There seem to be two Windows 8 packages available to buy right now, both of which are £50.

1. Microsoft Windows 8 Pro
2. Microsoft Windows 8 Pro Pack

On the back of the box the difference between the two seem to be the following, which is quoted from the back of the ‘Pro Pack’ box:

Ready for business
Encrypt your data with BitLocker
Access your PC on-the-go with Remote Desktop
Connect to company networks with domain join
Plus, get Windows Media Center

Now, it’s at the bottom of the box when it all comes clear. I’ll summarise. You must already have purchased Windows 8 to be able to upgrade to the Windows 8 Pro Pack as the pack is simply some additions to the full (and only) Windows 8 software package. The encryption thing doesn’t bother me, neither does the Remote Desktop as you could just use third party tools for this. The bit that gets me is the ‘domain join’, which I am guessing means VPN (Virtual Private Network). A very strange use of words here. I think this is due to the 4th addition – Media Center – being included in this package. Anyone who wants to use Media Center (and I don’t know anyone who does) will most likely not have any need to set up a VPN, use Remote Desktop or have any interest in encrypting their data with a program called BitLocker. Thus, they will have no idea or care to know what a VPN is.

Having watched a few videos on YouTube, I am still in two minds about upgrading (or rather side-stepping) to Windows 8. I can see the benefits for tablet PCs and touchscreens, but I don’t see any real benefits to desktop users / business users.

What I think Microsoft have tried to do is simplify the Windows interface across all devices, whilst maintaining a familiar interface for the desktop users (who must outnumber the tablet users 100 to 1). So the result is really 2 interfaces, lightly bound together by the Windows+Tab button. People seem to be calling the new interface ‘Metro’. It looks like this:

From a designers perspective I think the look and feel is pleasant. I like the bright colours and I also like how (if you’re online) the Apps all update to form a sort of gadget-filled desktop where you can check your emails, see the weather, tweets, Facebook  alarms etc. And Windows 7 never really made this work. You could see that they were moving in this direction with the introduction of Gadgets (AKA Widgets, AKA Apps) to Vista, but it didn’t really hit it off properly, partly due to developers not being encouraged enough to produce cool Gadgets.

Windows are now introducing Apps. Apps is a far better word for a ‘Gadget’, and a word we – largely thanks to Apple – understand and know what to expect. So this new feature is a great idea. However, for Desktop users, the major change Windows 8 makes is the redundancy of the old Start Menu! Yep, Start Button has gone from the desktop task bar. Instead, you will be greeted with the Metro page every time you want to open a program. You can access this by moving your mouse in to the bottom left hand corner of the screen and clicking. Now, for me this isn’t a bad thing because I only ever use the Start Menu to search for something which I don’t already have pinned to the taskbar. This change will affect the casual home users who may not fully understand the current Start Menu due to it’s immense detail and it’s layers upon layers of expansion lists. So, in my opinion, I think it’s a step in the right direction.

What I immediately don’t like about Windows 8 is the binding between the two interfaces: Desktop and Metro. I think we can expect Windows 9 to move toward a more fluid interface, taking the best bits from Windows 7 and 8 and combining them in to something that feels more like 1 company made it. More like Apple.

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I am quickly going to explain the basic principles of the three settings and how they affect your real life situations.

Briefly

In my infographic (above), the circle represents light. The middle most point is the lightest situation (such as a tennis match) and the sides are the darkest (like an indoor concert). In low light situations you would naturally be looking to increase the amount of light to make the image closer to representing real life. Before using a flash gun, there are three ways to increase the amount of light your camera’s sensor can see.

Shutter Speed (S) – Slow it down and open the Shutter for longer to allow more Light in to the Camera

Aperture (A) – ‘f number’ is another word for Apperture. The lower the ‘f number’ the more Light goes in to the Camera

ISO (ISO) – Increase the ISO. This will allow the Sensor to become more sensitive to Light

The two top settings (S and A) are actually modes on a lot of Camera’s. They give you manual (M) operation of each setting and make the camera control the rest.

Using S, A and ISO together

Each of the three settings come together to create an exposure. You can not turn one of them off. They make every image.

Rather than explaining with words, look at the infographic above and the three different scenarios I have featured. I’ll explain in a bit more detail below because I’ve been asked a few questions recently and this should help answer them.

Nightscape

You should be using a tripod. The good news is that the shutter speed is on your side here. This is because the amount of time you have to take the shot is dictated by the movement in the scene. In this situation below, the only movement in the scene was the clouds passing overhead and the projections being refreshed on to the Parliament buildings (approx 7 seconds each).

Generally, to avoid noise (grain) in your images, turn the ISO right down very low, the same as you would in the bright snow or on a beach in Florida. Only increase it if you’re finding the image is under exposed. The Aperture can be set to anything here and can act as a sort of counterbalance to your other two settings, however you may find your images sharper at a higher f number such as f8. Use the built in timer to avoid any movement and you will get a clean, noise free image with a controlled amount of movement and depth.

Concert

At a concert you would be looking to capture a sharp image of the band without adding too much distraction from the main subject. Your shutter speed will have to be faster, something like 1/100 of a second +, and pick your moment carefully to avoid any unnecessary movement. The ISO will be set as high as your camera will allow before it gets noisy. You will most likely be using a zoom lens so zoom in quite a way to encourage a blurred background. Most compact cameras get very noisy at anything above 400 ISO. So just be careful here. The Aperture will need to be set to a low f number. The lower you can go, the more light will come in to the camera.

Tennis Match

Tennis is an outdoor sport which means it relies on natural light. Your ISO can be set higher than you would expect here because you will be fighting against quite a lot of athletic movement and you should avoid under exposing. Shutter should be quick, something like 1/250 of a second or faster if your camera will allow. The f number you can keep quite low, but remember the lower you go, the shallower depth of field you will see. So you may only have a few metres in focus and blur the backgrounds right out, or miss the subject completely due to bad focusing. Use spot focus to avoid this and set the AE/AF Lock button (if you have one) to lock out Automatic Focus. Keep it held down and be ready to press the shutter when the time is right.

I hope some of this helps.

Link to the article in the September 12th issue of “This Is Exeter”

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With the help of my Neutral Density filter I managed to get the shutter speed down to 2-3 seconds in the bright sunlight. The Olympic Park is such a busy place it’s a challenge to take in the landscape without the distraction of the ticket-holders, of which 90% were moving.

These shots actually came out a lot darker as I used the NDF on all of them. I brightened the shots up afterwards because I think it really highlights the colours of the park allowing the noise and bustle of the crowds to take a back seat. I liked knowing that I was the only one in the crowd who knew who was standing still. It was like having x-ray vision.

For anyone who cares: ISO100, f16, 20sec (the blurred lights under the bridge were a passing ship)

Click the download button below then right click the image and Set As Desktop Background. Enjoy : )

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“It is absolutely fantastic to see iconic images of athleticism from Games past projected onto the mother of all Parliaments. This mesmeric light show brings to life our sporting heroes and their Olympian achievements from 1908 to the present, helping set the scene for the next few weeks.” – Boris Johnson

Third place right now! Fantastic! #GoTeamGB (Medals Table)

• Population (this graphic doesn’t demonstrate population)
• Global Olympic Rank
• Number of Metals Won
• Money Spent on Training Each Year (not hosting)
• Overview of Team Event Strength % (in categories)

All data is fictional right now and I’m sorry about the mistype in the title. Any thoughts?

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Yesterday I was thinking about how well Team GB are doing and how amazing it is that such a small nation are up there with epic sized countries like China and the USA. It got me thinking about infographics.I found these this morning on Creative Review: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2012/july/the-olympic-infographic and decided to make my own, demonstrating our popularity vs our significance upon the London 2012 Olympic Games.

I redrew the Olympic logo then scaled each ring up from the centre point.

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