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Wednesday, May 31, 2006 |
VRlog is not http://radio.weblogs.com/0110138/ beyond today. The content at http://radio.weblogs.com/0110138/ will remain as it is for a little while longer, but new posts will be appearing at VRlog.com, not radio.weblogs.com.
So those of you who either bookmarked or linked to the Radio-based address, your link or bookmark will reflect the non-live content shortly. In a month or two, the old content will go away.
The best thing to do is bookmark or link to the VRlog.com domain, which is not going away.
erik
7:06:47 AM 
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Thursday, May 25, 2006 |
The battle for the ears of music lovers is fierce, made more so by the accompanying battle against digital pirates. The current winner seems to be Apple, whose iPod has reinvigorated the business, become a fashion icon, and made legal downloading of music fun. Recently, in an apparent bow to Apple's strength, Sony has decided to make its music management software compatible with Apple's audio file format.
via IT Analysis
6:49:42 AM
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More details about the Apple/Nike partnership: " Filed under: Accessories, iPod Family  BusinessWeek has the scoop on the Apple/Nike partnership that just resulted in that very cool iPod/shoe sensor item ... It all started 18 months ago when Apple approached Nike to supply the shoe company with branded MP3 players. Nike had been down that road before (with several other companies) and they thought that they could do more. Fast forward a year and a half and BAM! Nike + iPodGlobal. Both companies plan on working together to bring even more cool products to market (can you say ringtones for your sneakers? Awesome).
(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog.)
6:43:34 AM
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Who Needs Aperture, Photoshop for Raw File Conversion?: " 
Convert a Raw file to Tiff or Photoshop formats in seconds? Yes! Lighten the picture, add sharpening, and increase saturation? No problem. Maybe you want to take your Raw file, save it to PDF, then encrypt it so it’s protected from prying eyes. You bet.
Do you need a high-end image editor, such as Camera Raw to perform this magic? Hardly. Tiger users have a powerful tool right there in the Applications folder that can execute these tasks in less time than it takes to launch Photoshop. The magic software is the often-overlooked Preview app.
You can discover all of Preview’s image editing power in the post titled The Simplest of All RAW Converters. Preview does a lot more than open PDFs… "
(Via MacDevCenter.)
6:27:50 AM
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Friday, May 19, 2006 |
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Wednesday, May 17, 2006 |
What price Macintosh?: "With the Intel transition nearly complete, it's possible to compare Macintosh hardware directly with its PC equivalent. A new study shows that Apple still commands a price premium, but it's not as much as you think.
(Via Ars Technica.)
6:28:17 AM
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Friday, May 12, 2006 |
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Thursday, May 11, 2006 |
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Wednesday, May 10, 2006 |
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Tuesday, May 9, 2006 |
U.S. Mac users receive best support: "Users said that most manufacturers provided "dismal" free tech support, with the exception of Apple's support for desktops/laptops and IBM's support for laptops. "Apple's support for desktops and laptops and IBM (Lenovo) for laptops. Apple solved 76 percent of survey respondents' problems, and IBM (Lenovo) solved 64 percent."
(Via The Macintosh News Network.)
7:16:56 AM
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The Mask of QuickTime: "What do you do when your QuickTime movie has ugly artifacts around the borders?
Use QuickTime Pro’s unlikely Mask feature to slice ’em off. Here’s how."
(Via MacDevCenter.com.)
7:03:11 AM
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Background: recently McAfee issued warnings that Mac-affecting malware attacks may be on the rise.
This has prompted a few responses from people not in the business of selling antivirus software:
The ZDnet editorial: "It may be true, as McAfee says, that from 2003 to 2005 the number of discovered Mac vulnerabilities increased by 228 percent while Windows only saw a 73 percent increase. But that’s like saying that in the last decade, deaths caused by choking on ice cream were up by 200 percent while deaths from smoking only went up by ten. Like the ice cream, shining light on McAfee’s claims makes them melt away — when we asked the company how big the risks actually were, it admitted that there was “no significant risk” at the moment."
Expert: McAfee Mac Security Report Is 'Scaremongering': " 'It is a speculative house of cards resting on a foundation of shaky statistics and questionable assumptions.' By Walaika K. Haskins, NewsFactor Network"
(Via myapplemenu.)
6:49:58 AM
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Thursday, May 4, 2006 |
VRlog is not http://radio.weblogs.com/0110138/ for much longer.
So those of you who either bookmarked or linked to the Radio-based address, your link or bookmark will stop working shortly.
The best thing to do is bookmark or link to the VRlog.com domain, which is not going away.
erik
9:31:22 AM
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Wednesday, March 29, 2006 |
Microsoft offers more time on Eolas changes: " (InfoWorld) - Corporate developers who are not ready for an upcoming Internet Explorer update are getting a reprieve. 
The next security update for Internet Explorer, expected by April 11, is scheduled to include changes to the way ActiveX processes dynamic content. These changes will force developers to make changes to their Web sites and Intranets, but Microsoft said Wednesday that it now plans to also release a second 'compatibility patch,' that will undo the ActiveX changes.
Without the compatibility patch, programmers must make changes to their server software. Otherwise, Internet Explorer will force users to click on a pop-up 'tool tip' dialog box before being able to interact with things like Flash or QuickTime.
The compatibility patch will allow users to avoid the tool tip boxes on sites that have not made the changes, but only for a limited time.
'This patch will function until the June IE security update is released at which time the changes to ActiveX are permanent,' said Microsoft's public relations agency in an e-mail statement. That update is scheduled to be released June 13.
Microsoft is making the ActiveX changes in order to comply with a 2003 ruling against the company that found it had violated a patent held by Eolas Technologies Inc. and the University of California. Though Microsoft is appealing this ruling, and challenging the validity of the patent with the U.S. Patent Office, Microsoft still must make the changes or risk being found in contempt of court.
Though Web site operators and corporate developers are facing headaches, these changes will amount to little more than an annoyance for most IE users. They will not actually prevent Flash or QuickTime from running, but simply add the extra step of clicking on the tool tip.
The compatibility patch will be of more use to corporate IT departments than Web site operators, because corporate shops will be in a position to control whether or not their users install the software.
'While most Internet sites have already prepared for the ActiveX changes, some enterprise customers have given feedback that more time is needed to ensure applications are compatible with the ActiveX changes,' the Microsoft statement said.
This next security update will be an important one, as it will also fix an unpatched vulnerability in Internet Explorer that hackers have been exploiting for a number of days now. This bug, which relates to the way Internet Explorer processes Web pages using the createTextRange() method, is considered critical because it can be exploited by hackers to run unauthorized software on a victim's machine.
(Elizabeth Montalbano contributed to this story)
SEE ALSO:
Dealing with technological diversity
After IE attacks, Microsoft eyes security betas
ADVERTISEMENT
![]() Mobile Pros
InfoWorld podcasts powered by Mobilcast. Download now. "
(Via InfoWorld.)
6:11:07 PM
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Curvemeister 2 is Curves on Steroids: "When I introduced the Earthbound Light Solution for Curves (and other goodies) in Photoshop Elements just over a year ago, I also wrote briefly about a nice plug-in known as Curvemeister that I've been meaning to take a more detailed look at ever since. By now, Curvemeister is up to version 2.1. Mike Russell, the program's author has indeed been busy, and the thoughtful features found throughout the program are the obvious result...."
(Via Earthbound Light Photography Tips.)
6:10:31 PM
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Friday, March 24, 2006 |
Want To See the Northern Lights?: " Doug Lansky offers tips on CNN.com: ‘As with rainbow spotting, there are no guarantees. The key ingredients are a cloudless sky, little or no moon and luck. For the best odds, head near or above the Arctic Circle from October through March.’ He also includes this interesting tidbit: ‘Every 11 or so years, the northern lights are known to appear way below the Arctic Circle. In 2000 they were visible in El Paso, Texas. Wherever you are during the winters of 2011 and 2012, be sure to look up at night.’
"
(Via World Hum.)
7:47:19 AM
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More on Factoring In the Crop Factor: Hand Holding: "The generic rule of thumb is that you can expect to successfully hand hold your camera down to a shutter speed of one over the focal length. For example, if you are shooting with a 200mm lens, hand held shots should generally be sharp if your shutter speed is at least 1/200 second. The rule was devised back in the film days though, so it's worth taking a look at whether digital has changed things
(Via Earthbound Light Photography Tips.)
7:47:15 AM
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Giga Vu PRO evolution: a breakthrough pro product?: "When the doors swung open at the PMA 2006 trade show in Orlando, Florida last month, most of the herd of photo retailers, photographers and technology journalists thundered their way towards the big-name camera makers and software developers. Not us. Our first stop was the German Pavilion to see a photo storage device that has the potential to be a breakthrough product for working shooters. That device is the Jobo Giga Vu PRO evolution. Why are we excited? Read our in-depth preview of what this new photo storage device will be about when it ships in April 2006."
(Via Rob Galbraith DPI.)
7:47:01 AM
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Span an Aperture library over multiple volumes: "Photographer and author Ben Long has posted a utility called the Aperture Library Spanner. The small application, which is free, allows you to span Apple Aperture's internal library over multiple volumes; by default, Aperture's library is limited to a single volume."
(Via Rob Galbraith DPI.)
7:46:53 AM
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Prize For Mathematician Who Paved Way For iPod: " A prize that is considered the 'Nobel' for mathematics has gone to an 80-year-old Swedish academic whose work on the complexities of soundwaves has subsequently been used in the electronic components of iPods. By James Randerson, The Guardian "
(Via myapplemenu.)
7:46:48 AM
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Photographer trade groups alarmed by "orphan works" U.S. copyright proposals: "A number of trade groups that represent photographers have recently raised the alarm about proposed changes to U.S. copyright law that address so-called orphan works - works whose copyright holders cannot be located. One group, The Stock Artists Alliance, has set up a blog to summarize their efforts and publish running news and commentary on the issue."
(Via Rob Galbraith DPI.)
7:46:30 AM
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Update: RealViz Stitcher 5.1: "RealViz Stitcher adds parameters to automatically correct the misalignment of the sensor with the center of the lens, incorporation of external blending software, export of panoramas to movies, and more."
(Via MacInTouch.)
7:46:01 AM
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Monday, March 6, 2006 |
Changing Focusing Screens on Nikon SLR Cameras: "When you look through the viewfinder of an SLR camera, the image you see is focused on the aptly named focusing screen. The standard screen that ships with Nikon cameras is called the 'B' screen, but many landscape photographers switch to an 'E' grid screen instead. This is the same thing as the regular one except that it has an added tic-tac-toe grid etched on it. Lining the horizon up with a grid line helps to avoid problems with crooked pictures. The only problem that remains is how to actually replace the screen...."
(Via Earthbound Light Photography Tips.)
8:04:26 AM
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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 Review at Macworld: "Macworld has a mini review of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 where they write - 'If you can live without changing lenses, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 makes a versatile alternative to a digital SLR—albeit at a DSLR price. You’ll get great image quality and wide-angle capability. However, you’ll lose out if typical point-and-shoot features such as a movie mode and voice annotation are important to you.' Read more reviews of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 Get the Latest Price on the..."
(Via Digital Photography Blog.)
6:45:24 AM
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Factoring in the Digital Crop Factor: "Back in the good old days of film, everything seemed so simple. Focal length was focal length and lenses produced the field of view we were accustomed to. But digital changed things. The printed pictures still come out the same size, but there's something sized differently in how they get shot. We call it the 'crop factor' or 'focal length multiplier,' and it's the topic of this week's PhotoTip article...."
(Via Earthbound Light Photography Tips.)
6:45:21 AM
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Nikon D200 DSLR Review at DCRP: "DCRP reviews the Nikon D200 DSLR and writes - 'Photo quality was excellent as well. Photos were properly exposed, with vivid colors and low purple fringing and noise levels. As is typical with D-SLRs, images are very smooth, and some folks may want to sharpen things up a bit. My only real photo quality complaint is that noise levels are higher than I would've liked at ISO sensitivities above 640. They're not horrible by any means, but after just..."
(Via Digital Photography Blog.)
6:45:11 AM
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Friday, March 3, 2006 |
Calico is a new automatic multi-row stitcher for the casual photographer. Calico was developed with ease of use in mind. Unlike many other stitching programs, Calico does not limit you to a single row of images or a 3x3 mosaic. With Calico, you can shoot several rows of images or a single row. It's your choice. Calico requires OS X.4 (Tiger).
The latest beta is version 0.7
http://www.kekus.com/
7:38:10 AM
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Update: spinControl:VR: "The updated QTVR controller adds AutoTilt and AutoSpin for QTVR, as well as play/pause control for embedded QuickTime audio."
(Via MacInTouch.)
7:35:13 AM
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Changing Focusing Screens on Nikon SLR Cameras: "When you look through the viewfinder of an SLR camera, the image you see is focused on the aptly named focusing screen. The standard screen that ships with Nikon cameras is called the 'B' screen, but many landscape photographers switch to an 'E' grid screen instead. This is the same thing as the regular one except that it has an added tic-tac-toe grid etched on it. Lining the horizon up with a grid line helps to avoid problems with crooked pictures. The only problem that remains is how to actually replace the screen...."
(Via Earthbound Light Photography Tips.)
7:33:26 AM
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Zeiss ZF prices set; ordering commences April 1: "In the latest issue of Camera Lens Newsletter, Zeiss sets out the prices for its recently-announced ZF lenses when ordering directly from the German company. The Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 ZF will be EUR499 and the Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 ZF will be EUR999. These prices do not include VAT. Prices for ZS lenses are not given. Zeiss will begin accepting orders through its web site on April 1."
(Via Rob Galbraith DPI.)
7:32:34 AM
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Just posted! PMA 2006 Final Show Report: "PMA 2006: We've just posted the final version of our PMA 2006 Show Report. The show report covers 19 stands with over 230 images and 2,880 words (all produced and posted live from the show floor). In the five days of the show we received over 3.8 million visitors who read 14.6 million pages. We've also compiled our top ten new products (a few of which will probably come as no surprise). Overall we found this PMA to be a busy show with plenty of interesting news and a much more positive vibe in 'backroom' meetings. It was a noticeable step up from last year and bodes well for the year ahead and Photokina in September."
(Via Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com).)
7:24:23 AM
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Tuesday, February 28, 2006 |
Photoshop Elements 4 for the Mac Looks Great: " Adobe released Photoshop Elements 4 for the Mac today at PMA. I had a chance to meet with an Adobe engineer last night in Orlando to talk about Elements 4 and some of its notable features. Adobe has packed quite a bit of power in this affordable package.
First, and a bit of a surprise, Elements 4 now has a streamlined version of Bridge. So there's a fully capable file browser built right into the app. The biggest 'wow' feature however, is the new 'Adjust Color for Skin Tones' control that lets you click on a spot of skin, then Photoshop analyzes it and corrects the color. I saw it tested on a variety of subjects, and it worked remarkably well. Speaking of our people shots, the new red eye correction tool is the model of simplicity. You just enable it and Photoshop finds all the instances of red eye in the image and fixes them for you. The Mac version isn't able to correct red eye on import as in the Windows release, but this approach works quite well.
Adobe has included some very helpful selection tools too. The Magic Select Brush and the Magic Extractor tools speed up the tedious task of selecting an element within your picture to adjust or copy and place elsewhere. They don't achieve perfection automatically, but they do get you close enough so that with a little clean-up you're in business.
The price for Elements 4 is still $89. This a great value for a powerful image editor. Considering that it includes Bridge and the latest version of Camera Raw, this application is all most hobbyist photographers would ever need. "
(Via MacDevCenter.)
6:07:03 AM
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Panasonic DMC-L1: "PMA 2006: Panasonic has today announced the fruits of its new relationship with Olympus, the DMC-L1 Four Thirds System Digital SLR. Todays news is really just a 'development announcement' so doesn't have any detailed specifications, however reading through what has been revealed so far this camera does appear to share quite a bit with the Olympus E-330 EVOLT. Another interesting revelation in this release is the confirmation that Panasonic developed the 7.5 MP Live MOS sensor (the same we assume as in the E-330). Other features incldue a shutter speed dial on the top of the camera, full-time live view (same as E-330), Secure Digital storage and a 2.5' LCD monitor."
(Via Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com).)
6:06:58 AM
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First Look: Adobe Photoshop Elements 4: "The latest version of Photoshop Elements adds a feature that will be familiar to anyone who's spent time with Adobe Creative Suite 2 -- the Bridge image-browsing application. Ben Long walks you through this and other additions, including the Adjust Color for Skin Tones feature and the Magic Select Brush tool, in this first look at Photoshop Elements 4.
"
(Via MacCentral.)
6:06:48 AM
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Apple soliciting RAW photos to assist in improving Aperture: "In an effort to improve the RAW conversion quality provided by Aperture (and other applications that rely on the same operating system code for those conversions), Apple issued a call for RAW files from professional photographers earlier this month. The earlier request was made to a select group of working shooters and others; now, Apple has given the green light to make the option of submitting files open to anyone seriously interested in helping the company spruce up its RAW file processing."
(Via Rob Galbraith DPI.)
6:06:38 AM
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iPhoto 6: Good, But Not Ground-breaking: " iPhoto 6 provides enough improvements and new features that anyone who uses iPhoto at all seriously will find them worthwhile, particularly if any of hte other iLife '06 applications are of interest. By Adam C. Engst, TidBITS "
(Via myapplemenu.)
6:06:33 AM
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Monday, February 27, 2006 |
Nikon Capture NX: First Thoughts: "Nikon wants every user of their digital cameras to feel that Nikon Capture is the best tool to use for converting their raw images. Regular readers here know that I have mixed feelings about how successful they have been at providing a program to live up to that aim. It is in this context that I wanted to present a few first thoughts on their recent announcement of the new version, dubbed Capture NX...."
(Via Earthbound Light Photography Tips.)
7:13:21 AM
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Bibble updated to v4.6: "Bibble Labs has released v4.6 of Bibble, the company's RAW conversion software, which is available in Pro and Lite editions for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This new version incorporates noise reduction technology from PictureCode's Noise Ninja software, among other changes."
(Via Rob Galbraith DPI.)
7:12:10 AM
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Thursday, February 23, 2006 |
http://www.dcmag.co.uk/YVLlErg.html
"Photoshop is obviously capable of blending your images using Photomerge, but this process can be tedious and the results are often mixed. Because of this we’ve decided to ‘prepare’ our images in Photoshop, but we’ll stitch them together using Realviz’s Stitcher Express software (a copy of which is included on this issue’s cover disc). Stitcher Express has been purpose-made for this type of work, and makes it supremely easy to create fantastic-looking panoramas."
via Digital Camera magazine
7:38:08 AM
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Just posted! Nikon D200 review: "Just posted! Our in-depth review of the new Nikon D200 digital SLR. The D200 officially replaces the four year old D100 however it's a completely different animal, far more professional orientated with a significant range of new features, a very impressive and robust body and superb performance. See how the D200 did in our raft of in-depth tests and how it compares to those cameras around it in the marketplace."
(Via Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com).)
7:24:00 AM
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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 |
Canon EOS 30D: "Pre-PMA 2006: Canon has today announced the EOS 30D, a mild evolution of the EOS 20D. Headline changes are a subtly redesigned body, spot metering, selectable continuous shooting speed, 100,000 shutter cycle life, a larger LCD monitor and the expected switch from simple image parameters to Canon's preferred PictureStyles. From an imaging pipeline point of view this camera has the same sensor and image processor and the default PictureStyle matches the EOS 20D's default image parameters (hence expect exactly the same imaging performance). Good news also comes in the form of a slightly lower price than the EOS 20D. We're just waiting for the name confusion to begin, it's not the six year old Canon EOS D30."
(Via Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com).)
7:54:21 AM
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Monday, February 13, 2006 |
Storing Your Digital Images: "Site contributor and author of The 123 of Digital Imaging Interactive Learning Suite, Vincent Bockaert has written a very interesting article on one of the most important issues facing the digital photographer, how to store your digital images for now and for the future. His article covers the different storage media available and the relative costs and merits of each. This article is the first in a series on a range of digital photography subjects by Vincent."
(Via Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com).)
6:53:15 AM
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Nikon confirm D200 banding, fix available: "Nikon USA (and Europe) have both added knowedge base entries which confirm the existence of the so called 'banding issue'. According to the USA entry this affects only 'a limited number of early-production D200 cameras' and that if you have a D200 which exhibits such banding 'Nikon will, without charge, evaluate your camera to determine if adjustment to the camera's image output level is required. Adjustment, if required, will optimize the camera's image output level, thereby reducing visible banding to a minimal level.'"
(Via Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com).)
6:50:07 AM
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Nikon confirms D200 Banding Problems: "Nikon have confirmed the 'banding problems' that some Nikon D200 users have been reporting recently with the following Q and A statements: Question 1: Why do I occasionally see vertical lines in my images? Patterns of vertical lines, sometimes referred to as banding, are a digital imaging artifact. Lines can be vertical or horizontal, depending on the orientation of the camera at the time that an affected image was captured. Banding can become visible only in specific shooting conditions..."
(Via Digital Photography Blog.)
6:48:59 AM
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Friday, February 10, 2006 |
Impression 3.0 for Max OS X: "Impression automates asset archiving for Mac OS X by moving large amounts of data to spanned DVD/CD sets or to mounted drives for offline storage. Other noteworthy features include an automatic scheduling system, incremental/differential archiving operations, the preservation of all HFS+/Spotlight metadata, after-write file verification and bookmark-based management features. New to version 3.0 comes an automatic scheduler that works in conjunction with Apple’s iCal, performance increases under Mac OS X 10.4, a few bug fixes and a number of..."
(Via Digital Photography Blog.)
6:15:14 AM
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Friday, February 3, 2006 |
Shade 8.5 to support Intel Macs, QTVR: "e-frontier today announced that it plans to offer an Universal Binary version of its Shade 8 software ... Due this Spring, the free upgrade will also bring export capabilities to QuickTime VR as well as the ability to import/export sound files, a new path constraints plugin, and a FogPlus plugin for advanced fog effects."
(Via The Macintosh News Network.)
7:35:28 AM
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Thursday, February 2, 2006 |
To me, the most interesting quote from a Carl Zeiss marketing manager was "In particular we are convinced that today's best analogue imaging systems are clearly superior to their digital counterparts in terms of image quality"
Twenty questions about Zeiss ZF/ZS: "Shortly after the announcement earlier this month by Carl Zeiss of new Nikon F-mount ZF and screw-mount ZS lens lines, we sent a series of questions to Kornelius J. Mueller, Marketing Manager in the German company's Camera Lens Division. In his response, Mueller describes how ZF lenses will operate on a Nikon camera, acknowledges the desire among Canon shooters especially for crispy-sharp wide angles, discusses the decision to contract Cosina in Japan to manufacture ZF/ZS lenses and more."
(Via Rob Galbraith DPI.)
7:13:31 AM
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© Copyright 2006 erik goetze.
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VRlog provides news, developments and analysis of the virtual reality (VR) world from a nature photographer's perspective. Since I am not connected to or funded by any VR vendor, I intend to objectively appraise what's going on, and the direction VR is headed in. -- erik goetze
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this site are available in an RSS newsfeed, an XML file format.
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Adobe Photoshop Product Manager John Nack had this to say
about the Universal Binary status of Adobe applications in an interview with Inside Mac Radio at Flash Forward 2006
this week. As you've probably heard, with the exception of the public beta of Adobe Lightroom, Adobe apps are not yet
Universal. You can read more excerpts from the interview at