Microsoft RAW image thumbnailer and viewer for Windows XP

Posted on By Mark Wilson

When I’m not “messing around with technology” my main hobby is photography and last September I bought a Nikon D70 digital SLR camera. Since then, I’ve taken almost 3000 digital images, all as 6 megapixel JPEG images, but for those images which are a bit more than just family snaps I’d really like to make use of raw mode (without needing to buy Nikon Capture software). Tonight, I found the Microsoft raw image thumbnailer and viewer for Windows XP.

Although this won’t allow me to edit raw images, according to Microsoft, it does provide “the ability to view, organize, and print photos captured in raw image formats from supported Canon and Nikon digital cameras”. There’s also a white paper on viewing and organising raw images in Windows XP.

In fact, there’s a whole load of digital photography resources on Microsoft’s professional photography and digital photography microsites (I picked that tip up via RoudyBob.NET), including a link to Microsoft’s press release on raw support in Windows.

More Windows XP eye-candy

Posted on By Mark Wilson

Last year, I posted a blog entry about installing the “Energy Blue” theme on a computer running Windows XP Professional.

Now there’s another option for those who are bored with the standard Windows XP wallpaper, but want something that still looks like part of Windows XP – the “New Bliss” wallpaper from the “Royale” theme, which, like Energy Blue, was originally designed for Windows XP Media Center Edition (XP MCE) 2005 but later ported to Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 (and is now available for all Windows XP users). This, and some other interesting wallpapers (Kiwi Bliss, Boulders, etc.) are available from Microsoft in New Zealand (I’m not convinced about the Queen’s birthday version though).

(For those who have access, I quite like the Longhorn.jpg wallpaper from Windows Vista Beta 1 too).

New job at Fujitsu Services – no longer blogging at Conchango

Posted on By Mark Wilson

Over the last few years, I’ve been a consultant for a major IT Services company; worked for a UK-based support services company (and hated most of my time there); contracted for Australia’s largest independent magazine distributor; worked in-house designing and project managing a Europe-wide infrastructure refresh for a major fashion design, marketing and retail organisation; and then I joined Conchango, a mid-sized consultancy which specialises in delivering technology-driven business solutions that incorporate the latest methodologies and technologies.

I’ve worked with Conchango, first as a client and then as a consultant, for about 3 and a half years in total but the time has come for me to move on. For anybody who lives within commuting distance of London or Surrey, enjoys the variety of work which consultancy offers, and who knows a significant amount about enterprise intelligence, interactive media, agile development and program management, or mobility, Conchango is a fantastic place to work. It feels a bit strange to be leaving a company that I still enjoy and which is packed with talented people but as Conchango’s focus shifts away from infrastructure services, I’ve decided to rejoin Fujitsu Services (it was ICL when I was there just over 5 years ago) to embrace a new role as a Senior Customer Solutions Architect, taking technical responsibility for IT infrastructure projects within their Architecture and Design Group.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most at Conchango (apart from being lucky enough to feature in the IT press) is that they encourage blogging (there’s a whole load of Conchango bloggers now) although my blog output has prompted some to comment on its volume and to say they almost expect to see what I had for breakfast appear next! One of my clients says he can find out what he’s been up to by reading these pages! I just hope that what I write is useful and that people enjoy reading it. Since last November, most of my posts here have been mirrored on my Conchango blog – from today, that will no longer be the case, and as far as I know, Fujitsu doesn’t have company-sponsored blogs, so this site is once again the single focus of my technology-related blogging (although I still hope to have the occasional article published on the Microsoft TechNet Industry Insiders blog).

I’ve got loads of stuff waiting for me to write about (but not much time to write it) – in the meantime, watch this space…