Want to get started making your own documentary?

Recently we read this great post on Outside-Blog about suggestions for gear for the aspiring documentarian.  All you really need to make documentaries are just a few lightweight cameras that can shoot 1080×1920 HD video and some audio equipment to get that perfect audio. Here are the essentials needed:

1 Canon EOS 5D Mark II ($2,499)

1 EF 24-105mm Lens ($1,249)

1 LCDVF Viewfinder ($99.95)

1 Panasonic AG-HMC40P Video Camera ($2,318)

2 GoPro Helmet HERO HD Cameras ($299.95)

1 13" MacBook Pro ($1,199)

1 Final Cut Studio 2 ($1,299)

1 BeachTek XLR-Mini Adapter ($399)

1 UV Filter ($19.99)

1 Polarizing Filter ($59.75)

5 Class 10 16GB SanDisk Flash Cards ($80.58)

2 Terabyte Lacie Hard Drive ($94.99)

2 Sennheiser Shotgun Microphones ($249)

2 Sennheiser Wireless Microphones ($875)

1 Pair Sennheiser Headphones ($169.95)

Buying all this equipment, brand new, would cost you around $10,900 and with California tax (8.25%) you’d need to add another $900. Eleven hundred dollars is no laughing matter, however if you compare today’s equipment with that of the past I think you’ll find shooting your own documanatry is much more affordable…and not to mention, lighter weight.

For more tips on Film making visit http://AliVega.com

A while back we had posted about the iPad helping archeologists with discovering Pompeii and had asked what else can the iPad be used for other than just games, internet, and music. Well it can also be used to help the disabled as well, it has been used for this purpose before, but there hasn’t been many records of it known. In this case it has been helping a paralyzed seven year old boy named Owen Cain.

The iPad has opened a new world for him, a new way to communicate to others. His parents, Ellen and Hamilton, have been trying to find ways to help Owen escape from his disability with different types of computers and the iPad was the only one that worked on the first try. What has it helped him with? For starters, communication, he has been able to use the iPad to type out things he wants to say, however, it is a challenge for him because of his paralysis. He struggles to move his arm, but luckily the iPad’s sensitive touch-screen makes it easy for Owen to use. He is able to read books on the iPad as well, on his own.

Steve Jobs had reported to expect a new Mac App store in 90 days 2 months ago. Now, Apple has been hassling developers to submit their apps, however, it is still unclear what benefits developers will receive for their apps.

Of course, anyone can develop their own app and send it to get it approved by Apple and make money off it. Whoever likes making apps or is interested in making one, do it, because Apple needs them!

It’s become clear that the iPad is beginning to become a revolutionary portable device for consumers. However, the iPad is becoming more than just a basic portable device for people to use in their free time to play with. It’s now being used for business, research, and discoveries! A group of archeologists from the University of Cincinnati have gone to Pompeii to research below the floor line of a neighborhood located there. Just what does the iPad contribute to this? Almost everything!

It provides as a digital notepad to take notes and have it legible, it let’s them view pictures and share with the rest of the group, they now have a digital sketchpad to draw their research and with vector lines, the drawings are more clear and cleaner to see, it’s used as a reference guide to see different types of wall construction that was used. It has certainly showed to be more useful than a laptop because it’s smaller, lighter, and it has a longer battery life. It appears that this group of archeologists have taken the iPad and made it a perfect tool to make the work easier, faster, and more accurate.

If the iPad has made archeology easier then imagine shortly in the future when other businesses and people own iPads as well, then who knows what can be accomplished. Where else can the iPad be used to its full potential? Hospitals? Law Enforcement? Let us know in the comments section.

First of all: Its a bug that came along with a system update. It’s Apple’s problem, not yours. Take the next system update when it comes. This is a known and reported bug.

This ministack hub saved me from the new G4’s lack of firewire 400 & 800 ports.

Sometimes I have trouble remembering which group I put a contact in. My blackberry tell me the group but when I’m in address book there wasn’t a clear indication of which group the contact belonged to. Here is the solution:

To see which groups a contact belongs to, select the contact and press the Option key. Address Book highlights all the groups containing that contact.

So every few months I have trouble syncing my black berry for one reason or another. Here is one of the solutions I have found:

If you are getting the following in the log “An error occurred while pulling data from Sync Services”

This error can occur if there is a problem reading Sync Services data from the Mac.

What you should do is backup your Calendar data and reset the sync history:
1. Go to iCal and choose ‘File’ menu and then ‘Backup database’.
(Leopard – ‘File’ menu and choose ‘Back up iCal’)
2. Still in iCal choose ‘File and then ‘Revert to database backup’ and choose the backup you just made.
(Leopard – click on the ‘File’ menu and choose ‘Restore iCal’)
3. In Missing Sync, click on the ‘Help’ menu and select ‘Reset Sync History’
4. De-select other plugins and leave only ‘Calendar’ selected
5. Click the ‘Reset Sync History’ button.

Now try the sync again.

If the error persists, you should do a global reset of the Sync History for Sync Services.

1. Go to iCal and click the ‘File’ menu and choose ‘Back up database’.
(Leopard – ‘File’ menu and choose ‘Back up iCal’)
2. Now revert to the same database you just backed up, click on the ‘File’ menu and choose ‘Revert to database backup’.
(Leopard – click on the ‘File’ menu and choose ‘Restore iCal’)
3. Do the same process for Address Book click the ‘File’ menu and choose ‘Back up Address Book’
(Leopard – ‘File’ menu and choose ‘Export – Address Book Archive’)
4. Now revert to the same database you just backed up, click on the ‘File’ menu and choose ‘Revert to Address Book backup’.
(Leopard – click on the ‘Import’ menu and choose ‘Address Book Archive’)

Steps 1 through 4 are key to the process, they are not just a backup, but the revert part forces a reset of the relationship between Sync Services and iCal and Address Book.

5. Launch the iSync application, found in the /Applications/ folder. (iSync is not used for the sync, but iSync is where Apple handles Sync Services Preferences.)
6. Click on the iSync menu
7. Choose Preferences
8. Click the ‘Reset Sync History’ button. Read and follow the onscreen directions.
9. This may launch iCal. When the reset process has begun the button will go grey, it is complete when the button becomes active again, but there is no need to re-click it.
10. Restart the Mac
11. Soft reset your BlackBerry. Turn it off, pull the battery for 3 minutes, put it back and turn on.
12. In Missing Sync for BlackBerry, double click the Calendar plugin and reselect the calendar for the field: “Put events created on the device into:”
13. In Missing Sync for BlackBerry, double click the Tasks plugin and reselect the calendar for the field: “Put tasks created on the device into:”

Then, try the sync again.

For more help go to https://support.markspace.com

So I was recently having trouble getting my new imac and old g4 and laptop to all sync on isync. Today I realized I hadn’t had a successful sync since 8/8/08, not good. The fix was:

1. go in to system preferences
2. click .mac
3. go into the tab that shows all the computers you sync with that idisk
4. select the computer you are on and select “reset sync data” (note this is the computer with the most current info).
5. Tell it to overwrite idisk.

It took a couple minutes to re-upload all that info, but once it was done the update told me that it had been synced today. Then I went to the new imac and powered up the mobile me app (aka iSync, .mac) and checked all the boxes, and said to overwrite this computer. And for the first time in a month I now have both computers with identical info! Hurray for Reset! Can’t wait to fix my laptop!