Apple Has Technical Problems Too!
June 7, 2010
Like so many other tech geeks, I was spellbound today, listening as the Willy Wonka of the world of computers left seclusion long enough to let us all in on his latest wonder. Funny thing was, the network wasn’t exactly cooperating with him. Check out the video of Steve Jobs and the iPhone 4 that couldn’t get online here: http://gizmodo.com/5557458/watch-the-steve-jobs-keynote-meltdown
I guess it’s not Apple’s fault that the WiFi was so bad. Or was it? Weren’t they smart enough to have two distinct networks — one for use by presenters and one for use by the pool of reporters? And why should they be using WiFi at all? Looking up the New York Times is something you should be able to do on 3G.
I’m still forming my opinion of the iPhone 4. I generally think very positively of what I’ve seen so far. The 720p video camera looks great. The display is gorgeous. Multitasking is da bomb.
My chief concern is that the technologies they claim are based on open standards really may not be. Take “FaceTalk,” for instance. This has the potential to revolutionize video phone conversations — but only if it’s a standard that can be adopted by other carriers and phone makers. Why not go with something more generic like Skype or qik.com (like the HTC Droids do)? Oh yeah, because if you tie FaceTalk to the cell phone number, then AT&T will probably get to charge you for all the minutes you spend talking on it — even though you have to BYON (bring your own network). That is to say that FaceTalk isnt available via Edge of 3G — only WiFi.
Chroma Keying in After Effects
May 12, 2010
Why buy an expensive keying plug-in? If you have Premiere and After Effects, you have access to Keylight 1.2, which provides very professional results with little effort. Check out this video for a quick tutorial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKbdT1gy9Tw
Got a photo or video question you want answered? Leave it as a comment below!
Canon EOS 5D Gets New Features
March 6, 2010
Awesome! I just got this in my email:
Looks like my favorite camera just got… favoriter. I’ve loved the EOS 5D Mark II since it first came out, even if it was released a little half-baked. At first, there was no way to manually control anything when recording a video. People came up with hacks, such as setting the aperture and then unscrewing the lens so that it could not go back into auto mode. Eventually, Canon released a firmware update that gave us manual control over shutter and aperture (without having to risk our lenses’ lives). You can check out what I’ve been able to do with that in this post.
This week, Canon announced another step forward — 24fps recording. In addition, the 30fps mode will be modified to 29.97fps to be compliant with NTSC standards. They’ve also added a live histogram to aid in manual exposure. But wait, there’s more! Manual audio controls! Documentary filmmakers who shoot with the 5D have come up with some clever techniques to circumvent the camera’s auto gain control, but nothing worked perfectly. So the new manual control will be a great addition. And last but not least, the Av and Tv modes will work as expected in video mode, allowing me to, for instance, pick a wide aperture and set-it-and-forget-it!
Getting all this is like an unexpected Christmas gift. I’ve always heard that firmware upgrades fix bugs. You shouldn’t expect new features from firmware upgrades, and so I was just expecting these much-needed features to come with a hefty price-tag — buying a new Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Thank God Canon didn’t do that. Some companies (Adobe, are you listening?) abandon development on their products as soon as they come out and force you to buy new stuff. All that makes for is angry customers who switch to more considerate competitors.
Creating good relationships with loyal customers is way better than making a quick buck. And Canon just won a lot of goodwill from me!
iPad = iYawn
January 27, 2010
Twitter is buzzing with news about Apple’s new tablet, the iPad. And it’s not good. I couldn’t agree more. You won’t catch me shelling out 500 big ones for this device, and here’s why:
- Not built on OS X. Unlike other tablets, this is not a laptop replacement. It’s an overgrown iPod that won’t fit in your pocket.
- Higher priced eBooks. You’ll probably pay more for books on the iPad, but it will be much less comfortable to read them (backlit screen, as opposed to digital ink on the Kindle and other devices). Give us some color digital ink if you really want to be innovative, Apple!
- No Flash support. And what’s the Web without Flash?
- No USB ports.
- No multitasking.
- No voice or phone features.
- No camera features.
- Web prices are “good,” but AT&T’s network is not. It would be like paying 3x as much for below dial-up speed (where available).
Also, no big announcement about AT&T losing exclusivity with the iPhone… no iPhone OS 4 updates… no MacBook updates… Big disappointments all around. I’m glad I don’t own any Apple stock today.
For now, I’m just going to stick to my iPad mini (an iPhone). Thanks, but no thanks, Apple. When you can turn my MacBook Pro into a gorgeous, stylus-driven tablet with FireWire and a quad-core processor, then give me a call.
[ht: @PastorJimDrake for the iYawn headline.]
