Friday, May 18, 2007

Universal Search at the Googleplex

So Google launches Universal Search
And Yahoo yawns, already claims it’s done.
Yahoo and Ask.com have that perch
And Google certainly hasn’t won.

It will be interesting to observe
If adding more to Google’s simplicity
Of search results will throw a curve
To users who expect the nitty-gritty.

Bob Cringley suspects a sinister plot
Behind this “brand new” search engine feature:
Luring Yahoo and Microsoft to rot
In merger of two clumsy creatures.

The web is certainly not changed by this,
But we’ll soon tell whether this is hit or miss.

Google launches Universal Search
Risk is for Losers

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Apollo's my Name, the Desktop's my Game...

In quarter four of 2007
Adobe’s new Apollo will be set;
Released so web makers can leaven
The desktop with apps that access the Net.

Relying on familiar coding tools
Flash and Flex and Ajax and Javascript
Designers and coders can bend the rules
And give programs greater relationship.

Apollo-based apps could read in the songs
An iTunes user listens to daily
Suggesting one out of the teeming throngs
Of ditties your web service thinks fit me.

The player is small, easy to adapt;
Adobe hopes the Web will be enrapt.

Understanding Apollo

Sorry for the lapse. Shouldn't happen again...

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

If Photoshop CS3 Runs Like a Dog

A set of technical notes has appeared
On the Adobe website recently,
Two sets of Photoshop CS3 geared
Guides help improve speed on Mac and PC.

On either platform scratch disk is a must
And allocating more RAM always helps.
Reducing history states and cache levels just
Might be enough to quiet user yelps.

Additional performance is achieved
By stopping background running processes.
Make sure you rightly installed RAM interleaved
And defrag when disk writes create messes.

There are a number of things for CS3
To help your workstation run more sprightly.

Optimize performance of Photoshop CS3 on Windows XP and Vista

Optimize performance in Photoshop CS3 on Mac OS

Monday, May 7, 2007

An intraframe by any other name

Encoding videos can be quite a chore
But start by knowing out of intraframe
And interframe which one encodes far more
by throwing pixels out which look the same.

Codecs like 264, MPEG 4 and 2
Use even sized block or matrices to check
For areas of motion to not renew;
Small flickers of noise can result in wreck.

Codecs like MJPEG look at frames whole
And only apply the magic therein.
It’s often faster at the editor’s console
But file size explodes in your project bin.

Towards the perfect codec the engineers will strive
But for now we still choose for broadcast or archive.

Compression for Great Digital Video

Ben Waggoner's Canopus 2 Video Tutorial

Final Cut Studio 2 is coming to you

In recent news from Apple, Inc.
The launch of Final Cut Studio 2.
If you find your clip’s hue pink
Then Color (Final Touch) is perfect for you.

ProRes 422 is a codec new.
It offers HD res at SD size
Combine with open format timeline, too
New muscle for pro post workflow the prize.

To Motion 3: 3D capability.
Compressor 3 extends encoding more.
DVD Studio Pro still does yeoman duty
Even though it's still stuck at version 4.

With Final Cut Studio 2 Apple appears
To have a stellar A/V solution for years.

Apple Final Cut Studio 2 (Mac)

Apple Final Cut Studio 2 Upgrade from Final Cut Studio (Mac)

Apple Final Cut Studio 2 Upgrade from Final Cut Pro (Mac)

Sunday, May 6, 2007

The Popinjay MBA

A number of pundits have noticed in blogs
The rising issue of Web 2.0
And how its ethics leave many agog;
Some wonder when society has enow.

A number of promising MBAs
Were caught up in scandal on final exams.
Turns out they copied each other for days;
A myriad of schools are catching these scams.

There’s something to say about our obsession
With marketing and polish over substance.
A parley that has always caused tension
Between the poles of hard work and chance.

It may go too far to blame open source,
But only time will judge this future course.

The Business Ethics of Web 2.0: Does Collaboration and Open Source Blur The Line of What It Means To Cheat?

Saturday, May 5, 2007

AMD's Once and Future Bling

A recent leak of an AMD document
Reveals a number of new CPUs
Designed to give chip fans merriment
And hopefully give big Intel the blues.

In quarter three of this current year,
The Phenom FX monsters appear.
2.6 Ghz is the high level gear,
While Hypertransport 3 dispatches here.

For memory, DDR2 will first debut
And later DDR3 will unfold
In mid-2008 on CPU
With names ‘Agena’ and ‘Kuma’ we’re told

With recent gains Intel has made with Core
AMD had best make sure these perform.

AMD Phenom X2, X4, FX processor specs leak

A Villareview of Professional Photoshop, Fifth Edition

In the fifth edition of Professional Photoshop
Dan Margulis’s guide to color correction
Dan breaks it all down to Curves by the numbers.

Every file has ten color channels;
You learn how to read RGB, CMYK, and LAB.
The world of correction seems ever expanding.

Through myriad exercises you learn to process
All number of casts, masks, and channel blends.
Dan breaks it all down to Curves by the numbers.

The latest edition devotes a good share of pages
From issues of printing to developments in RAW.
The world of correction seems ever expanding.

The latest edition is still a must read.
Though the world of correction seems ever expanding
Dan breaks it all down to Curves by the numbers.

Professional Photoshop, Fifth Edition

Friday, May 4, 2007

The Frames Art Jumbo

Because of recent tweaks to 802
Smart switches can make use of jumbo frames.
A common setting is 9000 MTU,
A larger amount of data its fame.

A crucial key to maximum throughput
Is high RPM and RAID 0 or 5:
The ganging of hard drives being the root
From which great transfer can strive.

The underlying protocol begs consideration,
The OSI model is certainly key.
AFP over TCP could be a frustration
And don’t mix up level 7 and 3.

On smaller networks with minimal traffic
The use of jumbo frames may not be politic.

Wikipedia on Jumbo Frames

An LED monitor by any other name...

In issues of important color work
A new technology has emerged.
The moniker is not a language quirk,
An LED monitor is the tech I urge.

With many color temperatures
It’s often hard to properly view
A series of images you want to assure
Will print or display acceptable to you.

LEDs are still somewhat pricey
A new technology that hasn’t caught on;
It’s likely to be a prophecy dicey
To say that Macbooks will offer this add-on.

So figure it will be late 2007
Before our Apple offers displays from heaven.

LED-backlit displays: What you need to know

Ode to the Canon HV20

Discussion is rife within the realm of HD
Concerning a camera that Canon fashioned.
The model number in mind is HV20;
Debate upon this little wonder is impassioned.

In one camp stands those who debate
The merits of MPEG-2 long GOP
In the workflow where they create
Video spots for broadcast TV.

Some others see merit in a small camera
That acts as a backup or second.
For documentary a useful chimera
If only one could find some way to fund.

In a rapidly shifting broadcast landscape
It’s likely that price and demand will arbitrate.

24P under $1000 via ProLost

Internet2 Catches Fire

Redundancy is very key to IPV,
Especially for IPV v 4.
Not so much the same sort of worry
For IPV v 6 since we don’t fear atomic war.

The high speed network that was built
To transfer data from Boston to New York
Was damaged from searing heat that wilts
And has been taken down for repair work.

A cigarette the source of dismay,
A homeless man flicks ashes on a bed
He made of discarded mattresses to lay
Beneath a railway down which trains sped.

The system will be down for 48 hours
So Internet2 is bereft of its powers.

Cigarette Fire Takes Out Internet2