Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Oldest camera up for Auction
From BornRich.org
"Before the famous catchword “say cheese” was coined, a Giroux “Daguerreotype” – the world’s first commercially-produced camera was invented. The 170 years old camera (previously undocumented) remained in private ownership in northern Germany for generations and goes up for auction this May at WestLicht Auctions in Vienna. Believed to be the world’s oldest and most expensive camera, the wooden sliding-box camera was made in Paris in September 1830 by Alphonse Giroux. The camera signed by Jacques Mande Daguerre verifies the device’s authenticity and is accompanied by a manual written in German that goes along with the camera."
http://www.bornrich.org/entry/the-world-s-oldest-and-most-expensive-camera-is-up-for-the-grabs/
"Before the famous catchword “say cheese” was coined, a Giroux “Daguerreotype” – the world’s first commercially-produced camera was invented. The 170 years old camera (previously undocumented) remained in private ownership in northern Germany for generations and goes up for auction this May at WestLicht Auctions in Vienna. Believed to be the world’s oldest and most expensive camera, the wooden sliding-box camera was made in Paris in September 1830 by Alphonse Giroux. The camera signed by Jacques Mande Daguerre verifies the device’s authenticity and is accompanied by a manual written in German that goes along with the camera."
http://www.bornrich.org/entry/the-world-s-oldest-and-most-expensive-camera-is-up-for-the-grabs/
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
RIT’s CTRL ALT DELi:
RIT’s Ctrl Alt Deli: Quite possibly the ‘nerdiest’ delicatessen in America?
Eatery’s menu features ‘mega byte,’ ‘half byte’ sandwiches
by RIT University News, Dec. 23, 2009 —
Eatery’s menu features ‘mega byte,’ ‘half byte’ sandwiches
by RIT University News, Dec. 23, 2009 —
RIT’s recently opened Ctrl Alt Deli (pronounced “Control Alt Deli”) has a name that possibly only a computer geek could love—and, fortunately, RIT has no shortage of them.
The deli’s moniker pays tribute to the so-called “three finger salute” (the personal-computer keyboard combination—Control+Alt+Delete—used to reboot a computer).
It has been described as “the nerdiest deli” in America. And, you know, that sounds about right. After all, not many menus begin this way:
C:\>dir Design_Your_Own_Sandwich
The eatery—featuring “Mega Byte” and “Half Byte” sandwiches—is located, appropriately, in the atrium of Building 70, home to RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. That means the 2,363 computer geeks—’er make that RIT students majoring in computer science, information technology, interactive games and media, networking, systems administration, and software engineering—help ensure a steady flow of customers.
Michael Chin, a first-year computer science major from the Bronx, N.Y., submitted the winning entry—one of eight suggestions—in a naming contest.
“I thought, how can I infuse something about computers that is easily recognizable and that everyone would know, and include something about the deli with it? Then I glanced at my keyboard, and the rest was history,” Chin recounts. “I was proudest of this one.”
Though he has patronized the deli only a handful of times since it opened, he plans to return.
“I’ve wanted to stop by for a visit and say something along the lines of, ‘Hey, I named this deli. Pretty cool, huh?’ But I haven’t as of yet.”
An announcement about the deli, “tweeted,” fittingly enough, on Twitter, drew instant response.
“This might be the nerdiest deli in the United States,” mused RIT alumna Kayla Zerby ’05 (professional and technical communication), tweeting from Newport Beach, Calif. “Yeah, I want mayo. No, wait. Ctrl+Z. Mustard.”
“At first, I thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding,’” adds Zerby, who recently relocated to New York City. “But it quickly switched to, ‘This is genius. Talk about knowing your customers.’”
The Ctrl Alt Deli joins another on-campus outlet with a digital-age-themed name, Bytes on the Run, a “grab-and-go” convenience store that opened in the fall in RIT’s Student Alumni Union.
“Nerdiest convenience store” and “nerdiest deli” in the nation? Sure, that sounds about right. And at RIT, that’s a badge of honor!
http://www.rit.edu/news/?v=47222
Twin Video Puts Operator in the Frame
Wired.com
Gadget Lab Hardware News and Reviews
Twin Video Puts Idiotic Operator in the Frame
"Imagine a video camera with lenses front and back, a camera which could shoot both interviewee and interviewer simultaneously. Imagine then being able to cut back and forth between them, with everything, including stereo sound, in perfect sync.
Gadget Lab Hardware News and Reviews
Twin Video Puts Idiotic Operator in the Frame
"Imagine a video camera with lenses front and back, a camera which could shoot both interviewee and interviewer simultaneously. Imagine then being able to cut back and forth between them, with everything, including stereo sound, in perfect sync.
Imagine now that you had made such a machine, and then crippled it, turning it into a novelty device that puts a feed of you, the camera operator, in the corner of all your footage, grinning and gurning in a repulsive, annoying video commentary. It’s like the most moronic DVD-extra commentary track, only worse, because you can see it.
That camera exists. The Twin Video has cameras firing in both directions, along with a pair of mics. As you shoot, you can choose which of the images is set picture-in-picture and which is the full-sized master. You can also split the screen to show both. Examples of use: rollercoasters, merry-go-rounds (carousels) and “interviews” conducted by narcissists.
Otherwise, the Twin Video looks very similar to a Flip, or – stylistically – the Kodak Zx1. It records to SD or SDHC, hooks up to a computer via USB and has a built-in, rechargeable battery. The price is still undecided, and the camera should be in stores in the first half of this year."
Wired.com Article
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Font Letter to Director
Posted by Printersting on January 6th, 2010:
On Monday the Pr*tty Sh*tty design blog posted an open letter to the film maker James Cameron from the font Papyrus. In this post Papyrus expresses a great deal of gratitude for the prominent use of Papyrus font both in the title and in the subtitles in the film Avatar.
http://www.printeresting.org/2010/01/06/font-expresses-gratitude-in-letter-to-director/
On Monday the Pr*tty Sh*tty design blog posted an open letter to the film maker James Cameron from the font Papyrus. In this post Papyrus expresses a great deal of gratitude for the prominent use of Papyrus font both in the title and in the subtitles in the film Avatar.
"Goodness knows I’ve worked hard the past 26 years to make a name for myself. And it’s felt great coming to the aid of New Age spa owners, suburban party planners, and young couples looking to save money by making their own wedding invitations. But only now, by appearing in your movie, have I been given mainstream, high-level recognition as a serious typeface. And for that, I thank you."
.
http://www.printeresting.org/2010/01/06/font-expresses-gratitude-in-letter-to-director/
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
National Geographic Harddrive
Hard Drive Packs In Every National Geographic Issue Ever
By Charlie Sorrel, Wired.com
December 30, 2009
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/12/hard-drive-packs-in-every-national-geographic-issue-ever/
By Charlie Sorrel, Wired.com
December 30, 2009
"As a youngster, I was once given a one-year subscription to the National Geographic. Like most people, I looked at the (wonderful) pictures and promised myself I would read the articles later. A promise which was, of course, never kept (although I did often sneak a peek at the pictures of the women of tribes which have less strict rules on clothing than us).
The trouble with the Nat Geo was that, to me at least, it seemed like a chapter of an encyclopedia, not a magazine. Now you can actually use it that way, with a new hard-drive which puts every copy, ever, in one easy-to-search place. For $200, the National Geographic will sell you a 160GB hard drive, 60GB of which consists of scans of the entire back catalog, including the ads (sometimes the best part of looking back in time).
The browsing interface looks pretty, well, pretty, and owes a lot to OS X’s cover flow. You can search text, articles and photos, and of course just lose hours browsing 120 yeas of the iconic mag. The biggest surprise to us is that the entire library takes up just 60GB, just 500MB per year. The collection has been available on DVD for some time now, but that is obviously a disk-swapping, battery-draining pain compared to a nice compact USB HD. Better, you can have it personalized, with the name of your chosen giftee printed onto the case of the drive itself.
The Complete National Geographic on 160-GB Hard Drive [National Geographic]"
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/12/hard-drive-packs-in-every-national-geographic-issue-ever/
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