08.26.07

Going to^D^D with the Movies

Posted in Media, Tech at 12 pm

Of late, I’ve finally started watching more of the movies I’ve got on DVD, because I’ve ripped them to my iPhone. (Please don’t tell the MPAA, kthx)

Office Space was a wish list gift from Amy last year and I finally got around to actually watching it again. It really holds up well even though it’s from 1999. The floppies and the hybrid MacOS menus with the Windows Hourglass wait-state cursor is still a little funky but it’s a fun show.

The latest version of HandBrake is the reason for the sudden interest here. Its latest revision now has automatic presets that work really well. It was only about 5 minutes to get used to the app and look through the windows and panes and preferences before just choosing the default iPhone settings and letting it rip… literally.

Now I’ve got Episodes IV, V, and VI ripped and waiting for the next sync. I think the The Work of Directors discs are next on the list. I devoured the first box set when we got it, but I’ve been slow to getting to the second set, even though it’s got Anton Corbijn’s disc.

So now when I’ve got a free moment at lunch or sitting, waiting, I’ve got a couple of full length feature films that I can watch for great lines and cultural appreciation.

One improvement to HandBrake that I’m hoping will make it in the next version or two is support for auto-ripping and ejecting. Having a whole DVD ripping work flow that works as well as iTunes’ would sure be nice. Drop a disc in, come back later and see and ejected disc and drop the next one in. Bang bang bang.

The last piece of the puzzle after the iPhone rips will be the Tivo rips. Our Tivo has the ability to pick up videos from my Mac, once the proper steps are taken. (Step One, Step 2) but I still need to find a simple way to again rip the DVDs to the proper file format.

Handbrake creates MPEG-4 files from DVDs. But Tivo wants MPEG-2 files:

Resolution 720 x 480, 704 x 480 (D1), 544 x 480 (3/4 D1), 480 x 480 (2/3 D1), and 352 x 480 (1/2 D1). The higher the resolution, the better the video quality and the larger the resulting file, which means longer transfer time and more disk usage on your PC and DVR.
Bit Rate 1 – 8 Mbps. The higher the bit rate, the better the video quality and the larger the resulting file. 4 Mbps is recommended for high-quality video.
Frame Rate 29.97 (standard NTSC). Do not try any different frame rates.
Aspect Ratio 4:3 (recommended) or 16:9
Audio MPEG-1 Layer 2 for TiVo DVRs without DVD; AC/3 (Dolby) for TiVo DVRs with DVD.

Just read an interesting post about this sort of thing. So it looks like Mac the Ripper + Visualhub will be the two step process I’ll need to go through to get this put together.

07.16.07

iThoughts on Phones

Posted in Apple, Design, Tech at 9 pm

“J stood in line for the Friday release and bought us each one. I am suffering from buyer’s remorse and sticker shock…mine is still in the box on my desk. I’m contemplating returning it even though I think it’s super cool. There are just so many things that I can think of to buy with the $600! Talk me into it,” -M

Well, for an old-skool Apple Fanboy like myself, there was a built-in draw to the device, but even beyond that, this goes much further into the realm of ‘tech from the future’ than any device that I’ve had the dubious pleasure of using. Palms, WinCE/PocketPC, Psions, Nokias, Sony Ericsson… You name it, I’ve probably used it and read about it and wondered “wow, if only…” about it.

The iPhone is perfect for me: I do a lot of mail checking and use the web for reference-checking. I’ve got a decent library of music (now with covers) so it’s nice to have a slice of that around. The Phone works just fine, though the $60/month is a bit nerve wracking. Also, I’m in a metro area with really decent coverage by AT&T’s cell service, and though Edge connections are slow, the WiFi makes up for it in the 90% of the time I’m at a place that I’ve set up WiFi: Home and Work.

Let’s put it this way: It’s the first cell phone worth criticizing, to paraphrase Alan Kay on the Macintosh.

Another thought: Apple’s iPhone commercials simply show the phone being used and demoed. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more realistic presentation of a product in television advertising.

07.01.07

Recent Purchases

Posted in Apple, Tech at 10 pm

Coolest purchase of the last few days? ThinkGeek :: Planisphere Watch: The Planisphere Watch displays the constellations visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Simply align the date and time (displayed on the edge of the bezel) and you can view the major constellations visible that evening.

It’s great! I’ve been looking for a new watch to ahve as an alternate to the solid blue Fossil watch that I’ve had for a few years. The band on the Planisphere is really sucky, (mine’s different than what they show at ThinkGeek) but I’m thinking I might be able to replace it with relative ease.

The dial’s glow-in-the-dark face was an unexpected surprise, and obviously quite a good idea for such a device. I can’t wait to get out of the city some night to use it fully.

This is the kind of watch that’s more than just a time piece. I really like something that’s a little unique and if that uniqueness lends itself to something useful, then all the better.

This isn’t quite TokyoFlash but it’s still got the little extra that I like.

Oh and I also got a new phone this weekend. It’s not bad either.

06.29.07

Change from the iNside

Posted in Apple, Media, Tech at 9 am

I just saw this on Boing Boing where Working Assets is asking for an iPhone boycott because of AT&T’s practices.

I just want to point out that when Apple launched the iTunes Store and got in bed with all of the RIAA labels, it was Apple who changed (so far) EMI, not the other way around. Will AT&T go green, or suddenly become a non-profit? Of course not, but I can’t think of too many companies that would be a better influence, based on their recent history, as Apple.

06.03.07

Status Report

Posted in Apple, General, Life, Tech at 9 pm

Been working hard: day job, teaching and diagnosing a faulty USB port on the Tivo. That’s what I get for cleaning up the entertainment center’s wiring.

But, I’m happy to report that the Tivo is now happily gathering broadband content and the Mac Mini and the Tivo are now sharing a cozy little hub. I guess I can get the PlayStation 2 connected to that too, but I rarely fire the old PS2 nowadays. Perhaps a Wii might make a nice addition.

Speaking of nice additions, the iPhone is looking more and more like a a modern jackalope. Everyone wants one, but it’s going to tough to get a hold of. I’ve got my eye on a couple of prime spots that may carry it. I’m guessing that only two types of stores will have it: Apple Stores and Cingular/AT&T stores. It’s the latter that will be the best bet, I’m sure. I’m hoping that perhaps some of the third party reseller cellphone stores might have it, but on reflection, that seems unlikely.

Recent purchases at Powell’s Books include the latest issues of Home Power magazine and 2600. Both of these are the equivalent to to purchasing Architectural Digest or the Robb Report: Discussion of things that are out of reach entirely or just fun to think about.

Other items put on the Done section of the To Do list? Haircut, flexible medical account reimbursement form and scanned receipts, updated registration for the Ghia, Oil change and check up for the 170,000k Prius, some trash and boxes expelled from the my desk, repaired the toilet handle (Note: just buy the metal version. The plastic handle barely lasted a year.) Now to reformat the Mini’s new external hard drive and I’m off to bed.

Boy a vacation sure sounds good…

05.05.07

Looking for Videos from WebVisions Wrap Party

Posted in Media, People, Tech, Web at 10 pm

I heard that someone got video of Michael at the wrap party for WebVisions at the Greek Cusinia. Please get in contact with me if you do. It will be the highlight of next year’s show!

UPDATE: YES!! Yes yes yes!

04.28.07

Zeldman on "Comments are the lifeblood of the blogosphere"

Posted in People, Tech, Web at 11 am

So at the bottom of Jeffrey Zeldman’s entry “Comments are the lifeblood of the blogosphere” he has set up a spam blocking question: “Is ice hot or cold?”

I think this is great! I can’t wait for the Spammers to break it.

Now let me be clear that this is not some call for an all out comment spam war on blogs, since that’s already in progress.

This is about getting ‘bots smarter.

Think about it this way: Spambots are getting better and better at decoding the existing CAPTCHA images. They are getting better at pattern recognition and the idea is that if the spambot builders can improve the abillity to decode these images, then we’ve actually taken steps forward in the realm of Optical Character Recognition, a fundemental computer science problem that has never been fully worked out, although great strides have been made.

If the general CS researchers could get their hands on the most advanced CAPTCHA-busters (that aren’t using a sneaky Mechanical Turk system) they would have the opportunity to learn from the ‘bots and improve the state of technology.

That’s why Zeldmans “Is ice cold or hot?” is such a wonderful question! Perhaps we are creating an economic system that actually rewards technical innovation with advertising revenues. Sure, it’s slimy; comment spam is a horrible horrible thing to deal with.

But on the other hand, if we get some sort of leap in artificial intelligence because someone builds a bot that can 1) Identify this as a question, 2) Parse the question into a set of component words, 3) Construct a logical model of the question, 4) Work through an internal or external database of knowledge that can find the answer, 5) Present the answer in a succinct manner, and 6) Successfully bypass not just this question’s challange, but also other simple and not so simple questions, well then we’ve just made a huge leap in artificial intelligence.

I think it would be worth the trade off. Then again, this blog doesn’t get nearly as many comment spams as someone like Z. So I’ll let him do the work. Sorry Jeffrey!

04.21.07

Apple – Motion 3

Posted in Apple, Media, Tech at 4 pm

I’ve been using Final Cut Studio at work with Motion 2.

It seriously rocks and this new version adds motion tracking: Motion Tracking Demo Movie in Motion 3.

I am salivating! We make displays at Planar and the ability to just drop in an image onto a monitor that’s in a trucking or panning shot would be spectacular!

03.24.07

Idea of the moment: self-cooling soda

Posted in General, Tech at 7 am

Since a gas, when it’s put under pressure heats up, it logically follows that a gas that is released from high pressure cools off.

How about putting *more* carbonation into sodas and other drinks, providing a bleed-off release, and thereby let the soda be delivered in a self-cooling package? Image the amount of electricity that could be saved: these drinks would no longer have to be kept refrigerated!

Of course, the extra pressue might cause the cans to become modified pipe-bombs, but I’m sure there are ways around that…

03.18.07

Peak Moment Television

Posted in Tech, Transport at 9 am

Peak Moment Television – Conversation 52:

Otmar Ebenhoech has worked with electric vehicles for decades, watching as popular commercial EVs were developed, then recalled when their legal mandate was overturned. He sees improved battery technologies as the catalyst to enable widespread acceptance of EV’s. Peek under the hood and watch a test drive of his hot electric Porsche race car conversion (0-60 in less than 5 seconds!).

Otmar gives a GREAT interview to a Peak Oil information site and we get to see an excellent interview that provides a solid introduction to EVs. Watch it!