Canon HG10 Sample Footage

Here is a link to sample footage I took with my HG10. It is outdoor footage at a swimming pool.

Movie link
This file is about 210 MB

UPDATE 12/10/07 Added more footage here

The sizes of the files are amazing! When I exported a 2 minute clip in Quicktime HD format it was 20 GB.

The sharebig website said that the file will go away if it is not downloaded for seven days, if the link does not work leave feedback and I will put it on the site again.

I will post some low light footage soon.

-Matt

Great wget tips

Here is a blog that has some great tips foe people what use wget.

http://tipotheday.com/2007/10/11/wget-some-quick-tips/#comment-643

The wget site says that there is a Windows version, but I couldn't find it. I will keep looking.

-Matt

Installing Webmin on CentOs 5

Update - 12/12/2007 - New version of Webmin

I just installed the latest version of webmin on my CentOs 5 server. I have not used webmin in about 2 years, I can not believe how much the interface has improved. Webmin is a GUI control panel that lets you administer a Linux box.

Here is all you need to do to get it installed:

This will install some dependencies.
yum -y install perl-Net-SSLeay

Install the system:
cd /usr/src
wget http://superb-east.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/webadmin/webmin-1.380-1.noarch.rpm
rpm -i webmin-1.380-1.noarch.rpm

Once you log in, you will see screens like this, click the image for a larger view:

Congrats to the Webmin team for keeping the product fresh!

-Matt

Updated game of Life

You might be familiar with the game of Life, no not the board game, this game of life.

Here is a really cool update to the game that uses Flash & parasites.

http://www.footloosemoose.com/michael_wp/2007/04/12/experiment-parasites/

-Matt

Windows Telephony Podcast

I just started podcast covering Windows Telephony.

The podcast will cover:

Server Technologies - OCS 2007, Exchange 2007
Middleware - TDM Gateways, Realtime codec
End points - Tanjay phones, Video products, LG/Nortel
End user experiences

To subscribe in iTunes you can put this link in your browser:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=267041700

Here is the direct RSS feed:
http://ocspodcast.libsyn.com/rss

I am looking for people with experience with one or more of the end points that I cann interview for the podcast. Please let me know if you are interested. You can reply to this post or send an email to windowstelephony@gmail.com





-Matt

Burn CDs with iTunes on Vista 64 Bit

Here is a great tip to let you burn CD's using iTunes on Vista 64 Bit.

iTunes uses Gear Software's CD Driver but only includes and x86 driver. Download and install the x64 driver from Gear's website @ http://www.gearsoftware.com/support/drivers.cfm

The first time you use iTunes check that your cd-burner is detected in iTunes advanced/burning tab. I've found that if you don't open that tab before the first time you try to burn iTunes will crash.

This works great.

-Matt

My top 10 fav songs of all-time

Of course ask me tomorrow & it will be different!

Van Halen - Jump

U2 - One


Eric Clapton - Layla


U2 - With or without you


David Bowie - Heroes


Tears for Fears - Everybody wants to rule the world


Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence


New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle

U2 - Bad

Want to watch Star Wars on your computer?

Run this command from the command line or run box & enjoy!

telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl

If you don't have the telnet program or don't know what it is, you would not enjoy it!

-Matt

Create PDF Files in Vista 64 bit

I just installed CutePDF from this site http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp and it is working great.

They have a pay version for $50, but the free version is all I need.

I give it two thumbs up!

-Matt

Saba Island Airport - Short Runway

What a short runway! Click on the picture for the full size

NFL Picks week 7

Pittsburgh - 3½ vs Denver
Pittsburgh should be well rested and be able to deal with the altitude
Denver has not been able to put it together and have lost three in a row
Pittsburgh should be able to keep them losing

Dallas - 9½ vs Minnesota
Dallas will lick their wounds and trounce Minnesota
Dallas will put it away in the first half and keep it at 14 points

-Matt

Apple stock on the rise, but why?

There was a blog post that stated that if you invested 50K in Apple stock five years ago, it would be worth 1.2M today. The blog states it went from $7 to $167 in that time. As I write this post, Apple stock is trading at over $172.

The key thing about five years ago, October 2002, is that it was the bottom of the bubble. Everyone that was going to survive started their way back up. They key question is why has apple stock gone through the roof when other hardware companies have been so stagnant over the same period? Here are some examples:

Apple:
Five Years ago - $7.17
Today - 172.75
Increase - 2300%

Microsoft:
Five years ago -$26.57
Today - $31.08
Increase of 17%

IBM
Five years ago - $74.25
Today - $115.78
Increase of 55%

Oracle
Five years ago - $9.49
Today - $21.49
Increase of 126%

Sun Microsystems
Five years ago - $2.74
Today - $5.99
Increase of 118%

Amazon
Five years ago - $19.04
Today - $90.55
Increase of 375%

Berkshire Hathaway
Five years ago - $74,000
Today - $130,000
Increase of 75%

Hewlett Packard:
October 18, 2002 - $13.09
October 17, 2007 - $52.54
Increase of 337.1%

Nasdaq Composite - 130%
Dow Jones - 77%
S&P 500 - 75%

Note that they all went up, but nothing compared to Apple.

Here are the possible reasons why the stock has risen so high, so fast. I also rate each item on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being high influence.

OS X

Version 10.0, Cheetah, was released March 2001. Most people agree that it was buggy and not close to being feature complete. There were also a lot of hardware compatibility issues with older Macs. This was an upgrade skip for most Mac users. It was followed quickly by 10.1 the same year. Version 10.3, Panther, was release in October 2003 and was the first version of OSX to be polished and stable. It also greatly increased performance. With version 10.5, Leopard, set to be released October 26, Apple has upped the ante for both Windows and Linux.
Innovation - 6
Halo Effect Creation - 3


iMac G4

The new iMac was released January 2002. It came standard with a flat screen monitor and tray loading DVD/CD. It was well liked by Apple users and was surprisingly affordable. To Windows users it looked like a toy and did not convince many businesses that is was a good machine for business use.
Innovation - 7
Halo Effect Creation - 1


iMac G5/Intel

The iMac G5 was released August 2004. It was the first machine that businesses seriously considered to put on users' desks. With the new Intel chips and Parallels it is a serious contender to Dell and HP. I expect to see more and more iMac's on business users' desk. They will run OSX and use Parallels for the Windows apps they can not get away from
Innovation - 3
Halo Effect Creation - 8


iPod/iTunes

When it was released October 2001 it was met with little fanfare. A lot of people wondered why Apple Computer was releasing a music player. There were lot of other MP3 players on the market and there was no reason to think that Apple would dominate market. A lot of people don't realize that iTunes was released January 2001, 10 months before the iPod. iTunes is still the easiest way to purchase, manage, and store digital files. From smart playlists to coverflow iTunes is a huge reason for the iPods success. I would bet that iTunes was the first piece of Apple software that many Windows users put on their computer. It let them indulge their Apple Curious fantasies in a way they would not be laughed at by their Windows cohorts. Not enough can be said about the iPod/iTunes combination; there has not been a better marriage for hardware/software since Atari 2600 & its joy stick.
Innovation - 8
Halo Effect Creation - 10

iPhone

The iPhone just had a huge announcement in that by February Apple will release a 3rd party application development kit. Without the kit, I consider the iPhone a second rate device. It has a cute interface, but unlike the iPod, more needs to be added to it so it can meet the demands of everyone. I doubt that Apple will meet its goal of 10million iPhones sold in one year. The first sign of their problems was the huge price cut. The iPhone could become the Newton.
Innovation - 9
Halo Effect Creation - 2

As hard as it is for me to believe, I think the reason for Apple's tremendous success is the iPod. It forced them to change their name from Apple Computer to Apple. Over $30,000,000,000 have been spent on iPods & more have been spent on iTunes Store music and accessories. The white iPod earphones have defined a generation, 100 years from know, after GenX there will be the iPod Gen.

-Matt

Unboxing of a Canon HG10 High Definition camera

I ordered a Canon HG10, it is High Definition , Hard Disk Drive based cam corder on Thursday. I ordered it from Dell & paid full list, I found it a little cheaper around the net but the sites looked a bit sketchy. The ordering process was easy & it shipped the next day. I received the cam corder today and here is what I found:

Click on the image for a larger picture

I could not believe the horrible packing, the camera was sliding around like a hockey puck.

This paper was all that was in the box beside the camera, this is an $1,100 camera

Here is the box with the features


When you open the box, all the docs & software is on top


Once you lift the top layer, the camera is on the left and the cables on the right


Going top to bottom, left to right
Battery cover, camera battery, remote battery, AC Adapter
Component video cable, Composite/Sound Cable, USB Cable, AC Power Cord


Top of Camera


Right side of camera


Back of camera (without battery)


Left/Top of camera


Front/Right of camera, Mini HDMI, Headphones, Component Out



Bottom of camera


Size of camera vs a 2nd Gen iPod flash


Size of camera vs a Palm 755p

Once I use the camera a bit I will post a review and post some sample footage.

-Matt

Time Warner's AOL Internet Division to Cut 2,000 Jobs

"The latest cuts will pare AOL's staff to 8,000, down from about 18,000 employees in 2001, when the company bought New-York based Time Warner for $124 billion."

My first internet access was with Compuserve. I was getting restaurant reviews trying to save a few bucks, then I got an access bill for $40. I remember it being pay per minute.

I switched to AOL when they added the "all you can eat" plans.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen, I still can not believe that AOL was able to purchase Time Warner, I guess it made sense at the time.

-Matt

NFL Picks Week 6 - 1-0-1

Chargers -9.5 - Win
Chargers won 28-14, I was afraid that they would sit on the ball when they were ahead 21-14, but then LT ripped of a 41 yard run to seal the win.

Redskins +3 - Tie
They gave this game to the Packers, between the fumbles and dropped balls. They should have won by 17+ points. I really like Jason Cambell. Next year Joe Gibbs should have the running game geared up.

Season 1-2-1

-Matt

What is the black stuff is under football player's eyes?

Eye black is a grease applied under the eyes to reduce glare. It is often used by baseball and American football players, where sunlight or stadium lights can impair vision of an airborne ball. Traditional grease consists of beeswax, paraffin, and carbon. Patented antiglare stickers that emulate the grease are also manufactured, sometimes with a sports team logo printed on. According to Paul Lukas of ESPN.com, the earliest known instance of a player wearing eye black is Washington Redskins fullback Andy Farkas, who apparently came up with the idea on his own in 1942. He also goes on to say that the original eye black was made from burned cork ashes.

A 2003 study by Brian DeBroff and Patricia Pahk tested whether black eye grease actually had anti-glare properties. The subjects of the study were divided into three groups: wearers of eye black, wearers of antiglare stickers, and wearers of petroleum jelly. The subjects' vision was tested using an eye chart while being exposed to natural sunlight. The study concluded that eye black reduced glare of the sun and improved contrast sensitivity, whereas commercial antiglare stickers and petroleum jelly (the control substance) were found to be ineffective. A further study which set to improve DeBroff's methodology also found eye black to reduce glare from the sun, but less so in blue-eyed individuals and males.

From Wikipedia

-Matt

NFL Picks - Week 6

Washington +3 over Green Bay
Green Bay has been playing much better than they are
They are getting beat up and all the young talent is breaking down
Joe Gibbs will have the skins ready

Chargers -9.5 over Raiders
Despite Norv Turner, the Chargers are getting the offense going
Antonio Gates and LT will light it up against the horrible Oakland defense

-Matt

Flying Car Becoming a Reality

Terrafugia, Inc - http://www.terrafugia.com/ - is touting that they will be delivering a flying car in 2009. You will need a pilot's license to fly it, it will be certified as a light-sport airplane.

Imagine being able to drive to the airport, do a quick conversion on your vehicle, take off in it, and convert back to a car when you land on the other side.

It can only carry 550 Lbs, if you top off the tank, you can have 430 Lbs for people and luggage.

Looks like fun to me!


Click on the image for an expanded view

-Matt

Just pimped my rig

My PC has been lagging of late, it was about 20 months old and showing its age.

I kept my:
Case - Nice & big
Optical Drives - DL DVD Burner & DVD Player
Hard Drives - Three SATA drives

After looking around here is what I bought:
Intel Core2 Quad Core - Q6600 2.4 GHz

• I got the CPU for $280, five months ago it cost over $900
• So far it is behaving very well, I wanted multi-core because my old processor, a single core Athlon 64, would bog down when I would try to do some heavy multi-tasking
• It seems like the stock cooling fan is good enough, the idle temp is about 25C
• I can be watching a large MPEG4 movie, work on a Word document while iTunes is downloading at the same time & all windows are very responsive.

4 GB of RAM:

• Nothing special about the RAM, just wanted a lot!
• The worst thing about that much RAM is I had to use Vista 64bit Professional.

ATI Raeon HD 2600 Pro:

• This is an PCI-Ex16 video card
• There are two DVI-D ports
• There is this trick feature that lets you convert the DVI -> HDMI. Somehow they use the extra pins to get sound out of the DVI port. As you know, HDMI includes sound & DVI doesn't
• I am running the video at 1920 x 1200, I love all the screen real estate
• I might not need a sceond monitor, I can easily have two documents side by side

Acer AL2416W:

• This is a no-frills 24 inch monitor
• There are no USB ports, speakers, etc.
• There is no landscape or height adjustment, just tilt
  
• It is just a great montior, if I get a second montior I will get this same monitor

NVIDIA NFORCE 650i Motherboard:

• Very easy to install
• Lots of USB and SATA ports
• The CD that came with the Motherboard had Vista 64 Bit Drivers....lets you get on-line to get the latest drivers
• No Firewire port

500 Watt Power Supply:

• I forgot the brand, but the power supply rated very well

The total for my upgrade was about $1,100 & worth every penny. I am set up for the next 3 years!

-Matt

NFL Picks - 0-2 Week 5

I can't stand the Patriots. They are ahead by 10 points with less than two minutes remaining and they drive down the field. Their coach said they 'left a lot of points on the field', indicating they needed all the time running plays. If I was coaching, I would be more worried about getting someone hurt, with a game in hand, than getting all the reps. It turns out the Browns stopped them from scoring...I thought I was golden, but the Browns throw a pick returned for a touchdown. That was a killer. What can you expect from the Pats, a bunch of cheaters, they probably new what play was going to be called because they tapped into the Browns system...and yes, I am a Miami Dolphins fan.

I don't know what happened to Dallas. I don't think they looked passed Buffalo, Romo just threw a bunch of bad passes. The second INT for a touchdown was bad luck, the guy was at the right place at the right time.

Oh well, lick my wounds, sell some blood, get my bankroll back up.

-Matt

My NFL picks for Week 5

Cleveland +16.5 vs New England
The Pats have won by 22, 22, 31, & 21.
The Browns have scored 51, 24, & 27 since Derek Anderson has started.
The Pats will win, but the Browns should score enough to cover.

Dallas -10 vs Buffalo
The Redskins should beat the Lions and move to 3-1
If Dallas loses, they would fall to 4-1, they will make sure they don't give Buffalo any hope
The weather is supposed to be good, T.O. & Romo should hook up a few times.

-Matt

Need a cheap new cellular phone?

My wife had gotten her cellular phone wet and it would not work once we dried it out. She made the mistake of turning it on while it was still wet. If you get any electronics wet, you should always wait until it is dry before trying to power it on.

I went to the cellular phone store (company purposely omitted) and the cheapest phone they could sell me was over $130. The $130 bought you one of the phones you get for free when you sign up with a new plan. She had about 18 months left on her current contract so we would have to pay the full price for any phone we bought.

I thought about buying a phone on eBay, but you never know what you are going to get. "New" & "Un-opened" don't always mean what I think they mean.

I then went to Wal-Mart and bought one of their pre-paid phones for $25; it was the same exact phone the cellular company wanted $130 for. The sales guy asked me if I needed a pre-paid SIM card & I told him "no".

Took the phone home, popped in my wife's SIM card and it came right up. I read the agreement that came with the phone & I don't think it violated the terms of using the phone....recognize that I am not an attorney!

Wal-Mart had all different kinds of phones, from basic phones to high end ones. The phones are clearly marked as to what service they belong to. I would imagine you can use this trick with any service that uses a SIM card.

Hope this saves you some money!

-Matt