this weeks desktop wallpaper here. Want more? Check out the archives.

I found this image of the Apple TextEdit icon in Leopard last week and immediately dragged it to my desktop for safe keeping. Stumbling upon it again today and taking a closer look, I had a few thoughts which ran through my mind.

This level of detail is something you wouldn’t see any other company than Apple bother to put the effort into. My assumption is that Microsoft don’t really care about the fine details of their products - as such a huge company it could be in the back of their mind, but I’ve never seen Microsoft take any action. On the other hand, Apple approach their products with a totally different mindset. The little details appear to matter to Apple, and these little details make their products what they are - great.

This goes for their software as much as hardware. Take a look at the screenshot above and you’ll see what I’m getting at with this statement. Apple appear to break things down, to step closer and take a look at the smaller picture along with taking the step back to look at the bigger picture. I believe part of their success can put put down to this.

For all other hardware/software companies, take a leap out of Apple’s book. Start paying attention to the fine details. It’ll be noticed.

Here’s this weeks overview of the latest videos published to YouTube and iTunes on The Glenn Wolsey Show.

In addition to checking out what has been produced each week here, you can subscribe to the show on YouTube, or iTunes.

20 Or 24 Inch iMac

Jim was asking if he should purchase the 20 or 24″ iMac, and whether he should wait until Leopard is released to purchase the machine.

Watch 20 Or 24 Inch iMac on YouTube.

Max RAM For Mac Pro

One question I get asked a lot is how much RAM can the Mac Pro really handle, The Apple website says 16GB, I say 32GB.

Watch Max RAM For Mac Pro on YouTube.

Why I Have More Than One iPod

Jan Osti asked why I have more than one iPod. Since recording this episode I’ve sold all my iPods bar the iPod shuffle, and ordered a 16GB iPod touch.

Watch Why I Have More Than One iPod on YouTube.

Which Mac Laptop To Last A Long Time

Chris wanted an Apple laptop which will last him a long time, and not be outdated quickly. I suggested the current 2.4Ghz 15″ Santa Rosa MacBook Pro.

Watch Which Mac Laptop To Last A Long Time on YouTube.

Each and every Friday I post a desktop wallpaper which I have taken personally on travels and outings with my Canon 350D. The wallpaper is sized at a resoultion of 2560×1600 pixels, big enough to be used on a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display, so no-one will miss out.

City Living

Feel free to leave any comments or constructive criticism about this wallpaper below - it helps me grow and learn the art of photography. If you have suggestions for Desktop Friday, feel free to shoot me an email. Have a great weekend!

Download this weeks desktop wallpaper here. Want more? Check out the archives.

Blog reader Jan sent me three emails over the past 24 hours with iPod related questions. Jan, since I’ve taken so long to answer your emails, I though I’d take the opportunity to address these questions in a blog post.

iPod Touch

One iPod I plan on purchasing is the iPod touch, not sure yet on which model, 8GB vs 16GB. I sold off my 60GB iPod last week to fund the purchase, now I’m tossing up the possibility of selling my 2nd generation nano and getting the 16GB version, or keeping the nano and picking up the 8GB touch.

Ether way, I want an iPod touch because it’s the device I’ve been asking for since the iPhone was released, the iPhone without the Phone.

iPod Classic

I love that Apple have come to realize the ‘iPod’ needed a real name. The line has became rather confusing over the past couple of years. With the announcement of the iPod classic it all makes much more sense.

It can be compared to Toyota coming out with their first car and calling it the Toyota - with successor cars being named the Toyota Swift, and the Toyota Drift. You still have a sense of confusion with which one is talking about the main product, the Toyota. Are they talking about the original, or a successor?

Enough about the car talk, the iPod classic is excellent value. If you already have an iPhone and want to upgrade your iPod, the new classic is excellent value. 80GB for $250? I’d take that in a second if I already had an iPhone.

Have you purchased any of the new iPods yet? If so, what did you put you cash down for?

Update: I’ve ordered the 16GB iPod touch.

After having the new iLife 08 suite for a few weeks now (I purchased it the day after it came out), I’ve finally got around to publishing around 700 words of my thoughts on Macguide.

iPhoto 08 is another huge leap in features and performance over the previous version, keeping up a trend in innovation and improvement Apple has set over the past 5 years.

This year Apple have really pumped up the volume and worked hard at making iPhoto a much more intuitive application for both managing, and editing digital images.

Check out the review on Macguide. On another note, I’m not sure if I should be excited or scared for tomorrows Apple Special Event, after selling my 60GB iPod last week and now having cash to play with, I really don’t want a new iPod as I don’t actually use them as much as I should/could, but I think I could be tempted..only time will tell.

I’ve been asked time and time again why my desk is so clean when I post a picture to Flickr, people tell me I should leave it the way it is and not ’stage’ the desk shots. Well, uhh, folks - that’s how my desk looks in a normal situation.

How I manage to keep such a tidy desk is something even I don’t know. It would be so easy to let things pile up and be working under a cover of books, paper, and stationary, but I don’t. I manage to keep the workspace clean and tidy and it usually stays that way. I think it could be down to my OCD problem, everything has to look right, be right, and fit in right.

There are a few things I can comprehend which I do to keep the workspace tidy. These include putting things away as soon as I’ve used them. Finished with a book? I put it away right away. When I’m packaging a parcel to send in the post, as soon as it’s done the tape and excess bubble wrap get put away in the cupboard. If my desk is not tidy, I find it difficult to work comfortably. A clean environment is critical for me to be productive and work well.

A reader by the name of Peter asked me this exact question last week, I think a shortened version of the answer to how I keep my workspace so tidy is my problem, that little problem called OCD.

Are you much like me? Is your workspace clean and tidy or messy and cluttered? How do you like to work?

I wrote this post for excellent design and life tips blog LifeClever a few weeks back. Thought I’d spread the ‘wisdom’ and cross post here.

1. Set Times & Plan Your Day

Not many people are going to work well without some structure. Waking up in the morning without any sense of direction for what needs to be done, or what you’re going to do that day is a recipe for disaster.

Start scheduling or setting daily milestones. If you don’t work best on a “hour based plan’�such as writing a guest article from 1PM to 2PM, set milestones for the day—one guest blog post, two blog posts on my personal site, complete client design, etc.

2. Keep An Organized To-Do List

When you’re juggling half a dozen projects at once, you’re just asking for trouble by keeping a to-do list in your head. Don’t you want to be able to sit down in the evening and have a few worry-free hours from your workload? If you’re not keeping a to-do list somewhere other than in your head, you’ll be heading straight for burnout.

The solution is simple. Buy a moleskin notebook or pop open TextEdit on your computer, then spurt out all the tasks and actions you need to achieve. Don’t worry about the order, just pump out everything that needs doing. Once these are on paper, focus on organizing them. It’ll feel much better having a visual action list you can look at to see what needs to be done.

3. Set Goals & Milestones

In addition to your newly developed to-do list, start setting goals and milestones. For instance, if you have a blog, a goal might be publishing 5 entries per week for four weeks straight, while a milestone might be hitting 2,000 readers via your RSS feed.

Goals are very important, not enough people set them. I for one have set goals to keep me focused, to keep me looking straight and ahead, and they are perfect to use as motivation for something to work toward.

4. Disconnect Yourself From The Outside World

This falls under focusing on a single task. When you’re writing, the last thing you need is to be distracted by Twitter messages, or emails. It disrupts your overall flow and makes starting your piece again hard to do. On occasion, one simple email can ruin hours of your work day.

You don’t have to close your email program, practice ignoring notifications. If you hear the new email sound ignore it, keep working, and keep in the flow.

5. Focus On A Single Task

Multi-tasking can be fun, and can be rewarding. You think you’re getting a lot done at once, killing two birds with one stone when all you’re really doing is dragging out both tasks longer. Spend some time on a single task or project and focus. Don’t try to write an article while also dealing with marketing related emails. Keep them separate. When you’re doing one, ignore the other - allowing you to work more quickly and efficiently in the long run.

Here’s this weeks overview of the latest videos published to YouTube and iTunes on The Glenn Wolsey Show.

In addition to checking out what has been produced each week here, you can subscribe to the show on YouTube, or iTunes.

New iMac or Upgrade Old iMac

Kiro wanted to know if he should upgrade his current G5 iMac and purchase some goodies, or purchase a brand new Intel iMac.

Watch New iMac or Upgrade Old iMac on YouTube.

MacBook Pro Purchasing Queries

Mark had some questions regarding the current MacBook Pro. His questions included is 4GB of RAM worthwhile, and if updates are expected to the notebook line in the near future.

Watch MacBook Pro Purchasing Queries on YouTube.