Spent the day at CBS Studio Center lot for this month’s Mac Day LA. The highlight event for me was Scott Bourne’s presentation about his photographic workflow using Apple’s Aperture. We also had a viewing of his phenomenal avian photography and images of wolves for his soon to be released photography book.
If you ever wanted to read your favorite RSS feeds or be able to browse the Internet with your AppleTV, I found the solution for you. On top of these great features, you can also watch many more video formats. What is it? Its aTV from Apple Core, LLC and the price has been reduced to just $59.95. Here are some details:
aTV Flash is a USB flash drive that inserts into the AppleTV and will upgrade it to do all kinds of new things. The software installs automatically, and no modification or coding is required. Also, it will NOT void your warranty.
Key Features:
- Play most video formats (DivX, Xvid, AVI, WMV, RMVB + more)
- Play DVD files WITHOUT converting them
- Sync, organize and watch non-iTunes video files
- Browse the web with a Safari based web browser
- Rent & watch Hi-Def movies from Jaman.com
- Stream media from UPnP(v1) media servers
- View local weather forecasts
- View RSS Feeds
- Enable SSH access
- All original Apple TV features remain intact
- And much, much more…
Supported Codecs:
According to Photography Bay , Nikon has filed for a new patent (US Patent Application Publication No. US 2008/0084484) for a new viewfinder technology that incorporates an electronic display screen within the optical viewfinder. The photographer could then switch back & forth between the optical (TTL) image and the digital display.
Read the entire story at Photography Bay.
Mad Media is a San Diego based marketing agency that specializes in action and motor sports branded advertising and web-based viral film campaigns for sponsor companies such as: Red Bull, DC Shoes, Element Skateboards, Split Clothing and Subaru of America. Last summer, as southern California wildfires destroyed homes and businesses, many others, including Mad Media, were affected by power surges that caused damage to computers and other electronic devices.
Production came to a halt for the company when its sophisticated eight terabyte RAID storage system containing two years worth of irreplaceable video clips from major sporting events and hundreds of hours of editing work became inaccessible. The company turned to Sonnet Technologies, the manufacturer of the RAID system, for help. After determining the nature of the damage, Sonnet recommended DriveSavers.
“We can’t afford to tell a client their footage is lost,” said Joshua Martelli, Director of TV & Film Production at Mad Media. “The scope of work that we execute is at a very advanced and professional level. We are competing with both large national agencies and very adept production groups. Every project we work on has a deadline that we can’t afford to miss.”
Within two days, DriveSavers fully recovered all the data on the eight terabyte system allowing Mad Media to get back on schedule. “The data was in the identical state it was before the crash. It was as if nothing had ever happened,” commented Martelli.
DriveSavers has a Digital Arts Division that caters to the growing number of artists, graphics, film and audio professionals who rely on technology to create their work. With combined expertise, proprietary tools and knowledge of the industry, DriveSavers excels in data recovery for customers working in the digital arts field and has proven success in restoring data lost in the most challenging ways.
What is the lifespan of a hard drive?
Hard drive manufacturers make their best guesses about drive longevity based on tests completed in a controlled environment. They assign an MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) rating that becomes part of the drive’s specification. Ratings have risen dramatically over the years with drives expected to last 114 to 170 years!
Recently, engineers at Google conducted their own real-world tests. (A PDF copy of the study is downloadable at:http://research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdf). The Google study identified several factors that contributed to the early death of a hard drive but the report drew no concrete conclusions.
As a data recovery service provider, DriveSavers has suggested that with daily use, replacing a hard drive about every 3-5 years. It is also worth noting that many consumers already replace their computers with larger, faster hard drives and processors to accommodate new versions of the operating systems.
Episode #031, 2008 Mini Cooper S Clubman & Smart, Part 5
OK, we didn’t know when to shut up, so we talked about MINI Clubman, the first-gen MINIs we once owned, and then the Smart car, that hedgehog from Stuttgart.
Duration: 23:23
Size: 21.30 mb
Format: Enhanced AAC
Direct download: ORP-Episode031.m4a
Duration: 23:23
Size: 21.50 mb
Format: MP3
Direct download: ORP-Episode031.mp3
Griffin Technologies has a new polycarbonate case with built-in copper antenna called ClearBoost. This boosts your signal for better reception. Price is reasonable at about $29.99 considering you are getting a case as well. For more details, check it out at the Griffin web site.
For those of you who have purchased the FLIP video compact video camera, check this out. B&H Photo will be offering the DXG-567V by DXG USA. It is an HD video camera with the same form factor as the FLIP but a far superior device. And it only costs about $125.00 US. Its available in black, blue, pink, and red.
Here are some of the specifications:
5.0 Megapixel, CMOS Sensor
H.264 Video Compression, 1280 x 720 resolution
2″ High-Resolution TFT screen
SDHC Compatible
The DXG-567V features the Rapid Blog Manager software, allowing you to easily upload and share videos on the internet. Download the product specification sheet.
Episode #030, Inventing the Future: The Tesla Roadster
Internet entrepreneur and founder of Mahalo.com, Jason Calacanis, joins Mr.
Black, Mr. White, and Mr. Blonde to discuss his recent test drive of a Tesla Roadster.
Jason has a Tesla on order, so Tesla CEO Elon Musk loaned Jason the
demonstrator, serial number 0001, for a week-long test on the streets of
Brentwood, Santa Monica and greater LA.
The conversation inevitably roams into macro issues like energy independence
and Middle Eastern politics. It’s not just about the car this time.
Duration: 55:48
Size: 44.40 mb
Format: Enhanced AAC
Direct download: ORP-Episode030.m4a
Duration: 55:48
Size: 51.20 mb
Format: MP3
Direct download: ORP-Episode030.mp3
Cadco Systems Inc is proud to announce that they are now a reseller and partner with Data Robotics Inc, the manufacturer of the highly popular Drobo external storage solution. The Drobo is the world’s first storage robot that is a fully automated data storage that ensures our data is always protected. Your disk capacity is unlimited and requires no special knowledge or expertise.
Drobo is an easy-to-use desktop storage array that plugs into your Mac, PC or Linux system via hi-speed USB 2.0. Drobo enables users to reliably store up to 16TB of data, using any combination of 3.5” SATA I or II drives – within four drive bays. Drobo provides the data redundancy features normally associated with RAID such as mirroring and data striping, without the complexities of RAID. Drobo, will create one large pool of protected expandable storage, enabling you to avoid managing multiple external drives.
Drobo guards everything on it
Even when a drive fails or data becomes corrupted, you’re protected. There are many advanced data redundancy and integrity checks built into Drobo.
Drobo makes storage a breeze
If you can read a traffic light, you’re a certified Drobo expert. Drobo uses simple LED lights to inform you about free capacity and drive status.
Drobo offers unlimited capacity upgrades
Use ANY drive you want, regardless of SIZE. Need to add capacity? Pop in a new hard drive or pop out an existing one and replace it with a bigger one. Drobo has an insatiable appetite for adding storage capacity. It can even extend to 16TB as hard disk sizes increase.
Drobo does not require drivers or software
Use Drobo right out of the box – with zero configuration. You’ll never have to worry about using a management console either. Drobo has the familiar benefits of RAID, without the complexity.
DroboShare it on your network
Connect your Drobo to a DroboShare and share your data over Gigabit Ethernet (GigE). With DroboShare, everybody on your network can benefit from the storage capabilities of Drobo.
Drobo is Windows, OS X, & Linux Friendly
We don’t care if you’re a Mac, PC, or Linux*. We’re proud to support NTFS, HFS+, EXT3, and FAT32 file systems. If you connect your Drobo to a DroboShare, you can share with all three operating systems or other devices like media centers, regardless of the file system you’ve chosen for Drobo. *Linux support now in beta.
