Hmmm

Mac OS X 10.6 code named Snow Leopard, may be pure Cocoa

The next version of Mac OS X is code-named "Snow Leopard," and will indeed be Intel-only, we have learned. This info is hot on the heels of TUAW's original scoop about Mac OS X 10.6 being readied for shipment as soon as Macworld 2009 and being Intel-only.

People familiar with the situation have confirmed to us that TUAW's details are true—Snow Leopard is currently on track to come out during next January's Macworld, and it will not contain major OS changes. Instead, the release is heavily focused on performance and nailing down speed and stability. With Apple's current (and future) focus on smaller, thinner, and more mobile devices, this move makes perfect sense. Things like the MacBook Air, iPhone, iPod touch, and other mysterious devices that have yet to be announced need better performance for better battery life, and that's definitely something Apple wants to excel at in the years to come. Our sources did not note whether Apple planned to discuss Snow Leopard at this year's WWDC.

I can't help but think Apple is going the wrong path here. They are targeting light users and portability over power users and work stations. I am already planning on getting Vista 64 so I can run CS4 in 64 bit mode and this may push me over the edge to a full Windows user. Seems like they don't give a shit about power any more and just care about consumer level crap.

Dammit, I love OSX too. Too bad it seems to be becoming a bad choice for anyone who needs speed and performance.

Cheer for common sense.

Schneier on Security: The War on Photography

The War on Photography

What is it with photographers these days? Are they really all terrorists, or does everyone just think they are?

Since 9/11, there has been an increasing war on photography. Photographers have been harrassed, questioned, detained, arrested or worse, and declared to be unwelcome. We've been repeatedly told to watch out for photographers, especially suspicious ones. Clearly any terrorist is going to first photograph his target, so vigilance is required.

Except that it's nonsense. The 9/11 terrorists didn't photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid subway bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. Timothy McVeigh didn't photograph the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The Unabomber didn't photograph anything; neither did shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Photographs aren't being found amongst the papers of Palestinian suicide bombers. The IRA wasn't known for its photography. Even those manufactured terrorist plots that the US government likes to talk about -- the Ft. Dix terrorists, the JFK airport bombers, the Miami 7, the Lackawanna 6 -- no photography.

Given that real terrorists, and even wannabe terrorists, don't seem to photograph anything, why is it such pervasive conventional wisdom that terrorists photograph their targets? Why are our fears so great that we have no choice but to be suspicious of any photographer?

Because it's a movie-plot threat.

Read and learn

Histogram Basics

Arguably, histograms are the most useful tool available in digital photography. At the same time it may also well be the least understood.

Never trust your monitor. Never trust your laptop on location in the middle of a desert in direct sunlight. Never trust the LCD on the back of your camera.

Always trust the histogram.

The numbers, they don't lie.

I use this on the GIMP

Liquid Resize Liquid Resize is a "content aware" image resizing application for Mac OS X and Windows. Liquid Resize is now available for download as a Product Preview from onOne Software.

Gonna give it a whirl nowas a OSX demo.

Annoying

One of the most frustrating things about being a retoucher is that clients don't believe you when you tell them you can do something and then won't believe you when you tell them something else is impossible. ....sigh.

Damn good idea

John Carlin on why Iceland has the happiest people on earth | World news | The Observer
All the more so because if you are in a job the state gives you nine months on fully paid child leave, to be split among the mother and the father as they so please. 'This means that employers know a man they hire is just as likely as a woman to take time off to look after a baby,' explained Svafa Grönfeldt, currently rector of Reykjavik University, previously a very high-powered executive. 'Paternity leave is the thing that made the difference for women's equality in this country.'

The Replacements

Shared a cigarette for breakfastShared an airplane ride for lunch Sitting in between a ghost And a walking bowl of punch Can you play a little hunch?

Predicting a delay on landing Well I predict we'll have a drink Lost my money on the first hand Got burned on a big fat king

And your ears are gonna ring And your eyes just wanna close Nothing changes I suppose

It's too late to turn back, here we go Portland, oh no It's too late to turn back, here we go Portland, oh no

We'll wait away the raindrops Look out boy, you'll catch cold Serving boy can chain nothing That ain't anchored to his throne But at least he's going home

Sitting like a backwoods junkie Caught down in a servant trust Look at the funny monkey Putting silver in his cup

And your silver turns to rust And your secondhand clothes Trust no one I suppose

It's too late to turn back, here we go Portland, oh no It's too late to turn back, here we go Portland, oh no

Shared a cigarette for breakfast Shared a pack of lies for lunch Credit card almighty Bringing in the next little bunch

And you owe me on a hunch And your eyes just wanna close And nothing changes I suppose

It's too late to turn back, here we go Portland, oh no It's too late to turn back, here we go Portland, oh no