Update on the DVD burner January 30, 2006
Posted by David Leslie in Technology.add a comment
OK, this is getting odd.
Apex didn’t work
Samsung didn’t work
But my Mitsubishi , the one that I can’t stand to use thanks to its funky fast forward options, worked. I know the Mits’ has a dual laser so maybe that’s why the single laser Apex and Samsung didn’t pick it.
Still, I can’t help but wonder if it’s the burner.
Russian photo site January 29, 2006
Posted by David Leslie in The Arts.add a comment
I’ve been really enjoying many of the photos up on http://www.photosight.ru/. Granted I can’t read a word of Russian but that doesn’t stop me from being impressed with the different ways they shape their shots.
The Devil and my DVD Burner January 29, 2006
Posted by David Leslie in Technology.2 comments
Here is the saga:
Back in August, my Father-in-Law gave me some blank ESA DVD+R’s that he couldn’t get working with his burner. Since I had a ton of mini DVs of John that I have been desperate to edit and burn onto DVD, I borrowed my Boss’s PowerBook and made a cute DVD called “TumbleTime” of John at his gymnastics class. Throw it in my 5 year old Apex, plays like a champ.
Fast forward to now. I’ve had my new Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) computer since Nov but haven’t really had time to get into the burning of the DVD’s till now. I make my first disc with MCE only to have it not work in the Apex. Same goes for my Samsung 709. Yet when I take the disc and throw it in one of the demo DVD players at CompUSA, it works.
What gives?
I try another program with a different set of files. No joy. I buy a pack of DVD-R since the salesperson told me they work better on older DVD players. Nada.
I take the Mac made disc back out. It plays fine in both.
I copy the Mac made disc to a DVD-R, doesn’t work
I copy the Mac made disc to a DVD+, doesn’t work.
I post to the MCE newsgroup where I’m given the advice to buy another DVD player. Funds are just not there so there has got to be another option.
Few things January 22, 2006
Posted by David Leslie in The Dump.add a comment
- I got to see Underworld: Evolution at the preview screening Thursday night. While I enjoyed it more than the first movie, I was bumbed because my brother-in-law and I got stuck in the first row. When you have a 70mm screen, it makes for many of a hushed “Did you catch that?”
- Thank God for WinZIP. I’ve got a project at work that WinZIP’s “Explorer mode” has saved me from having to do either a ton of manual directory work or PERL script development to get everything where it needed to be.
- Shows that will make dropping cable easy:
- Anything on VH1 involving celebities
- Any MTV show with either housemates, panks or dating
- Lifetime & O
- Fox news
- Battlestar Galactica: Best show on TV
- Noggin: A parent’s best friend. Preschool TV without commercials.
- Sci-Fi, Spike, Discover and of course, ESPN
- Boomerang from Cartoon Network
A few quick things before bed January 12, 2006
Posted by David Leslie in The Dump.add a comment
- I had about 30 seconds of envy about the new Mac’s. But in all honesty, all I really want from Apple would be iMovie and maybe a few of their
widgetsDashboard apps and I can find just as good Windows versions. Other than that, I’ll keep my Windows box and wait for Vista.
- Was it just me or did Goose Gossage get jobedbed by the Baseball writers again along with Jim Rice and Andre Dawson? They need to start making the Baseball writer’s votes public since they’ve been turning the Hall into the hall of players we liked.
- While I only subscribe to the Office Xbox Magazine for the demo disc, I’ve got to say that the new redesigned magazine is looking quite nice. Sadly the reviews are about as crapy as ever. Sure they have Geoff Knightly who is one of the top writers in gaming but if the game isn’t a major title, you’ll be lucky if the editor puts an hour of play on the disc. As more of the demo disc space is taken by the 360 demos, I’m letting my subscription go until I pick up a 360 which will be in about 2 years when the first price drop hits.
