Gordon's Tech & Hobby Blog

SpriteMe

2011-07-05T06:38:00.002-05:00

I've toyed with the idea of writing a sprite compiler when I stumbled across this neat bookmarklet called SpriteMe. This program analyzes a web page and builds the sprite and CSS semi-automatically. I may still write the compiler but for now I'm going to play with this.

Lightroom 3.3

2010-12-23T13:16:00.004-06:00

I have just upgraded to Lightroom 3.3 from 2.7 and I'm enjoying the experience a lot. I can import photos from my iPhone and Camera's seamlessly. And best of all the Noise Reduction in LR 3.3 is about 1 to 1.5 stops better than Lightroom 2.

For example, I can shoot a compact camera at ISO 400 with virtually zero noise and ISO 800 with very little noise by using the following settings:

Faster Firefox: Reducing History

2010-08-11T09:49:00.004-05:00

Firefox allows you to configure the browser history in Tools > Options > Privacy. Did you know that it only configures the minimum history! It actually stores 180 days by default leading to very slow shutdown times.

To improve your browser performance visit about:config and change the following values:

Faster Windows 7 - Super Fetch Excessive Disk Activity

2010-06-06T16:01:00.011-05:00

The following is written for laptop users with mechanical hard drives (not SSD) although some desktop users and laptop power users may consider this handy for their workstation. Desktop systems tend to reboot infrequently and stay online for weeks at a time; reducing the occurrence of "SuperFetch disk Thrash".

By default "SuperFetch" will cache programs AND data files in memory for quick access during a normal working day. When a laptop resumes from hibernate or completes a reboot the data is loaded again - causing a lot of activity on a mechanical hard disk. Resuming from "sleep" does not trigger a "SuperFetch Thrash"; leaving a computer asleep while plugged in and at a desk is a good idea.

Copy and paste the following lines into a file called superfetch_perf.reg (or click here) and then run it (double click). Reboot your computer. Do not disable the SuperFetch service as it is critical to the regular function of the prefetcher. You may consider marking the service "Delayed Start" if immediate responsiveness of the computer after a reboot is important to you.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters]
"EnableSuperfetch"=dword:00000001

The meaning of the value, after first hand experimentation and monitoring with 'procmon', is: 0 = Disabled, 1 = Prefetch Programs and System Files (EXE, Fonts, Drivers, etc.), 2 = Prefetch Data Files Only (.doc, .xls, .txt, .php, .c, etc.), 3 = Programs, System Files, and Data Files (DEFAULT).

If you're a power user on a laptop consider creating a couple of batch files to stop and start the SuperFetch service. The command line syntax is "net stop superfetch" and "net start superfetch". You can enable the service for long session and leave it off for frequent reboots and hibernate activity on the road.

And a closing note on ReadyBoost... this cache is rebuilt after each reboot; adding to your hard disk load and battery drain. I have tested this on a 4GB laptop and found no benefit once SuperFetch is tuned with the above tweak. The Windows disk cache manager is far more efficient when given ample resources.

Faster Windows 7 - Unnecessary Services

2010-06-06T15:58:00.003-05:00

Windows 7 has many advanced features and great performance... BUT Microsoft has chosen convenience over true performance in some areas. Here are my suggestions for services that you can safely disable. If you are uncertain about how to disable services then I recommend you don't! :-)

Offline Files - Causes disk access when reconnecting to a network. Disable this via Control Panel > Sync Center if you do not need this feature.
SeaPort - Installed by Microsoft Toolbar and causes unnecessary disk access.
Windows Defender - Disable this if you have a virus scanner, otherwise leave it on!
Windows Media Player Network Sharing - Causes a lot of unnecessary disk access.
Windows Search - Causes a lot of unnecessary disk access.

Jon Stuart on the British Election

2010-05-13T20:57:00.002-05:00

Jon Stuart on the British Election, get a true insight into how we think and feel about our political leaders. Click image to view the official Comedy Central video.

Improving Windows XP SMB File Performance

2010-03-20T11:06:00.012-05:00

To realize a 20%-30% improvement in file sharing performance over LAN, WiFi, and VPN/WAN links download this reg file and apply it to all your workstations and file servers.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 have improved the old Windows SMB1 protocol; for more information read this: Wikipedia SMB2

The registry patch applies the following changes:

Sets the SMB file buffer to 64KB and must be applied with the TcpWindowSize change further down.
The next two lines tells Windows Servers to disable security signing on each packet. This is an enormous factor for Domain Controllers. Corporate network admins must carefully evaluate the cost/benefit of this change.
Tcp1323Opts allows the TCP receive buffer to dynamically scale for better performance. This is useful for all internet traffic. Do not set this to 2 or 3 as time stamp generation adds a lot of overhead to each packet.
TcpWindowsSize is set to 1MB as a default and is required to allow SizReqBuf to work correctly!

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters]
"SizReqBuf"=dword:0000ffff
"requiresecuritysignature"=dword:00000000
"enablesecuritysignature"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]
"Tcp1323Opts"=dword:00000001
"TcpWindowSize"=dword:00100000

XDEBUG Bookmarklets

2009-12-17T18:23:00.006-06:00

XDEBUG developers: Here are two bookmarklets to enable and disable XDEBUG. They are set with IDEKEY=default. Drag each below to your toolbar and then click on them when you want to debug a page.

XDEBUG START

XDEBUG STOP

XDEBUG PROFILE

Sun/Moon App for your iPhone 3Gs

2009-12-11T08:35:00.005-06:00

Planning photographic sessions "on location" and estimating the Sun position is a tricky process. Up until now I've used a Solunar Table and Digital Compass. They are reliable but a little slow to use in the field. Roll on the "Focalware" application from Spiral Development. It cleverly uses the iPhone 3Gs digital compass and GPS unit to locate where you are and where you are pointing the phone. It displays a live position of the Sun against those details and can even predict where the Sun will be with the simple drag of your finger across the dial. This saves a ton of time and aids in much faster visualization.

Recently at a wedding, in the heat of an Austin summer, the Sun was threatening to cut the scene in half with strong light and shadow. When the bride asked if a 10 minute delay would be okay I responded "yes". I had determined from a solunar table, compass, and a nearby building that the extra time would fully cloak the scene in shade making the pictures more flattering and the client cooler. Focalware would have allowed me to check this instantly and any additional angles without fumbling with paper and compass.

If you photograph outdoors then you need this app and an iPhone 3Gs!

Lightroom 2.x Enhanced Keyboard Shortcuts

2009-10-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

Quick access to Develop and Library module adjustments via your keyboard number pad (Windows only). You'll need AutoHotKey and this script to enhance your productivity.

The library presets shotcut (Ctrl+NumpadX) are custom to your environment. Please open the script in a text editor and change my preset names for your own.

Left/Right    - Prev or Next photo
Up/Down       - Brightness
ALT Up/Down   - Exposure
NumPad 5      - Toggle Dev/Lib Module [new]
ALT NumPad 5  - Crop Tool [new]
+/-           - Fill Light
Page Up/Dn    - Contrast
ALT PgUp/PgDn - Black Clipping
Home/End      - Color Temperature
ALT Home/End  - Recovery
Div/Mult      - Color Tint
Enter         - Paste Previous
ALT Enter     - Sync Settings [new]
Del           - Auto Tone
ALT Del       - Auto White Balance [new]
F5            - Library: Render Standard Previews [new]
Ctrl NumpadX  - Library: Execute a preset [new]

NumLock must be engaged (light on).
The only external USB number pad that works with this script is the "Targus Wireless Stow-N-Go keypad model AKP01US", that can be purchased from Amazon (click here).
Laptop users without a working USB number pad should consider a full USB keyboard.
Lightroom's title bar needs to say "Develop" or "Library". When launching Lightroom it displays neither. You'll need to toggle modules to get the title bar indicating the correct information.

Improve your math and programming skills with Project Euler

2009-08-25T07:19:00.000-05:00

Project Euler can be an addictive site for people who are passionate about mathematics and programming. You don’t need to be an expert in either of these two disciplines to participate in it’s challenges, but any such skills you may already possess will be an asset.

The author of the site, describes the project as follows:

Project Euler is a series of challenging mathematical/computer programming problems that will require more than just mathematical insights to solve. Although mathematics will help you arrive at elegant and efficient methods, the use of a computer and programming skills will be required to solve most problems.

When you first register, you will be presented with 252 problems available to be solved. This number changes frequently, however, as new problems are routinely created and added to the list. The solutions to some problems veer towards the obvious, while others require advanced mathematics to tackle. Likewise, a few can be solved with paper and pencil and a good dose of insight. Most however, will require the aid of a computer program written in the language of your choice.

My Firefox Addons

2009-03-27T15:07:00.018-05:00

Here's a list of my current Firefox add-ons! Updated for FF3

AdblockPlus
DBGbar for PHP Debugging /w PhpED et. al.
FavIcon Picker 2
Firebug (FF3)
FlagFox
FoxClocks
goo.gl lite
ImageBlock for 3G/Edge browsing
Screengrab
Tab Mix Plus

External Ballistics

2009-03-20T11:56:00.018-05:00

I've been playing around with some mathematics involving external ballistics in Maxima. Here's some resources you may find handy if you're interested in a projectile's flight, drop, and wind deflection.

iSnipe - iPhone Ballistics Application, click here
External Ballistics @ Wikipedia, click here
iPhone Kinetic Energy Calculator, click here
22 Long Rifle, External Ballistics, click here
External Ballistics Database, click here for Excel
Pellet Gun and Rimfire Ballistics Software, download
Center Fire Ballistics Software, download

And some free printable targets....

$200 Laptops Break a Business Model

2009-01-27T02:22:00.000-06:00

A thought provoking article by the NY Times, click here for original text

“We’ve reached one of those moments in tech history when there are low-priced and free alternatives that are both user-friendly and reliable enough to make the switch,”

The dot-com bust earlier in the decade dragged down high-fliers like Sun Microsystems and America Online but set the stage for a new generation of Web powerhouses like Google.

Hoping to save money, a start-up based in Menlo Park, Calif., has much of its internal technology processes online, or “in the cloud.” Instead of buying its own hardware and software systems it opted for e-mail and online document services from Google and online sales and manufacturing software from Netsuite. It is spending a fifth of what it would be for traditional technology.

The makers of open-source software also continue to benefit from the growing appeal of their often cheap, if not free, products. Sun Microsystems distributes 65,000 downloads a day of its MySQL database, which has turned into the favored business software of new companies. The job search engine Indeed.com shows a thriving job market for MySQL and Linux developers.

Free Math Programs

2009-01-21T09:54:00.000-06:00

Here's a quick round up of some free math programs on the internet. For more details please read the blog post "3 awesome free Math programs" by Antonio Cangiano.

Maxima (picture right)
Scilab
R
Simfit
Mathomatic (command line app)

SyncBackSE - Free Backup Utility

2009-01-18T11:30:00.003-06:00

The title says it all, this is a great piece of free software:

http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html#freeware

Unattended Printing with Firefox

2009-01-15T15:56:00.000-06:00

Do you need Firefox to print something without human intervention? Type about:config in your address bar add a new Boolean, as follows. Now you can have your web application send data to a printer automatically.

print.always_print_silent

true

Better Firefox Performance

2008-10-19T10:45:00.002-05:00

Here's a couple of simple network tweaks for improved performance in Firefox. Type about:config in your address bar and change the following values. The other values left at their default are perfect.

network.http.pipelining	true
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server	4

Please note, these two values interact with each other, and reducing the second number from the default of 6 to 4 actually improves performance.

PPI for your monitor...

2008-10-04T23:55:00.000-05:00

Calculate your Monitor's Pixels Per Inch (ppi) in Mathomatic.

ppi=((width_px^2+height_px^2)^0.5)/diag_inches

Is your computer overheating?

2008-09-26T08:59:00.000-05:00

My computer went down the other day, simply a black screen, no warning, no messages, just black. After a lot of messing around and diagnostics it turns out my computer was overheating.

An overheating or border line overheating machine can result in lock ups, slow downs, and unexpected reboots. To find out if your CPU is too hot you'll need the "hardware monitor" that comes with your motherboard. There are also plenty of third party programs which you can run.

The next question is "how hot is too hot?". Intel CPUs display one of two numbers... an absolute temperature ~or~ a thermal margin. The first is self explanatory but the second can seem confusing. The Margin indicates how many degrees remain before the CPU is critically hot. So the bigger the margin the safer you are.

Remember that modern computers conserve energy when idling, so run you most intensive application for 30-60 minutes and keep and eye on your temperatures. Conventional wisdom indicates you want your mobo and CPU less than 60°C (140F). Any higher and damage to one or the other may result. Intel has specific details on each CPU including its thermal maximum on this page, click here. Most modern CPUs give you a thermal margin which removes the guess work.

Tip... if your hard drives are too hot to keep your hand on for any period of time then you have excessive heat build up. Ensure hard drives have one drive bay gap between it and anything above it. Or use a case with hard drive cooling fans (see below).

If your board and/or CPU are running too hot you should consider a well ventilated case. I am now using the Antec 900 (click here) which has four over sized fans plus the fan in your PSU making five total. The 120mm BIG BOY (their words not mine) is placed directly above the CPU keeping it super cool.

Hopefully these tips will help those users experiencing weird hang ups and crashes.

Tip... if your temperature is good but file access is slow and you get lots of blue screens then there may be a chance your hard drive is about to fail. Make sure to run a check disc or similar application. And always make frequent backups!

iTunes for your USB Drive...

2008-08-05T23:05:00.000-05:00

A great little freeware app to sync your multiple USB and SD card music devices with iTunes. If you're an MP3 freak (like me) then you'll use this app for many years... (click image for download)

Back Yard Humming Bird

2008-06-22T10:41:00.005-05:00

I shot this yesterday afternoon, a very hungry humming bird!

Firefox Open Search Results in a New Tab

2008-06-19T10:26:00.000-05:00

I like the FF search engine box (Ctrl-E or Ctrl-K) but would like it to open the results in a new tab. Here's how to make it happen. Type about:config in your address bar and double click the setting browser.search.openintab so it reads true.

Exposure and Stops (Photography 101)

2008-06-05T09:06:00.004-05:00

A wonderful article by Neil Creek depicting the relationship between ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture. He's even produced an exposure triangle. Read the full article (click here)

Receiving Emails via SMS

2008-06-04T11:01:00.000-05:00

Using your gmail or another mail program, you can forward emails messages to SMS using one of the domains below. Please note former Cingular customers must use the Cingular address and not the AT&T address.

This feature is best used for simple alerts, like NOAA weather warnings, Server UP/DOWN Messages, and so on.

Verizon:	10digitphonenumber@vtext.com
AT&T:	10digitphonenumber@mobile.att.net
Sprint:	10digitphonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
T-Mobile:	10digitphonenumber@tmomail.net
Nextel:	10digitphonenumber@messaging.nextel.com
Cingular:	10digitphonenumber@mobile.mycingular.com
Virgin Mobile:	10digitphonenumber@vmobl.com
Alltel:	10digitphonenumber@alltelmessage.com 10digitphonenumber@message.alltel.com
CellularOne:	10digitphonenumber@mobile.celloneusa.com
Omnipoint:	10digitphonenumber@omnipointpcs.com
Qwest:	10digitphonenumber@qwestmp.com

Now Available: Strobist Lighting DVDs

2008-05-29T08:12:00.004-05:00

With 18+ years experience shooting on-the-fly, David has put together a 8 DVD training course. Read more about the discs here and order them directly from here.

ADSL SNR Margin and Attenuation Stats

2008-05-24T10:53:00.001-05:00

Here's a set of metrics for evaluating your ADSL line quality. I found this quoted on several DSL forums:

Attenuation Rates:
20bB. and below = Outstanding
20dB-30dB. = Excellent
30dB-40dB. = Very Good
40dB-50dB. = Good
50dB-60dB. = Poor and may experience connectivity issues
60dB. and above = Bad and will experience connectivity issues

For S/N Margin Readings:
6bB. or below = Bad and will experience no line synchronization or intermittent synchronization problems.
7dB-10dB. = Fair but does not leave much room for variances in conditions.
11dB-20dB. = Good with little or no synchronization problems
20dB-28dB. = Excellent
29dB. or above = Outstanding

Decibel dB Rule of Thumb
Every 3dB represents a doubling or halving of power. i.e. 9dB is twice the signal or power compared to 6dB. Decibel usually represents a margin, i.e. the difference between a background signal and the subject signal. For more information, click here.

Introduction to Google Search Quality

2008-05-22T06:57:00.000-05:00

In a rare release of information, Google's VP of Search Quality Engineering, Udi Manber, wrote a blog post about their algorithms... click here for the full article

The details of the ranking algorithms are in many ways Google's crown jewels. We are very proud of them and very protective of them. By some estimate, more than one thousand programmer/scientist years have gone directly into their development, and the rate of innovation has not slowed down.

But being completely secretive isn’t ideal, and this blog post is part of a renewed effort to open up a bit more than we have in the past. We will try to periodically tell you about new things, explain old things, give advice, spread news, and engage in conversations. Let me start with some general pieces of information about our group. More blog posts will follow.

Js-Treemap: Treemapping in pure JavaScript

2008-04-17T06:52:00.000-05:00

TreeMapping is an ingenious means of visualising hierarchic values. Often used to answer the question "Where has all my disk space gone?" it lends itself naturally to many data models, even if the hierarchy is artificial.

jsTreemap does all this in plain old JavaScript and HTML DIV elements. The treemap control can be fully interactive and allows the user zoom in and out.

The Treemap can also make use of an adapter object to fit existing (and sometimes large) data models, in an XML DOM for example.

Click here to visit jsTreemap's homepage

Photoshop Express (Online)

2008-03-27T07:27:00.004-05:00

Adobe has just released a wonderful web application for hosting and editing your photos. Check out Photoshop Express (click here)

Lightroom Tips eBook

2008-03-09T21:17:00.007-05:00

A great little Lightroom Tips eBook can be viewed online here. Plenty of time saving and sanity preserving ideas.

Sun buys MySQL

2008-02-27T07:46:00.000-06:00

Interesting news, read more (click here).

Sun Microsystems today confirmed it has completed its acquisition of MySQL, and announced all MySQL products are now part of the Sun worldwide sales and support network.

Supporters of the MySQL buyout claim the deal will offer a new level of financial backing to the products, but not everyone has been pleased with the news. Critics of the deal said Sun must now take the time to fix lingering scalability limitations that remain within MySQL.

How To Choose CD/DVD Archival Media

2008-01-16T07:02:00.001-06:00

For the technically inclined, there's a breakdown of the type of media and manufacturer to use if you wish to archive data for a long time on DVD. Click here to read full article.

Summary: Buy DVD+R (not -R) media only and use Genuine Taiyo Yuden Media (there's a lot of fakes, the supplier link is a reliable dealer). PS. This is the company that invented the CDR!

Firefox Scroll Wheel Font Size Changer Disable

2008-01-07T07:19:00.000-06:00

Firefox changes font sizes when you control/command-scroll. It’s sooooo annoying especially with the new Logitech free-wheel mice. To turn it off, use about:config and apply the following changes:

WINDOWS
mousewheel.withcontrolkey.action to 0
mousewheel.withcontrolkey.sysnumlines to true

MAC
mousewheel.withmetakey.action to 0
mousewheel.withmetakey.sysnumlines to true

Sync iTunes with your Music Folder

2007-12-27T15:40:00.000-06:00

If you have two computers or simply wish to 'sync' iTunes to your music directory... have a read of this blog post (click here)

Best Prank Call Ever

2007-12-19T09:08:00.000-06:00

Amazing...

Celebrities Before and After Photoshop

2007-12-08T11:23:00.000-06:00

An interesting look at celebrities photos before and after photoshop. These are mostly used in magazines, posters and given the photoshop treatment from their original source. 26 more pics after the - click image to view...

Mozilla Looks to Bring Web Apps to Desktop

2007-10-29T02:13:00.000-05:00

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews | October 26, 2007, 12:00 PM

Mozilla is working on a new application called "Prism," which will help to blur the line further between applications for the web and the desktop.

Prism lets popular Web services such as GMail and others be used just like a normal desktop application, without a need to open the Web browser. Prism itself will be built on Firefox, meaning any Web technology Firefox supports could also be used within Prism.

"Unlike Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight, we're not building a proprietary platform to replace the Web," Mozilla Labs wrote in a blog post. "The first of these experiments is based on Webrunner, which we've moved into the Mozilla Labs code repository and renamed to Prism."

In addition to supporting common web technologies, the company is also working to give Web applications access to further computer functionality, such as offline storage and access to 3D graphics hardware.

Mozilla's latest creation may not necessarily be an entirely seperate application; instead, the Labs team is looking into ways to integrate the functionality into Firefox itself. Thus, when a user sees a Web application they would like to run as a desktop app, it would only take a few clicks to create new Web-desktop application mashups.

While Prism will eventually be available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, currently the team only has an early build for Windows available (builds for other platforms are said to be on the way).

"Prism is just the first of many experiments we hope to conduct around improving the usability of Web applications," the team wrote.

JAY MAISEL

2007-10-23T08:33:00.000-05:00

A wonderful and inspirational photographer, please visit him here...

Stunning Images by Rarindra Prakarsa

2007-07-24T07:04:00.001-05:00

Some amazing images and 1st rate post production give the viewer a visual treat. These are amazing. Click the image to see more from Rarindra.

Jing - Free Screen and Video Capture

2007-07-19T19:11:00.000-05:00

Tired of hacking out those screen shots and typing a ream of text. Well now there's free software to crank out those visual descriptions at record speed. Try this software out - you won't be disappointed!

Print Spooler Crashed/Hung? Windows NT/XP

2007-06-23T10:26:00.000-05:00

Here's a little batch file I run occasionally when everything jams up. It restarts your spooler and clears your print queue.

@echo off
net stop spooler
del /f /q C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*
net start spooler

RSS in Plain English!

2007-06-19T06:42:00.000-05:00

Apple Releases Safari 3 for Windows!

2007-06-11T14:15:00.000-05:00

In a surprise announcement, Apple have released Safari for Windows!!! Finally a way to test on all platforms without owning a Mac.

Adobe Releases AIR

2007-06-11T14:09:00.000-05:00

Adobe® AIR™ is a cross-operating system runtime that allows web application developers to use their existing web development skills (HTML, Javascript, Adobe Flash®, Adobe Flex™, Ajax) to build and deploy rich Internet applications to the desktop.

Drobo Stroage...

2007-06-11T11:11:00.004-05:00

A novel product that goes beyond RAID for storing your photos. Its the first 'storage robot!'. Watch the training videos by clicking the picture right.

Note: Because the format is proprietary, you will need a Drobo Chassis to read the individual hard discs.

Downloading a Blogger Blog, pt II

2007-06-11T07:41:00.000-05:00

You can also use:

 http://blogname.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2006-01-01

Introduction to Color Management - Lacie

2007-06-08T10:01:00.001-05:00

Lacie have kindly published some articles on understanding color management. I've republished them here as I think they're a great introduction to a subject that can seem frustratingly complex...

Part 1 - Introduction (pdf)
Part 2 - Human Factors (pdf)
Part 3 - Color Space (pdf)
Part 4 - ICC Basics (pdf)

Light Science and Magic, 3rd Edition

2007-06-07T07:25:00.002-05:00

Another nugget from Strobist; this book is a must have for amateur photographers wanting to know more about light. And for professionals breaking new ground in their lighting repertoire. Flickr group, click here.

"The first book on photographic lighting that is worth using as a text. Light - Science and Magic is about principles, not cheap tricks or the authors' portfolio." -Pete Christman, Savannah College of Art and Design.

The older B&W 2nd edition of LSM is online at Google! If you're thinking of buying the new full color 3rd edition and would like to get your feet wet first then a read on...

Downloading a Blogger Blog

2007-06-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

You can download a number of posts from Blogger with the following syntax:

   http://blogname.blogspot.com/search?max-results=1000

You can then use FireFox to "save webpage complete" to create a local copy of the specified number of posts.

Adobe Kuler - Easy Color!

2007-06-06T05:54:00.000-05:00

This is a pretty neat community of color swatchers. By using Adobe Kuler you can create your own color palettes or simply browse ones created by other people. This is definitely a time save for the non-graphic designers out there!

Google Gears: Enabling Offline Web Applications

2007-05-31T06:33:00.000-05:00

Google Gears is an open source browser extension that lets developers create web applications that can run offline. It consists of three modules that address the core challenges in making web applications work offline.

	LocalServer Cache and serve application resources (HTML, JavaScript, images, etc.) locally
	Database Store data locally in a fully-searchable relational database
	WorkerPool Make your web applications more responsive by performing resource-intensive operations asynchronously

Microsoft Surface

2007-05-30T15:48:00.000-05:00

Hmmm... www.microsoft.com/surface

TomTom Go with Cingular Wireless

2007-05-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

TomTom Go 720 or 910 with Cingular/AT&T, I have tested with both Samsung A747 and Motorola V551. Enter the following information into your TomTom to get your wireless data connection setup. And don't forget TomTom traffic is free in the USA while its in beta.

Gateway   : wap.cingular    } Please check your phone
Gateway   : 66.209.11.61    } to see which applies
Dialing   : *99***1#
Username  : WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password  : CINGULAR1
Modem init: &f&d2&c1+cgdcont=1,"IP","wap.cingular"

Want to see how a lens is made?

2007-05-30T08:22:00.000-05:00

Visit Canon's lens factory and follow the stages in making a 500mm f/4 lens.

Five Technical Tips for your SLR – Part I

2007-05-23T10:52:00.004-05:00

Here's part one in a little tip series. It may take a while for part II so encouragement is welcome :-) Anyways, have a read here...

What I'm Reading...

2007-05-04T06:51:00.000-05:00

The ever innovative Google now allows me to 'share' what I'm reading as I go through my daily Blogs... Use the section at the top of the page to see what I found interesting enough to share. You can even add those tidbits as a feed in your reader! Thanks again Google!

Wikivid on Photoshop

2007-03-23T08:51:00.000-05:00

Over 550 free videos on using Photoshop!

http://wikivid.com/index.php/Photoshop

3D Morphable Model Face Animation

2007-02-15T10:21:00.000-06:00

Breathtaking...

Real Color Wheel for Photographers

2007-01-14T04:19:00.000-06:00

Don Jusko has published the Real Color Wheel for Photographers at the following website

Strive for Layers of Interest

2006-12-21T09:01:00.000-06:00

Another great article from The Strobist... have a read here

A Very Special XMas Yard Display...

2006-12-17T11:06:00.000-06:00

Take a peek at this yard art... click for larger images. I say no more.

2006-12-05T07:35:00.000-06:00

A few snaps from the Texas UT and A&M game from thanksgiving weekend.

Use a Second Light to Create Tension

2006-10-08T14:01:00.000-05:00

This is a great little article on how to make your photographs visually interesting by using two lights.

Morning Moon

2006-10-06T07:10:00.000-05:00

I was lucky to catch this, two minutes later it dropped out of sight.

Canon Auto-Focus Technical Information

2006-09-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered why your images are sharp or not when the camera performs an auto-focus? I found the following text on the Internet and is a very interesting read!

In summary Canon's AF should be accurate for a 6x9" print viewed at 10", double that print size when using an f/2.8 lens. So viewing your images at 100% may be deceiving!

RDKirk wrote:

According to the major material in Canon's "Lens Work III," the description in their US patent application, and remarks by Chuck Westfall, to put it briefly:

The AF system sensors are located in the floor of the mirror box. They receive the image through the semi-silvered mirror, which is then reflected downward by a secondary mirror hinged to the back of the main mirror. This forms a virtual focusing plane that is supposed to be at the exact same plane as the sensor (a point of possible miscalibration).

Each AF sensor consists of a pair of short lines of pixels forming an array. One array comprises the outer sensors. Two crossed arrays (one vertical, one horizontal) comprise the center sensor. With lenses or f2.8 or faster, the camera activates a second vertical array in the center.

The arrays are sensitive to linear details that run perpendicular to the orientation of the array. Therefore, the horizontal arrays (identified by the horizontal rectangle marks on the viewscreen) are sensitive to vetical linear details; the vertical arrays (identified by the vertical rectangle marks on the viewscreen) are sensitive to horizontal linear details.

They are blind to linear details that run parallel to the array direction. The center array, being a crossed combination of a vertical and a horizontal array, is sensitive to linear details running both vertically and horizontally. When the second vertical array is activated, it's combined input increases the accuracy by a factor of three.

The pixel arrays are actually three times longer than indicated by the viewfinder markings. This is to cover the fact that the viewscreen has a significant amount of "slop" in its horizontal-plane positioning (what you see as left/right/up/down in the viewfinder). Therefore, the sensors actually see details that are somewhat outside the viewfinder markings, and may focus on them instead of details within the sensor markings, if those outside details are more perpendicular to the array than the details inside the markings.

When you mount a lens (whether the camera is on or off), the camera interrogates the lens for its characteristics, including maximum aperture, which one of the focusing parameters.

When you half-press the shutter release (or the * button, if you've used the custom function to move focusing control there), the activated AF sensor "looks" at the image projected by the lens from two different directions (each line of pixels in the array looks from the opposite direction of the other) and identifies the phase difference of the light from each direction. In one "look," it calculates the distance and direction the lens must be moved to cancel the phase differences. It then commands the lens to move the appropriate distance and direction and stops. It does not "hunt" for a best focus, nor does it take a second look after the lens has moved (it is an "open loop" system).

If the starting point is so far out of focus that the sensor can't identify a phase difference, the camera racks the lens once forward and once backward to find a detectable difference. If it can't find a detectable difference during that motion, it stops.

Although the camera does not take a "second look" to see if the intended focus has been achieved, the lens does take a "second look" to ensure it has moved the direction and distance commanded by the camera (it is a "closed loop" system). This second look corrects for any slippage or backlash in the lens mechanism, and can often be detected as a small "correction" movement at the end of the longer initial movements.

When the camera determines how far and in what direction the lens must move to cancel the phase difference, it does so within a tolerance of "within the depth of focus" of lenses slower than f2.8 (down to f5.6) or "within 1/3 of the depth of focus" of lenses f2.8 and faster. The depth of focus is the range at the sensor plane within which the image of a point will be reproduced as a blur smaller than the manufacturer's designated "circle of confusion" (CoC). Canon's designated circle of confusion is 0.035mm for the 24x36mm format and 0.02mm for the APS-C format. The CoC is based on maintaining the appearance of sharpness in a 6x9 inch print at about an 10 inch viewing distance (as revealed by the Euro-Canon web site). There is no guarantee that images enlarged any greater than this will appear sharp.

The depth of focus increases when the aperture of the lens decreases (like depth of field at the subject plane), but it does not change with the focused distance or the focal length of the lens (according to Canon, unlike depth of field). That is why the camera interrogates the lens for that information; it calculates the depth of focus tolerance from the maximum aperture, not the set working aperture.

As a result of this tolerance (within the depth of focus or within 1/3 of the depth of focus), the camera can place the actual plane of focus at random anywhere within the tolerance range, and not necessarily at the same place each time.

A non-exhaustive list of information about focusing:

1. The center focus square in the viewfinder represents has both horizontal and vertical sensors, so it can focus just as well on vertical and horizontal lines of detail. The outer focusing rectangles are represent sensors that are oriented either vertically or horizontally (according to the shape of the marks), and focus best on lines of detail that are perpendicular to them. You can test this easily: Line up a vertical focusing rectangle on a vertical detail (like the corner of a wall or the edge of a door) and try to focus. The camera will not be able to focus on it. But put a horizontal rectangle against that vertical line, and it will snap instantly into focus (you can turn the camera, and the same will be true). This is a valuable tool. If you are struggling with a background that competes with the foreground, look at whether either has linear detail (say, a squirrel on a tree branch). You can activate one of the rectangles and turn the camera so that the rectangle is either parallel with the linear detail that you want to ignore or perpendicular to the detail you want to focus on.

2. The actual focus sensor arrays are three times larger than the viewfinder marks. A user could put an intended subject in the mark, but if there is a strong detail just outside the mark (but within the sensor area), the camera would focus on that strong detail. This is a source of much of the complaints of the back- or front-focusing -- especially with the "ruler tests." Also, as far as the camera is concerned, a focus lock on anything within the sensor area is good, which sometimes covers more area than the photographer intended.

3. Auto focusing with the 20D only works with lenses with maximum apertures of f5.6 or greater (as determined by the information passed to the camera by the lens). This means the total maximum aperture of the lens, not the aperture you're shooting with at the momement. With a lens slower than f5.6, you have to focus manually (unless you fool the lens somehow into reporting an incorrect aperture to the camera).

4. On the 20D, the center marks have additional sensors to increase accuracy three times greater than the 10D, but these only come into play with lenses that have maximum apertures of f2.8 or greater (not the aperture set for shooting, but the maximum aperture). On a variable aperture zoom lens, if it drops below f2.8 while zooming, that information is passed to the camera, which cuts out the additional focusing sensors. The outside focus sensors of the 20D are normal accuracy.

5. The camera's AF sensors require some details in the image to determine the phase difference. It's harder for the camera to find focus when the light is dim or there is little subject detail. Contrary to recent remarks on another topic, the camera CAN distinguish contrast between equally bright hues of red and green just as the eye can--the sensors are color corrected. Although the sensors can distinguish some quite subtle detail differences, they don't see quite a sharply as the eye. If the lens starts from a very out of focus condition, it can miss very fine detail that the eye sees clearly, such as the mesh of a speaker grill from across the room. In this case, it can be helped if the photographer manually moves close to "focus" and allows the camera to find the actual focus.

6. AF controls:
Shutter release. By default, when you half-depress the shutter release, the camera will focus with the active sensors on the strongest contrasts within those sensor areas. Whether or not it will hold that focused distance depends on what AF mode you're shooting in.

AE/AF Lock Button. The asterisk button on the back near your right thumb. You can set this button to be the focus button in the Custom Function menu (CF4--choose option 1). When this is set, you focus by putting the active AF mark in the viewfinder on your subject and press the asterisk button. The camera focuses on that spot and does not change focus until you press the button again. In AI Servo mode, the camera continuously evaluates focus only as long as you have the button pressed.

Multicontroller (joy button) and AF Selection button. These controls, plus the control wheels, allow you to select which focus marks are active--they provide multiple ways to do the same thing, so take your choice. You can either select one point or you can set the camera to choose its own points as you focus. If the camera chooses the points, it will usually focus on any number of points that are closest to the camera. About the only time this is better is when you're focusing on fast-moving activity that you can't keep under a single mark (say, a soccer player). Otherwise, it's usually better to select your own point. The diagonal points on the 20D are very close to the "Rule of Thirds" intersections, so sometimes it's convenient (if you use that composition rule to place your subject in the frame) to select one of those points.

7. AF Modes:
One Shot: When you set the camera to "One Shot," you set the condition "The subject is definitely not moving." The camera is in a "focus priority" mode. The shutter release is locked until the camera achieves what it thinks is the proper focus. This is best if your subject and the camera will be motionless, because it allows you to focus and change the framing without the camera refocusing automatically.

AI Servo: When you put the camera into AI Servo mode, you have set the condition "The subject is definitely moving." The camera is in a "shutter priority" mode. Therefore, the camera goes into a routine that continually collects data to predict the subject movement and move the lens to intercept the subject at its new position. You can shoot even if out of focus (however, the camera cannot release the shutter if the lens is actually in motion). If you know your subject will be in constant motion, this is the best mode. If the subject is actually not moving, the chance of a misfocused shot increases as the camera goes through its data-collection routine. However, often a handheld camera does move (as the photographer sways naturally) for AI Focus to detect and correct for the sway. AI Servo will use whichever focus point you have activated. However, if you activate all the focus points, you must put the center point on the subject and half-press the shutter release for about half a second for the camera to "acquire" the right subject. After that, while you hold the shutter release, the camera can intelligently "hand off" the subject focus from point to point as the subject "wanders" over the viewscreen.

AI Focus: The camera is normally in One Shot mode and the shutter will lock until it achieves focus. However, if it detects the subject moving (that is, the subject goes out of focus), it will automatically switch into AI Servo mode and try to maintain focus. If you are focusing on something that frequently stays still but could move suddenly (like a toddler) this mode comes in handy. The important point wiht AI Focus is that it does not lock the shutter. However, the camera will usually interpret "focus and recompose" as movement of the subject, and will refocus.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic2/228079/0

RDKirk wrote:

There are five main places this information comes from:

1. Canon's "Lens Work III" book (glossary, mostly)
2. Canon's latest application for a US patent on their autofocus system
Go to www.pat2pdf.org and enter patent # 6,603,929
3. Canon's pamphet on getting the most from EOS DSLRs
www.photoworkshop.com/canon/EOS_Digital.pdf
4. Canon Professional Services European web site FAQ
www.cps.canon-europe.com/faq/index.do
5. Lots of methodical observation and practice with the camera.

[furthermore] RDKirk wrote:

"If the camera places the actual focused plane within the depth of focus range, the intended focused plane of the subject should "look sharp" on a 6x9-inch print from a distance of 10 inches. In "high precision mode" the intended plane of focus should "look sharp" on about an 11x14-inch print at 10 inches (extrapolating from the standard size given by Canon for normal mode).

This standard is important to understand. If you use high precision mode and view the image on a monitor at 100 percent of the original pixel resolution, do not expect the actual plane of focus to coincide with the intended plane of focus. It's not necessarily going to do that--it's only designed to get close enough to "look sharp" at the standard final display enlargement size and viewing distance. If it does that much, then it's doing its job as designed.

If you're operating at normal AF precision, the camera will happily settle for any point within the depth of focus range (and not necessarily the same place every time--randomness within limits is what "tolerance" means in this context).

If you need optimum sharpness at greater than the standard final display sizes and viewing distances, then yes, you'll have to focus manually. However, a lot of focusing problems are caused by users not realizing that even autofocus requires learning certain techniques, some similar to the techniques of using a manual split-image rangefinder.

One person on this forum has reported an e-mail from Sigma stating that Canon cameras will tend to stop at the first part of the depth of focus range they reach, depending on the direction the lens must move to get there. My results have not verified that, and I don't think it really corresponds to how Canon says the system works."