Isn't it scary? Just think - a young person could be abusing the hell out of you and you might never know it!

Before BW326's suggestion, my best guess was "You Mother something something".

Don't you mean "OMG - I never - ever - would have guessed it". Do try to keep up.

I think that "fad" is the operative word there. If I was growing up in today's world, one of the skills that I would want to acquire is the ability to spot gimmicky nonsense when I see it. I wouldn't like to think about the money that I've spent on must-have software, only to find that it's one more thing to slow my computer down. My attitude towards technology now is minimalist - if you need it, it can be great, but like you, I think it's a good idea to stop and ask yourself how much of it is really necessary.

If you're running a 32 bit operating system, it will only recognise 3Gb of RAM, so adding more won't improve anything. You may find that upgrading to the 64 bit version (I'm assuming that it's Windows 7) shouldn't be that expensive.

[quote=BW326] "Your mileage may vary" ...

Thanks for that.

I've a funny feeling that my mileage may vary by a couple of decades at least. IMHO I think that there's something to be said for good old recognisable plain English.

(P.S. Who invents that stuff???).

You could have added that our generation inherited the widespread use of coal as a fuel, and an almost complete lack of regard for the environment. We didn't invent environmentalism (it was around before we were), but we can claim that we turned environmentalism (I wish it had a shorter name) into a movement, a voice to be listened to and a force to be reckoned with.

When I say "We", I am, of course, referring to the Baby Boomer Generation (I think it deserves the capitals).

(P.S. Do you really drive a Viscount?).

Can anyone tell me what it means if someone signs off with the abbreviation YMMV. Is this texting talk or computer jargon (I'm not particularly familiar with either)? Please enlighten.

I hear he's only half the man he used to be...

Further to what robert-photos said, whenever I see reviews of Sony cameras, I always think that the images have an over-processed look. Maybe someone can suggest a way for the camera to do less in-camera processing.

If you check out the "Main Photography Discussion" link, you'll find other, longer-running posts on the subject. It's a new camera, so not much feedback so far.
I can tell you that it's getting good reviews, but if it's too pricey, or if you don't need a camera that's quite so high end, you could check out the Panasonic FZ62 (FZ60 in the USA), which is as recent as the FZ200 and is also getting good reviews.

Yes, the younger generation do have their uses. Maybe someone should start "Rent-A-Kid" for technophobes.
It looks like lots of people would be interested in hearing about your experiences with the fz200. It looks like you will automatically inherit "pioneer" status.

I have internet security software that allows me to do a "secure erase", which (they claim) doesn't leave anything recoverable. I'm not so sure that reformatting will remove all artifacts - my understanding is that it merely frees up disk space and removes the file history from the drive/card etc. Feel free to correct me if that is wrong.

You'll probably find that the user manual is either on the CD that came with the camera, or available for download. You can then print out whatever parts of it you think you may find most useful. Better still, get your stepson to do it for you.
I know what you mean about baggage - I've got an old bridge camera gathering dust because I prefer pocketable cameras for walks.

P.S. Enjoy your holiday.

The fz200 is a very recent release, so there won't be that many out there yet. I don't own one, but I can tell you that it's getting very good reviews, and if I was to give in to the temptation to be very good to myself, that is probably what I would buy.
This is just from memory, but if I'm remembering correctly it is possible to focus on a subject that is 1 cm from the lens when in macro mode.