Microsoft RAW Codec and Windows Media Center

Yesterday (see previous post) I wrote a little about the newly released Microsoft RAW Codec. One of the first things I did was try my latest batch of Nikon RAW NEF files from a balloon festival earlier this month. I had so-so results, especially inside Windows Media Center, where thumbnails appeared, but after selecting an individual image file, WMC could not display it. This set of images was shot with a D7000 DX camera, in order to take advantage of the longer reach of FX lenses used with it. I normally carry both a D700 and a D7000.

As it turns out, for whatever reason, the Microsoft RAW Codec does not support the D7000. I’m not sure why, since Adobe and others now support it, and the D7000 has been available since mid October 2010.

Anyway, if you have a supported camera, the new codec most definitely is supported inside Windows Media Center if you want to view your RAW images there. You won’t get detailed EXIF info in View Details, but you certainly can display your images on a large screen. The screen capture below shows one of the folders (highlighted) from an Orchid Show I attended in 2009 where I shot with my D700 and the Nikon 105mm Macro lens. Thumbnails appear as expected.

The Windows Live Spaces WordPress.com Migration and existing WordPress.com bloggers

I’ve got a bunch of blogs. Probably too many, but you know how THAT goes. I’ve had a mostly dormant blog on Spaces, mostly because I tested the thing early on and because it is easy to cross post in Windows Live Writer. Anyone using Spaces with the native web interface must have been digitally masochistic as it as the most cumbersome, unintuitive blogging interface ever invented.

Anyway, I decided to see how the migration process would work (mostly to help others) and got a pleasant surprise. I’m pretty sure they key to my good experience was that I was logged into another existing WordPress.com blog that I own using the web interface. I don’t actually use the web interface for posting, but do check regularly for upgrades and such.

So I followed the breadcrumb trail after logging in to my old Spaces blog and picked a new blog title/URL (took 30 some odd tries..). Amazingly, the new blog was added under my existing account/profile. No new password, just a second blog. I started customizing the theme and was pretty much up and running. My expectations are that if you aren’t logged in to an existing account, you will only be presented with the option to create a new blog and import your Spaces content, giving you two sets of credentials to manage.

All in all, a good experience and well done.