Today I saw a video of a NASA moon-lander prototype being tested (and subsequently failed) for it's autonomous takeoff-landing capabilities:
http://youtu.be/yZPnTK3Bhgw
I couldn't help but notice how very similar it looks to another moon-transport vehicle, the "Eagle", which came from a little-known Gerry Anderson sci-fi series from the 70's called, "Space 1999".
Take a look at this clip and tell me you don't see an erie similarity, with the external truss-like landing gear and bulbous apparatus hanging off the side:
http://yt.cl.nr/YAt60HrSkzI
Unfortunately I can't find any clip on the web from the original series of an Eagle lifting off from the pad, but the same dust-blowing-out from beneath the craft looks exactly like this NASA prototype's footage.
Cool stuff.
Reviews for Professional Editors, Producers, Camera Operators and anyone involved in the commercial filmmaking community. Often you'll find some stuff not related to filmmaking... but fun anyway.
Aug 5, 2012
OpenDNS: Don't buy into the hype.
Recently I was listening to a talk-radio show dedicated to solving common computer issues, and of course the focus is nearly 100% about PC-based systems since they're the ones normally flush with viruses, spyware and registry issues. (not that Mac's are trouble-free but certainly OS X users don't suffer the same daily headaches PC users do, not by a long-shot - and I use BOTH platforms daily and can speak from decades of experience.)
In this "talk-show for PC geeks" it was suggested that everyone on the planet, both home and business users alike, should be using "OpenDNS" to control the DNS IP addresses that your browser uses to surf the 'net. The claims were that using OpenDNS servers would both speed up the browser and, create extra security.
On the surface it sounded like a good idea and there is *some* logic to the arguement that having control over DNS server names/IP's would in theory create a more secure browsing environment.
OpenDNS has several levels of service offerings, ranging from free to expensive monthly fees specific to large business server platforms. I tested the home/free version both on the Mac and PC side.
OpenDNS is a collaboration of two things: Manually inserting the OpenDNS server addresses in your router or directly in your browser if you don't use a router of any sort and, their "updater" software which runs in the background and supposedly makes changes to DNS settings shoud the OpenDNS people decide that for security reasons they need to change something.
Without getting too technical about exactly how OpenDNS works let me explain it in laymens english and use a simply analogy:
The internet is very similar to the highways and roadways across the country. If you want to get from point A (your computer) to another website anywhere in the world (point B) you (your data connection) has to use these roadways to travel to where that website lives so it can share that information with you.
But getting TO that website isn't as straight-forward as you might think and here's an example:
Let's say you live in LA and want to drive to say, Denver CO. How you get there is totally up to you. If you're in a hurry you'd take the straightest, most direct route and use the highway system and it might take you 2 or 3 days to get there. Or, if you're in a sightseeing mood you could take the backroads and literally take weeks instead.
When you type in any web addresss or click on any link on a website your browser sends out a signal (a data packet in techno-speak) through your computer's internet connection which starts "driving" through the internet on it's way to the destination website. As your packet is traveling along it reads various roadmaps that tell it how to get it's intended destination - and here's where the trouble can happen: There's more than one roadmap, in fact there are millions, and it the information is incorrect or worse, if it's *intentionally* wrong, as in a hacker trying to re-direct you to another website, then your packet gets re-routed to the wrong place or worse, it gets fed information to report back to anonymous hackers YOUR computers information.
It's all incredibly complicated and convoluted, but the premise behind OpenDNS is that THEY are supplying a huge databank of "clean" internet servers that don't intentionally re-direct your packet to the wrong place and, are supposedly sweeping for the work of hackers who are trying to find ways into your computer.
That's all well and good, but what's really going on behind the scenes at OpenDNS is that by purposely installing their background software AND, by purposely using their DNS server database guess what... they now have TOTAL control over where your data packets go and furthermore, have a complete list of every browsing session you create, what servers your packet goes to, how long and even how much data you extract back and forth.
Not too long ago companies like Google and Apple were fined by the Feds for purposely putting tracing software in cell phones to track your usage, your location and other information and then using it for their own purposes - mostly to feed you advertisements along tracking your location. And they did this all on the sly, using software very cleverly hiden deep inside the operating system code of the cell phone itself, not external software.
With OpenDNS the same thing is going on; you're totally opening up your system to a big corporation and hoping and trusting that they're NOT going to use all this information that you're freely sharing with them for purposes other than "keeping your computer safe.".
In practical use I did indeed find that while using OpenDNS my web-page browsing was being purposely re-directed to other servers (you can see this activity in the address bar of your browser when you clink a link or hit "enter" on a manually entered web address). But instead of speeding up the browser it actually slowed things down - and by quite a bit - while all these "safe" re-directs were going on.
These obvious re-directs made me quite suspicious especially since one of their big selling points is that they're supposedly going to make browsing the 'net faster.
Then my next big red flag was when I decided it was time to get off the OpenDNS service, there was NO LINK to cancel or deactivate my OpenDNS account. Huh? They make it easy to sign up and share my information, but when I decide I DON'T want to be part of their world there's no method for saying "no thank you, cancel me." ?
The only way you can cancel your OpenDNS account is to send in a request to their tech support and request it. There's no explanation as to why this is the method however it's been my experience that internet-based companies who are doing something on the down-low don't make it easy to get off of their service.
In fact, that's how spyware works on PC's: you install some program that promises to "help" your computer, and then when you figure out it's not and try to uninstall it... it won't LET you uninstall!
OpenDNS has a plethora of positive testimonials supposedly ranging from home users all the way to Fortune 100 companies who swear the service is the best thing since sliced bread. And while I have no proof that OpenDNS is doing anything outright malicious, I was able to quickly debunk their claims of higher security and faster browsing.
As far as I can tell, OpenDNS is nothing but a very high-gloss method for allowing a big company to oversee your browsing activity and keep records on what you're doing. For what ultimate purpose I can't say, but when I consider the false claims of speed and security coupled with a not-so-direct method for cancelling an account I have absolutely no reason to trust them.
And neither should you.
In this "talk-show for PC geeks" it was suggested that everyone on the planet, both home and business users alike, should be using "OpenDNS" to control the DNS IP addresses that your browser uses to surf the 'net. The claims were that using OpenDNS servers would both speed up the browser and, create extra security.
On the surface it sounded like a good idea and there is *some* logic to the arguement that having control over DNS server names/IP's would in theory create a more secure browsing environment.
OpenDNS has several levels of service offerings, ranging from free to expensive monthly fees specific to large business server platforms. I tested the home/free version both on the Mac and PC side.
OpenDNS is a collaboration of two things: Manually inserting the OpenDNS server addresses in your router or directly in your browser if you don't use a router of any sort and, their "updater" software which runs in the background and supposedly makes changes to DNS settings shoud the OpenDNS people decide that for security reasons they need to change something.
Without getting too technical about exactly how OpenDNS works let me explain it in laymens english and use a simply analogy:
The internet is very similar to the highways and roadways across the country. If you want to get from point A (your computer) to another website anywhere in the world (point B) you (your data connection) has to use these roadways to travel to where that website lives so it can share that information with you.
But getting TO that website isn't as straight-forward as you might think and here's an example:
Let's say you live in LA and want to drive to say, Denver CO. How you get there is totally up to you. If you're in a hurry you'd take the straightest, most direct route and use the highway system and it might take you 2 or 3 days to get there. Or, if you're in a sightseeing mood you could take the backroads and literally take weeks instead.
When you type in any web addresss or click on any link on a website your browser sends out a signal (a data packet in techno-speak) through your computer's internet connection which starts "driving" through the internet on it's way to the destination website. As your packet is traveling along it reads various roadmaps that tell it how to get it's intended destination - and here's where the trouble can happen: There's more than one roadmap, in fact there are millions, and it the information is incorrect or worse, if it's *intentionally* wrong, as in a hacker trying to re-direct you to another website, then your packet gets re-routed to the wrong place or worse, it gets fed information to report back to anonymous hackers YOUR computers information.
It's all incredibly complicated and convoluted, but the premise behind OpenDNS is that THEY are supplying a huge databank of "clean" internet servers that don't intentionally re-direct your packet to the wrong place and, are supposedly sweeping for the work of hackers who are trying to find ways into your computer.
That's all well and good, but what's really going on behind the scenes at OpenDNS is that by purposely installing their background software AND, by purposely using their DNS server database guess what... they now have TOTAL control over where your data packets go and furthermore, have a complete list of every browsing session you create, what servers your packet goes to, how long and even how much data you extract back and forth.
Not too long ago companies like Google and Apple were fined by the Feds for purposely putting tracing software in cell phones to track your usage, your location and other information and then using it for their own purposes - mostly to feed you advertisements along tracking your location. And they did this all on the sly, using software very cleverly hiden deep inside the operating system code of the cell phone itself, not external software.
With OpenDNS the same thing is going on; you're totally opening up your system to a big corporation and hoping and trusting that they're NOT going to use all this information that you're freely sharing with them for purposes other than "keeping your computer safe.".
In practical use I did indeed find that while using OpenDNS my web-page browsing was being purposely re-directed to other servers (you can see this activity in the address bar of your browser when you clink a link or hit "enter" on a manually entered web address). But instead of speeding up the browser it actually slowed things down - and by quite a bit - while all these "safe" re-directs were going on.
These obvious re-directs made me quite suspicious especially since one of their big selling points is that they're supposedly going to make browsing the 'net faster.
Then my next big red flag was when I decided it was time to get off the OpenDNS service, there was NO LINK to cancel or deactivate my OpenDNS account. Huh? They make it easy to sign up and share my information, but when I decide I DON'T want to be part of their world there's no method for saying "no thank you, cancel me." ?
The only way you can cancel your OpenDNS account is to send in a request to their tech support and request it. There's no explanation as to why this is the method however it's been my experience that internet-based companies who are doing something on the down-low don't make it easy to get off of their service.
In fact, that's how spyware works on PC's: you install some program that promises to "help" your computer, and then when you figure out it's not and try to uninstall it... it won't LET you uninstall!
OpenDNS has a plethora of positive testimonials supposedly ranging from home users all the way to Fortune 100 companies who swear the service is the best thing since sliced bread. And while I have no proof that OpenDNS is doing anything outright malicious, I was able to quickly debunk their claims of higher security and faster browsing.
As far as I can tell, OpenDNS is nothing but a very high-gloss method for allowing a big company to oversee your browsing activity and keep records on what you're doing. For what ultimate purpose I can't say, but when I consider the false claims of speed and security coupled with a not-so-direct method for cancelling an account I have absolutely no reason to trust them.
And neither should you.
Jul 30, 2012
Got the Compressor blues? Use Adobe Media Encoder!
I'm fortunate to have both FCP 7 and Production Premium CS6 on my system.
Just yesterday I was going to use Compressor to encode a very short Blu-Ray to then be authored in Encore. (There has been a workflow for this ever since CS4)
As fate would have it, Compressor started giving me the infamous, "I can't do any kind of work because I've lost my mind..." error message. Actually the error message was, "Qmaster file agent not found." First time I've seen that excuse not to work.
After spending 20 minutes trying to suss out the issue and running through the usual methods for troubleshooting - including using Digital Rebellions' Compressor Repair - I finally gave up and fired up Adobe Media Encoder and "got 'r done". What a relief. Remember those old Apple ads for Macintosh, "It just works." ? That's what can be said for AME.
In another post I did a comparison between Adobe Media Encoder and Compressor and the results were fanatasic, both in speed benefits and quality.
So why even bother with Compressor at this point? Eh, force of habit and I simply wanted to compare H.264 encodes for BR and see what the differences were. But since Compressor decided to take a nap, that just wasn't possible!
Adobe offers AME as a download on it's website however, it's not clear if you can use it *without* Premiere Pro also being installed or not. It's worth trying if you can't get Compressor to play nice.
Just yesterday I was going to use Compressor to encode a very short Blu-Ray to then be authored in Encore. (There has been a workflow for this ever since CS4)
As fate would have it, Compressor started giving me the infamous, "I can't do any kind of work because I've lost my mind..." error message. Actually the error message was, "Qmaster file agent not found." First time I've seen that excuse not to work.
After spending 20 minutes trying to suss out the issue and running through the usual methods for troubleshooting - including using Digital Rebellions' Compressor Repair - I finally gave up and fired up Adobe Media Encoder and "got 'r done". What a relief. Remember those old Apple ads for Macintosh, "It just works." ? That's what can be said for AME.
In another post I did a comparison between Adobe Media Encoder and Compressor and the results were fanatasic, both in speed benefits and quality.
So why even bother with Compressor at this point? Eh, force of habit and I simply wanted to compare H.264 encodes for BR and see what the differences were. But since Compressor decided to take a nap, that just wasn't possible!
Adobe offers AME as a download on it's website however, it's not clear if you can use it *without* Premiere Pro also being installed or not. It's worth trying if you can't get Compressor to play nice.
Jul 23, 2012
Bias Inc gone!
If you're a user of Bias Peak, Peak Pro, Deck or any other audio-editing software created by Bias Inc, you're out of luck with future support: The company has ceased operations.
And what's worse is that nobody picked up their product lines, not Avid, Apple, Microsoft... nobody. The entire Bias product line is just dead.
If you've already purchased the software fear not, it will keep working presumably forever or, until you upgrade your system to the point that the software is no longer compatible, but if you've only gotten a trial version there's no real way to make it a full version now. Not unless you're willing to hack into it with some code-monkey wrangling that I'm sure people on the internet are offering.
I don't know the circumstances surrounding the companies demise but they never were that great when it came to customer support and some of their products really needed a serious re-vamp, such as Deck, which went virtually unchanged for years.
So what are your options for products similar to the now defunct Bias offerings? To be honest I'm not sure myself. Adobe has a few audio editing offerings, as does Avid and a few others, but an exact replacement for Peak or Deck? I just don't know.
I've been using Peak for years, ever since version 4 and don't have plans to replace it with anything since it does it's job quite well, but at some point I'll have to invest in something that has support!
FYI to the community.
And what's worse is that nobody picked up their product lines, not Avid, Apple, Microsoft... nobody. The entire Bias product line is just dead.
If you've already purchased the software fear not, it will keep working presumably forever or, until you upgrade your system to the point that the software is no longer compatible, but if you've only gotten a trial version there's no real way to make it a full version now. Not unless you're willing to hack into it with some code-monkey wrangling that I'm sure people on the internet are offering.
I don't know the circumstances surrounding the companies demise but they never were that great when it came to customer support and some of their products really needed a serious re-vamp, such as Deck, which went virtually unchanged for years.
So what are your options for products similar to the now defunct Bias offerings? To be honest I'm not sure myself. Adobe has a few audio editing offerings, as does Avid and a few others, but an exact replacement for Peak or Deck? I just don't know.
I've been using Peak for years, ever since version 4 and don't have plans to replace it with anything since it does it's job quite well, but at some point I'll have to invest in something that has support!
FYI to the community.
Jul 1, 2012
VirtualPilot3D: A repackaged flight-sim scam - again!
Not long ago I published an article about "Pro Flight Simulator", and that it is a full-on scam to swindle you out of your hard-earned cash (see post for details).
Now it appears the same people who created PFS have re-named their high-gloss, flight simulator scam into "Virtual Pilot 3D" with a new website. Apparently there's big profit in scamming flight-sim enthusiasts into purchasing what you can actually get for FREE, otherwise there wouldn't be this refresh of an old scam.
If I had the time and money I'd make it a point to legally go after these f****rs and shut them down. No, it's not like they're cheating the elderly out of their healthcare funds or abusing little children, but the blatant and rampant attempt to sell their re-packaged crap is offensive, nonetheless.
If you believe their hype, they make it appear that you'd be purchasing the "Mercedes Benz" of flight-sim software, but in fact all you'd end up with is a Mecury Merkur, with all the warts and failures.
For those unfamiliar with the original Pro Flight Simulator scam: It's a retail packaging of FREE software called, "Flight Gear", which has been around for years and is open-source. The only difference between FG and PFS - and now VirtualPilot3D - is that they compiled all this free data into a self-installing routine, rather than you having to manually bind and install the Flight Gear data yourself.
And for this "favor" of creating an installer, you can throw out the window as little as $67 dollars on "special" or, if your money is just burning a hole in your wallet you can give them as much as $120 - and more! All for a product that is and has been 100% free!
By contrast, the GOLD version of Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) which includes the Acceleration Pack is now avaialble for direct download for less than $30. And you can still purchase the DVD set for less than $19 at some retailers.
And as far as I'm concerned, FSX is still the undisputed king of flight-simulation software. And yes, that's includind comparing it to the recently released Aerofly FS, Microsoft Flight, and X-Plane 10. And for those who wish to debate that assessment, save it for another thread; this topic is about helping people from throwing away their money.
If you're into or curious about flight-sim software, don't get hooked by the ultra-glossy campaign for either Pro Flight Simulator or, VirtualPilot3D. They're both scams, both software packages are actually available for free AND, they don't compare to what FSX has to offer. Not even close.
Now it appears the same people who created PFS have re-named their high-gloss, flight simulator scam into "Virtual Pilot 3D" with a new website. Apparently there's big profit in scamming flight-sim enthusiasts into purchasing what you can actually get for FREE, otherwise there wouldn't be this refresh of an old scam.
If I had the time and money I'd make it a point to legally go after these f****rs and shut them down. No, it's not like they're cheating the elderly out of their healthcare funds or abusing little children, but the blatant and rampant attempt to sell their re-packaged crap is offensive, nonetheless.
If you believe their hype, they make it appear that you'd be purchasing the "Mercedes Benz" of flight-sim software, but in fact all you'd end up with is a Mecury Merkur, with all the warts and failures.
For those unfamiliar with the original Pro Flight Simulator scam: It's a retail packaging of FREE software called, "Flight Gear", which has been around for years and is open-source. The only difference between FG and PFS - and now VirtualPilot3D - is that they compiled all this free data into a self-installing routine, rather than you having to manually bind and install the Flight Gear data yourself.
And for this "favor" of creating an installer, you can throw out the window as little as $67 dollars on "special" or, if your money is just burning a hole in your wallet you can give them as much as $120 - and more! All for a product that is and has been 100% free!
By contrast, the GOLD version of Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) which includes the Acceleration Pack is now avaialble for direct download for less than $30. And you can still purchase the DVD set for less than $19 at some retailers.
And as far as I'm concerned, FSX is still the undisputed king of flight-simulation software. And yes, that's includind comparing it to the recently released Aerofly FS, Microsoft Flight, and X-Plane 10. And for those who wish to debate that assessment, save it for another thread; this topic is about helping people from throwing away their money.
If you're into or curious about flight-sim software, don't get hooked by the ultra-glossy campaign for either Pro Flight Simulator or, VirtualPilot3D. They're both scams, both software packages are actually available for free AND, they don't compare to what FSX has to offer. Not even close.
Jun 11, 2012
As close to Top Gun as it gets. Again.
That's yours truly grinning like a 12-year old with a new toy.
I sure wish you could manually control exposure on the iPhone like a 'Droid. Eh, whatya gonna do...
(Here's a link to a video shot a few years ago of us starting up this old bird: http://youtu.be/vdDoKosn-88)
Anyway, we were out there again yesterday with another engine run-up, no flying unfortunately, not even a fast-taxi down the runway to fire up the afterburner. But it was fun hearing the howl of that old J-79 engine and sitting the cockpit dreaming that one day we'll get this thing airborne again.
Here's the view forward from the front seat:
That's a P2 Neptune being used for fire-bombing sitting in front of us and. You can see the long pitot tube with a tennis-ball on the end of it pointing at the red air compressor.
If cars were built was robustly as this 1960's fighter the only things that would wear out would be tires, brakes and rubber parts. This thing is a tank with wings.
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