Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
How does compression work?!
How in the world does a 3 gigabyte (bite?) download equal 6+ gigabytes of unpacked data? Compression isn't that good is it? Maybe someone can explain this to me. Who are the wizards behind this data devilry.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Breaking in my Desert Boots. Put some 70% isopropyl on them and they instantly felt roomier.
Posted via web from Josh Brown
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Goodwill hunting: Bargain basement fasion
Ryan, Ben, Zach, Frankie and I stopped at a few 2nd hand shops on the way to our all you can eat Chinese.
Aisles of mediocre pantalones.
"Dad I wish you'd shut your dang QUACKER!"
Ryan spots a deal.
And scores big time! $15 all told.
I haggled and got these Eddie Bauer desert boots 50% off ($6.99)
@ungerwhere @ywamissionary @shawnnelson guess who just got a free iPhone: this guy
Posted via web from Josh Brown
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Flip Mino HD [[tag:video,HD]]
(25427 KB)
Watch on posterous
Right, so I just got my Flip Mino HD in the mail today. I ran around and took a couple shots in various conditions to test for lighting,focus, white balance, sound, censor refresh. The software that came with the camera threw this video together for me and now I share it with you. The Product itself was packaged very nicely and has a very solid feed to it. Not at all like a cheap camera. Camera's like these should take over the consumer camera market... please?
Friday, May 21, 2010
Ubuntu Netbook Edition - HUGE upgrade
For your netbook - download Ubuntu Netbook Edition
Download Ubuntu CD image
You may also want to...
Create your UNE flash drive
After the ISO file has finished downloading you will have to create a bootable flash drive. Use the link below to find detailed instructions.
How to create a bootable flash drive »
Install UNE on your netbook
When the flash drive is ready, simply put it in your USB slot, restart your computer and follow the instructions that will appear on your screen. Don't forget that you can make more copies and pass the flash drive to as many people as you like.
Thanks for downloading. Have fun using Ubuntu Netbook Edition!
Ok, I was tasked with upgrading a tired old Acer Aspire One netbook. The thing is going on 5 years I've been told. I came with Windows XP installed and has had multiple owners. It's a question whether it will boot up sometimes, and when it does, your lucky if you can surf the web with it... not very net-bookie.
SO! I plut in 1Gig of Ram hoping that would help it out (512 standard) and it made it boot reliably, but it was still very slow in the XP interface.
I asked my "client" if they minded linux. I explained that they wouldn't be able to just download "normal" programs and what not. "That's ok, I'd be happy if I was just able to check my e-mail with it and surf the web."
So I had heard recently about Ubuntu for Netbooks. I knew there was ubuntu light and what not, but I had a feeling this new "remix" would be a super easy to use version of it.
I grabbed a 2gb flash drive and made a boot disk and started it up on the net book. From the usb drive it took seconds to load and was snappy even though running through usb. I was floored. The interface was clean, sophisticated, and easy to use. Not only that but it's specifically designed for atom intel CPU's which this old Dinosaur of a netbook surprisingly sports.
So I chose to install it. It asked me what language I would like to speak (Russian?... no) And what sort of keyboard I wanted... 'MERICAN! Then asked me if I wanted to keep Windows on there as well as install Ubuntu... OVERWRITE!
The installer worked in the background for about 15-20 minutes while I tooled around in the intriguing new interface. I rebooted the device and on firstboot it took several seconds to load; second boot took mere seconds to load.
The performance gains over XP on a netbook were phenomenal and having an open source toolset like F-Spot, Open Office, and Firefox pre-installed is great.
Posted via web from Josh Brown
Dan Rather: Pornland, Oregon: Child Prostitution in Portland
Well, I've been teaching it for a while, but this is the first major reporter I've heard comment on the issue. Thank you.
Posted via web from Josh Brown
Thursday, May 20, 2010
SNL: Digital Short: Great Day
Oh... yooouuuu. Cocaine is not funny... but musicals are!
Posted via web from Josh Brown
Zoom H2 Handy Recorder
So I've been using the Zoom H2 audio recorder the last 6 or so weeks every day. It works brilliantly. Pop in a SD card, turn it on, and press record (twice). BOOM! Wave file! And the clarity is great! It really cuts back on ambient noise.
It can be used for audio on low budget video stuff for audio (on-board mic anyone?) and I can't wait to give it a try for that.
So, some observations:
To access the SD card you must unscrew the device from it's base stand or mic stand. Inefficient.
Upon inserting the SD Card, you must reboot the device before recording again. (5 second wait). Annoying.
Impossible (as far as I know) to start a file at a desired number. The file numbering always starts back at ***000.wav unless there is a file already in place. I have to re-name files before dumping so they don't overwrite.
If left on for a long time without recording (overnight) you might need to reboot before recording again to avoid data loss. I left the device on overnight and pressed the record button the next morning. It told me it was recording, but it simply generated a file and didn't record any data... that entire day is gone now. Ah well.
Conclusion. The Zoom H2 is a fairly solid device. It has some decidedly low budget engineering behind it as is evident by some of the design issues and firmware bugs. But given that the device cost barely over $100, I would recommend it. Just know it's few quirks and limitations before banking on it.
Posted via web from Josh Brown
a clever bot - speak to an AI with some Actual Intelligence?
Thanks @ungerwhere for the tip.
Clever bot is... pretty clever. You can basically keep a conversation with it. The kind of conversation you might have with a five year old with a large vocabulary. Go ahead, try it out. Say anything, Ask anything.
Posted via web from Josh Brown
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
iPod touch with 2 megapixel camera leaked in Vietnam (video) -- Engadget
(Click link above for full story)
Just as I was commenting about Apple pulling jerkwad moves for profit instead of looking largely to their user base ( http://joshuabrown.name/apple-leaving-pro-market-high-and-dry ). I see this. Never mind that the mount for this iPod has been included in their products for quite a while now; the market must be juuuuust right.
Posted via web from Josh Brown
Cerevo Cam live! packs on-board USTREAM support -- Engadget
I wonder what the quality of this compared to something like the Flip MiniHD is. I just got a Flip Mino HD and would love to compare them. The price for this is only slightly higher, but can do wi-fi streaming?! AWESOME!
Posted via web from Josh Brown
Apple leaving Pro market High and Dry?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
India Promo - Josh and Ashley Brown
Posted via web from Josh Brown