If you have been keeping up with my “free” smartphone saga, you know that I am supposed to be receiving it in the next few weeks. Finally I will be able to resurrect PDAPhotoblog.com. Unfortunately, the itch to post photos was too strong and I have started back a little prematurely — sans smartphone. Therefore, I have decided to broaden the scope of the site. I will still post the occasional PDA shot, but it will not be the primary tool in my arsenal.

Speaking of cameras, I currently have two Canon digicams — an S30 and an A400. The latter is newer, so I have been using it more because I like how it focuses and manages color (thought the S30 has more technical features). I also have a couple old manual SLRs — a Konica TC and a Minolta SRT201. The former is headed for Ebay, but the latter is going to get some usage.

I also plan on purchasing a Holga, because I think it will be a fun toy. I may even try to build a pinhole camera. However, hopefully a digital SLR is in my near future (maybe by Christmas?).

With the change in focus I had to come up with a new site name. If you typed in a URL like www.pdaphotoblog.com, you might expect to find PDA quality photos (in terms of resolution, color, DOF, etc.). You would not expect to find high quality images taken with a Canon Digital Rebel XT, right?

I chose Chromaticus because I was looking for a name that : 1) represented an aspect of photography, 2) sounded Greek or Latin (to coordinate with the name of my other blog) and 3) was still available on the world wide web. Chromaticus is a formation of the Greek word chroma (color) and the Latin adjective suffix -aticus (that originated as the form with -a stem nouns of -ticus, from Greek -tikos). The word basically means “of, or pertaining to, color.”

The symbol for the blog is three circles — red, green and blue — overlapping each other in a triangular gradient pattern. You might recognize the combination as RGB, which is the spectrum of visible light that helps create what you are seeing right now on your computer monitor.

One final note on Chromaticus. The name, and the template for that matter, has a striking similarity to this photoblog. I assure you that while I am a big fan of djn1’s site, I am not trying to piggy-back off of his success.

PDAPhotoblog is now known as Chromaticus. The site URL will soon be www.chromaticus.net. I tried to get the dot com version, but the domain squatter wanted more money than I have to spend at the present time.

As illkraft says in this thread on Scam.com, “Finally, someone else that bit at the Treo 650 bait.” He is in the same boat as I am — waiting forever for a promised reward from Internet Opinion Group. They are now going to send him a check for the retail value of the Treo. I will be keeping up with the bulletin board to see if they deliver on their promise.

As I mentioned on the Scam.com forum, I called IOG earlier this week and got a stock answer (product out of stock, we’ll expedite your order, it’ll be 2 - 4 weeks, etc.). We will see if a Treo arrives. This fish needs gills, because I do not think I can hold my breath that long.

I have started posting photos with our little Canon A400, since I refuse to let that promised — but noticably absent — free Treo 650 keep me from photoblogging. Who knows, it may never come? Let that be a warning to anyone thinking of signing up for anything “free” on the internet.

To make matters worse, my PC is acting up. It keeps crashing when I am doing resource intensive work, like editing pictures in Photoshop Elements. Things just keep going from bad to worse. Prior to this I tried uninstalling and reinstalling PSE several times in the hopes that I could save photos correctly. It locks up on everything except for ‘Save for Web.’ Although I mostly post photos to the web, it has still been a handicap.

If I do get a new computer, it will either be a Mac Mini, a Shuttle or some cheap laptop. I have been toying with the idea of switching to Apple for some time, but the cost has always scared me off. If I stick with a PC, I need to consider the fact that Longhorn comes out in 2006. Seeing as how a nice 64 bit system is out of my price range, I will be looking at the low end of the PC spectrum.

I am finished posting the DSLR photos from Ron’s Nikon. Unfortunately, the status on my gift offer from Internet Opinion Group has not changed. It looks like they are going to make me wait the full eight weeks before they pony up my Treo 650.

In view of the amount of money I ended up spending out of pocket — the tons of spam I have received — and the frustration of waiting for so long — I wish I had just saved my pennies and bought a smartphone off the shelf. I am sure that when (if) I finally get it my mood will change. Guys like Josiah do this successfully all the time and get free iPods, iPod Shuffles and PSPs.

I have always been fascinated by the Victorian era etiquette on leaving calling cards. It is a custom that never took root among working class America, but I sometimes wonder if today’s social elite still carry them?

Not owning my own business; not being important enough at work — both have contributed to me never having a business card. This has probably fueled my desire for an old fashioned calling card to call my own. Besides, how is one supposed to win a party platter at the local Chick-fil-A if you have no card to drop in the fish bowl?

So, I have creatively turned this want into something of a hybrid card. That is, like a business card they are promoting something — specifically my blogs — but like a calling card they serve as a name and number reference. According to one purveyor of business card software, it was bad manners to use the two interchangeably.

The visiting cards served as tangible evidence of meeting social obligations, as well as a streamlined letter of introduction. The stack of cards in the card tray in the hall was a handy catalog of exactly who had called and whose calls might need to be returned. They did smack of affectation however, and were not generally used among country folk or working class Americans.

Business cards on the other hand, were widespread among men and women, of all classes with a business to promote. It was considered to be in very poor taste to use a business card when making a social call. A business card, left with the servants, could imply that you had called to collect a bill.

Whatever you call them — calling cards, business cards, blog cards — I just printed up a new one in keeping with the design of this site. Will I ever use it? Nah, probably not. It was a fun diversion nonetheless.

In this thread on Crumleydotorg I discovered that a blogging acquaintence was using a Treo 650 to moblog while traveling down I-59. Do not worry, someone else was driving the car.

The Treo 650 happens to be the smart phone (PDA + cell phone) that I should be getting in the next few weeks. I may give posting photos on the fly a try, since Ramin pointed me to an email plugin for PixelPost. I am sure there is one for Wordpress, too.

Maybe I will not change this domain name? My concern therein lies with the evolution of personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smartphones. How much longer will the “stick a camera in it so we can milk our customers for photo upload/internet fees” trend last?

For example, there is a rumored smartphone from Motorola that is thinner than the Treo. The flip design appears to have a camera, but the tablet device that I prefer may not. When it comes time for me to upgrade my hardware, will pdaphotoblog.com die? And if I do get that Rebel XT in the next year, then what do I do when I want to post those photos? Create a second photoblog?

No matter what the future holds, I think I will ride the mobile wave as long as I can. That wave will include the aforementioned moblogging plug-ins, which may give the exercise an added dimension and interest.