I have a Canon EOS D30 and an IBM Microdrive. The D30 is an awesome camera, and the Microdrive means I don't have to worry about running out of space - I just shoot what I want. The Microdrive came from a rebate offer during the last months the D30 was on sale, before they replaced it with the D60. Based on the review of the D60 I read, I am better off with the D30 and MicroDrive.
Before I got it, I had a 256mb card that stored about 200 images at high quality. Yesterday, I went on a photo shoot with two models, taking 215 pictures. Without the MicroDrive, I would have probably missed a few of those. With the Microdrive, you snap whenever you want, as many pictures as you wish.
This sounds like good advice if you don't want a particularly distinctive or interesting house.
I recommend visiting http://www.architectureforsale.com/ if you want a good idea of what high-quality architects can deliver.
One of their listings was designed with the supervision of a company that normally designed museums, and as a result it looks like a mini-museum and is wildly impractical. (I know because I visited the open house). But many of their listings are really wonderful places that have a look and feel way superior to the garden variety house.
If you want a designer home, you have to be careful thanks to the ego of the designer, but you can get a truly wonderful house out of it. So I would not dismiss an architect entirely; just make sure that they are sympathetic towards your needs. Many of them would rather satisfy their ego than yours, and they are to be avoided.
The biggest problem with using a car phone would be car battery use. I suppose you would have the engine charge a separate battery dedicated to the phone, but you'd still have to maintain it one way or the other.
It sure would be useful to have cells wherever cars are, since that maps very well to where mobile phone users are.
Personally, I wish cellphones had never left the car. Car phones can be convenient, but being interruptable anywhere strikes me as a poor idea.
I'm in the Los Angeles area and own a Canon XL1 MiniDV camcorder with a 16:1 zoom. I was thinking of going up to a nice high point in my area and videotaping the eclipse, using a portable battery and a 9" Sony TV to compose and focus the image. I would then use my camera's manual exposure controls to taste based on the image on the Sony.
If I just go out and start shooting the sun, is this going to damage my camcorder if I use its built-in neutral density filter?
I will be synchronizing my camera's internal clock to Pacific Bell time - will that be good enough to match the time predictions?
I don't think I will have time to buy a filter, but viewing the eclipse through the adjacent monitor should work.
Am I nuts to do this in view of the possibility of blowing out the CCDs of a very expensive camcorder, or should I not worry about it?
No, the less fortunate normally consume soft drinks or beer. Besides, the bottled water I consume (Crystal Geyser in one gallon containers) costs $1.29 a gallon.
The rents around here are going to get the less fortunate out a lot faster than a water shortage ever would.
I live in LA, and the water tastes so bad I consume nothing but the bottled type. When I go to the market, there are about twenty different brands of the stuff, so I don't think I'm going to be thirsty anytime soon.
Smelly, maybe, but not thirsty. I believe that bathing and irrigation take up the bulk of water use.
Any idea when we'll be using HDTV cameras? I'd love to be able to afford something like the Sony camcorder that was used for AOTC, but if memory serves it's a $130,000 proposition.
Once they get to $10k or so, I'd really love to own one. I love my XL1, but it really needs more pixels and less dependence on that wretched NTSC standard.
As I remember, prints are ghastly expensive, and they're only supposed to last for 12-odd viewings. So it's astronomically expensive to do anything on film.
Independents are actually going to be a lot better off when this shakes out, since distribution is so much cheaper. Consider the cost of distributing a physical book compared to that of publishing on the web.
When movies cost $200 million plus to make, you bet they do.
If you want to understand movie finance cold, check out My Indecision is Final (random zshops merchant selected); it's a first-class book and, as the FT says, an absolutely gripping business story.
Pity it's out of print, but at least you can find a copy easily enough.
Every virtual machine I know of is turtle slow, and it strikes me that high-speed performance is just about the most important thing about a codec. No joy for the virtual machine, then.
You're right about virii, though, although a sandbox limiting functionality might be able to control that problem, and of course using binary code would make things even worse, as MS has found with ActiveX.
Sorry - I should have said that I don't think Apple would sell a non-CD R/W system to consumers, as opposed to schools.
And of course you are right to point out the existance of the two standards. It's worth noting that Apple chose the one most compatible with standard DVD players, which was surly the right decision for anyone who wants to produce a DVD playable by as many people as possible.
I thought a codec was a program which did encoding and decoding, so it would have to be compatible with the host operating system, different for each computing platform.
I was mildly disappointed that the 23" display didn't have an iLamp-style arm, since it would have really helped a lot ergonomically.
I guess it would have required a really heavy base, but it sure would have been cool.
I have to say that I love the ergonomics of the new iMac, to the point that I'd love to own one - something I would never have said about the previous generation. But it wouldn't be my main computer due to the relatively puny screen real esate.
Personally, I think a 17" or 19" iMac would be too much of a conflict with their PowerMac. And have you ever seen a 19" LCD? THis seems like a slightly insane rumour that's being bought thanks to a slow news day.
It's right on the main page of his site, as of sometime yesterday.
Credit Rockwood for flushing him out of his hiding place - Rockwood posted a hilarious strip starring Jack, and it looks like that caused him to snap out of the doldrums. (Check yesterday's comic for the start).
You took the words right out of my mouth. I've written legitimate Word and Excel macros (most of which wound up being incompatible the moment people upgraded to the next version), and there's no question Microsoft's implementation of macros makes it way too easy to write virii.
I wonder why nobody's done an Access virus yet? Access is unique in the Microsoft canon, since startup macros are often genuinely legitimate applications. Therefore, shutting macros down in Access would harm functionality.
Since most people with Office have Access lying around somewhere, I would think an Access virus would be a sure thing, and yet I haven't heard of one yet.
One thing I've noticed about virus writers is that they are lazy and sloppy. I find it unlikely that most of them even thought of cross-platform considerations when writing their code.
For example, I'm betting a lot of those viruses refer to "C:\program files\Microsoft Office\..." instead of using the system call to get the appropriate directory. And just one of those calls is going to stop the virus dead on the Mac.
What percentage of people own sound systems good enough for it to be possible to notice the difference?
In any event, there's no question that my LPs lated about a month after I bought them, while my CDs have been all but immortal. Seems to me that CDs win with the greatest of ease here.
Modifying genes to make people more intelligent strikes me as a universally good thing. It seem strange for a Slashdot user to want to defend the existance of stupidity.
Likewise with thinner - and if you don't believe me, just look at how many fat people there are who would be a great deal better off being thin.
There's nothing inherently good about the constraints we get from nature; if we can improve on nature, I feel we should. Yes, that brings different constraints, but I think on the whole both individuals and society would be better off.
... but you don't need the kind of graphics power you have in an Xbox or PS 2 to play that kind of game. You could play those games on lowest common denominator hardware, no problem.
So no, I don't think that's the market they're looking for. I agree with the above analysis - this is for first person shooters and the like, and those games do not benefit from a Disney-style environment.
Slashdot Mirror
I have a Canon EOS D30 and an IBM Microdrive. The D30 is an awesome camera, and the Microdrive means I don't have to worry about running out of space - I just shoot what I want. The Microdrive came from a rebate offer during the last months the D30 was on sale, before they replaced it with the D60. Based on the review of the D60 I read, I am better off with the D30 and MicroDrive.
Before I got it, I had a 256mb card that stored about 200 images at high quality. Yesterday, I went on a photo shoot with two models, taking 215 pictures. Without the MicroDrive, I would have probably missed a few of those. With the Microdrive, you snap whenever you want, as many pictures as you wish.
At least to me, it's very liberating.
D
This sounds like good advice if you don't want a particularly distinctive or interesting house.
I recommend visiting http://www.architectureforsale.com/ if you want a good idea of what high-quality architects can deliver.
One of their listings was designed with the supervision of a company that normally designed museums, and as a result it looks like a mini-museum and is wildly impractical. (I know because I visited the open house). But many of their listings are really wonderful places that have a look and feel way superior to the garden variety house.
If you want a designer home, you have to be careful thanks to the ego of the designer, but you can get a truly wonderful house out of it. So I would not dismiss an architect entirely; just make sure that they are sympathetic towards your needs. Many of them would rather satisfy their ego than yours, and they are to be avoided.
D
The biggest problem with using a car phone would be car battery use. I suppose you would have the engine charge a separate battery dedicated to the phone, but you'd still have to maintain it one way or the other.
It sure would be useful to have cells wherever cars are, since that maps very well to where mobile phone users are.
Personally, I wish cellphones had never left the car. Car phones can be convenient, but being interruptable anywhere strikes me as a poor idea.
But that's just me.
D
What kind of filter would you recommend? Anything I could get at a local camera store right before the event?
:-(.
Obviously it's too late to mail order anything, or even to go to the huge camera store in Hollywood where I'd normally go
D
I have to assume this is a joke, but I suppose it answers my question.
You're close; I edit my video productions with Final Cut Pro. Same platform, more sophisticated software.
D
I'm in the Los Angeles area and own a Canon XL1 MiniDV camcorder with a 16:1 zoom. I was thinking of going up to a nice high point in my area and videotaping the eclipse, using a portable battery and a 9" Sony TV to compose and focus the image. I would then use my camera's manual exposure controls to taste based on the image on the Sony.
If I just go out and start shooting the sun, is this going to damage my camcorder if I use its built-in neutral density filter?
I will be synchronizing my camera's internal clock to Pacific Bell time - will that be good enough to match the time predictions?
I don't think I will have time to buy a filter, but viewing the eclipse through the adjacent monitor should work.
Am I nuts to do this in view of the possibility of blowing out the CCDs of a very expensive camcorder, or should I not worry about it?
Many thanks for any ideas.
D
No, the less fortunate normally consume soft drinks or beer. Besides, the bottled water I consume (Crystal Geyser in one gallon containers) costs $1.29 a gallon.
The rents around here are going to get the less fortunate out a lot faster than a water shortage ever would.
D
That's why I said smelly. In other words, it's hygiene that's the problem, not raw thirst.
For dishes, I can always use paper plates. No washing required.
I have a fairly old version, so I went ahead and downloaded the Linux release. Got a consistent 123kb/second through my company T1.
D
I live in LA, and the water tastes so bad I consume nothing but the bottled type. When I go to the market, there are about twenty different brands of the stuff, so I don't think I'm going to be thirsty anytime soon.
Smelly, maybe, but not thirsty. I believe that bathing and irrigation take up the bulk of water use.
D
Any idea when we'll be using HDTV cameras? I'd love to be able to afford something like the Sony camcorder that was used for AOTC, but if memory serves it's a $130,000 proposition.
Once they get to $10k or so, I'd really love to own one. I love my XL1, but it really needs more pixels and less dependence on that wretched NTSC standard.
D
As I remember, prints are ghastly expensive, and they're only supposed to last for 12-odd viewings. So it's astronomically expensive to do anything on film.
Independents are actually going to be a lot better off when this shakes out, since distribution is so much cheaper. Consider the cost of distributing a physical book compared to that of publishing on the web.
D
If you want to understand movie finance cold, check out My Indecision is Final (random zshops merchant selected); it's a first-class book and, as the FT says, an absolutely gripping business story.
Pity it's out of print, but at least you can find a copy easily enough.
D
Every virtual machine I know of is turtle slow, and it strikes me that high-speed performance is just about the most important thing about a codec. No joy for the virtual machine, then.
You're right about virii, though, although a sandbox limiting functionality might be able to control that problem, and of course using binary code would make things even worse, as MS has found with ActiveX.
D
Sorry - I should have said that I don't think Apple would sell a non-CD R/W system to consumers, as opposed to schools.
And of course you are right to point out the existance of the two standards. It's worth noting that Apple chose the one most compatible with standard DVD players, which was surly the right decision for anyone who wants to produce a DVD playable by as many people as possible.
D
I thought a codec was a program which did encoding and decoding, so it would have to be compatible with the host operating system, different for each computing platform.
:-(.
So much for a cross-platform player
Or am I missing something?
D
That's a CD R/W.
The next step up is a combo CD R/W + DVD.
The top of the line is a DVD R/W.
I don't think Apple will sell a system without a writable CD; they emphasize burning too much in their advertising.
I'd really like to see a $999 eMac replacing the prehistoric iMac range entirely, but I guess the costs aren't quite there yet.
D
I was mildly disappointed that the 23" display didn't have an iLamp-style arm, since it would have really helped a lot ergonomically.
I guess it would have required a really heavy base, but it sure would have been cool.
I have to say that I love the ergonomics of the new iMac, to the point that I'd love to own one - something I would never have said about the previous generation. But it wouldn't be my main computer due to the relatively puny screen real esate.
Personally, I think a 17" or 19" iMac would be too much of a conflict with their PowerMac. And have you ever seen a 19" LCD? THis seems like a slightly insane rumour that's being bought thanks to a slow news day.
D
Credit Rockwood for flushing him out of his hiding place - Rockwood posted a hilarious strip starring Jack, and it looks like that caused him to snap out of the doldrums. (Check yesterday's comic for the start).
Thanks Brian! We Appleturns fans owe you one.
D
You took the words right out of my mouth. I've written legitimate Word and Excel macros (most of which wound up being incompatible the moment people upgraded to the next version), and there's no question Microsoft's implementation of macros makes it way too easy to write virii.
I wonder why nobody's done an Access virus yet? Access is unique in the Microsoft canon, since startup macros are often genuinely legitimate applications. Therefore, shutting macros down in Access would harm functionality.
Since most people with Office have Access lying around somewhere, I would think an Access virus would be a sure thing, and yet I haven't heard of one yet.
Just a matter of time?
D
One thing I've noticed about virus writers is that they are lazy and sloppy. I find it unlikely that most of them even thought of cross-platform considerations when writing their code.
..." instead of using the system call to get the appropriate directory. And just one of those calls is going to stop the virus dead on the Mac.
For example, I'm betting a lot of those viruses refer to "C:\program files\Microsoft Office\
D
What percentage of people own sound systems good enough for it to be possible to notice the difference?
In any event, there's no question that my LPs lated about a month after I bought them, while my CDs have been all but immortal. Seems to me that CDs win with the greatest of ease here.
D
Modifying genes to make people more intelligent strikes me as a universally good thing. It seem strange for a Slashdot user to want to defend the existance of stupidity.
Likewise with thinner - and if you don't believe me, just look at how many fat people there are who would be a great deal better off being thin.
There's nothing inherently good about the constraints we get from nature; if we can improve on nature, I feel we should. Yes, that brings different constraints, but I think on the whole both individuals and society would be better off.
D
What's unethical about making your kids (or yourself) happier, smarter and thinner?
I think it would be unethical not to explore those possibilities.
D
... but you don't need the kind of graphics power you have in an Xbox or PS 2 to play that kind of game. You could play those games on lowest common denominator hardware, no problem.
So no, I don't think that's the market they're looking for. I agree with the above analysis - this is for first person shooters and the like, and those games do not benefit from a Disney-style environment.
D