In case you were wondering (and who hasn’t?), here’s how Lightsabers work. Cool.
Chris
Laying Low and Putting Tiger To the Test
Posted on May 6, 2005I have been busy for the last week or so. Thanks, in part, to the good folks at Apple Computer putting out a new version of OSX that has, shall we say, a few “issues”. There are many things to like about Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger. Features such as Spotlight, the new iChat AV, new Mail, improved speed and a host of other features make it a great upgrade in most cases. There are some problems and some annoyances that I have been dealing with not only on my own machines, but on machines of people I work with as well.
As always, MacFixit has the scoop on many of the problems as well as some solution that have worked for other users. Macintouch also has a cool matrix of reported software incompatibilities. And, there is, of course, the Apple Tiger Discussion Forums. No matter what, always make a complete backup of anything you care about on your computer before installing a major upgrade like Tiger. Better safe than sorry.
It’s no secret that people are having problems. Take your pic as to where to find a possible solution or work-around for any issues you might be having. There might be one or it might take a little time for one to be available. No matter what third-party software vendors do, i’m sure we’ll be seeing Mac OSX 10.4.1 sooner rather than later.
Tiger arrives
Posted on April 30, 2005Apple’s latest OS, Mac OSX Tiger has arrived. We went down to the Pasadena Apple Store last night to get our copy. I installed it on my Powerbook and my G5 and all is well. So, go out and get yours right now and enjoy. I have provided a convenient link for you on the right. Isn’t that nice of me?
Happy Tigering (is that a word?) Sure, why not.
Han Solo is art
Posted on April 27, 2005This is pretty cool. People with talent amaze me. I wish I had some. Is being a pain in the ass a talent? Well, if it isn’t, it should be. Or something like that.
Happy Wednesday everyone.
Amazon makes a little mistake.
Posted on April 26, 2005From the “oops” department. Amazon.com accidentally leaked the details of the yet to be released update to the Power Mac G5 Tower. Of course, now they have pulled it. And of course, here’s what it looked like:
Click on the image for a larger view. Too bad, doesn’t seem like much of a bump. I do like dual-layer DVD burning though. I bet Steve J. wishes he hadn’t promised the machines would be to 3Ghz by now. That’s kind of an “oops” too, I guess.
Someone at Amazon is so fired.
Meet the new new sponsor
Posted on April 26, 2005If anyone is offended that i have adds and sponsors just realize that the it costs something to maintain a website, even one as modest as this. So, i am just trying to cover that cost, no more. Believe me, I don’t expect to get rich from this site. Besides, who wants to be rich anyway? All that trouble deciding which high-performance car to drive around LA, where we can usually drive no faster than about 20 mph.
Or, the tedium of having to deal with non-Mercedes drivers on the road who simply can’t understand why they can’t change lanes at the last second, without a signal, while talking on the phone and reading the newspaper. The fact that people get upset and sometimes even make obscene gestures must be so emotionally taxing on the rich that they spend thousands of dollars pouring their hearts out in therapy. I feel bad for them. Really I do. But, its their own fault.
I’m not rich. Probably never will be. So, please don’t give me a hard time about a few adds. Besides, the girl from Busted Tees is cute, right? Anyway, the actual purpose of this post was to introduce you to another sponsor who I personally use and recommend to everyone who uses Photoshop and has a digital camera.
I’m talking about, of course, Mr. Fred Miranda. So, click on the link at the left that says “FM Software” to go to his site for the best Photoshop actions and plugins out there. I use them and recommend them to my clients all the time.
Now to go to the vault and count my money again.
I blog, therefore I’m dumb.
Posted on April 24, 2005I was wondering what my problem was. (besides the obvious). Apparently, if you check your email too often your IQ begins to drop. More so than if you smoke weed (aka pot, gonja, mary jane . . . you get the idea).
Here’s the info about that. Although, this study was apparently done in England so who knows. Really, what do the English know about good weed? Oh well, I don’t smoke and I have tried to curtail my constant checking of email. I’m trying not to get stupid.
At least I went to an interesting party last night. Some details. The party was at the home of my managers (yes, i have managers. and an agent and a lawyer too. fun.). They invited a bunch of people, mostly actors, to come over and have drinks, snacks and good conversation. I went with Mr. Tony Mark as the wife and his girl were not interested in “networking”. So, we went, had a few drinks, walked around, talked to people, etc.
The interesting thing about the evening to me was how many of the actresses that were there were 19 years old. I spoke to at least four and they were all 19. And, all of them were from somewhere else (Seattle, Oregon, Texas, wherever) and they had all moved to LA in the last few months. Plus, they all seemed really interested in what I had to say. Which is, of course, a good boost to my already healthy ego. You need that now and again, even if deep down you know it can’t be real.
Now, I know I’m interesting and all and what I say is really interesting and important but come on, I’m not that cool. Only 19, just here off the bus (or whatever) and they already know how to play the game. You gotta love LA.
I blog, therefore I’m dumb.
Posted on April 24, 2005I was wondering what my problem was. (besides the obvious). Apparently, if you check your email too often your IQ begins to drop. More so than if you smoke weed (aka pot, gonja, mary jane . . . you get the idea).
Here’s the info about that. Although, this study was apparently done in England so who knows. Really, what do the English know about good weed? Oh well, I don’t smoke and I have tried to curtail my constant checking of email. I’m trying not to get stupid.
At least I went to an interesting party last night. Some details. The party was at the home of my managers (yes, i have managers. and an agent and a lawyer too. fun.). They invited a bunch of people, mostly actors, to come over and have drinks, snacks and good conversation. I went with Mr. Tony Mark as the wife and his girl were not interested in “networking”. So, we went, had a few drinks, walked around, talked to people, etc.
The interesting thing about the evening to me was how many of the actresses that were there were 19 years old. I spoke to at least four and they were all 19. And, all of them were from somewhere else (Seattle, Oregon, Texas, wherever) and they had all moved to LA in the last few months. Plus, they all seemed really interested in what I had to say. Which is, of course, a good boost to my already healthy ego. You need that now and again, even if deep down you know it can’t be real.
Now, I know I’m interesting and all and what I say is really interesting and important but come on, I’m not that cool. Only 19, just here off the bus (or whatever) and they already know how to play the game. You gotta love LA.
The Canon 20d Digital SLR
Posted on April 21, 2005In my quest to chase the latest and greatest electronics, I have picked up a new Digital SLR. I have decided to make a giant leap and switch to the Canon 20d (at least until Nikon comes out with something even cooler). Although I have loved my Nikon gear for lo these many years, the Canon 20d offered me features and improvements over the Nikon D100, my usual DSLR, that I really wanted to take advantage of.
I am working on a full-blow review of the 20d and comparison with the D100 which will posted soon. I want to get a feel for the Canon and use it before I talk about it too much. However, I will say that right out of the box, it was a quick trip from pulling off the protective wrapping until I was shooting some, what I consider, pretty decent pictures. Especially when printed on the Epson 2200 using the Imageprint RIP. I will also get more into digital workflow and color correction, photoshop and all that other fun stuff as well. Questions like “what is a RIP and why do I want one?” That kind of thing.
As always, I will make the disclaimer that I am not the typical user for this or any other piece of sophisticated electronics. For me, it was easy to get going. For others, especially if this is your first time with a DSLR, it might take a little longer. However, the manual is pretty good and there is also a “quick start” guide which helps as well so don’t be intimidated.
Obviously, both Nikon and Canon make even more powerful and expensive DSLR cameras. If I had unlimited funds or was a professional photographer, I would most likely have those cameras too. But here, I will not be talking about those. This will strictly be a comparison between what is know as “prosumer” devices. Although, some would argue that while the D100 is definitely “prosumer”, the 20d could be considered more in the “pro” area. For my purposes, they are both “prosumer” cameras and will be taken as such.
Look for the new review soon.
Meet the new sponsor.
Posted on April 20, 2005I want to extend a laurel and hardy handshake and welcome the good people of Busted Tees. They are graciously putting a link here so that you folks can click through and order some of their cool shirts. So, click away and go get yourself something pretty or funny (or both!) to wear.
The link is right there on the left. Click on the cute girl in the tee shirt just like the one above. That shouldn’t be so hard to see. I wanted to make it easy for you. I’m cool like that.