ProShow Gold 2.6

It's been quite some time since I had fun with a computer program, but ProShow Gold is proving to be one of the best applications I've played with for a while. As I mentioned in a previous post, I decided to try to create a DVD with some of the masses of digital photos we have. Should be a breeze, or so I thought. After all, went my reasoning, I'm very late into this game – DVD writers and digicams have been out for the technology timescale equivalent of eons. Well, yes and no. There are many programs which will allow you to create DVD slideshows that you can then show to all and sundry, but not many really exploit the medium to the maximum, with the distinct exception of ProShow Gold, that is. OK, it costs quite a bit at $70 for the download version, but you are getting a fine app and if you have a play around, the results of all your 'labours' will mean your loved ones will be amazed at your computing prowess.

The thing which grabbed my attention the most is the wild and wacky ways in which you can add titles to your snapshots – and these here titles can add to the mood of your photos. Imagine a picture of a really cold and snowy day which includes a caption which actually shivers into sight. Brilliant. Another fantabulous feature is the way in which you can pan, zoom and rotate images. Hours of happy and creative fun can be had with this gem – beats watching the gogglebox any day.

You can even use it to create your own personal screensavers.

There is the slight danger that one may go OTT and end up with an end result which makes its watchers cringe, but then that could be said about any creative effort. It's not the tools but who uses them that counts.

So, if you've been wondering what to do will all those digital photos and there is nuffink on the TV or the rain is a pouring down, splash out on this program (assuming you have a DVD burner (if not, I know a good one)). It could even be more social than the TV as you and the family while away many a happy hour arguing, no sorry, discussing just what photos should or should not be used – but leave the captions and effects to yourself, otherwise you'll never even get to finish one DVD, let alone burn your entire collection onto DVD.

A quick play and I'm off to the land of nod.

Sharm here we come!

What better way to round off a busy period at work than to go for a week by the sea. Yes, we're off, all three of us, to the red sea for one of those all inclusive hols in a hotel in the middle of the desert. The temperature is a steady 27-28°C and I don't think they can remember the last time it rained there. Now while I'm not a great one for basking by the sea, this is one break I'm looking forward to. Just in case I should get a little bored after the first two days of so, I've armed myself with somesnorkelingg gear so I can have a gander at the reef, which I understand is worth having a look at. I've never really been snorkeling before, but the idea of mosying around on top of the sea fascinates me. I'm not the world's strongest swimmer, but I've got enough natural buoyancy to keep me on the surface for a good while. In fact, having noted that the hotel we're going to be staying at also has a gym, I shall actually be trying to shed a few pounds. Although these type of best intentions often come to nothing, I know, but I'm going to have a go. All I need to worry about is getting myself sunburned, but my other half has got some factor 60 for the little one, and I shall be spreading the stuff all over myself for at least the first few days. In all probability I'll come back looking the same shade as when I left Italy – sort of off-white. I'm no longer the pale white of most English people because I've more or less got used to the sun and it now takes more than five minutes for me to go red. I remember a trip to Turkey many years ago when I managed to burn myself horribly on the first day. The pain was excruciating and all because the man didn't love suncream. Fool. At least I've learnt my lesson now, even though I hate having to put the stuff on. It makes me feel slimy and horrible, at least at first.

In order to deal with the Egyptian tummy bugs we've equipped ourselves with some powerful anti-runs pills and shall be avoiding everything that has not been cooked or that has been washed in the notoriously bug ridden water of the region. Friends of mine in the past went on those Nile cruises which were all the rage a few years back and just about all of them spent at least a day in the bathroom – usually down to the innocent cubes of ice which some kind person had plopped in their evening drinks. No ice for us, that's for sure.

Alas and alack I shall have to leave my pocket pc at home, due to the fact that it may be an easy temptation for the poorly paid locals, who may find the idea of making a quick buck or two too appealing. However, I shall be taking my beloved MP3 gizmo and my heart rate monitor so I can exercise without going over the top. We shall also be taking our great little digital camera, which has now been filled with 640 megs of memory, which just might keep us going. And when I return, I shall be playing with my pc and making a DVD photo slideshow, which, I have discovered, is one heck of a way to show off your photos and, of course, I can send a copy to my parents and brother, so they can see what we got up to in glorious technicolor. While I quite like the idea of video cameras, I'd find all the messing about editing everything too much hassle, or so I reckon.

Were off very soon and I shall blog about the whole holiday when we are back and maybe even post a few photos of sand and camels and all that stuff. Fun, fun, fun, here I come!

VOIP Stunt

A student told me about this VOIP system which allows you to make calls from your PC to real phones. It's dirt cheap at 10 Euros for 120 days of calls and you only pay if your destination is not a country which accepts free calls. At the moment, the US, Italy, the UK and Ireland are countries which cost nothing more to call. The only limit seems to be that you can blabber for a max of one hour before they cut you off – but this is not a huge problem and you can even call straight back if you really feel like giving your vocal cords a thorough workout.

I have no idea for just how long this service will stay at such a great price, but I'm going to be exploiting it to the maximum to call friends and family in the UK and elsewhere. I guess the more people that use the service, the longer it will remain freeish, so get dialing!

Oh, and if you were worrying about giving your dosh (all ten Euros) to some unknown company, maybe I should mention that this service was mentioned on a certain Beppe Grillo's site.

The call quality is great too. Not so much email, as ephone. Good stuff.

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