A lack of posting has mainly been due to being kept busy with my to-do list. During one of my many procrastination points I did find this excellent video on YouTube that discusses Photoshop and some of the more powerful techniques that can be used.
It's a bit more technical than I usually post.
Very apt that I found this on Apple iPhone Day. Someone that thought different about the use of drones. I think this is the best drone video I have seen for some time! Hat Tip to Trevor for pointing this video out!
Anybody that knows me a little knows that I extols the virtues of Apple, and the joy of using a Mac. I'm a Mac? I could have played Justin Long's part in the adverts without the large pay check :-)
Needless to say I was more than a little disappointed when my MacBook Pro stopped responding to keystrokes and trackpad movement last week. Having tried the usual turning off and on again, and frustrated searching on the internet I had to give up and take it to the Apple Store. The Apple 'Genius' didn't tell me anything I hadn't already figured out: "The keyboard and trackpad isn't working". He run it through a few diagnostic tests and decided to send it off to some unknown magical place that would sort it.
I was a bit apprehensive at sending it off somewhere as my experience (ala MediaMarkt) was that if it did come back it would be in a months time.
Shockingly, I was summoned back to the Apple Store yesterday and was presented with my MacBook again, apparently a ribbon cable that connects the keyboard/trackpad and the motherboard had been faulty. It took them less than a week to diagnose, fix and get it back to me. I was duly impressed.
I have often been in the minority in "what computers should I buy?" discussions and there is no doubt that I could buy PC's that are a third of the price for the equivalent computing power but for me it is still the service and professionalism that Apple gives, especially in their stores that makes me a happy consumer.
Thankfully I was still under warranty (and have extended Apple Care) as you would not believe how much it would have cost to get it repaired ;-)
I discovered a really interesting web application this morning during my procrastination time: meetmidway. The application allows you to chose two geographical points and an activity (such as a movie theater or coffee meeting) and it plots the course, the midway point and the nearest place for that activity to the midway point.
It uses google maps to run the query, although it is running off the web right now the founder has expressed interest in building a mobile app (which would be much more useful). I wonder if the mobile app will be a GIS M.Sc. project...
Fun, if you like that sort of (geography) thing.
More bleeding edge drone technology from researchers at Stanford University from within their Biometrics & Dextrous Manipulation Laboratory; a drone that can land on ceilings and walls using micro-spines, basically clinging to the wall or ceiling.
Obviously the real world applications of such a drone are numerous, especially in natural disaster areas where real time updates are required without worrying about battery life. Restricted to areas that are rough at this point, nicely explained in the video below:
