Photo: View through a doorway, and into a bright courtyard

This is a photo inside the Jaipur City Palace, of a view through an open doorway. The doorway leads into a courtyard, where the sun overhead makes the amount of light in the photo much greater, and makes getting details of the structure in the courtyard more difficult. No easy way to filter for such a contrast in the amount of light, but you can make out tourists taking photographs of the structure beyond the doorway.

MSI X340-021US Slim 13.4-Inch Laptop - Black

Weighing just 2.8 pounds but loaded with storage space, memory and power-saving features, the MSI X340-021US laptop is one of the first notebooks to feature the new Intel CULV Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 processor, which uses 1/6th the power of a regular mobile CPU--significantly increasing performance-per-watt over previous single-core processors. It also offers a 13.4-inch HD 16:9 Theater Display LCD and an HDMI port for single-cable output of high-definition audio and video to an external HDTV or monitor.
The most unique feature of the X340 is its size--0.24 inches at its thinnest point, 0.79 inches at its thickest, combined with its 2.8-pound weight (with the battery)--making the X340 the world's lightest and slimmest 13-inch notebook. It also features customizable power settings with five different modes--office, gaming, movies, presentation, and turbo battery--for flexibility and increased productivity based on your needs.

Technical Details :
* Energy-efficient 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 Processor.
* 2 GB RAM (max).
* 320 GB SATA Hard Drive.
* Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 (64-bit version), 4-cell lithium-ion battery.
* Intel GMA 4500MHD Graphics, 13.4-inch HD wide screen LCD.



Key Features :
* 13-inch widescreen high-definition display with LED backlight technology, 16:9 aspect ratio, and 1366 x 768 resolution.
* Energy efficient 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 processor with ultra-low voltage for extended battery life.
* 320 GB SATA hard drive.
* 2 GB of RAM (maximizing capacity) with 667 MHz speed.
* Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD video processing.
* 1.3-megapixel webcam provides great image quality and rich colors so your viewers can see you clearly--whether taking a photo or broadcasting live.
* 802.11b/g/Draft-N Wi-Fi networking with expanded wireless features to get more done in more places.
* Ultra-fast Gigabit Ethernet wired networking.
* Bluetooth 2.0+EDR connectivity lets you use wireless headsets for easy VoIP telephony and video chats as well as synchronize Bluetooth-enabled phones.
* HDMI high-definition audio/video output allows a single cable to transmit uncompressed high-definition video to your digital TV or LCD.
* Built-in stereo speakers with high-definition audio support.
* Windows Home Vista Premium operating system.
* Battery: 4-cell lithium-ion with MSI's advanced power saving technology.

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK :
The MSI X340 is an extremely slim (0.7" thin) and light (just under 3-lb) laptop that rivals the MacBook Air, but without the high price tag and the MSI runs Windows! Vista Home Premium 64-bit to be exact. Its 13.4" LED-backlit LCD screen is bright and show good vivid color contrast. The keyboard is not as responsive as the Lenovo (which generally regarded as having the best keyboard in the industy), but nevertheless, it is a very respectable keyboard that show little flex during typing. The HDMI 1080p works perfectly on my Samsung LCD. The HDMI also passes audio to my Samsung LCD TV speaker, not sure if it pass 5.1 digital surround signal since I don't have an HDMI-capable AV receiver. This is just about the most perfect ultra-portable laptop, with its price, weight, large 13.4" screen. The only thing I can think of that would make this laptop perfect is an additional USB port (currently only 2) and the additional of a second/right mouse button, and perhaps a slightly more powerful battery. The standard 4-cell last a little over 3 hours of mixed use with Wifi on at all time with FTP upload, web browsing, document creation and screen brightness set at about 75%. I know some of you might also want to add DVD/blu-ray drive to the mix, but the resulting increase in price, size and weight will not justify the benefit. This is a wonderful laptop for those of us who want a small and light ultra portable with a large screen.

5 Photo tips (centered around the morning and daybreak)

Tip 1 (Use weather reports): There is nothing more frustrating than getting up early in the morning for some good sunrise photos, and then getting thwarted by clouds or bad weather. Even while developing patience is a good thing, you should read up about local weather, to make sure that you know what the weather is going to be like.

Tip 2 (Getting a good sunrise photo): Related to the above point, clouds are not bad altogether. If you don't have totally overcast conditions, with some cloud cover, then you can get some great photos. The clouds, tinged with color from the rising sun, as well as the sun playing hide-and-seek among clouds can give some great photos.

Tip 3 (Look for morning shadows): The shadows tend to be much longer at sunrise and sunset, and there are some pretty amazing looking photos you can get if you try and get the play of light and shadows in your photos.

Tip 4 (Look for a body of water): If you are near a lake, river, or other water body such as sea / ocean, the photos you get of the rising sun (or setting sun) over the water looks superb. Even if you can see a huge number of photos of the similar subject, they are still great photos to take to improve your collection.

Tip 5 (Taking light readings): If you are sufficiently professional enough to take light readings when you shoot, don't do so directly for a location with the rays of the rising sun. Take light readings of nearby areas (such as water that is starting to get lit by the sun, or of the sky, or buildings where the sun is not directly lighting up the outside wall). And then, take a number of photos to check which reading gives you the best photo.

5 Photo tips (centered around the morning and daybreak)

Tip 1 (Dream like quality of structures): Try this out. For a few days, go before daybreak near some structures that you like and admire, and then take shots before sunrise. What you will find is that many of these structures look very beautiful in the morning, since the soft light makes these structures seem more beautiful; if you are into poetry, you could feel that they feel floating, light, in the morning sunrise.

Tip 2 (Morning time and birds): If you are an early riser, you would tend to see that birds tend to be most active either in the time just before sunrise, or around sunset. You can get some great bird movement shots (including of larger groups, and those species whom you normally do not get to see) if you do this shooting early.

Tip 3 (Make an HDR): In the morning time, you get rapid changes in light levels within a short period of time. This is ideal if you want to make some great HDR shots in the least possible time period; as long as you shoot often, and adjust your camera for the changed light conditions.

Tip 4 (Sun and moon): You must have seen those shots, whereby the sun and moon can be seen in the same photo, without the moon or the sun being much brighter than each other. This is only possible soon after the sunrise, since the brilliance of the sun rapidly increases, and the moon will soon get lost in this extra light.

Tip 5 (Low levels of pollution in the morning): Morning time is when the pollution levels in the atmosphere and water bodies seem to be minimal, since the whole night with its slightly colder setting helps to bring down the levels of pollution. Combine this with much harsher light in the morning, and you can get great levels of detail in your photos, something that will not be apparent later in the day.

LLF LED LR6 Recessed Lighting Fixture 6" downlight module - Incandescent Color 2700K

The LR6 6" LED Downlight Module Lighting Fixture from LLF is the extreme long-life and extreme energy-saving LED downlighting fixture that produces the equivalent of 65 Watts of comparable incandescent lighting. Yet it consumes just 12 Watts. It's a perfect choice for new construction or upgrading the downlighting in your energy-efficient home or workspace. The LLF Downlight Module is designed to easily install in standard 6"downlight housings from the majority of manufacturers. Unlike any fluorescent, the LR6 contains no harmful mercury. Experienced lighting engineers and designers also know that compact flourescent blubs often performs poorly and burns-out quickly in downlight fixtures. The LR6 lasts more than 20 years under normal use. That makes life simplerespecially in hard-to-reach installations.

Product Features:
12 Watts generates equivalent light of 60W bulb
Beautiful color, high efficiency and eco-friendly technology
Up to 50,000 bulb life - 5X longer than compact flourescent blubs
The LR6 produces a warm incandescent color perfect for the home
Incandescent Color - 2700K



Customer feedback:

1. This bulb is bright and the color matches incandescent lamps. If the reviews for other LED bulbs is any indication, most LED bulbs are not very bright and their light is bluish. Not a problem with this bulb. Also, the light is very even. Looking at the bulb, you do not see a bunch of dots, just one bright, even light surface. This light is not for everyone, it only fits in 6" recessed cans. I had a little difficulty getting it to mount properly in my can, but now that it is there, I am happy with it.
The package says this light is dimmable with a regular dimmer. I have not connected a dimmer yet, but I plan to. The package also says it should last 20 years with normal use. It uses about 12 watts and provides the incandescent equivalent of 60 watts.

2. This is a fine replacement for ceiling flood lights. It only uses 12 watts, but gives good, bright light, and is on instantly--unlike the CFLs I have tried. I had no real trouble installing the one I have installed, but there is a bit of a learning curve. The second or third lights would install almost immediately. The first probably took me 10 minutes or so. If the cost would come down, I would give this light a five star rating and replace quite a few more of the recessed floods that I have. As it is, I will limit myself to the few lights that I use a great deal, and where the "instant on" character of the light is the most important.