Don't Copy That Floppy Sequel

As a follow up to a 1992 anti-piracy video, this revamped version is almost as retarded as the original. A video this stupid, with such pathetic visual effects and lame rapping, will make people want to pirate software. And what is up with the dancing Klingons?

But they are right about one thing. Don't copy software, music, and movies. Instead download it via your favorite bit torrent site such as, The Pirate Bay, Mininova, and Demonoid.

The More You Know.

Zacuto ZGrip iPhone PRO

Talk about some serious GEAR PORN. Zacuto, the makers of some of the slickest and most expensive camera accessories, have come up with the coolest iPhone 3GS add on.

The ZGrip iPhone Pro provides you the ultimate handgrip system for shooting professional quality video with your iPhone. The ZGrip features the same high quality construction and adjustability that all Zacuto products are famous for.

Don't have enough coin for the $295.00 Pro version? Take a look at it's little brother, the ZGrip iPhone Jr. At just $69.00, it's well within the reach of would be filmmakers.

Do you really need a ZGrip? Probably not. But it would sure be cool.

Pros: Amazing Build Quality, Crazy Functionality.

Cons: Über expensive.

List Price: $295.00

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!