I’ve just purchased another small tripod to use for my flash/umbrella setup. The tripod in question is a Manfrotto 7302YB, which I’ve read replaces the 725B.

Side by side, 725B on the left

There’s basically not much to differentiate between them.

Red middle column handle of the 725B

Black handle of the 7302YB

Quick release plate

Bottom of quick release plate

Handling

The red handle is far easier to open than the new black one. Other than that they’re basically the same.

I’ll admit I’ve never used the 725B to handle any loads bigger than a flash+umbrella combination so I can’t say how well it grips. I’ve got bigger tripod for camera work.

Conclusion

If I could have found another 725B I would have bought one of those instead. Oh well. 150€ for a flash tripod isn’t going to kill me. It’s far smarter than using a chair to put the flash on…

Sometimes, on some web hosts, after manually installing WordPress you can’t install new plugins, upgrade the ones you have installed or install new themes. Instead of installing the new plugin it will ask you for your FTP settings.

Searching for help will only give you a bunch of links that tell you to check your permissions but if your /wp-content already has 777 then why is it still broken? (more…)

I’m just started using selectmenu and wanted to share how to control it. It’s not completely obvious to inexperienced jquery UI folks like myself…

Specifying a trigger function

First, we create the selectmenu UI widget from an existing <select> control, with the id=”selectmenu”.

$("#selectmenu").selectmenu({
  change: selectmenuChange
});

And selectmenuChange…
function selectmenuChange(event, value)
{
  switch(value.value)
  {
    case 0:
      alert('Hello!');
    break;
  }
  $("#selectmenu").selectmenu("value", "ignore"); // Put it back on the first option.
}

The last line should give you a clue as to what comes next.

Controlling the selectmenu after creation

$("#selectmenu").selectmenu("value", "ignore"); // Put it back on the first option.
$("#selectmenu").selectmenu("open"); // Open the selectmenu
$("#selectmenu").selectmenu("focus"); // Give it focus

phpAutoIndex is a PHP5-script that was written to quickly and easily share files and texts amongst friends. It is similar to Apache’s autoindex module in that it lists the files of a directory, but it also allows user to upload files and texts. (more…)

Switchscreen is a utility to switch monitors. As of v0.1.1 it doesn’t really work properly because of my sloppy window focus setting, but I’ve added some modifications I found in another modified version. Now you can switch between several monitors and yet keep the mouse and keyboard focus working. (more…)

Quick review of the Compaq 610. Summary? No thanks. (more…)

Here follows a very quick review of the Packard Bell MH36-V-750NCD. I only had a few hours to reinstall Windows on it. (more…)

Toshiba Satellite L350 PSLD8E-003009N5. Not entirely unpalatable but with a quirk or two. (more…)

The laptop is small, quiet, cheap and yet powerful. The keyboard is wonderful to work with (for a 12″) and there is Linux support for all the components. Buy yourself an extra mouse and you’re good to go. (more…)