I spent a lot of effort finding the best cross platform combination of password tools. With the advent of Dropbox, we now have a three platform way. KeePass for windows. KeePassX for mac. And MiniKeePass for iOS.
The MiniKeePass App can connect via Dropbox App to KeePass encrypted database stored in a free Dropbox account. So if you add drop box tools to your other OSs, all 3 platforms stay up to date on the latest group of Web Links, Passwords, and comments.
I found a great site of open licensed fonts. http://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/
Font elements are also saved on the site, but not in the file format for my favorite editor: http://fontforge.org/.
When I was a preteen, I inherited on obsolete manual typewriter when my mother upgraded to a small portable electric. Later, I got an computer and was shocked to find the caps lock didn’t disengage when hitting the Shift key. The manufacturer choose to follow the IBM PC idiocy. Of course I would install a routine which would fix the problem, but over the years and newer computers, some place in a forgotten past, I gave up the fight. I had to be ready to use the computer at hand and a bad standard won.
There are two bad standards in North American television: interlacing and 29.97 frame rate. I was around when we were planning digital transmission, and was just buoyant for the one good change (square pixels in HD). Although Sony was challenging that refinement with 1440 non-square pixels for 1920, we one that battle.
Talking to a colleague, I determined the worst television guideline is the weird frame rate.
Now might be the time to change that. Not to 30 Frames per Second, but 72 progressive FPS (Frames Per Second); or 3 times the film’s rate of 24 FPS. Film projects each of the 24 frames twice.
The main problem interlacing and the slow frame is the lack of temporal resolution. This messes up rapid camera pans, and rapid motions. Some of the new action movies, make fight scenes look like dancing under a strobe light.
I would rather watch my favorite sport, NFL football, on 720p rather than 1080i, but 60 FPS isn’t there. I’m not a big gamer, but the 70 FPS is a noticeable improvement. So, let’s pick a world-wide standard, based on another world-wide gauge the frame rate of motion pictures.
I took the photo above in a fancy Buenos Aires hotel room, while reading “The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google” by Nicholas Carr.
I do recommend the book, but I think he missed one great observation. While appliance voltage and plugs are non-standard world wide: the wired ethernet is standard. On the far right is 220, and in the middle is 110, the left is the RJ45 running the standard of between 0 and 2.5 volts depending on speeds. (100 Base-TX uses +/-1 and 0 volts.)
Upon further reflection it isn’t strange that Ethernet is a world standard. The unfamiliar 220 volts and connectors of Argentina ends at the country’s border, where the Ethernet will connect me with friends in Atlanta 5013 miles or 8067 km away.
I put off purchasing the IPad for years, because when I tried the first version of the iPad years ago; I couldn’t type on hard glass. I bought a MacBook Air instead.
I finally broke down; then I found the Zagg wireless keyboard, the version not built in to a cover. To dictate you need to bring up the on-screen keyboard with the microphone button, The keyboard comes with a button just to do this.
The keyboard button wasn’t working consistently. (In the photo it is fourth from left on top row.) I had to play around with the technology and I found out that it’s how the Bluetooth wireless was connected to the device.
You have to start a Bluetooth on the iPad first then turn on the keyboard.
This procedure wasn’t intuitive or written up on the web.
I believe that 99% of the people would think that it is a malfunction of either the iPad or the keyboard.
60 minutes had a story on “Bill Gates 2.0” and offered an additional feature on the “60 minutes overtime” web site. Normally, I don’t surf during broadcasts; but I had my new iPad next to my chair.
Every attempt I made to go to this web page was redirected to download “CBS News App” for iPad. I changed from my Google Chrome to the Safari (built in) but still couldn’t get past this redirection. I even located the URL of the page from searching and was redirected.
The REALLY sad part is the link to download the App was broken or the App was removed from the store. Even though I didn’t want to collect another App to my remove from all devices zone, because: I want “all the web” not just your little corner; I was briefly willing to download the App to read or view this extra content.
I didn’t travel this week and experienced two firsts in books and documents.
I downloaded and google drive application this week and installed on my Macs and PCs this week. I also purchased an iPhone app to edit google docs. I now have gdocs editing on my Macs, PCs, and smart phone. I dictated notes for this blog posts from my phone, a capability which should come to my OSX machine with the soon to be released Mountain Lion. I don’t think the 4-way Apple/Google/MS/Amazon battle is about cloud storage, but the cost of MS Word or Apple Pages, and the ability to run those programs everywhere. Free Google Docs might change this technology war.
The second Publishing event for me was turning on my Kindle and finding the new Kill Decision [Daniel Suarez] book there. I had pre-ordered the book. I never rushed to a bookstore for the latest anything. Until this week, books always seemed dated to me; a paperback purchaser.
I am often amazed by the thermal knowledge of chief engineers at broadcast stations, they know BTU ratings of every major unit AC unit.
This knowledge is a reflection of the energy waste yesterday and today. Heavy air conditioners move BTUs of heat created by expensive custom equipment moving bits mostly representing silent black or audio tone over test patterns. Repeated patterns of uncompress bits are used because of the custom nature of old broadcast equipment, to which these chief engineers add duplicates for redundancy.
This week I have been traveling, working in client facilities, sometimes uncomfortably chilled, because thermal balance of this waste heat is still a bane of broadcasters. As LEDs replace picture tubes and overhead mini spots, will there be a revolution in smart thermal engineering?
Andrew Lochbaum's Blog 