TomasiTECH

Flip Video Ultra HD: Video Jumpy on Mac FIX

So I recently picked up a Flip Video Ultra HD to test it out.  I immediately noticed when trying to dump the video to my MAC that the video was jumpy.  And the audio was out of sync.  Well as you can imagine, my first thought was to pack it back up and return it.  I did some immediate research but found nothing.

Day 2: I found the solution, which I was thinking to begin with but just had no time to test.

Upgrade the Flip Share software to Release 5.0.5 (PC/MAC).

Visit the following link http://www.theflip.com/en-us/App/fvsw/5.x/update/

After installing, it will tell you it is going to update the device software.  I am not sure if this includes a firmware update, but will have to test on another mac at a later date so see if the corrections carry forward.  You can get instructions on how to check firmware by going here: http://www.theflip.com/en-us/app/fvsw/CheckVersion.aspx

NOTE: The issue I encountered was on a Dual G5 Running Leopard.  I have not tried the resolution on this machine.  Video seems to be working perfectly on my MBP running Snow Leopard.

Time Machine Editor

Looking for a little control of Time Machine. Time machine editor is a “FREE” app that lets you change the default one-hour backup interval of Time Machine.
You can change the interval or create a more sophosticated scheduling.

This is useful if you don’t need to backup every hour. This is also especially useful if you manipulate lots of data within one hour as you would spend the whole day backing up.

http://timesoftware.free.fr/timemachineeditor/

Google Voice

What is Google Voice?

In a nutshell, imagine a phone number that can remain a constant in your life. Imagine not having to worry about paying 40-50 bucks every time you change carriers. Imagine having the ability to route all your calls from friends, family and colleagues to different phone numbers at the same time. Change jobs, no problem.

Google voice allows you to give your phone number out and have confidence that no matter what and where you end up, you can be reached.

In an environment where phone service is all eventually going to be VOIP or CELL, and companies like Cablevision, Comcast, Verizon… are all trying to outsell each other, now you don’t have to worry about your number changing so you can save a few bucks.

How does it work? Receiving phone calls…

When a person calls your google phone number, they are automatically forwarded to the number you have chosen. Example: I have mine set to automatically forward to my cell phone. Friend dials my google numberand my Cell rings. Pretty cool. I can have it ring my home number. or even my work number.

Making phone calls…
To make a phone call, you login to google voice “online”, click co your contact list. Select the number your want to dial by clicking it. My Cell phone will ring and then the number I selected will start ringing. Since this is a new service that is still in beta, it is only a matter of time before google releases apps for iPhone and blackeberry, your computer, etc… To make dialing easier. There is already two apps by a third party for the iPhone. 1 free and 1 like 3 bucks. I am personally waiting for google to release one.

How did I get invited?
I signed up weeks, if not months ago, as soon as I heard about the beta that was coming. I finally received my invite this week. Set up my number. Got to choose from an Oakland, Wycoff or Ridgewood, NJ number. So far the service is very interesting. I like the SMS feature. Especially since you have visibility in to past messages sent. You can keep or delete them. Same thing goes for voicemail.

In tests with a colleague of mine the call screening feature is a nice addition to what seems to been a pretty standard set of features.

Call screening will announce the callers name and allow you to accept or reject the call. It can be sent right to voicemail.

You can send anyone to voicemail by default. Let’s say you have someone that is calling too much. You can have them go to voicemail and get a custom message. This is as far as I have gotten in a few short days. I will write more about it soon…JT

To learn more about google voice CLICK HERE >>

Wordpress 2.8.1 Error – Call to undefined function: _deep_replace()

Problem:

When trying to login to the admin section of word press http://www.yoursite.com/wp-admin the following error message appears

Fatal error: Call to undefined function: _deep_replace() in /home/yoursiterooddir/yoursitename.com/wp-includes/pluggable.php on line 884

If you are in fact able to see the login screen and try to login, the above message will appear.  If you go back to the wp-admin page directly the dashboard appears.  If you try to execute any changes, the message will appear again.

Analysis:

I compared the wp-includes/pluggable.php code on or around line 884 to the code in version 2.8.0.  See differences below:

version 2.8.1 of wp-includes/pluggable.php

// remove %0d and %0a from location
$strip = array('%0d', '%0a', '%0D', '%0A');
$location = _deep_replace($strip, $location);
return $location;
}
endif;

version 2.8.0 of wp-includes/pluggable.php

// remove %0d and %0a from location
$strip = array('%0d', '%0a');
$found = true;
while($found) {
$found = false;
foreach( (array) $strip as $val ) {
while(strpos($location, $val) !== false) {
$found = true;
$location = str_replace($val, '', $location);
}
}
}
return $location;
}
endif;

Solution:

Comment out 2.8.1 code, then copy and paste 2.8.0 code below it.  You can also just copy and past code provided below.  Upload to your site and all should be ok until WP releases an update to correct this issue.

// remove %0d and %0a from location
 /*$strip = array('%0d', '%0a', '%0D', '%0A');
 $location = _deep_replace($strip, $location);
 return $location;
}
endif;*/

// JSTomasi :: CODE from previous version 2.8.0
// remove %0d and %0a from location
 $strip = array('%0d', '%0a');
 $found = true;
 while($found) {
 $found = false;
 foreach( (array) $strip as $val ) {
 while(strpos($location, $val) !== false) {
 $found = true;
 $location = str_replace($val, '', $location);
 }
 }
 }
 return $location;
 }
 endif;

Image Naming – DAM

In this installment I will guide you through naming your image files.  First for the convention, I prefer the following for my image files.  Please remember this is my recommendation.

My convention is as follows:

YYYYMMDD_INITIALS_MASTERFILENAME.EXT

20090604_JST_0234.jpg

I use a MAC and use the Aperture.  Aperture is a pro application that assists me with DAM.  But that’s not the whole story.  I Shoot with a Nikon D700, which allows me the name my MASTER Image files with INITIALS_SEQUENTIALNUMBER.  When I import images into APERTURE I have a custom setting that looks into the EXIF information and appends to the beginning of the file YYYYMMDD_

This gives the end result of: 20090604_JST_0234.jpg

You may be asking yourself, who cares?  What is the benefit of this?  Well, first off, computer sort numbers from left to right so if you put the month first, you would end up with all the 06’s for every year next to each other.  This is frustrating.  The other issue is if you lead with the image sequential number, you will end up with all the 0234’s next to each other.  I think you get the point.

If you have more than one shooter at an event it is also beneficial because you always know who took the pictures.  Shooting with two people and assuring the images are displayed in sequence is a different challenge.  Before you begin shooting the event you have to sync the camera’s internal clocks.  After you dump the images, you have to sort by date/time.

Look for steps to set up this naming convention in APERTURE and other image editing applications in future posts.

Digital Asset Management (DAM)

It’s Saturday and you just purchased that awesome digital camera and bought the one with the most mega-pixels.  You attended a family function and shot a few hundred pics.   You go home after the event and dump the pictures onto your computer, clear your memory card and go to bed.  The next morning, you get up and go to your computer and try to look at your pictures.  But to your dismay the hard drive has crashed.  You pick up your camera and try to look at the pictures and remember you deleted them.

We have all experienced or will experience this at some point in our digital lives.  In the not so, old days, we used to shoot on film.  You would take it to the store or develop it yourselves.  You took care to make sure the film canister was secured and kept in a cool dry place.  When you picked up your prints, you also received negatives.  These where your masters.  If you ever needed to re-print a picture, you could always dig up the negative and get a re-print.

Digital photography is no different.  Instead of a file we use memory.  Instead of developing, we use computer software.  Instead of a negative (or master) we use a .jpg, tiff, or RAW file.  This is your master.  If you loose it.  It is gone…. FOREVER!   So how do you guard against loss of your family memories.  Digital Asset Management or DAM.

There are many different approaches to DAM.  I will not bore you with all of them.  If you would like a literal definition  and more info on DAM click here. Nor will I dive into every program out there that can do it for you.  I am going to simply walk you through some simple steps anyone can take to safeguard pictures, video or any other data you might deem important.

Here are some simple steps to a manual DAM process:

1. Import pictures from camera into the computer
2. DO NOT ERASE card yet
3. Go through images using your favorite photo application and remove/delete any images that are not well exposed or just plain out of focus.
4. Backup the remaining images to a CD, DVD or external hard drive.
5. Verify the data (make sure all images are there)
6. Label the media with the date and title.  I always write YYYYMMDD, this way it is easy to sort through media weather on my computer or in a stack of disks. In the case of an external hard drive, label the folder using this method.  It is also a good idea to have 2 drives.  One on-site and one off-site.  Swap them out periodically.
7. Place media in a protective sleeve.
8. Place media in a cool/dry place (just like you used to with negatives).  I personally like to save 2 copies and give one to a family member or friend.  This way I am covered if there is a major disaster or loss.
9. Now you can delete the images off the card.  It is always a good idea to leave the images intact, until your are completely sure you have saved the information.
10. Rest assured, you have done your best to protect your data.

In future posts, I will go more in depth into on-line backup, some applications I like to uses, and how I use them.

JT

NEXT INSTALLMENT WIL BE ON DAM – FILE NAMING

Photoshop.com

If you cannot afford the full version of Photoshop and have not broken down yet to purchase Elements, Photoshop.com is for you.  Signing up allows you the ability to store up to 2Gb of pictures using the free service.  More disk space is available of course at a monthly charge.  No unlimited plan is available yet.

Photoshop.com offers a watered down version of elements, allowing for simple adjustments and cropping.

One of the coolest features is the ability to connect to your facebook, flickr, photobucket, and picasa assets.  I think this feature has the most potential for extensibility.  Although it does not persistently store your login information for immediate display of the assets, it is really cool.