HD On The Cheap: Sony Evolve

A few years back I was involved in the making of the first ever 21 episode series in HD; The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne. Back in these days HD cam by Sony where hard to get by. We had to wait weeks so they could ship them from Nagano (remember the winter Olympic ?) to Canada. And god where they expensive and did not want to play nice with other post production elements. Now all of that is in the past now, and with the blink of a eye i find these specs on the net. HD full scale on the cheap. Man The time they are changing! Anyone (well almost) with a few $$$ can now make a short on a shoe string with the same quality.

Sony HVR-Z1U Professional HDV Camcorder


HDV 1080, 50i/60i/30F/25F Recording and Playback capable
3-1/3" 16:9 newly developed Super HAD CCD Imagers, 1.12M Pixels Gross

High quality 12X Optical Zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T Lens

Super SteadyShot® Optical Stabilization System and Much More
All of that for less than 5,000$ US!!!!!

quote of the Week: Microsoft Offers Patch Day Reprieve

One month after releasing a whopping dozen bulletins to
cover 17 security flaws in a range of products, Microsoft
announced that there would be no new advisories this month.
And I guess why: -No one is left standing to work on the rest of these OS flaws...Nighty Night Folks!

CBC Television Canada Enters The World Of High Definition

By the time you read this CBC Television will have launch CBC HD, the network's high definition television service, broadcasting on two new digital transmitters in Toronto and Montreal with CBC HD's first HD broadcast
on Saturday, March 5.
Go Habs Go!

Virginia Tech’s Interior Design Program pushes SketchUp software’s

 @Last Software has long been dedicated to bringing its design and presentation software, SketchUp, into architectural and interior design educational programs worldwide. Toward this end, the company ensures that students, educators and teaching institutions have ready access to low-cost licenses and resources.

During the past year, @Last has redoubled its efforts in the educational community, dedicating more staff to interact directly with students and educators.

@Last recently sent a team to work, hands-on, with 2nd and 3rd year students and their teachers at Virginia Tech's Interior Design Program in the School of Architecture + Design, helping them learn and master SketchUp in a two-week charette.

“I think the greatest benefit SketchUp offers is the ability to study a space from every angle in color and with shadows. Hand drawing is still hard to beat as a starting point for idea development, but there is a tendency to focus on one or two views of a space,” says Greg Tew, Virginia Tech’s chair of interior design. “SketchUp gives us the ability to fully understand the geometry of our designs and refine the design from points of view that might have been ignored in the past.”

Students in the program’s fourth-year design studio submitted three projects made using SketchUp to the Interior Design Educators Council’s (IDEC) regional design competition. Two of the projects won regional awards and have since been forwarded on for review at IDEC's national level.

Diego Mathó, director of design computing at the Boston Architectural Center, and among the first to install and use SketchUp in his classroom, agrees.

“SketchUp is accessible in every way—from its functionality to its pricing for students and schools,” he says. “It affords an easy transition between manual drafting and computer-based techniques, which can be more difficult in other computer-aided design programs.”

“We think that SketchUp has a place in every classroom, dorm room and student laptop in the world. So far, SketchUp has been accepted in more than 500 teaching institutions around the globe, from Asia to Europe to North America,” says @Last CEO, Mark Sawyer. “When students spend less time learning software, it means they have more time for learning with software.”

Apple Wins Initial Ruling

Apple won a preliminary ruling allowing it to subpoena information from three Mac sites which helped leak information surrounding a recently rumored audio product ("Asteroid"). It was reported that earlier this month that lawyers representing these sites were challenging these subpoenas under first amendment protection. The ruling is expected to be appealed.

Apple offers discounted first-gen iPod minis

Apple is now selling discounted versions of un-opened first-generation iPod minis. The Apple Store is offering Silver, Green, Blue and, Pink versions of the 4GB iPod mini for $180. These models include both a USB 2.0 Cable and a FireWire cable.

Apple Updates GarageBand

Apple announced that it has released a version 1.1 update. For GarageBand According to the release note, the upgrade "addresses isolated performance and stability issues, allows per-track Echo settings similar to other effects, supports loop libraries in other disk locations, supports importing unprotected AAC audio files in addition to AIF and MP3 files, and addresses issues with ReWire support, moving GarageBand songs between different computers, Help support, fixing the timing of individual notes (as well as entire regions), and dragging entire tracks in the timeline."

Book of the Week: Publishing a Blog with Blogger

Elizabeth Castro as done it again!
This book reveals all that you may ever wants to know about the art of blog.
Concise colorful fresh and to the point; Peachpit Press ad another "Winner" to the many time over praise series
of Visual Quick project with this new book.

We give Publishing a blog With Blogger Visual Quick Project (ISBN 0-321-32123-5) by Elizabeth Castro from Peachpit Press a 5* out of 5, making it Book of the Week.

Quick News

XtremeMac ships 24 iPod shuffle add-ons
Just weeks since its debut iPod shuffle has a solution for many needs.

Apple wins global admiration
Named the third most admired computer company by Fortune.

Apple seeks staff for Canada's first Apple Store
Advertising for staff to join the soon to open Apple Store in Yorkdale,
Toronto.

Apple expects 52 per cent market growth in 2005

Music industry attempting to raise online music prices
According to CNN and the Financial Times.

Apple introduces Web chat tech-support
Apple is testing a new Web chat support service for iMac users only.

'Father of the Mac' Raskin dies
Jef Raskin, the man who built the first Mac, has died, age 61.

Adobe Premiere Pro HDV Plug-in Now Available

Adobe Systems Incorporated today
announced the availability of a free HDV(tm) plug-in for Adobe(r) Premiere(r) Pro
1.5, its award-winning professional video editing software. The HDV plug-in expands
IEEE-1394 support in Adobe Premiere Pro, enabling the software to work directly
with the HDV format through a new generation of high-definition cameras such as
Sony's HDR-Z1 and HDR-FX1. Using Adobe Premiere Pro, in conjunction with new HDV
cameras, video professionals can now quickly and easily capture, edit, and output
broadcast-quality high-definition video.

"The rapid adoption of HD is transforming film, video and broadcasting-- and the
introduction of the new HDV cameras is moving HD further towards the mainstream,"
said Steve Saylor, vice president of Digital Video and Audio for Adobe. "Adobe
Premiere Pro now has the best HDV support of any desktop editing tool, ensuring
that stunning HD projects can now be produced at a fraction of the cost of
expensive proprietary systems."

Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5, the industry leading video editing software, is available
as an individual product or as part of the Adobe Video Collection 2.5, which
includes the latest versions of Adobe After Effects(r), Adobe Audition(tm), and
Adobe Encore(tm) DVD software. The professional version of the Adobe Video
Collection 2.5 also includes Adobe Photoshop(r) CS software. Together, these
products deliver a complete video and audio post-production platform for video and
audio editing, motion graphics, visual effects, and DVD authoring at a fraction of
the cost of competing solutions.

Adobe Premiere Pro supports editing in DV, SD, HD and now HDV formats, giving
editors greater flexibility. With this new HDV plug-in Adobe Premiere Pro is now
able to handle real-time editing of high-definition video. Using the same IEEE-1394
(iLink, Firewire) connector natively supported in Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5, this
plug-in provides direct HDV format device control and video capture without the
need for additional hardware. HDV format projects in Adobe Premiere Pro can be
delivered for high-definition broadcast, film prints, high-definition Windows Media
files and high-quality DVDs.

Availability
Registered Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 customers can download the free HDV plug-in for
Adobe Premiere Pro from the Adobe Premiere Pro page of the company web site at
www.adobe.com/premierepro. Earlier Premiere customers can upgrade to Premiere Pro
1.5 for reasonnable price..

Airfoil as landed!

Rogue Amoeba Software is pleased to finally unveil
Airfoil (originally announced as Slipstream), the first and best way to
send audio from any application directly to the AirPort Express. Everyone
who owns one of Apple's popular AirPort Express devices will be thrilled
to be able to send audio from applications like RealPlayer, Windows Media
Player, QuickTime, and Safari right to their remote speakers. In just
seconds, Airfoil can send audio from almost any application on OS X
directly to the AirPort Express.

Airfoil also enables optional local playback of audio being transmitted
to the remote speakers. Due to latency inherent in the AirPort Express
this option is off by default, but with a quick Preferences adjustment
users can play audio locally as well as remotely. Airfoil can even be
used to transmit iTunes audio which has been enhanced by audio plugins
such as Octiv's Volume Logic. Airfoil will be a boon to nearly every
owner of an AirPort Express. Those who've hesitated to purchase one need
wait no longer, because Airfoil opens the AirPort Express up to any and
all audio. Give your audio wings, with Airfoil.

Airfoil is immediately available for a free test flight, and can be
downloaded from http://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/download.php. While
unregistered, Airfoil will overlay noise on all transmissions longer than
10 minutes. Airfoil can be purchased at our online store for an
introductory special discounted price during the month of March.

---Links---
Airfoil in action: http://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/images/af_full_sshot.jpg
Airfoil information link: http://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/
Direct download link: http://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/download.php

Fun Site of The Week: Pizza You said.........

We are not saying anything else just try it for yourself!
Fun and eye oppening.

This site was submited to us by one of our reader (Thanks DanyZ).
Great Stuff!
Enough said just go and visit!
http://www.aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf

Hamrick Software release A new Ground breaking VueScan

VueScan now supports the creation of Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF)
files, a popular feature request from VueScan users. Users can now create
single and multi-page PDF files in one step, directly from the scanner,
without having to spend hundreds of dollars to purchase products like Adobe
Acrobat 7.0.

VueScan is in a class by itself, if you use a scanner under OSX you need VueScan.
VueScan as already been choosen Application of the week by the Digital Dispatch.
A sure fire power not to be missed release.

Pragmatic Version Control Using Subversion

The award-winning series, the Pragmatic Starter Kit, has a
new addition: "Pragmatic Version Control Using Subversion."

Version control is the lifeblood of software projects, but it often
becomes complicated and overly difficult. The original first volume of the
Starter Kit solves that problem with a guide to getting started with
version control, including simple recipes for managing day-to-day
development tasks using CVS, a widely-used Open Source version control
system.

Now in "Pragmatic Version Control Using Subversion" (Pragmatic Bookshelf,
0-9745140-6-3), author Mike Mason expands the original,
award-winning CVS-based book to include a complete description of
Subversion, an advanced, Open Source, modern version control system
designed to replace CVS.

Mike Mason tells us, "This book can help your developers become more
efficient---they'll work better as a team, and keep on top of software
complexity." Mike brings key points of version control workflow to life
with real-world examples using Subversion. The book also includes
additional sections on installing Subversion, creating a repository,
configuring network access, common, "daily use" recipes, as well as more
advanced topics such as tagging, branching, organizing your project and
tracking third-party content.

Because Subversion is a new technology, the book offers plenty of help for
people getting started, and includes sections on migrating to Subversion
from CVS, installing and networking Subversion, and administering a
repository. Client-side tools, including GUI tools and IDE-integration
plugins, are also covered.

With this book, readers will:

-Know how to undo bad decisions--directories, symlinks and even metadata
are first-class objects and version controlled just like files.
-Learn how to share code safely, and work in parallel for maximum
efficiency
-Install Subversion using an Apache webserver or standalone server
-Network and organize your repository effectively
-Manage 3rd party code safely

Readers just starting out with version control will appreciate this
book--it covers the basics that they'll need to get their job done. But
it's also suitable for people who've been using version control for years,
as it contains simple solutions to replace their existing,
overly-complicated workarounds. Finally it provides a straightforward
guide to getting started with the increasingly-popular Subversion system:
installing, networking and administering a repository.

Reviewer Praise:
"I expected a lot, but you surprised me with even more. Having used CVS
for years I hesitated to try Subversion until now, although I knew it
would solve many of the shortcomings of CVS. After reading your book, my
excuses to stay with CVS disappeared. Oh, and coming from the Pragmatic
Bookshelf this book is fun to read too."
--Steffen Gemkow, Managing Director, ObjectFab GmbH

"I'm a long-time user of CVS, and I've been skeptical of Subversion,
wondering if it would ever be 'ready for prime time.' Until now. Thanks to
Mike Mason for writing a clear, concise, gentle introduction to this new
tool. After reading this book, I'm actually excited about the
possibilities for version control that Subversion brings to the table."
--David Rupp, Sr. Software Engineer, Great-West Life & Annuity

Pragmatic Version Control Using Subversion
Mike Mason
ISBN 0-9745140-6-3

Pragmatic Bookshelf Titles are distributed to bookstores internationally
by O'Reilly Media, Inc.

App of the week: Timbuktu Pro release new version

We have review and talk about Timbuktu Pro for the past year a lot.
We simply love this product. Should be on every Mac.
Makes remote administration a pleasure.

Here what New with Version 8:

- push out and install Timbuktu Pro on a computer that doesn't
already have it!
- authenticate as a Mac OS X user, leveraging operating system
security for your Timbuktu Pro connections
- make secure, SSH-encrypted connections, adding another layer
of security to the data stream

Timbuktu 8 is available now at the Netopia online store, or through
your local reseller!
Great product that we highly recommand.
We give it a 5*out of 5
Making Timbuktu Pro 8 our Application of the Week.

Post.Office and WEBmail EnhancedTwo updated mail packages for Mac OS X

Two new mail packages, Post.Office
3.6.3, the well regarded mail server and list server, and WEBmail 6.0.2,
EMUmail's web-based mail client & calendar, are now available from
Tenon for Mac OS X.

Post.Office's mail filtering plug-ins - SpamAssassin (a popular and
powerful spam detector) and ClamAV (an equally popular, multi-threaded
virus scanner) - have been updated. Both SpamAssassin and ClamAV are
delivered in pre-configured clickable installer packages, distributed
with Post.Office and invoked via the Post.Office web-based GUI. The
ClamAV virus scanning database gets automatically updated biweekly.
Tenon is also making key Post.Office plug-in module sources available,
so that in the future customers can update these open-source filtering
add-ons on their own.

WEBmail 6 is an easy-to-use web mail client that can be hand-tailored
with a customer's logos, or even with an entirely new look & feel.
Tenon has added a new Aqua skin to WEBmail and WEBcalendar. Both
Post.Office and WEBmail allow multi-domain email addresses, support both
POP and IMAP, and include SMTP Authentication to ensure open relay
protection, while giving authorized users world-wide mail server access.

When Post.Office and WEBmail are used in conjunction with Tenon's iTools
(an Apache, DNS, and FTP management tool), both products have additional
features. Graphical displays of Post.Office mail traffic patterns can
be generated and the web-based mail client will manifest a big
performance boost by taking advantage of FastCGI with iTools Apache 2.
Post.Office is For 10 accounts or less, is free! Other packages available.

Post.Office, WEBmail and iTools run flawlessly on Apple's new Mac mini,
giving webmasters and postmasters an inexpensive way to start hosting
their own sites. And because all of these products are extremely
scalable, transitioning to an Xserve when the traffic demands it is very
doable.

Post.Office customer's on non-Mac platforms are encouraged to call Tenon
for analysis, support and system upgrades. Strategies for adding Mac OS
X-based Post.Office system to existing non-Mac Post.Office installations
are available, giving long-term Post.Office customers access to modern
mail server features added by Tenon.

Solar Power Charge your iPod

Very interesting article on a device that promisses to charge youriPod using Solar Power.
Read the review from iPodlounge.

Updated AOL Web Mail Will Be Free

America Online is rolling out a major upgrade to AOL Mail on
the Web that lays the groundwork for a free Web mail service
to be launched later this year.

Hitachi to Boost Output of Small Hard-Disk Drives

Hitachi said on Tuesday it would sharply boost its output of
1-inch and 1.8-inch hard disk drives (HDDs) this year to
meet soaring demand created by portable music players and
other mobile devices.

Latest Bagle Worm Attacks with Trojan Horse

Anti-virus vendors are raising the alarm over another batch
of Bagle worm mutants crawling through e-mail networks.
We are so glad we use a Mac!

Media Player Update Fails Spyware Test

Nearly two months after promising to update its media player
software to block the threat of malware infection, Microsoft
on Tuesday admitted that users of its Windows Media Player 9
Series remain at risk.

First Canadian Apple Store to open May 21st

Canada's first Apple Store is scheduled to open for business on May 21st, 2005, according to AppleInsider. The store will be located at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, Canada. According to internal company documents obtained by AppleInsider, Apple will open at least four retail stores in Canada. Tipsters said the Yorkdale store will open in the existing section of the mall, and not the expansion area still under construction. Montreal is dying to see it's firts Apple Store, that could fill the void left by the bankrupt bMac.