Although I have LR1, I haven't really got to like it (yet).
My combination is Google's Picasa + Silkypix DS + Photoshop CS2.
Matt

For critical sharpness I would suggest:
1) Using the Image resize with Bicubic Smoother
2) Apply a round of sharpening (Smart Sharpen, High Pass - whatever is your preferred method) to sharpen it up after up-sizing. Best to apply to a duplicate layer and change layer blend mode to "Luminosity". Slightly oversharpen, and the reduce the layer opacity as needed.
3) When happy, flatten the image.

I've done this on 6Mp images upsized to 18x12" at 402dpi

Oh, and if the image is being inkjetted, rather than continuous half-tone (e.g. photographically printed), then view at 50% while adjusting the sharpening - it'll give the best approximation of the resultant inkjet output.

HTH!
Matt

All DSLRs have built in IR-cut filters... some are more aggressive than others

If you want an IR camera, there's a US company that can "hack" your camera and remove the IR-cut filter completely. Pete Bargh did an article on ephotozine.com - he had his *ist-D modified for IR-only photography. Great results (if expensive)!
Matt

Scooter Software's "Beyond Compare" is, without a doubt, the best directory sync tool I have ever used

Use it daily (and even scripted as well!) - for images between four backup HDDs, for software source-code, and general DIFF work as well

Matt

I've used Paragron Hard Disk Manager & Partition Manager.
(Useful to see the other recommendations as well!)
Matt

I have a Freecom network 500Gb - pretty good. Lots of features (it's running Linux inside), so can do other things. However, it's not as fast as I'd like. I'd definitely recommend Freecom stuff.

At work I've just got a Lacie Quadra. Now that is a lovely piece of kit! Blazingly fast and with multiple interfaces (Firewire 400/800, USB 2, eSATA). Highly recommended!
Matt

Losing the plot.....

Interesting
But carrying around an MRI scanner may not be that practical at the moment
Matt

(This is totally off topic now )
Peter,
Yes, I think you might be right - we're both right
The quote I had in mind was actually Sybil in "A Touch of Class". Basil repeats the phrase, and you're probably right he used it later in another episode... that's a lot of script to get though

There is software for extracting the JPG from PEF files... not quite sure where it is right now (I think Dan here has used the software). ExifTool was one I just Googled... (looked for "extract embedded Jpg from raw")

HTH!
Matt

Copyright is automatically assigned to the photographer in the UK.

However, ensuring that others respect the copyright is a completely different matter
Matt