0
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB)
Show Notes:
Contact info: | Feed: feeds.feedburner.com/geekcast | TheGeekcast.com | geekcast@gmail.com | Skype & Gizmo: Geekcast | 206-98-geek-1 | Show notes: send blank e-mail to geekcastpodcast-subscribe@yahoogroups.com | Frappr Map: Frappr.com/thegeekcast
**************
Items of Note:
Time is short, so this show is as well.
Listener Owen wrote: I have a quick comment regarding installing Tor on Mac OSX. I notice on the Tor website that they have a controller gui called Vidalia in the non-expert bundle. To quote:- “Vidalia allows you to start and stop Tor, view the status of Tor at a glance, and monitor Tor’s bandwidth usage.” I think you were talking about the expert bundle (just Tor and Privoxy) in your podcast which requires you to start/stop Tor and Privoxy separately.
It sounds like Vidalia makes things simpler to start/stop Tor ( i.e. just by clicking).
**************
Tech news:
Apple updates Mac OS to squash bugs. On Tuesday, Apple released an update for Mac OS X that repairs several security flaws and includes feature updates. The update, Mac OS X 10.4.7, fixes four security vulnerabilities, Symantec said in an alert sent to customers. “These issues can be exploited to cause denial-of-service conditions, gain access to sensitive information, and execute code,” it said. The security flaws lie in various components of Mac OS X, Symantec said. There is no known attack code for the vulnerabilities, the company said, indicating that there is no threat imminent to Mac users. Apple late Tuesday on its security Web site said the update fixes a total of five flaws, four of which affect both the client version of Mac OS X and one, in ClamAV, that impacts only the server release. Apple’s last security update, in May, addressed bugs in Mac OS X and QuickTime.
Apple execs to preview “Leopard” at WWDC. Apple on Monday formally announced that CEO Steve Jobs will headline a team of Apple executives that will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in August with a keynote preview of Mac OS X “Leopard.” Throughout the presentation, Jobs will be joined on stage by Philip Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, and others. The keynote is scheduled for Monday, August 7, 2006, beginning at 10:00 a.m. at San Francisco’s Moscone West.
Apple Releases Shake 4.1 & drops price. Apple has delivered Shake® 4.1, the first Universal version of its industry leading compositing software and cut its price from $2,999 to $499. Shake is used for sophisticated 3D compositing, keying, image tracking and stabilization. “At just $499, Shake is now priced as low as a plug-in for Final Cut Studio,” said Rob Schoeben, Apple’s vice president of Applications Product Marketing. “Now Final Cut Studio customers can retouch their shots with Shake’s optical flow technology or add photo realistic visual effects to their productions, even on a shoestring budget.” Along with this amazing price drop, Apple will no longer be developing Shake and no further software updates are planned. A next generation of Shake compositing software is in the works, which is codenamed Phenomenon.
**************
Test a geek: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast.
**************
How To: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast.
**************
Ask A Geek: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast.
**************
Hack: Make TiVo Desktop create video in any resolution
TiVo has released a new version of the TiVo Desktop that allows transcoding of the video to an iPod or a PSP. By default, the new TiVo Desktop software transcodes recordings to 320×240 for portable devices. According to TiVo VP Jim Denney this decision was made to limit potential piracy. However, there may be times when you’d prefer something a bit larger. For example the PSP (480×272), various portable video devices (up to 640×480), various PDAs (up to 640×480), and (hopefully) future video-capable iPods all support higher resolutions. Additionally, if you’re interested in manipulating these files on a Mac with iMovie/iDVD why cripple your content? Please note that for the best results, do not transcode to a higher resolution than your source material.
Step 1. Open up C:\Program Files\TiVo\Desktop\Support\encodeprofiles.xml in Notepad and study the various tivotrans:Profile name entries (in quotes) to determine which method you’ll be using for your device.
You can confirm your selection in the My TiVo Recordings for Portables subfolder. Within the relevant profile, edit the hrez and vrez variables to the desired dimensions. Before going down this path, it would be prudent to make a backup copy of encodeprofiles.xml.
Step 2. Use TiVo Desktop as you normally would and/or… To transcode immediately open a command window to C:\Program Files\TiVo\Desktop, type this, and hit enter: TiVoConverter.exe /profile=”xxxxxx” “C:\yyyyyy\zzzzzz.tivo” Substitute xxxxxx with what you researched above, yyyyyy with the TiVo Recordings directory path, and yyyyyy.tivo with the show you want to transcode.
via Dave Zatz zatznotfunny.com
**************
The geek’s view: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast.
**************
Related Episodes:
E-mail
Voicemail
