My Microsoft Trackball Explorer is dying!

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I am a trackball user, and have been for a long long time. Back with my Mac Classic I used a trackball (kensington) and have used them every since. Eventually I ended up with the Microsoft Trackball Explorer, the greatest trackball ever created. Of course Microsoft stopped making them years back and no one has made a similiar or even OK replacement. Luckily back in the day I had bought 3 of them, and one of them died, but since then a second is not working so well and my main one keeps shorting out. The lights flicker and then the trackball dies. Now I have gotten it to work again for the time being, but there just isn’t anything in my future as a replacement.

Yes I also have a Kensington Expert Mouse that I bring to work with me, and I like it and can use it, but it isn’t as ergonomic and just not as well designed as the Trackball explorer.
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And I do really like Kensginton as when one of the plastic rollers broke off on one of mine they gave me a new one for free.

Now Logitech used to make the Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman (I never understood the need for a wireless trackball, it is not like you move it around much!). It looks like the closest thing I have seen to the Microsoft, except they have moved the second button to the right of the trackball and the back and forward buttons to the thumb position and not quite as well shaped for your hand, but even if it is, they don’t make it anymore, so…
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Now I have found a web site that talks about fixing a trackball explorer on your own, which I might have to do soon, and their is a seller on ebay selling repairs including upgrading the bearings to ceramic, refinishing the ball, and for on top of the $60 they will fix the electronics and plastic parts. So I might have to at least send in one of my 2 failing trackballs to fix them, as I have never found a good replacement for the awesome Microsoft Trackball!

New MacPro in the spring?

Appleinsider has a report that a French retailer, who has been forced to stop selling MacPro’s in March due to a new EU law, has said that they have word on Apple that new MacPro’s will arrive this spring.

Now that is all second hand, but with the current MacPro being banned in the EU, maybe Apple would try and re-assure it’s retailers, though why not just make an announcement. I guess they need to clear their current stock.

Still, lets hope this is true, and it gets releases at the WWDC. The current MacPro is quite old in the tooth and we need a thunderbolt equipped MacPro with PCI slots and power to spare including graphics power!

PVC on why VFX industry is failing at it’s highest point

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The ProVideo Coalition has a great article on the Visual FX industry failing at it’s highest point.

The film industry is crazy. Everything goes to the lowest bidder forcing companies to work for less and less money, until they can no longer make a profit, all while studios make record profits.

I know my rate as an editor won’t go up unless I manage to get a union editing gig (unlikely since I was unrostered from the union not too long ago).

MacPro no longer for sale in Europe as of March 1st

Ars Technica has this note, and it isn’t an apple choice, it is a new ruling about safety on fans, but I still find it ominous.

Apple should be pushing out a new update as fast as they can, as they want the line to still exist if they are planning on having it in the future, but maybe their pans have changed. And who knows what Tim Cooke was actually talking about.

NewTek has released Lightwave 11.5

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NewTek has released Lightwave 11.5 of it’s venerable 3D application.

New features include:

  • Dongle-Free Licensing – Dongles are no longer required to access the many features of LightWave
  • Bullet Soft Body Dynamics – Soft body effects are now possible with Bullet, including cloth
  • Bullet Forces – Several force types are now available within Bullet
  • Genoma – Fast, modular instant rigging system for Modeler that includes presets for rapid-rigging
  • VPR Update – Depth-of-Field, Motion Blur and Anaglyph Stereo now visible in the renderer
  • Rolling Shutter – Rolling Shutter camera effects are now possible to aid matching footage that has this effect present
  • Edge Rendering Node Control – Control edge opacity, taper and color using nodes
  • Flocking Update – Predator / Prey behavior, new Director types and Node control
  • FiberFX Update- Multiple styles per object – stored with the object, new styling controls, updated UI
  • GoZ™ Fiber Mesh™ Support – Building on the robust GoZ support in LightWave 11. LightWave 11.5 now supports ZBrush Fiber Meshes
  • Adobe™ After Effects™ Support – ‘GoZ style’ After Effects interchange for Cameras, Lights, NULLs and animation
  • Instancing Update- Per Object control, speed and memory improvements
  • Modeler Tools Update – ABF UV Unwrap, Edit Edges, Place Mesh, Slice, Thicken, Heat Shrink, Tweak, Transform, Axis and alignment tools and more
  • Workflow Enhancements – Many enhancements to streamline and improve workflow

I used to do some Lightwave, back when I wanted to really learn 3D. Now it seems most people lean towards Cinema 4D, though I have never had a chance to play with it, and I would love to try out Z-Brush as 3D sculpting sounds very cool. Still Lightwave is a powerful program, and I am glad they are adding to it’s feature set.

Under $1000 for a way to monitor 1080p with worldwide frame rates using thunderbolt

Allan Tépper at the Pro Video Coalition has a great solution for monitoring video using thunderbolt and a Sony KDL-40BX420E, which will work with US power and supports, both PAL and NTSC frame rates as well as 23.976 and 24 FPS. Very very cool. The monitor is grey market in the US, so he also recommends a third party warranty. This is a inexpensive and great solution for monitoring.