POTM [07/07] Less is More

Just messing around on a rainy day with my camera, iPod nano and Paint.Net...

For me, the iPod (particularly the latest Nano) is the epitome of form-follows-function simplicity and elegance. I remember the days when we thought that a walkman was cutting edge! To have about 100 CD's worth of music on something as small and light as this, with 14 hours playing time on one charge, is really quite amazing.

There are other (and smaller) MP3 players around, but none work so well and so elegantly as the iPod. It is hard to imagine how it could be improved upon --except perhaps to change the whole front to a touch screen...

 

...and add some much-needed features such as a radio, line-in recording and perhaps wifi ala Zune. The latter two might be more for a niche market but surely a radio wouldn't go amiss? Nice photo though and does seem to epitamise the simplicity of the devices- they may not be my favourite DAPs but they're definately something to aspire to in terms of ease-of-use and minimalist design.

<A88>

 

Why the hell would I want to listen to the radio on my iPod? The reason I got an iPod was so I could choose the music.

Anyways, I like the take on the theme, but there's just something that doesn't sit quite right with me. Can't quite put my finger on what... focus maybe?

 

The same reason you'd want to listen to radio at home when you've got a CD player- news, travel, radio shows, sports, finding new music, particular radio shows...believe it or not, the radio isn't just about listening to tunes 24/7- it's a portal for all kind of information and music. You'd be surprised at how many people ask for MP3 players with an fm tuner. But alas we digress- this discussion is suitable for a different forum/tag.

I personally like the 'glow' the edge of the nano gives off...what camera did you use for that shot?

<A88>

 

It is a Nikon D80. The glow was admittedly post-processed, as lighting conditions were dismal at the time (dark grey sky, rain... a typical British summer).

Another mess-about with Paint.Net:



How's that for added features?

 

LOL only first noticed the changed buttons after looking at the 2nd edition

 

Does the second pic count as circumventing the swear filter?

 

All in paint .net you say? I must have another play around in it, I didn't know you could rotate and edit text in there

 

What's listed on that iPod is pretty much what some music is capable of.


H.B.

 

The latest version has "Rotate and Zoom" in the pull-down menu. This opens a window with a sphere (for tilting the plane of the selection), a ring around it (for rotating the selection) and next to it a square with crosshairs in the centre (for panning the selection). Next to it is a slider for zooming the selection. In this case, text was put in a new layer and selected, then I performed the necessary rotate, tilt and pan functions. Note that this does not pan, tilt or rotate the selection box, only its contents (to rotate the actual selection box (plus contents) around its centre right-click on it and drag). I performed a gaussian blur on the text to make it appear out of focus with the rest of the picture as appropriate.