Portrait Lighting Cheat Sheet Card

So, after reading Light, Science and Magic, watching the lighting tutorials from pro photo life and getting my share of the Strobist, I decided to create the Portrait Lighting Cheat Sheet.
http://www.diyphotography.net/portrait-lighting-cheat-sheet

Simple portrait lighting tips

“Hey, Bob, stand against the wall so I can take your photo!” – that’s how most unprofessional portraits get started. That’s not how it should be done; that’s how police photographers take mug-shots.
If you examine nice portraits, you’ll see very quickly that they are not taken against a wall. They are made with care to get the lighting
right, and to honor the person being photographed.
It’s not hard to take a nice portrait for yearbooks, annual reports, newsletters and presentations. All it takes is attention to lighting, framing, focus, and posing.
http://www.thelawlers.com/FTP/Simple%20Portrait%20lighting.pdf

Telepresence Robot To Join Doctors On Rounds Next Month

Another robot wants to give busy doctors the ability to be in two places at one time. Reminiscent of – and resembling – iRobot’s AVA, the Telepresence Puppet is a telemedicine platform that allows doctors to interact with their patients without actually being with them. Puppet’s maker, Singapore-based start-up Ctrl Works, is currently fine-tuning the robot’s abilities and will send the mobile robot to accompany doctors on their rounds at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore next month. I got a chance to ask Ctrl Works Chief Executive, Sim Kai, about the vision behind the Puppet and how soon we can expect to see it doing the doctor’s biddings.
http://singularityhub.com/2012/03/27/telepresence-robot-to-join-doctors-on-rounds-next-month/

Margolis: ‘New’ Apple TV Interface is 5 Years Old, Was Discarded by Steve Jobs

I totally agree it should and could be so much better. 
Alongside the launch of their new 1080p-capable Apple TV, the company also completely redesigned the interface of the Apple TV software, which now more closely resembles iOS. The design changes have not been without criticism, however, and according to former Apple TV engineer Michael Margolis, the design is actually five years old, and was discarded by Steve Jobs for being a “bad design”.
http://www.mactrast.com/2012/03/margolis-new-apple-tv-interface-is-5-years-old-was-discarded-by-steve-jobs/

Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam

Affordable conferencing technologie. BYE BYE polycom codec.
Amazingly Simple and Affordable Small Group Video Conferencing Has Arrived.
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/for-business/products/webcams/devices/conferencecam?WT.ac=ps|9822

Chuck Berry Bitch slapped Keith Richards

It's fair to say the Rolling Stones have had a colourful life.
And now guitarist Ronnie Wood has revealed how Keith Richards once had his eye 'painted black' by Chuck Berry - because he believed the rocker was stealing his guitar case full of cash.
Wood, 64, spilled the beans during The Ronnie Wood Show on Absolute Radio, due to be broadcast tonight.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2119381/-And-time-Chuck-Berry-punched-Keith-Richards-Ronnie-Wood-spills-beans-radio-show.html#ixzz1q2jW1gdf

hammock tents that sleeps 5

Ok me want!
The tentsile range offers unique sheltered accommodation in any environment. Ground conditions can limit the use of certain locations but now; whether you are looking for a more versatile camping solution or an urban garden treehouse that avoids planning restrictions, with tentsile the sky really is the only limit.
http://www.tentsile.com/index.html

Gibson USA - New guitars at Musikmesse Frankfurt 2012 Video

That bender looks awesome!

Apple Patent Shows Self Configuring iPhone as a Universal TV Remote

In the application, Apple describes the use of the iPhone as a self-configuring universal remote for your home entertainment system. Specifically, they suggest using the iPhone's camera to take a photo of your existing remote, and then comparing that photo to a database of known remotes.

The method may begin by obtaining an input that may be used to identify the electronic device that is to be controlled, such as by using image processing techniques to compare the captured image against a database of known devices.

Apple acknowledges the iPhone in question would also need IR transmission capabilities. The patent application is dated from 2010. 

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/22/apple-patent-shows-self-configuring-iphone-as-a-universal-tv-remote/

Commodore’s New Gaming PCs AMIGA IS BACK!

Commodore’s New Gaming PCs Will Transport You Back to the 80s

There was a rumor back in 2010 that Commodore was planning to relaunch the Amiga. Now the retro computer brand has gone and done it, launching this high-end, small form factor gaming PC—as well as a new reissue of its classic C64.
OK, so it looks like a fairly hideous reworking of a Mac Mini. But, but... it's an Amiga! Shadow of the Beast and Lemmings will never have looked as good. Commodore has managed to squeeze a 3.5GHz Sandy Bridge Core i7 CPU, a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 GPU, 16GB of RAM, a Blu-ray drive, and a 1TB hard drive into its shiny little aluminum case.
http://gizmodo.com/5895462/commodores-new-gaming-pcs-will-transport-you-back-to-the-80s

Learn This One-Handed Technique to Strip and Tin Wires Like a Pro

Whether you spend hours on end at workbench fiddling with wires and a soldering iron or you're just getting started with DIY projects and want to make sure you're doing it right, this technique for easily stripping and tinning wires with solder is worth learning. Once you have it down, it only takes a couple of seconds to get your wires ready to connect to a board, crimp, or connect to another device.
http://lifehacker.com/5891872/learn-this-one+handed-technique-to-strip-and-tin-wires-like-a-pro

Upgrade Your Home Network This Weekend

Home networks can be great or they can be a huge pain in the butt. Set aside some time this weekend to fix your annoying network issues, boost your Wi-Fi reception, and add some great new features. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
http://lifehacker.com/5891842/upgrade-your-home-network-this-weekend

The Digital Bolex: The 1st Affordable Digital Cinema Camera

Kickstarter kick ass video camera!
The Digital Bolex is a “digital cinema camera” or a camera that shoots RAW images (sometimes known as Digital Negatives) instead of compressed video. Unlike the digital cinema cameras used on big budget films, the Bolex is designed with consumers as well as pros in mind, and will be inexpensive, compact, and easy for anyone to use, just like the film cameras many of us remember using as kids.
http://www.digitalbolex.com/

iTunes 1080p video looks better, saves space using better H.264 compression

In the comments on yesterday's AppleTV story, many people doubted whether 1080p support in the third-generation AppleTV will be very useful. That question becomes even more relevant when observing the file sizes of 720p vs 1080p versions of the same movies and TV shows in the iTunes Store: despite the fact that 1920x1080 means 2.25 times as many pixels as 1280x720, file sizes often differ by a factor of 1.5 or less. So what's going on—is the 1080p content pretty much indistinguishable from the 720p version, or did Apple succeed in magically upping the compression?
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/03/new-itunes-1080p-looks-good-through-better-h264-compression.ars

The Mohu Leaf Is a Paper-Thin HD Antenna That’s Perfect for Cable Cutters

Cutting the cable and switching to streaming video doesn't mean you have to miss out on the wealth of free, local, over-the-air HD TV channels in your area. All you need is an antenna—but if you're like me and live in an area where reception is spotty, you need an antenna that can bring in those local channels as clear as day without putting an ugly, boxy antenna on or behind your TV. The Mohu Leaf is the perfect antenna for the job.
http://lifehacker.com/5891870/the-mohu-leaf-is-a-paper+thin-hd-antenna-thats-perfect-for-cable-cutters

Is this the end of the Apple Mac Pro?

While the news of new Xeons powering other companies' servers may not spark your interest, keep in mind that Apple's Mac Pro also run on that Intel processor. So does that mean an update to the Mac Pro, which has remained unchanged since August 2010, is in the works?
http://www.computerworlduk.com/in-depth/infrastructure/3342699/is-this-end-of-apple-mac-pro/

iPad 3 touch and feel display rumor. Porn industry drooling

Tell me the porn industry would not have a hey day with this. Boom chick bow bow.
A last-minute, highly ambitious rumor suggests Apple could feature "never before seen" haptic feedback touch technology in today's unveiling of the third-generation iPad.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/03/07/apples_third_gen_ipad_rumored_to_feature_never_before_seen_touch_technology.html

Tackle font problems using OS X Lion's Font list

When managing fonts in OS X, conflicts or faults in font files can result in a number of odd problems such as misaligned characters, garbled characters, and improper fonts being used when documents are displayed, converted, or printed. In addition, font problems can result in applications or even the system crashing or hanging.

These problems can happen if there are conflicts from old font files, duplicates of the same font file in different locations in the OS, or even missing fonts that ought to be installed and active in the system.

Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57391088-263/tackle-font-problems-using-os-x-lions-font-list/#ixzz1oN09i8Nh

In Five Years, One-Third Of Americans Will Own Tablets

By 2016, more than one-third of Americans will own tablet computers.
That prediction from Forrester shows why it's so important for Microsoft and its hardware partners to come out with viable competitors to the iPad.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/in-five-years-one-third-of-americans-will-own-tablets-2012-3#ixzz1oMEZxqa9

Zeiss Cinemizer OLED with head-tracking hands-on (video)

The Carl Zeiss Cinemizer OLED has been a long time in the making -- we first heard about the video glasses at Macworld in 2008 -- but the company has yet to push the head-mounted display past the prototype phase. We stumbled upon Zeiss' booth here at CeBIT, where we found a version of the glasses that look mighty similar to the mock-up we saw in marketing materials from 2010, but are now equipped with a pair of head-tracking modules to expand the yet-to-be released marvel's practicality. With head-tracking now on board, the Cinemizer can theoretically appeal to gamers, architects, even educators, who can use the glasses in the classroom.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/06/zeiss-cinemizer-oled-head-tracking-hands-on/

Awesome treehouse with plasma screen.

Even for those already living the highlife, owning one of these luxury tree houses would be a real tree-t.
At £250,000 each, these fairytale treetop palaces are the latest in a global trend for bespoke garden living, claims their English designer.
They include a James Bond style safe-house with CCTV and biometric security systems, fairytale castles and forest-getaways for home county executives.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2110978/Now-thats-real-millionaire-play-pad-The-luxury-tree-houses-sell-250-000.html#ixzz1oM1Uemfv

Free Collusion add-on shows which companies watch as you browse

Mozilla, the maker of Firefox, has unveiled a new add-on for the popular web browser that gives web users an instant view of which companies are 'watching' them as they browse.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2109223/Google-privacy-policy-Mozilla-add-Collusion-reveals-spying-internet-users.html#ixzz1oLl314ou

When Gaming Is Good for You

A growing body of university research suggests that gaming improves creativity, decision-making and perception. The specific benefits are wide ranging, from improved hand-eye coordination in surgeons to vision changes that boost night driving ability.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203458604577263273943183932.html

This Startup Could Literally Change The Entire Software Industry

Startup Numecent has come out of stealth mode today with some of the most impressive enterprise technology we've seen in a decade.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/were-blown-away-this-startup-could-literally-change-the-entire-software-industry-2012-3#ixzz1oGRgLD00

Fix Your Photo’s Exposure Problems in Seconds With This Simple Trick

You can perform this trick with just about any image editor you like (so long as it supports layers, is able to invert the image, and offers the Overlay blending mode). To see how this works, watch the video above. Alternatively, just follow these steps:
http://lifehacker.com/5889078/fix-your-photos-exposure-problems-in-seconds-with-this-simple-trick

How-To: Splice Wire to NASA Standards

Some commenters on Friday’s post about using a washer as a soldering aid noticed my sloppy splicing technique and were kind enough to educate me about the so-called “Western Union splice,” aka the “Lineman’s splice,” which is the preferred method for twisting solid-core wire leads together for inline electrical connections.
http://blog.makezine.com/2012/02/28/how-to-splice-wire-to-nasa-standards/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+makezineonline+%28MAKE%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

NY Here's How To Get Live TV On Your iPad Without Going Through Cable

Aereo, a new service that's rolling out in New York City next month, has a different idea for getting live TV on your iPad, iPhone, and soon a bunch of other mobile devices and connected TV boxes.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/aereo-libe-tv-ipad-2012-2#ixzz1nzCUUihi

Will People Alive Today Have the Opportunity to Upload Their Consciousness to a New Robotic body?

When Steve Jobs passed away last year, a joke bounced around--not that there was anything particularly funny about it--that the man who had done so much to shape modern technology hadn’t really died at all, but rather had figured out how to upload himself into the Mac OS so he could live on with us, and with his products, forever. The notion was ostensibly so far out as to be ridiculous. But not everyone sees it that way.
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-03/achieving-immortality-russian-mogul-wants-begin-putting-human-brains-robots-and-soon

Unlimited Bandwidth thanks to new pasta shaped radio waves

A group of Italian and Swedish researchers appears to have solved the problem of radio congestion by cleverly twisting radio waves into the shape of fusilli pasta, allowing a potentially infinite number of channels to be broadcast and received.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-03-pasta-shaped-radio-venice.html

Star Trek's 'warp drive' would BLOW UP any solar system the Enterprise arrived at, warn physicists

The physicists analysed how matter might behave around a theoretical 'warp drive' known as an Alcubierre drive.
The simulating found that particles would cluster lethally around the bubble in space-time used to 'jump' through space.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2108855/The-universe-cannae-Captain-Star-Treks-warp-drive-destroy-planet-Enterprise-arrived-say-physicists.html#ixzz1nyW30RAR

New AppleTV Stream TV Channels as Apps?

The New York Post reports that Apple is "pitching the idea of offering channels as apps for its devices, including its Apple TV set-top box." What's not clear is whether the apps would come in charged-for bundles—like a cable package—or whether the apps would be available on an a la carte basis.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/gorilla_tactics_OrVVl5tgFF7BeEO8lVU4eJ

Big Year for Lecture Capture 2012

With universities like MIT and Stanford using online video to expand their reach, and with technology and platform vendors investing serious dollars into the educational market, 2012 is shaping up to be a very exciting year for video in schools.
http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/The-State-of-Education-Video-2012-81019.aspx

Windows 8 might be a gamechanger for tablets, but it's designed for desktops too. How does it fare with a keyboard and mouse?

Since Windows 7, Microsoft's been busily honing the interface for Windows tablets, which uses a bold bunch of squares and rectangles in flat neon colors and has been christened "Metro." Windows 8--undoubtedly the biggest change to the operating system in a few generations--finally brings Metro to the desktop. So how does it work with a keyboard and mouse? Oh yeah windows 8 was made by microsoft but designed on a mac. See pic below of designer. 
http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2012-03/windows-8-preview-desktop-hands-how-most-people-will-actually-use?cmpid=tw

Dolby aims for richer images with JPEG-HDR

High dynamic range photography is a popular way to bypass cameras' weaknesses in capturing bright and dark scenes, and Dolby hopes its technology will help.
Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-57388241-78/dolby-aims-for-richer-images-with-jpeg-hdr/#ixzz1nsoNnMyW