Panther supports JPEG 2000 with iPhoto?

MacInTouch Home Page

Tom Kornack shared some notes about JPEG 2000 and Mac support for it:

Large JPEG 2000 files in 16 bit format with a specialized color profile store my photography. It's the only compressed format that doesn't throw away 4 of the 12 bit dynamic range that comes out of my camera. On this subject I have three related points:
* iPhoto: I was floored when I plopped one of these files into iPhoto on my machine running 10.3 and saw it appear flawlessly, ready for manipulation, classification, etc. This was not possible using 10.2.
* SIPS: sips is a command line program that provides access to all of OS X's image manipulation routines. It is the only command line program that I know of that can handle JPEG 2000, high bit depth images, color profiles and everything else that one could want. All the images on my web site (http://androsace.com/ - while you're there, note the drop shadow css tag in effect if you're on 10.3 in Safari) are generated using this method. I believe that this is the single most powerful yet unadvertised new feature.
* Photoshop: I was surprised that the JPEG2000 plug-in that is provided with Photoshop CS produces files that do not open correctly in Preview or Graphic Converter. To see this effect, you must save a file for which the pixel dimensions are greater than the tile size.

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This is quite extraordinary. It will be interesting to see how this will work with my Canon G2. I may start shooting G2 RAW images, then importing them and using GC to convert to JPEG2000 for import into iPhoto. Of course with an iBook with limited disk pace, a G3, and USB 1.x this would be strictly for test purposes. However if Apple does put out iPhoto 2.x or 3.x in the next few months, and especially if they put out the rumored thin client slate, I may have to buy a G5 sooner than I'd expected.

Using USB charging for multiple devices: iPod, Tungsten T PDA, cellphone and Zip-Linq

From: jfaughnan@spamcop.net (John Faughnan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware.misc
Subject: iPod, Cell, PDA: sharing an external USB power "standard" charger
Message-ID: <5c0dbfb4.0312080754.387af9e6@posting.google.com>

Keyspan and Zip-Linq sell the same devices, all produced in Taiwan.

They're doing some very interesting things, leveraging USB charger standards.

Note this universal charger: http://www.ziplinq.com/pwr.html [1] with a USB connector. If one bought the USB accessory cable for an iPod, I wonder if one could charge with this. Note it emulates a USB power supply, the only "standard" low voltage power source. I also travel with a cell phone and a Tungsten T. Keyspan/Zip-Linq sell USB cables that work with this charger.

So, one could travel with a single charger, a set of Zip-Linq cables, and charge a PDA, Cellphone, and iPod (though not all at once, maybe rotating them one night at a time ... a bit tricky but I think I could do it ...).

Anyone want to try it out and report back?

Come to think of it, another way to so something similar might be to buy a compact powered USB hub. That would also have only one charger, but it could have 3-4 USB connectors. Or combine a passive USB hub with this device to charge multiple things at the same time. Interesting ...

meta: jfaughnan, jgfaughnan, charger, iPod, PDA, Tungsten T, cellphone, mobile phone, cell, charger, adaptor, adapter, travel charger, lithium, battery

[1] AC Wall Plug to 5V USB Adapter
ZIP-PWR-AC / UPC# 724580610137 / MSRP $19.99

This AC power adapter allows you to easily adapt your Ziplinq retractable charging cable to work from any 110VAC outlet. Provides 150-450mA output for super fast charges, even while using your phone. This portable and lightweight adapter rapidly charges NI-Cd, Ni-Mh and Li-Lon batteries in about an hour*.

Specifications:
• Works with any USB charger cable
• Input: 110-240 VAC 50/60HZ (compatible for international travel)
• Output: 5 VDC + 5%
• Min: 150 mA / Max: 450 mA

Think Different store: iPod and Apple accessories

iSkin eXo iPod Cases

MadsonLine Portable Power Devices: iPods and Portables

MadsonLine Portable Power DevicesAnother eclectic vendor of OS X/Mac portable hardware. Well known and respected.

Other World Computing: Mac upgrades, odd hardware

Other World ComputingAn eccentric Mac vendor who's been around for 15 years. Quite a selection of useful and plain odd equipment.

Installing Panther: bug in 10.3.1 breaks .dmg file mounting on some machines?

MacInTouch Home Page: "My sister just got a new iBook G4 and asked me to configure it. So the first thing I did after going though the setup stuff was to update it 10.3.1. I then tried to mount a .dmg file but it failed. Checking the boards I found this to be a known issue with no fix from Apple. One of the threads put me on the path to the solution, at least for me.
What I found from the threads is that there's a plist file that gets created the first time you mount a .dmg file. This file is called com.apple.frameworks.diskimages.diskimagesuiagent.plist. When I search for the file it was missing. That got me thinking, could this be the problem. The .dmg file won't mount because the plist is missing.
So to test my theory I reinstalled 10.3, but this time before upgrading to 10.3.1, I first mounted a .dmg file. Then I checked to make sure the file com.apple.frameworks.diskimages.diskimagesuiagent.plist was created, which it was. Then I updated to 10.3.1, and now .dmg files mount just fine. So before upgrading to 10.3.1 make sure you have mounted at least one .dmg file so the plist is created.
It looks like I found a bug in 10.3.1 plists; if they are missing they are supposed to be recreated, like 10.3 did, but 10.3.1 failed to do so."

Cat lovers and rare beef eaters may be easy prey for automobiles ...

BBC NEWS | Health | Eat worms - feel better

One third of Britons carry the toxoplasma parasite in their brain.

Its natural home is the cat and it's spread in cats' faeces. It can be picked up by any mammal, from rats to cattle. The main way we get it is by eating undercooked meat (which is why 80% of the French are estimated to have it, with their love of rare meat).

Once we have it we have it for life, there's no way we can get rid of it.

Research shows it somehow manipulates rats' behaviour - it makes rats attracted to cats - their natural predator, so they're more likely to be eaten by a cat and the parasite can complete its life cycle.

For years scientists thought it had no effect on our behaviour, but now the parasite's changing their minds. Recent research suggests that people with toxyplasma have slower reaction times than those without and are also more than twice as likely to be involved in a traffic accident than those who aren't carrying the parasite.

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The BBC news story is a tie in to a BBC broadcast. The broadcast sounds gruesome and fascinating. I've been following the UC/hookworm studies for years and I'm looking forward to the study publications. This Toxoplasma data is new to me though, and it's rather unsettling. It's not good news for people who have pet cats or who like their meat rare. Personally, I'm switching to well done, though it may be too late for me! Good news for dog loving cat hating vegetarians though ... (I think dogs don't get toxoplasma ...)