I agree with this. The picture should stand on its own.

I add EXIF info after someone requested it a while ago but have resisted the temptation to add any further background or justification.

Geek info
Camera model : PENTAX K10D
Exposure time : 1/180 s
Aperture : F6.7
Focal length : 50.0 mm
ISO speed : 100

You cannot attribute compatibility in computer systems and the Internet to Microsoft. And "absolute compatibility" is laughable.

Over the years, Microsoft has gone out of its way to introduce incompatibilities (extensions, they often call them but often just misinterpretations) to existing standards in an effort to tie people into their products.

When Microsoft dominated the browser market, they used their position to simply extend and distort the Web standards in any way they fancied, forcing web designers to disregard the standards and follow the Microsoft way if they wanted their sites to look reasonable.

It is only the efforts of teams of programmers dedicated to supporting standards that Firefox and Konqueror - the two good open source browsers - that have forced Microsoft to step in line. IE7 is still a mess but at least it follows the standards a bit more closely than IE6 and earlier.

Microsoft has used similar techniques with other Internet and non-Internet related standards including the email protocols, security protocols, the domain name system and, recently, their laughable efforts to buy a dominant position on the ISO standards board.

So keen were they that their competing standard to the already adopted ODF (Open Document Format) be approved that they recruited numerous new members to the board to vote on the matter. Nevertheless, OOXML, as it is called, failed to be voted in and their efforts to buy that standard have so far failed.

Why do we need another open document standard when we already have ODF? Simple: ODF isn't Microsoft's and it limits their ability to tie companies to their brands.

So be under no illusion that Microsoft is any sort of force for good when it comes to standards and compatibility. It isn't and I could fill many posts with summaries of their antics.

There is an interesting follow on from this OOXML fiasco. Having enrolled a large number of new members into the ISO committee whose sole interest was voting this one standard through, ISO now finds itself severely disabled as it is unable to reach a quorum for voting on recent business because none of the new members turn up.

Interesting summing up at the end of the EOS 40D review on dpreview.com.

The interesting page is this one:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos40d/page26.asp

For those of us that eschew Photoshop in favour of open source, there is GIMP and the latest version with lots of new features has just been released.

More information at http://gimp.org

Quite. And mine is as valid as anyone's.

So why pick it out for special mention?

Sensor cleaning at switch-off is not such a good idea.

Dust gets into the camera when you change lenses. After changing the lens, you turn your camera on and that's when you need to clean the sensor. Not after you shot a load of pictures with dust on the sensor.

Goodness there is a lot of nonsense in this thread.

I have dust removal switched on and I've noticed it works. I was constantly bugged by dust on my *istD which remained until manually removed. However, on the few occasions I've noticed specs in pictures on the K10D, they have vanished on their own. I have yet to have to clean it manually.

Secondly, fears about undue wear from shaking are completely misplaced and show a total lack of understanding about how things are made.

If something is manufactured to vibrate you can bet that it has been tested to destruction by vibrating it a whole lot more than it will ever be subjected to in normal use.

Manufacturers do this because a reputation of unreliable products is a killer and takes a long time to shake off (no pun intended).

I wonder if these fearful, timid people push their cars everywhere? Internal combustion engines vibrate an awful lot too. Ever seen a washing machine on spin cycle? That's a cracker.

Sure things wear out but just how often is a camera thrown away because it was simply worn out? Obsolescence is a much nearer threat. How often do you change your camera?

Lighten up. Look after it but use it!

Geek Info
Camera model : PENTAX K10D
Exposure time : 1/90 s
Aperture : F2
ISO speed : 100
Extension tubes with probably the stock 18-55mm lens.

Very nice. And you were on a pedalo, you say?

I'm trying to place it. It doesn't look like London.