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Monday, May 27, 2002 |
Radio updated to version 8.0.8
Radio UserLand v8.0.8. - Radio UserLand is an easy-to-use, scriptable weblog tool that runs on your desktop, so it's fast and ready to go when you are. It automatically builds your site, organizes and archives your posts, and publishes your content, without any knowledge of HTML, FTP, or graphic design. [Release notes] [AppleScript Info]
10:03:04 PM 
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An update on the iBrowser rumor...
The Chimera programmer referred to in the iBrowser conspiracy story in the Register that I linked to earlier today, David Hyatt, responds with the real reason he has taken a break from developing the newest OS X browser project: He had to take a paid sabbatical or face losing it, and now that Mozilla 1.0 is rolling along, this seemed like the best time to take a break. Read his comments in his Weblog, Confessions of a Mozillian...
8:30:25 PM
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iBrowser? iDoubt it...
Andrew Orlowski: "On balance however, we'd rate the likelihood of an Apple iBrowser as pretty outstandingly remote. Despite the sound technical and political advantages we've outlined above, it's a long-term commitment that only the brave would make. A temporary insurgency can turn into a full-scale Vietnam, if you're not careful." [Scripting News]
12:34:20 PM
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Film vs. Digital...it's no contest
This month marks the second year that Natalie and I have been taking digital photos. That isn't so extraordinary...many people have been using digital cameras longer, and many professional photographers have taken more photos than the 6000 we have taken with our Nikon CoolPix 950. But I got to thinking about digital photography this weekend while reading Robert Scoble ruminations about Digital vs. Film. Scoble went through a few calculations to see how economical it was to move to digital from mainly shooting film. What he missed ws the way that digital photography can transform a casual two-roll-a-year amateur photographer into a thousand shots or more per year photo enthusiast.
Making the full-time move to digital photography is revolutionary. In my case, I went from shooting vacation photos and the occassional photos for magazine articles with an old Canon AE-1 SLR (which we still use for shooting slides) to carrying the relatively small Nikon CoolPix 950 everywhere with me to make sure I could get those odd shots that can't be planned. The move to digital made photography much less expensive, much more convenient, and it let me start taking chances with photos. By the time I made the move to digital I was already shooting film-based photography in a volume that I couldn't sustain. I mounted a motor drive on the Canon AE-1 and took it into the crater of Mt. St. Helens with me on four occassions - shooting six to eight rolls of film on each trip. Something had to give.
Now, with much more advanced digital cameras available and with online photo printing services that offer great prices on everything from individual shots to creating customized photo books like those available in the easy-to-use formats offered by Apple's iPhoto, there really isn't a good reason not to try digital photography. Yes, there is a buy-in cost, but that $500 to $1000 starts to look pretty cheap when you figure in the ongoing developing costs of print photography. In my case, to take those same 6,000 photos that I have taken over the last two years and pay for developing...using Robert Scoble's estimate of developing costs of $6 per roll of 24 exposures, here is how my savings from the last two years break down: 6000 photos divided by 24 = 250 rolls. To develop those rolls: 250 rolls times $6 = $1500. This still isn't the grand total cost though. Consider that each of those rolls cost approximately $3: 250 times $3 = $750. So the total cost I would have faced in taking and developing 6,000 shots over the last two years: $2,250.
What this boils down to is that my savings from shooting digital rather than film have more than paid for all of my digital photography gear AND the spotting scope that we use for bird watching as well as in conjunction with the digital camera to take close-up photos of birds and other wildlife.
Even more significant is the impact digital photography has had on my writing career. We bought the Nikon to use while shooting photos for our book, Insiders' Guide to the Olympic Peninsula. And now we use it to take photos for our next book, Birding Washington. In addition, I couldn't even consider doing a nature Web site like The Equinox Project without using a digital camera.
I can't say enough good things about digital photography. Sure, it isn't for everyone. But even for professionals, the ability to take new chances with digital photos is worth buying a camera and taking it for a spin. If you are like me, it will transform what you think of photography.
10:43:25 AM
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449 miles, 68 bird species, 5 butterfly species....What a day!
Yesterday we drove 449 miles making a complete circle around Mt. Rainier to investigate three bird watching sites for our upcoming Birding Washington book. Along the way, we saw 68 species of birds, at least 5 species of butterflies and some of the prettiest scenery in America. What a day!
I will resume Mac Net Journal posts today, and I will write more about my trip, including more photos, on my other site, The Equinox Project...
Meanwhile, a reverent Memorial Day to all.
8:11:21 AM
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Tailoring Java Applications for Mac OS X
Apple Technical Note TN2042: “This Technical Note describes techniques and methods that Java developers on Mac OS X can employ to provide a ‘complete Macintosh experience’ in their Java applications on Mac OS X. It is also intended for Java developers from other platforms looking to bring their existing applications to Mac OS X as flawlessly as possible.” [ranchero.com]
7:53:58 AM
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© Copyright 2002 Rob McNair-Huff.
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