I'm Back from Mexico...brrr it's Cold Here!

[Jason Dunn]

Hola Pocket PC Thoughts readers! I'm back from Mexico, and I have almost five hundred email messages staring me in the face. 8O But fear not, I'm feeling very recharged and ready to take on the world again. :way to go: My vacation was wonderful, and I made great use of both my Canon Digital Rebel and my Canon S400 (sometimes it made more sense to carry the "little guy"). I've <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/files/nuevovallarta2003.wmv">created a short Pocket PC-formatted video</a> for you to look at either streamed or on your Pocket PC - or streaming <b><i>onto</i></b> your Pocket PC if you're REALLY cool.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/whale.jpg" /> <br /><br />I carried my Pocket PC with me, mostly for using <a href="http://www.mobimate.com/ppc/worldmate/pro/index.shtml">MobiMate's Worldmate Pro 2004</a>. Because I was in a disconnected state (<a href="http://www.fido.ca">Fido</a> has no GPRS roaming in Mexico it seems :-() <b>UPDATE:</b> Fido DOES have GPRS roaming in Mexico, it's just that my account didn't have it turned on. Whoops.<br /><br />I used it as a currency converter, and weather updates for three days, but beyond that I didn't use my Pocket PC for much. It was basically a glorified calculator. ;-) My Smartphone was used for a few phone calls, but without GPRS it's a pretty "dumb" phone (I switched to a Tanager model Smartphone the day before I left, so not much was loaded). My laptop received the most use, both as a mobile gaming platform (I finally had time to play Warcraft III!), and as a photo storage unit and editor (I sure do love <a href="http://www.picasa.net">Picasa</a>!) I also spent quite a bit of time reading an amazing book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0440178002/qid=1072756006//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-4027647-7410212?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">Shogun</a>. Considering my obsession with Japanese culture and design, it's a bit odd that I haven't already read it, but what a book! If you haven't read it, I highly reccomend it - it's not a "fast" read, but it's a good one. The book has also re-kindled my desire to learn to speak Japanese. In a few months I might be asking for volunteers to help me using <a href="http://www.skype.com">Skype</a>. :mrgreen: <br /><br />I'm glad to be back, but boy it's cold here - I went from 27 Celsius to -10 Celsius. Brr! Here are a few pictures of some of the interesting things I saw while I was there<!>:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/gecko.jpg" /> <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/nativity_scene.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/sunset.jpg" /><br /><br />All told, I took over 600 pictures, but I of course didn't keep that many. Let's just say that I was glad I had my 2.25 GB worth of CF cards. :-D<br /><br />It's good to be back - now I have a lot of catching up to do...did anyone else go away on a Christmas vacation? Post some pics and tell some stories!

[jeasher]

Welcome home! I know you were in Nuevo Vallarta but did you ever venture in to Puerto Vallarta? Did you hit any cool shops, restaurants, or nightspots? Finally, was that pic of the whale taken on a organized excursion or you screwing around? Thanks!

[Foo Fighter]

Jason, is it true that in Mexico people drive fast through intersection traffic lights at night due to robbers and carjacking? I've heard that the taxi drivers don't even stop at red lights, they just blast right through. :lol:

[Jeff Rutledge]

Welcome back!

Cool video. Muvee right? I'm thinking I have to upgrade to v3.

[arebelspy]

How'd you make the video? :)

-arebelspy

[Jeff Rutledge]

How'd you make the video? :)

-arebelspy

I think he used Muvee (http://www.muvee.com), but I'm not sure.

[apeguero]

Looks like you had a good time Jason. I liked Mexico as well. Nice country.

Hey, I see you also have the Canon S400 Elph. I love that little camera. It's what made me decide to give serious Digital fotography a 2nd chance. The battery lasts long enough, the pictures are captured fast, plus it's very simple to use and store.

Hey, I see they sell Viagra pretty freely there, eh? :D

Happy New Year. :)

[Gordo]

I am off to mexico tomorrow for a three week vacation. I to will be taking my new Rebel, and was looking forward to seeing some of the vacations shots from Jason's vacation.

Jason, did you take your video camera?

Were the whale shots taken with the Rebel?, If so, I bet it was a lot easier to take them without the normal digital shutter delay.

I am looking forward to relaxing and doing a little underwater photography while snorkelling. I will not miss the cold Canadian weather.

:D :D :D

[Godsongz]

WB Jason, glad you enjoyed your trip but also glad you're back safe :) BTW: thanks for that little mention of Picasa, hadn't heard of it before but I checked it out after reading your post. Looks very cool.

[RobertoLV_]

Jason, is it true that in Mexico people drive fast through intersection traffic lights at night due to robbers and carjacking? I've heard that the taxi drivers don't even stop at red lights, they just blast right through. :lol:

Hehehehehe :mrgreen: :mrgreen: , that not is 100% true, Mexico is a BIG Country and the Mexico City is the Bigger City in the World, all the poeople are FAST because the City has a Lot Traffic.

And like the Others Countries, the The Taxi Drivers (90%) and the Regular People (90%) respect the laws, the other 10% don't.

The robbers and carjacking is like All the Countries, DEPEND the ZONE, Some Zones are Dangerous others no.

Jason BIENVENIDO A CASA.

¡¡Salud!!-2

[David Prahl]

Welcome back!

Excellent photos - I'm sure the National Geographic scouts will be calling you in the morning. :D

[T-Will]

Look like fun!

Did you make the video with Muvee or Photo Story?

[RobertoLV_]

How'd you make the video? :)

-arebelspy

I think he used Muvee (http://www.muvee.com), but I'm not sure.

Mmmm, he used Windows Movie Maker for Windows XP http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/moviemaker/default.asp, is excelent program, the Problem is what only leave the Video in WMV, but you can change the File for use in DVD/VCD Home Players.

¡¡Salud!!!-2

[marlof]

It's good to see that you had a nice stay but that's not what we're interested in at all. ;) Don't give us half the tech info we're lusting after, bro. We want to know the following:
- What program did you use to create the video?
- What did you do to protect your gadgets from water/sand?
- What lens(es) did you use on your Rebel? Kit Lens? Additional?
- Since you went to Mexico before using a G2 or G3, what pleased you more on the DSLR? Or less?
- What made you take the S400 in stead of the Rebel on occasions?
- Can you buy local GPRS prepaid SIM cards in Mexico, and plug it in your phone?

Not that being offline is bad, it's good in times like your holidays! All kidding aside, I hope you enjoyed yours, and it sure looks like you did.

[Jason Dunn]

Welcome home! I know you were in Nuevo Vallarta but did you ever venture in to Puerto Vallarta? Did you hit any cool shops, restaurants, or nightspots? Finally, was that pic of the whale taken on a organized excursion or you screwing around? Thanks!

Yes, we went into Puerto Vallarta for one chaotic day of bus rides and walking around the local shops and markets. If you go there, check out a place called "Pipi's" - very good food and amzingly good service. I can't reccomend any specific shops - most sold the same thing in different colours - but there are some good deals to be had if you're in a haggling mood. ;-)

The picture of the whale was taken on a half-day whale watching tour, and I was very glad I had the 200mm lens for my Rebel. :mrgreen:

[Jason Dunn]

Jason, is it true that in Mexico people drive fast through intersection traffic lights at night due to robbers and carjacking? I've heard that the taxi drivers don't even stop at red lights, they just blast right through. :lol:

We only took a few taxis, but it seemed to me that anything with wheels was driven insanely there. I simply couldn't grasp the traffic laws - vehicles on the outside far RIGHT lane would turn LEFT, cutting off three lanes of traffic. I heard more horns there than in Manhattan - everyone honks at everyone else. The bus drivers were complete maniacs, and 50% of the vehicles I saw had traffic damage on them, usually in the front or rear bumpers. You couldn't PAY me enough to drive a vehicle in Mexico. :worried: But I still had fun there. ;-)

[Jason Dunn]

Cool video. Muvee right? I'm thinking I have to upgrade to v3.

No sir - Photo Story from the Microsoft Plus Pack Digital Media Edition (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/plus/dme/dmehome.asp). I would have preferred to use muvee, because it has cooler transitions, but the quality from muvee is very poor with stills. :cry: They encode still photos as if they were video files, rather than using the Windows Media still photo encoder capability, which results in tremendously bad quality when compared to Photo Story. More on that when we launch Digital Media Thoughts... :wink:

[Jason Dunn]

...and was looking forward to seeing some of the vacations shots from Jason's vacation....Jason, did you take your video camera? Were the whale shots taken with the Rebel?, If so, I bet it was a lot easier to take them without the normal digital shutter delay.

I'll see if I have time to create a more complete album with high-res images - those were just some quickie images. No, I didn't take my video camera - I only own a Canon GL2, which is a big camera and ill-suited for casual vacations (for me at least). Yes, the whale photos were taken with the Rebel - I used the Rebel for about 80% of my shots, and the S400 for the other 20%. The Rebel was GLORIOUS to use with the lack of shutter lag, which allowed me to capture the whales, birds in flight (see the video), etc...I LOVE THAT CAMERA. :mrgreen:

[Jason Dunn]

BTW: thanks for that little mention of Picasa, hadn't heard of it before but I checked it out after reading your post.

Picasa is very, very cool. It's not a "power user" photo editing program, but it's amazingly useful for image catalogues, printing, sharing, etc. Lovely program - look for a review about it on Digital Media Thoughts in January.

[ale2999]

welcome back. glad u had fun. I bet that now u are all nice and tanned :)

[Jason Dunn]

- What program did you use to create the video?
- What did you do to protect your gadgets from water/sand?
- What lens(es) did you use on your Rebel? Kit Lens? Additional?
- Since you went to Mexico before using a G2 or G3, what pleased you more on the DSLR? Or less?
- What made you take the S400 in stead of the Rebel on occasions?
- Can you buy local GPRS prepaid SIM cards in Mexico, and plug it in your phone?

1) Microsoft Photo Story


2) Nothing at all - I just avoided getting them sandy or wet. :lol:

3) My Rebel by far, and it's almost all about the speed of the camera. Being able to snap four pictures following a bird in flight was thrilling. I only very rarely had to wait for the camera to catch up to me, whereas with the G2 it was the other way around far too often. The Rebel surpasses the G2 in every way except for size. ;-)

4) I took the standard 17-55mm lens and used that most of the time, but for the whale watching trip I put on the 55-200mm lens and used the S400 for "wide angle" shots when things were too close for the Rebel to shoot with

5) Pocket size. When I went out for dinner, and the primary goal was to eat and be merry, carrying the huge Rebel didn't make sense, so the S400 was the camera of choice. When I left with the primary goal of taking pictures and seeing the sights, the Rebel was my tool of choice.

6) Absolutely no idea. Perhaps, but I didn't check anywhere because I actually wanted to be disconnected. ;-) (I did cheat once and checked my personal email from the hotel cyber-cafe because I had an ebay auction that ended and I didn't want the buyer to think I was a bad seller). I didn't see any mobile phone stores anywhere though, and the only "computer" store I saw was selling software from 1998. So I wouldn't hold my breath - I'm sure the larger places like Mexico City have a much richer technology infrastructure.

[Jason Dunn]

Mmmm, he used Windows Movie Maker for Windows XP http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/moviemaker/default.asp, is excelent program, the Problem is what only leave the Video in WMV, but you can change the File for use in DVD/VCD Home Players.

Nope, Photo Story. :wink: The newest version of Photo Story has an option that allows you to burn VCDs directly from within the program, which is very cool (and only about a year behind the times). I wish it had an option for SVCD or even miniDVD - VCD doesn't offer much in the way of bit rates, which means poor quality in some moving images...but Photo Story is still the fastest way to create a slick-looking presentation.

[ctmagnus]

Welcome back! We missed you so much! :grouphug:

[RobertoLV_]

Mmmm, he used Windows Movie Maker for Windows XP http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/moviemaker/default.asp, is excelent program, the Problem is what only leave the Video in WMV, but you can change the File for use in DVD/VCD Home Players.

Nope, Photo Story. :wink: The newest version of Photo Story has an option that allows you to burn VCDs directly from within the program, which is very cool (and only about a year behind the times). I wish it had an option for SVCD or even miniDVD - VCD doesn't offer much in the way of bit rates, which means poor quality in some moving images...but Photo Story is still the fastest way to create a slick-looking presentation.

I was Near Guessing :idea: , is a Nice Program, I'll to try.

GRACIAS CARNAL

¡¡Salud!!-2

[iPAQ_ace]

Welcome back! Wish i could have spent xmas somewhere nice and warm like that :D

Multi-band handsets are not required for roaming in Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Roaming in Japan or South Korea requires special rental handsets. For more information on handsets and frequency bands, consult the Coverage and roaming FAQ at http://www.fido.ca/portal/en/support/coverage.shtml#different_bands.

[fmcpherson]

I'm jealous. You went south to warm weather for Christmas, and probably came home with a bit of a tan. I went north to the U.P. and came home with a cold! :)

[Jonathon Watkins]

Nice to see you back Jason. I think we managed to tidy the place up enough for your return. :)

[brianchris]

Welcome back! Great show. Myself? I'm leaving 1/9/04 for 1.5 weeks in Maui. Been to Mexico, Fiji, and other Tropical destinations, but never Hawaii.

Anyway, I'm hardly a new PPC user, but, obviously, I haven't done much streaming on my WiFi integrated iPaq 5455 (upgraded to WM2003)......when I go to PPC Thoughts on the 5455, and click the link for the video, it wants to download the video, but there is a check to open after download. HOWEVER, that's not streaming. I feel really dumb asking, but how do I stream this specific video in WM2003?

Thanks!

-Brian

[quidproquo]

Nice shots in the movie!

I have Windows Movie Maker and it is a pretty cool, simple program. It is very quick and easy to make movies like you just did.

Then I use a DVD burning program and zap the movie onto DVD and it can be seen on anyones DVD player.

Glad you enjoyed the trip.

[Jason Dunn]

...and click the link for the video, it wants to download the video, but there is a check to open after download. HOWEVER, that's not streaming. I feel really dumb asking, but how do I stream this specific video in WM2003?

Hrm - I just tried it and it also downloaded the whole thing before playing it. I thought WMP9 had the ability of it's desktop brother to stream once it had enough data, but once again it seems the Pocket PC client is crippled. &lt;sigh> You might be able to stream it by putting in the complete URL in the "open URL" menu item...

[Don't Panic!]

Mazingo's Text Service captured the video and placed it on my card. Amazing what a dead service can still do! Great show Jason. Welcome back.

Don't Panic!
Bobby

[jamesbe2759]

Welcome home! I know you were in Nuevo Vallarta but did you ever venture in to Puerto Vallarta? Did you hit any cool shops, restaurants, or nightspots? Finally, was that pic of the whale taken on a organized excursion or you screwing around? Thanks!

Yes, we went into Puerto Vallarta for one chaotic day of bus rides and walking around the local shops and markets. If you go there, check out a place called "Pipi's" - very good food and amzingly good service. I can't reccomend any specific shops - most sold the same thing in different colours - but there are some good deals to be had if you're in a haggling mood. ;-)
The picture of the whale was taken on a half-day whale watching tour, and I was very glad I had the 200mm lens for my Rebel. :mrgreen:

There must be TWO Puerto Vallarta in Mexico because the one you went to doesn't sound like the one we went to. For instance, local food is great if you brought enough medicine to combat the Montezuma's Revenge you will surely get if you drink the water or eat the food outside your hotel. My advice...drink lots of beer. You can also spend a lot of time swimming in the ocean...NOT. Those smelly trenches that cross the beach from the city to the ocean is their waste disposal system. What the heck, you can always go shopping. They have some great buys on western boots but the pair I bought didn't last long enough to wear home. The locals sell lots of "authentic" Mexican crafts on the beach. Be sure to ask their definition of "authentic" because most of it is stamped "made in China". It's a good idea to bring a good book to read (like Shogun) because you will have enough time to start & finish it while waiting for an airplane back to the good old USA. I thought Jason was married but only saw the word "we" once in his vacation description. Went alone???

[SassKwatch]

Nope, Photo Story. :wink: The newest version of Photo Story has an option that allows you to burn VCDs directly from within the program, which is very cool (and only about a year behind the times).
I sure wish MS would combine the best parts of PhotoStory with the best parts of MovieMaker.

I like PS for it's ability to import .psd files (which MM doesn't). But I like the 'timeline' management tools and selection of 'transitions' in MM *much* better than those in PS. Combine the 2 into one product, and MS would have a heckuva app!

This is one of those Microsoftisms that just drive me bonkers.

[Jason Dunn]

There must be TWO Puerto Vallarta in Mexico because......It's a good idea to bring a good book to read (like Shogun) because you will have enough time to start & finish it while waiting for an airplane back to the good old USA. I thought Jason was married but only saw the word "we" once in his vacation description. Went alone???

Wow. A little bitter are we? 8O :lol: We were staying in Nuevo Vallarta at the Mayan Palace, and it was quite nice - including the beaches and the water. The only place we ate at in Puerto Vallarta was Pipi's, and none of us got sick, so I can only say good things about it. We did hear some horror stories from people staying at hotels in Puerto Vallarta though - groups of wild cats and dogs roaming the beaches, supposedly there to keep the rats away. :worried:

I went with my wife and my immediate family, not by myself.

[Jason Dunn]

I sure wish MS would combine the best parts of PhotoStory with the best parts of MovieMaker.

I know what you mean, but I think they're trying to keep Photo Story purposefully very simple - if you start adding in other transitions, timeline management, etc, it would become a more complicated product. It would make sense though to add the best parts of Photo Story into Movie Maker.

[Mexico]

You asked for pictures, so here's one:

http://www.manueldelatorre.com/assets/images/temporary/ixtapa.jpg

December 28th, 2003 @ Ixtapa, State of Guerrero, MEXICO.
Taken with a Minolta Dimage X20.

Happy 2004, everybody!

Manuel

[SassKwatch]

I know what you mean, but I think they're trying to keep Photo Story purposefully very simple - if you start adding in other transitions, timeline management, etc, it would become a more complicated product.

Good point. And certainly makes sense for the timeline management.

But I have to wonder if anyone who would be confused by additional 'transitions' selections should even be in front of a keyboard?!?! Gadzooks, I'll bet I could teach my 6 yr old niece how to do that! :)

[Prevost]

Congratulations Jason (for your trip and for being back home, not for the cold weather we never "enjoy" here :mrgreen: !!!

Just the photo of the whale's tail is telling how good and thrilling experience it must have been.

As Carlos Biancci (Boca Juniors' head coach) says, the best used money is that you expend in trips. I am a believer in that.