Bono in the iPhone - anyone ever notice this?

First, we have an iPhone:

But, look closer:

Sure, maybe it is just a coincidence, but it sure looks like him.

(courtesy of mediafactured)

You gotta love this…

I know this is old news, but if you have a Mac, and it is on a Windows network, check out the icons that are used to represent Windows computers (click to enlarge).

Yes, that is the “blue screen of death”.

Change multiple video files in iTunes (Mac) with this script

Have you ever tried changing the properties of more than one video file in iTunes before? You can only do one at a time, and it is a sloooow process. Well, for you Mac users out there, there is a script you can download that lets you batch-change the properties (if it is a movie or tv show, show mane, season, etc).

For example, say you were to download have several episodes of a tv show that you just brought into iTunes. By default, any video is labels a “movie” when imported. So with a tv show, you would want to change that so it goes to the “tv show” section.

With this script, it makes it ridiculously easy. Here is what you do.

1. Make a playlist with your tv show episodes that you want to change.

2. In the playlist, highlight all of the movies, and select the script (click to enlarge):

2. You are presented with the properties you can change:

3. Click on “Video Kind”, then click “edit”, and it brings up this window with your options. Pick your video type and click “ok”:

4. You get the idea. Click on all of the options and make your changes:

5. When you have changed all of the options, click “Done”, and voila!

It will quickly crunch through all of your selected files. You really don’t need to make a playlist of the files you want to change, but it makes it a little neater to organize. Enjoy!

Download the “Set Video Kind of Selected” iTunes Script from Doug’s Scripts

MacBook pro with 150 applications open = Holy Crap!

“Expose’” is a program on every Mac that lets you view all open applications at the same time. It makes every open window smaller so you can choose what you want to be the “active” window.

Well, if you ope EVERY program on your Mac (all 150 on this dude’s computer), and then run Expose, here is what it looks like.  Click to get the full-sized pic.

Flickr Page

Awesome Space Shuttle video

This was taken from a camera mounted on one of the fuel tanks on the recent Shuttle mission. How cool is this!?!?

Apple TV Take 2: a mini-review

specs_dimensions20080114.jpgI have been using the AppleTV now for a few weeks, and I have to say that it has really changed the way I watch movies/podcasts. For those of you that don’t know, the Apple TV is a device that hooks up to your TV and streams any music, movies, tv shows, and podcasts that you have in iTunes. You can also copy the various media types to the Apple TV so it will work without the computer on, but streaming seems to work fine, even with HD content.

I have a couple of hundred DVD’s that I have copied to my computer and imported into iTunes, and now I can watch them all without having to use the physical DVD disc. Instead, I select it from a list of all of my movies on the beautiful Apple TV interface, and it automatically starts playing, either streamed or directly from the Apple TV hard drive.

Also, iTunes now has movie rentals. I have rented a few, and they look great, especially the HD movies. It is a buck more, but you get 720p video downloaded straight from iTunes to the Apple TV, no computer needed.

Finally, video podcasts are watchable on the Apple TV. I have subscribed to the HD versions of several of them since I can watch them on the tv now. Diggnation has never looked so great.

So check it out: Apple TV

Are You a Pirate?

744px-pirate_flag_of_rack_rackhamsvg.pngAnd by pirate, I mean downloading tv shows, movies, and other things off of the internet illegally.

I have mixed feelings. On one hand, paying for it is definitely the right thing to do. In the case of an up-and-coming artist, you are literally taking money out of their pockets if you don’t buy their music. Also, with the availability of DRM-free music at a great price, there is really no need to download music illegally anymore. But recently, a scenario presented itself where I justifies downloading a tv show off of a torrent site.

Some friends of mine wanted to watch the Academy wards a few weeks ago, but because they work pretty late sometimes, they could not watch it. Since they don’t have a Tivo, they were out of luck. They asked me to record it and then burn it to dvd for them. Well, after 3 days of trying to get it from my DVR to a DVD, I decided that the only other option was to download it off of the internet, then burn it to dvd for them.

In a situation like that, I really had no other choice. There was not a re-broadcast of the Oscars, so pirating it was the only option.

Was I justified in this scenario?