Fry The Gears

Clean Mac Keyboards

2010-04-14T21:42:00.005-04:00

The Mac Aluminum keyboard really is an awesome thing. It's thin, sleek, clean... well, at least until its dirty. If it's surface dirt, you can detach it use a damp cloth to wipe it down and let it dry. Though it's rare, dirt can get in between the keys.

One fella in 2007 discovered that poping off may keys are not as easy as PC keyboard keys.

To remove the keys, you can pry them off by digging your finger nail under the top of a key, then prying up on it while pressing down on the bottom side of a key. To replace, set in it's spot, jiggle it around till the lower half sets, then press the top in slowly. If you break the mechanism, a new keyboard can run you $49-$69.

Another gent at MacRumors lifted up on the spacebar and found that the mechanism is not like the other keys, so I wouldn't recommend lifting up in teh same fashion. He managed to stick the nozzle of compressed air under it and blew the gunk out.

Happy spring cleaning, and while your at it, get a keyboard protector and save yourself some trouble.

http://skeltoac.com/2007/10/22/apple-keyboard-aluminum-keycap-removal/

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=404530

Firewall and AntiVirus for Windows

2010-02-06T19:18:00.002-05:00

I mostly use mac, so it can be easy to forget about firewalls and antivirus software. Anyhow, I reloaded my windows based laptop and started searching for free software. Here's what I found:

For free firewalls, the best in early 2010 are:
1) Comodo
2) Online Armor
3) ZoneAlarm

For free antivirus, the best in early 2010 are:
1) Avast
2) Avira
3) AVG

The best paid antivirus programs for windows are:
1) BitDefender
2) Kapersky
3) Norton

For Mac's, the best antivirus programs are:
1) Norton
2) VirusBarrier X5
3) ClamXav <-- free

My findings are based off of reviews from CNET, PCMag, PCWorld.

Of Mice and Hands

2010-01-26T14:13:00.002-05:00

On December 16th I gave in and ordered a Magic Mouse from Apple. I didn't get it till 3 weeks ago (supply shortages and all). I can confidently say it was worth the $70 of a gift card (though my MS optical is still attached).

Abnormally thin for a mouse, I'm more used to the bulge on a table to rest my sore, beaten, blood splattered hands... Pretty much only my index finger, thumb, and side of my hand touch it. Most of my hand is arched above it naturally.

Clicking is the same as anything, except that you can only have one finger on it when right clicking (i'm used to using my middle finger for that). The smooth, glossy surface is awesome for scrolling, especially sideways and diagonally like in a photo. I use the back and forward swipes for web-browsing all the time.

I haven't yet loaded the driver to try it on windows yet, but it's on my to do list... as soon as I get life insurence from AARP by the Hartford, and oh, fix that cabinet door...

Changing programs to open files - Mac OSX

2010-01-26T13:55:00.002-05:00

If you use any variety of office, photo, or video software, sometimes they may change the way your computer opens file types. For example, my Photoshop opens all the .jpg files on the computer. I don't know about you, but I'd like to get to view the images quickly, and not have to wait for Photoshop to load.

On a mac, it's easy to reclaim this:

Highlight a file of the file-type in question; for example, a .jpg.

Then on the menu bar, go to "File > Get Info" or hit ⌘ + i

A window will pop out, go to the "Open With" arrow and in the drop-down, select the program you want, and hit "Change All".

A confirmation dialogue pops up, confirm, and voila! .jpg's are now back to opening with Preview and not Photoshop anymore.

Vivitar FD Rear Lens Cap

2010-01-24T16:31:00.005-05:00

I've had my Canon EOS Xti for awhile now. I don't change the lenses very much but it's straight forward.

I just got a Canon AE-1 with the original 50mm Canon FD lens, and an accompanying 28-135mm Vivitar FD lens. AE-1 seems to work well.

I love the viewfinder split rangefinder and microprism ring (wish modern cameras had this).

When I tried to remove the Vivitar's rear lens cap to change the lenses... I couldn't! I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to! I started searching forums, high and low to no avail. Finally I got so fed up, I simply entered "FD rear lens cap" into Google, and a little 'ol post from Yahoo questions poped up...

On the Vivitar FD lens, the ring with the red dot on it rotates clockwise, independent of the rest of the lens! Simple solution for a silly design. Attaching it to the camera, it doesn't lock down like the Canon FD lens; it just tightens.

Yahoo Lifesaver

Trackpad App for Macbooks

2010-01-24T15:59:00.004-05:00

Wacom. Touch drawing tablets for all. Really useful stuff, but you have to buy the pad and drag it around with you. Not a mobile ideal.

The company Ten1 has been making stylus pens that work with touchscreens like the iPhone/iPod Touch and the Blackberry Storm.

Where does this tie in? Ten1 has recently come out with an app for Macbooks called Inklet. Glide the pen across the trackpad, and leave your paper and scanner behind.

Wacom's base pen tablet: $70
App + Pen = $40

Chyron DB Link Macro

2010-01-24T15:25:00.006-05:00

At work, I use a Chyron Duet system to operate live graphics for TV shows. Recently we needed to create nearly 200 full screen (F/S) graphic pages for an awards ceremony. We had all the information in an Excel spreadsheet, and setup a F/S with template fields. We linked the template fields to fields in the Excel document, but we couldn't figure how to automate the process of linking all the rows.

I was browsing the Chyron forums for the longest time and ran across a macro that when activated, calls up as box where the user enters the excel row, and the template field will look at that row. Enter the following in the script tab:

RowNum=InputBox("Enter Excel Row Number:")
set pnode=ActiveCanvas.Scene.Node(Q)
set pelm=pnode.Element(W)
set dbl=pelm.DBLink
dbl.RecordNumber=RowNum
set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.SendKeys("%el")

The "Q" in the second line of code corresponds to the layer number in the message page. The bottom most layer is layer 0. In the following example, the text layer where my templates are in is the third from the bottom, so I would put the number 3 in place of the Q.

ex.
[ ] 2D Text 4 Layer
[ ] Global Light
[ ] Camera

The "W" in the third line of code corresponds to the template field number with the DB Link (you can check the DB Link in the template properties window to see what number is assigned to the template field). Change the W to the number of the field you need to update.

jzimmerlin (on chyron forums) suggests that you select the macro you've created from the "Auto Execute" drop-down menu (not sure what that means) and save this macro as a numbered .lyr file (ex. 02351241.lyr) in your default messages directory.

Me, I made a folder called macros in the directory and I assigned a hot-key combo to it. This way, when I use the hot-key, the window pops up and I use it similarly to calling up messages... just... within a message... When I call up the profile, I use "File > Open" to open the macros folder. Remember, I'm a newb, so do what you feel is best and play around with it.

Here is a video from Chyron explaining how to create DB Links.

(2005 macro credit: www.jeffzimmerlin.com)
Find the original post Here

Storm 5.0

2009-11-26T18:51:00.001-05:00

I've been using the Storm 5.0 software on the blackberry for the past few weeks. Awesomeness.

I used to use QuickPull to restart the handheld everyday when I was using 4.7, basically like restarting a computer, clearing all the cache.

Well, QuickPull no longer worked for me on 5.0, so I uninstalled it and two weeks later, here I am, not one restart, and still running fast and furious. Thank you RIM.

The Corporation

2009-11-26T18:49:00.003-05:00

Awesome film. Watch it http://www.thecorporation.com/

Google goofled my voicemail!

2009-11-17T00:33:00.008-05:00

A couple months ago I started using Google Voice. Recently I updated my Blackberry's firmware to version 5, and updated the Google Voice app, and well, my Verizon voicemail mysteriously disappeared!

When I held down '1' to dial for voicemail (even when manually dialing '*86' [more info]) the phone called my Google Voice #!

Well, I found from here that Google Voice automatically entered this new feature in October, I guess to propel people to more actively use the free service at home or on the go... it still would have been nice to have had a clear prompt.

Anyho, if it did this to you, read this from Google voice's help site, and do exactly what it says (you'll need to open the advanced settings), even if it doesn't seem to make sense right away, just look for the Deactivate Voicemail option and follow the prompt, you can always reactivate it later, and viola! You now have your cell's original voicemail back.

P.S. as of Nov 17 2009, I have 3 invites for google voice available... anyone want in?

Everything just EXPLODED!

2009-11-15T20:59:00.002-05:00

WOW

ok, so got an ipod touch and want gps? got $179 on hand? then go here

Read Esquire? or is watching your silly dance from your webcam getting old... buy this copy of esquire, download the free software, and watch the Print world explode with media like never before!

One small step for man... now beam me up!

2009-11-15T20:25:00.003-05:00

It's true ladies and gentlemen, there's gooooold out there! Least ways it's more valuable than gold... the life blood itself has been found on the moon! A month or so back NASA crashed a probe into the circle of cheese and viola! Natural spring! Well, not really like that. We're still a ways away, but when this recesion is over, get ready for a new space race! (not the yogi bear show)

Since we're on the topic, I felt you should be aware that along with discs of the new star trek movie coming to shelves, so are real life tricorders, replicators, and dare I say it... transporters?!?!

Replicators on MSNBC
NASA and Tricorders
Beam Me Up... TODAY!

The Storm is BACK

2009-11-15T20:14:00.004-05:00

And I'm not just talking the Storm 2... version 5 of the blackberry software is out (finally) making the storm the competitor it was meant to be. Now our 9500's and 9530's are back in the race! Still using 4.7? Upgrade now!

You'll have to resign your handset, and I'd advise deleting all your apps and re-installing them (don't worry, it's tons faster this time around). It took me a few tries to get Google Maps up and running again, but with a host of new features, excellent speed, and a lock button that acctually shuts off the screen, you too can be a proud owner of the original iPhone killer.

Energy!

2009-10-15T11:02:00.002-04:00

Nikola Tesla dreamed that one day power would be free and wireless for everyone. People called him insane, but low and behold, we use AC electricity, AM/FM frequencies are free, and Wifi is free for access in many places, and some cities and airports offer cellphone and small device charging stations.

It's all electrons and now we've got insane things happening people!

Duracell and Powermat are now marketing off wireless charging options... well, psuedo-wireless... You pop a case on your device, and when you place it on a mat, it will charge, nifity huh?

If that wasn't enough, Phillips completed the first specification of it's true wireless energy solution, able to power components that use up to .5w. Sounds small, but so is a microchip, and great strides have always started with small foil wrappers...

So add to that list: Beware of floods, firestorms, and other forms of Godly punishment, dinosaurs, vampires, blunt objects, sharp objects, drowning, chemicals, microwave radiation, nuclear radiation, soviets, cell phone radiation, arm pit radiation, warlord bush, obama-rule, your neighbor, the church, and last but not least, wireless electricity.

Viewfinder and LCD Pixel World

2009-10-13T09:14:00.000-04:00

I started searching about camera viewfinder pixels and this is what i came up with:

z7u & z5u
- viewfinder = 1,226,880 @ .45"
- LCD 921,600 @ 3.2"

XH-A1
- viewfinder = 269,000 @ .57"
- LCD = 207,000 @ 2.8"

110u
- viewfinder = 230,000
- LCD = 250,000 @ 3.5"

standard 5000u
- viewfinder = 600 lines @ 1.5"
so, at 4x3 ratio with 600 lines would make the verticle around 800, so 800 x 600 = 480,000

so if I'm right, the 5000u is almost twice as detailed as the XH-A1 and more than twice as large

if the 110u shares the same viewfinder as the 200, the 200 is .44" it says on bh... then again that's probably the size of the viewfinder's lcd, not the aperture with the dioptric lens...

but, it appears that the z5u and z7u beat the heck out of all the viewfinders even on the Sony LCD flipouts, which i guess are also advertised at 6500k color temp...

ATOT Project

2009-10-07T20:08:00.003-04:00

So I'm working on a short class project called "A Tale of Two" starring 2 of my friends. I threw this together in short time just to see what the footage looked like... then I started adding effects... and then I didn't stop adding effects... and then I realized this was kinda cool, so I've put it out in the wide world for all to see.

ATOT Teaser 1 from the E on Vimeo.

Text Books

2009-10-07T20:04:00.003-04:00

The new paper, is plastic, plastic screens that is. The Governator announced last summer that California public schools would be making the transition to online text books. Thought I'd just post the place they're getting some from. Chime in if you know any other great options.

ck-12

Warm Cards

2009-10-06T08:29:00.006-04:00

We all know white balancing is important. But sometimes even though you white balance, your video doesn't take on the tone you want it to. Maybe you want it to look warmer, or maybe you feel there's a hint of green. Solution: use warm cards.

Warm cards allow you to balance off a different color to change what the camera syncs to, adjusting the rest of the colors to match. So if you balance off a colder color like a light blue, your video colors can appear warmer. Under fluorescent light, you can balance off a light green, and in situations where your white is too bright to balance off of, you can use a true gray.

Can you just print any color and balance off it? Sure, but people have been doing this for years and you'd benefit to learn from them. You can buy a $70 set or print your own. For the purposes of printing (assuming you have a good printer) here's a .PDF I've made that you can just print out (and edit in photoshop).

Here are the color settings I've found out there and used in the .PDF:

Warm 1 - C/15 M/2 K/5
Warm 2 -- C/20 M10 K10
1/2 Warm - C/7 M/1 K/2
Minus Green - C/10 Y/10 K/2
1/2 Minus Green - C/5 Y/5 K/1
Gray 128 - C/52 M/43 Y/43 K/8
Gray 117 or 18% - C/55 M/47 Y/46 K/12
Kodak 169 Gray - C/39 M/33 Y/19

To learn more on white balance visit: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/white-balance.htm

Where I first learned about warm card settings: http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?t=28090

Blackberry SMS Texts

2009-09-30T22:41:00.004-04:00

So I was wondering today how to clear my blackberry's SMS text messages all at once instead of having to go through everything.

Answer:
1) Highlight a message
2) press the BB menu key
3) select "Delete Prior"

It will delete anything that was received before your highlighted message.

I thought it was confusing. Hope this helped someone. Go no device handbook reading team!

Wireless Printers

2009-09-29T23:20:00.006-04:00

Got more than one computer at home? Got a printer that doesn't have an ethernet port? Not a network wiz? Don't fret! Manufacturers got smart and built printers with wireless options.

Unfortunately, they're not that smart, and at least with HP's consumer wireless options like this HP Photosmart C4580, the manufacturer has you install a ridiculous amount of software.

Is this a problem? Not really, so long as it works... In my experience at least with this device, the printer sometimes only connects to one computer. Shutting it off and turning it on again seems to resolve the issue, although, what's the deal with the tray icon "HP Digital Imaging Monitor?"

This has been talked about on HP forums, and HP themselves provide no beacon of light. So, buy a more expensive product that's more smartly designed, or restart the device. Paper loaders rejoice.

Tape Lubticants

2009-09-28T23:21:00.006-04:00

Got a tape camera? Notice how there are a lot of brands of tape out there? Well, it's not too cool to mix them. You can get what's called a tape clog, and well, it is what it sounds like... gunk all caught up in your junk.

How to avoid this? Pick a brand and stick with it. Is one brand better over the other? Not really, so long as you don't switch. Personally, I say go with Sony, their Beta medium was the standard for years.

Check out Phil Phang's article for more information.

MDeVe Tripod Review

2009-09-28T21:22:00.003-04:00

Got my new toy in the mail last week, a Manfrotto MDeVe tripod, featuring 2 stage legs, a 50mm integrated ball head, and 5ft oh height playroom (mine has no center column, but w/e floats your boat). I got it in a pack form BH with a 501 HDV head.

The sticks: fair. They're strong, good enough for a handheld camera. The ball head is nice. You can stretch the legs out to 3 posistions, so you can get really low.

The head: ok. It's sturdy, it's fluid. Nothing special. It's not as good as a 516 or 510, but it's reasonable. At first the pan and tilt appears to be a little sticky, but give it a working, and it breaks in a little better. The counter balance though isn't very strong. At this point, it can barely balance itself, but maybe with some time to break it in, hopefully that can improve too.

Overall, good buy for a sturdy, sure fire, handheld camera tripod.

Cell Phone Radiation!

2009-09-27T22:00:00.002-04:00

You know your cell phone is radioactive right? We don't know for sure, but we're pretty certain there's going to be some kind of long term effect on our generation.

Want to lower your risks of whatever everyone else is going to get? Check out the Environmental Working Group's cell phone radiation guide, and look up your cell phone and PDA ratings.

Know the risk. Buyer beware!

Rebel XTi Timelapse Solutions

2009-09-27T19:38:00.011-04:00

Grauseeli from Tobias Straka on Vimeo.

Time lapse photography is awesomeness, evidenced by this guy's awesome video. But not all cameras are created equal, and if you have a Rebel XTi like me, you're bummed to find out that it doesn't have a timelapse option available to it.

Solution 1: get the Canon TC-80N3, and add this cool thing to adapt it for your XTi or similar camera.

Solution 2: get this TR1CMAC off amazon.

Solution 3: got your original discs? install the software on your laptop pc and let it sit outside with your camera.

Glide Track

2009-09-27T19:30:00.005-04:00

Found this cool gizmo. You can attach it to a tripod with a 1/4" or 3/8" screw and throw a 1/4" or 3/8" head on top.

<http://www.glidetrack.com/home>

DIY Intervalometer for Canon

2009-09-27T16:58:00.002-04:00

Found this DIY guide to make a intervalometer for canon cameras here to take time lapse pictures.

Rewrap Video Formats

2009-09-27T16:45:00.003-04:00

So I found this little tool called Clip Wrap. Video file formats essentially are a wrapper for video information, and with so many container formats out there, well, computability is an issue. So some bright people created Clip Warp so you can take .m2t's from hard drives like from Focus Enhancements, and re-wrap them (TC intact) for .mov. Final Cut users rejoice.

Google Bookmarks

2009-08-10T22:03:00.005-04:00

I was first introduced to online bookmarks in middle school with a service I think was called Emu Mail or something... anyhow you could store web-addresses from anywhere. Google has bookmarks that you can access either with its toolbar for IE/Firefox or through Google Notebook online.

Google bookmarks are organized with labels, much like in Gmail. But unlike your browser's bookmarks or favorites, you can't have a sub-labels like you can have sub-folders. But for Firefox there is an add-on that allows you to "hack" sub-labels into Google Bookmarks. --> Gmarks.

Mac vs. PC...

2009-08-08T01:53:00.005-04:00

The first computer I ever abused was a horizontal pc running Windows 3.1 with rodent's revenge and minesweeper, those were the days; and I've been a loyal Windows drone forever, well, up until a year ago.

I'm a media guy, and I got tired of crashes and blue screens, heck, I spent probably 30% of my time trying to make things work instead of using them, and with every update, more problems, more patchwork, always fixing. I needed a change, something that worked.

So, I went over the dark side, and discovered how bright it really is. I'm a Mac guy now, and honestly probably 60% of the world's personal computing would be better off with a Mac. It's just cleaner, faster (booting up has been the same 2min since day 1), and efficient. At least for me as a media guy, the software works with the hardware. Now they say you can't do nearly all the things you can do with a PC. But you need to ask yourself what it is you actually need to do? Most of everything I've needed has an equivalent for Mac whether it be video, designing, office, or just tool applications. + the file system (OSX Journaled) is ridiculously faster (than NTFS). I stand confidently behind a Mac 100%.

The title of this post was "Mac vs. PC..." and the '...' is not Linux. I know Linux is a cool OS but honestly for most people it doesn't appear to be something easily adaptable or configurable. But the '...' is for Google. I'm a long time fan of Google, and love their motto and all their products. Less than a year ago Google debuted their browser "Chrome" and mobile os "Android". Now, just about a month ago, they've announced their development of an operating system. Google offers email, maps, documents, group collaboration, and tons of services for free, and now they're developing an OS. How cool is that? The only thing I can think of being a hitch early on is hardware support, and being the new kid on the block, competing with long running players is gonna be real rough, but we'll see where this goes. Who knows, maybe Google's power is not in the way the conduct their business, but in the way others follow their model... ?

P.S. Don't be evil!

Google Voice

2009-08-08T01:09:00.002-04:00

I stumbled upon Google Voice the other day and well, it's awesome! You can forward calls to any of 6 numbers, land or cell, forward specific contacts to specific lines or multiple. It types out voice mails and puts them online, and you can also record conversations too!

In short, Google is awesomness.

Get Invited!

Blog Width

2009-07-30T02:47:00.003-04:00

I thought the original Blogger template was kinda thin, so in the Layout tab, under Edit HTML, there are sections about the outter wrapper and such things with px values. Change these values to adjust widths.

Stuff was found here.

What is

2009-07-30T02:41:00.002-04:00

Fry the Gears is about ideas, a simple place to jot down things for me and you. Maybe we can converse, maybe we can learn, but more importantly, maybe we can find something that isn't already.