I don't think there's another lens on the planet that does bokeh like the pentax 85mm soft 2.2.

Wow.
Whoever organized that program should feel embarrassed. Not you.
There is higher education for you....
You should've mentioned "nude model".

mostly stuff with lots of photos....
I'm not the brightest bulb on the christmas tree...
the more photos, and less text, the better!

Yeah, but is it fully compatible with the millions of viruses, adware, and spyware, written for windows?
I mean, I don't want it, if it's not going to make my screen that pretty shade of blue....
Bluescreen means call a tek geek, and go for a long lunchbreak.

I am waitng till after xmas to get a new computer. (24 inch imac, or mac pro depends...)

I am contemplating what to do with an old eMac g4.... that runs tiger, but not leopard.

too bad you live so far away...it would cost too much to ship it anywhere... almost as much as a mac mini...

I'm either going to load it up with kids software an let lil'Mikey have it in his room, or load it up with podcast, and web stuff that I've doing for a local church and donate it to the church.....

Holy Mother of.........!!!

You'd lend him your lens?
lol!

Seriously...what kind of food?
You'd be amazed what people'd do for a breaded veal parmisane sandwhich, on a crusty italian loaf, smothered in saute'd peppers and onions, and marinara sauce...... toasted to melt the mozza cheese of course...

but then I'd be affraid to stand anywhere near you in case your girlfriend is a lousy shot...

Matt....
You are without a doubt one of the smartest, and nicest people I've never met.
How you've managed to avoid joining the Mac-cult, is beyond me. Obviously a tribute to your keen intellect, and resourcefulness that you've managed to keep your pc's running for so long....
Come to the Dark side Matt...plug your spyder into a Mac, click the one button mouse

...and BOOM! Color's done!

I think it will only be a matter of a year or two, before we see sensors and in camera processing, that will make a single click, true hdr, shot right out of the camera with tonnes of range.
while that may make for some fantastic images, some people, especially guys that have had a love affair with photography from way back before digital, will miss the look, of dark, inky figures lurking in the shadows...

hold the menu button while turning on the power...what firmware version u running? VER : 1.02?
try an older (class 4 or older) 1 gig card....
you may be one firmware upgrade away from a working card.....
also, I know this sounds stupid...but it's easy enough to push the lock slider on the cards to "locked" while inserting the cards into the camera...

maybe the people that stand to gain, (if you buy another) aren't the best people to ask about repairing this laptop. any good repair shops you could get a second opinion from nearby?