lördag 17 oktober 2009
Video of Anti-Glare film application
Video done with the Canon 7D showing how to apply an Anti-Glare film to the MacBook, music by Kate and After (http://www.kateandafter.com). Max time of filming in 24fps full HD is about 12 minutes which results in a 4GB file.
torsdag 15 oktober 2009
Bye bye glare, welcome sunshine...
From first being very pleased with my glossy screen on my MacBook I soon realized that even if it was great inside it didn't matter how strong the LED backlight was, it would still not be readable outside on a sunny day.
For a while I have been considering changing my MacBook for no other apparent reason than to get a non glossy screen. But once I say http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/12/swap-a-macbooks-glossy-display-for-matte/ this week I decided that I should solve the glossy issue and save myself over 1000 Euro. I didn't go for the exchange of screens but went for an even cheaper and quicker solution, I ordered an anti-glare protection film from RadTech (https://www.radtech.us/Products/ClearCal-Displays.aspx). The Fedex package arrived from the States today and I'm happy to announce that I no longer have a glossy screen.
First impressions is that it's obviously not as good as getting a non-glossy screen from the beginning but it feels like a really good alternative when you can not get a non glossy screen or as in my case when you already has a glossy screen. The only real drawback that I have noticed yet is a slight shimmering effect from the film, it might be something that goes away when the film has cured properly but I guess not. But the main thing to mention is that the difference between before and after is much greater than I had hopped for and I'm looking forward to try out the "new" screen in the sun tomorrow.
The film is suppose to been specially sized for the 13.3 inch MacBook, I would however have preferred it to fill out the whole screen area to the outer edges and not just the display area. Maybe not a major thing for many people but if it would have gone all the way to the edges it would be hard to see that there are a film on the screen while now you now clearly can see the edge where the film is starting.
I took some video while applying the film and will see if I can manage to upload it for everyone to see and make their own judgment. The whole procedure took well under 30 minutes, but will require a bit of patience to ensure that no or minimum amount of particles get trapped behind the film.
For a while I have been considering changing my MacBook for no other apparent reason than to get a non glossy screen. But once I say http://www.tuaw.com/2009/10/12/swap-a-macbooks-glossy-display-for-matte/ this week I decided that I should solve the glossy issue and save myself over 1000 Euro. I didn't go for the exchange of screens but went for an even cheaper and quicker solution, I ordered an anti-glare protection film from RadTech (https://www.radtech.us/Products/ClearCal-Displays.aspx). The Fedex package arrived from the States today and I'm happy to announce that I no longer have a glossy screen.
First impressions is that it's obviously not as good as getting a non-glossy screen from the beginning but it feels like a really good alternative when you can not get a non glossy screen or as in my case when you already has a glossy screen. The only real drawback that I have noticed yet is a slight shimmering effect from the film, it might be something that goes away when the film has cured properly but I guess not. But the main thing to mention is that the difference between before and after is much greater than I had hopped for and I'm looking forward to try out the "new" screen in the sun tomorrow.
The film is suppose to been specially sized for the 13.3 inch MacBook, I would however have preferred it to fill out the whole screen area to the outer edges and not just the display area. Maybe not a major thing for many people but if it would have gone all the way to the edges it would be hard to see that there are a film on the screen while now you now clearly can see the edge where the film is starting.
I took some video while applying the film and will see if I can manage to upload it for everyone to see and make their own judgment. The whole procedure took well under 30 minutes, but will require a bit of patience to ensure that no or minimum amount of particles get trapped behind the film.
måndag 5 oktober 2009
500kr Ryanair
Comedian Niklas Andersson compare buying Ryanair tickets with buying candy in the 80:ies. (In Swedish)
fredag 2 oktober 2009
Canon 7D is alive
Got my Canon 7D today. See it coming alive below.
My first impressions are very positive, the camera feels solid and the controls are well layed out. That you can customize most functions to some degree is a big plus aswell. I'm looking forward to push the video posibilities with this one, but the most noticeble from a photographing point of view is the view finder, reminds me of when I first holded a 5D and realized that you actually could see details in the view finder.
The only disappointment so far doesn't have to do with the camera but with Canons "wireless" flash system. I didn't realize that it used light pulses for the communication which feels outdated. If I like to use light I should be able to use any primary flash, idiotic. The function seems to work but I was expecting something similar to the pocket wizards so got a bit disappointed on their technology.
My first impressions are very positive, the camera feels solid and the controls are well layed out. That you can customize most functions to some degree is a big plus aswell. I'm looking forward to push the video posibilities with this one, but the most noticeble from a photographing point of view is the view finder, reminds me of when I first holded a 5D and realized that you actually could see details in the view finder.
The only disappointment so far doesn't have to do with the camera but with Canons "wireless" flash system. I didn't realize that it used light pulses for the communication which feels outdated. If I like to use light I should be able to use any primary flash, idiotic. The function seems to work but I was expecting something similar to the pocket wizards so got a bit disappointed on their technology.
lördag 19 september 2009
100th
At last I made my 100th skydive. Will try to get some training in the wind tunnel shortly as well, one hour in the tunnel should be almost as much training as all my previous 100 jumps.
tisdag 1 september 2009
Canon 7D is official
Canon just released the details for Canon 7D looks really promising even if only has a APS-C sensor instead of a full frame. The main news is 1080p movie mode in 24 and 30 fps. Completely new AF system etc etc. Read all the glorious details at: http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canoneos7d/.
And it should be available this month for $1699 for the body only.
And it should be available this month for $1699 for the body only.
söndag 30 augusti 2009
All the ways Murphy can interfere with RJ45 termination...
I been terminating a fair amount of network cables with RJ45 connectors during the years and I have had a good track record, until now...
I have pulled wires in my apartment and was terminating them to RJ45 for computer usage as well as extensions for USB and control signals.
From experience here are the things that I know Murphy could do prior to today:
1) All the wires are not pushed in enough into the connector, resulting in no connectivity on that pin. Start over and ensure the cables have an even length when arranged in the right order.
2) One or multiple wires didn't get the right position. Make sure to check the wires properly before punching them down. Just try again until you get it right, it might help to strip a bit extra of the wires and then cut the excess once the order has been arranged.
3) One or multiple pins is not pushed down properly. Try to crimp it again and if that doesn't help it's time to get a new crimp tool.
4) Cutting through the inner wires while removing the shielding. This is easily done, and I would require anyone to redo a cable if the inner core of any wire can be seen. Having damaged wires could lead to intermittent faults which you don't want to risk!
5) Placing the cables the wrong way around. Easily done if you stick the cable on the opposite way from what you are used to. If not a critical cable you might get away with doing the same on the other side since the pairs are still intact but preferably the cable should be redone.
6) Mixing EIA-568-A and EIA-568-B. For resons which I don't know there are two standards for how the pairs should be connected, EIA-568-A and EIA-568-B. For some reason USA only recognize the A standard resulting in patch panels and other equipment to only be marked with the A standard sometimes. The B standard is supposed to be an improvement and is recommended in Europe. The important thing is to follow the same standard on both end of the cable, if in doubt I would suggest EIA-568-A since that's supported by everyone. If the standards get twisted, just redo one side to correspond to the other.
As you understand the connectors do go wrong sometimes. But if you are careful and inspect the connector properly before terminating it most of the problems can easily be avoided.
So when I terminated the wires at home I did as I always have done and ensured the wires was in the right order roughly the same length and that I managed to push them all the way into the connector. After I finished all of the wires and started testing them I found out that I had a short on the first cable. I thought I had been quite gently when I pulled the wires and started to trace the cause of the problem. Using a standard multimeter I could see that the fault must be in or near the connector because of the minimal resistance to the fault.
I cut of the connector to validate that the problem was on the connector end. I continued to strip of the shielding from the cable completely to ensure I hadn't damaged the inner cores. Everything looked fine, I then cut the connector in pieces to ensure that the cables wasn't touching each other. I _STILL_ had the short on the cables, I could not believe it! I checked and double checked and finally I found the cause. The tubes that the wires are pushed in to ensure they get to the right location didn't go all the way to the end of the connector, at the very front of the connector the conductor of the stranded cables that I had used had been pushed towards the front wall and made a connection with the neighboring wire.
After finding the problem on the first wire I checked all my connections and all of them had at least two wires short circuited one of them had 4 out of 8 shorted but non of the cables that I done with the Cat5e cable was without a fault.
So I can now add a 7th possible problem when terminating RJ45 connectors, pushing in the cable to far. The fact is that even after knowing of the problem I could still not ensure a proper termination.
7) Short circuit by pushing in the wires to far into the jack. Solution: get other jacks! The plugs
This whole story has convinced me to start using Platinum tools EZ-RJ45 (http://www.platinumtools.com/index.html) connectors istead. The wires are pulled through the connector and their crimp tool then cut of the excess, should be both quicker and more secure and most important Murphy can try to put a number 7 on me then!
I have pulled wires in my apartment and was terminating them to RJ45 for computer usage as well as extensions for USB and control signals.
From experience here are the things that I know Murphy could do prior to today:
1) All the wires are not pushed in enough into the connector, resulting in no connectivity on that pin. Start over and ensure the cables have an even length when arranged in the right order.
2) One or multiple wires didn't get the right position. Make sure to check the wires properly before punching them down. Just try again until you get it right, it might help to strip a bit extra of the wires and then cut the excess once the order has been arranged.
3) One or multiple pins is not pushed down properly. Try to crimp it again and if that doesn't help it's time to get a new crimp tool.
4) Cutting through the inner wires while removing the shielding. This is easily done, and I would require anyone to redo a cable if the inner core of any wire can be seen. Having damaged wires could lead to intermittent faults which you don't want to risk!
5) Placing the cables the wrong way around. Easily done if you stick the cable on the opposite way from what you are used to. If not a critical cable you might get away with doing the same on the other side since the pairs are still intact but preferably the cable should be redone.
6) Mixing EIA-568-A and EIA-568-B. For resons which I don't know there are two standards for how the pairs should be connected, EIA-568-A and EIA-568-B. For some reason USA only recognize the A standard resulting in patch panels and other equipment to only be marked with the A standard sometimes. The B standard is supposed to be an improvement and is recommended in Europe. The important thing is to follow the same standard on both end of the cable, if in doubt I would suggest EIA-568-A since that's supported by everyone. If the standards get twisted, just redo one side to correspond to the other.
As you understand the connectors do go wrong sometimes. But if you are careful and inspect the connector properly before terminating it most of the problems can easily be avoided.
So when I terminated the wires at home I did as I always have done and ensured the wires was in the right order roughly the same length and that I managed to push them all the way into the connector. After I finished all of the wires and started testing them I found out that I had a short on the first cable. I thought I had been quite gently when I pulled the wires and started to trace the cause of the problem. Using a standard multimeter I could see that the fault must be in or near the connector because of the minimal resistance to the fault.
I cut of the connector to validate that the problem was on the connector end. I continued to strip of the shielding from the cable completely to ensure I hadn't damaged the inner cores. Everything looked fine, I then cut the connector in pieces to ensure that the cables wasn't touching each other. I _STILL_ had the short on the cables, I could not believe it! I checked and double checked and finally I found the cause. The tubes that the wires are pushed in to ensure they get to the right location didn't go all the way to the end of the connector, at the very front of the connector the conductor of the stranded cables that I had used had been pushed towards the front wall and made a connection with the neighboring wire.
After finding the problem on the first wire I checked all my connections and all of them had at least two wires short circuited one of them had 4 out of 8 shorted but non of the cables that I done with the Cat5e cable was without a fault.
So I can now add a 7th possible problem when terminating RJ45 connectors, pushing in the cable to far. The fact is that even after knowing of the problem I could still not ensure a proper termination.
7) Short circuit by pushing in the wires to far into the jack. Solution: get other jacks! The plugs
This whole story has convinced me to start using Platinum tools EZ-RJ45 (http://www.platinumtools.com/index.html) connectors istead. The wires are pulled through the connector and their crimp tool then cut of the excess, should be both quicker and more secure and most important Murphy can try to put a number 7 on me then!
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