JeffMacArthur.com

Follow Jeff at decabled.com and commandN.tv

2009-03-05T11:47:00.002-05:00

Long time, no post - sorry :-) .

I still have plans to do more stuff at JeffMacArthur.com but, until then, you might want to keep up with my musings at decabled.com and commandN.tv.

Thanks!

Jeff

commandN EP #166 FLV

2009-01-28T20:42:00.001-05:00

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commandN #152

2008-10-09T18:42:00.001-04:00

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commandN #145

2008-08-22T12:59:00.001-04:00

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This week, Will is back with comic craziness, Jeff makes your iPhone last longer and Amber stares at her Nano.

commandN #141

2008-07-25T09:36:00.003-04:00

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What it would take to become Batman, Amber talks about how to criticize anonymously, and Jeff reviews the iPhone 3G.

commandN #141

2008-07-25T09:36:00.001-04:00

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What it would take to become Batman, Amber talks about how to criticize anonymously, and Jeff reviews the iPhone 3G.

commandN141-h264

2008-07-25T08:28:00.001-04:00

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commandN #140

2008-07-16T10:28:00.001-04:00

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newsFlash: Tiger Pig, Tiger Pig

2007-10-17T13:05:00.000-04:00

OK, this isn't very recent news, but I just dug this up from an old email that Will Pate sent me. The link to more pics and the full story is http://www.frogview.com/show2.php?file=415 . Here's the basics...

"In a zoo in California , a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.

The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.

After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veter inarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only orphans that could be found quickly, were a litter of weaner pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger."

Wow!

webFed: Shining trailer (the Shining spoof)

2007-09-07T08:50:00.001-04:00

Since I haven't seen this before (despite it being online for over a year :-) ), I thought I'd share it with all of you. It's basically a spoofed trailer for "the Shining" with Jack Nicholson that's done in some kind of redeeming family flick style. Pretty funny :-) ...

newsFlash: New iPods and the iTunes Wi-Fi Store

2007-09-06T11:31:00.000-04:00

I kinda nailed the prediction for a new iPod that is almost exactly an iPhone minus the phone (and email), but I never got the chance to put my prediction in print first :-) .

So, in light of missing that opportunity, I am announcing here my prediction that the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store that's now on the new iPod touch and the iPhone (or at least will be within the next few weeks) will be quickly migrated over to satisfy the same need on the Apple TV. They've developed the software for a simple but effective, so there's now no excuse to not have the iTunes Store on your Apple TV (I mean, I can buy games directly through my Wii, so the Apple TV should be able to handle the same :-) ).

(Other announcements were the new iPod nano , new GUI and more storage for those and the revamped iPod classic, and some new colours for the iPod shuffle.)

I'm seriously considering migrating my blog over to make use of the new iWeb 08, so here's hoping I get some free time to nail that down soon. Thanks for reading!

webFed: Mac Mini newspaper vending machine

2007-07-23T09:52:00.000-04:00

This is a pretty unique use for a Mac Mini!

Scott Walker has taken an old newspaper vending machine, slapped in a 17" LCD display on the front, and then hooked up a Mac Mini to stream newspaper front pages and more. Cool!

webFed: Colourful Optical Illusion

2007-07-13T11:46:00.000-04:00

It's been a while, so busy. Maybe some more short posts would make it easier to keep up with my beloved blog? :-)

Colourful Optical Illusion

commandN 92

2007-06-14T01:07:00.001-04:00

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commandN 90

2007-05-25T22:54:00.001-04:00

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Amber and Will talk about Google Trends, internet usage and a wiki for pickup lines. Jeff talks spam fighting.

commandN 89

2007-05-16T15:09:00.001-04:00

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Amber and Will talk about YouTube's new inline ads, US Defence Dept. blocking websites, Facebook Marketplace, and more. Jeff gives a hotSTUFF product review of the Airport Express.

commandN 86

2007-04-17T11:52:00.001-04:00

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Amber talks about the new look for Facebook, Leopard delays, and Google Earth in Darfur. Jeff shines the spotLIGHT on fan edited films.

commandN 85

2007-04-03T17:03:00.001-04:00

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Amber and Will talk about Yahoo! Mail, the Apple/EMI DRM deal, Columbia Records and Vox, and lots more. Jeff gives you some techTIPS on video content for your AppleTV.

commandN 84

2007-03-27T21:41:00.001-04:00

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Amber and Will talk about the YouTube Video Awards, net neutrality in Canada, and JustinTV. Jeff gives a hotSTUFF product review of the AppleTV.

commandN 83

2007-03-19T13:55:00.001-04:00

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Amber and Jeff talk about NBC on your cellphone, NIN Garageband remixes, Xbox Live for Vista users, and more. Will provides some techTIPS for Facebook users.

commandN 82

2007-03-12T09:38:00.001-04:00

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Amber and Will chat about the best Firefox extensions, non-DRM music, technosexuals, and more. Jeff review the Sony Portable Reader System PRS-500.

commandN 81

2007-03-05T23:33:00.001-05:00

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Amber and Will talk about iTunes' first indie video, the Mesh Conderence, Ning launch, and more. Jeff provides techTIPS on video disc formats.

iRant: Lost gets lost (and good riddance)

2007-02-24T10:04:00.000-05:00

I've finally done it. After multiple seasons of increasing disappointment, culminating in the most recent episodes (which have been plain 'ol bad), Lost has been removed from the auto-recorded programs on my DVR. I've been talking about doing this for a while and if I didn't get to see the show in beautiful hi-def (and I have to admit it's still very nice to look at) then I would've done it long before now.

Lost is just a terrible, substanceless tease. Each week brings the promise of something new to be revealed, but there are no answers, only more (stupid, insipid) questions. Although the first season, and to some degree the second, were quite good as network television goes, the show how so "lost" its way that it's very hard to believe that there is any over-arching story going on here at all.

Let's face it - Lost was burdened by its concept from the beginning and should have ended after a couple of seasons (there's a reason why Robinson Crusoe was such a quick read). What's going on now is just a pathetically slow death kept on life-support entirely for business, as opposed to creative, purposes. Such is the way with television, but it's hard to believe how low Lost has sunk.

Look at a show like Heroes (which I really like) - it, too, unwinds a continuing stream of new questions with each episode. The difference is that it also answers some of these questions every episode. If the makers of Lost could muster up enough pride to understand that this endlessly wavering series is not going to make it past another season then they'd smarten up and start writing their way out of this tangled mess they've created. At least then, after a final season of explaining what's going on instead of just creating further shallow "mysteries" like some David Lynch series gone bad, viewers could look back and think that all in all it wasn't a total waste of time - good first season, decent second season, some floundering in the middle, but boy did they wrap it up tight! However, given the decision-making that has brought the show to its current sorry state (and the lack of much competition on Wednesday nights), I'm not too optimistic about a "creatively principled" ending anytime soon.

commandN 80

2007-02-19T09:57:00.000-05:00

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Amber and Will talk about open Gmail, hi-res Skype, OpenID with AOL, and more. Jeff brings you some blogging tips.

eyeCandy: Alpha Dog (2007) 4/5

2007-02-14T21:35:00.000-05:00

I didn't know what to think when I first heard about Alpha Dog. I mean, was this going to be a Justin Timberlake vehicle or a serious movie. Turns out it is a serious movie, and quite a good one at that.

Alpha Dog is based on actual events: the kidnapping and subsequent murder of a crazed druggy's 15 year old brother by a group of teenagers led by the local pot dealer/wanna-be-gansta. The movie is a disturbing look at the increasing disconnect between real life and the life depicted in rap videos and tabloid news.

Jake Mazursky (played by the talented Ben Foster, best known for his role as Claire's boyfriend in HBO's Six Feet Under) is a psychopathic, drug-abusing Jewish kid with some serious Nazi tats who owes teenage kingpin Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) $1200 in drug debts. The diminutive Truelove tries to play tough and is wholly outclassed by the crazed Mazursky, who demeans Truelove in his retaliation. When Truelove and his crew (including Mr. Justin Timberlake, who is surprisingly capable in his role) happen across Mazursky's younger brother, Zack, Johnny decides kidnapping the kid would be some serious payback. Zack (Huff's Anton Yelchin) is happy to party with the "big kids" (which is what he ends up doing after the first few hours) and figures he'll be back home within days. Needless to say, things escalate beyond all reason.

Alpha Dog is ably directed by Nick Cassavetes, and has a great supporting cast, including Bruce Willis (Johnny's dad), Sharon Stone (Zack's mom), and the first I've seen (although it is brief) of Alan Thicke in years. The fact that this atrocity actually happened is totally disturbing, and it's not exactly a movie that'd make your average parent very optimistic about raising a kid today (at least not amongst the idle rich in Southern California). That said, with the copious sex, drugs, and hip hop involved, that's probably not the target audience anyway.

PS: I hope you didn't expect a romantic movie for Valentine's Day ;-) .

muzikDEN - Episode 4

2007-01-29T20:04:00.000-05:00

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In the fourth episode of muzikDEN: Brian Bourne shows us the "stringiest" instrument in the West - the Chapman Stick; we give you some tips on Surround Sound Music Listening; Terry Pulliam and Mark Dolmont provide us with the first in a series of drum recording segments; we talk to the Gordon Lapp about what Music Industry Associations can do for you; and guest host Chris Campbell tells us about eMusic! muzikDEN.com - a commandN Inc. Production

MacOnMacs: Canadian iPhone to use Rogers Wireless

2007-01-26T08:59:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd post this because I was asked about it in a recent comments thread:

Well, it's looking pretty likely that Rogers Wireless will be the carrier for the iPhone in Canada. There's been a slew of different reports on this (MacNN and many others) and I think yesterday's CrunchGear post probably cements it, quoting an official Rogers rep as saying:

ÂRogers is actively working with Apple to launch the iPhone in Canada as soon as possible and will be the exclusive provider of the iPhone in Canada.Â

This makes sense because Rogers is the main GSM network provider here, but a quick peruse through the comments threads of various articles (like John Wiseman's blog and the MacNN story referred to above) certainly shows a lot of displeasure at the prospect (including some insane price calculations for service that I can only hope are far off base). I've only used Telus in Canada, so I can't really offer any firsthand opinions, aside from agreeing that telecommunications competition in Canada is not what it should be.

MacOnMacs: Judge your "experts" wisely

2007-01-25T08:41:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading the Wharton Prof. (Widely) Misses Point of Apple Name-Change on Wired's Cult of Mac blog. The title of the article is a little misleading in that the name change argument is just one of three major points brought up by the writer about how wrong-headed people can be when evaluating technology products. The three points Wired disputes are:

Design is just about being cool (relative to the iPhone);
People will be disappointed by the video quality of the Apple TV (talking about how 480p upconverted to 720p is somehow lacking compared with most people's viewing habits); and
the titular Apple dropping "Computer" is a sign of surrender (drawing some terribly false conclusions about why Apple Computer Inc. has become Apple Inc.).

I think the Wired writer makes some very compelling points and really demonstrates that people need to take some of these "expert opinions" with a serious grain of salt (see: every iPod-killer article ever written).

I'm not being an Apple fanboy here, this kind of uninsightful reporting is done all over the place, but I think this shows the value in knowing whose content you're reading and, even if you find them reliable, backing this up with a little exploration of your own. In any case, just wanted to draw your attention to this PLUS Wired's Cult of Mac blog is great reading for all you Mac-heads out there, so you should check it out.

earCandy: Weird Al Yankovic - Straight Outta Lynwood (2006) 4/5

2007-01-23T22:13:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that I'm a longtime Weird Al fan - I've even seen him in concert in Montreal, where I managed to jump on stage and steal his spatula, which I still have and regard as a highly sacred artifact. I also have to admit that it's his early catalog that really got me feelin' him and, frankly, a few of the more recent albums have been a little thin. That said, Al is back with a vengeance with Straight Outta Lynwood!

The first single, White & Nerdy (a parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin' Dirty), is not only a brilliant parody touching on a lot of things that people that read and write blogs probably know a little too much about ;-) (check out those lyrics here), but it also shows that Weird Al actually has some serious chops - I mean, he can actually rap, seriously, it's at once awe inspiring and deeply troubling.

As a Canadian, I thoroughly enjoy Canadian Idiot (a parody of Green Day's "American Idiot") - for some reason this sort of thing seems to amuse us :-) (lyrics here). Usher's Confessions is lampooned in Confessions Part III - I laugh just thinking about the line "Like remember when I told you I knew Paulie Shore (Paulie Shore) - That's a lie, I don't know what I said that for" (and lyrics). Pancreas is distinctly Beach Boys sounding, although I don't think it's a direct parody, and Polkarama! continues a long history of polka mashups of a popular tunes (50 Cent's "Candy Shop" being a standout).

Unfortunately, a parody of James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" (called "You're Pitiful") kept the album from being released on schedule and was not included on the album at the request of Atlantic Records (although Blunt himself was okay with it). However, you can listen to it online at Al-oholics Anonymous, even if it's just to hear the line "never had a date that you couldn't inflate". :-)

In any case, it's a very funny album, especially if you're familiar with the songs being parodied. One can only hope that this is the start of another upswing in Al's career, and that would make a lot of us very happy - so go buy it already!

eyeCandy: Rome - HBO (2005, 2007) 5/5

2007-01-14T22:04:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching the second season premiere of HBO's Rome and I simply cannot imagine a series more cater-made for my particular interests. There is political intrigue of a level rarely found on television (or movies, for that matter), there is a setting so beautifully foreign yet strangely familiar, there is an intricately woven story that follows a web of relationships amongst a fantastic ensemble case, and, to top it all off, this is the stuff that history is made of, literally.

Without giving anything away, Rome follows (as quoted from Wikipedia) "the violent transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire; a change driven by the class struggle between Patrician and Plebeian, the decay of political institutions, and the actions of ambitious men. While showing the lives of the rich, powerful, and historically significant, the show's perspective is centered around the lives, fortunes, families, and acquaintances of two Roman soldiers: Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, two soldiers mentioned in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico."

Rome is an incredibly sophisticated production, and the complex storyline requires (and more than amply rewards) the attentive viewer. Having absolutely fallen in love with the series over its first season, I was pleased to find (after some casual research) that, although the story itself takes some liberties with the historical specifics (all the while following the broad strokes of what actually happened), the sets, costumes, and depiction of life in the "capital of the world" circa 50 BC is, as far as I have read, remarkably accurate. On top of the fascinating story, Rome is an onslaught of visual splendor supplemented by a wonderful soundtrack and all the trappings that have made HBO the source of so many great productions over the years.

I really don't want to provide much in the way of storyline details, as I think anyone who is interested would be best served by simply renting the first season and then scrambling to watch the second season as soon as possible (I couldn't imagine leaping into season two without at least having read about what has happened in the first season). So if history intrigues you and you love movies then you could simply ask for nothing better than HBO's Rome.

PS: This still doesn't mean I can forgive HBO for cutting off Carnivale immediately after its second season cliffhanger. Please, somebody wrap up that story for me. I'll read it in book form if necessary, but stringing me along and then pulling the rug out from under me at such an integral plot point is just not right (and I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this).

webFed: Culture Clash - the Crocodile Hunter vs. Ross the Intern

2007-01-11T12:15:00.000-05:00

This is almost uncomfortable to watch off the top, but it's pretty funny and as it gets going you get to see what a good guy Steve Irwin was (crazy, for sure, but nice too :-) ).

webFed: Hinterland's Drug Spiders

2007-01-08T11:00:00.000-05:00

There are times when I find cool stuff on the web that just doesn't fit into any of my previously defined categories here on my blog. Further to this, welcome to my first webFed post - home for all those strange things I find online that just don't fit anywhere else.

PS: I totally owe finding out about this to my friend and ex-commandN-er, Mike Lazazzera, who has also posted it on his blog, Life...Love...Tech - thanks Mike!

eyeCandy: Blood Diamond (2006) 5/5

2007-01-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

NOTE: It's been a while since I've posted (work, travel, and a broken hand all being major factors) but I'm happy to come back with a review of this fantastic movie and will be posting each week in 2007 - so thanks for your patience and a Happy New Year to you all!

Blood Diamond is the best movie I've seen in a long time. It's not often that I leave the theatre without a single item in mind that I would have liked to be handled differently, but I am at a loss as to anything to change here. Director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai, Glory) has crafted a magnificent film, full of poignancy and emotional power while being both balanced and restrained - a difficult achievement to say the least.

In the midst of the brutal civil war in 1990's Sierra Leone, Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a South African diamond smuggler, crosses paths with Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a simple African man who, after losing his family to the rebels, has buried an enormous diamond found while working in their slave mining camps. When Archer learns of this, he promises Soloman that he will help him find his lost family in exchange for returning with him to the camp to locate the priceless jewel - Archer's ticket out of the miserable existence he has endured in the dark continent.

The acting in the movie is superlative. DiCaprio, one of the great actors of our day, once again shows his amazing versatility as well as his prowess for choosing exceptional films of which to be a part. Hounsou, who I first remember from Amistad, is similarly exceptional and both actors are utterly believable in their roles. The film moves from beautiful landscapes to chaotic urban battles to understated but highly emotional personal scenes, creating a fascinating tapestry that is all the more moving because of the reality of the situation it portrays.

Without being preachy, Blood Diamond shows us a part of our collective past that cannot help but promote a deep consideration of the great wrongs (and some of the rights) of the world we live in. From the struggles of a family to the machinations of global enterprise, from the cruelty and ruin of a savage war to the beauty and dignity of human kindness and love. The film is simply without flaw.

muzikDEN - Episode 3 (November 2006)

2006-11-29T10:55:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted, but I have a good excuse: several weeks in Sri Lanka filming in a flood and monsoons, a terribly ill editor/cameraman who was out of commission for most of this month's muzikDEN, and a host of other important projects (including a great study on Web 2.0 technologies and trends in the cultural realm - more on that later!). On the upside, my travels have exposed me to a huge number of films to review, but now to the subject at hand... :-)

The third episode of muzikDEN, the monthly vidcast about all things musical, is now up at commandN.tv and muzikDEN.com! You can also see all episodes to date in the muzikDEN episode category (see lower right of commandN.tv page).

n the third episode of muzikDEN DJ IV & Plaeboi show us around some club gear for DJs; we've got a review of K-Os' new album Atlantis; Jeff Mosher talks to us about being a freelance horn player; Terry Pulliam outlines the basics of monitoring mixes; we consider the effects of rhythm, harmony, and melody on your compositions; and guest host Ryan Gray shares a site that every drummer will love!

You can subscribe to the feeds for each file type below:

You can watch muzikDEN directly in your browser or by individual download at commandN.tv and muzikDEN.com.

Our new website should be out in December!

muzikDEN - Episode 2 (October 2006)

2006-10-23T17:05:00.000-04:00

The second episode of muzikDEN, the monthly vidcast about all things musical, is now up at commandN.tv and muzikDEN.com!

We've got some great stuff in our October episode, including a peak at Gnarls Barkley and the Flaming Lips at the Virgin Fest; I talk to the organizers of the Atlantic Jazz Festival about what's involved in putting on music festivals; Paul Keddy shows us the basics of reggae drumming; Terry Pulliam shares tips on vocal micing; I twist around some blues changes in our first composR segment; and guest host Haley Thomas points you to some free audio mastering tools on the web.

You can subscribe to the feeds for each file type below:

You can watch muzikDEN directly in your browser or by individual download at commandN.tv and muzikDEN.com. A new website is in the works ;-) .

NewsFlash: YouTube profile

2006-10-10T12:07:00.000-04:00

I've been a little lax on postings lately because of a variety of things:

We're doing the final edits on Episode 2 of muzikDEN (which took longer than expected for a number of reasons) - it'll be posted in the next week, though;
I just received my new Mac Pro and had some difficulties - more about this and a rundown of the steps I take in setting up a new Mac in my next MacOnMacs post;
and I still have to do my "day jobs" so I've got some money to finance the rest of these endeavours :-) .

In the meantime, though, I wanted to share with you a great article that a commandN viewer, Sid Yadav, has up on his rev2.org website. Sid has done a great 2000+ word profile on YouTube that has pretty much everything you'd want to know about the service.

Sorry for passing on the writing responsibilities to someone else for this post, but I needed to prioritize my efforts while still providing you, my dear readers, with some new info ;-). More soon!

eyeCandy: the Illusionist (2006) 4/5

2006-09-21T16:16:00.000-04:00

The Illusionist is a bit of a rarity in the movie world today because, despite the potential for over-the-top supernatural elements that could have clouded the film, it has been executed with such tasteful restraint, providing an end product that is essentially without flaws. I didn't know what to think of the movie when I saw the previews but I am very happy to have finally seen it.

Set in Vienna around 1900, this tale revolves around a mysterious illusionist, Eisenheim (Edward Norton), who arrives in town to the delight of the audiences for whom he performs. However, when the ruthless and cynical Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) invites Eisenheim to his royal residence to perform, he gets more than he bargains for. The Prince's fiancee, Sophie (Jessica Biel - a strange choice for the role, but who performs suitably), becomes somewhat enthralled with Eisenheim - a situation beyond toleration for Leopold, who will stop at nothing to eliminate this "problem".

The film is based on the Steven Millhauser short story, Eisenheim the Illusionist, and the movie has wisely not been stretched to the breaking point - a problem with many films based on short stories. Instead we have a finely paced and totally compelling story with absolutely gorgeous period sets, rich characters, and superlative acting (Edward Norton is one of the finest actors of his generation and the wonderful Paul Giamatti has once again been given the opportunity to show his own copious skills as Chief Inspector Uhl, the Prince's right hand man).

The Illusionist has an intelligence such that, unless you are absolutely determined to figure out everything that is going on and second-guessing each turn of events, it allows the audience to simply flow with each twist and turn of the story - a journey that brings with it the surprise and delight that is entirely fitting with the film's title.

muzikDEN: Episode 1 (Sept 2006)

2006-09-16T23:34:00.000-04:00

Well now you can see firsthand why I've been a little slack on these postings recently - muzikDEN Episode 1 is finally online!!! (also available at commandn.tv)

muzikDEN is about enabling the music community. muzikDEN's premiere episode has music management tips, note choices for basslines, scratching basics, drum plugins, a review of Outkast's Idlewild, web picks, and more! So take a look and let me know what you think. We're aiming at releasing the first week of each month so we should have some more music industry goodness for you in just a couple of weeks. If you've got any segment ideas or other feedback then comment away. :-)

Welcome to the muzikDEN!

commandN: Episode 60 - muzikDEN preview and more

2006-09-06T08:33:00.000-04:00

Man, I am beat! I've been working non-stop for the past couple of weeks and I'll be heading up to Toronto later this week to shoot Episode 61 of commandN. However, there are at least some fruits of my labours that can finally be revealed :-) ...

commandN Episode 60 is now online and in the spotLIGHT segment I give a preview of the new commandN Inc. music-oriented vidcast, muzikDEN. muzikDEN will be released later this week and will be a monthly half-hour video podcast aimed at people in the music industry and music listeners alike. I'll be hosting with a different co-host each month and we'll have segments for players, listeners, managers, mixers, turntablists, and more.

The rest of the episode has Amber and Mike chatting about how Radioshack laid off 400 employees via email, Microsoft Vista on a Mac, and whistle-blowers on YouTube. And Brian reviews two Microsoft-related books. Enjoy!

NewsFlash: Jeff's interview at Juxtaviews.com

2006-08-31T17:46:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let you all know that I recently did an interview on behalf of commandN that's now up at Juxtaviews.com. Kevin chatted with me about the show, the battle between TV and vidcasting, and what the future holds. Check it out!

commandN: Episode 59 - Microsoft Live and more

2006-08-28T08:52:00.000-04:00

This week on commandN: I outline all the Microsoft Live service offerings, and Amber and Mike chat about CBS broadcasting online, the BlackBerry helmet, and Firefox crop circles.

MacOnMacs: Final Cut Pro Tips - File Locations and Organization

2006-08-25T10:10:00.000-04:00

Most of my MacOnMacs postings are general tips, applicable to just about anyone. However, as I've gotten further into video editing, I've searched and found a lot of different Final Cut Pro and related resources that have helped me a great deal and should be of use to any up-and-coming video production types out there. As there are a lot of people with a lot more experience than I have in this area, I thought I'd just provide some links to some helpful articles I've come across, so here goes...

As I was cleaning up from editing the second installment of my tsunami reconstruction quarterly documentary series from Sri Lanka (see the RebuildAmpara.com videos in the News section of that site), I realized that there were a lot of files hanging around and I wasn't exactly sure where they all were and what they all were for. Thankfully I found a great article on the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group site explaining Final Cut Pro file locations and what's stored in them.

What this caused me to realize is that I've been editing without a very well-developed plan for how my files were organized so that I could keep track of them and archive them easily. Thankfully, Final Cut Pro guru Larry Jordan has, in addition to a lot of other excellent info (I would recommend subscribing to his free monthly newsletter), a great article on Organizing and Archiving your Final Cut Pro projects.

I'll keep posting these tips as I come across them and I'd love to know of any great tips or links to tips that you guys might have, so comment away! :-)

commandN: Episode 58 - Hack your Nintendo DS and more!

2006-08-21T08:16:00.000-04:00

The vidcast most watched by Canadians, commandN, has released its 58th episode - available for download at commandn.tv. In this ep Brian tells us how to hack the Nintendo DS, Chris and I do webPICKS, and Amber and Mike chat about Bill Gates' speech at the AIDS Conference in Toronto, movie trailers on Google Video, and online dating for orangutans. Check it out! :-)

MacOnMacs: Ejecting CDs/DVDs

2006-08-20T10:11:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd put a quick little post up on this subject, as I know I've repeatedly had to figure out how to eject an uncooperative CD or DVD from my Mac's drive. Here are a few steps in order of ease (obviously don't type in quotes where you see them below - type in what's in the quotes :-) ):

If you don't have an actual "Eject" button on your keyboard (it should be in the upper right hand corner), try pressing and holding the F12 key, which can be assigned the eject function in some circumstances.
Can you see the disc's icon in the Finder or on the Desktop? Drag it to the Trash in the dock (which will change from a Trash icon to an Eject icon).
If this doesn't work then see if you can select Finder->File->Eject (command-E) to eject it.
You can sometimes eject a stuck disc from another application. Try using the eject button in iTunes (bottom right hand corner) and/or, if you have Roxio's Toast, then try Recorder->Eject (command-E) in Toast.
Do you have a Mac with a tiny hole to one side of your disc tray? Straighten out a paperclip and stick it in this hole to manually eject a disc.
If your disc is still stuck then open up Terminal (in Applications/Utilities) and type in "drutil tray eject" to eject the disc. If you then need to close the tray, you can type "drutil tray close".
Still no luck? Time to haul out the heavy guns and restart this bad boy. Restart your Mac while holding down your mouse button (I guess this would be the left button on a multibutton mouse) until it finishing starting up.
One last chance here. Restart your mac but hold down command-option-o-f (that's for an "open firmware" startup). At the command prompt type in "eject cd" and press return. Type "mac-boot" and hit return to finish starting up.

Hopefully one of those will get your disc out, as I've never had a stuck disc where at least one of those options didn't work. If you know of any other options then please share them with other readers here by posting a comment. Good luck!

eyeCandy: World Trade Center (2006) 4/5

2006-08-16T23:30:00.000-04:00

World Trade Center is Oliver Stone at his most restrained, and that is a very good thing given the subject material (and a rare quality for his movies, in my humble opinion). Aside from some minor pacing difficulties (partly due to the nature of the dilemma of the characters), I think he has done a fine job with a difficult task.

The film deals with the September 11th tragedy from the point of view of the rescue workers, specifically outlining the stories of two real-life New York Port Authority cops who were trapped in the destruction (Nicolas Cage as Sgt. John McLoughlin and Michael Pena as Officer Will Jimeno, both exceptional performances). [United 93, also based on true events at the time, takes a totally different focus and is also a worthwhile film]

The movie, although spending considerable time with the families of these men and without going into much other detail beyond what was experienced at the site itself, still manages to conjure up an enormous range of emotions in the viewer. From virulent anger at the atrocities committed, to crushing sadness and despair at the effect this had on so many people. However, much to the credit of the filmmakers, the ultimate point put forth here is how the unforgivable evil that was committed was more than matched by the unimaginable heroics of those involved in recovering from its effects. And, to paraphrase the movie, just because it was the right thing to do.

What else can I say - we know this tragedy and the film shows it in another way. It is probably one of the most emotional movies I have ever seen, but it's hard to separate how much of that is watching the movie and how much is remembering what happened. In any case, it is a fitting tribute to the real-life heroes who made it so we all didn't give up hope in humanity entirely.

MacOnMacs: Running Windows on Your Intel Mac (Part II)

2006-08-09T11:53:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd update on my previous Running Windows on Your Intel Mac post in the wake of some news in the last couple of weeks...

For those of you who see Windows video games as the last thing holding you back from diving into the Mac world, check out TransGaming's recently announced Cider, "a sophisticated portability engine that allows Windows games to be run on Intel Macs without any modifications to the original game source code". Pretty cool stuff!

The UK's RegHardware site has just published a good article on running Windows on Mac: BootCamp vs Parallels Desktop, which is a good supplement to the comparison in my previous post on the subject. Speaking of which, there is also a new beta for Parallels Desktop that improves USB support, graphics, along with other improvements and bug fixes.

In other news, another big player VMware readies virtualization software for Macs. And as another choice comes in, a previous choice is taken away: Microsoft has finally bowed out of this battle, announcing that it will be shelving its Virtual PC for Mac. Frankly, I'd just as soon have a third party developer doing this stuff anyway, as Microsoft seems to be slowly digging itself into the ground with the enormously delayed Vista and other less-than-successful projects recently.

I'm certainly in line for an Intel Mac now that the new towers have been announced, so I'll hopefully be able to give you a first-hand account of how some of these things work pretty soon. Until then, these posts can serve as a bit of a guide for you ;-) .

earCandy: Barenaked Ladies (Charlottetown Concert - Aug.6/06) 5/5

2006-08-09T11:19:00.000-04:00

As you may have guessed from other music reviews that I've done here, the Barenaked Ladies aren't exactly my kind of band. Although they have undoubtedly released some good singles (e.g. I love the tune "the Old Apartment"), they're pretty happy-go-lucky pop music for my tastes. That said, these guys put on an awesome live show.

Sunday's concert at the Charlottetown Driving Park was great. Although I missed most of opening bands the Novaks and Two Hours Traffic, the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves throughout the sunny afternoon and the arrival of the headliners provoked an enormous reaction.

Each of the five "Ladies" enjoy multiple roles throughout the concert, whether that be with a variety of instruments (an accordion, double bass, and no end of guitars were onstage), singing roles (their group harmonies were excellent), or through the inter-song banter than characterizes their shows. These guys can totally think on their feet, as the very humorous conversations between members onstage, improvised raps and songs (many incorporating local references), and musical snippets from a variety of sources consistently demonstrated.

The almost two hour show included lots of their most popular tunes (Brian Wilson, If I Had A Million Dollars, One Week, and more) as well as a couple of new tunes from their upcoming album. This mix got me to considering how the songs that became classics must have been received when they were unknown songs, as I think the reception to the newest tunes was certainly weakest (though still enthusiastic), showing how much familiarity is a part of what drives the musical hit parades.

In any case, the songs were good, the musicianship was great, and the value-added improvised chats and raps were just fantastic. If you're a big fan then I think these guys could put on one of the best concerts of your life (in addition to changing considerably with each performance), but even for an occasional listener like myself, you just can't ignore what a fantastic performance these guys give a live audience. Keep it up Ladies!

MacOnMacs: Apple WWDC 2006 - Keynote Address

2006-08-07T19:28:00.000-04:00

I couldn't let the day end without posting on this year's Worldwide Developers Conference that opened today in San Francisco with a much (as always) anticipated keynote address from the man that Business 2.0 magazine calls "easily the greatest marketer since PT Barnum" - Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Down to the meat of the announcements:

Mac Pro - the "fastest Mac ever" and replacement for the aging PowerMac G4/G5 towers has finally arrived. Keeping with the simplifying of Apple's product line of late, the Mac Pro is a single, but highly customizable, entry. The basic model is $2499 and sports two 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon "Woodcrest" processors, but a dual 3 GHz option (add $800) is also available giving a reported performance boost of 60-110% above the 2.5 GHz PowerMac Quad G5 model before it. Although the Mac Pro's enclosure is essentially the same as the G5's, the additional space that was needed for G5-related heat issues is now used much more effectively to provide space for up to four 500 GB 7200 rpm hard drives (up to 2 TB of potential storage space), room for a second optical drive (up to 2x SuperDrive), 3 full-length PCI Express expansion slots, up to 16 GB of RAM, and more.
Xserve quad Xeon 64-bit server - the last piece of the Intel puzzle was replacing the G5 Xserve, which has been done with this two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processor-powered computer running at up to 3 GHz. The next generation 10.5 Leopard Server OS for the Xserve was also previewed, and includes a Wiki server, iCal Server, Spotlight Server, and a Podcast Producer component (I'd like to find out more about that one).

But even more exciting than that, which seems somehow impossible for a Mac geek like myself, we have our first taste of what comes next in our mighty OS (watch the QuickTime movie clips at the top of these pages - great way to get familiarized quickly while also seeing interface aspects) ...

Leopard Mac OS X 10.5 preview - as much as I've been waiting for the Mac towers to finally go Intel, I find myself very impressed with where the next generation of the Mac OS X is going:
- Time Machine: Windows does have something similar, but this back-up and system recovery solution is implemented stylishly and effectively. A quantum leap from Backup, this may be the application that makes it easy enough for the general public to backup their computers regularly without the stress and hassle we've come to expect of such things.
- Spaces - a beautiful virtual desktop implementation that allows a single user to separate their desktop into multiple "spaces" while providing easy drag and drop functionality for windows, along with quick access to applications in any "space". I've used one of these since my SGI days at Mainframe, and I'm happy to see it now standard in the Mac OS as well.
- iChat: iChat has just become a truly worthwhile app for me. There are some frills added like video backgrounds and PhotoBooth-like effects, along with other more functional additions such as tabbed chatting for multiple .Mac, AOL, IM, and Jabber accounts. But the two ground-breaking things here are iChat Screen Sharing, which allows you and a friend to both take control of one of your desktops (which is shown on both computers) so that you can both collaborate on projects while hearing each others voices via an audio chat, AND iChat Theater, a virtual presentation room which allows you to make presentations via iChat of Keynote slides, photos from iPhoto, or content from any iChat-enabled application, accompanied by a video/audio feed of you "playing host". This is the kind of stuff that helps answer the question of "why would someone use iChat" - I'll for sure end up employing both iChat Screen Sharing and iChat Theatre in my work, and as far as I can see I can't think of another "chat" application that combines such practical elements to such good effect. Good work iChat team!
- Mail: Mail just keeps getting better, and although the incorporating of elegant HTML templates to the email writing process is well-done, I think I'm most excited about the addition of Notes and To Dos (which are incorporated as a core Mac OS service) to the mix here. RSS via email is another perk.
- Spotlight - finally we will be able to Spotlight search across Multiple network volumes and other Macs. Quick Look technology will also allow you to see previews (e.g. watching a QuickTime movie, seeing an Address Book contact, viewing a PDF, etc.) of documents in the preview graphic overlay without even opening an application. Plus, Boolean searching has been added. All solid evolutionary changes that might make Spotlight a little more highly regarded in my book.
- Dashboard - I have to confess, I'm not a Dashboard user. I'm not sure these changes will make me become one but they seem sort of cool :-) . First off, Web Clip lets you visit a site in Safari and click the "Open in Dashboard" button to make a continuously-refreshed widget of that webpage or part of that webpage (it's crop-able). Secondly, Dashboard will sync across multiple computers through .Mac now. And, thirdly, although this news has been around for a bit, Dashcode will let anyone build their own widgets.
- Other: iCal will support calendar sharing and some other features through the CalDAV standard; Alex, Mac OS X's newest voice synthesis is sounding remarkably human (take a listen on the page); Core Animation aids developers in the production of sophisticated visual effects; and, with Leopard, OS X is truly a 64-bit OS.

All very cool stuff. Mac Pros and Xserves are out now, Leopard (with some other surprises - funny keynote moment alludes to the fact that Longhorn has copied enough OS X things for now) will be out in Spring 2007. I, for one, can't wait.

earCandy: Prince - the Next Millenium (2006) /mixTAPE/

2006-07-31T19:21:00.000-04:00

I've been writing a lot of eyeCandy movie reviews recently, so I thought I'd change directions and try out an idea I had for another "class" of earCandy music review - witness... mixTAPE. :-) In my opnion, there is a great art to making a good mixTAPE - a myriad of strange little rules to be followed. Nothing is ever perfect, but crafting a solid 1 hour and 20 minute CD can be a rewarding and worthwhile experience.

I think I'll spread what I consider to be the "gospel" of making great mixTAPEs over each mixTAPE posting, but let's start with a central one: you need some sort of "concept". This can be as simple as "the best of ..." or it can as complicated as my attempt to chronicle all of the music of mankind over one 90 minute tape (I think I did a decent job too - hard to smoothly transition from ancient Oriental music to Charles Mingus, but it can be done :-) ). So let's get started:

Prince is a classic figure in popular music but he's also been releasing some really interesting music over the past five or six years. I desperately wanted an updated Prince mixTAPE but I wanted to be able to present the more jazz-infused modern Prince in isolation to the rock/pop classics everyone knows. The solution: divide Prince's career in two.

Thankfully, Prince really found his way through James Brown into Miles Davis territory with 2001's Rainbow Children, his first album of the new millenium (and voila - a title seed for the collection). Discounting the 4-song, all instrumental N.E.W.S. (2003), Prince has had two other albums since then: 2004's Musicology and 2006's 3121. Some fantastic and not always what people think of as Prince tunes here. (Disc II of this collection, "the Last Millenium", will be featured in a subsequent post)

A couple of obvious rules I might as well mention now: don't put two songs from the same album back-to-back, and you're permitted to put a song of questionable "fit" as song one b/c it is easily fast-forwarded past so the rest of the CD can be played without interruption.

NOTE: Some albums, like the Rainbow Children, have great tunes buried within extended intros and/or outros. Or sometimes you just need to shave a little off to get things to fit onto one CD. Because of this I sometimes like to begin or end the song mid-stream. The notation [x/y] gives the starting (x) and ending (y) points of songs as necessary. These may not always correspond exactly with your own versions.

PS: I own all the materials I use for mixTAPES. I would also freakin' pay $50 for an exact copy of the Rainbow Children without that annoying deep bass voice preaching slow-pitched nonsense throughout what is an otherwise incredible album. :-)

Prince: the Next Millenium (2006) /mixTAPE/

Family Name (the Rainbow Children) [3:00.6/7:52.1]
The Word (3121)
Everywhere (the Rainbow Children)
Dear Mr. Man (Musicology)
Get On The Boat (3121)
Mellow (the Rainbow Children)
Beautiful, Loved & Blessed (3121) [-/5:13.4]
1+1+1 Is 3 (the Rainbow Children) [0:16.5/-]
What Do U Want Me 2 Do? (Musicology) [-/3:46]
Incense And Candles (3121) [-/3:53.4]
She Loves Me 4 Me (the Rainbow Children)
3121 (3121) [-/4:27.9]
Muse 2 The Pharoah (the Rainbow Children) [-/4:16]
Musicology (Musicology) [-/4:23]
the Everlasting Now (the Rainbow Children) [-/5:48.4]
Te Amo Corazon (3121)
the Work Pt.1 (the Rainbow Children) [3:46]

Honorable mention:
Rainbow Children (the Rainbow Children) [3:32.75/7:04.85]

eyeCandy: Miami Vice (2006) 3/5

2006-07-28T21:08:00.000-04:00

The Miami Vice movie is a lot like a really good episode of the original Miami Vice TV show. And although it's very stylish and gritty (some of it filmed Dominican Republic), it never quite seems to be able to gear up to being a really good movie. The plot is typical of the 1980's ground-breaking television series this is based on: the lead detectives go undercover with lots of drugs, guns, and women around (this time posing as professional international drug smugglers). Things go wrong, people get shot, and in the end its just another day being on the vice squad of America's sin city.

Michael Mann's direction is certainly very competent but, at almost two and a half hours, I think there could have been some additional editing done to good effect. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx were certainly appropriate choices to take over from Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas' classic vice detectives, Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs, but neither of them can quite break through the ice that keeps this incarnation from being a great movie (as an aside, Colin Farrell's Irish accent creeps out every once in a while, which sort of breaks me out of believing he's Sonny Crockett (or Don Johnson)).

I grew up when TV's Miami Vice was the coolest, grittiest thing you could see on television, and I'm not quite sure how or if that affects my view of this movie. I think I'll probably go back and try to determine when Miami Vice was at its height and then rewatch a couple of those seasons (the first two are out on DVD - the rest are held up b/c of music rights, etc.), because I remember it as being a really good and original show (the unprecedented $1.3 million per television episode budget might have helped separate it from the pack back then). In any case, I was happy to see this movie and, if they can haul in the running time a bit, I'd probably go see the next one. Not great, but frankly good enough for a popcorn flick.

eyeCandy: Ultraviolet (2006) 1/5

2006-07-27T22:45:00.000-04:00

Part of my obsessive-compulsive nature is that I will almost never not watch all of a movie, no matter how bad it is. By the end of what I thought was going to be a mercifully short 88 minutes, I deeply regretted not stopping Ultraviolet much, much earlier. I don't know anything about the comic this is based upon, but the movie is terribly lacking in almost every respect.

The storyline is convoluted and almost non-sensical: a genetically engineered super-virus goes awry and infects a great number of people, turning them into "Hemophages", also called Vampires (because of their pointy teeth, need for blood, and light intolerance, but who aren't actually vampires. Go figure). Leading lady Milla Jovovich, whose lamentable acting certainly doesn't distract us from the awful script, is a superhuman Hemophage called "Ultraviolet" and is sent to intercept some bad guy's package containing something that could destroy all of her kind. It turns out to be a child who has been infected in some way and who kindles lost feelings of potential motherhood in Jovovich's character. Touching. She subsequently tries to rescue him from a great many dangers, and there is a lot of running around so Milla can single-handedly kill dozens upon dozens of opponents. In fact, everything feels more like a video game than a movie. Unfortunately, this includes the graphics to some degree, which are too often a little "chunky" looking onscreen, like some inter-mission animated sequence from a high-end video game.

The film had an interesting visual character, but this was simply not enough to combat its many other inadequacies. Director Kurt Wimmer apparently had Ultraviolet taken out of his hands and completely re-edited by the studio after they did not like his original version. If the original was better than this one then this is a good example of how a studio can destroy a film - I shudder to imagine it being worse than what was released. This is just not a good movie (and Milla Jovovich's skeletal figure even robs us guys of the normally oh-so-hot super-futuristic-heroine costume perks ).

eyeCandy: Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (2006) 4/5

2006-07-21T23:57:00.000-04:00

Okay, okay, okay. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is probably a 3/5 movie if I wanted to be totally objective - it's a serious retread of the original film and, clocking in at almost two and a quarter hours, it's in dire need of tightening - but I just get too much enjoyment out of the marvelous visual work done on the oceany Davy Jones and his crew and, as I believe I've already mentioned on these pages, I think Johnny Depp is the greatest actor of his generation and is simply a pleasure to watch act.

So what's this one all about? Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and his love Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) have gotten into trouble for helping out that rascal Jack Sparrow (as accounted in the first film). Their only way out of this situation is to somehow acquire Jack's mysterious compass and return it to some scheming nobleman for a pardon. Unfortunately, this quest coincides with the supernatural horror of Davy Jones and his mutated crew of undead sea-men who have returned seeking Jack's soul in repayment of a debt. But what chance is there of defeating such horrors? Only to recover the Dead Man's Chest containing the still-beating heart of Davy Jones - possession of which allows you to control Jones and the waters he rules!

Johnny Depp once again does a great job on his cross-dressing, rock star pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, but the impact is simply not as powerful as it was in the first movie, which isn't that surprising. For the most part, the other actors in the film perform aptly but the movie doesn't really seem to be moving until Depp hits the screen. Actually, there is one exception to this - Davy Jones is a wonder to behold. This computer animated creature (performed by Bill Nighy) is a phenomenal achievement in visual effects. His crew are similarly interesting to behold, but Jones himself really transcends his animated nature to become a suitably convincing foil for Depp's Sparrow.

Was this movie as good as the first one? No, I don't think so. Although director Gore Verbinski and co. definitely made a valiant effort to add more flash and flair to the proceedings this time, the fact remains that the results exhibit some poor pacing and, in the absence of the superb technical work that was achieved, could have resulted in a relatively flat picture. That said, I certainly enjoyed the Dead Man's Chest and hold out some hope that the third installment of the series will leverage this considerable technological investment while learning from the missteps made here.

PS: This film ends with a scene leading immediately into the third installment of the series - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, coming in 2007 - which was shot back-to-back with this movie.

newsFlash: Syd Barrett, founder of Pink Floyd, dies

2006-07-12T10:24:00.000-04:00

I feel that given the impact that he and the early Floyd albums had in my high school and undergrad years, I should share with everyone that Syd Barrett, the founder and original lead singer/guitarist of Pink Floyd, died yesterday.

Barrett was responsible for the group's early singles, such as See Emily Play and Lucifer Sam, as well as penning almost all of their 1967 debut album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn . The ritualistic use and abuse of acid and other psychedlics, combined with the pressures of stardom, gradually incapacitated Barrett. In circumstances not unsimilar to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys' collapse after Pet Sounds, the band tried to keep Barrett around as a songwriter but replaced him on stage with a young David Gilmour. Barrett played a role in a couple of tunes on Pink Floyd's sophomore release, A Saucerful of Secrets, but that was the end of his Floyd contributions (Shine On You Crazy Diamond off of 1975's Wish You Were Here was a tribute to him).

Thankfully some of the band and related others coaxed Barrett into recorded two fascinating solo albums in 1970, the Madcap Laughs and Barrett (Opel, which consists of previously unreleased materials, was issued in 1988). As stated in the New Rolling Stone Record Guide (1983), these albums are "a fascinating if disconcerting case study of someone who went the chemical distance and never returned". Thanks for all the beauty and madness, my friend. Rest in peace.

commandN: First Year Anniversary Episode (#52)!!!

2006-07-11T22:41:00.000-04:00

commandN's first year anniversary episode is now online for your viewing pleasure! We've got Brian's interview with iconic director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence, Spider, Naked Lunch, the Fly, etc.), a review of the new iBeanbag chair, some security tips from Mike, plus Amber and I shot our headLINES and webPICKS (with Chris) from a boat on Halifax harbour. In short - lots of fun stuff!

We've been pushing to make each episode better than the last over commandN's first year, and we're all very happy to be able to share our awesome 52nd episode with you. Thanks for watching and here's to many more episodes to come!

eyeCandy: Superman Returns (2006) 4/5

2006-07-05T09:22:00.000-04:00

Superman Returns is an attempt to revive the Superman franchise, much in the same way as Batman Begins, and, I'm happy to say, it's a very successful attempt. Unlike Batman Begins, Superman Returns doesn't scrap all the movies that came before it and start from scratch. Although there is a certain amount of re-envisioning, Superman Returns picks up after a five-year absence from Earth by the Man of Steel. During that time Superman was in deep space investigating the remains of his home planet, Krypton, and Lex Luther was sitting in jail (a convenient convergence of events :-) ). I've heard people refer to this as "Superman 3", essentially, on the basis that the original 1983 Superman III and 1987's Superman IV are movies best forgotten. Having recently re-watched the original 1978 Superman, I'm not sure I wouldn't say that about the first two as well. In fairness, though, at least Superman I and Superman II were fairly true in spirit to the legend of Superman, whereas nothing so generous can be said about III and IV (the addition of Richard Pryor to the cast for the third installment should have been a strong hint).

Superman Returns is superbly directed by the talented Brian Singer, of Usual Suspects and X-Men fame (Singer also has a hand in the story development here as well). Singer was brought on after Brett Ratner left Superman Returns to direct X-Men 3, which Singer was supposed to direct but wanted to put off until he had a chance to try his hand at Superman Returns (the result: a big step up for Superman and a step down for X-Men 3). Brandon Routh does a fantastic job as Superman - he intensely evokes the memory of Christopher Reeve's original performance as the Man of Steel, not only bearing a physical resemblance, but carrying himself similarly and even emulating Reeve's speech (not since Ewan McGregor's takeover of the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi from Alec Guinness have I seen such a pitch perfect interpretation of character). Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor, while generally (and correctly, I think) harsher and more ruthless than Gene Hackman's original, is also inspired. In fact, all the characters (including Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane, who is now a mother and living with another man) have been fleshed out nicely and given a grittier edge than in the originals (Clark Kent even drinks a beer! :-) ).

I saw the IMAX version of the movie not only because I love the big, big screen, but because it presents some parts of the film in 3D. The 3D scenes were pretty neat and I was happy to see a major live-action picture experimenting with this kind of technology. That said, your seating position does have some effect on how realistic the 3D parts are (try to get to the middle of the theatre for this one to avoid the minor "double vision" you can get from some angles) and the fact that you have to put your glasses on and off at several different points in the film (there are only a few segments that are 3D, so you don't need to wear those goofy glasses the whole time) takes you out of the story a bit. Given that this is basically a "popcorn" movie, I don't think that's a major problem, though.

A couple of other pieces of trivia worth noting. Singer makes multiple references to the original movie in this film (e.g. the closing lines in Superman Returns, see PS below; when Superman saves Lois from a plane crash he says: "I hope this doesn't put any of you off flying. Statistically, it's still the safest way to travel", the same words Reeve spoke when he saved Lois from the helicopter crash in the first movie), but the one that really stood out for me was when it is said that Superman stands for "truth, justice, and that kind of stuff" (I'm paraphrasing) instead of "truth, justice, and the American way" - quite a telling amendment reflecting upon the perception of the United States in today's world. In other trivia, Superman's father, Jor-El (cast as Anthony Hopkins by Ratner), is actually played once again by Marlon Brando. Singer used Brando's parts from the original Superman, and discarded scenes from Superman II, to assemble an effective performance from the now-deceased actor.

All in all this is a wonderful new beginning for one of the most iconic characters in our culture. The hokiness and comedic relief (e.g. Luthor's bumbling cohorts in the originals) are pretty much gone, as is, thank god, the completely unbearable Margot Kidder poem from the first movie (I can't recall cringing so intensely at any part of any movie in recent memory). Despite his humble small-town roots, this is a 21st century Superman and one who I hope to see again before too long.

PS: There is a pretty major twist in this movie that doesn't fully reveal itself until close to the end. I won't mention it here but it shouldn't be hard to find out about if you're curious.

newsFlash: Brian and I Interviewed at Thunderbirdsix.org

2006-06-28T16:27:00.000-04:00

Forgot to post this when it originally aired a couple of weeks ago but Brian McKechnie (commandN's editor) and I did an interview for Episode 33 of the podcast Thunderbird Six.

Thuderbird Six is a Canadian podcast hosted by Dave Brodbeck, and he's been doing quite a few interviews in the podcast world as of late. Anyway, take a listen - lots of interesting chats about the rise of podcasting, how we make commandN, and other fun stuff!

PS: You'll have to excuse my own audio quality, as I'm just using a cheap headset through Skype :-) .

eyeCandy: Star Wars I.2 - the Phantom Edit (2001?) 4/5

2006-06-23T23:26:00.000-04:00

The Phantom Edit is a finely crafted re-edit of George Lucas' disappointing Phantom Menace prequel to the original Star Wars movies. Put together by an (at the time) anonymous film editor who calls himself "the Phantom Editor", the original Star Wars I.1 - the Phantom Edit was painstakingly assembled from the VHS release of the Phantom Menace. Although I have seen this older copy years ago (it helps to have friends at ILM ;-) ), this review is for the more recently assembled Star Wars I.2 - the Phantom Edit which, although almost identical to Episode I.1, was created from the DVD release with 5.1 soundtrack, and so is a much more seamless and enjoyable version to watch. It even has the Phantom Editor doing a Commentary track, which is of tremendous benefit to understanding what changes have been made and why.

I'm not going to get into the story of the Phantom Menace, since anyone who has any interest in the Phantom Edit already knows far too much about these movies :-) , but I will instead focus on the changes made. As the Phantom Editor says in the commentary, this was not done to diss George Lucas, who was actually one of the Phantom Editor's film idols growing up. Rather, this re-edit was made in response to the terrible disappointment (for almost every hard-core fan) of Lucas' first prequel and his apparent ignorance of the very film principles used to make the original movies the classics that they remain today. Remember as I go through the following that there was no additional footage available to the editor (in fact, the movie is now mercifully more than 20 minutes shorter, clocking in at about 1.50 when the credits roll) - everything had to be assembled from visual cuts already in the movie and the masterful use of the 5.1 channel sound mix. Here are the main changes:

Job number one: remove Jar-Jar Binks as much as possible. As the Phantom Editor relates, Jar-Jar can't be removed completely b/c he is too integral to the story in the end. Would he have written the Phantom Edit story without Jar-Jar? Of course. But since Jar-Jar is important to the storyline, the Editor does the next best thing: he edits out all of Jar-Jar "antics" whenever possible. No stepping in "doopoo", no distracting the audience with his clumsiness during high-intensity scenes, nothing like that. The result is that jar-Jar becomes a very bearable character and, if you can forget the hatred you feel for him from your first viewing of Lucas' movie, then he just seems to fit into the story like any other character.

Job number two: remove the story redundancies. Ever notice how Lucas will put in a scene with the Jedi killing the droids and then the very next scene has another group of people telling one another that, you guessed it, the Jedi killed the droids? The Phantom Editor chalks this up to Lucas crafting this movie for kids instead of adults, and has mercifully spared us the countless occurrences where one scene simply recaps the previous scene. The positive effect that this has on the pacing of the story is enormous.

Job number three: make Anakin more of a bad-a$$. :-) There's nothing much that can be done about the substantially less than stellar acting of the young Jake Lloyd, who plays Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the first film, especially in his verbal delivery. The approach the Phantom Editor has taken is inspired. On one front, simply cut out Anakin's non-essential dialog. Lloyd is far more effective visually just standing there than he is with his poorly written dialog, and this simple cut makes it so the audience is often left wondering what dark thoughts lie behind Lloyd's eyes (e.g. when the Jedi council is skeptical of whether to train him, Anakin appears to be seething without saying anything). On another front, the Editor has cut off all the "oops", "awws", "yippees", and other meaningless (and, for a young Darth Vader, out-of-character) fragments at the end of Lloyd's sentences. An example of how effective this is comes when Anakin has taken refuge inside one of the Naboo fighters and Qui-Gon tells him to stay inside the cockpit for safety. When the droids come and endanger Padme, instead of having Lloyd saying "Gee, I wonder what this button does" before he fires of the ship's weapons and "Whoops" after he destroys the droids, the young Vader now just looks over the cockpit at them and swings into action - quickly annihilating Padme's aggressors and showing that there is something very powerful within this young boy.

There are other cuts made, of course, but those are the three main categories that really help the film. As the Editor says, one of the biggest hurdles in enjoying the re-edit is in letting go of the hate you felt for the original Phantom Menace (hate, after all, leads to the dark side ;-) ). In the end, the re-edit is a fascinating example of the enormous power that editing can have on a lackluster movie (oh, if only Hollywood could see that with the years of bloated films we've had to endure). What was once a hardly bearable children's film has been transformed into the space epic that it was supposed to be. So, if you're a big Star Wars fan, seek out a copy of this (it's not for sale anywhere, or Lucas would probably hunt down and kill the people selling it, but I'm sure you industrious computer users can figure out how to find it), listen to the Commentary, watch the movie, and then give a silent thanks to Mike J. Nichols, the Phantom Editor, for saving what should have been an incredible film.

PS: There are other re-edits of the Phantom Menace which play with the story a lot more and are simply not as well-crafted or effective as this version, so beware. If you start to see Jar-Jar espousing deep Jedi philosophy through subtitled dialog then you'll know you don't have the real "Edit".

MacOnMacs: Running Windows on Your Intel Mac

2006-06-15T10:05:00.000-04:00

I just came across this article from NotebookReview.com which compares running Windows on your Intel Mac using Boot Camp (in Beta now but to be included in the next Mac OS X release) vs. using Parallels. It's an interesting read and should be helpful for any of you out there who are wondering about the best way to be able to use Windows on your Intel Mac.

The crux of the matter is that Boot Camp requires that you actually reboot your computer into Windows. However, at that point you are actually running Windows (and only Windows - Mac OS is not running) "natively" on your Intel chip, which provides better support to hardware and a much faster computing experience for gamers and people who are using more intense programs under Windows. For those of us who use Windows primary to do things like check out what our websites look like on Internet Explorer (yuck! :-) ) or to troubleshoot email and other simple problems for others, then Parallels "virtual machine" is probably sufficient. Using a virtual machine opens Windows in what looks like just another application Window, doesn't require a reboot, and keeps Mac OS running as your primary OS. Although this isn't as speedy and responsive as running natively, it provides a much easier solution for situations where we want to see BOTH Windows and Mac OS at the same time. Microsoft's Virtual PC is based on the same concept.

Don't forget that with any of these solutions you will still need to own and install a licensed copy of Windows XP. Boot Camp and Parallels are just programs to help your Mac run Windows - they don't actually INCLUDE a Windows OS with them. This brings us to the biggest reason why I ended up uninstalling my old copy of Virtual PC: Having another OS on your hard drive eats up a LOT of space, which is something to consider if you either don't have much HD space or if you just don't end up using Windows very much (which, thankfully, is increasingly easy to do with all the great programs out for Mac now, as well as the growth of Web 2.0 apps that are platform independent). Let me know how it all works out for ya! ;-)

newsFlash: Torrent on G4TechTV

2006-06-12T13:50:00.000-04:00

I told you in my return post that I'd give you some details on what I was up to during "the Silent Months" on my blog :-) . Well one of those things was writing all the music, and coordinating the graphics with my friend and fantastic artist Yoshi Arima, for the new G4TechTV television show, Torrent.

Torrent is "a weekly one-hour television Internet-culture show for tech-savvy audiences looking for unique first-person pop-tech stories from around the world". Torrent's slogan is "from podcast to broadcast", which refers to the fact that, aside from Amber's hosting and some other short pieces, most of the content is taken from video podcasts online. So, in addition to my music and graphics work, I also have one of my commandN segments in each Torrent episode - which is cool b/c, well, it's on TV :-) . As you can read on the website "Torrent will bring the best video podcast segments on the Internet to the living rooms of our viewers. It will be the first time ever that a network selects the best podcasts for broadcast". A great idea and a substantial bridge between the online video world of podcasting and the world of traditional broadcast television.

The show is still very new but I've been noticing improvements almost every episode. It's great to see some of the excellent content online cross mediums here, and I find myself learning something new with each show (which is the kind of viewing I like ;-) ). Although Torrent is only broadcast in Canada and (I think?) Australia right now, there are numerous ways to find and download this online (I'll post a link if I find one, as I don't think there's much wrong with American and other viewers downloading content that they otherwise would have no access to). Check it out!

UPDATE: Found that link (and note that these do get progressively better, so watch through a few of the more recent ones too ;-) )... www.1hug.com/tor/.

earCandy: K-Os - Joyful Rebellion (2004) 5/5

2006-06-05T19:31:00.000-04:00

K-Os is a fantastically talented and progressive rapper/singer/producer based out of Toronto, Canada. His first album, 2003's Exit, revealed a new entity on the hip-hop scene who was as comfortable singing as he was rapping, whose lyrics were both conscious and cutting, and whose productions covered a wide gamut of different styles and instrumentation. His sophomore release, Joyful Rebellion, shows his abilities continuing their growth with its thirteen songs providing some of the best listening from the genre (if he indeed fits in "the genre" at all) in recent years.

The first single, B-Boy Stance, is actually one of the weaker tunes, harkening back to legitimate roots but whose repetitiveness seems a little out of place in such an otherwise rich album. Crabbuckit was probably the next single and had a much broader appeal - the vamp from "Hit The Road Jack" forms a swingin basis and the addition of horns and contrasting rapping and singing work wonderfully. The second song, Crucial, is a a great reggae-infused cut and mashes together rock and other elements, like many of the tunes here. Following this is the Man I Used To Be - pretty much pure Michael Jackson with a couple of raps interspersed. Love Song and the rocking Dirty Water (with Sam Roberts) are other great cuts, and the album ender, Papercutz explodes with fabulous live fretless bass, blazing horns, and some effective scratching.

K-Os is probably Canada's biggest representative on the hip hop scene and, with such a unique "voice" and a couple of superlative albums under his belt, I'm glad he's on our side :-) .

PS: I can't really heap as much praise on his website, though, as I have a professional distaste for sites with absolutely no navigation :-) (although it does have some good content, allowing you to listen to songs and view videos).

eyeCandy: X-Men 3: the Last Stand (2006) 4/5

2006-05-29T10:03:00.000-04:00

X-Men 3: the Last Stand is the latest in the X-Men franchise and, for the most part, it is a decent film that should satisfy most viewers. I've put it at 4/5 b/c I believe the first two movies are awfully close to 5/5 for this genre, though I thought long and hard about giving this one a 3/5 b/c of issues I had with the directing.

In this film, we have a storyline taken from the X-Men comics which is massaged to construct the plot of the Last Stand. Jean Grey's character returns from her apparent demise in the previous film but with some disturbing differences. The power she evidenced at the close of X-Men 2 has, in the absence of Professor X's psychic assistance, blossomed to the point where her own control of this incredible power, indeed even whether or not this can even be thought of as Jean Grey (as opposed to the Phoenix, from the comic storyline), is doubtful. This discovery arises in the context of the government having developed a weaponized "anti-mutant" serum that would permanently remove mutants' powers and revert them back to homo-sapiens.

The characters of Beast (another blue furry guy, to replace Nightcrawler I guess :-) , and played by Kelsey Grammar), Kitty Pryde (formerly the little girl who walked through walls, and played by Halifax's own Ellen Page), and Angel (who is barely in the film, played by Ben Foster) are introduced for the "good guys". They join Professor X (again, perfectly acted by Patrick Stewart) and returning X-Men Colossus (Daniel Cudmore - who we saw briefly turning to metal in the previous film), Storm, Iceman, and, everybody's fav, Wolverine (fanboy note: this movie introduces the "fastball special" combo move by which Colossus takes Wolverine and launches him at the enemy).

Magneto (Ian McKellen - superb as always) has also done some recruiting, giving flamer Pyro (Aaron Stanford) a bigger role, and introducing the inspired choice of Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut (whose powers actually come from a mystical gem and so who is not a mutant at all despite being a member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants - more fanboy trivia). A variety of other members have roles of varying significance.

So what's the problem with this movie? The story is decent (decent enough to make a movie on par with the earlier two) but the realization of the story is where this movie falls flat. Some of the dialog seems a little dumbed down and awkward, and frankly (although not surprisingly) Bret Ratner, whose most known movies are probably the Rush Hour series, just can't direct as well as Bryan Singer who, along with crafting two of the best superhero movies ever with the first two X-Men (and hopefully a third in the works with the new Superman), can claim the Usual Suspects and other successful and challenging films on his resume.

Indeed, Bryan Singer was supposed to direct X-Men 3 but instead jumped at the opportunity to take over a flailing production of the new Superman Returns from... who? Brett Ratner. With typical studio wisdom, 20th Century Fox declined Singer's offer to simply start on X-Men 3 after his work on Superman Returns was over (an opportunity he understandably did not want to miss), and instead gave the job to Ratner who, coincidently, was also one of the potential directors for the original X-Men in 2000 (we see from X-Men 3 that it is a blessing that Singer was chosen instead). A strange turn of events and ultimately the decision that I think made this movie not stand up to the previous two.

In short, if you think you'd like this movie then I think you will. If you're a bit worried that it won't stack up to earlier X-Men b/c of the loss of Singer's direction then you're right. However, it's still a decent movie, and where else can you so many live action superheros and villains in one place? :-)

newsFlash: Best and Worst Tech Products

2006-05-26T23:19:00.000-04:00

I don't usually like to just point people to other articles in my blog posts, but PC World has recently followed up its list of "50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years" with a "25 Worst Tech Products of All Time" list, both of which are fun reads.

Topping out the list of best products are the Sony Walkman TPS-L2 (1979) and the Apple iPod (2001) - interesting that the two best tech products are both music-oriented. A look further down the list brings back fond memories of #7 - Atari Video Computer System (1977), #27 - Commodore 64 (1982), and some other hits from my childhood.

For worst products, we start out with America Online (1989-2006) and RealNetworks RealPlayer (1999) in the top two positions (no argument there). A couple of entries from Microsoft, Microsoft Windows Millennium (2000) and Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (2001) appear at #4 and #8 respectively. And just to show you that I am not just a rabid Apple fanboy, I have to point out that Apple does have a couple of entries here too: Apple's 16-pound Macintosh "Portable" (1989) at #17 and- did you know that before Xbox, PlayStation, or DreamCast, Apple had an internet-capable game console that connected to your TV? It did and it was crappy - #22, the Apple Pippin @World (1996).

What do you think the best and worst tech products are? Write a comment to let me and other readers know your picks (especially if they aren't already on PC World's list)!

eyeCandy: the Da Vinci Code (2006) 4/5

2006-05-22T10:52:00.000-04:00

The Da Vinci Code, the movie, is based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown. The story begins with the murder of the curator of the Louvre museum in Paris, a man who was supposed to meet with the film's main protagonist, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (well-played by Tom Hanks), that evening. What results is an intriguing chase through riddles and historical legend to unravel an ongoing battle between the secret Priory of Sion society, whose duty it has been to protect the secret of Holy Grail over the years, and the Opus Dei, "a clandestine, Vatican-sanctioned Catholic organization" (or at least they are in the book - many of the more direct organizational connections have been "softened" in the film in an attempt to avoid provoking the church and its followers - with varying degrees of success), who wish to destroy the secret the Priory has been guarding.

The movie is directed by Ron Howard who, although a little out of his usual element in this thriller, does a capable job of the storytelling (the pacing could be a little tighter) but a laudable job of the film's gorgeous visuals (which include historical recreations of some of the myths examined, as well as some beautiful on-site location shots - I desperately wanted to travel to Europe again after seeing this). Rounding out the main characters in the story are the beautiful French actress Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist who has a very personal involvement in the case, and the fantastic Ian McKellen, always an absolute pleasure to watch, as the crippled Holy Grail expert, Sir Leigh Teabing. Jean Reno, Paul Bettany, and a few other familiar faces round out the cast.

This film has been largely panned by critics, and I'm just not sure why. Let me say that I have not read the book (though my wife has, and she said the movie played quite close to the book in most instances), so I am not victim to the inevitable "but it's not as good as the book" syndrome. I expect that at least some of this has to be the result of misguided religious sentiment, as the movie (although to a lesser degree than the book, it would seem) certainly presents some ideas that would make any "true believers" more than a little uncomfortable. To this end it must be said that the author, director, and others have taken great pains to explain that this is a work of fiction that, although based on some vague historical evidence, does not profess to be taken as gospel, or so to speak >:-) . Others might want to take a bit of the shine off of golden boys Howard and Hanks, both of who I think perform at least satisfactorily here. I don't know, maybe it's just that I LIKE all the riddles and puzzles, I LIKE the historical interconnectedness - sure, there are some weak points in the movie, but I would expect that anyone who enjoys thrillers and some thought-provoking elements to their films would certainly enjoy the Da Vinci Code.

If someone questioning the mythology of Christian religion bothers you then do us all a favour - go see another movie and leave us to enjoy this one - I, for one, like movies that question established beliefs, and I believe it's this very questioning that should strengthen any belief that is worth believing in.

PS: I don't want to focus on this too much, as I have no problem with anyone believing what they wish (as long as they don't expect me to necessarily share their beliefs), but check out some of the comments for the book Beyond the Da Vinci Code, which examines in further depth some of the topics explored in Dan Brown's novel, for an example of why I find the reaction to these "explorations" frustrating. NOTE: I have NOT read this book either, I just thought it was a useful demonstration of people who take simple questioning as an attack on their values.

I'm back...

2006-05-15T16:01:00.000-04:00

After an over-two-month hiatus, I am finally back (I hope you missed me! :-) ). I've been so insanely busy during that time that something just had to give. Unfortunately for you guys (and me, b/c I miss it), my blog was what got put on the back burner (seeing as how I still needed to put a roof over my head, and this thing doesn't exactly pay the bills). Please accept my sincere apologies and I promise to get back on track with postings each and every week, and hopefully even more often (the daily posts took a little too much out of me for me to commit to that right away). :-)

A brief rundown of what I've been up to:

journeying to Sri Lanka for a couple of weeks to shoot a Tsunami Reconstruction video (soon to be released online - I'll be sure to provide some more details here ASAP);
writing the music for, and directing the graphics production of, a new tech TV show;
finding out a lot of interesting Mac tips and tricks in all this work, while becoming more familiar with Final Cut Pro and some other apps (and also keeping up on the Apple rumour mill, of course);
traveling to Miami and Daytona Beach in Florida, and Vancouver, BC, and doing some shooting in each place;
developing some websites and other media projects;
and, of course, shooting commandN each week.

I'll be posting more info on each and every one of these things and more, but since I'm just easing back into blogging I think I'll keep you in suspense until my next post ;-) .

Thanks for hanging in there while my life got crazy-fied. I can't wait to get back into the blogging community, reading your great comments, and providing you with some useful reading material. Let the blogging begin...

eyeCandy: The Matador (2005) 4/5

2006-02-20T21:18:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching The Matador, and I really liked it. The darkly comic storyline revolves around a hitman, or "fatality facilitator", Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan), who has a chance meeting with a friendly businessman, Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), in Mexico. Initially coy about his work, Julian ends up revealing to Danny over a bullfight exactly what it is he does in his life. Skepticism turns to fascination and the two share in conversation and antics until Danny heads home and Julian heads off to his next job. While all goes well with Danny, Julian quickly unravels and his failure to make his next hit ends with Julian himself as the target. The result is a late night arrival to the Wright residence by Mr. Noble, a turn of events which ends up being more than just a chance visit to whom Julian reveals is his only friend.

The movie is well written and provides some very funny dialog (Brosnan's ongoing one-liners are great, e.g. "I look like a Bangkok hooker on a Sunday morning after the navy's left town"), but the greatest pleasure in the Matador is watching Pierce Brosnan play so dramatically against type as a crass, manipulative hitman - no James Bond here (and you won't want to miss his notorious Speedo and boots scene)! The chemistry between Brosnan and Greg Kinnear is also a highlight, with the two sliding perfectly into their respective roles and working perfectly off one another.

The story takes a couple of unexpected turns (the biggest of which turns right back around again) but is generally straightforward and easy to follow. The focus on character exploration is appropriate and the 96 minute running time feels just right. Maybe this won't be the most memorable movie you'll ever see, but it's a solid and rewarding effort - a movie that knows what it is, what it wants to accomplish, and which goes about doing so without getting caught up in any excess. Great acting, funny dialog, and a solid story - sounds like a good movie to me! ;-)

earCandy: Mr. Bungle - California (1999) 5/5

2006-02-16T16:56:00.001-05:00

First let me say that, and this is something that I've thought about a lot, I don't think it's right to just review new releases, because if you haven't heard it before then it's a new release to you, right? (no getting caught up in the marketing craze for us, no way! ;-) ) To that end, I now submit for review the last release by Mr. Bungle, 1999's California.

Mr. Bungle is a bit like crossing Ween with John Zorn (who produced the band's 1991 self-titled debut album). They delight in genre-crossing, like Ween, but they tend to do it several times in the same song (e.g. the second tune on the album, None of Them Knew They Were Robots, is at its heart a hardcore swing song, complete with full horn section, but with some death metal mixed in to good effect)! I'd love to watch their live show to see if the band can pull off these aural gymnastics in real time, because the recordings are totally seamless in this respect.

When I first got this album, it was my favorite CD for a long time. It had everything I love: great musicianship, complex tunes, and the requisite level of strangeness (and then some). For example, I don't know if it's the opening seaside strains from Sweet Charity, the album's first tune, but I really think there's an element of the Beach Boys in all this - the album has some great harmonies and is generally more melodic than Mr. Bungle's earlier fare. And even though almost everything breaks into some manicness at some point, there are a couple of great down tempo songs here too (like Retrovertigo and Pink Cigarette). I couldn't make it through this review without mentioning one of my favourite songs on the album, Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy, which sounds an awful lot like what I'd imagine from the Residents if they were a acid-drenched techno-funk band :-) . The only weakness overall is that the superlative lead singer Mike Patton's vocals (probably best known from the band Faith No More) are unfortunately buried in the mix in places - not something you want when your compositions are as densely packed as Bungle's.

Mr. Bungle probably aims to be relatively inaccessible - their first album and, to a lesser degree, 1995's Disco Volante are totally impossible to listen through in mixed company - but California is a close as they've gotten to an album that most people can listen to end-to-end without reaching for the fast forward button. So keep in mind that, although I think this is a 5/5 album, that rating probably only applies for more adventurous listeners. ;-)

eyeCandy: Capote (2005) 4/5

2006-02-15T15:35:00.000-05:00

The film Capote is about the infamous writer, Truman Capote - a role which is played to eerie perfection by the exceptionally talented and versatile Philip Seymour Hoffman (who lost 40 lbs for his part).

The story centres entirely around Capote's research for, and subsequent writing of, his popular "non-fiction novel", In Cold Blood (which, along with Breakfast at Tiffany's, is among his most popular works). The book is to be written about the murder of a family of four in Kansas, an act for which the two perpetrators provide no real explanation. As his research continues, the lead character establishes a relationship with one of the killers, with whom he develops a trust that Capote must ultimately break (given that, despite his occasional attempts to help the killers, Capote is convinced that this is the book that will make him, and a death sentence would wrap things up nicely).

The film provides some interesting insights into Capote, the man (e.g. he claims to have "94% recall about conversations" and was harassed about his unusual voice in school), and the story is well developed and delivered. There isn't exactly a lot of excitement in Capote, but the performances by Hoffman, Chris Cooper, and others are top notch. Once again, the movie, in my opinion, is that much better due to being based on a true story - it is interesting to see the times and tribulations of Capote in his heyday.

Capote was filmed in just 36 days, though this doesn't seem to have affected the craftsmanship evident here (it was nominated for 5 Academy Awards). In the end, though, the movie just didn't impact me very much, despite being a solid film. Still, it is a worthwhile watch (and respectfully clocks in at under two hours ;-) ).

iRant: HDTV (follow-up to comments posts)

2006-02-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

FYI, I just completed the first of a two part HDTV segment for this coming Monday's episode of commandN. I cover Display Types and Display Technologies, which can be a little confusing for HDTV newbies.

I've gotten quite a few comments asking about what kind of TV I bought and whether I survived the delivery process, so here goes...

I just got my final delivery for my Superbowl party/den of audio-visual delights, so all has gone well and the ordeal is now over! :-) The television I bought was a 52' Toshiba DLP rear projection HDTV (Toshiba 52HM85). I am VERY happy with this television to date. One cool thing about it that I didn't know was that you can do split screen viewing from different inputs, i.e. I could play my XBox (or watch a DVD or whatever) on the left hand side of the TV screen while watching digital cable on the right hand side of my screen - very cool!

I'm also very happy with my new HD cable box, which has a built in DVR (digital video recorder - a hard drive to record digital programming, like a TiVo) with two separate receivers. What this means is that I can watch one channel while recording another, or record two channels while watching a third previously-recorded show. It doesn't have the "I thought you might be interested in watching this show"-TiVo ability (I'd want a bigger hard drive for that anyway), but it's got just about everything else. A simple interface integrates well into the digital cable guide listings to record individual shows or recurring episodes of a series, and you can pause and rewind live TV (b/c the DVR is always recording a buffer of what you're watching). The biggest limitation that I expect I'll face is that my box will only record about 10 hours of high definition programming (which is all I eventually plan to watch :-) ).

Another point: I've certainly noticed a difference in quality levels of HDTV programming (and a lack of programming generally). For example, "CSI" and "My Name is Earl" look like their are SHOT as well as broadcast in HD (which means they look FANTASTIC!!!), whereas "That 70's Show" and a lot of others just seem to be upconverted to HD for broadcast. There are also a couple of high def channels that I can't get right now that I'd love to have - DiscoveryHD, for instance, and GlobalHD (for Canada).

I'd love for people to let me know what shows they think look best in HDTV, so leave me a comment with your favs!

PS: I just realized that I told a small lie above, I'm still waiting for my new Yamaha 5.1 home theatre system to arrive. This won't affect my Superbowl enjoyment too much, but it'll be a great addition for movies and shows broadcast with 5.1 (6-channel: 2 front, 2 rear, 1 centre, and 1 bass speaker) sound. I'll also likely be buying a new DVD player that upconverts to a high def signal pretty soon - I was a little disappointed at the results from my current DVD player, which looks pretty much like TV used to :-) .

MacOnMacs: GarageBand 3 Podcast/Movie Tools Crash

2006-02-03T11:32:00.000-05:00

NOTE: This failed to publish last night, so I'm reposting it now. :-)

I am extremely disappointed with the GarageBand 3 update in iLife '06. It's not that I don't think the new podcast or movie scoring tools aren't great, it's that I can't use them - at all - trying to do so just results in a nasty crash. I can start a "New Music Project" without any problems, but when I select "New Podcast Episode" or "New Movie Score", GarageBand goes ahead and starts loading in a bunch of stuff until it freezes on "Loading 'projectName' (Equalizer)...". At that point, GarageBand freezes and needs a "Force Quit" to close. I know there will be people that leap up, as they always do, to defend Apple as not possibly being able to predict and test all use cases, but I've seen enough complaints about this particular issue that I have to point the finger at Apple for not doing enough testing before releasing this to the public.

I've tried the recommendations that I've found on the web...

Flip4Mac, the free software that replaces Microsoft's discontinued Mac support of .wmv files, was rumoured to be a problem (although apparently the latest update fixed this), but I uninstalled that to no effect;
People also talked about there being an issue with some unsupported media types that get accessed through iLife's new Media Browser, which is built in to some of the new apps. It was suggested that you remove all your video media to somewhere other than your Movies or home folder to test this. I did them one better and created a fresh account, but to no avail. Besides, the Media Browser seems to work just fine in iWeb, so I doubt this is the problem.

Those are the main tips I've seen out there, but they've gotten me nowhere (hopefully they'll help some of you, though). I was so excited about using both of these great new tools in GarageBand, as they incorporate two things that I do professionally: making podcasts and scoring videos/film. If anyone has some other recommendations that you think might help then please let me know. Until then, I will be waiting for an update from Apple that I don't even know is going to come.

iRant: HDTVs, FutureShop, the SuperBowl, and Snowstorms

2006-02-01T17:43:00.000-05:00

I've been doing a lot of research into HDTVs lately and, being a bit of a videophile, I finally decided that buying one would be worth the hefty price tag. So, somehow convincing myself that, after all this time, I simply had to get the TV before the SuperBowl, I trotted out to the nearest FutureShop and proceeded to look around. Through some unknown inspiration, it seemed that my SuperBowl sense was right and that FutureShop was having a great sale on a couple of nice widescreens. However, this meant that I needed to buy the TV by January 26th. I thought about it and then returned to buy on that day, in plenty of time for the SuperBowl on February 5th.

Only they don't keep TVs like that in stock - too big - it had to come down in the next load from their warehouse in Montreal or Toronto. I was told that it would arrive on the morning of February 1st, but couldn't be delivered directly to my house (for $60) until the week after the SuperBowl. I opted to pick it up on the 1st instead (gotta see the SuperBowl) and was told to call the pick up place the night before.

In the meantime, I find out that my cable provider will not send people to hook up an HD box (and yes, they have to hook it all up themselves), unless the HDTV is there. Fine, but I wanted to make sure I got the most use out of it, so I booked it for Thursday the 2nd, figuring I'd be sure to have the TV at my place by then.

Unfortunately, this TV is way to big for my car, so I have to try to find a way to get it from the warehouse to my place. I managed to find a cab company that would send a van there and back to my place for $25, but I had to move it myself. Only I couldn't, so I arranged for my neighbours to be at my place when the cab arrived with the TV (and trusted on the good heart of the guy at the pick up place to help me put it in the cab).

So last night I call the pick up place and leave a message on their answering machine asking them to call me to let me know when they're open tomorrow (Feb 1st - 10am-4pm, it turns out). As I go to bed, a pleasant snow begins to fall on our frozen lawn.

I wake up to the phone at 7:15am - the guy from the pick up place - doesn't look like they're even going to be open today because, while I slept, over a foot of snow had fallen in Halifax. I asked if my TV would not get in until tomorrow (the 2nd) - he checked and told me that my TV had been there since Monday (the 23rd)! Well I could have easily picked it up Monday or Tuesday but, apparently, FutureShop don't bother to include phone numbers on the information they give to the pick up guy! He's complained about it too, so I end up asking him what it would cost to have it delivered to my house tomorrow. $50 - that's funny, if I had booked that through FutureShop (using the exact same delivery guys) it was to mysteriously cost me $60! Is this why they don't supply the phone numbers to the delivery guys? In any case, it didn't matter because he couldn't deliver it tomorrow because of the backed up deliveries he'd have from today (big snowstorm). In the end I look up some delivery service numbers in the Yellow Pages and, with costs ranging from $50-$175, I opt for the cheapest one I can find. We're to go tomorrow morning, in time for my cable provider's appointment in the afternoon.

I hope all goes well tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to having my new television and experiencing some high-def programming, DVDs, and, yes, the SuperBowl. :-)

MacOnMacs: iPhoto '06 - Fixing Permissions & Sharing

2006-01-31T17:51:00.000-05:00

I recently installed iLife '06, which has some great improvements but still has some bugs that I hope are addressed soon. One thing that I know a lot of people have faced after installing iPhoto 6, launching it for the first time, and then starting the requisite library update, is a message telling you to repair permissions on your iPhoto Library folder (and its contents) due to a lack of proper permissions. Here is a quick way to do this:

In the Finder, select your iPhoto Library folder (usually in the Pictures directory in your home folder) and press command/apple-i (File->Get Info);
From the resultant popup, open the "Ownership & Permissions" section and the "Details" section therein;
Make sure that you're either...
- the Owner and the owner's Access is set to "Read & Write" OR
- a member of the correct Group and that that group's Access is set to "Read & Write" (see more about this below)
After you've verified that the iPhoto Library has the proper permissions (as detailed in the last point), click "Apply to enclosed items";
Relaunch iPhoto and, god willing, you will be able to now do the upgrade without further problems!

Another issue that is ongoing with iPhoto is having multiple users on the same machine be able to share and edit the same iPhoto library. Maybe there are some welcome changes in iPhoto '06 to address this, but I don't think so (at least not to be able to edit photos as well as view them). Here is one (of several) way to do this:
NOTE: There is one step in the process I outline below that is a little technical, and that's creating a new group. I won't go into too much detail on this now but I'll tell you where to start off.
WARNING: Make a backup of your iPhoto library in case of unexpected results.

In the Finder, select your iPhoto Library folder and move it to Macintosh HD/Users/Shared;
Select your newly relocated iPhoto Library folder and right-click->Make Alias (or File->Make Alias);
Move this alias to the Pictures folder in your home folder and then remove the " alias" part of the name so that the alias file itself is now named simply "iPhoto Library" (repeat this step for the other users on your computer);
At this point you should be able to open iPhoto (and, if necessary, select the above alias as your library) and it will follow the alias to the Shared folder to see the library contents. One problem - all the users may not have permission to modify the files in the library;
One solution to this is to create a new group (I call mine "sharedUser"), which you can do through the Applications/Utilities/NetInfo Manager app;
This is the part I don't want to get too deep into b/c you need to have some idea of what you're doing here (if you're not sure then research this online a bit first). In a nutshell, highlight "groups" (probably in the second column) and click the "New" icon in the upper left corner (you may have to click on the lock at the bottom of this window to make changes). Here is the "Property" - "Value" pairs I used...
- gid - 201
- name - sharedUser
- password - *
- users - (username1, username2, username3), which should open to show "Value(s)" of...
  - username1
  - username2
  - username3
Now that you have a new Group including everyone you want to share your library with, we're going to go through the process we did in my first tip. In the Finder, select Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/iPhoto Library and hit command-i (File->Get Info);
Under "Ownership & Permissions"->"Details", select your new Group from the pulldown (in my case, "sharedUser") and set its Access to "Read & Write";
Now, with your access properly set to allow for any users in that group to both read (view) and write (edit) the iPhoto Library folder in the Shared directory, be sure to click "Apply to enclosed items" to make these changes to ALL the files in this folder.

Not exactly a simple process, and I really think Apple needs to work on a way to make this kind of stuff easier. I tried making an Automator script that would do this, but I couldn't find all the settings I needed in there - if you know of a way to use Automator to change permissions then please let me know.

Hope that helps to make your move to iPhoto 6 (with its intriguing Photocasting feature) a little simpler! I'll be putting some more posts up here as I get more familiar with the new iLife '06 apps.

commandN: commandN hoodie in latest Superman comic!

2006-01-29T00:37:00.000-05:00

This just in...

One of our viewers has pointed out to us that commandN has made an appearance in the latest Adventures of Superman comic (issue 648 - Mar 06). Mid-way through the book, some youths are robbing an electronics store and one of them is wearing a commandN hoodie (okay, we only have T-shirts right now :-) ) in two of the panels. See it here. Pretty cool!

Anyway, have been terribly busy but I should have a several new entries this week - have seen some good movies and read some cool stuff. ;-)

inPrint: Take files between the office and home (Microsoft Home Magazine)

2006-01-24T20:04:00.000-05:00

I know I'm usually pretty Mac-o-centric around here, but I thought I'd point everyone to a new article I was interviewed for called "Work it: Take files between the office and home" in Microsoft Home Magazine. The article discusses considerations to be made when telecommuting and applies generally to all platforms, not just Windoze ;-) . Check it out!

eyeCandy: Underworld: Evolution (2006) 3/5

2006-01-22T17:32:00.000-05:00

Underworld: Evolution is, despite a fairly contrived plot and a couple of hokey sentimental moments, pretty much what you'd expect in a decent follow up to the original Underworld. The movie is great to look at (and, in fact, you also get to look at Kate Beckinsale without that pesky skin-tight black suit on in a little Vampite/Hybrid love scene), but it's a more of a colleciton of cool sequences than a great movie.

The tone is consistent with the first Underworld - dark and hip, sort of a Matrix feel but with vampires and werewolves. The story revolves around the two proginators of the original vampire and werewolf lines. These two first-of-the-species creatures are brothers and, in the intro of the movie, we are shown how the wild werewolf brother was imprisoned long ago for his beastly acts, much to the chagrin of his vampire brother. The vampire brother, after patiently biding his time, is now on a quest to free his ancient werewolf sibling with only our heroes (the vampire Kate Beckinsale and the vampire/werewolf hybrid Scott Speedman) standing in his way.

To their credit, the creators of Underworld are at least trying to develop their own mythology around this endless war between Werewolves (called Lycan here) and Vampires (or Death Dealers) - somewhat in the spirit of what Anne Rice did more successfully in her Vampire Chronicles novels.

In short, if you saw the 2003 Underworld and liked it, or if you're just looking for some action/horror/sci-fi eye candy, then you probably won't be disappointed with Underworld: Evolution. If this doesn't sound like something you'd be in to then I'd give it a pass ;-) .

MacOnMacs: A look back at 2005 (and ahead)

2006-01-18T10:28:00.000-05:00

Now that we're a couple of weeks into 2006 and I've had a chance to fully absorb January's Macworld event, I thought we could take a look back at Apple's 2005 - one of the biggest years for the company to date:

January 11th - iPod shuffle/Mac mini - Apple's first flash based iPod and Apple's strongest contender yet to nudge PC users into the Mac's warm embrace.
January 24th - iTunes Music Store downloads = 250 million (about one million songs per day).
February 23rd - 2nd generation iPod minis - including a new 6 GB model.
April 29th - Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger ships.
May 10th - iTunes Music Store expands in Europe (total countries = 19).
June 6th - Intel processor announcement for 2006.
June 28th - Podcast directory debuts in iTunes Music Store.
July 18th - iTunes Music Store downloads = 500 million.
August 24th - iTunes Music Store in Japan (total countries = 20).
September 7th - iPod nano replaces popular iPod mini.
October 12th - iPod with video/iMac G5 with Front Row and remote/Music videos, TV shows, and movies debut in iTunes Music Store (total shows = 5) - fifth generation iPod release accompanied by ABC/Walt Disney deal which allows purchase of video content through iTMS. Front Row and remote opens the door to Mac "Media Centre".
October 19th - iTunes Music Store in Australia (total countries = 21).
December 6th - Eleven shows added to iTMS (total shows = 16).

A lot of great announcements in 2005, and an increasingly successful Apple along with it. I've got a few things I'm still waiting for in 2006:

Intel Mac desktops (given the name change for the Intel MacBook Pro, I hesitate to use the term PowerMac);
Intel Mac laptops (probably just called MacBooks);
Native releases of pro and other applications for Intel Macs (come on Final Cut Pro!);
Dual-booting of Windows on the Intel machines (even if it makes me feel "dirty" :-) );
Video iPod (not iPod with video ;-) - flip the current iPod 90 degrees, put a larger widescreen display on front and maybe the controls on the back/side, and, very importantly, increase the native file resolution so that I can watch shows from my iPod Video on my TV at a decent quality);
Front Row 2.0 for all Macs (more responsive and more fully implemented - lets see additional control and customization available, display of artwork in Music section, and a lot of bug fixes);
Apple Remotes for all Macs (I don't want to have to hack around this any more!);
Apple-branded Phone (ROKR just didn't cut it, guys - let Apple actually design the phone and UI this time, please!);
AirPort Express with streaming video (and it'd be awesome if it could act as an Ethernet bridge as well);
iTunes Music Store expands to include more video content in Canada and elsewhere.

Those are my hopes for what lays ahead, what are you guys looking forward to? Let me know in a comment!

iRant: Coincidences Aren't That Uncommon!

2006-01-16T19:59:00.000-05:00

We all experience coincidences that are sometimes startling, sometimes humorous, and sometimes almost unbelievable - indeed, the concept has given rise to many beliefs, including justification for the value of things like horoscopes, psychic powers, and the like. It is my contention, however, that coincidences tend to stick in your head and are simply not all that uncommon, thus exaggerating their effect. Thankfully, I've found some people who agree with me (and too many people that just want to believe otherwise :-) ).

The article "Coincidences: Remarkable or Random?" presents some examples of unusual, though easily explainable, coincidences, and raises the following two points to bear in mind when we experiences these sometimes strange occurrences:

"First, we tend to overlook the powerful reinforcement of coincidences, both waking and in dreams, in our memories. Non-coincidental events do not register in our memories with nearly the same intensity";
"Second, we fail to realize the extent to which highly improbable events occur daily to everyone. It is not possible to estimate all the probabilities of many paired events that occur in our daily lives. We often tend to assign coincidences a lesser probability than they deserve".

Scientific/social experiments have confirmed the first point, and the second point is simple a matter of crunching some numbers. For example, if you were in a room with forty other people, what do you think the probability is of two people in that room having the same birthday? You'd think it'd be pretty slim, but a quick look at the numbers (see the linked article above) shows that there is a 90% chance that two people in that group will have the same birthday. As I said, coincidences are just not all that uncommon. Another example is that two of America's Founding Fathers, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, died on the exact same day: July 4, 1826. AND that was exactly fifty years to the day since the country's inception.

I've had my share of coincidences, but I have two separate and unrelated groups of friends who have both had the same kind of strange travel coincidences. In one, a group of my friends fly to Europe (Paris, I think) and then split into two separate groups: one group would travel south to see the Mediterranean countries and the other would travel through Northern Europe. Without any planning or coordination whatsoever (they did not intend to see one another until back in Canada), the two groups passed one another in the street in Istanbul - 1406 miles (2262 km) away, as the crow flies! Then, just a couple of weeks ago, I met someone else who, while travelling in Mexico, met a man from Europe and hung out with him for a few days. They met again (with no planning or thought that they'd ever see one another again) when that same man turned out to be staying in the same hostel at the same time as my friend who was then visiting Panama, months later on a separate trip. Crazy, cool, but not really "cosmic". ;-)

Here is another misguided attempt to put more into coincidences than they merit. Perhaps you got the 9-11 chain mail with this in it:

New York City has 11 letters
Afghanistan has 11 letters.
Ramsin Yuseb (The terrorist who threatened to destroy the Twin Towers in 1993) has 11 letters.
George W Bush has 11 letters.
New York is the 11th state.
The first plane crashing against the Twin Towers was flight number 11.
Flight 11 was carrying 92 passengers. 9 + 2 = 11
Flight 77 which also hit Twin Towers, was carrying 65 passengers. 6 + 5 = 11
The tragedy was on September 11, or 9/11 as it is now known. 9 + 1 + 1 = 11
The date is equal to the US emergency services telephone number 911. 9 + 1 + 1 = 11.
The total number of victims inside all the hi-jacked planes was 254. 2 + 5 + 4 = 11.
September 11 is day number 254 of the calendar year. Again 2 + 5 + 4 = 11.
The Madrid bombing took place on 3/11/2004. 3 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 11.
The tragedy of Madrid happened 911 days after the Twin Towers incident.

Our good urban-legend-busting friends at Snopes have explained away a lot of this particular issue (and a great resource if you're ever looking to call someone on a story you don't think is true).

In any case, coincidences are interesting - good conversation pieces - but I think a lot of people read far too much into them. Hopefully you can see some evidence from above that they aren't usually any cause for concern. ;-)

I've given you a couple of coincidences I've experienced, but I think it'd be cool to hear about some of yours - so leave me a comment with your own twisted tale.

eyeCandy: Syriana (2005) 4/5

2006-01-15T22:17:00.000-05:00

Wow, busy, busy past week for me. However, in the interests of starting this week off on the right foot, here is a review of a movie I saw this weekend. :-)

Syriana is a political thriller focused around the oil business and intelligence interests in the Middle East. The myriad characters and crossing storylines (as well as the political aspect) is very reminiscent of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic (he was an Executive Producer on this film), although I don't find Syriana to be quite as successful a film.

The movie is based on ex-CIA operative Robert Baer's book, "See No Evil - the True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism. In the film adaptation, George Clooney plays Baer's character (gaining 35 pounds to do so), Matt Damon is a US energy consultant employed by one of the princes in Iran, Christopher Plummer, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, and a host of other well known Hollywood actors, round out a large and talented cast. This is a film that you need to pay attention to - the storyline is thick and intricate, and distributed between a half a dozen different interwoven tales. Like Traffic, Syriana (though again, less successfully) aims to show the range of individuals involved in the central theme, from young terrorists, to wealthy businessmen, to CIA agents, to Iranian royalty.

Those not particularly intrigued by this subject area, or who don't like to have to pay close attention to a movie for it to be rewarding, might be advised to take a pass on Syriana. But for the interested and attentive, the 126 minute Syriana is well worth seeing.

MacOnMacs: Macworld San Francisco 2006

2006-01-10T22:11:00.000-05:00

Hmmm, what shall I talk about today? :-)

I've been waiting for this year's Macworld in San Francisco anxiously. Being neck deep in news and the rumour mill through commandN (Amber is there right now), I've been exposed to many, many cool ideas and predictions for what would be announced by our favourite tech company. Although I would've liked to have seen some Intel-toting iBooks (I've been promising one to my wife :-) ), there was plenty of cool stuff to go around...

Intel iMacs: Six months before schedule, the first of the Intel Macs (cue Darth Vader music) has arrived. Although there are no other substantial changes aside from a new Intel Core Duo processor (the new machines are two to three times as fast in benchmark tests), the prices for both the 17" and 20" screens have remained the same (I like that Apple is adopting this philosophy - similar to what they did with the iPod with video)

MacBook Pro: The new Apple Intel laptop (peculiarly only released as a 15.4" widescreen) boasts a name change and a four to five times speed boost from the PowerBook G4 it will replace. A big part of the move to Intel, I think, was to get this sort of speed into the Mac laptop lines, which couldn't be done with the roasty G5 chip. Also showing up in the new MacBook is a built-in iSight video camera (like in the recent iMacs) and the Front Row media player application, complete with 6-button remote control.

iLife '06 (including iWeb!): Some great improvements all around in the iLife applications (iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand), but the addition of an iWeb application is the most exciting announcement for me. iWeb leverages Apple's intuitive interface skills to allow for very user-friendly creation of "websites, blogs, and podcasts, complete with photos, movies, and music" and getting them online in just a few clicks. GarageBand has some great additions, too: Podcast recording studio (complete with sound effects and auto-engineering feats like ducking); iChat interview recording (just the audio parts for now, but it automatically records each chat participant on their own track for individual editing); iMovie scoring (with the movie frames displayed above the music); and more.

There were many other announcements (10.4.4; new iLife and iWork running natively on Intel; etc.), and you can watch Steve Job's Macworld Keynote Address and find out more info on the Apple web site.

eyeCandy: Good Night and Good Luck (2005) 5/5

2006-01-08T21:16:00.000-05:00

Good Night and Good Luck is the second film directed by George Clooney. At a slim 93 minutes, Clooney exercises restraint (far too uncommon in directors nowadays) without ever shortchanging the viewer. The quality of Good Night, combined with his excellent directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, has caused me to re-evaluate my earlier hypothesis that Confessions was a collaborative directorial effort in which I suspected Steven Soderbergh of playing a much larger role than his Executive Director title suggested.

Good Night and Good Luck is the true story of CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow (played to perfection by David Strathairn) who, in early 1950's America, played a significant role in taking down Senator Joseph McCarthy, the head of a veritable witch-hunt for alleged communist sympathizers in United States. This is not the first movie to address the unfortunate era of McCarthyism (Guilty by Suspicion with Robert DeNiro is another good one), but it may be the best yet.

I sometimes find the use of black and white in modern films to be a little pretentious, but here it is effective and entirely justifiable. From a more functional standpoint, it allows the seamless incorporation of archival footage from the time in question - in fact, there is no actor playing Senator McCarthy, he is depicted solely and to great effect through actual footage. On top of this important consideration, the black and white film certainly reinforces the feel of those times as well.

As I've said before, there is something I find very rewarding in films based on fact, especially ones that deal with such important historical events as this. Watching the movie, one cannot help but be impacted by Mr. Murrow's powerfully effective prose (much of his on-air dialog in the film is taken directly from his actual broadcasts) - balanced and rational, but with an emotional poignancy that comes from knowing what you are saying is right and true and good. George Clooney plays Murrow's producer, Fred Friendly (just as Clooney took a significant role in Confessions), and the cast as a whole is top-rate (including Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Daniels, and many other familiar faces).

I'll end this entry with a quote from the Mr. Murrow's "A Report on Joseph R. McCarthy" aired on CBS on March 9th, 1954:

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men -- not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular.

This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods to keep silent, or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home."

We'd all do well to still heed those words today.

inPrint: the Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin (2003) 4/5

2006-01-07T16:12:00.000-05:00

The Pleasure of My Company is the second novel from writer, actor, and comedian Steve Martin, one of my favourite entertainers of all time. At 176 pages, this wonderfully written book is an easy read and thoroughly enjoyable. Martin is a talented writer on all counts: his style is unique without being difficult, he can be very funny without being comic, but above all, he is enormously perceptive and intelligent, creating characters who, while being strange and unusual, are entirely believable. Indeed, I think it is this insight that made his original comedy and subsequent writing so enjoyable.

The Pleasure of My Company is centred around the almost cripplingly obsessive-compulsive, though very intelligent, Daniel Pecan Cambridge. The story takes you on a firsthand journey through this highly unique individual's mind and life - following him as he copes with everything from ensuring that the lightbulbs in his Santa Monica apartment always total 1125 watts, to his difficulties in interacting with the outside world (e.g. having to avoid curbs resulting in him only being able to cross streets where two driveways are directly opposite one another), to the development of a touching relationship with his young therapist, Clarissa, and her son. One of the central events driving the story is Daniel's participation in the Most Average American essay contest, where he ends up competing against himself, having entered the contest twice (once using a pseudonym). However, the story is really about getting the reader inside Daniel's head, which Martin accomplishes with grace and depth. Steve Martin's novels (unlike his 1998 book, Pure Drivel) aren't meant to be specifically comical - they're funny because life is funny - but they certainly demonstrate the great intelligence that is behind one of America's greatest entertainers.

MacOnMacs: Keeping Your Media Organized

2006-01-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

With all the media that people accumulate nowadays, it's getting progressively harder to know what you have and where it's stored. My favourite Mac application for this type of task is Delicious Library.

Delicious Library helps you catalog, browse, and share all your movies, music, books, and video games through an attractive and easy-to-use interface. To enter your media data, you can type in the title to search and information is downloaded from one of a half a dozen online sources to fill out all the details you'd every be interested in. However, far exceeding this functionality, iSight and other FireWire camera owners can actually scan in the barcodes from their media to conduct the same search with increased precision and accuracy. Your library can be searched through Spotlight, a Dashboard widget, or other methods (including a voice search!). Browsing is just as easy with media covers displayed on a virtual bookshelf for easy identification, and there is tons of other great functionality: sync your library with your iPod, make custom collections (sort of like iTunes playlists), use the built-in loan management system (complete with Address Book and iCal integration) to track borrowed items, and much more. Winner of Macworld's 2005 Editor's Choice Award, the $40 price tag on this shareware is well worth it, especially for those of us who are starting to lose track of their media purchases. :-)

If you don't want to pay for a media manager, and are more concerned about your movie collection than games, books, and music, then try out the less feature-rich, but still very useful, free DVDManager from Fennel. Movies can be added through a built-in online search or manually, loans can be tracked (including Address Book integration), and your library can be easily exported, complete with graphics, for display on a web page or just for use on another computer. DVDManager is great and free (donations are accepted!), providing the essential functionality (though for movies only) provided in Delicious Library without the monetary commitment. ;-)

I'm sure there is a lot of other similar products out there and I'd love to hear what you like best, so leave a comment to let me and my readers in on your organizational find!

earCandy: Me'Shell NdegeOcello - Comfort Woman (2003) 5/5

2006-01-04T20:38:00.000-05:00

Me'Shell NdegeOcello (try saying that three times fast!) is one of my favourite musical artists. Billed early on as the female Prince, she is a fantastic bass player, vocalist, composer, and lyricist. With each of her albums (she released her sixth since 1993 last year), she has evolved in a different direction while maintaining a level of musicianship and lyrical forthrightness that is a true rarity in the industry.

Comfort Woman shows us a (mostly) calmer and more relaxed Me'Shell. The relative lessening of politically charged uber-funk/hip-hop tunes has been replaced by a focus on deep grooves and "dub"-y atmospheric pieces. The music is sensual and the production values are top notch, with Me'Shell's powerful sexuality in full force. The following quote from allmusic.com is apt: "...if Me'Shell NdegeOcello's Comfort Woman isn't regarded as one of the finest contemporary soul albums of 2003, then those who review music for a living had better get eardrum transplants and a transfusion of blood to get rid of the sawdust, or quit to sell used cars, work in a fast-food establishment, or pump gas." As that review goes on to say, this is late night music, not without energy in the least but possessing a moody easiness that envelops the listener.

The spacey reggae feel of the opening Love Song #1 sets the tone for the rest of the album, followed by the fabulous Come Smoke My Herb, and a host of other fantastic cuts: Andromeda & the Milky Way is one of my favourites, and the beautiful acoustic guitar driven Liliquoi Moon, without seeming out of place, harkens back more to Me'Shell's Bitter album (probably my least favourite album of hers - it is bitter in more than title). Comfort Woman knows what it is and where it's going from the first note, and succeeds wonderfully in delivering. If you're looking for some undeniably cool tracks to play as the party is winding down, or just something to sit back and listen to in dim lighting, then look no further.

iRant: One Rule for Driving

2006-01-03T20:48:00.000-05:00

I recently read an article recently entitled The Roads May Soon Rule You. It discussed how technology (specifically the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), which involves vehicles that communicate with each other and the roads they travel) is making advances that will increase traffic safety. Indeed, the ITS World Congress met in San Francisco in November 2005 to share their research and developments in this area. The article goes on to describe some very cool technologies that include:

Automatically maintaining a set distance behind a vehicle and even applying brakes to avoid a crash;

Vibrating the steering wheel or sounding a warning when your car ventures outside your lane without using the turn signal (my favourite!);

Satellite radio and hand-held GPS that alert drivers to traffic congestion and alternate routes;

Collision avoidance systems relying on radar or lasters to detect other vehicles;

Vehicles that communicate with traffic signals, road sensors, etc;.

Sensors telling drivers the colour of the next traffic light, when it will change, and average traffic speeds;

Buses that steer temselves using magnets in the road (like light rail without tracks);

Oncoming vehicle speed detectors which determine when its safe to make a left turn.

These are all really neat applications of modern science to solve some very real problems that are a result of our increasingly crowded traffic space, but you're probably wondering: where's the rant? :-)

In the comments to that article, there are a couple of people who mention (justifiably) that the authors neglected to include speed limiting devices in their list. Although I have no problem with that abstractly as a technology, I do have a problem with where these comments were headed (NOTE: Despite how this may seem, I am really not a big speeder at all). Apparently all vehicles should have speed controls and there should be fines ($10,000 plus loss of license for five years) for anyone who tampers with or doesn't employ such a device. This, but of course, should be combined with a detector to read the speed limit on the current road and enforce that limit. Now I have no beef with whoever wrote this comment specifically, as I've heard this kind of talk before, but I simply can't understand how anyone thinks (as many people do) that speed enforcement is the number one way to save lives on the road. For example, the Autobahn in Germany, where about half of the highway has no speed limit at all, has a lower death rate than US highways (and, as an interesting aside, if you crash over the "suggested" maximum speed of 80mph/130kph then you are personally liable for some of the damages you cause).

There are so many terrible drivers around, people that absolutely should not have their licenses (e.g. an awful lot of people have no idea who gets right-of-way at a four way stop), that the fact that someone thinks that speed is the big problem just boggles my mind. Don't get me wrong, excessive speeding in population dense areas is certainly a bad idea, but don't tell me that someone driving 10 miles/kilometers over the speed limit on an open highway is more of a danger than someone who doesn't use their turn signal on a busy road or who is talking on their cellphone (or one of those annoying people that feels they need to make eye contact with you if they're talking when they're driving). And yet how often do cops pay any attention to someone for failing to signal or other disruptive behaviour - nope, they're too busy laying down speed traps.

Not using/misusing turn signals is one of my biggest pet peeves in driving. The whole concept behind signals is to explicitly communicate your intentions while driving - an inarguably sound idea. Yet people either don't use their signals or they use them as they turn instead of before they change lanes/turn (what use is that? You're supposed to be telling someone what you're going to do through your signals, not what you've already done). This is much more dangerous than speeding if you happen to ride a bike past one of those drivers as the suddenly turn to crush you. Then there are those people who you see sitting at a green light for 30 seconds or more after it's changed. Although this certainly angers me, the real point here is that: if you aren't paying attention to the traffic lights then what the heck are you looking at? You're in a car, if you want to just gaze around to your heart's content then pull to the side of the road!

Everybody has different things that get to them about people's driving, and so everyone has a different idea of what constitutes bad driving. After much thought (and framing this in a sort of robot/AI context where you want to develop simple rules to succeed at a task), I have boiled my judgements down to one rule of driving (at least city driving): Avoid disrupting the overall flow of traffic. That's it - simple. Use your signals because it informs other drivers and allows traffic to flow more smoothly. Pay attention to lights and signs because they help direct the flow of traffic more effectively. Don't drive too slow or weave in and out of lanes erratically because, you guessed it, it disrupts the flow of traffic. In fact, and to get down to brass tacks, don't run over pedestrians or get in an accident because that really, really can disrupt the flow of traffic.

I know it might not be perfect, but I can't think of another single rule that would result in more positive change for drivers. And in terms of speed limits, there are few other laws (maybe jaywalking) that seem so tailor made to be broken. :-)

PS: Why, when people can so readily accept inserting technological devices into cars to limit speed, when people think that speed traps by the cops are such a great boon to the public good, why can't we all just decide instead to make getting a driver's license a LOT harder and then see what happens with accidents.

eyeCandy: Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) 4/5

2006-01-02T16:08:00.000-05:00

First of all - Happy New Year to everyone out there! I've been away for the past couple of weeks, making posting difficult, but I'm back and am rarin' to go for 2006. So on to my first post of the year...

Memoirs of a Geisha is a gorgeous, gorgeous movie. It depicts the life of a young girl who is removed from her family and raised to become a geisha in early 20th century Japan. The story follows her separation from her sister (not deemed attractive enough to be geisha), her challenges as she grows to maturity in the geisha house (a very competitive environment at times), the changes wrought by the Second World War, and her attempts to deal with a love that cannot be. I will leave the details at that so as not to give away any surprises.

Geisha, which translates from Japanese roughly as "person of the arts", were female "entertainers" who, from a young age, were highly trained in artistic and social skills to entertain men (including dance, conversation, musical performance, ceremonial arts - it's worth noting that having sex was not their primary concern). Memoirs outlines this training and includes several effective demonstrations of the lead's mastery of these arts, the most poignant being her breathtaking snow-dance.

Story-wise, the movie occasionally departs from Arthur Golden's popular novel of the same name and the subject material seems to be viewed through a lens which obscures some of the negative aspects of the historical life of a geisha. However, when it comes to visual presentation, the movie is essentially flawless. Director Rob Marshal (of 2002's "Chicago") has crafted a film that, despite having a story that might not appeal to all and that doesn't always "gel", is sumptuous to observe. Scenery, sets, costumes, lighting, and, of course, the beautiful lead actresses (who look absolutely stunning in their kimonos, white face make-up, etc.) combine in every scene to create a powerful and exotic setting around which the plot flows. Indeed, I enjoyed watching this movie as much (and maybe more) for this incredible attention to detailed design (in addition to the fine acting by Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, and Ken Watanabe) as for the story itself.

It seems to me that the world of the geisha presented here might never have existed in this way but (despite the obvious hardships) it is certainly a beautiful dream.

newsFlash: Merry Christmas!!!

2005-12-24T21:59:00.000-05:00

Been very busy with Christmas stuff for the past few days, so I've been a little light on postings. I'll be back at it strong in a few more days, though. ;-)

It's been a great year for me and commandN, and I've really enjoyed interacting with everyone through my blog. Thanks to all my readers, posters, and the online community in general, and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Best wishes,

Jeff

mindCandy: Politics and Why Left vs. Right Doesn't Cut It

2005-12-20T20:39:00.000-05:00

I'm a bit of a political junkie, and I find it exceedingly frustrating that our culture generally tries to categorize individual politics using a one-dimensional Left vs. Right spectrum. This concept is inherently flawed as it cannot easily reconcile Social vs. Economic beliefs (just the fact that there are two primary elements with two extremes necessitates at least a two dimenstional map of political beliefs). For instance, someone who is right wing economically generally believes in free enterprise and free markets - typically this means limiting of government control of the economy. If we look at this socially, the same "right wing" person would believe in government intervention to enforce traditional social values and norms. But what about someone (like me) who believes in limited government intervention both economically AND socially (sometimes described as Libertarian)? They have no real place in this spectrum! In fact, they are either lumped in with people whose social views they don't support or people who's economic views they don't support.

Thankfully there are other more accurate means to interpret political beliefs graphically. One of my favourites is the Political Triangle (see Figure 31.2 about half way down the page). This (to simplify things a lot - read the website for a much deeper and more accurate discussion), takes the Left vs. Right and Social vs. Economical dimensions and combines them to create the following extremes:

Libertarian: socially left and economically right (i.e. little government intervention)
Totalitarian: socially right and economically left (i.e. government intervention on both fronts - think communism)
Authoritarian: socially right and economically right (i.e. government intervention in social areas but not economic ones)

Again, keep in mind that I've defined these extremes of the Political Triangle using the classical Left vs. Right definitions, which is not completely accurate but will do for this discussion (you'll note that there's no obvious mapping for socially left and economically left - this would be a strange mix of government control of economy but not social elements, which seems like it would be a rare occurrence - anyone have any examples?).

There are plenty of other ways to map out political beliefs too. The Nolan Chart completes our two-dimensional map from above by using the axes of Personal vs. Economic Freedom (essentially what I've been referring to as Social vs. Economic freedom). The Pournelle Chart is also two-dimensional, but maps Statism (belief in the state and centralized government) vs. Rationalism (the belief that all problems in society have rational solutions). Additional methods (and some great links and pics) are available on the Wikipedia Political Spectrum webpage.

A couple of musings: Canada and the US are very close in a great number of ways, however there are some important differences that are interesting in terms of the whole Right vs. Left spectrum (I'm arguing this along that single spectrum because it more easily allows people to identify what I'm talking about, given that it's the common terminology used in our society). First of all, Canada's Conservative Party, although on the right of the spectrum, are far to the left of the Republican Party in the States (probably more akin to conservative Democrats). Secondly, in the States the media seems to be controlled mostly by the "Right" (think Fox News), whereas in Canada the media is controlled more by the "Left" (think CBC). Obviously Canada is a more "socialist" country than the US (for better or for worse ;-) ), and I think the above two notes are demonstrative of this (BTW, the book "How the Scots Invented the Modern World" has some interesting notions about how many of the differences between our two countries came about because of where Scots from specific regions in Scotland settled when they came to the New World - a great book for the Scottish and non-Scottish alike).

If you want to take a test to see where you stand, give the Political Compass a try. It just takes a few minutes and it gives lots of great information before and after the test (but beware of double negatives in this - bad survey development).

iRant: the Savagery of Air Travel

2005-12-19T22:01:00.000-05:00

I live in the second biggest country on the planet, and between business travel and visiting relatives from coast to coast (which is over 4000 miles!), I end up flying a lot. In fact, I think comfortable and reliable air travel is a necessity in a country like Canada (and many other places), which is why it really bothers me that your average person can't afford to travel with much expectation of comfort or reliability.

I'm 6'2" and 210 lbs, so the cramped spaces between most economy seats force me to wedge my knees into the seat in front of me to "fit" (my recent trip to Toronto where I managed to score a seat in front of an exit row which, just so you know, doesn't recline, with a tiny 16 year old girl in front of me with her seat all the way back, was no exception). I expect the situation is similar for many people, which is why we all look so yearningly at the spacious reclining seats as we are marched past Business Class.

Increasingly, we are forced to pay for food, drink, seat selection, even pillows. This would be fine except for the fact that it doesn't seem to have affected prices in a particularly advantageous way and has only made the experience of flying worse. Plus, many flights have a food selection that seems culled from the shelves of a meagerly stocked convenience store (with the prices considerably inflated). Even the in-flight entertainment leaves something to be desired, with the same movies played in too great frequency for the frequent traveller, "edited for flight" versions of films, and the typical technical difficulties (thankfully there is some movement towards individual entertainment systems for us po' folk too).

On top of all this, given that we can launch spacecraft to the outer edges of our solar system, why can't planes (with a few exceptions) seem to depart or arrive as scheduled? I know there are a lot of variables: multiple aircraft from different airlines, changes in weather, a host of interwoven routes, etc., but surely we can do better than the current norm (don't even get me started on luggage). I also find that the level of redundancy in security is getting a little ridiculous - exactly how many people do I have to show my passport and ticket to? If security were done properly in the first place then you'd think that it wouldn't have to be repeated so many times.

Maybe it's just that it's very difficult to make enough money through private airlines and airports, but the Canadian government has subsidized Air Canada (one of our major airlines) for years with no positive results (their informal slogan is rumoured to be: "We're not happy until you're not happy"). With the incredible technological developments we have in our grasp, it is simply disappointing that airline travel, a required means of transportation in a global community, is only really "civilized" for those who can afford to pay a hefty first class premium (which can also allow you to jump the line for that annoying security in some airports!).

In closing: How is a man supposed to use carry-on for a business trip without bringing a blade for his razor? I'm willing to bet that a nice sharp pencil through the jugular would be a lot more effective than one of the tiny blades in my shaving gear for those of nefarious intent.

eyeCandy: King Kong (2005) 4/5

2005-12-18T18:04:00.000-05:00

I got the chance to finally see Peter Jackson's King Kong with the guys from Hak5 and WASD this weekend. I enjoyed the movie but, if I had to use just one word to describe it, it might have to be "overwrought". Don't get me wrong, the movie is beautifully filmed - jungle shots are fantastic, the scenes on the Empire State Building are so dazzling that I felt like I would fall out of my seat, and a fantastic amount of attention has been invested in this production. However, the movie certainly has its flaws.

My biggest complaint is that it is over three hours long! The original 1933 King Kong, the main inspiration for Jackson's movie, ran only 1 hour and 40 minutes. It takes almost the length of the original movie (or at least over an hour) before we even see Kong in the newer version. Jackson spends way too much time overdeveloping the main characters of Ann Farrow and Carl Denham - these are stock character types and just don't need this kind of depth - we already know who these characters are because they are cliches. A lot of other things could be tightened up as well, but the first hour could easily be compressed into fifteen minutes with no loss to the story.

However, there are lots of good things for sure. The fight between the T-Rexes and Kong is awesome - beautifully choreographed and well-rendered. The jungle is teeming with interesting creatures and the attention to detail is staggering. The movie as a whole certainly communicates its central "beauty and the beast" theme more strongly than the original and sympathy for Kong is strongly evoked. Although I was a little surprised that the compositing of some shots wasn't a little smoother (the dinosaur stampede for instance), the visuals were typically an absolute pleasure (even down to the wonderful recreation of 1930's New York City).

I think I understand how this movie became a little bloated. Jackson has been self-admittedly obsessed with the original since he was young and I expect his fascination yielded more content than your average person would need. In addition to this, coming off the tails of the Lord of the Rings, it's understandable how Jackson would have trouble massaging his epic efforts back to accomodate a much simpler story. Hopefully this isn't a trend for Jackson, as most movies can't accomodate the scope of Tolkien's work.

All in all I think that the new Kong could desperately use a "Phantom Edit" treatment - cut the first hour down to 15 minutes and compress the next couple of hours as needed. Jackson had a chance to make a superb 1.5-2 hour movie and has instead given us a pretty good 3 hour one - directors take heed.

PS: I am very excited to play the new video game based on the movie, though. Jackson and others in the film had integral roles to its development and it looks great.

newsFlash: Just Got Back From the TechTV Meet Up

2005-12-15T11:59:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who made it out the TechTV Meet Up tonight (despite the snow storm in Toronto!). It was great to hang out with everyone in such a fun setting. If I got a chance to talk to you tonight (or even if I didn't) then definitely send me an email to remind me and keep in touch. A lot of really cool folks out- from Research In Motion, IBM, the guy who did the Mac Front Row hack, some people who drove from Buffalo in the storm, displaced New Orleans-ers, guys from the Apple Store, and lots of other great podcasters, vidcasters, and fans. It's wonderful to be a part of such a strong community (but I gotta go to bed now - work tomorrow :-) ).

newsFlash: By Popular Demand: JeffMacArthur.com Colour Scheme Change

2005-12-14T23:22:00.000-05:00

I've heard a few complaints about the white on black text used on my blog being hard to read. Well, in testament to how much your ease of viewing matters to me, welcome to the new, improved JeffMacArthur.com . :-)

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and especially all of you who have given me valuable comments and feedback. Hope to see some of you tomorrow night at the TechTV Meet-Up in Toronto!

inPrint: Macworld (January 2006) 5/5

2005-12-14T22:25:00.000-05:00

Another month, another solid issue of Macworld. Features include spotlights on all of Apple's new hardware, including the iPod with Video (and how to convert videos/DVDs for it using HandBrake or MacTheRipper), a host of digital photography tips (including photo gifts from Snapfish, Shutterfly, and Canvas On Demand), and lots more great info.

One of the coolest things I learned more about in this issue was how to use Apple's free Property List Editor application (included in the Mac OS X Developer Tools/Xcode suite: Finder->Go->Go to folder->"/Applications/Installers") to modify preference files (as of Tiger these are typically binary code files and are not easily editable). A couple of favorites:

Hide Your Desktop: open the com.apple.finder.plist file, create a New Child with the name CreateDesktop and the Boolean Value of No. Relaunch the Dock and everything on your desktop will vanish - application windows are still visible, but your desktop will be gone (you can't even drag things there, although your files are available through the Finder). Set to Yes to undo.
Change iTunes Link Arrow: by default, if you click the link arrows next to an iTunes song name, artist name, or album (activated through iTunes->Preferences->Show Links To The Music Store) then you'll be brought to the iTMS entry for the object you clicked. If you option-click then you'll get a list of matching items (e.g. all songs from selected album) in your Library (instead of being sent to the iTMS). To reverse this setting (so that you'll get your Library search listing by clicking) open com.apple.iTunes.plist, create a New Child named InvertStoreLinks, give it a Boolean value and set that to Yes. Make sure iTunes is closed when you make this change (and just set the value to No to undo).

Note that you can access the same variables through the Terminal using the defaults write command or using Night Productions' free Pref Setter.

earCandy: Melanie Durrant - Where I'm Goin' (2005) 4/5

2005-12-13T21:47:00.000-05:00

I first noticed Melanie Durrant upon seeing the video for "Where I'm Goin'" featuring Common on MuchVibe, and I immediately sought out a copy of the single to no avail. Further searching led me to great tunes like "Housework" and a couple of singles. Well finally, while walking through FutureShop of all places, I see an album entitled "Where I'm Goin'" by Melanie Durrant on their New Releases rack. Strangely enough, the album that I got (contrary to the listing) does not contain the song "Where I'm Goin'"(?)

Melanie Durrant is a talented soul/hip-hop singer working out of Toronto. In addition to the video with Common, she's also paired up with Kardinal Offishall and others to good effect (e.g. "Let Me" is a great single). I really liked a few of the later songs on the album immediately, but I found it got off to a tentative start. After a few listens, however, it has really grown on me (her cover of "Bang Bang", probably best known now for being in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill", is getting some airplay). Some nice forays into a little more classic joints in places (sort of like a young Jill Scott, who did the live stage production of "Rent" with Ms. Durrant), and I just love the timbre of her voice.

However, I do have to say that it's sinful that there isn't more information available about her online. Her website will hopefully be up some time soon, there is almost no information under her entry in AllMusic.com - all I've found is just a few articles here and there. It's shameful that such a promising young voice doesn't have much more exposure on this level.

In any case, Where I'm Goin' is a good album and I'm happy to be seeing so many on the Canadian hip-hop scene cracking their way through (e.g. Universal Soul, Sweatshop Union, and K-Os is bustin' it!).

newsFlash: TechTV Holiday Meetup in Toronto (Thurs. Dec. 15th)

2005-12-12T21:22:00.000-05:00

This coming Thursday, the commandN cast/crew (Me, Amber, Mike, Brian), Leo Laporte from Call for Help and TWiT, Alex Lindsay from MacBreak and Pixel Corps, Frank Linhares of techPhile, the guys from Hak5, and others are all taking part in the TechTV Holiday Meetup at No Regrets Restaurant and Lounge in downtown Toronto. Come meet some of the tech community, have a couple drinks, and celebrate the holidays!

Festivities start about 7pm and more details can be found through the links above. Hope to see you there!

eyeCandy: Chronicles of Narnia (2005) 4/5

2005-12-11T16:15:00.000-05:00

Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is based on the book by C.S. Lewis, a contemporary of J.R.R. Tolkein. Indeed, the movie feels somewhat like a cross between the Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter movies. The fantastic mythology has the more robust approach of the Rings, but this is, at heart, a story about young people and fantasy, making it somewhat more akin to (although much better executed than the Potter series IMHO).

The movie begins during the second world war as four siblings are moved from their mother's care in London to the house of an eccentric professor in the English countryside in order to avoid the bombings of the Germans. The house contains a magical wardrobe that acts as a portal into the mystical world of Narnia. The children venture through the wardrobe to find themselves an integral part of an ancient prophesy which holds the balance in a struggle between the good lion god of Narnia (voiced by Liam Neeson) and the evil White Witch.

The visuals are wonderful. Like Tolkein's world, Narnia has a very animal-based mythology, where common creatures are imbued with intelligence and speech, and exist alongside centaurs, minotaurs, faerie folk, and other monsters. Unlike the typically indulgent Potter films, the 2 hour 20 minute running time did not seem to drag for me and the pacing of the movie is effective. The story arc is consistent and understandable, and the level of writing simply seems to be of a higher caliber. The young actors in the main roles (especially the youngest sister) are compelling, and the "children's film" element is most strongly felt because of their involvement, as opposed to the sophistication of the story itself.

Though not as epic or monumental as the Lord of the Rings, this film is exceptional well-done and I very much look forward to subsequent episodes (there are seven books in the Narnia series).

MacOnMacs: iTunes Scripts

2005-12-09T10:09:00.000-05:00

iTunes is a great application, no question, but even the greatest applications have room for improvements. Thankfully, Apple has built scripting into iTunes so as to allow users to increase the program's functionality. First, I'll tell you how to install scripts in iTunes and then I'll point you to some good scripting resources.

Installing Scripts

In the Finder, go to your Home folder and navigate to Library->iTunes (unfortunately iTunes scripts must be installed on a per-user basis, so you can't do this at the MacintoshHD->Library level).
All your iTunes scripts will go into the Scripts folder here - if one doesn't exist then just create it (File->New Folder and name it "Scripts")
Drag and drop any scripts you'd like to install into this folder and they will appear in the Scripts menu in iTunes (that's the scroll-looking icon between Window and Help in the iTunes menu bar). To activate a script, simply select it form the pulldown.

Some Good Free iTunes Scripts

Apple's iTunes Scripts let you Build CD Tray Inserts, Make Playlists By Artist, Remove Missing Tracks, and more.
Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes contain some absolute must-haves. There is a huge selection (over 375) of scripts you can download here, including ones to manage tracks and their info, manage playlists, control iTunes/iPods/other apps, manage files, and more. There are even some Automator actions here too!
Hubi's iTunes Scripts let you rename, move, and manage your tunes in a variety of ways. Scripts to swap Artist and Title (and other) tags are useful, creating a playlist of tracks that aren't in any other playlists is a good way to see if you've been missing some good listening, etc.
...a simple search on Google or other search engine should yield plenty more results too.

If you haven't used scripts before then give them a try - it's very easy. So have fun in making a great app even better by adding some scripts to iTunes!

earCandy: Christmas Music Options

2005-12-08T22:03:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas. My family has always made this a very special time of the year and I enjoy embracing the season wholeheartedly. However, even I get tired of a single Christmas CD played over and over, even if it is only for a few days a year :-) . Well it seems there are quite a few options for seasonal listening out there so I thought I'd point out a few of the ones on my list for everyone...

Ultra Lounge: Christmas Cocktails (Parts One and Two) puts a little swing (and a little mambo and a little bop) into some Christmas standards. From Dean Martin to Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee to Les Brown, these CDs are a great collection of holiday tunes perfect for your hipster Christmas party.

The original soundtrack to the television special A Charlie Brown Christmas has been a Christmas classic since its release in 1965. One of the most beloved Christmas specials ever carries with it a soundtrack that can't help but take you back to your first time watching Charlie Brown and the gang with their little tree, and the music by the Vince Guaraldi trio is like a trip down memory lane.

James Brown's Funky Christmas doesn't have any Christmas classics on it, but it is definitely Christmas-themed. Songs like "Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto" and "Soulful Christmas" will keep you hopping James Brown-style.

A Very Special Christmas is a great series of CDs with proceeds going to the Special Olympics. Popular music stars such as U2, Tracy Chapman, No Doubt, Bruce Springstien, and many more sing holiday classics in a variety of styles. Not only is the music wonderful for the season, but so is the sentiment.

There are so many Christmas albums out there that I can't really make an educated "Best of..." list, but if you'd like to leave me a comment with your favs then maybe we can help out some more folks when they're stuck for holiday-appropriate tunes ;-) .

NewsFlash: Safari Forwarding Troubles with GoDaddy (and others?)

2005-12-07T17:01:00.000-05:00

I've been a little perplexed since I started getting questions a week ago about problems with my JeffMacArthur.com domain forwarding to this site. Well Patrick, a kind reader, pointed me to a story on Digg.com that started me on a quest that has encompassed a lot of web research and a couple of calls to GoDaddy.

My calls to GoDaddy yielded little to begin with ("it's working fine on our end") as they were using PCs and IE and so weren't experiencing a problem. After I explained that I had read that this was specific to Macs and Safari (and Opera too), I found out that they claim this to be a result of a recent Security (or other) Update that changed something about how Safari resolves its forwarding. After talking to a floor supervisor, I came to the conclusion, as reached by many others , that GoDaddy wasn't very interested (and possibly just not capable, I guess) in doing anything about this.

The story has since been picked up by MacNN and there is loads of discussion on the Apple Support Boards (see Popular Topics at side or do a search). Some are saying that GoDaddy is using bungled forwarding routines and Safari is too strict to accept them. Some say that this is totally a Safari issue. I, for one, don't understand how the problem can't be solved quickly given that there ARE forwarding domains out there that DO work. One very strange thing is that a lot of people are reporting (myself included) that Safari can forward properly if you open another browser (Firefox was most mentioned) and access the page forwarding there first (the idea being that this somehow "teaches" Safari how to resolve the bungled forwarding)!?!?

In any case, bear with this if you're a Safari user, as I'm hoping Apple will provide a fix seeing as how it doesn't look like GoDaddy has any interest in supplying one (or, again, maybe they just can't). In the meantime, if this is happening to you, go out and bug them both to get this issue resolved - it's a huge obstacle for bloggers, commercial entities, and others who rely on domain forwarding online.

Safari is now the third most popular browser, behind Internet Explorer and Firefox but ahead of Netscape and others, so I think this problem deserves some serious attention. We won't be ignored :-) .

MacOnMacs: File Types and the Applications That Love Them (Part 1)

2005-12-06T21:31:00.000-05:00

I'm still having problems with jeffmacarthur.com not forwarding here. Is there anyone else out there who has had that problem? If so then please leave me a comment to let me know (as the hosting company thinks I'm on crack and that there's never a problem with forwarding). In any case, on to the post...

It's frustrating not knowing what to do with files that bear extensions that you haven't seen before, so I thought I'd give everyone some handy tips on which applications will open some strange file types (keep in mind that there are usually more options to open a file than the ones I present here). I figure there will be many occasions to expand on this list, so I've decided to tag this post as "Part 1" ;-) .

.rar open with UnRarX - RAR is a file format (most common on Windows) that takes multiple files and packs them into one file (like .zip files). There are also multi-part RAR files which may have extensions such as .r00, .r01, .r02, etc. OR .001, .002, .003, etc. To expand unpack these, just open the first file with UnRarX and it will reassemble all the components into the original file.

.chm open with Chamonix - CHM stands for Compiled HTML. It's commonly used as a Help file type with Windows.

.cbr and .cbz open with FFView - CBR and CBZ files are typically archives used for comic books. CBR is the same as a .rar file and CBZ is the same as a .zip file. These file types can be opened with the programs that open .rar (above) and .zip (built into Mac OS X) files, but FFView gives you a nice viewer/interface to read them.

.wpd and .wp open with AbiWord - These are both WordPerfect document formats (a very popular word processor before Microsoft Office dropped all support for its files).

BONUS

Since I only had a few file types up this time and since this is the first in the series, I figured I'd add some value by letting you know how to get certain file types to open with specific applications by default...

Find the file you'd like to open and Get Info on it (choose the file and hit command-I OR right/control-click->Get Info OR File->Get Info);
Go to the "Open with:" section of the pop-up and expand it (by making sure the arrow points downwards);
In the pulldown menu select the application that you'd like to use to open this file by default (the currently assigned application will have "(default)" written beside it in the pulldown);
Hit the Change All button to make the selected application open all files of this type (as opposed to just the individual file you've selected).

BTW, if you want to open an individual file once with a non-default application then just right/control-click->Open With OR File->Open With, and then select the application you'd like to open the file for this time only.

NewsFlash: Blogger down?!?!?!

2005-12-05T21:23:00.000-05:00

Don't know if this will even publish, since I can't check out my own site or any other Blogger-related site right now (or intermittently for the past few days). Anyway, just wanted to let people know that I've been trying to publish today (and had the same problem this weekend), so please excuse the absence of content until they get this fixed (or I'll move somewhere else I guess).

If anyone has any advice/news about what's going on then feel free to email me at jeff(INSERTAT)commandn.tv . Thanks and hope to get some posts up really soon!

NewsFlash: Website Troubles, First Snow, and Solcola

2005-12-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

For some reason I've been having troubles with domain name forwarding from my www.jeffmacarthur.com address to this blog. Someone pointed this out to me in an email recently and now It's only been working intermittently over the weekend. Anyway, have had a very busy weekend and will get an answer on this tomorrow (don't want to mess up my personal branding ;-) ).

I experienced the first snow of the season in Halifax tonight. Strangely enough it's been snowing a few times in Toronto (think we might have a shot of it in an upcoming commandN), and the first snow I saw this season was just outside of Toronto in mid-October! I've always loved the snow, and I very much missed it when I lived in Vancouver (drizzle is not an adequate substitute). I love how it brightens the outside, reflecting the winter sun off the snow, and how it changes the face of the world we see everyday. My friend, Jason, said something that stuck with me years ago, that he liked snow (and I suppose the same would apply with heavy rain) because it's the only time you really get to see the wind. I always thought that was an interesting thought.

Finally, my band, Solcola, has been getting a bunch of new tracks ready for our upcoming album. We've got the whole band in on writing sessions, which is great for me because I think the collective effort will give this project a lot of momentum as we go into the new year. I'll be posting some demos on the website in the next few weeks.