Better late then never eh? Been a tad swamped so while we recorded this show 2 weeks ago, it has taken me a while to get round to editing and releasing it.

This week we discuss the upcoming Assassin's Creed (released this Friday world wide for the 360 and PS3 - if you are in the US you're lucky and can pick it up since yesterday). PC users will have to wait a while (till early next year) so you may want to postpone listening to this show for a bit ;)

This is the first show to be edited on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, with the new iLife 08 which seems to have made my life a lot easier. Let me know if it's improved things on your side too ;)

This week we chat about randomness once again. Several topics pass the review.

Running time: 36mins

This week we discuss some basic linux commands to help you play in the shell. Hope you find them usefull!

Episode 9: Linux: Basic Commands

Navigating the files system and manipulating files
Viewing and editing files
System monitoring
Other handy commands
Power tools
Running time: 40mins

Application Service Providers or better know as WebApps

Cover the whole range from simple notesystems to full blown desktop application  replacements

Office  tools

    Google

    Zoho

    ThinkFree

    37 Signals (multiple tools)

Collaborative

    Zimbra

    37 Signals

    Central Desktop

Project Management

    Base camp (37 Signals)

Drawing and Diagramming tools

    Gliffy

Imaging tools
   
    Flicker

Instant  Messaging

    Meebo

Faxing
   
    eFax

Slide shows

    Animoto

Calculator

   Dr Calculator

A link to a big list of WebApps

   FindApps

A complete list of Links are available on www.thefreespeechzone.us
Just log in and click on the LINKs menu choice then move the software choice, then to web based application.

Runningtime: 34mins

After some delays thanks to Skype global outages and falling down chimneys... we're back!

In this episode we discuss some fun new graphics technologies, as we as graphics cards and the DirectX 9.x vs DirectX 10.0 vs DirectX 10.1 vs OpenGl debate.

Running time: 31:41

Took a little longer to edit this time as I was homeless for a few days :(

Anyways here is the episode we recorded on Laptop security. Some basic comens sense and tips and tricks how to keep your laptop safe, or in cas eof loss keep the damage low :)

As promised the tip to put a Open firmware password on your Mac:
For PowerMac download the "Open Firmware Password Utility" from the Apple website at: http://www.apple.com/uk/downloads.

For an Intel based mac, the sofatware comes on the Install DVD (Applications -> Utilities)

Running time: 28mins

In this (late released) episode we discuss the E3 conference that took place a little while ago. We discuss some of the news that the gaming industry shared :)

Hope you enjoy

Been so busy getting ready for my little trip abroad I completely forgot I had to edit/release Friday's recording :(. As such I won't be releasing it till next week.

In my absence Red and Bol will try and record a show so you might find two shows ready for you next week :)

Sorry folks!

Belnarlo

Running Time: 35:35

Digital Asset Management for photographers - most of the information here is based on Peter Krogh's excellent book "The DAM Book, Digital Asset Management for Photographers", from O'Reilly Press.

1.  what is DAM and why do I need it? - DAM, as it applies to photography, is the ability to store and retrieve images.  A cataloging system if you wish.

2. Is it complicated? Well, yes and no, or no and yes.  It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

    a. Simple filing system based on photo name and or subject. - Can be relatively simple.  Just create a naming scheme that helps you identify the image and a directory structure that helps you locate these images.  The trick here is to developing a consistent naming scheme and filing structure.  Chances are if you have a fairly large collection, you will out grow it very quickly and need to revise it.  This is what has happened to me.
        (1) Simple scheme
             YYYY-MM-####.jpg   Y = year, M= month, # = sequence number
             YY-MM-DD-####.raw D= date
        (2) A slightly more sophisticated
             YYYYMM_####_????.raw  ? = letter codes for such thins as type of camera, Original
              or copy of the image, if scans, type media original used

    Here is an example of what I'm currently setting up:

    Codes

    first character - Source  What was used to generate the image
        E - Canon EOS-10D
        D- Canon 630SD
        S - Scanner

    second character - Original format
        N - Color negative
        S - Slide
        B - Black & White negative
        D - Digital
        P - Print (generally scanned)

    third character - purpose
        O - Original (Maybe a .CRW, .TIF, or .JPG file that does not get modified)
        M - Master (May get some attention, bit not a lot.  Generally only levels are adjusted. Next
         step is to Correct it.)
        C - Corrected (Color balanced, spotted, and maybe cropped. Ready to start creating P,S
        and/or W)
        P - Print (used for making a print)
        S - Slide Show (Resized for a slideshow in Flash or JavaScript)
        W - Web (Low DPI and sized for web sites)

    fourth character - status
        A - Archive (not worked on at all the original image unfooled with)
        W- Working (all sorts of fooling around goes on here)

    Examples:

    JHN_200705_2975_EDOA.CRW
        Shot in 2005 during May with my EOS-10D, digital format, original, and archived

    JHN_199907_0009_SBOA.TIF
        Shot during July 1999 in B&W film then scanned. It is the original scan and is archived

    JHN_199907_0009_SBCW
        Shot during July 1999 with B&W film then scanned.  Currently a working image that has not
         yet been assigned.


    b. Cataloging - cataloging you images into a database system with the necessary META DATA is probably the best way to go.  Several nice packages out there to help you. Again, this will require a good naming scheme and a good directory structure.  If you were fortunate enough to create these early on, then it is a simple matter to good through these and have the cataloging software pull what meta data may already exist in the images in to the database.  There you can update it.

3. META DATA - What is meta data?  A simple definition is this is data about data - or in this case information about you images. Some information can be entered by the camera automatically such as the Name and brand of camera, the ISO, the shutter speed and f-Stop, just to mention a few pieces. This is general refereed to EXIF data and can't be edited.

Other data that can be recorded includes copyright notice, and contact info.  There are standards for all of this data - IPTC and most of the newer software packages support the Core Data Items.

Then there is the XMP meta data that may be included.  Adobe makes extensive use of the XMP data.  In earlier versions, pre-CS, the XMP data was stored in a side-file, not in the actual image.

Today, most is not all of the data is actually store in the image.  This way, is you share or sell  your image, this data goes along with it.

The cataloging program makes a copy of it and stores it in a database along with a thumbnail of the image and a link to where it is stored.  Handy.

One of the really powerful features of this meta data include the use of Keywords.  A set of carefully constructed keywords will help you in finding images that meet your requirements.  We could do a hold program just on keywording and may well do so.

Just creating a naming scheme is not really enough.  You need to have a directory structure to aid in the filing and work flow.

4. Directory Structure

At some point you are going to want, and I strongly recommend, to backup your images. Peter advocates online back up to either a attached external drive or a NAS (Network Attached Storage) and eventual off line back to some sort of storage media like CDs or DVDs.

Now, I suspect that a lot of folks are not going to be able to afford external HDs or NAS, although the prices of each are coming down dramatically.  Keeping your images on line makes it a heck of a lot easier to find  than shuffling CD/DVDs and looking for the file.  Still, it necessary to store backup data, preferably off site, on CD/DVDs to guard against the day that you have a major disaster.

Keeping in mind that CD only hold about 680Mb and DVDs hold 4Gb, I'd suggest setting up your directory structure to accommodate the size of your target storage media.  Peter calls them "Buckets".  

Naming your directories is important in helping you identify what sort of files are stored in them.  This can get complicated and I'll only present a very simple way here.  This topic can go on for a very long time.

I keep all of my on line images on a NAS so that they can be access from and PC on my home network.  Images are stored in the directory /images.  I further break this down to RAW images and Working Images.

    A. RAW images are just that - the original from the cameras, be it .RAW or .JPG and the original scanned image from my scanner, which are stored as .tif files.

Under the RAW directory I create sub directories, or "buckets" containing files.  Since I have a single sided DVD burner in both my desktop and laptop, the directory size will be kept to something less than 4Gb.  I further break down my RAW directories by using a letter code to identify the source of the image - RAW_E_### would be RAW files from my EOS-10D and the #### is a sequence number.  RAW_D_#### is My Canon 630SD pocket camera, and RAW_S_#### is for my scanned images.

    B. Working images are images that I'm working on and are copies of the original RAW image.  Thees may have any number of extensions depending on what program I'm working with and what my target use is to be.  This is where a catalog program will come in really handy.  A good one will help you keep track of you raw as well as any derivative files that you may create from it.  I'm still working out my working scheme but the directory structure will accommodate the target storage media I'm using.

Peter's book offers up several very good ideas.  Keep in mind that his ideas are just that - ideas.  Not carved in stone.  You may need to modify or even create your own entirely unique method for storing and managing your working files.

5. Software

I will not recommend any software.  I will, however, tell you what I'm currently using.  This list may well change.

    1. Adobe CS2 Bridge        http://adobe.com
    2. Adobe Lightroom 1.1     http://adobe.com
    3. IDImagerLite                 http://www.idimager.com/
    4. Adobe CS PhotoShop   http://adobe.com

I hope to include Light Crafts LighZone 3, once thy are able to resolve why it will not run on my laptop.

Lightzone http://www.lightcrafts.com/products/index.html

Info on Metadata - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Metadata_Platform#cooliris
                         - http://www.exif.org/
                         - http://www.adobe.com/products/xmp/
                         - International Press Telecommunications (IPTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Press_Telecommunications_Council

Keywording - Controlled Vocabulary - http://www.controlledvocabulary.com/
                  - http://www.hindsightltd.com/reference/keywording.html

Keywording Services (in alphabetical order):

A2Zkeywording:    www.a2zkeywording.com
Based in Tivoli, New York, A2Z uses a combination of their own in-house software as well as their own experienced keyworders.  Prices range from $2.75 to $3.50 per image, depending on volume.  A2Z also sells their thesaurus software for $299 plus $52 for one year of support.

Adnet Infosystems:     www.adnetinfosystems.com
With operations in Mumbai, India, this company provides affordable keywording and many other technical services to the stock photo industry.

JaincoTech:        www.jaincotech.com
A service provider for all technical aspects of the stock photo industry, Jainco has offices in Ohio and India.  Jainco charges $0.75 to $1.50 depending on quantity and turn-around time required.  They also offer keywords in French and Spanish and hope to add German and Japanese in the near future.

KeywordCompiler:    www.keywordcompiler.com
This NYC-based company provides a free basic version of their keywording software, called KeywordCompiler.  Users can purchase more robust versions of the software, with more sophisticated features: $99 for single user licenses and up to $999 for multi-seat licenses.  The company also provides keywording services for $2.00 per image ($1.50 per image for batches of over 5,000 images.)

Keywording.com:     www.keywording.com
A keywording service with offices in Portland, Oregon and County Kerry, Ireland.  Charges approximately $3.00 per image depending on quantity and depth of keywording required.

Keywords-To-Go:      www.keywords-to-go.com   
Part of StockAnswers, a stock photo consulting firm managed by industry veteran, Paul Henning.  Charges $3.00 to $4.50 per image, depending on quantity. The Keywords-To-Go homepage has an excellent overview of importance of kewording.

OnAsia Digital Services:   www.onasiadigital.com
A service provider for all technical aspects of the stock photo industry, OnAsia operates out of Bangkok, Thailand.  Prices for keywording begin at US$1.50 per image and are negotiable for high volume orders.  They plan to offer keywords in French by the end of 2006.  They will also offer their keywording software package for licensing later this year.

Today I decided to redirect our lowleveltech.net domain to the libsyn site. The Drupal installation doesn't add anything (much) atm, and to keep our live simple I decided to cut the site maintenance in half :)

We're working on a few others things that will be linked in in future to keep you all better informed of future shows etc :)

thanx

Belnarlo

Welcome again to another episode of low level tech podcast.  This week we discuss how to geta working version of linux on an apple macbook.  There are links which can be found below for each problem I encountered when setting it up.

We discuss a umber of things including issues & their solutions, installation, using mac features and the protege disk utility.

*Keyboard Issues*

No Right Click Issue
No Delete key in VI or VIM

In this episode we discuss some of the issues that cause the lousy communication between the business and the IT department. Some of the misconceptions on either side of the fence and some ways to improve things.

Enjoy!

Running Time: 47:20

This week was inspired by Red's troubles with webhosting companies. We discuss what to look for when choosing a webhost and some of the problems that you may run into when switching to, or starting with, a hosting company.


End Song: The Beatles - With a Little Help from my Friends
Running Time: 54:00

In this weeks show we discuss the Nintendo Wii.  Why is it a massive hit?  Pure luck? or Pure in-genius design by Nintendo?

We discuss the arket share currently on all 3 consoles, Wii games, Wii-mote and Nunchuk, ease of use, backwards compatibility, fun factor, danger factor and future ideas which can be built upon from the Wii's Designs.

Hosts: Belnarlo and Boletje

Expert: Boletje

MIA: Redironfist

Guests: Non scheduled

Enjoy the show

Better late then never eh? Reall life issues kept me from editing last weeks show so it's being released a little late. I hope to release this weeks episode by Thursday though.

Anyways Episode 33 is an introduction to (Unix/Linux) shell scripting. We discuss what the *nix shell is, highlight the well knows shells (Bourne, Korn, Bash and C). We then proceed to tell you some of the things you can use when writing shell scripts:

#   - The comment
#!  - "Hash bang" the most important part of any script. Should be the first line of any
      script (eg: #!/bin/bash)
$   - The variable symbol (eg: $bolletje)
$() - Evalaute the command (eg: bolletje=$(ls). The variable $boletje then holds the
      output of the 'ls' command
${} - Ensure the variable is resolved properly (eg: if $bolletje has the value "file",
      if you do: $bolletje.txt, the system will try and retrieve the value of the variable
      $bolletje.txt where as if you do: ${bolletje}.txt the system will retrieve the value
      of $bolletje and append .txt to the outcome.

We further discuss loops, arrays and basics programming functionality found in the *nix shells. And we discuss the need of 'chmod +x' to make script executable.

Links:
<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/management/powershell/default.mspx">Microsoft Power Shell</a>
<a href="http://www.cygwin.com/">Cygwin</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_shell">Wikipedia - Unix Shell</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_scripting">Wikipedia - Shell Scripting</a>

End Song: <a href="http://www.jonathancoulton.com/2006/04/14/thing-a-week-29-code-monkey/">Jonathan Coulton - Code Monkey</a>
Runtime: 29:28

In this show we discuss the current state of a major mmorpg and also the future for the genre.  We discuss various aspects of the two games such as combat, crafting, questing, player experience, travel, spellcasting, diplomacy, and a small amount of bar room brawling.

Enjoy the Show!!

We are joined by Teravoc, Veldrin and Ravvan for this weeks discussion of Sigil's Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. We lost the show notes early one and it became a fun banter show where we discuss Vanguard and compare it to some of the other MMORPGs out there.

Links:
<a href="http://vanguard.station.sony.com">Vanguard</a>

End song: <a href="http://www.heideroosjes.com/">De Heideroosjes - Watch Me Play</a>
Running time: 1:13:03
Direct Download: <a href="http://media.libsyn.com/media/lowleveltech/episode31.mp3">Episode 31</a>

Another random banter show. Just Bol and myself today as Red is trying to fight off a nasty cold. Bol and I discus some random topics, top 7 reasons you want Vista, MS patent on modular OS and a few others. A couple of rants from my side but I think it's fun none the less :)

End song: Zwan - Honestly
Running time: 36:15

This week we discuss the topic of Phishing. We discuss what it is, how to spot it and give a few ideas on how to keep yourself safe from it.

Firefox phishing filter:
<image src="http://lowleveltech.net/drupal/images/phishing_ff_catch.jpg" width="640" />

IE7 phishing filter:
<image src="http://lowleveltech.net/drupal/images/phishing_ie7_catch.jpg" width="640" />

Links:
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing">Wikipedia</a>
<a href="http://operationphishnet.org/">Operation Phishnet</a>
<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/email/phishing.mspx">Microsoft's anti-phishing site</a>
<a href="http://www.gnucitizen.org/blog/what-happens-to-your-computer-if-you-mispell-googlecom">Mistyped google example</a>

End song: The Beatles - Fool on the Hill
Running time: 29:15

In episode 28 of lowleveltech podcast we talk about the Xbox 360.  Conversation varies from the technical side of the console, good and bad points of both the console and microsoft xbox live.

We also discuss games and the HD effect on gaming and how the future looks for the console.

There were two images used in the podcast which are located below.

http://lowleveltech.net/drupal/images/achievement_list.jpg
http://lowleveltech.net/drupal/images/achievementlist_sr.jpg

We hope you enjoy the show!

Regards,

LLT Team (Boletje, Belnarlo and Redironfist)

Google mail
{These are some quick notes I made in getting ready for the podcast.  Not spell checked at all}

Where to start?  Well, Gmail, is a none browser specific web based mail system.  This means you don't have to have a dedicated mail program like Outlook, or Thunderbird or any number of other mail programs.

Mail is stored on a webserver owned and operated by Google.  Depending on you level of paranoia, this can be good or bad.

good: you can access all of your saved mail from any web connection.
bad: anyone who has your  password can also access your mail. Hopefully, you have not shared your password.

Good: lots of storage capacity - 2+ GB
bad: Google ads

Good: have access to all your contacts from any web connection.
bad: anyone who has your password also has access.  Potential for compermise.

Good: great search engine
bad: too much info

The contacts portion is ok.  You just have to remember that this is still "beta" software.  This means that they are still hammering out stuff, adding features, and just plain futzing with it.  It would be nice if you could store multiple/alternative e-mail addresses for you contacts.  I suspect that they will get this feature strighted out later on.

Message storage:  Well, you give each message you wish to store a label.  For example you could setup a label "Computer-hardware" and store any"label" any e-ail related to computer hardware with this label then archive it.  Labels are sort of like folders or directories.  The current system is flat, no hiracherial labels/folders. This can be either good or bad.

Chat:  Nice feature.  I use it a fair amount with Narlo and Bol in setting up the show each week.  I also use it with several friends.  Personally, I like to talk, so I use Skype whenever I can.

Spam:  Google's spam filter is one of the best I've seen.  Also, if something should make it through, you just "report" it and the filter will pick it up form on.  You can also configure filters as well.  

Filter, need to sort your incoming mail - use the filter.  Neat tool.I need to play with it some more myself.

One of the things that puts people off regarding Gmail is the Google Ads that are displayed along side your mail.  For the most part I ignore them.  Some people think that Google is reading your e-mail, I have not seen anything to make me think that it is true.  They do scan the subject line, this is how they target the ads.  Besides, I never post anything in e-mail that can't be shown on the evening news.

The mail system is just one of several tools Google offers.  They are not yet integrated and once they do it will be something to behold.  Imagine - mail, calendar, notes, all working together.  Gee, do you think that they might be some competition for another company that sells you a package to do this? We'll just have to wait and see.

There are several Fire Fox add ons for google mail.  Just do a Google search of "firefox google add-ins and you'll be entertained for hours.  Also, go to the Fire Fox extension page and you'll find several.

The end song this week is <a href="http://www.20grit.com/">20 Grit - Player's Heaven</a>

Running time: 48:50

Happy new year all!

First off let me apologize for the audio (once more). I was so exited that Red was going to try to record (as a backup), I forgot to record myself until we where 10 minutes or so into the podcast. Nothing much to worry about, except for the fact that Red's recording was lacking his audio. So the first 10 minutes may sound a bit strange as Red's questions etc won't come through, and the switch to full audio doesn't make too much sense.

Anyways as a first topic for the year we decided to tackle passwords. Everyone uses them, and most people use bad passwords, or don't spent too little time thinking about them. In this cast we try to give you some insight in why to put thought into your passwords and how.

We discuss 3 classes of passwords (insecure, secure and very secure)and when to use each of them. We discuss some ways to come up with good passwords and remember them. And we discuss a few sites that will help you further on the topic.

The end song this week is <a href="http://www.futuristicsexrobotz.com/">Futuristic Sex Robotz - Fuck the MPAA</a>

Links discussed in the show:
<a src="http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1554">Ten Windows Password Myths</a>
<a src="https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm">GRC Password Generator</a>
<a src="http://www.securitystats.com/tools/password.php">Password strength meter</a>
<a src="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_strength">Wikipedia</a>
<a src="http://www.phenoelit.de/dpl/dpl.html">Default passwords</a>
<a src="http://www.lockdown.co.uk/?pg=combi&s=articles">Password crack times</a>
<a src="http://windowssecrets.com/links/yy9aaeqiyyb6d/fc5bb2h/">Roboform</a>
<a src="http://www.roboform.com/">Roboform</a>
<a src="http://www.dexadine.com/acerose.html">Acerose Password Fault</a>


Running time: 40:00
Direct Download: <a href="http://media.libsyn.com/media/lowleveltech/episode26.mp3">Episode 26</a>

The final episode for the year. the editing is a bit shit as I didn't make the time to edit it properly... We discuss some random topics and spend some time looing back at the past year's shows and sharing some of the ideas for next year.

Hope you enjoy :)

Running time: 54:55

Due to my busy schedule at work and the general buzz of the Christmas season, we decided to take the easy way out for this show. We discuss some news topics that caught our eye once again. The following stories passed the review:
* Firefox on the increase in Europe
* Critical Security Hole in MS Word
* Firebug, a new Firefox Extension
* Bogus anti-spyware outfits outfits on the rise
* 12 year old arrested for opening x-mas presents
* Shot after stealing an PS/3

Running time: 49:45
Direct Download: <a href="http://media.libsyn.com/media/lowleveltech/episode24.mp3">Episode 24</href>

This is the first in our series of shows on Google. This week we give a quick rundown of the various services they now offer, and in the near future we will be digging down deeper into the various tools and let you know a little more about them.

The list of tools we touch on
* Search
* Mail
* Calendar
* Maps
* Earth
* Video
* Base
* Ads
* Browser Sync
* Notebook
* Writely
* Spreadsheet


Hope you enjoy the show.

Running time: 36:36