If you are one of those guys who has no time for beginner questions, stop reading now. I'll wait for you to leave.
OK, the rest of you who have a bit more patience thank you for staying with me. My questions are basic but I really don't know the answers and don't seem to be having any luck in finding one I understand.
1) What is and why would I be interested in "firmware dumping"?
2) I've tried every method I can find to determine the firmware version on my A495. I even took a picture and used a EXIF viewer to see it. All it said was "Firmware Version: Firmware Version 1.00" without any letter (e,d,f). Is there a foolproof method to find this information on this camera?
3) I've loaded all three of the CHDK software loads one at a time to my camera because of #2 above, but have never been able to see the "firm update" menu item. Obviously I'm doing something wrong, someplace. Several ideas come to mind. a) It says to start up the camera in "PLAYBACK-MODE" but I'm not exactly sure what that is or how to get there. I've also tried the double click on what I think is the playback button ( a right facing arrow?).
I suspect answering #2 or #3 above will take care of me, so if you are still reading.....HELP!
Thanks to everyone who is kind enough to answer.