Check out this premium monitor configuration!... Yours for only $5,999! This is the CineMassive MasterPlex 30D and I think I've fallen in love all over again!

Unfortunately, nothing has changed since I last posted about Monitors, monitors, monitors - I still have two young boys (not that this fact is unfortunate of course) and a wife with a love for shopping and this certainly wouldn't even get on the WAF (Wife Approval Factor) radar so I guess I'll have to keep on dreaming! Still I can drool at this picture for a little while longer...

• 5 high quality large monitors
• 1 x 30" ultra-premium primary center panel and 2560x1600 resolution
• 4 x large 20.1" perimeter LCD screens with 1600x1200 resolution
• Total Active Pixels: 13,696,000 (that's 13.7 Megapixel!!!)

Back in July I submitted two themes to be included in the popular open source blogging platform BlogEngine.NET (which I use for this blog). One of those themes, GirlGeek (which was a generic version of my wife's family blog), was included in the release but the second theme, CoffeeHouse, was understandably passed on due to it's similarity to GirlGeek and the Dirtylicious theme for which my two themes were loosely based.

After a number of emails from BlogEngine.NET users asking for a copy of the CoffeeHouse theme I have finally gotten around to tidying up the source code and updating it for BlogEngine.NET v1.2 and I can therefore now make it available for download!

Hopfully I will also be able to contribute an original theme or two to the BlogEngine.NET community in the not too distant future?! But for now I hope you find CoffeeHouse useful.

CoffeeHouse1_2.zip (41.64 kb)

BlogEngine.NET 1.1 (an open source blog engine) was released in the middle of June and includes a theme that I created called GirlGeek! I wouldn't have normally submitted a feminine inspired theme but after designing my wife's blog (http://rebecca.sivers.co.uk) I thought it would be beneficial for the BlogEngine community to have a theme option for any female geeks out there that like this kind of look?!

The GirlGeek theme, like this one on my site, is loosly based on the Dirtylicious theme by Viktor Persson which was ported from WordPress to BlogEngine by Al Nyveldt. To be fair though I have heavily customised and altered the graphics and styling so it's only really using the original basic layout and positioning.

As well as the GirlGeek theme I have also knocked together a CoffeeHouse theme which is a more generic version of my blog's theme and I will make this available to the community as soon as I get a chance to organise it. You can see a screenshot of this theme below and if anyone wants this theme in the mean time then feel free to email me! 

I will hopefully find time over the next few months to work on some original themes to contribute to what I think is a really well coded .NET blog engine and also a really well run open source project! Stay posted!...

For me a good monitor is an essential part of a good computer setup and for many years now I have always spent a good sum of money on the monitor for my systems. In the old days (I was born in 1977 so this may be relative) it was Iiyama Vision Master Pros and then more recently 21" IBM & Dell CRTs and for the last 2 years or so my monitor of choice has been the Dell 2405FPW 24" Widescreen TFT (superceded by the 2407WFP). Which is absolutely brilliant!

A while ago Dell then launched a 30" widescreen TFT the 3007WFP-HC and I was immediately tempted, however, the hefty £1,200 price tag plus the need for a new expensive graphics card put it out of reach, for now?!

Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC 30-inch Widescreen LCD Flat Panel Monitor

And when I get to that point where I decide that my 24" monitor just isn't big enough, or more likely, can afford it, the 30" Dell is going to have a run for it's money... Why? Digital Tigers that's why!

Take a look at these...

  Digital Tigers...
Zenview PowerTrio Ultra HD (above top)
Zenview Powerscape Ultra HD (above bottom)

Digital Tigers are an American outfit that supply amazing multi-screen LCD displays in a truly bewildering array of configurations.

The first display configuration pictured above consists of 1 x 30" center panel and 2 x 20.1" rotated side panels giving a total resolution of 4960x1600 and costs $3,999. The second configuration is the same but with 4 rotated side panels giving a total screen real-estate of 7360x1200 pixels and costs a whopping $4,999!

Well, one of these is definitely on my Christmas wish list although with two babies to provide for I have a feeling nappies, clothes and toys will be of greater demand than such luxuries!