Let Me Google That For You

How many times has this happened to you? Someone asks you a question that could easily be answered in a matter of seconds by typing said question into Google. Now you can show how much easier and faster it would be for that person to just Google it.

Let me Google that for you is a website that lets you type in a question into Google, and send that animation of the typing of the question into the search field. This is a great way to embarrass someone and to let them know that they are an idiot.

RED Scorpion

The digital filmmaking community is still anxiously awaiting the delivery of the game changing RED Scarlet DSMC. Until then, here is a picture of the RED Scorpion, made out of very, very expensive RED accessories.

You know you want one.

Sony Playstation 3 Slim

I have been waiting for Sony to redesign the Playstation 3 so it wouldn't look out of place with the rest of my home AV gear. Well, it looks like that time has finally come. Sony is introducing it's new Playstation 3 Slim, which is 32% smaller and uses 34% less power. The best part is it's new price, just $299.00 duckets. That makes it a no brainer for a Blu-ray player that also works double duty as a kick ass gaming machine.

Pros: Textured No Fingerprint Finish, 120GB Harddrive.

Cons: Blu-ray Remote Control Not Included.

List Price: $299.99

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

Dell Mini 9 Discontinued - WTF?

Well the geniuses at Dell have decided to pull the plug on the super popular and über-hackable "Mini 9". It never even saw it's 1st birthday. Born on September 4, 2008 - Died on May 29, 2009. This was the most "Hackintoshable" computer ever, since it was basically a Mac Mini in a netbook case. I am glad I got mine, before they were all gone. Prepare to watch the used prices for them on Ebay go up, as the current supply dwindles.

Makes you wonder if Steve Jobs and Michael Dell had a little private meeting where Steve suggested that Michael stop making these, since Apple is reportedly coming out with a small portable computer of their own.

Hmmmmmmm.

MacBook Hackintosh Sticker

I had a lot of people asking me how I made the logo for the "MacBook Mini". So in order to help out other Apple Hackers, here are three of the most commonly requested logos for your Hackintosh. Now leave me alone:)

Dell Mini 9 Hackintosh

Ever since Steve Jobs made the decision to switch to Intel Microprocessors in 2006, he has spawned a community of hackers that install OSX onto non-Apple computers. Since current Apple computers are in fact just glorified PC's in a sleek designer case, albeit with a superior operating system, the possibility of hacking and creating your own home brewed version is now greater that ever. Combine this with the popularity of sub $600 netbook's from manufacturers such as Dell, MSI, ASUS, Acer, and Samsung, then you have created the perfect hacking storm.

The two most popular candidates for OSX conversion are the Dell Inspiron 9 Mini and the MSI Wind U-100. Both of these make a great "Hackintosh" with extreme portability and very little compromise in functionality, while at a much lower price point then the absurdly expensive MacBook Air.

You can find out more on how to "Roll Your Own" at message boards such as mydellmini.com, msiwind.net, and osx86project.org.

By the way, the photo above is of a rebadged Dell Mini 9 running OSX. Just don't tell Steve Jobs, he knows where I live.

Apple Airport Update Breaks Wifi

Okay, so a couple of weeks ago I got the pop up reminder from Apple that let me know that I should update my Airport software. After updating, my Airport connection became very sporadic and would lose it's connection every two minutes or so. The culprit? That frickin' Airport updater. After reverting back to my last known good install thanks to Super Duper, everything is working now as it should.

The strange thing is that the version that was working just fine was 6.3, the one that broke my Apple was 5.4.1. Why does the newer, supposedly better version have a lower version number? Did Apple drop the ball on this one. or am I caught up in some parallel universe where newer versions of software have a lower number?

The same thing happened to a friend of mine who now lives in Zurich. Everything was fine with her wifi until she did the updater. She even went to the Apple store and they didn't have a clue.

Come on Apple, give me a break.

Color Grading

Here are a couple of frame grabs from a little video shoot that I did with some of my students. We used a Canon XH-A1 shooting at 23.976 fps, 1/48th sec shutter, at 1440 x 1080. Lighting was a combination of the bathroom's fluorescents and two small Lowel Tota-lights. The XH-A1 is actually pretty decent in low light settings, so I was able to shoot without adding any gain.

Since we were limited to the confined space of the school's bathroom, we weren't able to pull the camera back very far which helped contribute to some serious lack of depth of field. Would have been nice to use a 35mm lens adapter, but not quite possible on a school budget.

Here are two images for a before and after comparison. Resized to 960 x 540. I did a little color grading, vignetting, and defocusing to help bring the viewers eye back towards the actor washing his hands.

David Lee Roth Asteroids

"You got Asteroids?...No, but my dad does. He can’t even sit on the toilet some days."

From that obscure sound bite from "National Lampoon's Vacation", to the even more obscure guitar playing hamburger from John Cusack's 1985 teen film "Better Off Dead", this remake of the 1980's classic arcade game Asteroids has all the bases covered. Not since "Desktop Tower Defense" has a low tech game been this much fun.

Diamond Dave Edition Assteroidz v1.0 features Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth shooting unsuspecting asteroids, Eddie Van Halen (or is it Gene Simmons?), and even the Red Rocker Sammy Hagar, as he races across the universe whilst singing the classic Van Halen hit, "Runnin' with the Devil."

Only thing that could make it better is if you could also blow up former annoying frontman Gary Cherrone as well.

Props to Zornfett for the link.

Click here to play it now.

Pros: Diamond Dave Blowing S*%# Up!

Cons: Alex Van Halen & Michael Anthony are MIA.

List Price: FREE!

Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

It's 2009, and even though we still don't have flying cars, we do have a modern replacement for traditional note taking.

Livescribe has created an igneous notational system comprised of the "Pulse Smartpen" and their proprietary dot paper. The pen features an infrared camera, OLED display, microphone, speaker, and USB connector. The paper contains microdots in order to track the pen's infrared camera.

What does all this techno babble mean? As you write down your notes during a lecture, the pen and paper track what you are writing and and ties in the audio of the lecturer to the moment in time that you made a particular note. Later on when you are reviewing your notes, you click on a particular word or phrase, and the audio from that exact time that you made your note is played back through the built in speaker or via headphones.

Not quite a flying car, but close.

Pros: Audio Playback of Lecture in Sync with Notes.

Cons: Your Handwriting Still Sucks.

List Price: $149.95 - $199.95

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

Gunnar Optiks Eyewear

If you are like me and spend the better part of your day staring at a computer screen, you might want to consider a fashionable accessory that also protects your vision.

Gunnar Optiks are the purveyors of stylish protective eyewear for those of us who spend more time in front of a computer, rather than riding a mountain bike. Gunnar's i-Amp technology relaxes the occular muscle responsible for focusing one's eyes at close distances. This helps to prevent Digital Eye Fatigue (DEF) or Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Featuring i-Amp lens technology - an optical platform that incorporates proprietary lens materials, lens tints, lens coatings and lens geometry.

This means that you can look at a computer monitor for a longer period of time with less eye fatigue and fewer headaches. Thereby increasing your productivity and making you much more attractive to the opposite sex. That's a win-win scenario.

Pros: Makes you look like Bono.

Cons: You are not Bono.

List Price: $119.00 - $189.00