Donnie Jenkins, Tech Talk

When I first started reading about computers back in 1983, one of the first computer terms I learned was GIGO, meaning “garbage in, garbage out.”

This referred then to the principle of clean and accurate coding of computer software. Basically it was a guide to provide the computer with accurate data and procedures so that it would work as planned.

During the recent Wall Street meltdown it was alleged that some people had intentionally input false financial data into software program designed to detect possible problems such as the one we just experienced. If true, this is GIGO at its worst. It doesn't matter how well a piece of software works if we feed it the wrong data. This is basically "cooking the books" via the computer, and should not be tolerated.

Like roaches and that beautiful singer I won't name, spam will always be with us, even in the most unlikely forms. The day after the Wall Street fiasco, I began getting e-mails in one of my accounts inviting me to change banks to keep my money safe. This was quickly followed by a slew of other e-mails purportedly concerned about my financial health. As you might guess I sent these little darlings to oblivion just as quickly as I could.

As you know Blu-ray won the next generation DVD battle earlier this year when Toshiba pulled the plug on its competing HD DVD format. Until now Blu-ray prices have still remained high. This seems to be changing, finally.

Blu-ray players have now come down to an affordable price point, some even below $200 as of this writing. Also, Buffalo Technologies has announced two new 8X Blu-ray writers that will retail for under $400, and several other brands of computer Blu-ray burners are now in the same price range. This is evidence that we should see more affordable Blu-ray tech by Christmas.

PC Magazine reports that Hewlett-Packard has released the HP Photosmart B8550 printer. It is designed to print at super-tabloid size, which is 13 by 19 inches. What makes this printer special is the price: $299 retail. Up to now most printers in this category bottomed out at about $500 and up.

This printer apparently excels at its primary purpose, which is to print large-format, high-quality photos. It uses HP Advanced Quality paper for its best work. While you can also print text with it, it produces sub par results compared to other inkjets' text output. It also can print from a USB drive, memory card or PictBridge enabled camera, enabling the user to bypass the computer completely when need be. I'll be anxious to try this baby out and will update you on the results.

I recently rediscovered synthmania.com. This is a keyboard player's dream site. It has detailed information on synthesizer keyboards from most major manufacturers. It is especially useful to research older synthesizers that are no longer supported by their companies. I used it to hear samples of add on boards for my Roland XP-60 workstation keyboard. It had information and data I could find nowhere else.

Finally, sorry Paul Simon. Yahoo News recently reported that Kodachrome film is on the way out. Like other analog technology it is being replaced by digital technology of the day.

The problem with this is that so far no digital imaging system can match the warmth and detail possible with this film. Like the record album and other analog technology, we may move away from it, but we can never replace it completely. I would not be surprised to see an eventual grass roots movement to bring this film back if it disappears. This happened in the case of vinyl records, which are seeing a huge comeback.

E-mail Donnie Jenkins at donniejenkins@yahoo.com.

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