I have been looking at the digital frames and wondering about them -- they take a memory card, right?

Here are my basic questions about the digital frames, as I think my father-in-law would LOVE one: Do you leave the memory card in the frame (which means you would need to buy an extra card) or is there some sort of a flash memory in the frame? Also, can you copy photos from your computer (say iPhoto) onto a memory card in a camera? I'm not sure how you transfer old photos back onto a memory card. I have a Canon PowerShot A570IS, but didn't know it could do this type of a reverse transfer of images.

Thanks for this column on the frames. The Kodak frames are more expensive than the rest, but I wondered if they would be better or more reliable. I'm glad you explained about the resolution issues, because many of us did not know about the resolution and contrast variables.

I bought a Philips 7 inch frame for my wife's birthday last February. So far we've been very pleased with it. It has a resolution of 720x480 and says it will take pictures up to 12 megapixels--haven't tried that, my camera only has 8 megapixels. It takes all the standard memory cards--CompactFlash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard and SD Memory Card. It also has limited built in memory (specs say enough for about 50 pictures)with a USB connection so you can copy from your camera or PC directly to the built in memory. It has a rechargeable battery which Philips says lasts about 8 hours but we just leave it plugged in. It also has a timer so you can have it go on and off at the times you want. Contrast ratio isn't one of the specs that are listed but it has a contrast adjustment and without it being turned all the way up there's no problem viewing the pictures in a fairly brightly lit room.

This frame was a little more expensive than some of the off brand ones, but it has some nice features and seems to be very well constructed. I feel that we got our money's worth.

I have been using a wireless digital frame with the FrameChannel service. It's a free web service that allows for the customization of content displayed on your wireless picture frame. FrameChannel enables each user to remotely manage their frames over the Internet and provides them with a library of interesting content to include in their photo stream. Users can combine their personal photos with content from over 200 channels of dynamic content in the FrameChannel library. FrameChannel can accept photos from invited friends and offers feeds from many popular photo sharing and social networking websites such as: facebook, flickr, picasa, and webshots.

Check it out at www.framechannel.com

Looked into a LCD frame this year and didn't really feel like paying what still seem to be early adopter prices.

What I want is a decent sized frame akin to a 5x7 that I can email a set of jpgs to or better yet link to my online Picasa albums. This would be great to have at work so my wife can send me the latest pics of our 1 yo daughter.

Oh and can this only cost about $75?

Psty answer Rob

just purchased [at a major discount -- thanks Amazon 'used' books -- they are usually store returns and NOT used at all] Beginning Ubuntu Linux by Keir Thomas.

Store list price is $39.99, but I paid only $18.45 plus $3.99 shipping or $22.44 and the book is barn spanking new and has a double side CD. Side A contains Ubuntu 6.10 codename Edgy Eft. Side B contains the previous version of Ubuntu 6.06.1 LTS codenamed Dapper Drake.

The author claims for those who 'just want to try out Ubuntu, it can be run [more slowly] from the DVD drive in your machine.

When ordering 'Used' books from Amazon, there are always multiple vendors located thruout the USA. The used price can vary but all vendors are 'satisfaction rated' by Amazon based on feedback from purchasers. It is important to read the last line, because in that line if it says [for example] 'may have return mark,' all that is is a magic marker line on the bottom edge of the pages themselves and it is one way of marking a return from a bookstore. The book will be in absolutely new condition. If, on the other hand, that line says 'some highlighting,' that is most likely a used college text.

Prices usually vary significantly and a more expensive 'used book,' does NOT mean a book in better condition, strange as that may seem.

Order from a vendor that is ranked in the 90% and up group and you will be quite happy with the purchase. I usually order from vendors on the East coast, but either way, by REGULAR MAIL, I always get the book within a week and I have yet to get a lemon. Thanks Amazon.

I received one as a Christmas gift last year from Brookstone. It has a small 3' inch screen and it came with a 32MB SD card. I tried using a larger card in it, but it didn't work. Pictures had to be "resized" using Microsoft's Picture resizer tool that was part of Powertools. Was able to get about 100 pictures on the frame and it does a great slideshow. I think the frames have advanced quite a bit in the last year though. I checked and my frame was well over $100 and I would NOT have paid that myself for this frame. Thankfully, it was a gift.

I received a 7" Phillips frame for my birthday in November (model #7FF1AW) and I have been very pleased with it so far. While I would have loved one with WIFI, the cost seemed prohibitive at this time. I have been most pleased with its off axis viewing angle, which seems much better than that of some older frames that I have seen at a friend's house.

I purchased a 1 gig SD card for around $10 and loaded it up with pictures. My only major complaint is that while the frame can read SD cards (and most other major cards), I had to buy a memory card reader to copy my pictures onto the SD card. My canon camera unfortunately does not allow you to drag pictures onto the memory, just off of it.

Now that everything is up and running, and I am really pleased.

Thanks for explaining about the memory card and needing to buy a reader, Matt. That helps me out a TON. Thanks, too for providing the specific frame details on the one you are using and how you load it with photos.

Buy.com has been advertising the Audiovox DPF700 7" Digital Picture Frame over the past few weeks, recently as low as $59.99 (list price $135) and I have put this on my wish list hoping to get one for Xmas. BTW, it is AC only - battery not optional. Below is an excerpt from the Buy.com web site:

The DPF 700 Digital Picture Frame features include a 7" Screen (16:9 Aspect Ratio) Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitor, a 3 in 1 card reader and a USB port. The unit applies the latest state of the art electronics and is designed for use with SD/MMC, MS memory cards and USB memory devices. The unit is constructed to provide years of reliable, trouble-free service.

Also they are offering a USB powered memory card reader for PCs without card reading slots - like Macs - for under $15 after rebates.

I have the Phillips 7" digital frame, too. It has been really fun and usually stops people in their tracks when they realize it is showing a slideshow of dig pics. I agree with the previous commenters about this frame - very nice resolution and brightness. One thing to add. I have over 600 pics on it because I resized all my pics to be within the 720x540 max resolution. Anything bigger is a waste. Yes, I had to buy my own card reader to transfer the files, but this enabled resizing and fitting more on the frame. Every now and then - a few months, the picture will freeze. But turning it off and then back on resets it. Oh, one more tip. I had a lot of very low resolution pics that I wanted to also include, but at 720x540 they were too pixilated. So I used a photo editor to build a digital frame mat around the picture. I layered the pic over a 720x540 background using gradient, pattern fill or other interesting artistic filter, collapsed the layers, and saved to 720x540. Also, putting a 5 or 10 pixel wide border around the pic with a contrasting color like white or black makes it look like it's recessed inside the "mat."