App.net II

Within writing about App.net appearing iffy all of a sudden it sounds much more appealing. Twitter I no longer letting third party apps like Tweetbot or Twitterific have unlimited users using the program.

While in the land of Facebook they have begun allowing companies to pay to have their advertising within a user’s newsfeed instead of appearing only on right side bar and after logging out they will be right smack dab between photos and posts. And as it has been said Facebook beta tests by tweaking the experience for people in different area, hence the slow rollout of Cover Photos, which will eventually take over everyone’s profiles like a virus.

A social network site that does not have a need for advertising in order to be a successful IPO or restrict how the service can be accessed by Apps and other websites. App.net is starting to seem very appealing now.

App.net

App.net sounds like a really cool idea, an open source social utility to connect individuals. Basically the main differentiating factor between this platform from the primary sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc and the more fringe “copy” websites is that user’s pay in order to use and fund the site and it is open for individuals to build and provide new features to the program to tailor the experience to what the body wants vs. other companies who roll out updates whenever which may be minor or may drastically change the use or layout of the utility and experience.

It is the closest to Twitter at the 

moment, to the point where you have preference if you were a early backer and already have a Twitter account one could reserve their account handle used on Twitter to be used on App.net. Along with that where it is currently resembles one of the very early builds of Twitter, long pages of communicating individuals tagging each other in their posts in order to communicate. At this point in the game App.net is in essence is a paid version of Twitter and nothing more. Give the various developers some time and it could flourish into something different and better but for now they are very much the same. And the one differentiating factor between the two is the one redeeming value that Twitter has, and App.net does not.

That feature is the ever so proudly touted fact that there will be no advertising or companies on App.net. Twitter’s premier quality is its ability for one account to very simply and easily broadcast to a crowd of interested followers. A prime example of this is from early in Twitters life. Mobile food trucks began using the service to announce where they were parked so their Twitter followers could follow them around the city and know where to go for food. This kind of business-orientated service is where Twitter really shines. On the person-to-person side of things it is just falls to pieces with just due to the fact that individuals are in essence using status updates to communicate instead of using Wall posts/comments/message to communicate in Facebook terms.

Facebook vs Twitter

In my mind sites like Facebook and Google+ fall into one category while sites such as Twitter and the present incarnation of App.net fall into another. Facebook type sites users in essence create an electronic version of themselves that lives online. Not only can you have people over to talk or to view photos or videos but you can also explore the world. There are countless websites and games that use Facebook accounts as login methods as well as to use your Facebook friend list to find  people I know and now interact with in the game. Whereas Twitter is just like Aim or any other messaging service where beyond the confines of the website your account name means nothing.

One of the biggest drawbacks at this early stage of App.net is what will make it great in the future, the $50 dollar service fee.  I am 100% certain that no one I know who I would have any interest in communicating with regularly would be on App.net. Unlike with services such as Facebook when I made an account in 2007 and noticed none of my friends were using the service I just logged off and just went back to MySpace until I had people I knew using the service. There was no harm making the account and waiting for almost a year for Facebook to catch on at my school. The problem with the almost certain lag with App.net is that $50 dollars is just going down the drain. I’d rather use that money towards an infinite number of camera accessories/shoes/who know what and I’m sure many other people would as well.

What sounds so intriguing about the platform is the idea of it being what the current email experience is, a cross platform environment. Where you can communicate with any other user no matter if they are using Yahoo, Gmail, Aol, or a company email account. If App.net can grow beyond just being another Twitter and become a central Social media interaction hub it has great possibilities for use and user commitment, but only time will tell if it will takeoff or crash and burn.

Canon vs. Nikon Entry Full Frame

With Photokina coming up as well as the rumours of Nikon releasing a “entry level” full frame camera (backed up with leaked photos of a D600) naturally it has been assumed that Canon would do the same. Naturally there have been very many different ideas and thoughts of how this would be fit into the Canon lineup. Personally the idea of a 7D mkII being made an entry level full frame and the 70D taking the place of the current 7D while fixing the xxD family naming scheme that the 7D/60D messed up makes the most sense to me.

This makes a lot of sense for Nikon, for them to fill the hole left by the launch of the D800 in their camera lineup. The huge megapixel count combined with the equally large 3,500 price tag put it far out of the hands of those hobbyists and semi-pro who long for a full frame camera but don’t have the memory or need for such large files. The D700 is not as pretty of an option for the primary reason it was knocked down very early in it’s life by the 5D mkII, lack of video. At this point in time if someone shooting Nikon wished to film video with a full frame they would need to either get a D800 or a D4. This is where there is an open spot in their lineup for a sub-2000 dollar camera.

This move does not make as much sense for Canon on the other hand. With the introduction of the Canon 5D mk III the 5D line did not encounter a major leap forward in capability, it was more an act of refining the line. Receiving a focusing system from the 1D series and a body layout from the 7D. Unlike D700 a 5D mkII is quite capable of shooting exceptional HD footage. A used 5D mkII can be purchased refurbished from Canon for around 1,700 and from individuals a price around fifteen to sixteen hundred can be expected. Rumor has it that the Canon “entry level” full frame will be a more stripped down body with less pro features to keep it from interfering with the 5D market share with a sub $2000 price tag. The problem here is that the 5D mkII exists, which unless the new camera has some kind of new innovation or leap forward (use of STM enabled lenses is not one) it will not be able to preform better than the 5D mk II. In essence the problem is if the new camera is priced too low it will interfere with sales of the xxD and xxxD/Rebel series and if the price is too high it will not sell due to the existence of the 5D mkII, a problem not seen by Nikon.

Canary>Safari

Normally I use Firefox on the various computers I use. For the time being I’m stuck using a different browser as Firefox has yet to be optimized for use on the rMBP. At first I was content using Safari which was preferable to Chrome. There has always been something about chrome that bothered me, mainly I think it was the attitude it carried be it vie its advertising and by those who used and preached about it. Yes on several occasions I have had to endure conversation of people declaring why Chrome was superior. The final thing that kept me from using Chrome was the combined search and url entry field. I like being able to just type in “facebook” and being taken directly to the website vs on chrome getting search results if “.com” is not typed in. Secondly I don’t like have my window being taken up by a giant list of search result suggestions when I am typing in the url for the website I want to go to.

The first couple days or so of Safari were all right, I was actually thinking it was as bad as the mental image of Safari and the corresponding gag reflex that hits me when I hear or think about it. There were some things I even liked, such as the little square in the top right corner that shows the status of downloads sort of lie the indicator found on iOS devices and when clicked it has a drop-down recent downloads list. This disillusionment and possible newfound love quickly evaporated after two things happened. One was that over the days of use my amount of tabs slowly climbed and after maybe 12 tabs were opened any new tabs would not appear and the only way to access them is to click on a button and select the one you want to browse or use a keyboard shortcut to scroll left or right through the tabs (Shift+Command+Arrow) this was slightly annoying as with in Firefox you can scroll the list of tabs left or right by using the track pad and just moving two fingers. The final straw was that with the updated 6.0 build of Safari the separate url and search boxes were merged.

Hello Google Canary

 In comes Google Canary which still has the obnoxious search url setup but it has a much better setup for managing open tabs. Just to show how obnoxious Safari is in the 6.0 build along with almost every build I have had the unfortunate experience of using  is is the fact that I would take this beta version of Chrome over a final build of Safari. With the current version of this beta that I have installed right now anytime I type in a field or scroll it looks like I’m at a club or a concert with bright strobes flashing all over the screen. Or in the case of Canary white boxes that randomly   

                                                                                    appear on screen. This is still better than Safari.

Hopefully Mozilla hurries up with their release of a retina Firefox browser

Retina MacbookPro

First off the screen is amazing and overall with the computer there are almost no gripes about it. Honestly there  are only two incredibly minor things that I feel like are lacking. One is the missing battery status indicator that used to be on the left side of the unibody MacBookPro and on the battery itself on the pre-unibody MacBookPro and on the standard MacBook. Its just nice to be able to know if the charger should be grabbed when pulling the computer out of the bag  the other incredibly minor complaint is that it no longer says MacBook Pro under the screen on the bezel as it did previously, it just seems like something is missing.

Applications look stunning on the screen, those that have been optimized for the new resolution at least. Applications such as Microsoft word make me feel like I’m wearing someone’s prescription glasses that are just slightly too strong so there is a slight blur.

The glorious fans, which Apple advertises ever so much really are not that revolutionary. More what is revolutionary is the lack of need for the fans.  Previous computers would always have the fans startup very quickly if the computer was sitting on a bed or on the sofa. The fan only consistently comes on so far when playing Call of Duty on the highest resolution settings. (2880x1800) When the fans do come on it does sound much more white noise esq vs. the normal whirring fan sound. The sound it does make is slightly reminiscent of hearing the wind blowing during a storm from inside of a house.

Editing photos and videos are great, and yet at the same time bad. I have horrible  OCD, hence the always wanting to know the battery level. First thing I have to mention is that the computer is fast. In the time it takes the computer I used to edit with to get to the Opening Aperture Library” dialogue box aperture has fully loaded on the rMBP.  The second great thing is that it can run several apps all at once without added lag. Previously if Aperture and Final Cut were both open it was mind numbingly slow. On this computer I just plugged in the camera and opened aperture without closing any of the previously running apps and I didn’t notice any speed loss, I’m not saying it wasn’t slower than when only Aperture is running it just was not noticeable. For reference the apps that were also running were, Final Cut Pro, Safari, Sparrow, Reeder, and Call of Duty 4. Once uploaded the photos looked amazing. One photo in particular did not look as good as expected. When I had looked at the back of the camera of taken photos it looked great, in the preview window to select images to upload it looked great. When opened full size in the editor it was incredibly obvious it was out of focus. Normally this would not be so antagonizing as when uploaded onto flickr, Facebook the image looked perfectly fine. So only when I see the image I know in the back of my mind that it is in fact out of focus but to the outside world it is not.

The rMBP is an incredibly fast and amazing to use, opening apps within seconds and booting up sometime between 15-26 seconds. Its fast enough so there is not a waiting period to think about how long it’s taking. Running applications is blazing fast, although I am using the 16gb model so it may be able to handle more applications at once than the 8gb. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone I know or don’t know.

School Election Speech

This was perhaps the most interesting assembly I have ever attended. He kept the act up the entire time.

He was not actually serious, he wanted to point out the flaws of the current SEC (Student Executive Council)

UPDATE

Today (The day after) he was forced to make a public apology on the video broadcasted announcements to the student body as well as an in person apology to the entire teaching staff. He was also removed from running for a position on the student council. Just a bit of background, he did his speech in a on stage rehearsal in front of the person in charge of the student gorvernment and she was 100% fine with what he was preparing to do.

The news of him being stripped of candidacy as well as being forced to give apologies as well his speech itself. Of all students I talked to as well as who I have been told about no one has taken offense or believed that he would seriously create an army. Teachers and Administrators have taken this completely the other way, one teacher said that he was "a fucking asshole and should be beat after school" and another seriously believed that he was intending to raise an army, and was VERY concerned.

My Day, Yesterday. Prom.

One day crammed into 90 seconds

Filmed on Canon 7D+50mm 1,2 L and Sony NEX-3 16mm 2.8

Sony Nex-3: Opinions and trying to love it

My attempts of rekindling my interest in this camera

Step 1: Get a new lens, 16mm f2.8 lens. (Shot with 7D+50mm 1.2 L)
Handling and Size
When I originally got the camera way back when I only had the 18-55 kit lens which despite its usable focal length its size was quite unwieldy. It was much too large to stick in anything but the largest of jacket pockets, which then gave the wearer the most oddly shaped bulge. The other option the user is left with is slinging it over ones shoulder and going along with it resting by his or her side. Which there is physically nothing wrong with this it such a small camera it just feels wrong. Sort of like buying a Great Dane sized doggy carrier for a Chihuahua. It just doesn't seem to click, gel,________(Insert verb of choice). The build of camera is top notch, especially the LCD screen which is quite viewable at all angles as well as in sunlight, which is quite good as unless you shell out a couple hundred($150 for optical 16mm viewfinder, $300 for EVF) for a viewfinder. It also tilts for easy low or high shots without having to lay down on the ground or jump up above the crowd to see the rear LCD.
UI-User Interface
The Menu set up is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L, unlike cameras such has the GF1 with horrid pixelated menus the screens are crisp and wondrous. Up until today my camera had Version .02 firmware, which I updated to v.05(Don't ask why Sony cant just call it v.1, v.2 etc..) It was a great improvement, and sort of shows how long my camera has sat unused that three iterations of firmware since it's last use. One of the greatest improvements was the added ability to customize "Button B" and "Button C", two of the three of the soft buttons located on the back of the camera which change based upon what menu/camera mode you are looking at or using at the time. No longer do you have to dig through menu pages to change settings. Previously you would have to do about five button pushes just to change the ISO, which now can be done with a single button push. (Difficulty of accessing common menu options such as this, was one of my greatest complaints about using the camera). Another addition is the ability to instead of going to the Main Menu return to the last viewed menu page. The third great addition is the ability to use "peaking" which highlights the part of the image that is presently in focus which makes shooting with non-E-Mount lenses which do not have auto focus worlds easier to use and quickly, and accurately focus on you subject no matter when in the shot they are located. A final little addition is the Art Filters which can make taking photos more "fun" such as selectively only showing reds while all other colours are black and white.
Shooting
Two standout features of this camera when shooting are its low-light capability and "peaking" mode. No this does not have crazy Nikon level low light-high ISO shooting ability, it has a unique mode where it takes three shots and analyzes the photos and creates a very clean(low noise) image. Note. This only works well with landscapes or posed individuals who will not be moving. As stated previously the "peaking" mode makes shooting with non-Autofocus lenses incredibly easy so almost all legacy lenses can easily be used with this camera.
Video
Video on this camera is both good and bad. For the individual who just wants to film things happening around them without a strong desire for control of the minor aspects of filming. presently Sony does not allow the user to select the frame rate, ISO, or shutter speed while filming. At least now you can set the Aperture, but that can leave you with getting shots filmed at 1/500th of a second. On the flip side as with most Sony camera, the Autofocus while filming works well, not like the Nikon "autofocus" which searches almost constantly while filming if the subject moves.
Lens Selection
Since my original use of the lens Sony has graduated from offering only a 16mm, 18-55, and a 18-200 lens, to now offering lenses in a 16mm, 24mm Zeiss, 30mm Macro, 50mm 1.8, and 55-210 along with the original three. All the lenses have metal bodies which is quite nice physically, but price wise it may not transfer over so well. The 50mm 1.8 E-Mount retails for $300, while the Canon and Nikon 1.8 lenses retail for around $100. While the Canon 1.4 goes for about $400. There are some off brand lenses made for the E-Mount as well, one of particular interest is the Noktor 50mm f.95 Hyperprime.
Final Thought
I still cannot get past the size of the camera with any lens attached other than the 16mm pancake attached, with the 18-55 attached(same principle size as all the other primes, the two tele-zooms are a tad larger) the setup is about as long(length from back of the camera to the for-most part of the lens) as my 7D with a 50 1.8 attached. Overall size of a NEX camera versus a Rebel T2i/T3i/T3/600d/550d/1100d/1000d etc.(Canon please just use the same name for everywhere, why do you feel the US needs to have our cameras called Rebels for us too buy them here)with a 50 1.8 are very close to each other. This being said the only reason I would use this camera would be for a situation where my 7D would just be too large to take. And I would really like to use this instead of a point and shoot (NEX has larger censor and better control over settings for low light) but the only feasible way would be with a lens that would make this pocket-able, something I cannot do with the 7D. Alas, the only lens that allows this is the 16mm which is very w i d e.
It was great to learn on but I out grew it very quickly, if considering doing photography seriously I would jump strait to a low end DSLR (Canon T2i for example)

ABDC

I randomly watched the new episode of ABDC(America's Best Dance Crew) and between yelling at the TV about disagreeing with the judges opinions and other things that were on TV I noticed something, dubstep has somehow seeped in and invaded all the music and seemed to be in every single song that was used. Even though it never existed in a single one of the original songs by either Britney Spears or Flo Rida. (BTW he has a really large microphone) Things have come a long way since the good ol' days (Season Two) and the likes of Quest Crew.

I'm pretty sure every single one of their performances were amazing and not only did they have good choreography and moves but they were also able to work in a story and do things not just stand in a formation and just dance.

This one for example they had to use kickboxing so they worked in a whole boxing match type scene into their dance, instead of what more than half of these groups I saw today were almost all formations with dancing but they weren't performances that kept the viewer captivated with what was being performed.

And just to prove it was because they were not given a specific move to focus on

Here's a performance based upon a given song/artist as the groups I am complaining about were challenged with doing

Just to clarify, for a part of this, including the part where the guy down a dive roll over two other guys, they are all blindfolded.

Adopt Pets

Mutts (the comic strip, well mixed breeds as well) are amazing and so cute! But the real meaning of this is ADOPT PETS! Don't go off and buy a pure bred dog for a a thousand or how ever much they go for. Plus some purebreds have increased the possibility of genetic-based disease.

There are lots of little doggies like this one in shelters, or in his case running around on the street and being found by my cousin. (And yes we put up posters all over and had him checked for an implanted microchip)

He adores sticks

From a conversation with  couple of people who were explaining what the Hunger Games was about as well as a few individuals who joined in on the conversation and did not fully understand what it about was about I learned this from them:

"The Hunger Games involves a bunch of poor people who have to kill each other to get food to survive, but their survival is not dependent upon their winning of the game for they all survive regardless of winning or losing. Although they are poor they all have very expensive thrones in which they do not sell for food but are constantly engaged in intercourse sometimes with individuals they are related too. A final point that was made was that the main character's names in The Hunger Games combined sound like penis, or Peeniss I suppose."

High school kids are so mature, it was also later realized that I was being told about the Game of Thrones as well as The Hunger Games simultaneously, and some how no one noticed that two stories were being talked of at the time of the telling.

Lions go hard

Halo 4

I know the new Call of Duty game will come out this winter as well but Halo is just so much greater and more interesting, i think primarily because it is the same hero throughout the entire universe not a new character in each game, Modern Warfare did have the same characters but you were always a new person in each game :(

TSA

I saw this video today from Japan making fun of our intensive TSA screening and the results that seem to arise from the screening process people are subjected to, there seems to be countless videos online about screenings going awry.

TSA screenings and methods used such as full body xray scans seem like complete overkill apart from one thing..

Carbon Fiber Knifes

If my understanding is correct these could very easily pass right through a metal detector being these have no metal in them, while posessing 10 times the tensile strength of steel. A full body XRAY scan would be able to pick up objects metal only detectors would otherwise be unable to do.

3 Most Common Comments

1. Why isn't there a zoom ring?

2. Shouldn't you use a flash?
       
3. Wow you must have a really good camera.

Stealing a bike..in broad daylight

Reminds me somewhat of this video Kind of sad how people just stand by and let it happen.

Video Game Planets

Really cool video, brought back A LOT of memories of video games I once played or still do.

Created by Tim Hijlkema

www.timhijlkema.nl

No.

Rescently I witnessed the new Three Stooges trailer..

So far along with this one I have seen one pretending to be a Jackass ad and another trying to look like a Paranormal Activity ad. The fact that they are masquerading around as other movies I do not mind or look down upon.

Firstly I will add I was never a three stooges fan, a few of the classic episodes had clever moments but for the most part it was not my kind of humor. Staying true to the predecessor this new movie also relies on the same comedic methods. Although this is not my cup of tea it is not what rubs me the wrong way. The primary issue I have is I just feel as though the inclusion of nuns is somewhat politically incorrect. I know there are other movies such as Sex Drive which featured Amish people but that was a rated R movie for a much older age of viewer. This is aimed primarily at the elementary school age child who is much more impressionable. Also going along the lines of a young impressionable audience the comedic "violence" is at a much higher level then just hammers or ladders being hit on heads. In their adds it seems to push it to the limit.

The first scene is where they decide to jump off of a roof with a fire hose which does not hold their weight and strikes a bystander and it would seem breaks his back.The second is where a bell being raised into a bell toqer goes flying and strike a nun in the head. All of these acts are played off quite nonchalantly and everyone goes along happily with no rel negative results.(yes the man was in a cast but they immediately break out into dynamite jokes while looking at the full body cast with no sign of remorse)In real life the Stooges, the man, and the nun most would all be dead from impact with ground, broken back/concussion injuries, and broken neck/bleeding out respectively. There was also the scene with the woman who is obviously a nun but is a very attractive and minimal swimsuit which is not to an extreme but for a children's movie it seems quite odd to insert a religious person in such a wardrobe. The last which makes no sense because I doubt many children watch Jersey Shore who this movie is aimed at and it is just unneeded to have in the movie.(I am basing some of these assumptions off my step-brother and his friends, who are fans of the original Stooges, reactions to the ad they saw)

Slightly agree with this reaction of the ad

Which seems quite a lot like all of the uproar that Michael Bay cause when it was announced that “When you see this movie, kids are going to believe one day these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race, and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely loveable.” I dunno but I think it is pushing it a bit when the race of the character is stated in the title itself.

Instead of..

Earthquake+Desk=?

Seeing an everyday desk which, seems more beefed up than the average school desk, being destroyed by 500kg (1102 lb)is really eye opening to what could happen in an earthquake. Especially how in the event of an earthquake students are always instructed to get under their desk, which the thinking makes sense apart from the fact that the desk would not protect from more than just debris but not major structural components or large chunks of debris falling from the roof or the roof itself.

Earthquake Safe Desk

This reminds me slightly of PSA's from back in the day when the US was at odds with this little country off in the east (or west if you want to think of it that way) called the USSR. In the event of a nuclear explosion it would appear the effects will linger for less than two weeks due to the fact you need not have food for more than two weeks(7:30), as well as the fact that a raincoat and tucked in pants when used in conjunction with a small brush and showers will make it able for individuals to traverse the newly made nuclear wasteland.(10:44)

The best part is that stacks of books will help protect you from the ill effects.(6:40)

Not too sure but i think a building puts up more than a fight than books.

But back to the original thing, why were desks like these never thought of being used in schools, especially those on fault zones such as here in California.

Video if link is being weird: http://vimeo.com/40113919

the old man and the sea

Awesome Stop-motion movie.

the old man and the sea from Marcel Schindler on Vimeo.

Gas Stations.

There are about five of the seven or so gas stations in Palo Alto are all in about a two block radius of each other. This alone is slightly inconvenient, further more though they all were charging 4.37 per gallon. Even the Arco station was charging 3.37. The only station that was not charging this amount was the other Arco station, yes within this two mile radius, which had gas for 4.17. The only problem was this single Arco station was closed at 10:07 while the other four stations were still open selling their more expensive gas.

Seriously though this is twenty cents difference per gallon, in one tank up of a 16 gallon tank(my tank was empty with the stupid light on) one has to pay $3.20 cents more. That's not much but adding up every time the car's tanked up that three becomes quite a bit larger..

5 stations basically all on the same block
4 charging 4.37 (including an Arco)
1 charging 4.17 (Arco)
Cheap one closes inexplicably earlier then the others.