Archive for the ‘Tech’ Category
Amazon music downloads
Amazon’s MP3 Downloads are DRM-free, 256k/s, the downloader app has nice iTunes integration, and they have a surprisingly decent selection. I’ve already bought more from it than iTMS’s iTunes Plus. Give me the real lossless CD together with the download at a nice package price and I’ll use it exclusively.
Closer to a good-enough e-book
Despite its fugliness (which I suspect is less so in person) and high price tag, I have been excited about Amazon’s Kindle e-reader for some time. I still have major content concerns (can I at least get a discount on titles I’ve already bought from Amazon, please?) that prevent me from investing in such [...]
Molecular evidence for common bird/dino ancestry?
Oh my, someone has finally recovered some T-Rex soft tissue, and it may have proteins similar those in chicken collagen. While this doesn’t exactly surprise evolutionary biologists, might we soon have conclusive evidence that the dinosaurs still live among us?
Slingbox Pro is superb, but crippled
I got my Slingbox Pro this week, and the easiest way to summarize the experience is that it just works. It comes with all the cables you could possibly need. Plug it into the DVR, plug it into the TV, plug it into the network, install the software on my PowerBook, run the [...]
PiP + ethernet = Slingbox
A consequence of using my HDTV as a monitor for my email/webgoofing computer is that while I’m on the computer I don’t have access to television. I’m not (yet) a big TV junkie, so this is usually not an issue, but occasionally it’s nice to have weekend news and interview programs going in the [...]
Windows Explorer RAW support
While it is by no means a recent annoucement, I was not aware that Microsoft released RAW image support for Windows Explorer. Unfortunately, its Canon CR2 format support doesn’t work with files generated by a 30D, which may make something like dpMagic interesting.
Photosynth delivers three (plus) dimensions from two
Photosynth is an amazing new technology that will create navigable three-dimensional models from collections of standard two-dimensional digital photographs. It analyzes common visual features in the images and links them via these points. Consider the images will come from everywhere, and you have a glimpse at something with revolutionary potential. Watch the videos!
Dreams of expensive glass
After going through results of a recent photo excursion, I’ve found myself a bit disappointed with the clarity of the shots I’m getting with my Canon EF 28-135mm IS lens. I plan to run a few tests over the weekend, as well as compare it with a friend’s new EF-S 17-85mm IS. Is [...]
Google Desktop Search redux
I have been encouraged with my lastest try of Google Desktop. I’m really only interested in the Desktop Search capabilities (I love Spotlight on the Mac because it finds things really well), and most of that is for searching my horribly disorganized mass of email, strewn across Thunderbird and Outlook.
After disabling the annoying desktop [...]
It’s all about what you can see
At home, I have a Dell 24″ LCD that is just wonderful for running Photoshop and Lightroom, or anything else graphical. Vista actually looks very nice on the huge, wide aspect (1920×1200) screen. It’s not ideal for programming, which, depending on the environment, tends to be a vertically-intensive task. At $800+, it’s [...]
Google Video
The Google video of “This Week in Technology” is amazingly responsive. The Flash-based playback started immediately after I clicked on the link. I didn’t even really mean to watch the damn thing, but it started playing so fast that I couldn’t help it.
Yes, this is a cell phone recommendation
I purchased a Motorola RAZR V3 shortly before I moved to Charlotte, and I have seldom regretted the purchase. No belt appendages for me; I require that my phone be kept in my pocket, and anything thicker than the RAZR is a nuisance. I honestly don’t give a shit about cell phones as [...]
New computer time
I will soon have a new computer at home, for the first time in a number of years. This means I will soon have my AMD desktop moved completely back to Linux, and will hopefully get down to properly exploring C# development on my nostalgic platform of choice. While the new computer will [...]
The future framework for Windows GUI design
Karsten Januszewski, a Technology Evangelist at Microsoft, recently demoed Avalon at a Macromedia design conference. In case you don’t know what Avalon is, it’s the next generation graphics framework for Windows. It’s mostly interesting because it joins the old (Win32, GDI) with the new (DirectX, Direct3D), and makes the visual rendering of any [...]
PRONoMgr!
It turns out that the running process PRONoMgr.exe is a lot less interesting than one might think.
svn switch
We’re currently using Subversion at the office, and not surprisingly I love it. Even for Windows developers, it’s a very compelling replacement for either CVS or VSS, particularly with the wonderful TortoiseSVN client that integrates with Windows Explorer. I already knew I liked svn on Linux, but even hosted on a Windows server, [...]
Konfabulator is now free
Yahoo! has acquired Konfabulator, as well as famous Mac and Eazel designer Arlo Rose. Konfabulator is a cross-platform (Windows and Mac, anyway) widget framework. What you really care about is that it’s a sexy little eye-candy app that shows little weather notification widgets, convenient to-do lists, and even a little ladybug that runs [...]
Office creature comforts
I work a lot, and I’ve recently been choosing to do most of this work at my workplace. To be honest, work is only a few hundred yards from my apartment, but still curious to some is the fact that I actually enjoy the freedom to stock my office with personal property.
I may eventually [...]
Artistic and development opportunities abound!
The company I work for is looking for an artist to own some 3D modelling responsibilities, and generally be a complete creative bad-ass. You’ll need to work closely with a few talented Direct3D programmers, helping push them along toward completing a spine-tinglingly incredible entertainment experience. Of course, 2D content creation will also necessary. [...]
Remapping keys in Windows
Remap the unused Caps Lock key to Control in Windows XP:
Under the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM
\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout
add a new binary value called Scancode Map with the value:
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
02 00 00 00 1D 00 3A 00
00 00 00 00
Log out to make it active.
Check out this article as well as this article [...]