BEAUTIFUL ROMAN BATH - QUEEN OF CITIES, AND A BRIDGE OF MINIATURES

SMN tourist treat:

We’re not really dollshouse people here at SMN, but a recent visit to the Roman city of Bath, UK, for software training had us scrutinizing products for enthusiasts of very small houses. Bath itself dates back to Roman times, when it earned the name Aqua Sulis, and its present-day name derives from the splendid baths built by the Romans. So where do modern miniatures come into the picture?

SALUTE TO STEVE JOBS, FOUNDER OF APPLE

We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs has passed away. 

Our hearts go out to his family and friends. We cannot say better than these words from Tim Cook, CEO of Apple:

“Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

Scale Model News is made possible with Apple equipment, so thank you Steve.

COINCIDENCE OR COMMENT FROM ABOVE?!

Sometimes things just don't go right. A while ago, I was hard at it on my Apple MacBook Pro, lost in music from my iTunes collection while also sipping away at a tasty glass of fine dessert wine... suddenly an interruption, and - WOARH! - the entire contents spilled onto and into the keyboard. A ghastly moment, and one that amazingly did not result in death for the trusty computer, though it had to be dried gently next to a radiator for a week!

And this time round, 'the moment' came during a rare evening free for modelmaking - wrecked by a leaking bottle of liquid poly, compounded by components spilling over the floor. So it was a neat moment when I changed hats and did some garage clearing, only to discover this Caldwell cartoon in a 1980s issue of 'Omni', a fine magazine that predated 'Wired' for must-readability for technogeeks like me.

Coincidence or not, it brought a smile into the model zone mayhem!

THE HAMEX MODEL EXPO - H-DAY VIDEO RELEASE

The HAMEX (Hanslope Model Expo) went off OK, and for a first-time event it really seemed to do the stuff. Mat Irvine demonstrated Doctor Who’s K-9 robodog and showed groups of science fiction enthusiasts various props and models from BBC TV series that he has worked on, including Blake’s 7 and Moonbase 3.

We made the quickie video above with an iPod Nano, which gives pretty good results bearing in mind it’s little bigger than a stick of chewing gum. The tiny machine is particularly impressive for its closeup abilities - even in fairly dim lighting the pimple-sized lens can give sharp results when recording objects as close as 20-30 mm (1 in) away. Simply amazing, especially when paired with the iMovie video editing software that comes free with any Apple computer.

Take a look at iPods here.