Apple – CanonBlogger

Do you Have Your Torx in Order?

April 7, 2011 Jason1 Comment

So, after years and years of advice and instruction on maintaining hard drive redundancy, and the benefits of upgrading from time to time, I finally am following my own advice and upgrading my venerable Macbook Pro. After a screamingly good deal came out for laptop disk drives locally, I went out and snagged a 750GB 7200 RPM hard drive from MicroCenter and brought it home. I also picked up a copy of Mac OS X.6 since my previous upgrade came through a friends DVD who was no longer living in the area. All told, I am in for a little over $100 – not too shabby! However, as they say, the Devil’s in the Details!

I’ve changed out lots of hard drives in my time…after all, it’s no secret that I am a working IT professional – that’s my day job. I’ve been doing that for about 10 years now, so hardware upgrades are pretty routine for me by this point – and I’ve got lots of tools to do it with too…everything from magnets, to phillips heads, to flat heads, to Torx bits for unique screws, and even a pair of nylon pliers. But all of this based on a Windows background. I’d never done much with Macs. The mentality I’ve always had though is that hardware is hardware, right? I did check out a few tutorial videos on YouTube and all the tools sounded like ones I own, so I jumped right in and off I went – until I got inside the Mac and was presented with two teeny tiny screws that required a Torx bit T6. I went to my trusty toolbelt and saw my Torx bits went from T30 all the way down to T4 – awesome! Until I noticed that one slot was missing – and sure enough, it was the dreaded T6!

A trip to Wal-Mart yielded no dice (it was getting late), so this morning off to Lowe’s I went. I did find the T6 bit – but it was in a package of other bits and a nut driver – for $20:

Suffice to say, I was a bit (if you’ll pardon the expression), a bit torqued to be missing what was likely a 50 cent bit and having to spend nearly $20 to reassemble the Mac. However, the eternal optimist, I put the positive spin on it – this is a nice kit I bought and the rest will probably go to Good Will since they are showing their age a bit. Finally, of course, the educational moment for me: I finally got my Torx in Order!

So, with the Mac now flying on a 7200rpm drive with plenty of storage, my weekend will likely be spent performing a fresh install of all my favorite apps. Which ones do you think will go on there first? I’ll give you a hint – the company name starts with A and ends with dobe! The takeaway from all this – make sure you have your Torx in order – it is definitely a good motto to add to your motto book! Have a great weekend everyone – just because I wont be shooting doesn’t mean you can’t so be safe, be smart, and…(wait for it)…

Happy Shooting!

Making the Switch…

May 14, 2010 Jason12 Comments

We’ve all heard the stories of people switching vendors. Scott Bourne was noted for his switch from Canon to Nikon. Friends and family often talking about switching from Ford to Chevy, or from Coke to Pepsi, and even *gasp* switching from PC to Mac. As I find myself moving more and more toward Apple products I contemplated making another switch – from Verizon to AT&T. You see, my contract with Verizon was due to expire soon, and I would then have the choice (and choice is a good thing) to move however I want. For me it was a tough decision for a number of reasons:

Pros

Many of my friends in both IT and the creative fields own iPhones…and not being able to do some things with my phone that they could do was aggravating.
I also did not enjoy having to walk around with two devices – my 1990’s flip phone and my iTouch. I wanted to unify everything under one umbrella

Cons

However, getting the iPhone meant going to AT&T. I’ve had Verizon service for many years now, and while talking to any support staff anywhere is not my cup of tea, Verizon has rarely given me any reason to call. From what I understand of previous experience with AT&T, there are often reasons to call…
I know this was covered just yesterday on the blog, but the lack of Flash support on Apple products is troublesome. While I understand that things change – I need a new phone now. Given Apple’s “heel digging” on this subject, and the impending release of Flash support in conjunction with Google (Adobe and Google working together..wow!) made the Android OS a palatable option. Plus, HTML5 is readily going to be accessible under both if it ever becomes finalized (you know it’s just a specification right now…right?)

I was also a little less than enamored with the public image Apple has had recently what with the whole fiasco of the thundering police in the case of the iPhone 4 beta product that they wanted back (see video here about it). That compiled with the fact that Apple has admitted that they changed their SDK to specifically exclude developers from using Adobe products when working on iPhone development. This is like telling a photographer to only use a Canon or one particular set of cameras to take pictures. That was the icing on the cake for me. The end result? I got a Droid!

I’ve already set up a website where I am sharing my experiences with the Droid so far – mostly it’s been pics (kind of an abbreviated 365 project). Feel free to stop by the site where I am trying to post a photo a day from the Droid. It’s at www.mydroidpics.com. I’ll also probably start throwing in a few commentary type posts periodically about new apps and features as I discover them…

So, I’ve made the switch. From flip phone to smart phone! And the solution for me was:

THE MOTOROLA DROID!

Motorola Droid

What kind of phone are you using? Is it a smart phone? Is it a Droid or an iPhone? What things do you like/dislike about it? Sound off in the comments – I’d love to hear what others are thinking about the smart phone fad! Have a great weekend and keep on shooting!

1:45:57

April 13, 2010 Jason1 Comment

You may think the subject is a typo or some sort of gibberish, but it’s not – that’s the length of the latest podcast that just went live over at PLM! Kerry Garrison (of Camera Dojo notoriety) is fresh back from Hawaii and I am back from a long set of downtime from a pretty yucky head cold, so we decided to join forces and cross-publish! For our purposes here, consider it LDP #43! You can grab the feed from LPD or iTunes! Continue reading “1:45:57” →

Software Review: Apple iPhoto

November 17, 2009 Jason3 Comments

As much as we glow and sing the praises of Photoshop and Lightroom, native photo editors that are included in Operating Systems are often overlooked as alternatives for photo editing and management. This is primarily because… well, let’s face it, because they are not very good at photo editing…or management. But think about what we are comparing them to…comparing Windows Picture and Fax viewer to Photoshop Lightroom? Is that really fair? What about comparing Photoshop Creative Suite 4 to iPhoto? Is that a good apples to apples comparison? If you think about it – not really. We’re talking full-fledged dedicated programs that have years of programming and design and development put into them versus an add-on component for an operating system. It’s really an apples to oranges comparison, and as a result, the programs themsevles suffer a bad beat.

So, I decided to take a look at the native photo editors for Windows and Macintosh – those being the Windows Picture and Fax viewer and iPhoto. Well, because Apple computers were really designed with the designer and graphics guy/gal in mind, it’s no surprise that iPhoto is more robust than its Windows counterpart. This is not to bash the Windows Picture and Fax viewer, because it does serve a need, especially when I need to preview an image in a pinch and make some very very minor edit like a teensy crop or something. It’s not great, but it’ll do.

For that reason, today the focus (if you’ll pardon the pun) is more on iPhoto. Now, keep in mind, I am operating off Snow Leopard with the ’08 version of iLife here, so my iPhoto is not the latest and greatest, but the nuts and bolts are pretty much the same from what I can gather, so this review while not complete, can give a good synopsis of what works and doesn’t in iPhoto. Let’s begin:

File Management: B+ Let’s face it, we are making more and more images these days and applications need to be able to keep up. If you don’t have some sort of back end database that can quickly render previews, without copying photos over as duplicates in low res formats that waste drive space, it’s gonna get ugly quickly. iPhoto has the unfortunate option of copying files over on import. While this may seem to be good for redundancy sake, since we’re all aware of the need for backups these days, but I would not recommend copying everything into iPhoto. First off, the “copy” of your image is embedded in the iPhoto library and can only be opened in iPhoto. If the library crashes for any reason, then those copies are gone. I would rather have two copies accessible from any application. Second, as your library expands, the longer it will take to load iPhoto and the more susceptible it will be to crashing. Since this is, by design, supposed to be a “light” photo editor, you want to avoid making the footprint of the application larger than necessary. For these reasons (and others) I would advise against copying your images into iPhoto. To avoid this, when creating your first (or a new) library, simple click on the Preferences, then Advanced Menu options, where you can de-select the option to copy images over.

When it comes to managing your photos though, iPhoto rocks. Much like Lightroom, you can build the equivalent of collections (as albums), and create slideshows from those albums. You can also export slideshows with music which until Lightroom beta 3 was unavailable in any advanced photo editor – you needed a separate application! Score one for the folks at Apple here!

Image Editing: A- Most of the basic functions are there, cropping, red-eye, image rotation, and even horizon correction. Not much to improve upon here without entering the realm of serious photo editors, which I wouldn’t hold an OS program to…at least for now.

Support: B If your Apple product (your Macbook, iMac, or MacPro is under warranty, no problems – they got you covered. It can include long wait times occasionally, but that’s to be expected from a company of Apple’s size. (I know, I’ve vented about this before, but in this case, it has nothing to to with the program, because the support is there…when you can get through.) What happens when your computer warranty ends? So does support – it’s the nature of the beast, and support has to end eventually. For the time being though, there is enough documentation out there on iPhoto to the point that most of us can get by with asking questions in various forums and Google research. So, while support is not the best – it’s about an industry average, nothing to write home about, but also nothing that really garners complaints either.

There you have it, my take on the iPhoto editor. I don’t really use it for major edits, or much more than occasional snapshots that I share on Twitter, forums, and other such venues. Having offered up my two cents, it’s time to serve things up for the listening and reading audience. What’s your collective take on iPhoto? Do you like it, love it, or hate it? Anyone using iPhoto ’08 or ’09 for managing and/or editing their photos? What are your thoughts? Sound off in the comments, or let me know via email.

In the meantime, that’s it for today…make sure you take a moment to get your photos into the November contest giveaway thread – there’s now less than two weeks left and the prize package is pretty cool! The link is in the header, but here it is again for convenience: Flickr Contest Thread Happy shooting all, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Got an App for That?

October 12, 2009 Jason3 Comments

Since the next hardware review item as not arrived yet, today’s post is something of a blog announcement about a new feature I’ll be rolling out here shortly. As you can tell from the title, it’s about applications on the iTunes store. For users of the iPhone and iTouch, applications can be pretty handy tools (and diversionary too if you’re not careful!)

Well, as you may recall, a while back during the “Comment Contest” I asked people to contribute their favorite iPhone/iPod photography-related applications. While the iTouch has not been fully capable of testing each of these, I’ve tried most of them and am putting together a new set of posts (don’t ask me where it’s going to go, because I am starting to run out of days in the week!) to cover the latest in Photography applications for those on the go. So, for today, I am going to do the first application review:

In doing so, I figured it would be best to start at home – and by that I don’t mean here at the blog (although it would be kinda cool to develop an application where you could submit photos to the Canon Blogger critique threads and contest threads straight from your iPhone!). No, I mean starting with the source – the editor we all know and either love or hate – Photoshop! Believe it or not, the folks at Adobe have come out with a cool little application that you can connect to via your iPod or iTouch through a web interface at www.Photoshop.com

Here’s what it does – it allows you to store your photos online, edit, and share them with family and friends, create photo albums, and galleries. Now before someone chimes in and says “Flickr already does that”, I will concur that Flickr is probably not going to be de-throned in the online photo sharing space any time soon. But here’s a couple cool things that you get on Photoshop.com’s site that you don’t get on Flickr.

You can customize your background
You get more storage (2GB free)
More scalable service (it’s not just free and pro, there are different scales of services for whatever needs you may have)
You can link Photoshop.com to your Flickr account (but not vice versa)

So, it’s kind of a cool little service. What I like about it is that the interface is much more conducive to sharing photos on the go. For those of us with limited storage on our mobiles, it’s nice to be able to just log in to a web interface and share 2 GB worth of photos and have it look both classy and professional (sorry Flickr, but your interface needs an update…).

It’s free to join (you do need an Adobe Account though – also free), and can register a personal web space as well. I’ve already done so, and you are welcome to view my account thus far at http://canonblogger.photoshop.com as I explore this some more to see what else is there to do. You can create your own account at the main page of www.photoshop.com, and upload/share photos and videos in as little as five minutes too. Some other applications I am taking a look at include HDR for Free, iHandy Level, and of course, the uploader applications for things like Flickr and Twitpic. Some games have made their way into my iTouch (don’t know how that happened! 🙂 ), I’ll try to keep those out of the blog and keep things photo-centered.

If this topic takes traction, and people express enough interest in it, then be sure to stay tuned for future reviews and write-ups on iPhone and iTouch applications. In the meantime – if you’ve got an application that you think is the bee’s knees, then feel free to share it here. Suggestions for applications? Share those too – I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts. As Apple is prone to say, I am prone to ask – “Got an App for that?” Ask here and I will do what I can to find out and review for you! Happy shooting all, and don’t forget to upload your photos for the October contest over on Flickr. The theme is FALL and it’s sure to be a good one – 3 pics a piece, and it’s underway right now. Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Full Review: Apple iPod Touch 2G

July 20, 2009 Jason8 Comments

Having had the Touch now for about a week, I’ve had a fair amount of time to look at all the features, bells, whistles, and nuances of it to give a more thorough review. As this review begins, you surely must be asking, “How does this relate to photography?” An excellent question, so let me begin with the benefits relating to photography:

photo_icon

Photo Albums – this is a great way to take a portable portfolio with you where ever you go. Say you are in a grocery store, restaurant, or somewhere and a discussion starts about any good photographers. “Funny you should ask – I am a photographer…would you like to see a little bit of my portfolio?” Then whip out that Touch and pick an album to show them – the ooohs and ahhs could make the difference between landing the gig and having them respond with “We’ll let you know…” Having the extra advantage of being able to show at least a pocket-sized portfolio could make the difference between getting a gig or not. Interesting food for though…

networking

Networking – the Touch has built in wi-fi, so you can stay up to date as long as you are connected to a wifi network. Here in Denver there is a free wifi network downtown so as long as you are within range, you can check email, update status on Facebook, and network the latest developments on Twitter or Friendfeed.

Applications – bar none, the best feature in my opinion. From here I was able to download an FTP client, a photo editor (very light in function, i.e. cropping brighten, darken, saturate, desaturate, etc.) and voice recorder. Other utilities include sunrise/sunset calculators, light meters, word/excel editing apps, etc. As the saying goes, if there’s something you want to do, there’s an app for that. With these utilities I can do things like record audio snippets for the blog, upload said content to the blog or other website, do quick photo edits, or even review documents on the fly. The built in email service is also very handy.

podcast

Music/Podcasts – Just like other ipods, you can listen to music, podcasts, and because of the nice glossy screen, watch videos, including TV shows and movies (pretty much anything the Apple Store offers). As a blogger and podcaster, for me it is particularly useful because I can listen to what others are doing, and either ensure that I am keeping up, or ensure that I am producing original content that is enjoyable to my viewers and listeners. If you are a fan of podcasts and other such learning resources to increase your experience and knowledge base, this can also be useful as there are many good podcast resources out there for aspiring and learning photographers. What I am not a fan of in this regard though, is the fact that with the ability to install “applications”, the Touch still requires connection to a computer in order to manage your content. You have to delete apps, music, podcasts, pics and such from the iTunes application on your computer and not from your ipod. What’s up with that? You’d think Apple would build their own applications into something this robust…but more on the cons in a moment…

Having started with the negatives a little bit, let me go into some of the drawbacks.

Software I – the iPhone user is very fortunate because when the software update from 2.0 to 3.0 came out, the upgrade was free. Touch users saw no such benefit. I bought this a week ago, and had to pay for the privilege of getting the OS update to 3.0. Because of the benefits of it though, as well as the low cost (it was only $10), I went ahead and bit the bullet, but seeing as I had just spent over $200 for something brand new, in principle it seems that it should have shipped with OS 3.0 already on it.

Software II – A couple of the built in applications seem quirky, like the iTunes music. There is a neat feature called Shuffle where you shake the Touch and it creates a random playlist for you from your library of music. The problem is that it will keep generating new playlists randomly any time there is a little bit of shake unless you turn it off manually (say for your morning jog). There must be a better way to toggle this on and off – but I am not a software designer, so not sure how to even go about doing this.

Photo Albums – One of the advantages of the Apple setup over Windows (I had always thought this anyway) is that you don’t have the same pyramid of files and folder structures where things can get lost. Not really. If you want to create multiple albums within your Touch (or any other iPod for that matter), the best method is to create a sync folder on your computer, then sub-folders within there and then connect the iPod and let it sync to that folder.

Deleting stuff – As mentioned above, I don’t like that you have to sync the iPod to the computer, then un-check the apps in iTunes on the computer to remove from the iPod. Lastly, you have to then remove the applications from iTunes before they will be gone completely. Give me an option to remove from the iPod directly. The same goes for podcasts, music, photos, and the like – give me a way to delete (triple tap or something) from the iPod without having to resync. Reason: If I am on the go and a new podcast for Photoshop User TV comes out, I’ve got to have a fair amount of disc space available to download that from the wi-fi. If I don’t have an iTunes instance on an available laptop or PC to connect up and delete manually, I am S.O.L.

Music – It’s similar to, but tangential enough from the delete/sync issue above that I thought the music portion warranted its own discussion. This is not so much that I want to be able to delete music files, but I would like the ability to create playlists depending on what’s going on. On the photo walk over the weekend, I actually did have about 20 minutes where there was no one in my immediate vicinity to talk to, so I was shooting around and decided to listen to some music to help with inspiration. If the music isn’t right for the mood though, it can be distracting, so let me do that w/out having to re-sync back to iTunes to create another playlist – that’s just silly.

Camera – This is the only hardware element I have a complaint with – why did you not include a camera with the iTouch? It seems rather odd that given the preponderance of built in cameras in things like phones, PDA’s, and Blackberries, Apple would say “no, just for the iPhone folks”. Come on now…the TOuch seems like the more appropriate device for the camera than the iPhone. After all, the phone has a utilitarian function, why would you bundle a camera into that and not the more accessory nature of the Touch? Just seems like backward logic to me.

Accessories – The headphones for the iPhone have a built in microphone, and I can understand why they have always been included by default, but with the Touch 2G, and the new OS 3.0, the ability to record audio seems to becoming more and more standard as a way to make notes, deliver content to others. Wit that, I think Apple should have included the headphones with built in mic wit the Touch. It was a $30 investment, which I reluctantly paid, and am now glad I have, but really think Apple just wanted their extra little bit of my wallet in that scenario. *sigh*

Of course I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the gaming and entertainment aspect of the device as many people do find the diversions an enjoyable activity. For me though, I have other venues for distraction and don’t find as much benefit in them, but if you are of that particular ilk, then by all means, check out the App Store part of iTunes for whatever strikes your fancy.

Overall though, the nits I have with the Touch are minor. It’s a great device that can give me content to listen to, the ability to create my own content, and stay connected with family, friends, and colleagues. The ability to listen to music while surfing the internet, catch up on Twitter, check email, and even record some audio content for the blog makes the Touch a valuable addition to my belt.

Well, that’s about it for today, as I can’t think of any additional feedback to give on the Touch – I’d give it one and a half thumbs up. Until tomorrow, keep the energy going from the Worldwide Photowalk and keep on shooting! We’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

The iPod Touch Unboxing!

July 16, 2009 Jason7 Comments

That’s right, my replacement podcast resources is finally here, and I share the unboxing with the viewers here tonight via YouTube:

Initial thoughts? It’s pretty sweet – love the App Store, the WiFi, email access, twitter access, youtube, and so much more! A few downsides though – no built in camera, and no microphone – I know it’s not for phone, but recording audio snippets would be ideal. There are apps you can download but need a mic and with just the audio jack, not sure I am gonna be able to do one of the things I had been dying to do after getting this. There may still be a way so Googling and researching to see. In the meantime, we shall wait and see! Look for a more detailed review of this in upcoming weeks! Until then, just a couple reminders for everyone:

The Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk is this Saturday in cities all over the world. There are still openings and it’s free to join. You could win prizes too, so check for a city near you at www.worldwidephotowalk.com to see. You can still join the fun if the group leader is okay with it, but if you are not registered, then you can’t contribute images or be eligible to win!

The OnOne Software Plugin Suite 4.5 Giveaway is going on for the entire month of July, but time is starting to tick against you as we are halfway through the month. This is a $500 retail value and some lucky winner will walk away with this package for free! Details and rules for participation are at the Flickr thread. If you own the software already, tell a friend as it’s an NFR copy. If not, then chime in as the deadline will be here before you know it!

Charge!

July 6, 2009 Jason6 Comments

The time has come to say goodbye – that’s right, the time has come. You knew this day would happen – we all did. It was inevitable. It was a good run while it lasted, but there is no avoiding it. No tears please… No cries, no weeping, no condolences, regrets, or farewell parties are needed. As the old saying goes – all good things must come to an end. For better or for worse, it was a tough decision to come to, but I have decided that it is time to say goodbye – there’s just not enough time left. It’s time to charge forward into the future.

Goodbye.

There are those among you that are wondering where I am going, and what is going to happen next. There is good news and bad news in this. The good news is that I actually am not going anywhere. The bad news? I’m not going anywhere! So, why the heartfelt goodbye? Because my Macbook battery has finally bitten the bullet and died on me. It’s not all the way gone, but I can barely hold a charge for more than 30 minutes before needing to plug in. I am going with the replacement option from Apple direct, though the $129 price has me cringing. Thank goodness for NAPP discounts! It also has me looking at other options though for external power that is also portable. A friend in the NAPP forums linked me to a product called the Hyperdrive, and it looks like a pretty cool option. Here’s the link for it in case you are interested: Hyperdrive Website

So, why is this in the hardware review section? It’s not for lack of products to review, rather because of the timeliness of it. As I encounter roadblocks or problems, I like to share them with you – so that we can learn and develop and grow from the shared experiences. My lesson this time? To always use an AC source when available. Just because your laptop is capable of being cord-free doesn’t mean you simply must be cord-free. If you have an AC source, use it! As I learned, replacement batteries are expensive, and having to get a new one in under 3 years is not an easy pill to swallow. Since batteries are finite in the number of recharge cycles they can take, you don’t want to deplete your battery when not necessary, so plug in when you can! Make sure you charge!

Here’s a couple resources from the Apple website on batteries, their conditioning, and maintenance (yes, batteries need maintenance too – perhaps I should write a maintenance schedule for batteries! 🙂 ):

So, make sure you charge, discharge, and calibrate your batteries. I’ve done so with batteries in other devices, like my camera, flash batteries and all, but had never thought to do so for the laptop. Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Grab the Feed

Exporting Lightroom slideshows to the web

May 22, 2009 Jason3 Comments

After yesterday’s post to Youtube of my photo walk with Scott Kelby, and the fact that I mentioned that it was created first in Lightroom – I’ve gotten many emails asking me how I created it. The answer was quite simple – if you own a Mac. Here’s how you can export Lightroom slideshows to the web is less than twenty steps:

Create your slideshow as you normally do in Lightroom.
Export the show to jpg files in a folder of your choosing.
Close Lightrooom
Open Garage Band
Mix a track of audio music that will fit the theme of your slideshow
Export that audio track to the folder with the pictures.
Close Garage Band
Open Photoshop CS3 (or your favorite pixel based image editor)
Create an intro and closing image for your slideshow and save as jpgs to the folder
*Hint* Make sure you keep the dimensions consistent with your previous images so you don’t get pixelation
Close Photoshop
Open iPhoto
Import the photos from the folder you created earlier with the jpgs to a new album
Create a slide show from said album
Rehearse timings and check for image/audio quality
Export to desktop (it will export as a Quicktime movie file by default)
Take said movie file and upload to YouTube
Add titles, descriptions as needed…
Voila!

The key to this is iPhoto. You don’t necessarily need Garage Band to make a legal audio track. Many open sourced audio files are available for use, though a lot of that content is classical. iPhoto has the built in ability to export slideshows as a movie than other applications like Lightroom, Powerpoint, Photoshop, and others. Lightroom is also rather key too though as the backgrounds and text effects for the titles and everything were done in there.

On Windows, it’s a whole different story – you can do the Lightroom thing, but then you have to go out and buy a slideshow program to accomplish this for you. While there are many options, and at varying levels of price entry, the ones that I’ve used that are good are Proshow Gold and Camtasia, from Photodex and Techsmith respectively. The former prices out at $80 while the latter runs for a pricey $299 but allows you to also do screen captures, and lots of other stuff. Either way, shelling out additional money to do something that is native on the Mac gives just another reason to consider the bundled functionality that Apple brings to the table with it’s computer lines. (And this is coming from someone who has worked in Windows almost exclusively for the better part of ten years… as I tell people these days though, I work in Windows and play on my Mac!)

Finally, as we head into the weekend, there’s a couple fellow photographer/blogger types that are hosting contests and seminars in the upcoming weeks and months. So, if you’re interested in improving your craft, there’s no better way than to either participate in a seminar and learn something new, or submit to a juried contest…and that’s just what Rob Jones of Towner Jones Photography is doing and Scott Eccleston, of Weekly Photo Tips! Rob is hosting an impressive summer photo contest, and Scott is runing a Maine Photography Workshop that is sure to ignite the creative energies. Act soon on Scott’s as registration is almost over! Make sure you take these guys into consideration when planning out your summer activities!

That’s it for this week – I am off Monday for the holiday, so there may not be a blog post then. Next week is the last week for the Lightroom giveaway contest though, so be sure you are getting your entries in to the Flickr page to win your own free copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom – a $300 value! Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here on either Monday or Tuesday!

Double your laptop storage in ten easy steps!

April 6, 2009 Jason4 Comments

So, I’ve got the Macbook Pro with the factory default 150GB hard drive. Sounds like a ton of space, right? Well, we all know how quickly that amount of storage can get sucked up these days. So, I considered buying a new laptop drive, buying the latest iteration of the Mac OS and just building one from scratch again. But then I realized, I have lots of storage being eaten up in the drive already by means of exactly that – the OS, the applications, and everything it needs to run. Then it dawned on me – why not just add a second drive?

I bet you are asking, “Ok, Ace, where you gonna add a second drive?”

Well, here’s an easy way to add a second drive to your laptop in 10 easy steps:

1. Buy a USB drive (I got mine at Best Buy – they price matched Newegg which was in and of itself a jaw-dropper but I digress)… but the point here is that addtional storage is cheap! Less than $80 bucks for 320 GB

_mg_9027

2. Buy a strip of two-way Velcro tape. I happen to have some from other projects, but at most it’s $5

_mg_9029

3. Before messing with the physical setup, plug the drive in and configure as desired. For mine I re-formatted to a Mac partition (journaled), then created folders for my music library and my working photo library on the Mac.

4. I then moved all the data over for the above folders from the pre-existing OS drive.

5. Position new USB drive on back-side of laptop monitor to see where it best fits according to your USB layout – I happened to like mine on the left, as shown:

_mg_9031

6. Wrap USB (or Firewire) nice and snug – I used another velcro strip to keep it tightly wrapped.

_mg_9028

7. Cut one or two pieces of two-way Velcro, and place one in the middle, and the other one near the top or bottom. (I started with one and added the second):

_mg_9033

8. Peel the backing and affix to the USB drive. With the other side still stuck, peel the backing off the second two sets and affix to the back of the monitor.

9. Plug mini-USB (or Firewire) and USB ends of cable back in. (I’d already done it to ensure the slack of the cable was how I liked it, but you can do this afterward too if that makes things easier for you…)

10. Open monitor top, and voila – you have a laptop with two drives!

_mg_9037

For the record, I saw someone once with a setup like this, so it’s not completely an original idea. The onyl difference was that he had two of these bad boys connected – a Dymo label printer had identified each as a Time Machine drive and a Files drive. For the cost/size/weight and portability, it’s really not a bad idea. When they fill up, just buy a new drive and port the data over, or even just archive and store in a tupperware shoebox if you prefer.

So, there’s a neat little idea for you this Monday. Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow.