Wow, hit over 500 posts today (can’t believe my 500th post was about Windows). Pretty surprising.
I hope people are enjoying my blog. I know I have gotten hits about my heart surgery, but not so sure on other hits, though I am slowly getting more followers on twitter, where all of my blog posts are linked to.
If you are out there, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy my posts.
So there is a lot of controversy and ire on the web over Apple’s removal of Google Maps and adding their own map with less functionality. And for the most part I agree.
As for Googles Maps application, I liked having street view, and more accuracy, but Google maps on iPhone was dreadfully slow. And no turn by turn directions on iPhone, but yes on Android also sucked. Of course I only have an iPhone 4, so no turn by turn directions for me (though they work for Tom Tom, so why not here). And while I could get them on my iPad, that would require me to have the internet turned on all the time, and I don’t have that, as most places I go have WIFI anyway (though I do have the 4G Verizon model).
The apple Maps app is fast though, and I like the 3D view (though again can’t use it on my iPhone where it might be useful), though it doesn’t over much area, but downtown LA looks cool. My biggest problem so far has been inaccuracies in traffic, and it might have to do with crowd sourcing the traffic from other iOS phones, and maybe not many are out at 6 Am when I leave, but I had an extra 30 minutes added to my yesterday travel home time because the traffic report in the app was so wrong. That is unacceptable! And it mostly just shows RED and accidents, no Orange, and the roads are already yellow, so you can’t see when it is yellow. I want more date for traffic, faster and more accurate, as being in LA, it is all about traffic!
And if maps in inaccurate, it is pretty useless. How can they have bought 2 companies and be using Tom Tom data and have it wrong?
UPDATE: Tried using the traffic function again this morning, and in Los Angeles at 6AM, it was totally incorrect. Showing no red on the Freeway where I was, where it should have been solid red, and showing clear where it should have been orange later in my drive. I would rather not have a traffic function than have on that is this bad and this off!
Vincent Laforet has a must read on his initial impressions of using the new Blackmagic Designs Cinema Camera. And it seems very impressive, other than the very small sensor size, the non-removable battery and not being able to format an SSD with the camera. Still sounds pretty darn good.
I would like to give this camera a try especially since I have so many Canon EF lenses already.
Can you believe it? Now it is really over. The age of film is officially dead. Sure you can still get some film for a while, but it has been years since any film cameras have been made, and now Kodak in it’s bankruptcy is selling it’s film division. So everything is officially done digitally now!
In some ways it is so sad, but in other ways it is exciting. Since you can get pretty high end cameras for not that much (but of course lenses are still expensive for good glass). And low budget filmmaking is so much easier.
Still there was something about film. I made my first films in college on Super 8. And later on 16mm (though cutting on a movieola was not too fun). There is certainly something cool about it.
And it is amazing how much digital can resemble shooting with film, though with a DIT instead of a camera assistant loading mags. And with RAW you still need to process the footage, though with a computer and not a lab.
And now everything is stored digitally. Lets hope there aren’t some enormous electromagnetic pulses because everything will be gone! Of course it isn’t like film doesn’t deteriorate, but still.
Just strange and amazing that the once mighty Kodak has been brought so low.
CNET has a review of this new App for iPad and Andriod called Next Issue. Basically for $180 a year you get access to the nearly 40 titles they have and every issue of each. So it is great for Magazine junkies, and they get back issues. You can also do a lesser subscription for $120 a year that doesn’t include weeklies like Time, Entertainment Weekly, and a couple of others.
Seems like a good idea, except not being able to pass it on except to other ipads that share your account. Still interesting, especially as they add more magazines.
Actually my biggest question is if it can be used by multiple users on the same iTunes account, or is it one user per account. As it would be great if my Mom and Wife who share my iTunes account could use all the magazines. That would make it really useful, and a possible money saver.
I am hoping for a kick ass new MacPro with the option of a high end NVIDIA graphics card, though the rumor sites seem to think it will be a last gen ATI card that is featured, which would suck, and prove that Apple does not get Video pros at all..
MacStories has a good review of the strange new Adobe Collage iOS app, which allows you to make collages and share them on your adobe cloud drive.
This Adobe Document shows what the actual deal is with the Adobe Touch apps and Adobe Creative Suite.
Basically if you buy any 3 of the following apps, and then log in with your Adobe Account you get a free month of Adobe Cloud.
An awesome remote control cable control Aircam for GoPro cameras has it’s project up on Kickstarter. A $375 Pledge will get you one.
This looks very cool, and so reasonably priced, though the $75,000 might be a lot to expect to raise. Still a very cool project.
And for a bit more you can get a tripod attachement for the remote head. Very cool!