Canon EOS 5D Mark III (MK3) RAW Video 14-bit with Magic Lantern
Cinema5D has a HowTo about the latest Magic Lantern Version that actually features 24p RAW on a 5D mark III with Magic Lantern.
The only thing you need besides Magic Lantern (and a Canon 5D MK3, which currently sells for around $2899) is of course a fast Memory Card. Here are confirmed cards that work well with RAW Video recording:
Recommended Compact Flash Cards (160MB/s read, 120MB/s write)
Transcend CompactFlash Card (CF) 1000x 16GB
Transcend CompactFlash Card (CF) 1000x 32GB
Transcend CompactFlash Card (CF) 1000x 64GB
Recommended SD Cards
SanDisk Extreme Pro 16 GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-1 Flash Memory Card 95MB/s SDSDXPA-016G-AFFP
SanDisk Extreme Pro 32 GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-1 Flash Memory Card 95MB/s SDSDXPA-032G-AFFP
Avalon ASIC Bitcoin unit from Avalon Batch #2 for sale
Although there are some ASIC units available online already, one person is selling his batch #2 order at Avalon Online for $1.300.
While the Butterfly Labs ASIC devices operate at much less kilowatts per hashrate, they are actually still not really delivered - though there are some online offers already.
"Buy Now" price is 40.000$, so lets see how much people are willing to pay to actually get an ASIC.
nVidia Geforce GTX Titan GK110 works on Hackintosh with Mac OSX 10.8.4 and official Drivers, including CUDA support!
This is big news from the hackintosh front: since you are limited to using single GPU graphic cards on hackintosh (Mac OS X only supports single GPU systems) the best possible card up to now was the Geforce GTX 680 (see our previous article).
Not anymore, since the Nvidia Geforce GTX Titan (GK110 chipset) is working on OSX 10.8.4 with official Nvidia drivers. There are already some awesome hackintosh case mods and builds out there.
Netkas reported the card working on April 2nd. Furthermore, there is a possible ROM-hack to get the card working on Mac Pro machines, making it the fastest video card you can possibly put into your Apple Mac Pro.
The current discussions and experiences from the hackintosh community are promising, though we might see several driver updates in the coming weeks. CUDA is supported, also OpenCL is reported working, though strangely not with all different vendor models.
If you want to stay on the bleeding edge, here are recommended cards that people reported working with hackintosh:
ASUS GeForce GTX TITAN 6GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card GTXTITAN-6GD5
If you want to be on the safe side, get the EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2048MB GDDR5, DVI, DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort, 4-way SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2680-KR which is working flawlessly and costs only half of the current Titan price...
Sapphire Launches Radeon HD 7950 Mac Graphics Card: Upgrade your Mac Pro or your Hackintosh!
Sapphire recently announced the Radeon HD 7950 Graphics Card that is an "Exclusive Mac Edition with AMD GCN architecture". The Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition is compatible with Apple Mac Pro models from 2010 and later with an available PCI-Express x16 slot. Two six-pin power cables required are supplied with the card.
The card is said to boost GPU performance of existing Mac Pro models by up to 200%, which is especially interesting for people doing video and photography work on Apple Mac Pro machines.
The Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 Mac Edition is currently available for $479,00 in the US.
Exclusive to SAPPHIRE, the HD 7950 Mac Edition is based on AMD’s latest Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture. This highly acclaimed architecture delivers a significant graphics performance boost for Mac Pro users in a wide range of applications including gaming, audio or video editing and content creation. For example, gaming frame rates are increased by over 200%, general benchmark performance increased by around 30% and graphics intensive benchmarks increased by as much as 300% compared with the NV 8800GT commonly used in these machines (SAPPHIRE internal data).
The SAPPHIRE HD 7950 Mac Edition is equipped with 3GB of the latest GDDR5 memory, and its Dual Asynchronous Compute Engines (ACE) deliver up to 2.87 TFLOPS Single Precision compute power. It provides hardware support for Open GL 4.2 and Open CL 1.2 as well as AMD HD3D technology and APP acceleration.
While this is not so big news for Hackintosh owners, it is for people that have to work on an original Apple Mac Pro from 2010. For Hackintosh still the EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Classified, 4GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort is the fastest card to get, featuring a chip clock of 1111MHz, shader clock of 1006MHz and RAM clock of 1502MHz.
Nikon D5200 24.1 MP CMOS Digital SLR has Clean HDMI Out, works perfectly with Atomos Ninja or Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle
Nikon really made it with the D5200 this time: the cheapo-camera is every DSLR-Filmers dream. Currently available for $796.95 new and around $600 used, it features clean HDMI out and an awesome color due to a sensor produced by Toshiba (the D600 and D800 feature a Sony sensor).
So we clearly have a winner here, which works perfectly together with the Atomos Ninja (available for $649.00) and also the Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle (available for $327.75)
With the current hype around the Black Magic Cinema Camera, this one might be a gadget to ease the waiting - since i already own a D800E, i ordered the Nikon D5200 as a second camera for filming only. The APS-C sensor of the camera offers a good and affordable solution to double the available optics (crop mode of ca. 2x). I might get additional wide angle lenses to cover 48mm and 70mm with the D5200.
Apple Mac OSX 10.8.3 brings AMD Radeon 7xxx: 7750, 7870, 7950, 7970 to Hackintosh!
Apple's recent update of Mac OS X 10.8.3 finally brings AMD Radeon drivers (kext) to hackintoshers around the globe.
Here is some other update news of the recent ML update by Apple: About the OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.3 Update, which also contains various security fixes:
New Kexts:
ATI7000Controller.kext
AMDRadeonX4000GLDriver.bundle
nVida kexts (ver. 8.10.18 304.10.65a13) included.
As of March 24, 2013, the AMD Radeon HD 7970, 7950, 7870, 7770, and 7750 have been confirmed to work "out of the box" (without the need for additional drivers), while the AMD Radeon HD 7850 only works with specially edited kext files.
The fastest AMD Radeon (that is confirmed to work) is the the Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7970 OC 3GB GDDR5 DVI-I/HDMI/2x Mini-Displayport PCI-E 3.0 Graphics Card GV-R797OC-3GD
Black Magic Cinema Camera BMCC is available and already shipping! (3 days shipping time)
I could not believe it myself, but the Black Magic Cinema Camera is available to order from various sellers, some of them even offering free shipping within 3 days (!).
We already reported various times about the Black Magic Cinema Camera (BMCC) on nanofunk (you can read more about it in our archives) , but officially the camera was very hard to get hands on yet. Blackmagic made lots of local press viewings and there are a bunch of demo-units out, but this is big news. We just ordered an EF-Mount version. Be fast though - the demand is very high on this camera. As EOSHD pointed out: the Blackmagic Cinema Camera can be seen as disruptive technology, since it might be a game changer in terms of production-workflow speed (SSD recorder included), picture quality and especially since it comes with the color correction suite "Davinci", which makes it perfect for independent filmers.
For people in Europe: there is only one Black Magic Cinema camera in Berlin, ready to pick up, all the other offers are international orders.
Hackintosh 8-Core Build with maximum GPU, 64GB RAM, Intel XEON – Recommendation
We just finished our latest Hackintosh 8-Core build that we wanted to share with the community. Here are the specs:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5, X79 (quad PC3-10667U DDR3)
CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2690, 8x 2.90GHz, Sockel-2011, boxed
RAM: Kingston HyperX Beast DIMM XMP Kit 64GB PC3-17066U CL11-12-11 (DDR3-2133)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Classified, 4GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DP (1111MHz)
CASE: Fractal Design Define R4 Titanium Grey Computer Case
We bought original Apple peripherals, such as the Magic Mouse and an Apple Keyboard. If you care about Apple Replica Items you might want to read our previous article: Save Money with replica Apple Hardware: the good and the bad.
The system has a Geekbench score of approx. 30.000, so it is perfect for doing media and encoding work (Adobe Premiere, Pro Tools, Final Cut Pro, etc.).
Ableton Live 9 Upgrade and Push Controller: Upgrade Options
Ableton Live 9 is here. Until March 12th 2013 the upgrade prices are cheaper:
* 129 EUR for the upgrade to Ableton Live 9 Standard
* 169 EUR for the upgrade to Ableton Live Suite 9
* 618 EUR for the Upgrade to Ableton Live Suite 9 including the new Push Controller
Ableton Live 9 features 3000+ Sounds (54 GB), 9 Instruments, 40 Effects and 'Max for Live'. Sadly there is no additional discount for people that bought a Max4Live license, which was 99 EUR back then. Push is a new controller by Ableton, which looks quite similar to the Akai APC - and actually the hardware was built by Akai for Ableton:
Push is a new instrument that solves an old problem: how to make a song from scratch. With hands-on control of melody and harmony, beats, sounds, and song structure, Push puts the fundamental elements of music making at your fingertips - and it fits in a backpack alongside your laptop.
Push has the same approach like Native Instruments' Machine hardware controller - only it features 64 pads which is significantly more. Integration with Ableton Live is perfect, we would not expect anything else. Still this device is not the all-in-one solution for your mobile studio. You will need a device with knobs and a small keyboard to make your mobile studio perfect.
Recommendation: get the Korg MicroKey as mobile Keyboard and a Kenton Killamix Mini top have some more knobs on the go. If you are brave, get the Korg MS-20 mini, which is not available yet. It features a keyboard, knobs and interface with USB-port.
Miasma.is: Intermedial Theatre and Film Project using New Media Technologies
Nanofunk just received a press release from the group ArtisticBokeh and Miasma (The Eel House) about their upcoming production on Donaufestival 2013 in Krems, Austria.
Miasma [...] first caught public attention with their large-scale theatrical vision “Call for Reduction! (in effigie)”, staged in summer 2012 at the former Ankerbrotfabrik in Vienna. [...] manifested as an intermedial happening with more than 70 participating artists from very diverse genres. A stunning installation provided the framework for the theatrical aspect of the performance and its realisation with various media. A number of HD cameras and the latest streaming technologies were employed to edit the images live and broadcast them online in real time. (Source: Donaufestival)
You can get more information about the show on their twitter account @miasmatotal, their facebook page or watch a trailer of their last production on youtube.
We had a short Skype interview with the group ArtisticBokeh, telling us more about the technical background and the challenge of working with extended theatre in the time of the internet and fragmented narrations. (Read the full interview inside)
NameCheap Domain Registrar accepts BitCoin virtual currency as payment
(via earlyadopterdemands) the Registrar NameCheap accepts BitCoins to pay for services (domains, SSL certificates, anonymous Domain services, etc.). This is great news, since there are only few places that officially support BitCoins (wordpress.com is also accepting them for example).
There is another good reason to use NameCheap as domain registrar: they are supporting the EFF - Electronic Frontier Foundation; in their recent "Domain Moving Day" NameCheap was raising $44.311,50 to support the EFF.
If you know about other interesting services and sites supporting BitCoin, let us know. Nanofunk is moving all domains to NameCheap soon, so should you.
Aaron Swartz – creator of Reddit and co-author of RSS forces PDF-spreading-spree posthume: #PDFtribute. Why Open Access matters.
Current discussions about the death of Aaron Swartz force bid discussions about copyright, open access and the publication of scientific data (papers). Aaron Swartz was one of the creators of Reddit and co-author of the RSS 1.0 specification, among actively working on the creation and discussion of creative commons. He was the founder of Demand Progress, which launched the campaign against the Internet censorship bills (SOPA/PIPA) and now has over a million members. His main interest was sociology, civic awareness and activism. On January 6, 2011, he was arrested by federal authorities in connection with systematic downloading of academic journal articles from JSTOR (he downloaded about 4 million of JSTOR's collection of academic journal articles). He was released on US$100,000 unsecured bail - though the prosecution continued - a potential prison term of up to 35 years and a fine of up to $1 million was discussed. Shortly before Swartz' death, JSTOR announced that it would make "more than 4.5 million articles" available to the public for free.
An unknown activist leaked 35GB of compressed data on 2011-07-21 05:20:52 via piratebay, stating:
"This archive contains 18,592 scientific publications totaling 33GiB, all from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society and which should be available to everyone at no cost, but most have previously only been made available at high prices through paywall gatekeepers like JSTOR. Limited access to the documents here is typically sold for $19 USD per article, though some of the older ones are available as cheaply as $8. Purchasing access to this collection one article at a time would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars." (source: thepiratebay)
There are currently two torrents spread via thepiratebay which actually can be seen as a distributed p2p-protest.
Another anonymous poster stated: "Aaron Swartz was was an internet activist. He believed tha information should be free. He co-authored the RSS 1.0 spec. He released about 20% of the PACER database of US Federal Court Documents. He set up a laptop in a utility closet at MIT and downloaded 35GB of the JSTOR archive. Clearly he was a great risk to society. The feds arrested him. If he had been found guilty, he could have faced up to 50 years in prison, and a $4 million dollar fine. Wrap you head around that." (source: thepiratebay)
R.I.P. Aaron Swartz - JSTOR archive 35GB
Papers from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, fro(original torrent)
Currently there is a big open access and open source paper spree going on via twitter. People are releasing their PDF publications free and available online via the #pdftribute hashtag. The website pdftribute.net automatically scrapes all the published tweets in that context.
There is lots of response to the death of Aaron Swartz, who released the Guerilla Open Access Manifesto in 2008. Lawrence Lessig wrote an angry letter to the M.I.T. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) - and other people, such as Dana Boyd, Cory Doctorow and Tim Berners-Lee expressed their sadness and rage: after all, Swartz was facing more prison time than murderers. An international discussion has started, fueling the question on harsh prosecution of cybercrimes (see in this context: nymag.com).
Still we can hope that sad events such as this one might get people to start thinking beyond their horizon - for example actually demanding real open access!
Nanofunk: the story behind nanofunk and background information
Since i recently got four different emails asking on why we chose the name and what are the backgrounds and aims of nanofunk, here are some answers: nanofunk.net was created in 2006 (02-mar-2006 to be exact) and was merely used to collect information for audio architects and sound designers - hence the name. There is some additional information on the most popular initiatives and blog posts of nanofunk on our about page.
In 2009, we started to use it to publish audio reviews, among an overview of new synthesizers and gadgets for creatives that work in the field of graphics, audio, photography and creative use of new technology. The current focus on audio is not that big anymore - since we just can not cover all the creative fields. Our main focus is on the fields we are actively working with, which is: Apple Macintosh, Hackintosh and Customac, Photography, DSLR Video and creative programming. We are touching the fields of gadget culture, gaming as well as other creative fields from time to time. If you want to blog on nanofunk, just let us know or drop us an email.
You can follow us on Twitter @nanofunk and if you want to support us, go buy some funk records on ebay ;)
And last but not least: if you did not see our 404 Page, you should! There was a song and video composed for it by a lolcat band: the roflcats! I can has 404!
Apple Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard is worth more than old Apple hardware
Ok, here is a business idea for all you people that want to make money fast: no, seriously ;)
Fact 1: Apple OSX 10.5 Leopard currently sells for up to $249.99 on amazon.
Fact 2: Apple OSX 10.5 Leopard sells between $50 and $70 on ebay.
So either you have an old installation DVD lying around somewhere, then sell it (on amazon, obviously) or you could just buy from ebay and sell on amazon. I am too lazy to do it, just wanted to provide a quick heads-up.
Guides with earlyadopterdemands: Hackintosh Mini Guide: which Hardware, how to hack? 10.7, 10.8
Second partner for our new guides is earlyadopterdemands, who is a frequent contributor to this blog. The first guide deals with creating a hackintosh mini setup.
You can create a decent Mac Mini Clone for as cheap as $311.23 - earlyadopterdemands compiled three different builds:
Recommended Cheap Build: Hackintosh Mini i3/4GB RAM/250GB HD
Recommended Mid-Range Build: Hackintosh Mini i5/8GB RAM/500GB HD
Recommended High-End Build: Hackintosh Mini i7/16GB RAM/Solid State Hybrid/Geforce 650
You can read more details at the guide page. Please let us know if you want to see guides for specific topics or have tips you want to share with us.
Guides with dslr4video: Black Magic Cinema Camera, Panasonic GH2 and GH3 Hacking
The first part of our new guide-format has been written together with dslr4video:
* DSLR Video: Panasonic GH2 and GH3 hacked
* Guide to BlackMagic Design Cinema Camera
The guides are by no means complete, they should be an initial aim to compile all the existing information to said topics - please send us feedback and links to resources or more information you want to see included. Also, if you have ideas or request for other guides, let us know.
Black Magic Cinema Camera Canon-EF Mount (NEW) Available via eBay!
Believe it or not, the Blackmagic Design - Blackmagic Cinema Camera CINECAM26KEFis currently being sold on ebay, shipping internationally.
I will keep you updated on possible ways to order the Black Magic Cinema Camera (EF as well as MFT mount), since I am also actively searching for this camera. Expect various offers on ebay and amazon (as well as on other sites) to pop up soon.
I was able to recently test the EF-Version at a local BMD-distributor store and I have to say, it is awsome. I could not test the included software bundle, but the camera handling itself was great. I will post a review video with photos and more info once I get my hands on again (which will be soon, believe me). Also, drop us an email if you have sample videos or recent information on availability!
Camera Gear Bargains in 2013: Lens Caps, Remote Controls and Lens Adapters for Panasonic, Sony, Canon, Nikon, etc.
I am a photographer and videographer, always trying to get cheap bargains for my cameras. Here is a roundup of super-cheap camera equipment and items that are shipping worldwide for free. Since I am on a budget and always trying to find cheap options, I am sharing my latest findings with you. (thanks to dslr4video for most of the pointers)
Lens Caps
I am buying lots of second-hand m42, MFT, Nikon F-Mount and Canon lenses, and most of them come without lens caps. Still Lens Caps, Body Caps, rear and front plates for your optics (also for Sony, Olympus, Panansonic, Leica, etc.) can be as low as $0.09 including shipping, if you know where to search for it: Lens Caps from Hong Kong with free worldwide shipping. If you are getting packs of 5 or 10, it's even cheaper. There are "branded" ones (Canon, Nikon, etc.) as well as generic ones. Make sure to select the proper diameter (52mm, 55mm, 62mm, 75mm, etc.)
Remote Controls
Wireless Remote Controls for your DSLR camera can also be a bargain: the RC-6 Remote Control For Canon EOS 5DII 7D 60D 500D 550D 600D is selling for as low as $1.41 (free shipping), while the "Nikon ML-L3 (for 1 J2, 1 V2, D40, D40x, D50, D60, D70s, D80, D90, D600, D3000, D3200, D5200, F65, F75, Coolpix P7000, P7100) already sells for $1.25 (free shipping). There are wired remote controls as well (if you prefer that), which are strangely a little more expensive. Batteries are included in all of those cheap items, I used already two different branded remote controls and cannot complain.
Gorillapad Knockoffs for $2.50
I don't know if you are familiar with the Gorilla Pod - "a bendable, flexible camera tripod that lets photographers attach their digital camera to any surface. The Gorillapod can be wrapped around a railing at a theme park, twisted onto a tree branch, looped around a baby carriage, hung from a doorknob, or perched on a rock during a hike. The possibilities are endless." There are different sizes of the Gorillapod, Knockoffs are selling for as cheap as $2.50 including worldwide shipping. I already ordered 5 of them, since they are the perfect gift for amateur and hobby photographers and filmers. Recommended!
Single or Double Axis Bubble Spirit Level Gradienter on Camera Hot Shoe
This is certainly a lot of fun (and useful): I recently dropped my Hot-Shoe Cap and wanted to order a new one (which is basically like 0.10$), but then I stumbled upon those even better replacements for my original Hot-Shoe "saver": a level gradient (water bubble leveller) for any Camera that actually has a Hot-Shoe. There are single-level ones, which actually have the same size than the original plastic, and dual-axis ones, which are a bit higher. Totally recommended and dead-cheap: they are selling for around $1 including free worldwide shipping.
Lens Adapters: Canon to MFT, Nikon to Micro Four Thirds, Canon to Panasonic, etc.
Lens Adapters can be very expensive, professional ones such as the Redrock Micro M2 Cinema Lens Adapter for Nikon Lenses goes for $199, there are also very cheap ones which are selling for around $14:
* Leica R Lens to Micro 4/3 M4/3 MFT Adapter Panasonic G2 G3 G10 GF2 GF1 GH1 GH2
* M42 Lens To Micro 4/3 MFT G2 G10 GF1 E-P2 E-P1
* Micro Four Thirds 4/3 M43 lens to Sony E NEX-5 NEX-3 NEX-C3 NEX-5N VG-10 or Olympus Adapter
All these Items are with free international shipping, even when shipping to Europe or Australia. The cheapest Lens-Adapter I could find (that I needed, there might be even cheaper ones out there) is the C mount to Micro Four-Thirds Adapter - M4/3 M43 Thin! N172 that sells for around $3. I already ordered lots of those adapters and generally I am satisfied. For professional use (and if you can afford it), the Novoflex Adapters are worth checking out. While they are much more expensive (up to $200 or more), they offer easy and fast lens changing and have perfectly adjusted focus-to-infinity.
There are of course a lot more camera and video deals out there. Let us know via email (audioreservoir_gmail) if you have any recommendations for us.
ioSafe Solo: fireproof, waterproof and drop-proof HardDisk with forensic recovery plan
I already lost lot of my data in the last years due to faulty harddisks and once I dropped one of my HDDs from the table. I admit, I am more careful now. But for those of you who want to be absolutely sure: meet the ioSafe Solo Hard Drive line that promises you a better sleep, not worrying about your data anymore:
"protect against data loss in temperatures up to 1550° F for 30 minutes per ASTM E119 or being submerged to a depth of 10 feet for up to 3 days. 12 months Data Recovery Service Standard. Up to $2,500.00 towards the cost of third-party forensic data recovery, one time, for any reason including accidental deletion, hard drive failure, fires, floods, etc. Upgradeable to 3 or 5 years. Microsoft Server, Linux, Mac and PC Compatible, USB 3.0 or eSATA, and USB 2.0 Connectivity."
The ioSafe SoloPRO 1 TB is the entry-level that starts at $234.99 while the ioSafe SK3TB SOLO G3 Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive 3TB sells for around $400 on amazon.
Happy 2013! Technology Trends in 2013
Happy 2013 to all the readers of the nanofunk blog! Unfortunately, the blogging frequency was not so high the last months, please don't forget to send us your hints and posts - in 2012 over 600 emails with recommended content were sent to us.
Technology Trends of 2013
gartner.com published a list of technology trends for 2013, that is a quite interesting read.
Mobile Device Battles - mobile devices will continue to rise and by 2015 80% of the handsets sold will be smartphones. With the recent release of Canonical's Ubuntu Mobile we are coming one step closer to this.
Mobile Applications and HTML5 - according to Garnter, no single client will be optimal to display all types of content. He predicts that HTML5 will gain popularity. Well, this is not so new - if you were not hiding in the basement for the last few years, you heard of (and are maybe already using) HTML5. The HTML 5 standard was recently finished by the W3C, making HTML 5.1 the next thing to wait for.
Personal Cloud - the personal cloud will replace the PC as location. What? Maybe in the USA, but in places such as Austria or Germany, the current upload rates are so poor, people might not even completely switch to webmail yet. Gartner still stays positive: "The personal cloud shifts the focus from the client device to cloud-based services delivered across devices."
Enterprise App Stores - according to the report, by 2014 many organizations will deliver mobile applications to workers through private application stores. "With enterprise app stores the role of IT shifts from that of a centralized planner to a market manager providing governance and brokerage services to users and potentially an ecosystem to support apptrepreneurs."
The Internet of Things - "The Internet of Things (IoT) is a concept that describes how the Internet will expand as physical items such as consumer devices and physical assets are connected to the Internet." Embedded sensors, image recognition technologies and NFC payment, just to name a few. Cellular technology is being embedded in lots of devices, not only mobile phones. Next up might be watches, televisions (Apple TV) among things you might not expect being online.
Hybrid IT and Cloud Computing - "The internal CSB role represents a means for the IT organization to retain and build influence inside its organization and to become a value center in the face of challenging new requirements relative to increasing adoption of cloud as an approach to IT consumption."
Strategic Big Data - "Big Data is moving from a focus on individual projects to an influence on enterprises’ strategic information architecture. Dealing with data volume, variety, velocity and complexity is forcing changes to many traditional approaches. This realization is leading organizations to abandon the concept of a single enterprise data warehouse containing all information needed for decisions. Instead they are moving towards multiple systems, including content management, data warehouses, data marts and specialized file systems tied together with data services and metadata, which will become the "logical" enterprise data warehouse."
Actionable Analytics - IT leaders can afford to perform analytics for (almost) every action taken in the business - with the improved performance and lower costs of cloud-based analytic engines and Big Data repositories. Simulations are on the rise, among predictions optimizations and other analytics. Business analytics applications might see a big rise with the cloud and with Big Data.
In Memory Computing (IMC) - Certain (digital) processes can be dramatically improved from hour-long batch processes to minutes or even seconds by delivering them to end-users via cloud services. "Millions of events can be scanned in a matter of a few tens of millisecond to detect correlations and patterns pointing at emerging opportunities and threats as things happen.". Lots of in-memory-based solutions will appear over the next two years driving this approach into mainstream use.
Integrated Ecosystems - according to Gartner, the market is shifting to more integrated systems and ecosystems and away from loosely coupled heterogeneous approaches. This actually is another term for "virtualization" (or cloud computing), meaning the user will see less hardware and get more bang for the buck in return (in terms of computing cycles and processor speeds, or maximum IO performance). The new part in this context is for the business side: "In the mobile world, vendors including Apple, Google and Microsoft drive varying degrees of control across and end-to-end ecosystem extending the client through the apps.", meaning those companies will fragment the webs even more, making use of proprietary new protocols and squeeze out more money by saving their costs.
Dslr4video and Earlyadopterdemands are selling Hackintoshes, SLR Cameras and Audio Computer Gear
Two guest bloggers of nanofunk.com - namely dslr4video and earlyadopterdemands recently joined forces in a new studio-space that they are sharing now in Austria. They asked me to promote their current studio-closing-sale, which is intended to raise money for a prototyping lab they are setting up.
They also created a blog where their stuff is listed (nanofunk was already recommending it some time ago) - please take a look for yourself, it is located at www.consumelog.net.
dslr4video has lots of items from their previous studio that are for sale now, including various Hackintosh configurations, SLR cameras and tons of other stuff. A partial list is available on ebay.com as well as on ebay.de, though the full list on consumelog is much larger. Please contact them directly for any questions regarding the items.
Theatrical Video Shoot with 2 Nikon D800E Cameras, Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 + Wireless HDMI
[Update] after my interview with the group, they clarified that while the HDMI setup was used for initial tests, they were switching to a wireless HD-SDI transmitter/receiver pair. The HDMI solution was quite stable but the HD-SDI version was rock solid even after "filming while moving through the mud".
A press release just reached me via email: the group ArtisticBokeh finished a project, combining a theatre play with a video/film shooting. According to the press release, the used hardware for realizing the piece (and a live stream setup for online viewers) were
* 2x Nikon D800E Cameras
* Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle 2
* Atomos Ninja 2
* 2 Wireless HDMI Devices: brite-View HDelight BV-1222 (USA), CM3 WHDICM3 Wireless HDMI (Europe)
Miasma – Call for Reduction was an initial prototype that combined the media/formats of theatre and film: in three days, the performance that took place in the viennese ‘Alte Ankerbrotfabrik’ was interwoven with a movie-shooting. The actual production included the DSLR-cameramen – the cameras were not hidden from the public, but rather included in the storytelling and the stage set. ‘Call for Reduction’ was not only a performative experiment, but also consisted of various experiments with new media technologies as well as new audiences and forms of reception regarding the story-complex and the fictional world of Marie Müller, the main character of the play.
In my opinion, this project perfectly shows how a creative combination of camera and computer hardware can bring new perspectives to rather "old artforms" such as theatre. According to the press release, the group will work on additional prototypes with self-developed camera rigs and settings. You can follow them on twitter and subscribe to their mailinglist directly on their website.
Creating an Apple Mac OS X 10.8 ML Mountain Lion USB Stick to Boot your Hackintosh
ScottishDuck posted a guide on MacRumors: How to create a bootable USB Stick with Apple Mac OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion GM (Golden Master). The process is quite easy:
* Show Package Contents -> mount InstallESD.dmg
* "restore" BaseSystem.dmg to your USB drive
* System -> Installation -> Delete the link called "Packages" and then create a new folder with the same name
* Copy all the Packages to the USB Disk
* cp /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ ESD/mach_kernel /Volumes/lionUSBinstaller/.
Done!
Intel ThunderBolt Support on Linux: not quite yet, but soon
I posted the question on askubuntu.com about what's the current status of ThunderBolt in the Linux Kernel and on Ubuntu in particular. The response was quite interesting: partial support exists, while hotplugging does not work yet. We can hope for a better support in the upcoming Ubuntu 12.10 Release, which will be ready in october 2012.
As of May 2012, support in the Linux kernel was still buggy and being worked on. For example, hot-plugging did not work, while cold-plugging did, etc.
Considering that the new Linux kernel will only appear in Ubuntu 12.10 (October 2012), I think that's the earliest you can hope to expect partial Thunderbolt support in Ubuntu.
(via izx)
Apple MacBook Pro Retina graphics performance is very slow: 18FPS
According to Anandtech the 2880 x 1800 Pixel HiDPI Display of the new MacBook Pro Retina has to deal with so much pixels, the GPU cannot deal with that amount of information anymore. This results in slow performance and a jumpy interface (scrolling and zooming is very slow). Previous models of the MacBook Pro could display between 46-60 frames per second, while the MacBook Pro Retina is only capable of displaying 18-24fps. Mac OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion should improve this a little - but still under 30fps. According to Anand, the solution will be the upcoming Haswell and Broadwell chipsets from Intel, that will be released in 2013.
To quantify exactly what I was seeing I measured frame rate while scrolling as quickly as possible through my Facebook news feed in Safari on the rMBP as well as my 2011 15-inch High Res MacBook Pro. While last year’s MBP delivered anywhere from 46 - 60 fps during this test, the rMBP hovered around 20 fps (18 - 24 fps was the typical range). Remember at 2880 x 1800 there are simply more pixels to push and more work to be done by both the CPU and the GPU. It’s even worse in those applications that have higher quality assets: the CPU now has to decode images at 4x the resolution of what it’s used to. Future CPUs will take this added workload into account, but it’ll take time to get there.
For early adopters and for posers, the new MacBook Pro Retina might be a fit. For serious people using their computers to actually get work done, it might be better to get a MacBook Pro from the previous Generation, since the price drops are significant: the Apple MacBook Air MC968LL/A 11.6-Inch currently sells for $829 new (refurbished from $789), the Apple MacBook Pro MC700LL/A 13.3-Inch sells for $1050 new ($900 refurbished).
The Apple MacBook Pro MC975LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop with Retina Display (NEWEST VERSION)
Nikon D800 and D800E DSLR Cameras are DxOMark Leaders
DxOMark is the trusted industry standard for camera and lens independent image quality measurements and ratings - DxO Labs is also behind the software DxO Optics Pro, a "Photo Enhancing Software for Mac and Windows", which is said to have the best RAW converters out there, compared to Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture. Long story short, the latest Nikon Cameras are the top-leaders of the DxOMark scoreboard - with the Nikon D800E scoring 96 points and the Nikon D800 scoring 95 points.
The Nikon D800E as well as the Nikon D800 are in stock on amazon marketplace, so make sure to get either model. As previously reported on nanofunk - the differences of the D800 to the D800E are minor - but both models are highly recommendable cameras. I just ordered myself a D800E, expect some in-depth experience postings here soon.
AMD Radeon 6970 GPU working in Lion, Intel HD4000 and other Kext Updates for Hackintoshing
netkas reported success in getting a AMD Radeon 6970 working in his hackintosh using Mac OSX 10.7 Lion. Besides that news the Nvidia Geforce gtx6xx among Intel HD4000 drivers are also working, as well as USB 3.0 kexts for Z77 based mainboards.
This is all due to the MBP 2012 release adding some drivers (kexts); but the 11G15 Mac OSX Lion 10.7.5 beta update also adds those drivers, so chose whatever way you want to get your 6970 up and running.
We can recommend the Radeon XFX HD 6970 2GB GPU for use with hackintosh. If you are unsure or want some customac built, there are some recommended people setting up hackintoshes in europe.
Live from the WWDC: MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Retina, Ivy Bridge and USB 3.0 (RETINA CONFIRMED)
Here are the current updates from the live tickers of the WWDC Apple Conference 2012:
current updates so far:
Apple MacBook Pro: 3rd gen Core, Ivy Bridge CPU up to 2.7Ghz, 8GB 1600Mhz memory, and 60% faster graphics, GeForce GT 650M, 1GB, - no RETINA!
Apple MacBook Air: 3rd gen Ivy Bridge CPU, USB3, 512GB of flash storage, 8GB of memory (1600Mhz), up to 2.0ghz i7, 11" and 13" sizes, 720p camera - no RETINA!
BUT...
Apple shows off a new Notebook Line that is "Radically thin and light" - even thinner than a finger (0.71 inches), about as thin as a MacBook Air, with 4.46lbs (the lightest pro notebook Apple has ever made). The new MacBook Pro is absolutely stunning with 15.4" across, pixel density is 2880x1800. 15.4" across, pixel density is 2880x1800. - this is actually world's highest resolution notebook display!
New MacBook Air Leaks: Upgrades rumored to include 8 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD, Ivy Bridge
According to MacRumors, new specs for the upcoming Apple MacBook Air Models leaked already, mainly confirming what we already thought: Intel Ivy Bridge, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD stock. Unconfirmed is still the Retina Display on the MacBook Air and USB 3.0 Ports, among other rumored extensions. Let's see what the next few hours will bring!
Here are the leaked specs:
11-inch
Base Model: MD223LL/A - MBA 11.6/1.7/4/64FLASH-USA
Better: MD224LL/A - MBA 11.6/1.7/4/128FLASH-USA
High End: MD845LL/A - MBA 11.6/2.0/8/256FLASH-USA
13-inch
MD231LL/A - MBAIR 13.3/1.8/4/128FLASH-USA
MD232LL/A - MBAIR 13.3/1.8/4/256FLASH-USA
MD846LL/A - MBAIR 13.3/2.0/8/512FLASH-USA
Update from WWDC 2012: Retina MacBook Pro with up to 16 GB RAM, 768 GB SSD (Retina!)
Great stuff folks - MacBook Pro Specs leaked short before they will be actually presented on the WWDC 2012: 15" MacBook Pro with Retina Display!
This is epic, I am wondering how much people will get a new MacBook Pro soon, expect the prices of the previous models to drop dramatically: there is already a Apple MacBook Pro MD313LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop selling (new) for $934, expect prices to drop even more...
here are the leaked specs and model numbers (thanks to 9to5mac)
MC975LL/A – MBP 15.4/2.3/8GB/256GB FLASH-USA
MC976LL/A – MBP 15.4/2.6/8GB/512GB FLASH-USA
MD831LL/A – MBP 15.4/2.7/16GB/768GB FLASH-USA
New Nikon D800 and D800e stock available shortly, according to Nikon and various online sources
According to Nikon USA and to various sellers, the next bunch of D800 cameras will be released by end of the month, since the production volume of the cameras (D800 and D800E) is 30,000 units per month. I am also on various waiting lists for a D800E (which is actually even harder to get hands on, since it is produced in smaller quantities), such as Amazon and B&H Photography - and I can recommend you do the same, if you are really interested in getting any version of the D800 camera.
In Europe (UK and Mainland), there are some sellers that actually have the Nikon D800 in stock, although for a slightly higher price than Nikon's recommended price tag, but what about the USA? I tweeted yesterday, that the Nikon D800 is available for $2750 in the US, but the stock of this particular shop seems to have been completely sold in only 3 hours. There are some people selling their factory sealed D800 cameras in the USA, so if you really want one, you have to pay the price of some few extra bucks.
But according to big resellers and to Nikon, the next batch of units will be available soon in Europe and in the USA: end of the month/beginning of next month, another big amount of preorders will be fulfilled.
"With the current 1,600 workers, the factory is producing one unit of camera per minute on a daytime shift with each unit of the D800 variant produced every four hours and the D4 variant every five hours." (source: nikonrumors)
But this is not the whole deal: according to techradar, "Some components for camera production are sourced from overseas factories including Nikon China, with around 1600 component parts required to produce both the D800 and D4."
All this hype and lots of work go into the D800, which already received the Camera GP2012 Camera of the Year and Readers Awards, and still the demand is very high.
Recommended SSD Solid State Drives for your Apple Mac, MacBook Pro and your Hackintosh
Since the SSD technology already matured a lot and the drives are mostly more stable than Hard Disk, the only question remains on which drive to choose. Actually, the answer is more simple than you might have thought: go for the longest warranty.
The OCZ Vertex 3 is a very cheap and awesome piece of hardware (read the benchmarks here: OCZ Vertex 3 vs. Intel 520 SSD) but the Vertex 3 has one major problem: it features only 3 years of warranty. So what drives are currently offering more than 3 years? The OCZ Vertex 4 and the Intel 520 SSD drives, both the cutting edge of speed and durability offer 5 years of warranty.
OCZ Vertex 4 features the best 4K random performance, so this is the drive to look out for! highly recommended!
Both drives feature a 5 year warranty, which shows us that the drives are really high quality.
The Intel 520 Cherryville Solid State Drives are built with duarbility in mind: Intel has a very good reputation when it comes to Solid State Drives - nanofunk can highly recommend this SSD for Hackintosh or Apple usage!
Optibay Replica for $14 for a second HDD or SSD in your Apple MacBook or MacBook Pro, including external case for your optical drive
A lot of readers and friends keep asking me about the Optibay and the modding possibilities of their MacBooks and MacBook Pros. Here is a current and up-to-date information on what you can do to tweak your Mac Notebooks to the extent:
First of all, you might want to max your RAM: read our article "Confirmed: 16GB RAM Upgrade for Unibody MacBook Pros" to see how to obtain the cheapest RAM upgrades possible. Second, you might want to consider an SSD replacement for your internal drive. Intel and OCZ are currently the best brands to look out for, you can read our article "OCZ Vertex 3 vs. Intel 520 SSD Benchmarks on OSX (Hackintosh)" for details.
The best way to mod your Apple MacBook or MacBook Pro is the Optibay still: for around $14 you can get the full shebang, including the Optibay (replica) as well as an USB casing for your optical drive, should you need it ever (i don't).
Optibay Replica for as low as $6.99
External Case for your optical drive: if you ever need it again, you can use your SuperDrive or ComboDrive via USB 2.0 on your MacBook or MacBook Pro
If you don't like the white color, the external drive is also available in black and there is even a slim version (slot-in) in silver. Don't worry about the replicas, they are not really different to the original Optibay - anyway you are mounting them inside your MacBook Pro and you won't see them any time soon.
Also take a look at our previous post "2011 Macbook Pro and SATA III 6Gbps, Optibay: two HD drives – setup explained". There, we recommended saving the few bucks for the external casing and getting a bluray drive instead, a recommendation i can still emphasize.
The Color Correction Handbook: Professional Techniques for Video and Cinema
If you are into cinematography or video production, you might have come across terms such as "grading" or "color grading". Color grading and correction are essential in photography when editing RAW files (DNG, NEF and the like) but also in video editing it is essential to know the basics to get the maximum out of your footage. Especially when using the hacked Panasonic GH2 or external recording devices such as the Atomos Ninja or the Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Shuttle 2 SSD Video Recorder.
The upcoming Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera includes DaVinci Resolve, which is said to be "world's most advanced color correction software", but you can of course also grade your footage with Adobe Premiere or Apple's Final Cut Pro.
The Color Correction Handbook: Professional Techniques for Video and Cinema is a very good read for beginners and intermediate videographers that want to get the maximum out of their shoots in post-production. Highly recommended read!
The colorist working in film and video is the individual responsible for breathing life into characters, bringing a mood into a scene, and making the final product polished and professional-looking. This craft is an art form that often takes years to perfect and many trial-and-error attempts at getting it right.
A peek inside the book is available here.
Panasonic 12-35mm GX Vario f2.8 MFT Lens for Micro Four Thirds: Possible Kit Lens for Panasonic Lumix DMC GH3
eoshd writes about the upcoming 12-35mm weather sealed lens that is Panasonic's new top-range Lumix Zoom with a constant aperture of f2.8. While the Panasonic GH3 camera is not out yet, it is rumored to be a competitor to the current weather-sealed and in-body image stabilized Olympus OM-D (EM-5). The Olympus OM-D has the only flaw that it does not output clean HDMI, a shortcoming that the upcoming Panasonic GH3 could address (and solve) since the GH2 also outputs a clean HDMI signal and allows us to use RAW/HiRes external recording devices such as the Atomos Ninja or the Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Shuttle 2 SSD Video Recorder.
The Panasonic 12-35mm GX Vario f2.8 MFT Lens will of course also work with existing Micro Four Thirds Cameras, such as the GH2 or the OM-D, and features four aspherical elements, a 25cm minimum focus distance and Panasonic’s new nano-particle coating. Also the video-optimized image stabilizer (Power OIS) is said to be better.
Expected price is EUR 1100 (approx. 1400$). The original article is in spanish but definitely worth a read (just use google translate to get the information decrypted).
Here are some other sources from the web:
* ePhotoZine: "New Panasonic Lumix G X VARIO 12-35mm f/2.8 Lens Announced"
* dpreview: Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm F2.8 ASPH Power OIS Preview
* dcresource: Panasonic announces F2.8, 12 - 35 mm Micro Four Thirds lens (sample photos available)
Nikon D800 vs. D800E – no real technical difference, only for different market segments
[Update] as outlined by commenter dslr4video, there are minimal differences to the two camera models, but they are minimal and can be ignored.
Falk Lumo from LumoLabs made an interesting comparison of the D800 vs the D800e: they came to the conclusion that "the differences between the two models are less than one would expect" and "with ~100% amount sharpening, the D800E should deliver comparable results with ~0.5 pixels less sharpening radius, compared to a D800. This also means that one should not refrain from sharpening when using the D800E. Just use weaker settings".
In conclusion, the Nikon D800 and the D800E are almost the same cameras, with only a pricey difference: the Nikon D800 sells for $2999,00 while the Nikon D800E currently costs $3299,00. As Falk Lumo notes - the biggest difference is the market segment, the different Nikon models approach: while the D800 is meant for APS-C and 35mm full frame SLR crossgraders (coming from Canon, Sony, Pentax or Panasonic, etc), since those cameras already have a Bayer-AA Filter. The D800E is meant for medium format (or Leica M9) cross-graders as all those cameras have no Bayer-AA filter implemented and photographers are used to the moire that can show up on fabrics or repetitive patterns.
"The results are pretty similiar, with a bit more sarurated false colors and false color moiré in the D800E (as to be expected). But the D800 is able to show a bit of false color moiré too (a phenomenon known from the Canon 5DmkIII too)."
Please read the article for yourself on falklumo.blogspot.de (written in english), since they really did a good job in measuring the actual sharpness differences.
Recommendation from nanofunk: get the Nikon D800 - currently there is a discount price, where it sells for $2.750 in the USA.
Canon BG-E11 Battery Grip for Canon EOS 5D Mark III is finally available
Finally, the battery grip for the Canon EOS 5D MKIII is available and can be ordered starting from $358 in the USA. In Europe the Canon BG-E11 is not yet officially available but can be pre-ordered for €379,99.
Besides the obvious possibility of shooting more images (the battery grip can handle two extra LP-E6 battery packs or six AA Batteries with included battery magazine), the grip also offers more comfort for vertical shooting.
Canon describes the power-gain with "double-length shooting time". Also, the Canon BG-E11 Battery Grip adds operating controls such as shutter button, Main Dial, multi-controller, AF point selection button, AE lock/FE lock button, AF start button, and multi-function button.
Overall, the grip looks solid and can not only bring a longer time for shooting photos or video, it can also make the camera more solid and provide a better image stabilisation, because of the added weight of 10.93 oz (310g) without batteries.
Samsung Galaxy S3 Smartphone has already 9 Million orders – beats iPhone on preorder volume
The Samsung Galaxy S3 (SIII) is one awesome piece of hardware: not yet available (but can be preordered for $774) it already beat Apple's iPhone in preorders: over 9 million people already ordered Samsung's Smartphone
"Samsung’s new Galaxy S3 phone has been pre-ordered by more than 100 global carriers, who expect to sell at least 9 million devices at launch." (via telegraph).
I am still deciding if i go for the Samsung Galaxy SIII Gt-i9300 or the much cheaper Samsung I9250 Galaxy Nexus, which already sells for $389.99. I am not sure if I really need the quad-core CPU and the larger screen; also the battery standby and talking time seem to be quite similar. Anyone can help me make my decision? ;)
LILLIPUT 5D-II High resolution 7″ HDMI monitor for DSLR Preview is a bargain with 1024×600 pixels
Today I want to give a recommendation for an affordable HDMI monitor for DSLR Shooters and videographers that need a bigger preview screen; owners of the Panasonic GH2 or the Canon EOS 5D will know what I am talking about: when you are shooting video, you need to have the biggest preview possible to ensure perfect focus - if you need extras such as zebra and focus peaking, you will definitely like the LILLIPUT 5D-II. Best of all: the monitor is a total bargain at $196 and includes battery adapter as well as a power supply.
Don't be distracted by the name: the LILLIPUT 5D-II was built for the Canon EOS 5D MKII but can be used with any camera that provides HDMI output. That includes the Canon EOS 5DMKIII (5D MK3) as well as Panasonic GH/GF/G and the Nikon D800, among other cameras such as Sony of course.
Screen size (diagonal): 7"
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Resolution (pixels) 1024x600 (native), 1920×1080 (maximum)
Pixel pitch (mm) 0.135×0.135
Viewing angle (degrees) 150º x, 130º y
Brightness (cd/m²): 250
Contrast ratio: 800:1
LCD backlight: LED
Video inputs/outputs: HDMI
The best thing about the package is the price tag:
$196 in the United States (via Amazon USA)
€320 in Europe (European Union) via Amazon Germany
Adobe Creative Suite CS6 is online and can be downloaded
Adobe just recently released their Creative Suite CS6 - which can be downloaded already. The Trial changed from being authorized online, so no trial-prolonging anymore. But since the pricing of Adobe CS6 Suite changed so dramatically, it might be not even needed anymore: the whole Creative Suite 6 Master Collection can be "rented" for $49.90 per month.
Adobe CS6 Design Standard Student and Teacher Edition starts at $349 while the whole Adobe CS6 Master Edition currently costs $2599.
You can read our initial posting on Adobe CS6 - just judging from a short review, the speed increase from version 5.5 is dramatically. All the apps are significantly faster, especially Photoshop and After Effects.
Panasonic Lumix GH2 DSLR Video Shooter Kits for Sale: For Professionals and Starters
dslr4video asked me to point readers of the Nanofunk Blog to their current offer of Panasonic GH2 Video Shooter Starter KITS they are offering.
Their KITS offer not only the Panasonic GH2 Camera, but also 3 Lenses, high-quality Novoflex Adapter Systems and Tripods as well as other goodies such as the Rode VideoMic and Adapters to run the cameras from a power source.
Nanofunk already has the Panasonic GH2 and is totally hooked - currently the Panasonic GH2 beats the crap out of the Nikon D800 and the Canon EOS 5D MKIII when it comes to image quality in filming.
RECOMMENDED!
Galaxy S III Officially Announced by Samsung, Offers 4.8-Inch Screen, S-Voice Control
Samsung Galaxy S III was officially announced by Samsung after a recent leak on the Amazon germany website. It offers a large 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280x720 and measures nearly 20% taller and wider than the iPhone 4S, but is slightly thinner and lighter. It includes an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.9-megapixel front camera that can be used for face recognition and tracking features. Among the other possible ways to control the phone are voice, and motion recognition, including a "S Voice" feature which is quite similar to Siri on the Apple iPhone.
Samsung is also showcasing a new Music Hub service integrating both a streaming service and an iTunes Match-like scan-and-match service to provide users with access to their own music from anywhere - music "clouds" are quite common these days.
While not available on the US Amazon site yet at the time of writing, the Samsung Galaxy S3 can be already preordered on the german Amazon Website for 599€.
Samsung Galaxy S III next to the iPhone 4S (Source: Android Central)
Olympus E-M5 OM-D System Camera is shipping in Europe!
The long-awaited and revolutionary camera for digital photographers and videographers is finally shipping in Europe! The Olympus E-M5 OM-D System Camera features a weather and waterproof case, as well as a new in-body image stabilization system!
The camera is perfect for low-budget film and video productions and if the only caveat (currently only HDMI out in "preview mode") would be fixed with a firmware update by Olympus, it could be used together with the Atomos Ninja HDMI Recorder or BlackMagic Design Hyperdeck Shuttle to record RAW video (respectively Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD).
Evoking the classic design of the original OM Series introduced 40 years ago, and transforming it for the modern age, the Olympus OM-D Series is a new and entirely unique Micro Four Thirds camera system. It combines outstanding features found in the Olympus E-System DSLR line with those of the compact Olympus PEN® Series to meet the requirements of discerning photographers who demand more performance and portability from their interchangeable-lens cameras.
Ordinary cameras have a 2-axis image stabilization system, and it is not implemented in the camera body, but in the lenses - such as the mega O.I.S. from panasonic. The really awesome part of the Olympus OMD is the built-in image stabilization in the body! Compensating and correcting 5-axes of shaking and shift, this new I.S. is the future of portable digital video: it corrects horizontal shift, vertical shift and rolling camera shake - the gyroscopic sensors in the camera detect the amount of camera shake and the IS unit automatically compensates.
Olympus OMD E-M5: combatting bodyshake for vertical, horizontal, pitch, rolling and yaw. IS compensation is effective up to a maximum of -5 EV.
[Update] Thanks to thayermc for pointing out that currently clean HDMI out is crippled. I hope this will be fixed in a future firmware.
Apple Mac OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion RC3 Released with some updates, 10.7.4 around the corner
Apple's Mountain Lion Developer Preview was updated to version 12A193i (from 12A178q) weighing 1.45GB.
"With the Developer Preview, you can explore Game Center, Notification Center, Documents in the Cloud, new sharing capabilities, advanced security features, and much more"
Apple Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion includes lots of features from iOS, such as Reminders, Messages and Game Center. One noted update from the previous version of the Developer Preview is a Do Not Disturb setting to Mountain Lion's Notifications Center, as outlined by 9to5mac, which allows users to block incoming alerts and banners.
Furthermore Mac OSX 10.7.4 Lion Update is around the corner: 11E53 is the current build that was seeded to developers. The previous release was numbered 11E52 - so a final public update is imminent. Apple notes that there are no known issues with this build but asks developers to focus their testing on graphics, iCal, Mail, Printing, and Time Machine.
If there are updated kexts is not known at the time of writing - it looks like we have to wait for the final release of 10.8 ML to get new graphics drivers, such as support for the 7xxx AMD Radeon GPUs with the Codenames Cedar, Caicos, Turks, Cape Verde, Pitcairn, Tahiti and New Zealand.
Canon 5D Mark III is hacked (Hello World) Magic Lantern soon
as reported by eoshd: the Canon EOS 5D MKIII was already hacked by the Magic Lantern team showing a "Hello World" on the internal LCD of the camera. That means Magic Lantern for the Canon EOS 5D MK3 is around the corner! If we will see a clean HDMI output and a solution to the rather soft image of the 5D3 compared to the Nikon D800 is not sure at the moment.
If we get clean HDMI, that means we could use RAW HDMI recorders such as the Black Magic Design Hyperdeck Shuttle or the Atomos Ninja 2 to record the best output image possible - but maybe the internal cranked-up codec from Magic Lantern will already do the trick, as can be seen on the Panasonic GH2 which beats the crap out of the internal codec of the 5D MKIII by simply providing a smarter and better looking image quality on the software-side.
The soft image of the Canon 5D MKIII is a disappointment up to now, we can only hope for things to get better with a little help from the modding scene.
Nikon D3200 is already shipping, 1 week after announcement
The just recently announced NIKON D3200 DSLR camera is already shipping via Amazon in the US, people in europe have to still wait, since you can only pre-order for now (but the camera should be available soon, according to Nikon). The D3200 features a 24.2 MP DX-format CMOS sensor (crop factor of 1.5) and has EXPEED III image processing. It is an entry level DSLR but it can shoot 1080p HD video - still the problem is that it won't output clean HDMI signal (which could be fixed by a firmware update theoretically).
After all, we got a nice new cheap camera to chose from when shooting low budget video or just want to take casual fotos. While the Nikon D3200 should be superior in terms of photography compared to the Panasonic GH2, still in video the Lumix GH2 is the top of the class. We will see if there will be a firmware hack for the D3200 - it is quite possible since there is some hacking done with Nikon cameras, but it will take time for sure. Maybe we can order the D3200 to sweeten the long time of waiting for the D800 which is still only available via preorder.
DSLR Rig Shoulder Mount Pad Steady Rig Stabilization System for EUR 100
DSLR Rigs go for as low as 100€ (130 US$) on ebay. But are they any good? How do they compare to expensive DSLR Shoulder Rigs and should you care?
pictured: DSLR Rig Shoulder Mount Pad Steady Rig Stabilization System for 7D 5D Mark II Z7 from filmcity23 (international orders)
Short answer: go for the cheap Rigs! They are quite durable and you can buy another one if it breaks.
Longer answer:
The upgradeability of the cheap rigs are limited. Furthermore the materials used are also cheap, so of course, if you are a pro-shooter you might want to get the more expensive Rigs, such as the Proaim DSLR KIT-3 or the (very expensive) Redrock DSLR Cinema Bundle. If you are beginner or intermediate, you should definitely try the cheap Rigs for a little over 100€, since they are often sufficient. Stabilizing the video output and generating good footage should be your main concern - after all the rig is not visible on your footage.
Mozilla Firefox 12 adds silent Updates, makes the Web more secure
Mozilla Firefox was updated to Version 12 and can be downloaded for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. Besides updating the interface and squashed bugs, Firefox 12 offers an essential feature: silent updates. That means automatic closing of security holes and auto-updates, which is very welcome for web developers, who don't have to support legacy browsers in the future. Mozilla Firefox 12 also got a little faster, for me it is the recommended Browser on Linux and Mac.
Atomos presents the Ninja 2 HDMI Field Recorder with Updated Sceen 800×480 and HDMI Out, adds Avid DNxHD
Atomos released the "Ninja 2" HDMI Recorder, following the success of the previous Atomos Ninja - featuring a much larger screen (800x480 pixels at 4.3") and support for Avid DNxHD Codecs. Furthermore the device has HDMI Output now, which means that we can mount a Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Shuttle SSD Field Recorder to it, allowing for simultaneous RAW Video and ProRes/DNxHD 220Mbit recording. (that was a joke, why would you do that?)
The Ninja is really an awesome device. Pricing is also quite moderate, $995 USD | €795 Ex.VAT | £695 Ex.VAT is the cost for a portable DSLR recording monster. Owners of the Version 1 of the Ninja will be presented with an upgrade option soon, according to Atomos.
A recent update to the AtomOS operating system allows native 24P recording, which is supported by the Nikon D800. Nikon owners are very pleased, as outlined on some example videos on Vimeo.
Here are the news in a flash:
- Online or Offline, Master or Back-up: 10-bit 4:2:2, 220Mbps, 2.5” HDD or SSD
- Any HDMI or HD-SDI source: DSLRS, Decks, Switchers, PC, Mac, iPad & iPhone
- Ready to deliver, high-capacity HDD or SSD: No more expensive memory cards!
- 800x480 screen with 170° viewing and loop play: Focus Peaking, Zebra, False Color & Blue Only Exposure
- Pristine Playback & Playout: SmartLog - Just Mark & Tag
Google introduces Google Drive (GDrive) with 5GB free space in the cloud
Google presented its new cloud storage solution, directly aimed at competing with Dropbox, Microsoft Skydrive and Apple's iCloud: Google Drive offers 5GB of free data storage in the cloud.
The extra-pricing is very competitive, 25GB of extra space costs 2.49$ per month, 100GB are $4.99. For 1000GB (1TB) Google charges 50 dollars a month. Price drops at Dropbox should appear soon.
Remember: if you sign up to Dropbox with our Affiliate Link, you get 1GB of extra storage for free (a total of 3GB).
Adobe Presents Creative Suite CS6 with Tons of Updates, introduces Subscription Service
Adobe officially announced the the launch of Creative Suite 6 (CS6) which can already be read about on the Adobe CS6 Website. Adobe also presented a new payment method for the usage of CS6: for $49,99 per Month, the whole Bundle of Software can be used on a subscription basis, which is significantly lower than assumed. Small project-teams and low-budget productions can benefit from this service. Updates of Premiere have some highlights such as "native DSLR and Video Camera support", where Adobe also lists the ARRI Alexa, Red EPIC, Red Scarlet, Canon EOS C2300, as newly supported devices. Adobe After Effects finally supports Illustrator path-import. All in all, the whole Suite is said to be much faster, as the new Mercury Engine speeds up overall usage with improved GPU support.
Samsung Galaxy S3 (SIII) is official: 12 megapixels Camera, 4,7 inch Touchscreen, Quad-Core
Earlyadopterdemands reported that the Samsung Galaxy S3 surfaced on the german Amazon Website: Specs are quite clear now. The Smartphone features a 4.7inch super-AMOLED touchscreen and a quad-core CPU running at 1.5Ghz (or 1.8GHz). In difference to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the Samsung Galaxy S3 can hold a microSD card to increase storage up to 32GB. (it remains unclear if that means 32 GB in total, or 32 additional Gigabytes).
Furthermore, Samsung is currently teasing us with more information on their website www.tgeltaayehxnx.com. Official release date of the Samsung Galaxy S3 is Max 3rd, according to Samsung.
iPhone 5 might have new in-cell technology for updated multi touch display
via macrumors: Apple might be planning to use new "in-cell" display technology from Japanese manufacturers in the next-generation iPhone. "Compared with on-cell technology, touch panels that use in-cell technology can be made thinner because the touch sensors are actually placed inside the color filters rather than on top of them"
This would mean we can expect the new iPhone 5 to be much thinner than the previous iPhone 4S Model.
Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera: 2.5K RAW Video in ProRes, CinemaDNG and Avid DNxHD
Black Magic Design unleashed the Black Magic Design Cinema Camera with 2.5K RAW Video in CinemaDNG (12-Bit), Avid DNxHD (10-bit) and ProRes (10-bit) support. The Camera can record on SSD drives internally and features a touchscreen with 5" and 800 x 480 resolution. But that's not all: it has Thunderbolt connection, so getting that recorded data out fast is not an issue.
The camera has a dynamic range of 13 stops (!) and supports EF (Canon) and ZF (Zeiss) lenses. Only disappointment seems to be audio support: one integrated mono mic, 2x 1/4" jacks for balanced analog audio (why no XLR?).
Oh, and wait - that's not all - for the suggested price of $3000 they also give you DaVinci Resolve, which is said to be "world's most advanced color correction software", as well as BlackMagic Media Express (Capture Software) and Blackmagic UltraScope software for waveform monitoring from the camera’s Thunderbolt port.
If that isn't something!
Geek Dad Liberates Legos with 3D Printed Adapters between Systems
Golan Levin and his former student Shawn Sims released a set of digital blueprints that a 3-D printer can use to create more than 45 plastic objects, each of which provides the missing interface between pieces from toy construction sets. They call it the Free Universal Construction Kit. The tens of thousands of consumers who now own devices such as MakerBot’s $1,100 Thing-O-Matic can download those files and immediately print a plastic piece that connects their Lego bricks to their Fischertechnik girders, their Krinkles to their Duplos, or half a dozen other formerly incompatible sets of modular plastic blocks, sticks and gears. (via forbes)
Here is a link to the poster, and here is uck on thingiverse.
Apple Store Down for Maintenance: New Products Imminent? [Updated]
Apple's Store Page is currently "down for maintenance". While this often means new products are about to be introduced, it could also only mean a general site maintenance or redesign.
New MacBook Pros as well as new Mac Pros are on the horizon, including the possibility of the upcoming iPhone 5. Personally, I would favor a new Mac Pro line the most - giving us updated GPU drivers (kexts) as well as more hardware support. Let's see what the day brings.
[Update 2012-04-11 9:35 CET] Site is back online and NOTHING NEW. Apple really teases us too much these days. As if there were nothing to update. Still waiting for decent GPU support on the outdated Mac Pros.
Android HD Resolution Mobiles: HTC One X vs LG Optimus 4X HD vs Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250
Since my iPhone 4S was stolen I need to chose a new mobile phone. As I decided to go with an Android device next, I wanted to share my research and opinions on three of the hottest Android powered mobile smartphones out there.
First of all, we have to be clear that those devices are already full blown computer/console replacements, for their CPU speed and GPU power. But what about the only things I personally care about: a high resolution screen and long battery life?
Here is a specs roundup:
| HTC One X | LG Optimus 4X HD | Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 |
 |
 |
 |
| HTC One X - people call it the King of Android mobiles. Quad Core and fastest phone out there, best screen evar. Only a bit pricey. | LG Optimus 4X HD: LG's new superphone. Not really out yet, but specs look promising. | Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250: a cheap bargain for what it offers. No SD-card slot though. |
| please treat the benchmarks with some grain of salt: they reflect individual seettings of individual people and should just give a brief overview of what the phones are capable of. | ||
| Quadrant benchmark: 4,907 | Quadrant benchmark: 4,512 | Quadrant benchmark: 2140 |
| AnTuTu benchmark: 11542 | AnTuTu benchmark: 11,147 | AnTuTu benchmark: 6,149 |
| CPU: 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A9 (nVidia Tegra 3) • GPU: GeForce ULP (nVidia Tegra 3) • RAM: 1024MB • 1280x720 | CPU: 4x 1.5GHz (nVidia Tegra 3) • GPU: GeForce ULP (nVidia Tegra 3) • RAM: 1024MB • True HD IPS 1280x720 | CPU: 2x 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 (TI OMAP 4460) • GPU: PowerVR SGX540 • RAM: 1024MB • 1280x720 Super AMOLED |
Conclusion
* if you are on a budget, go for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It currently sells for $450 new, which is a bargain for what it offers.
* if you care about the best screen, go and get the HTC One X. For a price of $650 it is not exactly cheap, but the 4.7 Inch 720p HD Screen (1280 x 720) is really mind blowing. Going into details - the HTC One X screen has not such a good black level as the Samsung Galaxy S2, although wins when it comes to realistic color representation.
(image via soyacincau.com)
On the horizon
If you have time, maybe you want to wait for the Samsung Galaxy S3, which is said to come with a 4.6-inch Super AMOLED Plus full HD screen and 1,280×720-pixel resolution. Rumors suggest that the S3 might come with an edge-to-edge display and a much larger chassis. Samsung might launch the S3 as its first phone with a 3D screen and a peculiar S-shaped bend in the 4.6-inch screen. The S3 can also receive a revamped light and scratch-resistant ceramic encasing. The processor could be a quad-core ARM A9-based Exynos 4212 chipset, clocked at 1.8GHz with 2GB RAM.
New Apple Macbook Pros on the horizon? Retina Displays, USB3.0, Quad-Core Ivy Bridge
New Apple Macbook Pro Models are on the horizon? Intel Ivy Bridge for the 13, 15, 17 inch and MacBook Air models are most likely, with quad core and possibly USB3 ports. There might be a "slim form factor" that would mean MacBook Air-like MacBook Pro Models, with USB3 ports along other features such as dual Thunderbolt ports and Retina Displays (treat this information as rumors!). As macrumors notes, Reseller Shortages Hint at Forthcoming Update for 15-Inch MacBook Pro: "Apple has been said to be ramping up production of new 15-inch MacBook Pro models carrying a thinner form factor, with Intel's rumored April 29 debut of quad-core mobile Ivy Bridge processors undoubtedly driving that timeline."
The 13" MBP still goes for around $1,115.00, the 15" Quad Core i7 15-inch version is still at $1,679.88. Prices for the upcoming models are obviously not known yet.
Why Windows is the better System for Enthusiasts and Media Producers (compared to Apple Mac OSX)
Frequent readers of this Blog know that I am a Mac user, running several Apple and Hackintosh systems (since 2001). Over the years Apple lost the hardware race and currently the only technology unique to Apple machines is Intel Lightspeed (aka Thunderbolt). Apple moved away from the professional market and is targeting mostly consumers, which also reflects in the supported hardware. Furthermore the future of the Mac Pro line remains unclear, since Apple might drop the line completely (it might face the same fate as the XSERVE line).
Here are my thoughts on why Windows 7 and Windows 8 might be a better choice for media producers and enthusiasts
* Current graphic cards are not supported on Mac OS X
Although there is some serious efforts by netkas in getting AMD 6950 and 6970 GPUs to work with Mac OSX, there are no currently known configurations that will work with Hackintoshes. The 6950/70 will work with patched KEXTs on Mac Pro Systems, but wtf? We have already the AMD Radeon 7970 Graphic Cards available for a decent price, so why should we bother with Apple being too late to the party? Unless there is a new Mac Pro with 79xx GPU coming out, we won't see any kexts soon.
* No SLI or Crossfire support and no dual-GPU support on Apple!
Mac OSX does not support SLI or crossfire - hell it does not even support multi-GPU cards such as the AMD Radeon 6990. Dual GPU-cards such as the ATI Radeon HD5970 only run with one GPU disabled on OSX. This is a serious limitation if you are creating media content such as 3D or video.
* Professional SSD-Cards don't run on Mac-based systems
Fast PCI-E cards, such as the OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 Max IOPS 480GB, PCIe 2.0 x4 (1900 MBPs read/ 1700 MBPs write) or the OCZ Z-Drive R4 R Series (up to 2800 MBPs read/write speeds) are not supported on Mac OSX. The OCZ Revodrive X2 was reported usable with several Hackintosh configurations, but it is not that easy to set up, since some kext-magic is needed.
* Only limited hardware support on OSX, Sandy Bridge-E only with some hackery
Apple Mac OSX supports only very few hardware components, so mostly we have to get parts that are intended for a Mac Pro. There are ways to get to use the Sandy Bridge-E chipsets with Hackintosh (see the nanofunk post: Sandy Bridge-E Intel 2011 Socket confirmed working with Hackintosh), but still it's not easy as pie.
* Adobe Suite runs faster on Windows
Mostly because of all the issues described above, logically the Adobe Suite will run faster on Windows based machines. If Apple can not catch up with the demands of the pro-users and the enthusiasts, it might lose the professional sector after all - so Windows 8 could become the system-of-choice for serious media professionals again.
Mac Java Trojan: over 600.000 Macs affected – how to secure your Mac [Update]
Update: F-Secure offers a FlashbackRemoval Tool, the Flashback Checker app tells you if your machine is infected.
The Flashback Trojan for Apple's Mac OSX already infected over 600.000 Machines, according to @hexminer on twitter. There is an existing Java Security Update from Apple, all users should update immediately.
Apple is too slow in releasing security fixes - the last known security holes in Mac OSX Java took Apple over 6 months to fix.
F-Secure shows how to secure your Mac by disabling Java. Lion does not come with Java by default, although most of the times it is installed afterwards (running Java applets or Java applications, the Systems asks to install the Java package).
The Flashback Trojan hides as Adobe Flash Player, so the most secure thing to do is to remove Java and Flash from your system. Adobe Flash still does not completely work with Mac OSX Lion, bugs that were reported by Nanofunk over 6 months ago are still open.
Gizmodo posted a simple way how to test if you are infected:
Run the following command in Terminal:
defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment
Take note of the value, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES
The expected output should be:
"The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist"
Then, run this command:
defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES
"The domain/default pair of (/Users/joe/.MacOSX/environment, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES) does not exist"
"does not exist" means you've got a healthy rig. If there is any other message, keep following F-Secure's instructions to vanquish the intruder.
Nikon D800 criticisms refuted: Pixel Sizes and Image Quality
A Guest Blogger on NikonRumors points out, that lots of criticism regarding the Nikon D800 DSLR Camera is because of lack of technical knowledge.
Nikon D800
24 X 35.9mm sensor hosting 36.3 mega pixels
Sensor is 861.6mm squared
Pixel Pitch is 4.88 microns
Nikon D800 in DX shooting mode
16 X 24 sensor hosting 15.4 mega pixels
Sensor used is 384mm squared
Pixel Pitch is 4.88 microns
The Nikon D800 has the largest pixels when compared to the Nikon D7000, the Canon 7D, the Olympus EP-3 and the Olympus OM-D E-M5. According to a commenter on said topic, the Canon 5D MkIII (22.3 Mpx) with it’s full sensor gives a close measure to that size of pixel. Knowing that the full sensor size is 36 x 24 mm and the ratio is 3:2, [...] a calculation gives a pixel pitch approx 6.22 micron.
The Nikon D800 can be pre-ordered for $2999,00 - the Canon EOS 5D MKIII already ships for $3499,00. Nikon D800 second hand price currently rises and is already more than pre-ordering a brand new Camera: current bids go as high as $3.800,00.
Dropbox Cloud Storage increases Free Accounts to 16GB (maximum), increased Referrals from 250MB to 500MB
Dropbox increased the maximum space for Free Users to 16GB: referrals were upped from 250MB to 500Mb per invited user, for "Pro" Account holders, the referral space was even upped to 1GB per accepted invitation. If you sign up to Dropbox with this link, you get an extra 500MB for your signup - that means you will start with initial 2.5GB free cloud storage. A maximum of 16GB is possible, if you invite some more people.
I mainly use Dropbox for Backups and Syncing my data between devices - the Dropbox application/client is available for almost all platforms. We can recommend using the free service as long as possible, since Google plans a new service that will be a strong competitor: the Google Drive Service (GDRIVE) could force Dropbox to lower prices drastically.
OCZ releases Vertex 4 – based on Indilinx Everest 2 silicon
OCZ just released the OCZ Vertex 4 as a successor to the OCZ Vertex 3. The internals and performance of the Vertex 4 are very different from the Vertex 3: based on the Indilinx Everest 2 Chipset, the OCZ Vertex 4 is a totally different story: I would call this drive the Octane 2, but OCZ went with Vertex 4, to show the future of the Vertex product line.
The drive shows lots of potential, especially in random 4K writes, where it even outperforms Intel's 520 Cherryville SSD. Anandtech notes "OCZ has finally delivered much of what we've wanted in an SSD: low write amplification and very good random/sequential write performance. It could use a more aggressive real-time garbage collection algorithm but running an OS with TRIM, that's mostly picking nits." Is the Indilinx Everest 2 Chipset finally challenging the throne of the dominating Sandforce Chipset? I would definitely say: yes.
[Update] the drives are already available and are actually quite cheap! The 128GB variant is $139.99, the 256GB version sells for $277.00 and the 512GB edition sells for $639.99.
iPhone 5 coming in June 2012, according to Foxconn leak
Foxconn is supposedly searching for 18.000 workers to support the production of the upcoming iPhone 5, to be released in June 2012. Although Kotaku commented "the interview was conducted from a distance, and it doesn't look like the recruiter knew he was on camera and his reply is hardly rock solid." - it still might be a valid assumption, since Apple released almost all iPhones in summer, with the iPhone 4S being the only exception (release in autumn). Insiders are discussing a possible higher resolution display and "real" LTE support (e.g. Europe) as new features. Since the release of the iPhone 4S was not long ago, design changes of the upcoming iPhone 5 are most likely, to make a stronger distinction between the 4S and the upcoming Version 5 of the smartphone from Apple.
OCZ Vertex 3 vs. Intel 520 SSD Benchmarks on OSX (Hackintosh)
Long story short, the Intel 520 240GB SSD is a bit faster than the OCZ Vertex 3 240GB.
The tool to test read/write speeds: AJA System Test is a free download from AJA. The Software is available for Mac and Windows, the Tests performed were on a 10.7.2 Z68 Chipset Hackintosh System (Intel Chipset).
OCZ Vertex 3, Firmware v2.15 240 GB (SATA 6GBPS)
Intel 520 Cherryville 240 GB SATA6GBPS
Google Maps 8-Bit Version for Nintendo NES
Google presented an awesome new product: Google Maps for 8-bit NES.
i can haz 404, by the amazing roflcats and cat band (lolcatz music video)
Nanofunk has a new 404 theme, thanks to the awesome roflcats and cat band! Enjoy the cats (as featured on any 404 site on nanofunk now). Gladly you didn't come here for nothing. This is the place where you can watch the awesome roflcats and band performing just for you: astrocat, floating cat, drumcat, guitar cat hero, and lots of singing and dancing cats to pleasure your 404 web fail. Thanks and good bye.
Thanks a lot roflcats.net for the awesome contribution!
Adobe Releases Flash Player 11.2 and Air 3.2 – still kernel: IOSurface: buffer allocation size is zero
Adobe released Flash Player version 11.2 and Adobe Air 3.2 but still did not fix the kernel: IOSurface: buffer allocation size is zero issues.
Nanofunk reported on this on Jul 28, 2011 and again on Dec 22, 2011. Furthermore the issue was reported in the Adobe Bug Tracker and reproduced by many other users.
It is 8 months after we reported to the Adobe Forums and there was not even a single response from Adobe yet. I will start to boycott Flash Player from now on (currently removing it from my system). Here is a link to the Uninstall Flash Player Howto. Bye Bye, Adobe.
Fullsize Nikon D800 image samples
Nikonrumors posted Nikon D800 image samples on flickr - and they actually look awesome. The fotos are different takes - from high iso to "normal" shoots, so it should be quite meaningful how the D800 keeps up in everyday work.
The only thing that keeps me from the D800 still is the size of RAW photos: 24 fotos fit on a 4GB card in RAW mode. Still, the level of detail and the overall picture quality is stunning. Hoping to get hands on one myself quite soon.
Nikon D800 available for $1,918.47 (EUR 1445) used – truth or hoax?
Maybe this is a hoax, but it looks like the first second-hand offers for the Nikon D800 appeared already, although lots of people are still waiting to get their preorders delivered.
The question is, why would somebody sell his brand new D800 for $1,918.47? If somebody is ordering it, please report back if everything went smoothly.
Panasonic GH2 beats the crap out of Canon EOS 5D MKIII (MK3)
"Now here we are nearly 4 years down the road from the original 5D Mark II that started it all. What do we have? A 5D Mark III with video quality dated to the tune of nearly 4 years." (eoshd)
I am a big fan of the Panasonic GH2, but since the Canon EOS 5D MKIII and the Nikon D800 were released to the public, I am thinking of switching gear. Currently, there is a fight between the D800 and the 5D3, but the Panasonic GH2 seems to still beat the crap out of Canon. Did Canon finally lose the DSLR wars?
The Panasonic GH2 is a bargain on amazon US:
($899)
($849)
If you are into second-hand gear, you can get your hands on the Panasonic GH2 starting at $400. Go and get one, while they are still cheap ;)
Canon can still turn the wheel around, by releasing a firmware upgrade. Currently, the EOS 5D MK3 has very poor video quality - only the reduced rolling shutter and moire are worth an upgrade - although the price of the Canon is far too high. I totally have to agree with EOSHD on this one.
Commodore Amiga Mini gets launched by Commodore USA – and looks like the early Mac Mini
Commodore USA, the company that was founded in 2010 to revive the Amiga Brand, just unveiled their latest gadget: the AMIGA MINI. It actually looks like an early Mac Mini - with a faster CPU and more plugs, as well as some extras. Configurations start at $345 (Intel i3) up to $2990 for a 600Gb Solid State Drive, 16GB Ram and a Core i7-2700K 3.5Ghz (3.9Ghz Turbo).
The new Amiga comes with Commodore OS Vision pre-installed plus 2 restore discs. Commodore OS Vision is a 64-bit Linux distribution, based on Linux Mint, created for Commodore enthusiasts purchasing Commodore USA hardware, such as Commodore 64, VIC series and the upcoming high-performance line of Amiga computers. These are essentially restore disks for pre-installed Commodore systems. Commodore OS Vision uses the classic GNOME 2 interface and features extensive Compiz/Emerald desktop effects. It includes dozens of games of all genres (FPS, Racing, Retro etc), the Firefox and Chromium web browsers, LibreOffice, Scribus, GIMP, Blender, OpenShot and Cinellera, advanced software development tools and languages, sound editing through Ardour and Audacity, and music composition programs such as the Linux MultiMedia Studio. It has a classic Commodore slant with a selection of applications reminiscent of their classic Amiga counterparts. (information via distrowatch.com)
The new Commodore AMIGA mini case is ultra small and is made of 100% all aluminum housing, finished by sandblasting and anodic oxidation. It also includes a slot load Blu-Ray drive and internal space for two 2.5" hard drives. It measures 7.5 inches square, with a height of only 3 inches. There is no end to its placement possibilities.
further reading:
* Commodore USA: introducing the new AMIGA mini
* hot hardware: Commodore Amiga Mini PC Surfaces: Mighty Powerful SFF Box
* time.com: There’s a New Amiga, and I’m a Trifle Melancholy About It
* cnet: Amiga Mini wants to relive Commodore glory days
computers saved capitalism. according to joseph weizenbaum
Joseph Weizenbaum, German-American author and professor emeritus of computer science at MIT is called one of the grandfathers of artificial intelligence. The documentary Weizenbaum. Rebel at Work shows Weizenbaum talking about computers and globalism. He states that "if you think of the social structures of the world (...) computers came at the right time to prevent a radical change of the world". Computers finally saved capitalism in a moment, when the polulation boom needed a structural change - in some sense, computers prevented a radical and maybe better transformation, according to Weizenbaum.
The film on DVD is highly recommended by nanofunk!
The film spans 8 decades of Joseph Weizenbaum's life. It provides a stage for his humorous narrative depicting a World of Yesterday while reflecting on the dawn of the computer age. It follows 84-year-old Weizenbaum on some of his numerous public lessons, effortlessly entertaining overcrowded lecture halls. (via amazon.com)
Nikon D800 (D800E) vs. 5D MK3 (MKIII): Raw Video, HDMI, Magic Lantern
The war on the DSLR front continues to evolve between the Nikon D800 and the Canon EOS 5D MKIII. The current state of information is as follows:
Canon 5D MKIII
The Canon 5D MKIII performs better in low-light and high ISO. Sadly it has no clean HDMI out, which is a real bummer. The internal codec is at 90Mbps 4:2:0, which is not much. The available video samples look good, although it could be even better with clean HDMI output - but who is to bring clean HDMI to the 5d3? There are two possible ways:
a) Magic Lantern could bring clean HDMI output to the Canon 5D MK3, if it can be hacked, which is not clear as of now. Also, it will take some time, expect at least 6months to see any usable development (if at all).
b) Canon could release a firmware update to provide clean HDMI out. We could try and contact canon to tell them, that we demand clean HDMI out. Of course, it remains totally unclear if they will ever release such an update.
Although, the Canon 5D MK3 seems to have better Video capabilities, clean detail and no moire (or at least almost no moire) - which would not be fixed by HDMI out anyway. If there is the chance to crank up the codec to 180Mbit (with a hack by Vitaly Kiselev or Magic Lantern) we would see a definite winner in the battle.
Nikon D800/D800E
The Nikon D800 performs quite well on paper, but in reality the Canon 5D MK3 performs better in low-light and high ISO. First samples of clean HDMI output and RAW Video (Apple ProRes) with the Nikon D800 are online - and they look great. Keep in mind that the Nikon D800 provides 8bit output (not 10bit), and the first RAW Video results are better than the internal codec Canon 5D MK3 Videos. Bundled with the Atomos Samurai and the Atomos h2s connect the Nikon D800 brings you high resolution 800×480 LCD (with focus peaking and zebras via latest firmware) plus 4:2:2 video. This is clearly the best setup we have as of today, maybe only topped by a D4+Samurai (c.f. mike kobal's results with the d800).
Still, the current discussion is about comparing apples to oranges, at least from watching actual results and comparing them:
Comparing photo/stills performance (via canonrumors forum)
1. At ISO100, the Nikon D800 has noticeably superior images out of the camera, due primarily to greater detail and dynamic range.
2. At ISO6400, the Canon 5DIII has noticeably superior images out of the camera, due primarily to significantly less noise.
bobatkins notes: The bottom line is that neither the D800 nor the EOS 5D MkIII sensor is "better". They are different. The Nikon sensor should have higher resolution which will be desirable for those making very large prints or who need to significantly crop their images. On the other hand the EOS 5D MkIII sensor will produce images with lower noise and higher dynamic range in lower light conditions where the use of higher ISO settings are desirable. For smaller prints at lower ISO settings (which is where most amateur photographers will be working most of the time), the sensor pixel count and noise characteristics won't matter.
Comparing video performace
Fact: Video doesn't need a high resolution sensor, it is all about the crop modes and sensor scaling, as outlined by eoshd, when we just look at the surface of the Nikon D800 vs Canon 5D MK3 debate.
BUT (as discussed on dvinfo) the Nikon D4 could be the real deal, beating both the D800 and the 5D3: It would seem to me that as a micro-budget filmmaker without access to as much lighting as one would like - the fatter pixels of the d4 would provide better low light shooting outside at night, dimly lit night interiors etc. When moving about with only a china ball and a c-stand I think I would want the sensor of the d4 on my side to maximize the lack of additional equipment. So while it seems like the d800 is better suited because of the price tag - my thoughts are that the d4 with one more crop setting than the d800 [fewer lenses], and better low light, and wireless control [small crew] that it is the d4 that will actually be the indie-filmmakers choice.
There is no clear winner to the war, and Canon could still turn around and release a firmware update that provides HDMI out. Further, the actual results of the D4 vs D800 have to be compared to crown the king of DSLR video.
In the meanwhile, it might be also worth to invest in a Canon 5D MKII still, since it is selling quite cheap those days (selling for $2,199.00 new) and can be used with RAW Video (HDMI) output with Magic Lantern Unified soon.
Nikon D800 and D800E user manual available for download
The user manual from the Nikon D800 and D800E is online on nikon usa.
Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Developer Preview 2 released
Apple released a new Developer Preview after recently releasing DP1 to Developers. The change log shows that there are still a lot of unfinished edges in the OS, from Game Center to AirPlay to the Notes app.
Mountain Lion is said to run on the following machines:
Mac (mid 2007 or later)
MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or later)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later), (15-inch, 2.4/2.2 GHz), (17-inch, Late 2007 or later)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)
Mac Mini (Early 2009 or later)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)
Xserve (Early 2009)
Here is the full NDA information of Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Developer Preview 2
(thanks to TheVerge for posting this
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MESSAGE IS UNDER NON-DISCLOSURE
OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 2 Seed Note
OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 2 is prerelease software. Do not use this prerelease software in a commercial operating environment or with important data. You should back up all of your data before installing this software and regularly back up data while using the software. You will not be able to upgrade from the OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview to the final release.
If an installation of OS X Developer Preview 2 fails, try using Disk Utility from a Recovery HD to repair the disk.
Architecture Requirements
The OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview supports the following Macs:
• iMac (Mid 2007 or later)
• MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, Late 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or later)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later), (15-inch, Mid/Late 2007 or later), (17-inch, Late 2007 or later)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)
• Mac Mini (Early 2009 or later)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)
Known Issues
• Installing OS X 10.8 over 10.7.2 or earlier with FileVault turned on may fail
• Upgrades over Lion Server will offer to migrate data again in Setup Assistant even though an in place migration has already succeeded.
• Entering your Apple ID in the Setup Assistant does not sign into iCloud
• Migration does not migrate RADIUS configurations
• Creating an iCloud account using a non-me.com address in the Setup Assistant requires verification before it can be used in Mail, Contacts, and Calendars.
• Some Apple menu items such as Restart may not work when a sandboxed app is in the foreground
• Twitter accounts added in Developer Preview 1 will need to be re-added after installing Developer Preview 2
• The first time an unsigned or unidentified app is launched when "Mac App Store" or "Mac App Store and identified developers" is selected in the Security & Privacy pref pane, the exception mechanism may fail. Subsequent attempts to run the application with an exception will work as expected.
• iTunes no longer syncs Notes
• Notes shared via Messages may not include note content
• After quitting and reopening Messages, the message window is blank. Continuing a conversation will bring the data back.
• TextEdit may hang after enabling Documents & Data in iCloud preferences
• Screen Sharing in Messages does not work
• Screen Sharing sometimes fails when no users are logged in
• Mail's photo browser cannot access the iPhoto library
• VoiceOver cannot access the Notification Center on some machines
• Documents stored in iCloud cannot be renamed in the open panel by setting an insertion point and typing. The document can be renamed only by overwriting the entire name.
• Back to My Mac doesn't work for the first 5 minutes after rebooting
• Find My Mac is not enabled if checked in Setup Assistant iCloud setup
• To enable Find My Mac, turn on Find My Mac in iCloud preferences and then close and reopen the preference panel.
• DVD Player may not launch after inserting a DVD on some systems
• Some Nvidia GPUs limit the resolution on an external HD display to 1280x800
• Some AppleScript applets may not run when Gatekeeper is set to Mac App Store or Mac App Store and identified developers
• Selecting Open PDF from the Print Dialog displays the message "Error while printing"
• Network scanning does not work in Developer Preview 2
• The system may hang after several hours when an external drive is connected
• After entering your redemption code, the Mac App Store may not show download progress on the Purchases tab. Quitting and re-launching the Mac App Store will show download progress as expected.
•
Game Center
• In this seed, Game Center applications may only access the Sandbox environment. In the Sandbox environment:
◦ Game & Friend Recommendations are not supported
◦ Friends can view games in common but not friends' other games
◦ Photos are not supported
◦ Email addresses are not verified during sandbox account creation, allowing multiple test accounts to be created
◦ Out-of-network friend requests are not supported
◦ Game matchmaking versioning restrictions are more relaxed
• If you've never set up a Game Center Sandbox account, you will need to create one. You may continue to use a previously set up Sandbox account. Note that when using Setup Assistant to create a GameCenter account, the account will be created in the Sandbox environment.
• To use Game Center in your game on OS X:
◦ You must include the "com.apple.developer.game-center" entitlement in your Xcode project.
◦ The app must be signed, in order for the entitlement to take effect.
◦ You must install a provisioning profile that enables Game Center for your app.
• Code signing, entitlements, and provisioning profiles are all described in detail in Tools Workflow Guide for Mac.
• Multiplayer gaming with Game Center between iOS and OS X is not available in this seed.
• In the Game Center app, game detail information such as game provider, pricing, etc. is not displayed.
• In the Game Center app, search is not functional
• The local peer-to-peer GameKit API (GKSession, GKPeerPickerController, and related classes) is not supported
• APIs related to in-game UI (GKAchievementPanel, GKLeaderboardPanel, etc) have changed
◦ The new API is not compatible with the previous seed
◦ Games in development must be updated and recompiled
Bug Reporting
This build is being provided to you for testing and development purposes. Should you encounter any problems, please submit a bug report using the online Bug Reporter at <http://bugreporter.apple.com/>. Please make sure to include "10.8 (12A154q)" in the bug title and description. This information will ensure that your bug is processed quickly.
When submitting a bug report, please make sure to include a Summary, Steps to Reproduce, Actual Results, Expected Results, the System Profile Report, and any other relevant information that is necessary to process the report.
IMPORTANT: Engineering requires additional information for crashing bugs, kernel panics, and hangs.
Crashing Bugs: Crash logs are required for crashing bugs. Crash logs can be located in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter and /Library/Logs/CrashReporter
Kernel Panics: Backtraces, which contain vital information for investigating kernel panics, are required for kernel panic issues. Backtraces can be saved to NVRAM on restart/shutdown, then copied to a panic log file on restart. This log file will be located at /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReportsThe
Hangs: When an application is hung, a sample should be provided. This can be done using the Activity Monitor (/Applications/Utilities/). To generate a sample using this utility, click on the hung application's name, then from the View menu select "Sample Process".
For complete instructions on submitting bug reports, please visit the Bug Reporting page at <http://developer.apple.com/bugreporter/>.
Thank you for your support.
Apple World wide Developer Relations
Auto-Submission of Diagnostic and Usage Data
By default, OS X 10.8 Developer Preview builds automatically send anonymous diagnostic and usage data back to Apple. This includes information about crashes, freezes, kernel panics, and information about how you use Apple and third-party software, hardware, and services. This information is used to help Apple improve the quality and performance of its products and services. If necessary, this setting can be disabled in the Privacy tab in the Security & Privacy preference pane.
Legal Notices
The pre-release software identified above is Apple Confidential Information and your use of such software is subject to your Registered Apple Developer Agreement and Mac Developer Program License Agreement. Distributing such pre-release software to anyone other than another Registered Apple Developer who is working for the same entity as you is considered a violation of your agreement with Apple and is damaging to both Apple and those who develop for the Apple platform. We sincerely appreciate your efforts to keep this pre-release software Confidential.
You agree that you will not export or reexport any of the software or Confidential Information received from Apple (a) into (or to a national or resident of) any U.S. embargoed countries (currently, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria) without first obtaining proper authorization from the U.S. Government; or (b) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Person's List or Entity List. You also agree that you will not use said software for any purposes where prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missile, chemical or biological weapons.
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MESSAGE IS UNDER NON-DISCLOSURE)
Nikon D4 16.2 MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) already on eBay
The 16.2 MP full frame DSLR camera Nikon D4 is already available on eBay.
Starting bid is US $6,350.00, let's see for how much it will finally sell.
Canon 5D Mark III (5DMK3) manual online (download inside)
The official Manual for the Canon 5D MKIII has surfaced. (thanks planet5d for hosting the file)
Also downloadable: Canon EOS 5D Mark III Pocket Guide
Mupromo Apple OSX App Bundle: $49 for VMware Fusion, Drive Genius, PDFpen, Phone to Mac and more
mupromo is currently offerin a Software Bundle with 11 applications for Apple Mac OS X at an extreme discounte. VMware Fusion would cost normally 49$ alone, here are 10 other apps included for free. For twittering about the discount promo, Aurora Alarm Clock can be received free of charge.
Included Apps in the Software Bundle
VMware Fusion 4
VMware Fusion 4 is the easiest, fastest and most reliable way to run Windows applications and other operating systems on a Mac without rebooting.
DriveGenius 3
Drive Genius 3 is the industry's leading disk utility and the best way to optimize your drive's performance.
PDFpen 5
PDFPen 5 is a PDF toolkit that lets you add text, images and signatures to PDFs -- and much more.
ForkLift 2.5
ForkLift 2.5 is arguably the most versatile utility ever made for the Mac. Originally conceived as a robust FTP client for file transfers, ForkLift has evolved to the point that it can be used as full-blown Finder replacement.
Typinator 5
boosts your typing productivity by automatically inserting frequently used text, graphics, and more
DesktopShelves 2
will organize your chaotic Desktop in no time
Snapheal
new photo retouching tool that's easy enough for beginners to use
Boom
convenient volume booster and system-wide equalizer that lets you boost the volume of your Mac and your music files
Phone to Mac
Phone to Mac transfers files from your iPhone, iPod or iPad to your Mac with ease.
Star Wars TFU (Game)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed invites you back into the Star Wars universe for another high-energy, intergalactic adventure.
Worms Special Edition
Worms Special Edition is a modern reprise of the classic comic strategy game.
The mupromo bundle sells for $49.99 and is delivered digitally via download. Payment is done via paypal.
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Black Magic Design Cinema Camera with Canon EF of MFT Mount. RAW Video, 13 Stops, available.
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Panasonic GH2 hacked: the perfect entry level video camera system (easy hacking) for indies. MFT Mount.
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