Apple

RIP: Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Posted on:  October 6, 2011

Many people say they will change the world.  Few actually do it.

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6 days

Posted on:  November 10, 2008

Okay, I admit it.  I’m a bit of a gadget freak.  Especially with Apple products.   I’m especially enamored with my iPhone 3G and all it’s bells and whistles, especially the real handy camera phone.   It’s pretty reliable and easy to use but unfortunately it doesn’t take the best pictures in the world.   But when you have to capture a moment, it’s pretty darn good.   After all, there’s nothing a little Photoshop can’t fix.  There’s also a cool little iPhone app called Camera Bag that’ll turn those ugly, pixelated snapshots into little works of art.  

Here’s a sampling of what i’ve taken over a six day period:

Wednesday, November 5th – Dreamworks Campus – The legendary animator Richard Williams gives a talk and previews segments from the recently released ANIMATOR’S SURVIVAL KIT: ANIMATED, a 16 DVD box set filmed at Blue Sky studios during one of Mr. Williams’ brilliant master animation classes.  The DVD’s features animated examples which took more than 2 years to complete.  Having taken Mr. Williams’ class myself, seeing these examples animated is probably the best concentrated instruction on animation technique around.  The box set is not cheap at around $1,000 but certainly worth owning
Sunday, October 26th –  At the wedding of a good friend in Santa Barbara, California.  A cinematic sunset with great people and a fabulous setting
Tuesday, October 14th –  101 freeway – Dry and windy conditions have caused several wildfires around the L.A. County area.  This makes for unusually eerie but picturesque sunsets.  Such was the case on my drive home that evening

Saturday, November 8th – Pasadena, California – At another wedding at the historic Castle Green

The legendary Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard

Grauman’s Chinese Theater

Angelina Jolie (above) and Jack Black (below)

Sunday, November 9th – Hollywood, California –  My family and I attended the premiere screening of KUNG FU PANDA: SECRETS OF THE FURIOUS FIVE.  It’s the first project I worked on at Dreamworks and features five, 2d animated segments chronicling the individual , kung fu journeys of Masters Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Crane and Mantis.  It was great seeing in on the big screen and the 2d style is similar to the opening sequence of KUNG FU PANDA.

Tuesday, September 16th – Dreamworks Campus – The company held it’s first ever Dream-Con where DW employees who exhibited at Comic-Con had another chance to showcase their work.   Of course, it wouldn’t be a real convention without people in costume.  There’s a Storm Trooper in this picture.  Can you spot him?

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Modbook News (Updated)

Posted on:  December 14, 2007


Monday, December 24, 2007 – Finally, I got an email from OTHER WORLD COMPUTING (distributor for the Modbook) instructing me to make changes and upgrades to my order from February in preparation for shipment on or before January 8, 2008.
Naturally I upgraded my memory and hard drive capacity to go along with the 2.2 ghz Intel Dual Core processor and dual layer DVD super drive….
Credit to Axiotron for following up on their estimate of a late 2007 shipment. (well, January 2008 is close enough…)
So the countdown’s on. I won’t play “What’s in the Box?” with you again.. I think it’ll be pretty obvious so i’ll just go straight for the pictures. Naturally my full review will follow soon after I put the machine through it’s paces.
Yes Lou, there is a Santa Claus……
—– o —–

Here’s the latest regarding the much delayed, but highly anticipated Apple Macintosh Tablet solution, the AXIOTRON MODBOOK.….
According to my highly reliable source from within the company itself:

“Axiotron will be fulfilling pre-orders in the priority they were taken starting in late December……”

…which is about right now! Axiotron is also proud to announce that they are now an official Apple Proprietary Solution Provider which means the technology behind the Modbook is tested and solidly endorsed by those guys in Cupertino.

So everyone who ordered back in February (like me) might get something nice from Santa after all? I guess we’ll have to see if they live up to their estimates this time….

As far as the Modbook itself, Axiotron will be exhibiting in January’s MACWORLD CONFERENCE at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. It’s a great chance to try this amazing machine out for yourself. The conference and expo runs January 14-18, 2008.

In related news, the UNOFFICIAL APPLE WEBLOG has consolidated all the news bits regarding the much rumored Apple tablet which is purported to be announced sometime next year. (Even as early as Macworld) Some speculate that the so-called “iTablet” will be small, 12-14 inch computer that will share the same touch-screen technology now seen in the highly coveted iPhone and now, the iPod Touch, and married with a Wacom based, pen-abled digitizer….. Another related post on TUAW is HERE

Of course… it’s all speculation at this point. We all know how good Steve Jobs is at distracting the curious….

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State of the Art

Posted on:  February 17, 2007

I wasn’t really due for a new computer but I just ordered one of these puppies:

It’s a portable tablet computer called the MODBOOK by a company called AXIOTRON. They take a stock Intel dual core Apple Macbook (not a macbook pro) and replace the flip-top monitor and keyboard with a Wacom digitizer screen that’s placed under reinforced plexiglass and framed in a tough magnesium alloy chassis. The digitizer and pen is identical to the one on Wacom’s incredibly hard to get and expensive CINTIQ tablet monitor.

The result is a machine that everyone, at least in my industry has been clamouring for for quite some time now. For my purposes, it will enable me to digitally design and storyboard directly into the computer without the hassle of scanning. (although my love for real media will continue so it doesn’t completely eliminate scanning) Plus i’ve since ran out of storage room for reams and reams of storyboarded material in my house, so it should help cut down on paper usage. As far as the drawing surface, the forceglass on top of the digitizer has been precisely etched to mimic the feedback of paper. This makes all the difference because it will directly affect how much pen pressure is applied in any particular stroke. (On regular tablet PC’s, it feels like you’re dragging a pencil on plain glass)

Another cool feature (which came free if you where one of the lucky ones that got to pre-order) is an optional Global Positioning System (GPS). This should come in handy should I be sketching and going walk-about and happen to get lost in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. In reality i’m actually pretty good with directions but i’m sure this is one i’ll be breaking out at parties and such saying “hey there, wanna check out my GPS?”

Of course, all of this comes with a pretty hefty price tag. But I was willing to shell out $2400 for a Cintiq anyway. For about the same price, I get a free computer to come with it.

So how do you write nasty-grams and send email without a keyboard? I mean you’re really not telling me I paid that much money to scribble the letters myself? Of course a portable mini-keyboard is probably one accessory i’ll be lugging in my gig bag, but thanks to Apple’s INKWELL software (now just plainly called INK) you can use your regular chicken-scratch of a handwriting to create text to use in any application. I’m sure muscle memory from writing secret code on your etch-a-sketch when you where six will come back anyway.

Personally, I just can’t wait to get my hands on this baby. In the meantime, the good people at Axiotron and OTHER WORLD COMPUTING who are the exclusive distributors of the Modbook have happily obliged some colleagues with an actual demo next week. I hope to post some pictures and further details then.

Detailed product info and technical specs on the Modbook can be found here, here and here.

Better yet, wanna see the Modbook in Action? Where would we be without YouTube?….

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