Did Jobs Claim "All New HD Camcorders" Use USB? I Beg to Differ

HDV cameras like the widely-beloved Canon HV20: no longer compatibility with the MacBook. And, ironically, for the difference in price with a Pro that gets you FireWire, you could buy an entire PC laptop. But I guess this camera was, um, totally 2007? Photo (CC) Brad Wood. Apple’s decision this week to remove FireWire from […]

Did Jobs Claim "All New HD Camcorders" Use USB? I Beg to Differ

HDV cameras like the widely-beloved Canon HV20: no longer compatibility with the MacBook. And, ironically, for the difference in price with a Pro that gets you FireWire, you could buy an entire PC laptop. But I guess this camera was, um, totally 2007? Photo (CC) Brad Wood. Apple’s decision this week to remove FireWire from […]

Did Jobs Claim “All New HD Camcorders” Use USB? I Beg to Differ

HDV cameras like the widely-beloved Canon HV20: no longer compatibility with the MacBook. And, ironically, for the difference in price with a Pro that gets you FireWire, you could buy an entire PC laptop. But I guess this camera was, um, totally 2007? Photo (CC) Brad Wood. Apple’s decision this week to remove FireWire from […]

Ask CDM: What Do You Use for Rear Projection Screen Material?

I have a project coming up which requires some non-rectangular rear projection screens installed on windows. We’ve been investigating specialist rear-projection films and have found the options to be thrillingly expensive. 3M’s Vikuiti seems to be the byword in high-end rear projection films, but I couldn’t find any local distributors, and a 10m x 1.2m […]

Mopho, the $400 Dave Smith Analog Synth: Extra Details

Hot dog purveyor Gray’s Papaya in New York is beloved for its “Recession Special”: two dogs and a drink. Their champagne is made from coconuts. And you don’t just scarf these down in bear markets; you enjoy them any time. Dave Smith’s monophonic Mopho synth is perhaps the greatest recession special in the history of […]

MeatWater “Survival Beverage” Offers Techno Stimulus Package for Economy

Photo: Todd Thille. Used by permission. MeatWater (C) Liquid Innovations. If this economy is getting you down, our friends at MeatWater, the “high-efficiency survival beverage,” have a prescription. A prescription for techno: MeatWater MP3 Techno Remix Now, perhaps this is just a crass ploy for MeatWater to sell more of their MeatWater-protein drinks, which come […]

Wicked Ohm Force Effects, Whimsy as Utility, and a Group Buy Discount

Software: it looks bland. It often sounds the same. Then there are the gems, like Ohm Force’s incredibly tasty line of plug-ins. Their delay plug-in Ohmboyz really isn’t over-hyped when they call it “the best delay money can afford,” as it’s almost frighteningly deep, with wild special effects and dirty-sounding vintage-style possibilities. And those wacky […]

Apple Chooses Form Over Function; Users and the Press Rebel

When is progress not progress? When looks come before use, and when you take one thing away without giving something else back, users respond. It turns out Mac users care about more than just aesthetics, whatever anyone tries to say. Photo: Ondra. It should have been another home run for Apple today. The new MacBooks […]

About that "9400M" GPU: NVIDIA's Mobile Graphics

If you’re trying to find information on the NVIDIA 9400M Apple is adding to its lower-end MacBooks, here’s a hint: it doesn’t exist. (Not literally, anyway.) Plain-English summary: NVIDIA’s new graphics card architecture used on the MacBooks combines a chip on the CPU (as found on the old MacBooks) with a dedicated GPU (as found […]

About that "9400M" GPU: NVIDIA's Mobile Graphics

If you’re trying to find information on the NVIDIA 9400M Apple is adding to its lower-end MacBooks, here’s a hint: it doesn’t exist. (Not literally, anyway.) Plain-English summary: NVIDIA’s new graphics card architecture used on the MacBooks combines a chip on the CPU (as found on the old MacBooks) with a dedicated GPU (as found […]