Category: Peripherals

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Good quality memory card that doesn’t break the bank

transcend

I’ve really been getting into using my Canon VIXIA HF10 HD camcorder more and more lately. I only had one SDHC card which was 8GB in capacity. I wanted to be able to at least record up to two hours on one card at the highest quality setting. So that meant upgrading to a 16GB card. I usually buy name brand memory cards for my digital photography work. My usual brand of choice is SanDisk. I use other name brands too, but the SanDisk cards have all served me well with no failures to date.

hf10

I was pricing the Class 6 (the speed I wanted for HD video work) SanDisk cards when I realized that the 8GB card I had been using all along was NOT a name brand card. That got me thinking, do I really need to spend the extra $$ on a memory card to get quality? Usually I don’t chance it. However, the proof was in my hand that I might be able to break tradition this time. So I did a little comparison shopping and opted to get a Transcend 16GB SDHC Class 6 card. It was literally half the price of the SanDisk card! It was also getting decent reviews on Amazon.com (a site where people can be brutally honest and not hold anything back when writing reviews). So I took a chance!

The results so far

It’s still early in this game. I’ve only been using the new Transcend cards for about 2 weeks now. However, they’ve performed perfectly. Again, it’s early and ANY card can die at any time. However, that’s the point! Any card can die at any time! So if you have a decent not so known brand that works and is compatible and seems to have a low failure rate as far as the reviews go, why not save the money? I did just that! I bought TWO of the 16GB SDHC class 6 cards for the price of ONE SanDisk card. So far so good! If the card ever dies I will report back here.

Once I record my video footage, I simply pop the memory card out of the Canon HF10 and pop it into my SanDisk 12-in-1 card reader on my Mac Pro. From there I fire up Premiere Pro CS4 and edit right off the card in the native AVCHD format. I will never go back to tape again! This workflow totally rocks! See it in action here:

[flv:http://media.libsyn.com/media/cspodcast/podcast-PR-AVCHD.mp4 625 353]

Here’s what I can record at with a 16GB SDHC card on the VIXIA HF10:

17FPs FXP (highest quality setting) 2 hours 6 minutes

12FPs XP+ 2 hours 53 minutes

7FPs SP 4 hours 48 minutes

5FPs LP 6 hours 8 minutes

Check out all of my latest gear recommendations here.

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Travel Routers: Cradlepoint CTR500 vs. AirPort Express

Sometimes it’s easier just to show you rather than to try to explain it in print. So check out my video review of the Cradlepoint CTR500 3G EVDO Travel Router vs the Apple AirPort Express:

…yes the video shot in HD and was edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 (of course!)

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A couple of additional features not shown in the video

The CTR500 not only shipped with an AC adapter (cigarette lighter) and multiple international plugs, but it also shipped with an Auto DC adapter. So in theory you could take that long car trip with the family and your passengers could have Wi-Fi internet access for their laptops, iPod touch’s, etc. while barreling down the highway. UPDATED INFO: Also the guys at the 3Gstore just alerted me to the fact that the latest Cradlepoint firmware now supports true Load Balancing. So if you do have the luxury of having two cards, you can use them together for increased bandwidth. They had me at “now supports”.

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The Bottom Line

I’m always setting up ad-hoc Wi-Fi networks when I’m on the road. I love the convenience of coming back to my hotel room and just opening my laptop and being on the internet (just like at home). It’s also great to be able to share the same internet connection with colleagues in the next room or family that I’m traveling with and to have Wi-Fi access on multiple devices like my laptop, iPhone and Vonage VoIP Wi-Fi phone (great for calling home from overseas). Although the AirPort Express is GREAT (and I still use them extensively at home because of their AirTunes abilities), the Cradlepoint CTR500 gives me the ability to not only share an Ethernet connection over Wi-Fi, but also either of my 3G (EVDO/HSDPA) cards. It even works with some 3G cellphones via USB tethering. There was no software to install. Like most routers you configure it via your web browser. I’ve also never seen a router (let alone a travel router) with so many options to configure it just the way you like. Even my home D-Link router doesn’t have that many options. Speaking of configuring, there was one annoying default. After I set the router up with WPA password security, I noticed that I was still being routed to a web page, which required entering an additional password before being allowed access to the internet. I couldn’t find that way to turn this off fast enough! Once I turned off “Require User Login“(apparently one of the most frequently asked questions), I was totally happy with the setup. The CTR500 only came with a quickstart guide to get you setup with a basic setup. I wanted to dig a little deeper with the settings and therefore had to go to the website to get the complete user guide.

The Cradlepoint CTR500 goes for $179.95 (retail list price $199.99).  There are less expensive models (one of which even has a built-in LI-ION battery) if you don’t need both an ExpressCard slot AND USB. If that’s the case you might want to go with the USB model CTR350 at $129.38. The CTR500 has direct support for over 100 3G cards and cellphones. See the list and specs here. If all you need is to share a high speed internet connection via Ethernet then the AirPort Express ($94.61) is the way to go. If you’re in the market for a 3G data card/service, router etc., the guys at the 3G Store rock!.

I can’t wait to go on my next trip!

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USB ports too close together?

usbports

Two USB ports on the MacBook Pro

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Here’s my SanDisk SDHC USB card reader and as you can see it’s just wide enough to block the second port a bit.

One of the things I’ve had to adjust to on the New MacBook Pro is the fact that the two USB ports on the 15″ model are right next to each ohter. They are not only right next to each other, they are insanely close together. So close in fact that it makes it impossible to plug in some devices and still acess the second port. On the previous MacBook Pro the two ports were located one on each side of the computer. So even if you had a device that was wider than it should be, you still had access to the second port because it was all the way on the other side of the computer.

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As you can see, with the USBconnect in place the second USB port is blocked.

I use my AT&T 3G USBconnect card when I travel. I have one of the older models that has a USB plug that flips down. It’s designed so that when its inserted into your laptop the antenna/card sticks up. This is fine provided that you don’t need to use the port next to it because it almost completely blocks. While I have on occasion wedged another USB cable into the second port, this is not advised and causes the USB cables not to sit properly.

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Although the Synchrotech cable certainly solves the problem with my USBconnect 3G modem it’s a little long for this.

I decided that enough was enough and started looking for USB extenion cables that would solve this issue. I wanted the shortest cable I could get. The first one I tried (thanks to the guys at Sychrotech) was the AirQueue, which was initially designed for the MacBook Air. The MacBook Air’s USB port can also be cramped if you are plugging in a large accessory. The AirQueue is a simple Male on one end Female on the other end 19cm cable. It’s a short extension cable. Simple as that. While the AirQueue certainly solves the problem for most connections, I was looking for something even shorter and more rigid.

That leads me to the Cables-to-Go FlexUSB adapter

flexusb

The Cables-To-Go (great company for all kinds of cable/hub solutions) FlexUSB adapter is much shorter than the Synchrotech model and although not as riged as I would like, it’s good enough for what I want to do. This adapter is great because you can angle it and turn it in the direction you need depending on the accessory you’re plugging in. Again, there’s not much to say here. It’s a USB extension that helps overcome (what I consider to be) a design flaw in the new MacBook Pros.

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The Bottom Line

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Here’s the FlexUSB connector angled up holding a SanDisk SDHC card reader

If your USB ports are too close together, you certainly can’t go wrong with either one of these extension adapters. Either one does the trick. However, if you going to want the device (like a 3G card ) to stand up on its own when plugged in or if you want the device to be a little closer to your laptop then I would go with the Cables-T0-Go FlexUSB adapter.

Synchrotech AirQueue $6.00

Cables-To-Go FlexUSB $4.64. (look on the right side of the page for this price)

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Charge your iPod or iPhone with a couple of AA’s

energi2go

If you’re an iPhone user you can probably always use some more juice. Especially if you’re a traveler. Although I have a fantastic iPhone backup battery, the one I have requires charging. If I forget to charge it or if it runs out of power then I have to find a plug to plug it in and wait a couple of hours for it charge up.

You can find AA batteries just about anywhere

That brings me to the Energizer Energi To Go portable power for iPod. This was the Woot special of the day a couple weeks back and I ordered a few of them to try and give out to friends and family. Of course since it doesn’t say that it works with the iPhone or the iPhone 3G, I really wanted to give it a try and see how it would work. The iPhone 3G and all current model dockable iPods get their power over the USB pins. So only the most recent chargers tend to work with them.

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The Energi To Go is a simple device that you pop 2 AA batteries (included) into it and flip out the 30 pin dock connector and sit your iPod or iPhone on it to begin charging. You should be able to get at least 1-2 full charges from an almost dead iPhone battery out of AA’s.

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The Bottom Line

My FastMac charger is definitely more feature rich and is designed specifically for the iPhone. However, it’s also 3 times the price of the Energi To Go. The Energi To Go has a cheap feel to it. It feels as if it would break easily. However, as long as you don’t abuse it, it should last. Although I have not had any problems with it on my iPhone 3G, it does NOT specifically state that it is iPhone compatible. I also like the way it docks behind the iPod/iPhone instead of on the bottom like some other batteries. The 30 pin dock connector is also adjustable for the thickness of your iPod or iPhone for a good fit. The Energi To Go is $29.99 at Amazon.com.

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Tuesday News Bytes – New DroboPro and Xserve

drobopro

If you’ve had your heart set on serving up some serious amounts of data and doing it really fast, you’ll be interested in two new products that were announced today. First off, the folks at Data Robotics introduced a new model called DroboPro. This new 8 bay beast can be configured with anywhere from 1 to 8 hard drives of any capacity. The largest hard drive available today is 2TB. So now you can realize your 16TB dream. The other addition to the DroboPro is a new connection called iSCSI. It’s a gigabit Ethernet port, but don’t get too excited. It’s not what you’re thinking. It’s not for setting this up as a NAS (network storage device). It’s just to provide super fast transfers to your ONE computer. That being said, there’s nothing to stop you from sharing it over the network by connecting it to a network server (like I do now).

I hear some complain about the “proprietary” BeyondRAID system that DataRobotics has implemented. However, I love the idea of having a single storage device that can grow as my needs grow without having to constantly reformat and start over each time and being able to mix drive sizes. Also if a drive fails, you swap it out and keep going with virtually no downtime.

Of course as I’ve written in the past, no system is perfect and even a Drobo needs backing up because it can’t protect you from data corruption and viruses.

I recently setup a second Drobo on my iTunes server and began the long process of ripping my DVD collection to it to create my own On Demand Apple TV movie system in my home.

The DroboPro will set you back $1,299 for an empty one! For that kind of dough it really should have networking capabilities built-in. (Data Robotics why are you so against this? Paying extra for your SLOW DroboShare product is unacceptable) It’s nice to know that the DroboPro is out there, but currently my two non-pro Drobos are more than enough for me especially as drive capacities keep increasing each year.

Yes there are definitely cheaper solutions out there, but I haven’t seen one yet that does all that Drobo does.

My buddy Scott Kelby has a nice write up today on the DroboPro and how as a pro photographer you can never have to much storage space or be to paranoid about protecting your data.  Also check out this first look, er um listen at MacVoices with Data Robotics’ Sr. Director of Products and Markets Mark Fuccio. Checkout Drobo’s website for more details.

droboprorear

Next up, Apple Serves up a New Xserve

xserve09

The rumors were true and Apple did release a new Xserve based on the intel Xeon Nehalem processors. What does that mean? About twice the performance! Although I’ve always dreamed of owning an Xserve, it would be overkill for my simple serving needs. I’m still on a Power Mac G5 (with Drobo) as my Mac OS X Server and it’s rock solid. However, if you need to serve up large amounts of data to a workgroup or company really fast, then you should definitely check out the Xserve. It comes preloaded with Mac OS X Leopard Server is rack mountable and serves both Mac and Windows clients. This new model is also more energy efficient.

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Protect your lap from the heat of your laptop

thermapak

If you’re using a laptop/notebook computer and it gets warm on the bottom, then you’re probably going to want one of these ThermaPAK cooling pads. My buddy Dave Gales showed me his at Photoshop World last week in Boston and after a few minutes of playing with it, I had to have one.

Unlike USB solutions that have fans built-in, the ThermaPAK requires no power. You simply unroll it and place your laptop on it. It dispates the heat and lowers the temparature by up to 6 degrees celsius. I was using a Podium CoolPad to go between my MacBook Pro and my lap. From now on I’ll be using the ThermaPAK.

ThermaPAK Heatshift Cooling Pads come in three popular sizes for most laptops. Amazon has them in 13″, 15.4″ and 17″ formats and in various colors, they go for $27.50, $30, & $35 respectively.

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Wacom introduces the Intuos 4!

intuos4

Right out of the gate, Wacom introduced the Intuos 4 line of tablets here at the Photoshop World show today! I couldn’t be happier. Although I love my Cintiq 12W, I probably use my Intuos 3 4×6 more than any other tablet I’ve owned. Also I’m so hooked on using a tablet now I couldn’t imagine doing retouching in Photoshop without one.

Wacom makes the best even better

I didn’t really have any complaints with my Intuos 3 tablets. However, that didn’t stop Wacom from taking an already great product and making it even better. This new tablet is a complete redesign from the ground up! It’s like they looked at every single feature and asked “how can we make it better?”

The first thing you’ll notice is LED readouts. This is so cool! Like most Intuos users, I have programmed the ExpressKeys to do various tasks in different applications. However, after a while I start to forget which key does what in which app? Now there is an LED readout next to each key that labels what the key does and how you have it setup! That will be huge for me! Although the new “Small” tablet doesn’t have these LEDs, it does the next best thing by popping up a quick onscreen reference chart whenever you need while you’re actually in the app.

The touch strips have been replaced by a much more functional 4 Function Touch Ring. This thing is really really cool! Like most functions, you can program it to do exactly what you want in each of your apps.

Lastly more levels of pressure! Wacom has basically doubled the levels of pressure senstivity to 2,048! It’s amazingly accurate and can really detect the slightest nuances of how you use the pen (which has also been completely redesigned and engineered). Even the pen holder now functions as a nib holder and extractor. Wacom has really thought this new tablet through!

They don’t reference the tablets by their dimensions anymore. Now they are simply Small, Medium, Large and XL.

If you’ve been putting off getting a professional level tablet, wait no longer! This is the one!

Check out this cool promo video for more visuals

[flv:http://terrywhite.com/videos/intuos4.flv 480 368]

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iPhone 3.0 – What’s my take on it?

I always welcome any update to my hardware that’s going to give me more capabilities. I especially look forward to those updates when they are FREE! So Apple’s iPhone 3.0 announcement yesterday was welcomed news. Granted, we still have to wait a few months before the new 3.0 OS ships this summer, but I’m excited with the new features that they are promising. Now keep in mind that I think that many of the new features are in the “catch up” or “about time” category. However, they are welcomed nonetheless.

Whenever Apple releases a major update to the iPhone, the first thing I do is go back to my “iPhone Wish List” and check off the wishes that have been met.

My friends are already asking me “what do you think of the 3.0 announcement?”

Here’s what I know so far (in no particular order)?

  • Create Meeting Invites in Calendar
  • Shake to Shuffle
  • Encrypted Profiles
  • Anti-Phishing
  • Wi-Fi Auto Login
  • Stereo Bluetooth
  • YouTube Accounts
  • Safari – Auto Fill
  • Notes Sync
  • Search from a single location ala Spotlight
  • Search in Mail, Calendars, iPod and Notes
  • CalDAV and .ics Calendar support (subscribe to iCals)
  • Voice Memos
  • MMS messaging
  • Forward SMS Msgs.
  • Landscape Mail, SMS, Notes
  • Cut, Copy and Paste (both built-in and 3rd party apps)
  • Streaming Video APIs
  • Push Notification
  • Turn by Turn Directions (now possible by 3rd parties)
  • Google Maps Directly in Apps
  • Accessories – APIs to talk directly to accessories (Bluetooth and Wired)
  • Peer to Peer Connectivity –  Bluetooth (Bonjour, No Pairing Required)
  • New App Store Purchase Models:

Subscriptions
Additional Levels (like for games)
New Content (like for news stories, books, etc.)

* API = Application Programmer Interface

Here’s my old wish list

The items crossed off in Red are coming in 3.0. The other crossed off items came in 2.x or before.

1 – Ability to use My OWN ringtones (sounds, music, etc.) The iTunes store will NEVER have some of the sounds I want to use.
2 – Sync Notes to the computer
3 – Cut/Copy Paste system wide
4 – Email anything (besides notes, photos URLs) Contacts, maps, directions, voicemail messages as attachments, etc.
5 – MMS (Multimedia Messaging – send pictures/movies directly to another phone)
6 – Consolidated Mail inBox and an easier way to jump between accounts than going back, back, back
7 – Flash support in Safari (this is now my number ONE request).
8 – Video and Voice (Memo) Recording (3rd Party)
9 – Color coded or Separate Calendar views (just like iCal does today)
10 – Searchable Contacts (there but still needs improvement)
11 – To be able to assign ringtones to groups of Contacts (it’s really a pain doing them one-by-one)
12 – Wireless Syncing iPhone to Computer over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (MobileMe Push)
13 – Voice dialing (3rd Party app)
14 – Dial-up Networking/Tethering (use the iPhone as a modem)
15 – iPhones on AT&T corporate plans (discounts or not, I shouldn’t have to setup a personal account to use the iPhone on AT&T)
16 – Landscape Keyboard entry in all the apps
17 – Additional Audio email attachment support for files in Vonage (u-LAW encoded) WAV format
18 – Email to a group of Contacts
19 – iChat/AIM built-in (3rd Party)
20 – Calculator CE (clear entry) key
21 – Native Microsoft Exchange support (MS Direct Push or 3rd party support).
22 – Wireless stereo music playback over Bluetooth and AirTunes
23 – A one button Redial feature (example: triple tap the Home button)
24 – A “Dialed” list in addition to “Recent” and “Missed Calls”
25 – Ability to play music directly from the Slideshow feature
26 – Built in Unit Converter (3rd party app)
27 – To Do’s, sync’d with iCal/Outlook
28 – Password/Pin protected Notes
29 – An option that lets me choose what screen I land on when I wake my iPhone; it can either be (a) whichever I screen I was at last, like it does now, or (b) I can choose to always start at another screen (like the phone favorites, or the Home, etc.).
30 – Being able to rotate Mail 90 degrees
31 – Keynote app (now with TV out, you could use your iPhone for slide presentations without needing your laptop)
32 – Pseudo GPS based on cell towers to tie in with Google Maps feature (iPhone 3g includes a real GPS too)
33 – General file storage like a USB drive (Enable iPhone as a Hard Drive)
34 – Support for Stereo Audio over Bluetooth headphones
35 – Support for a Bluetooth Wireless Remote AND the ability to use the iPhone as a Remote
36 – Sound Profiles (example: I would create a profile that turns off all sounds except incoming calls for traveling)
37 – Auto dialing of a string of numbers/pauses (ie. you dial your company voicemail and tap a button to dial your ext. and pin)
38 – Built in “Movies” widget (show times, buy tickets, trailers) Yes I know there are good web based ones. Having one built-in would be faster to access and could remember your settings. (3rd Party)
39 – Safari password remember/store feature (Keychain for the iPhone)
40 – Multiple email signatures (also the ability to assign default ones per account)
41 – Mail spam filtering
42 – Mail Rules
43 – Full Bluetooth support on the Mac (Browse the device, dial from Address Book, etc.)
44 – Delete multiple items at once such as emails
45 – iPod songs as Alarm sounds
46 – A true RSS reader (the one in Safari desktop would be a good start) (3rd Party)
47 – Call duration display
48 – SMS to multiple Contacts
49 – .Mac Push Email (Now MobileMe)
50 – The ability to direct ALL of the Audio sources over Bluetooth (such as email attachments, audio on web pages)
51 – Built in Dictionary/Thesaurus (3rd Party)
52 – Add a “.com” button on the MAIL keyboard as well.
53 – view PowerPoint attachments and now iWork files too.

See the iPhone 3.0 Presentation Video Here.

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More Mac for the Same $$$

0903imac_lineup

Apple revamped its entire desktop lineup today introducing updates to the iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro. Each new update is awesome. More speed, more RAM, more/faster ports, faster video, bigger, better, faster! Probably Apple’s best and fastest line up of desktops ever.

They also updated both the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule wireless base station and backup devices with simultaneous dual band support (2.4GHz and 5GHz). This means that you would no longer have to setup two wireless networks to optimize for 802.11n and 802.11 b/g traffic.

This is all great news and normally my credit card would have already been out and orders placed, but the problem is that times are uncertain. This is making me hesitant to upgrade. Unfortunately that is one of the major problems with our economy right now. People that have the money to buy things are holding off buying things. This in effect is going to slow the recovery even further.

My normal buying cycle for a Mac Pro tower is every other release. I’m now 3 releases back. I’ve been making due with the Mac Pro I have. Although Apple is certainly providing more bang for the buck with better specs at the same prices, that’s not enough to move me at the moment. I didn’t upgrade last year, because I had other priorities. This year I’m just afraid to spend the money! I could always use faster rendering times, but I can also continue to make do with what I have. Should I take the plunge and help get this economy moving again or hold off?

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iV TruePower iPhone/iPod touch Backup Battery

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Although I certainly get a full day’s charge off my iPhone 3g on most days, there are times that I might not make it a full day if I’m using a lot of apps on it. If I’m near my computer or an AC outlet no problem, just plug it in. However, If I’m on the go like traveling through an airport on in the back of a cab, I don’t always have access to power to charge my iPhone 3g.

iV for iPhone, TruePower

I was introduced to the iV for iPhone at Macworld Expo this past January. Fastmac was one of the vendors showcasing iPhone and Mac accessories. Now this is not the first iPhone battery I’ve seen. However, what makes this one better is simply the versatility in the design of it. First off the iV is a cradle/case for your iPhone/iPod touch. Some batteries actually clip on to the bottom and therefore limit their use to just charging and maybe talking on the phone as long as you don’t move around much.

The iV is also Dock friendly. Because of the design of the base, you can simply Dock your iPhone into an Apple Dock (or 3rd party solution) without having to first remove the iV from your iPhone. This brings me to the next advantage and that is no third party charger required. You can either dock your iV with iPhone into a charging dock or simply connect your existing USB cable to the bottom of its 30 pin connector. The same connector on the back of your iPhone. Since the iV charges using your existing cable, that’s one less thing you’ll have to keep up with.

What kind of juice do you get?

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The iV will charge up an iPhone that is in the red. It has an on/off button on the back so that the battery is not trying to charge an iPhone that is already charged. There are even LEDs on the back to let you know how much juice is left. So effectively the iV doubles your iPhone’s battery life. It’s also not just for iPhones! There’s a standard USB jack on the bottom too. You can use this battery to charge up your other USB powered devices.

An added bonus for iPhone photographers

There’s even a light on the back that you can turn on/off as needed when you’re taking pictures with the iPhone’s built-in camera. Since the iPhone doesn’t have a flash, this light certainly can’t hurt.

The Bottom Line

If you find yourself running out of power before the end of the day on your iPhone or iPhone 3g and want an external battery, this is one of the best I’ve seen. There are a couple of downsides: the first is a basic one and that is with the iPhone in the iV Battery chances are it won’t fit in your existing case. I use a DLO Hipcase and there is no way that the iPhone and iV will fit in it. Also since there is no belt clip on the back of the iV, I’m out of luck there. The next downside is simply the price. The iV retails for $99.95. Luckily for me they were selling them at Macworld Expo for only $59. I didn’t realize how much of a deal that was until now. At $99.95 (half the cost of a new subsidized 8GB iPhone 3g), I’d really have to think twice. However, now that I have one it has become a permanent part of my bag. If you need one, Amazon has them for $99.95.