Thank you Cedric, will await your result

I believe the focal length do change when focusing though
... or not :

Angela Just found some sites that might interest you, it's written by another camera brand though but that doesn't matter.
It are the tips on this site link
A lot of photos and animation that makes things quite clear, I really like it when they do that.
Hopefully they are of use to you.

Don, you're full with great ideas

But did it make the background smoother or not, do you've a photo maybe?

Wait there is a difference here.
You are allowed to do with your BMW what you want within the law of course, if you tune your car and put a Ford engine in your BMW they won't stop you.

And a DVD player is not a gaming console so you can't compare them.
It's something else if there is a DVD player that only plays Disney DVD for example but there isn't.

Now about the gaming consoles, they don't run on each other discs because the way the code is written is different all gaming system are different.
I don't think there is anything against making a multi platform disk that can run on all the gaming system.

You've disks with DVD on one side and Blu-ray on the other, I don't think they can stop you from putting on the DVD side an XBOX game and the Blu-ray side a PS3 game but why would you want to have two versions of the same game?

Indeed John that's one of the merits of using such system but it's also one that restricts the use of the product.

But I do think you agree that you should decide what software you would want to use on your product and not the the brand of the product decide for you what you can use.

I remember the discussing here about the passport.
Most Ukers had the view that the police should not be allowed to ask for your ID if you did nothing wrong and most other Euers had the view the could ask since if you did nothing wrong what's there to fear.

Basicly you don't trust the police/government and now I don't trust
company or at least I don't think they should have the power to decide for you what you can and can not do with their device.

Indeed and that's why microsoft now needs to have a OS only version of windows here in the EU.
The thing is that every app for the iphone needs to go through apple for testing and they can deny that app to be used on their product that's why some people jailbreak their iphone so that they can use 3rd party software and have full control over the product... now it seems you buy the rights to use an apple product instead of owning one and I don't like that concept.

Aww too bad but Don already had it earlier.

@Don, yeah that sounds good I was thinking of using some vaseline just on the edges of the filter to get a soft effect.
What were your results/findings, did it work?

Tim you're wrong though, I like apple in some ways and they make good products and software I just don't like how they try to control everything what you can do with the product you buy from them.
If I want to use software on a mac which they don't think is a good idea then that's my concern right not theirs and that you need to use itunes with your ipod is enough for me not to buy one.
I'm thinking of making a dual system here and install mac on a pc but my current hardware isn't perfect, i'm using amd a lot now but would want to switch to intel soon so will wait for that.

I also never argued about the numbers or the quality of their products, I just argued that the ipad might not be such a good product and if apple does sell a lot then it would be just because of the brand name.
You've not giving me any reason why it's not that besides evading it and say how many ipods and iphones they have not sold and saying that I don't like apple.

the water by the wine thing about the battery is this link

Also don't give me figures how many they have sold or not, it does not say a thing about how good a product is just how good the marketing is and how well a product fill someone's needs.
If all you need is a good product then why aren't there more Pentax
being sold?
And the Cowon S9 gives you better audio quality then any ipod so why aren't there sold more of them?

Now give me a some facts that makes it clear that the ipad is better then most netbooks.

I've been thinking a bit, I know it's quite special that I do that but is there a way to make the Bokeh smoother and I think yes there is.

A little introduction before going to my idea, just to see if i've the basics right.

The out of focus blur is literary build up with spots, I believe you can call them "circle of confusion" at least to a point, we will call them blur disk.
The blur disks are defined by the light distribution in them and the shape as has a part in that.
Now to get a very nice blur disk it would be nice that they are round but more importantly the edges need to be "feathered" so that the disk that make out the whole blurred background has a smooth transiztion between them.So the key is to get them like that and you can do that by manipulating the edges of them.

Sony/Minolta has done that with their Smooth Transition Focus (STF).
That lens has an extra set of aperture that influence the edge.
Now you can't build in an extra aperture in your lens but what happens if you make the edge of your optics soft, would that help to soften the blur disks?
You've those shaped bokeh things where you cut a pattern in a paper and hold it before the lens and it makes those shapes that in the highlight of the blur but instead of the shape you make the ideal bokeh. link

Does this make sense?

ps. if so I hereby panted the idea