R.I.A.A.'s New Strategy
“Depending on the agreement, the ISP will either forward the note to customers, or alert customers that they appear to be uploading music illegally, and ask them to stop. If the customers continue the file-sharing, they will get one or two more emails, perhaps accompanied by slower service from the provider. Finally, the ISP may cut off their access altogether. “Allow me to highlight another interesting thing from the report. RIAA has opened 35,000 legal proceedings against people since 2003.“And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl.”
I do not think that the RIAA have made smart decisions in music and future technologies. Suing (your) customers will definitely push them to piracy. Can’t the majors find new outlets of music distribution? On demand, DRM-free music seems to be the direction. Of course, I’d still buy the vinyl/CD version if it’s available.
Killer ScreenCast App
For years I used Ambrosia’s SnapzPro. SnapzPro works great for still images, but recording video never worked well for me. It’s too sluggish and suffers from latency. Try recording a pro-app such as Logic Pro or Final Cut on a PowerPC processor and you could run into hiccups. On my MacPro, things are significantly better, but I’m not always recording on my Dual Xeon - Mac Pro.
Screenium by Synium Software GmbH , could be an alternative solution, but it’s a short-step forward for me. The best feature in Screenium is the HotTexts feature. HotTexts is a concatenation of hot key and text. HotTexts triggers text-bubbles from shortcuts keys during recordings. I like Screenium’s user-interface, but not as much as Screenflow’s.
Screenflow is the killer app for screencasting. Recording in Screenflow is a fun experience! I love that the recording allows me to zoom in/out during production. The elegant timeline reminds me of the original iMovie or GaragBand interface. A smooth and clean design always gets my vote. The export options are also a diverse group of presets and compression schemes. One thing I have not figured out, is why “Callout Actions” don’t actually contain text boxes or custom callouts. When I think of callouts, I immediately think of info important enough to display to the screen. Can this be right that Screenflow doesn’t have text or shape tools? I’d have to create custom graphics (.TIFF or .PNG) and import into Screenflow each time I wanted an arrow or text caption. Special thanks to SFLogic Ninja for the software suggestion.
Note, don’t use .GIFs.
“However, GIF files are a special case because they only offer Transparency, not true Opacity. (the GIF format allows you to say that part of the image is transparent (completely invisible), but does not allow you to say that part of the image is "partially transparent").
Some GIF images use Transparency for much of the image. However, near the edges of the visible data, Transparency cannot be used. Often this happens when there is a shadow near the edges of the visible data. The author of the GIF often assumes a certain background color (white, for example) and that color becomes embedded in the actual image.” Screenflow manual
Little Snapper
Apple at MacWorld
“CUPERTINO, California—December 16, 2008—Apple® today announced that this year is the last year the company will exhibit at Macworld Expo. Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the opening keynote for this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo, and it will be Apple’s last keynote at the show. The keynote address will be held at Moscone West on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Macworld will be held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center January 5-9, 2009.” --Apple Press Release
Wow. I’m shocked. I was thinking about attending this coming year. I went to MacWorld’s site the other day, but now after hearing about this, I don’t know if it’s the time to go. I’m sure the blogosphere is full of speculation about Steve Jobs health, but let’s not loose focus. Despite any of the rumors, Apple Inc. has maintained a consistent production release schedule that rivals most other companies output.
* UPDATE - AppleInsider
Apple's decision to end its participation at the annual Macworld Expo after next month's show is a sign the company wants to free itself from making product announcements on someone else's schedule and not an indication that its chief executive is in poor health, according to new reports.
Safari Bookmarks
Keynote Shortcuts
Rob Griffith (from MacWorld Magazine) provided a useful Keynote tip that I wasn’t aware of. While in Presentation Mode, you can press the / (forward-slash) key to view presenter shortcuts. Definitely some time-savers that should help increase workflow and decrease mouse-clicking through menus-to-submenus.
MacBook IEEE 1394
MacBook 13” - Connections
AppleInsider.com
“While USB 2.0 ate into the casual peripheral market for consumer hard drives and web cams, FireWire retracted to support applications where USB 2.0 wasn't suitable. It retains clear advantages over USB 2.0 among higher performance hard drives, but in that market, FireWire is now competing against eSATA, which developed from ATA cabling. Historically, FireWire has been the way to import video from digital cameras, but as Jobs' purported email announced that is no longer always the case.”
I believe Apple’s (or Steve Jobs) decision to include FireWire IEEE 1394 on MacBook Pro but not on the MacBook was a strategic move to brace for future technologies. The prospects are still unclear to me. We know that FireWire 800 can transfer up to 800 Mbps, while USB 2.0 transfers up to 480 Mbps (note: Intel is said to be working on a USB version that transfers at rates close to FW800). Searching Amazon.com’s newer “digital cameras” yields USB 2.0 connectivity, which seems to support Apple’s decision for USB and their need for compliance with industry standards (or at least in digital video/cameras and PC folks).
In my own opinion, I’ve always preferred FireWire because it fits nice and tight, whereas many USB connections are loose. Another concern for me was with the higher performance hard drives (i.e. g-tech drives) that still offer FireWire 400/800 & USB. Many manufacturers are building universally compliant connections, but if you are concerned about BUS-power, then FireWire is the only alternative to AC adapters. On G-Technology’s website, read their Quick Facts,
The G-DRIVE mini that i own may not work on every USB computer that I attempt to power from... unless i connect an AC adapter, which i’d rather not do when i’m using my notebook away from home. Always ensure that I bring an AC adapter along, otherwise NO POWER = SAD HAO.“FireWire Bus Powered - no AC adapter required! (Most computers do not supply enough power on USB ports to support >160GB drives)”
What about Target Disk Mode without FireWire cables? Answer, Ethernet-based Migration Assistant.
If you read my blog post (2008 Wish List) you will notice that the Apogee Duet audio-interface is in my hot list. Guess the connection type? Yup, you got it. FireWire 800. Not only should I be concerned about hard-drives, but also higher-end audio-interfaces. Why not buy a MacBook Pro and be done with this issue? Answer, 13-inch is the size for me. The 15-inch MacBook Pro does not have the sleek sub-compact design of my antiquated PowerBook. Besides, aren’t notebooks supposed to be small and portable. Otherwise, i’d just carry around my badass Mac Pro for maximum experience. I’ll be watching the developments of all this, but I’m guessing Apple has thought this out and can predict shifts in technology before most. Until then, I may have to buy the MacBook Pro.
Music Review SVIIB
Label: Ghostly International
Catalog Number: GI-81
Release date: October 21, 2008 Read More...
Playlist 2008
Belleruche "The Express" (Tru Thoughts)
David Byrne & Brian Eno "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" (Todo Mundo)
Deerhoof "Offend Maggie" (Kill Rock Stars)
School of Seven Bells "Alpinisms" (Ghostly International)
Tricky "Knowle West Boy" (Domino Recordings)
Modeselektor feat. Thom Yorke "The White Flash" remix (BPitch)
Saul Williams & Trent Reznor "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!" (The Fader)
Tobacco "Fucked Up Friends" (Anticon)
Wayfaring Strangers "Guitar Soli" (Numero Group)
Passion Pit “Chunk of Change” (French Kiss)
Modeselektor “Happy Birthday” LP (BPitch)
Hao's Wish List 2008
- LinnDrum II, "Beat-Centric Digital Audio Workstation" www.rogerlinndesign.com
- Euphonix MC/Control DAW Control Surface www.euphonix.com/artist
- Mad Men DVD “Season 1&2” www.amc.com
- Prophet ’08 “Keyboard Synthesizer” www.davesmithinstruments.com
- MacBook Pro 15” Notebook Computer www.apple.com
- Rebel Samurai: Sixties Swordplay Classics (4 Disc Box Set) www.criterion.com
- Songs of Innocence & Experience by Joel-Peter Witkin & William Blake
- Apogee Duet Audio Interface http://www.apogeedigital.com/
10 Days Missing
play clip > cal9_1752
The dates September 3rd thru 13th are missing in the 1752 calendar. It is not a mistake. How can you view this calendar from the 18th-century on your computer? You can view the calendar in the Terminal on your Mac. Launch the Terminal. Type: cal 9 1752
Now you can view the gap where Sept. 2nd skips to the 14th. Here’s the abbreviated version of what Wikipedia.org posted:
September 3–September 13 inclusive - These dates are omitted from the calendar in Britain as part of the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in the British Empire, to correct the 11-day discrepancy between the Old Style and New Style dates.
England
In England, the year 1751 was a short year of 282 days, running from 25 March to 31 December. 1752 began on 1 January. To align the calendar in use in England to that in use on the continent, the changes introduced in 1582 by the Gregorian calendar were adopted with effect in 1752. To this end, the calendar was advanced by 11 days: 2 September 1752 was followed by 14 September 1752. The other changes brought about by Gregory were also adopted.
The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world today. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it was named, on 24 February 1582 by papal bull Inter gravissimas. It is a reform of the Julian calendar.
Years in the reformed calendar continue the numbering system of the Julian calendar, which are numbered from the traditional Incarnation year of Jesus, which has been labeled the "anno Domini" (AD) era, and is sometimes labeled the "common era" (CE), otherwise known as the "Christian Era".
The changes made by Gregory corrected the drift in the civil calendar which arose because the mean Julian calendar year (exactly 365.25 days) was slightly too long, causing the vernal equinox, and consequently the date on which Easter was being celebrated, to drift slowly forward in relation to the civil calendar and the seasons. The Gregorian calendar system dropped 10 days to bring the calendar back into synchronization with the seasons and, to keep it there, adopted the following leap year rule:
Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100; the centurial years that are exactly divisible by 400 are still leap years. For example, the year 1900 was not a leap year; the year 2000 was a leap year.
TechSpansion
“...After much soul-searching (it's not you, it's me), for personal reasons, Techspansion is closing its virtual doors. The Support Forum and Support E-mail will be available for a while longer to take care of any remaining issues for you.”
In the last site update, they provided directions on how to backup VisualHub.
“In order to preserve VisualHub (or AudialHub) if you need to switch computers, you need to back up two things:
1: The VisualHub (or AudialHub) app itself
2: The conversion engine
To back up the conversion engine,
copy the folder at: /Library/Application Support/Techspansion
...for good measure, you can also back up your Preferences file, containing your registration info in case you lose the original purchase e-mail.
It's at:
/Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/
com.techspansion.visualhub.plist
...or for AudialHub:
/Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/
com.techspansion.audialhub.plist
As far as I can tell, the two programs will continue to work in Snow Leopard, but I obviously can't predict the future or what Apple will do in it, though.“
Señor Coconut
I love the sexy album cover! Upon closer inspection, I noticed something weird about it. I located a high-res version of the cover and found that it had been edited (probably with the clone-tool in Photoshop). Click on the picture above to view the high-res version. Look around the girl’s forehead. See the mistake. I saw different versions of the same cover on the web. Some did not show the editing mistake, while others did (including Apple iTunes).
Señor Coconut’s latest album, “Around The World” covers original songs from Daft Punk’s “Around the World” to Eurythmic’s “Sweet Dreams”. Señor Coconut travels through different places and time periods, but with a Latin style. Uwe Schmidt is a German who is currently living in Santiago, Chile. He has also used the alias of Atom.
iPhone Version
