macosxhints - Paste equations into Calculator.app
Calculator and Graphing Calculator are very interesting but obscure applications.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Keyword Assistant for iPhoto: Updated for iPhoto 5
Software
The previous version caused problems during iPhoto 4 udpates, the new version runs on 4.03 and 5. I'm staying with iPhoto 4.03 unless Apple fixes iPhoto 5's performance and reliability issues, but I may try this update.
Keyword in iPhoto are odd. On the one hand they work well with SmartAlbums and they're well preserved in Library merges. On the other hand the native UI for managing keywords is weirdly awful. This helps a bit.
The previous version caused problems during iPhoto 4 udpates, the new version runs on 4.03 and 5. I'm staying with iPhoto 4.03 unless Apple fixes iPhoto 5's performance and reliability issues, but I may try this update.
Keyword in iPhoto are odd. On the one hand they work well with SmartAlbums and they're well preserved in Library merges. On the other hand the native UI for managing keywords is weirdly awful. This helps a bit.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Outlook keyboard shortcuts
A good reminder - Outlook keyboard shortcuts
I spend a lot of time in Outlook at work. I need to force myself to start using these keyboard shortcuts. I might map one of my mouse buttons to Ctrl-4 for tasks. Note they don't work in earlier versions of Outlook.
Update: This switches the Navigation pane to the default view that was introduced in Outlook XP. I dislike that view and had swapped it out. Somewhat annoying!
I spend a lot of time in Outlook at work. I need to force myself to start using these keyboard shortcuts. I might map one of my mouse buttons to Ctrl-4 for tasks. Note they don't work in earlier versions of Outlook.
Update: This switches the Navigation pane to the default view that was introduced in Outlook XP. I dislike that view and had swapped it out. Somewhat annoying!
macosxhints - Pages 'First Look' preview and commentary
macosxhints - Pages 'First Look' preview online
Pages isn't ready. Neither, for that matter, is iLife '05.
Apple pushed out too much stuff that wasn't ready to make their most recent marketing deadline. iPhoto 5 is not ready. Pages 1.0 is not ready. (I read that iPhoto 5 has a 25,000 image limit. Sigh. I hope Apple is working on a pro version.)
Not ready for use. I'll wait for Pages 2.0. Nisus Express is looking good by comparison.
Pages isn't ready. Neither, for that matter, is iLife '05.
...Pages truly has the ability to redefine what a word processor should be. Its seamless integration of page-layout and word processing features makes creating brochures, reports, flyers, and other well-designed documents a piece of cake. With literally no training, anyone can create professional looking output with a minimum of fuss.The Mac OS X Hints comments affirm this MacWorld article, though some argue the Find/Replace behavior is a "unix" standard.
Unfortunately, the lack of a page management system within Pages means that using the program is more frustrating and troublesome than it should be. In addition, the bugs in Find and Replace and PDF Export, along with the generally limited capabilities of the Export feature, make using Pages a bit frustrating. As good as all the other features are, these Version 1.0 bugs and missing features may make Pages unusable for many people. It’s a shame, too, because it’s a great program. Hopefully a version 1.1 update will address the general bugs and page management features.
Apple pushed out too much stuff that wasn't ready to make their most recent marketing deadline. iPhoto 5 is not ready. Pages 1.0 is not ready. (I read that iPhoto 5 has a 25,000 image limit. Sigh. I hope Apple is working on a pro version.)
Not ready for use. I'll wait for Pages 2.0. Nisus Express is looking good by comparison.
Want light sensitive digital photography? Buy a dSLR.
PhotoReview.com.au - 6-megapixel DSLR or 8-megapixel Digicam – Which Should You Buy?
Megapixels are messing up the digital camera marketplace the same way MHz did consumer computing and ZOOOOMM did consumer camcorders. The problem with consumers is that they're human. Once humans get hooked on a metric (measure) that's all they can handle; humans can only solve single variable optimizations. So single variable metrics drive a consumer market --- at the cost of everything else. Ultimately we end up with something like the "Irish Elk" -- giant antlers, but a lousy Elk.
This article demolishes the megapixel myth (yet again). Most of all, though, it had some very interesting things to say about light sensitivity, and about why light sensitive digital cameras need electromechanical shutters and mechanical diaphragms.
I want to be able to take pictures indoors without a flash. That means the digital equivalent of ISO 400 film and f2.0 optics. Image stabilization would help too.
I figured I'd be able to get that camera next year in a G2 (non-dSLR) form factor. This article has convinced me that's unlikely. I'll have to go for the next generation of the Nikon D70 or the Canon Rebel.
One thing the author omitted is that another advantage of a larger sensor is that it can be manufactured using CMOS-type technology rather than CCD-type technology. My military optics/electrical engineer buddy tells me that at human-tolerable temperatures CMOS sensors are effectively more light sensitive than CCD sensors, but they require more surface area to provide an equivalent resolution. Bigger sensor means bigger camera. Once camera size moves into the range of a dSLR, it's hard for a vendor to justify producing anything else. Emphases mine:
Megapixels are messing up the digital camera marketplace the same way MHz did consumer computing and ZOOOOMM did consumer camcorders. The problem with consumers is that they're human. Once humans get hooked on a metric (measure) that's all they can handle; humans can only solve single variable optimizations. So single variable metrics drive a consumer market --- at the cost of everything else. Ultimately we end up with something like the "Irish Elk" -- giant antlers, but a lousy Elk.
This article demolishes the megapixel myth (yet again). Most of all, though, it had some very interesting things to say about light sensitivity, and about why light sensitive digital cameras need electromechanical shutters and mechanical diaphragms.
I want to be able to take pictures indoors without a flash. That means the digital equivalent of ISO 400 film and f2.0 optics. Image stabilization would help too.
I figured I'd be able to get that camera next year in a G2 (non-dSLR) form factor. This article has convinced me that's unlikely. I'll have to go for the next generation of the Nikon D70 or the Canon Rebel.
One thing the author omitted is that another advantage of a larger sensor is that it can be manufactured using CMOS-type technology rather than CCD-type technology. My military optics/electrical engineer buddy tells me that at human-tolerable temperatures CMOS sensors are effectively more light sensitive than CCD sensors, but they require more surface area to provide an equivalent resolution. Bigger sensor means bigger camera. Once camera size moves into the range of a dSLR, it's hard for a vendor to justify producing anything else. Emphases mine:
You can fit roughly 16 of the 2/3-inch (11.08 mm diagonal) sensors into the same area as a 35mm film frame – or 2.56 of the Canon sensors. Naturally, in a 2/3-inch type, 8-megapixel sensor, the photodiodes have VERY small surface areas, which means their light-capturing ability will be limited. In dim lighting, this sensor will be struggling to collect photons and the resulting signal will need considerable amplification to produce an image. (And everybody knows that when a signal is amplified, the associated noise is also boosted!)
Because the sensors themselves are much larger, the photodiodes used in DSLRs have greater surface areas that can gather more light, leading to an increase in the sensor’s effective sensitivity without the inevitable noise associated with an increase in gain in the system. The downside is that they cost more to manufacture and take up more space in the camera, which means camera bodies have to be bigger...
...DSLRs use full frame transfer sensors, in which the entire surface area of each photodiode is exposed. This further increases their light capturing facilities but means they must be used with a mechanical shutter that controls each exposure (this also means the inclusion of adjustable aperture diaphragms).
Digital camera market slowing ...
PhotographyBLOG -:- Canon Predicts Digital Camera Sales Increase in 2005
Looks like digital cameras will change at a slower rate in 2005. The profit is draining out of the market, with even Canon missing their sales forecast. Olympus is in the red. I know that I'm not all that interested in what's being sold right now (I have a G2 and s410). I want more light sensitivity with good optics and focus in a G2-style package.
Looks like digital cameras will change at a slower rate in 2005. The profit is draining out of the market, with even Canon missing their sales forecast. Olympus is in the red. I know that I'm not all that interested in what's being sold right now (I have a G2 and s410). I want more light sensitivity with good optics and focus in a G2-style package.
'Canon said it sold 14.0 million digital cameras in 2004, falling short of its forecast of 14.7 million. It forecast sales to rise about 20 percent to 16.8 million this year, including 1.8 million digital single lens reflex (SLR) models.
Tanaka said prices of compact digital cameras would likely fall about 10 percent in 2005 after dropping 15 percent last year. But he said Canon would work to maintain margins and avoid the troubles faced by Olympus Corp. and some other makers whose camera divisions have fallen into the red.
Canon’s camera division boasts an operating profit margin of about 15 percent.'
iWork performance
Macintouch - iWork
Reminescent of iLife. I'd like to know how Apple does its product development. Is it all outsourced? What is the quality of their "internal" non-OS development shop? Small vendors, like Nisus, OmniGroup and others do produce high performing OS X software. So we know it's possible, but that Apple can't do it.
Except with iTunes.
So who does iTunes development?
'm not sure if this has been commented upon yet, but Pages is *slow*. Page redraws are glacial. Steve's presentation showed newsletter text reflowing around the cookie like water. On an iMac in the Tampa Apple Store, I opened that newsletter and text reflow was slow and jerky.
'Well,' I thought, 'It's an iMac,' and moved to a dual 2.0 GHz Power Mac. Barely any better. What was Steve using? Then I tried another template -- 'Club Newsletter'. Try this: Make a Club Newsletter. Drag the keys around. On my mom's 1.25 GHz iMac G4, text reflows/screen updates happen less than once a second.
Reminescent of iLife. I'd like to know how Apple does its product development. Is it all outsourced? What is the quality of their "internal" non-OS development shop? Small vendors, like Nisus, OmniGroup and others do produce high performing OS X software. So we know it's possible, but that Apple can't do it.
Except with iTunes.
So who does iTunes development?
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