tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72545662719993610362024-03-16T08:07:48.310+01:00akselvoll.netMagnus Akselvoll's personal blog.<br><br>
<small><i>
Disclaimer: The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent
my employer's positions, strategies or opinions.</i></small>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-73729882803380616152020-04-03T21:18:00.001+02:002020-04-03T21:18:25.892+02:00How to make a pea gun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhelQaAkwH4XNmZKGxuhsCRAPcePWRt7DczKD9CYsbYD9ZsPQLR_v7wJCRSNfceMFcvmESAOYm8gTS1mEtDDwEOqN501gDyr_xffAC-s9P3TzsZ85CFp5K6KThEKWGB0pGEXNluTyU1eoy/s1600/IMG_20200403_205740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhelQaAkwH4XNmZKGxuhsCRAPcePWRt7DczKD9CYsbYD9ZsPQLR_v7wJCRSNfceMFcvmESAOYm8gTS1mEtDDwEOqN501gDyr_xffAC-s9P3TzsZ85CFp5K6KThEKWGB0pGEXNluTyU1eoy/s320/IMG_20200403_205740.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You need:<br />
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<ol>
<li>A wooden clothes peg</li>
<li>A rubber band</li>
<li>A knife</li>
<li>Dried peas or chick peas</li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIqJ2Pz6aflYz4Q59uSvXUh_HEIAqFr2fg8i2NVty7S4c5qAGsJ4H5B21fhhWBpkH-HSR9Qw8ubkRWcXRTp2WYkYZBpDZsiUWNf2WFZjf_xO3V4alPA2_sMvNQu17T12THKO4cM4ylbUn/s1600/IMG_20200403_205050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIqJ2Pz6aflYz4Q59uSvXUh_HEIAqFr2fg8i2NVty7S4c5qAGsJ4H5B21fhhWBpkH-HSR9Qw8ubkRWcXRTp2WYkYZBpDZsiUWNf2WFZjf_xO3V4alPA2_sMvNQu17T12THKO4cM4ylbUn/s320/IMG_20200403_205050.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Step 1: Take apart the clothes peg.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmNQkqujB1bZgzxKhgi3c0Pmd8rNfj1Idn8cRCZGriAcnC5LMBGHm4KLRfMGwcYYQPRTFxS3zq5UoUO1wWfuCyv5I_lbyinBKMAUHlNZKk7jg25Y_UqXGHrc2p3WfZHWYUhacJkMCi2pa/s1600/IMG_20200403_205121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmNQkqujB1bZgzxKhgi3c0Pmd8rNfj1Idn8cRCZGriAcnC5LMBGHm4KLRfMGwcYYQPRTFxS3zq5UoUO1wWfuCyv5I_lbyinBKMAUHlNZKk7jg25Y_UqXGHrc2p3WfZHWYUhacJkMCi2pa/s320/IMG_20200403_205121.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Step 2: Square off one of the sides of the round cutout where the spring was on one of the wooden parts as shown below.</div>
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Step 3: </div>
<div>
Put the spring on the this wooden part, as shown in the image.</div>
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Step 4: Cut off a large part of the other wooden part, starting around 5mm in front of the small cutout, as shown in the image. The cut should slope slightly. (PS. This part was a bit too long. It should have been around 5mm shorter.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMaYwHPq2xIClbojSqSGmjCV_Jbm_ncL_Ru7SnC_CEZgOLI-VIknKdpUhiBvBiHX8AaSdqIHt8CnLWMbXhxv-fhG_Ie7vkDCAw1yaiWDo07Fot28GvJPeMoMQP5nahTbnrfGkZddi5AIUs/s1600/IMG_20200403_205552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMaYwHPq2xIClbojSqSGmjCV_Jbm_ncL_Ru7SnC_CEZgOLI-VIknKdpUhiBvBiHX8AaSdqIHt8CnLWMbXhxv-fhG_Ie7vkDCAw1yaiWDo07Fot28GvJPeMoMQP5nahTbnrfGkZddi5AIUs/s320/IMG_20200403_205552.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Step 5: Join the two parts with the rubber band. The gun is now ready.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbQDqwpOiKnvEtzJsNtBxCrUmoVgEZud0SKJv0kGqnLtHBw9u2g-nsAMJ3iDrhCkRcg9c_q8Celb71Hd3f6Hmhj5NN1meNYWHp51Db-41hytihsh1aClSD240gBVewTBXgLWgq2pzEfbA/s1600/IMG_20200403_205630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbQDqwpOiKnvEtzJsNtBxCrUmoVgEZud0SKJv0kGqnLtHBw9u2g-nsAMJ3iDrhCkRcg9c_q8Celb71Hd3f6Hmhj5NN1meNYWHp51Db-41hytihsh1aClSD240gBVewTBXgLWgq2pzEfbA/s320/IMG_20200403_205630.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
To load the gun, first you need to tense the spring by pushing the small part forward until you catch the spring in the shallow cutout, and then back until it reaches the corresponding cutout of the large part.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5_92nv8aEZyw_NvptcikVv7fXmvNj_GsTHFVh_6RLu8TS2q4lFGqJSEkBlmdlTDPdGzZTGkTv4lQKi78dK-2-nUdPWCTZuevbNePt0MQOo0KY6F9KktqAsOBRPeR2MoQQfLTIdKMcF3s/s1600/IMG_20200403_205641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5_92nv8aEZyw_NvptcikVv7fXmvNj_GsTHFVh_6RLu8TS2q4lFGqJSEkBlmdlTDPdGzZTGkTv4lQKi78dK-2-nUdPWCTZuevbNePt0MQOo0KY6F9KktqAsOBRPeR2MoQQfLTIdKMcF3s/s320/IMG_20200403_205641.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99wL61GXz-QkYO-3lWD_L_-WTCA-Q1NLg4p6-DjhGKMWzQpXVuVveTFUfDMfhiLUSf2O3BcSHJ3f6ehJrTmQCXbVyOvRO6peSFJKCksZwEBvfgRwdNg3M6qEW70PrcT-7iEpRfxh7w2pz/s1600/IMG_20200403_205701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99wL61GXz-QkYO-3lWD_L_-WTCA-Q1NLg4p6-DjhGKMWzQpXVuVveTFUfDMfhiLUSf2O3BcSHJ3f6ehJrTmQCXbVyOvRO6peSFJKCksZwEBvfgRwdNg3M6qEW70PrcT-7iEpRfxh7w2pz/s320/IMG_20200403_205701.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then insert a check pea right in front of the spring and shoot!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sJi2IlCOgqG07ICdfw88jLJ9JQzWCmwRdy_04t1gKYHwORRlL0sqY2Y_-ju8dAJy5m1s_VpmRkTgW0B3AMIQtxBzpskYQf7FTcQ6g2s4P4a1UwJweM4E7lCw84owoydDTypowu_Rtm3I/s1600/IMG_20200403_205740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sJi2IlCOgqG07ICdfw88jLJ9JQzWCmwRdy_04t1gKYHwORRlL0sqY2Y_-ju8dAJy5m1s_VpmRkTgW0B3AMIQtxBzpskYQf7FTcQ6g2s4P4a1UwJweM4E7lCw84owoydDTypowu_Rtm3I/s320/IMG_20200403_205740.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If it doesn't work, try shortening the upper part a bit (this was too long). And be careful, please!</div>
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(Ertepistol av klesklype, pistola de garbanzos de pinza de ropa)</div>
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Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-7064492294384216782014-05-29T09:52:00.000+02:002014-06-02T09:37:02.491+02:00How to securely download TrueCrypt 7.1aNow that TrueCrypt has <a href="http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/05/true-goodbye-using-truecrypt-is-not-secure/">unexpectedly closed down the project</a>, I recommend that no new users start using it. However, if you already use TrueCrypt and are not ready to migrate to anything different yet, you should stick to version 7.1a, since there are reports suggesting that version <a href="http://www.neowin.net/news/truecrypt-is-saying-its-insecure-recommends-using-bitlocker">7.2 may be compromised</a>. <i>EDIT: Version 7.2 is a read-only version to let you migrate to other platforms. The reports on suspicious network activity are still not confirmed. In short, you want version 7.1a.</i><br />
<br />
But how do you download version 7.1a, now that TrueCrypt closed their site? Who do you trust? The answer is math! Trust the digital certificate used to sign the installation set, not the site you download it from. The way to do this is listed below.<br />
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<h2>
Step 1 - Find the trusted certificate</h2>
<div>
On a computer that has version 7.1a installed and that you are quite confident that has not been taken over by evil martians, right click the file "C:\Program Files\TrueCrypt\TrueCrypt.exe" (or whereever you installed it) and select Properties. Go to the tab Digital Signatures, click Details, View Certificate and then scroll to Thumbprint in the Details tab.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjff5kgnyuWcO_pSlmVpWMq42gcXLlA9tVRe_05KrFmWQvHYlWuarcmCWGrqZ80Pq58I71pw0i0wqK0MPS9LTC-oVlidU-dhTunRRo9XtdNfqWSLp-IhbhStdkGUha8N0TG762rNyWa3a-1/s1600/TryeCrypt+7.1a+-+existing+certificate.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjff5kgnyuWcO_pSlmVpWMq42gcXLlA9tVRe_05KrFmWQvHYlWuarcmCWGrqZ80Pq58I71pw0i0wqK0MPS9LTC-oVlidU-dhTunRRo9XtdNfqWSLp-IhbhStdkGUha8N0TG762rNyWa3a-1/s1600/TryeCrypt+7.1a+-+existing+certificate.png" /></a></div>
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Take note of this thumbprint. For me it was "58 20 fd ce 18 fb 95 80 e1 a5 9d 2b 58 fc 2b da 3d 6d 08 f6", but don't trust me, do it yourself.</div>
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<div>
As an added step of security, you should go to the Certification Path tab, click the topmost certificate in the chain, click View Certificate and find the thumbprint for that as well. For me this was "b1 bc 96 8b d4 f4 9d 62 2a a8 9a 81 f2 15 01 52 a4 1d 82 9c".</div>
<h2>
Step 2 - Download TrueCrypt 7.1a</h2>
<div>
It doesn't matter where you find it. Sure, don't go to the darkest places of the web and get your computer infected with all kinds of malware, but my point is that you will check the validity of the file after you download it. I downloaded from here: <a href="http://filehippo.com/download_truecrypt/11601">http://filehippo.com/download_truecrypt/11601</a><br />
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<i>Edit: You can also download from <a href="magnet:?xt=urn:btih:E700F2559086D5C5BF4BDBAEFB2FC20F8F08D9AA&dn=TrueCrypt+Setup+7.1a.exe&xl=3466248&dl=3466248&tr=udp://tracker.publicbt.com:80/announce&tr=udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80/announce&tr=udp://tracker.istole.it:80/announce&tr=http://tracker.istole.it/announce">this BitTorrent Magnet link</a>. Once again, I checked it to be valid, but you really have to validate yourself.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Edit: Grc.com has a <a href="https://www.grc.com/misc/truecrypt/truecrypt.htm">good page</a> explaining the trustwortyness of TrueCrypt 7.1a and offers download links.</i></div>
<h2>
Step 3 - Verify the signature</h2>
<div>
Now go to the file you downloaded, and repeat the process. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdidxK9qN5G47ziRkrD0ADNozpwzMqAHXQv4gA4ZosjmfYoxmU9ZG6YJ8DCyKPGYTerCBADGkPdsmiD1a2b2ks1_T1gOmEF0sws65tLSP2XXspY-mGMt02wMr931Jy7nqx5HlbZduYHwO/s1600/TryeCrypt+7.1a+-+installation+set+certificate.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdidxK9qN5G47ziRkrD0ADNozpwzMqAHXQv4gA4ZosjmfYoxmU9ZG6YJ8DCyKPGYTerCBADGkPdsmiD1a2b2ks1_T1gOmEF0sws65tLSP2XXspY-mGMt02wMr931Jy7nqx5HlbZduYHwO/s1600/TryeCrypt+7.1a+-+installation+set+certificate.png" /></a></div>
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Verify that the <b>Thumbprint is exactly the same </b>and that the <b>Signing time is in Febryary 2012</b>. Also, if you checked the certificate chain previously, verify the thumbprint for the root certificate as well.</div>
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<b>If any of these checks fail, delete the file you downloaded</b>. No ifs or buts, no trusting someone else saying that exactly this version is trustworthy. Only trust the file if it was signed around the time the original version was signed and with the exact same certificate. Do not trust certificate names or anything but the thumprint.</div>
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I still think you should take TrueCrypts advice and migrate away from the software, but you probably don't have to rush. Until then, use a trusted version of 7.1a.</div>
Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-70393967751943834432013-02-24T00:44:00.000+01:002013-02-24T00:44:38.214+01:00The Tower of PhiladelphiaToday I would like to share a recipe I have blatantly copied from the restaurant <a href="http://www.matahambre.com/">Matahambre</a> in Málaga, Spain. You should definitely check out this restaurant if you are close to any of the locations. The prices are right and the food is very good.<br />
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This recipe is based on their fresh cheese salad, and is basically nothing more than cream cheese (Philadelphia), marmalade and walnuts. I call it <b>the Tower of Philadelphia</b>.This dish makes an excellent starter on a table of six or more.<br />
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<br />
Ingredients:<br />
<ul>
<li>A piece of cardboard of approximately 10*35 cm</li>
<li>A piece of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchment_paper_(baking)">parchment paper</a> of approximately the same size</li>
<li>Adhesive tape</li>
<li>About 400 grams cream cheese (e.g 2 boxes of Philadelphia, 23% fat). Don't use the low fat versions as I am unsure if the texture would be adequate.</li>
<li>Marmalade, preferably two types of different color and taste. I used blueberry and apricot.</li>
<li>Walnuts</li>
</ul>
<div>
Before you start, cool down the cheese and the marmalade to make the tower stable while you mount it. If you can, use unopened jars of marmalade, since the texture will be stiffer.</div>
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Start by rolling the cardboard into a cylinder with a diameter of approximately 10 cm. Fix it securely with tape and put it on the plate you plan to serve the dish on. Roll up the parchment paper in a similar cylinder and put it inside the cardboard.</div>
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Begin filling the cylinder with cream cheese with a spoon, until you achieve an even layer of around 2,5 cm. Then, without stirring the marmalade much, add a layer of around one cm. If you stir the marmalade you risk that it will float out more and make the tower collapse. Now repeat the process with another layer of cheese and then marmalade. Finally cover the tower with a layer of pieces of walnuts.</div>
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<div>
Put the tower in the refrigerator until it is to be served. Carefully open the tape and dismount the cardboard and paper cylinders. Serve the tower with bread or crackers and let each guest spread cheese and marmalade on the bread.</div>
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<b>Bonus game</b>: For how long will the tower stand? Which guest will finally knock it over?</div>
Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-71872794204533226422012-01-30T16:18:00.000+01:002012-01-30T16:20:11.449+01:00Pac-man<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/0EFJ7u0niI" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4N_48c1yxwSw6ZA6fQRs3VREyOteqwfHm7BqnRbkx3vldNJ-gCPZjK2CgNPArUTCRnOAqCHYGEl7fVhJr9_JEUFGOfT_kQkR0YDcSIWZaGHIC5J0V6_eKMTgrAFCR6ZEE5JC3_zR3WZx/s512/Fly%252520me%252520to%252520the%252520moon.jpg" /></a><br />
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For details on how I made this photo, see <a href="https://plus.google.com/104208295582277013988/posts/2xXpF26pXe4">my Google+ post</a>.Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-43637942545582172212011-12-29T19:25:00.001+01:002011-12-29T19:25:34.846+01:00Syncronize Lightroom presets across computers (PC and Mac) using SpiderOak<p><font color="#666666"><em>Disclaimer: This post uses an affiliate link to </em></font><a href="https://spideroak.com/download/referral/d039233f1972fc7c5c0f2d11dc2e19da" target="_blank"><em>SpiderOak</em></a><font color="#666666"><em>. If you sign up to a free account using any link in this post, both of us will receive one additional gigabyte of free space. If you prefer not to use this link, go directly to spideroak.com.</em></font></p> <p><em><font color="#666666">Disclaimer 2: I accept no responsibility for lost or cluttered presets if you follow this procedure. It worked well for me but I do not charge you for my advice and you do not yell at me if they don’t work for you. Please post a comment if you encounter problems and I will try to update the guide.</font></em></p> <h4>Why should I?</h4> <p>If you own a license to Adobe Lightroom you are entitled to use it on two computers, for example your main workstation and your laptop, as long as the software is only used on one computer at a time (<a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/faq/">http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/faq/</a>). This can be useful to e.g. process photos while traveling. Also note that these computers may use different operating systems, Windows or OS X, as is my case. Other web sites will teach you how to conveniently move photos and meta data back and forth between computers.</p> <p>However, if you have invested any time in making or acquiring Lightroom presets, you will probably miss some of those presets when not working on your main computer. This blog post explains an automated and free way to always have your presets synchronized between two or more computers. You set it up once and, hopefully, forget about it.</p> <h4>SpiderOak</h4> <p>So, my take on this is to use <a href="https://spideroak.com/download/referral/d039233f1972fc7c5c0f2d11dc2e19da" target="_blank">SpiderOak</a>. This is a free program and service that allows you to automatically back up files on your computer to the cloud (<a href="https://spideroak.com/download/referral/d039233f1972fc7c5c0f2d11dc2e19da" target="_blank">SpiderOak</a>’s servers) whenever they are edited. In this manner it is similar to e.g. Mozy or Carbonite. However, <a href="https://spideroak.com/download/referral/d039233f1972fc7c5c0f2d11dc2e19da" target="_blank">SpiderOak</a> also offers a very flexible sync feature. <strong>After</strong> two folders from different computers have been backed up to the cloud, you can set up a sync relationship between them, meaning that the contents from each computer will be merged and any changes in the future will be mirrored. This is similar to yet much more feature rich (and less user friendly) than DropBox.</p> <p>Also note that <a href="https://spideroak.com/download/referral/d039233f1972fc7c5c0f2d11dc2e19da" target="_blank">SpiderOak</a> has very strong security compared to most cloud services, where your data will at no point be available to the company hosting it, not even if supenad etc. I say this being a computer engineer, having read carefully their documentation.</p> <p>So, if you haven’t already, sign up to <a href="https://spideroak.com/download/referral/d039233f1972fc7c5c0f2d11dc2e19da" target="_blank">SpiderOak</a> and set it up on your computers.</p> <h4></h4> <h4>Where are my Lightroom presets stored?</h4> <p>Lightroom presets are individual files stored on disk. You can actually open a preset file in a text editor to get a pretty clear view of what it does. More on that in other corners on the web. To see where any preset is stored, right click it and select <em>Show in Explorer</em> (or <em>Show in Finder</em> on a Mac) and a file browser will open.</p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Qx31phm09cNGvFVNThN77ngN4qbc4vKLK1-4MJb1XnbSfAhu_8_6rwR03MRawowYHdi29hyphenhyphenGDIkcCIeU4AXbyo6llRpkgbxzHOrs2yX6FOmPlCuDwxR6l65bdO2MM2wpN0M7C1FkN6E/?imgmax=800" width="340" height="267" /></p> <p>Go up two directories, and you will get to a directory looking like this:</p> <ul> <li>Windows: C:\Users\Magnus\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom</li> <li>OS X: /Users/magnus/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom</li> </ul> <p>(where Magnus will of course be your own username)</p> <p>I will now explain how to synchronize those folders between two computers and, in effect, synchronize all your Lightroom presets.</p> <h4>Back up presets</h4> <p>Now, open the <a href="https://spideroak.com/download/referral/d039233f1972fc7c5c0f2d11dc2e19da" target="_blank">SpiderOak</a> application and go to the <em>Back up </em>tab. Click the check box next to the directory shown in the last paragraph and click Save.</p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-4kQNz-r_0lgdrASFhEphyphenhyphenMhmGVbGXhfZlI3hOWCdyDvk9OC_MWXFrqOA9xeF2T4kY2V-oDTlkvbWy-wnXtvrd8YLwmPE7zKo79-C9RNyChIztwA9MxqAadFAmx-P5bq9S5rvkQy-E0/?imgmax=800" width="399" height="823" /></p> <p>Note that if on Windows, you probably have to click the button <em>Hide/Show Hidden Folders/Files</em>.</p> <p>When you have finished setting up the backup, go to the <em>Status</em> tab and wait for the initial backup to finish. This should usually just take a couple of minutes as you won’t have much data in there.</p> <p>Now, repeat the process on your other computer.</p> <h4>Set up synchronization</h4> <p>Now, if you have managed to back up the preset folders from both computers, you are ready to configure synchronization. Go to the <em>Sync</em> tab in <a href="https://spideroak.com/download/referral/d039233f1972fc7c5c0f2d11dc2e19da" target="_blank">SpiderOak</a> and click <em>New</em>. Give the sync relationship a suitable name such as <em>lightroom-presets</em> and click <em>Next.<strong> </strong></em>In this window you are now prompted to select two <strong>already backed up folders</strong> that you want to synchronize. Please browse to the two folders as shown in the screenshot.</p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8LZxPo2vNRer0I70l4mWDq2ueMjrLaMlIsY-OSMNFjOgWzE33Q5fD8Fol5HYCImHMzBgFqmfhyphenhyphenELcO2HnpJx_N1YzeWu8nudItpXVvZjjqitjo0iKorKxl7isBQN_qKUuiBGr9oTHos/?imgmax=800" width="615" height="466" /></p> <p>Note that this example shows a cross-platform setup. Now click <em>Next </em>in the next two screens, accepting the default choices and finally click <em>Start Sync</em>. Go to the tab <em>Status</em> and wait till the sync finishes.</p> <p>Shortly the sync should also run on the other computer and, given that you have setup <a href="https://spideroak.com/download/referral/d039233f1972fc7c5c0f2d11dc2e19da" target="_blank">SpiderOak</a> to automatically launch on OS startup (available under <em>Preferences</em>), your presets will now automatically be synchronized.</p> <h4>Using synchronized presets</h4> <p>This is the easy part. You should now, after restarting Lightroom, see a complete set of presets on both computers. If you edit, add or delete presets on any of the two, the changes will be quickly replicated on the others.</p> <h4>Questions or comments?</h4> <p>If you have anything to add, please use the comment field below. Thank you for your attention.</p> Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-19131322644315638692011-07-25T10:17:00.002+02:002011-11-03T13:07:48.803+01:00Puerto de Málaga #1<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5972750165/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6145/5972750165_4c0db349ae.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5972750165/">Puerto de Málaga #1</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/">Magnus A.</a>.</span></div><p>I love reflections. This shot of La Malagueta was taken from the new promenade in the Málaga port. Next time I will bring a tripod.</p>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-28894880538759407132011-06-24T17:26:00.001+02:002011-06-24T17:26:28.641+02:00My friend the monster<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5866314049/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3279/5866314049_d614933e74.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5866314049/">My friend the monster</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/">Magnus A.</a>.</span></div><p></p>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-13589149018428903562011-06-02T13:52:00.001+02:002011-06-02T13:52:20.504+02:00Bells on blue<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5784844013/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/5784844013_cd7f722702.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5784844013/">Bells on blue</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/">Magnus A.</a>.</span></div><p></p>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-22583191051862535162011-05-20T17:32:00.001+02:002011-05-20T17:32:25.809+02:00Cliché<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5739770647/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/5739770647_45784b8761.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5739770647/">Cliché</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/">Magnus A.</a>.</span></div><p></p>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-4017628391059998862011-05-18T16:11:00.001+02:002011-05-18T16:11:33.775+02:00Stolen<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5732979555/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5263/5732979555_ef3ca2595a.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5732979555/">Stolen</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/">Magnus A.</a>.</span></div><p></p>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-53761118769360190532011-03-23T08:28:00.002+01:002011-03-23T08:30:27.542+01:00Who is evil?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a class="vt-p" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4n1hIYUY6bzjhTyG_AmoJRnUPLa-RIRhaXXir5J7BLbQnad38Q5btEug4LG0wrpapSMZSSIy_F26PA52zKwYMRY5XJ0o9Y-nXi0xy8CFgclKVUyJ01Z5x8iR56irpiy-tWKGLwSmXdg/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img align="right" alt="SMS bus query" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4n1hIYUY6bzjhTyG_AmoJRnUPLa-RIRhaXXir5J7BLbQnad38Q5btEug4LG0wrpapSMZSSIy_F26PA52zKwYMRY5XJ0o9Y-nXi0xy8CFgclKVUyJ01Z5x8iR56irpiy-tWKGLwSmXdg/" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster for the SMS service</td></tr>
</tbody></table>EMT, the public company running the buses in Málaga, has a nice SMS service for knowing when the next bus will arrive at a given stop (this is important since there is no time table). I think each SMS costs 0,30 €. However, the same service is available for free on their (next to unusable) web page. I have <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.emtmalaga.es/portal/page/portal/EMT/Tiempos%20de%20espera?idParada=2357&Submit=consultar">deep links</a> to this web page on my phone for the stops I frequent, thus eliminating the cost since I have a flat rate Internet plan.<br />
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Sadly, this is no longer working. For about a month or two, any request to www.emtmalaga.es over the 3G network time out. The same urls, from the same iPhone but over wifi work perfectly.<br />
<br />
So, is this an error or is someone doing evil to protect their premium SMS service? Movistar? EMT? Look straight into my eyes and tell me you didn't do it!Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-40044923535178495002011-03-02T22:50:00.001+01:002011-03-02T22:58:13.441+01:00Hello CrashPlan+<p>As I <a href="http://www.akselvoll.net/2011/02/bye-bye-mozy.html">mentioned in a previous blog post</a> I was forced to change provider for my online backup due to the <a href="http://mozy.com/home/newplans?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=MillinerLaunch-Over50GB&utm_campaign=SpecialAnnouncements&ref=36b792db">hideous price increases Mozy recently announced</a>. I spent some time in the original blog post to summarize some of the alternatives for customers leaving Mozy. My migration has now ended and I figured I should share my conclusions.</p> <p>My initial favorite was <a href="http://mozy.com/home/newplans?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=MillinerLaunch-Over50GB&utm_campaign=SpecialAnnouncements&ref=36b792db">Backblaze</a>, due to their <a href="http://blog.backblaze.com/2011/02/03/backblaze-is-committed-to-unlimited-backup/">straight forward explanation</a> to how they can profit on selling unlimited backup as well as recommendations from some people I trust. I signed up for their trial and decided that they were not for me. The reason for this was that their software is very focused towards backing up everything on your computer. They have some built in folder exceptions (like the OS and programs folders) and allow you to add more folders to this “blacklist” but don’t show clearly how much space each folder (or exception) represents. I have a fairly poor quality internet line (realistically 0.5 Mbit upload) and therefore want to be quite strict with what I back up online or not. Had I been on a better line I might have stayed with Backblaze but for now I will put them on my watch list for next year to see if their software develop in the direction I would like.</p> <p>My second alternative was <a href="http://budurl.com/Mozy15">CrashPlan+</a>. They attracted me due to their combination of cloud and local backup (a feature I really liked in Mozy). I bought their one year plan (trusting their money back guarantee) and have been quite happy. It probably took around three weeks to get my 90GB up in the cloud (RAW images are big), but now it is all there. CrashPlan+ has a nice software client that lets you specifically choose what to back up. In addition I like the option to add exceptions to this, to be able to eliminate cache and temp folders etc. I think Mozy was better at suggesting a default backup set than CrashPlan+, but after some tweaking I have managed to make it work fine.</p> <p>In the midst of my CrashPlan+ testing, another contender presented itself. I was lucky enough to win a free year of backup from <a href="http://www.livedrive.com/Promotion/mozy">LiveDrive</a> after having <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/Livedrive_com/status/32512905169600512">tweeted</a> about them. I installed their software on a virtual machine to test it out (to not interfere with my current CrashPlan upload) and found their software ok. However, LiveDrive does not offer encryption with a custom key, making it a no go for me. It is not that I don’t trust LiveDrive nor have data of special importance, but I don’t want to become an offer for future data leaks due to bad standards, rough employees etc. So I ended up using my free year on a secondary system and stuck with CrashPlan+ as my final choice for the next year.</p> <p>I hope that it continues to be worthwhile for online backup providers to back up my sub 100GB data for around $ 50 per year and that Mozy’s fall will not be the start of a Domino effect. And specifically I hope that CrashPlan+ offers a service they can profit on and continue to develop, as I generally am happy with them. (I tested them a few years ago and lots has improved.) Feel free to use the comment field or twitter to share your views on the general situation or any of the providers in specific.</p> <p>Oh, and as to Mozy? They paid back the proportional part of the time I had left when telling them I wanted to cancel. No questions asked.</p> Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-80351020003480831192011-02-25T18:51:00.001+01:002011-02-25T18:51:16.029+01:00Abandoned<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5471448335/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5052/5471448335_5ba62bd9df.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5471448335/">Abandoned</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/magnus_akselvoll/">Magnus A.</a>.</span></div><p>Found on a plot of land next to a hospital. Was he a gift not appreciated or was he never delivered?</p>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-65792693906875992832011-02-02T09:05:00.006+01:002011-03-02T22:59:22.542+01:00Bye bye Mozy<p><strong>Update 2011-03-02:</strong> I have <a href="http://www.akselvoll.net/2011/03/hello-crashplan.html">chosen my substitute</a> for Mozy.</p><p><em><strong>Disclaimer</strong>: I have no personal interest in any of the sites listed below, nor am I using any personal referral links etc. to gain personal advantages.</em></p>Mozy <a class="vt-p" href="http://mozy.com/home/newplans?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=MillinerLaunch-Over50GB&utm_campaign=SpecialAnnouncements&ref=36b792db">just announced</a> that they will discontinue their unlimited backup plan in favor of tiered plans. The big failure here is that it will be more expensive for everyone (except for some multi-computer plans). Even the lowest tier will be 20% more expensive than the current plan.<br />
For me the price increase would be 100%. I say would, because <a class="vt-p" href="http://twitter.com/search/mozy">like many users</a> I will cancel my Mozy account before ever paying what they want me to pay.<br />
Luckily, Mozy has competitors, and a few of these are taking advantage of the situation and making special offers for Mozy users that wish to migrate. In the table below I list some of the alternatives to Mozy, their prices and any special coupons you may use. I don’t have direct experience with all of these, but will keep you posted when I finally migrate to one.<br />
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="width: 796px;"><tbody>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="139"></td> <td valign="top" width="70"><strong>Storage</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="58"><strong>Price per year</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="154"><strong>Coupons</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="373"><strong>Comments</strong></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="139"><a class="vt-p" href="http://www.backblaze.com/">Backblaze</a></td> <td valign="top" width="70">Unlimited</td> <td valign="top" width="58">$ 50</td> <td valign="top" width="154">10% by using coupon: byemozy</td> <td valign="top" width="373"></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="139"><a class="vt-p" href="http://www.carbonite.com/">Carbonite</a></td> <td valign="top" width="70">Unlimited</td> <td valign="top" width="58">$ 54.95</td> <td valign="top" width="154">Several <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.carbonite.com/comktg/signup.aspx?lp=34">podcasts</a> offer 2 free months</td> <td valign="top" width="373">Bandwidth is reduced for customers backing up more than 200 GB. <br />
<br />
I have personally tried Carbonite and do not like their software client.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="139"><a class="vt-p" href="http://budurl.com/Mozy15">CrashPlan+ Unlimited</a></td> <td valign="top" width="70">Unlimited</td> <td valign="top" width="58">$ 49.99</td> <td valign="top" width="154"><a class="vt-p" href="http://budurl.com/Mozy15">15% Mozy Switcher Discount</a></td> <td valign="top" width="373">Additional savings signing up for multiple years. Offers local backup and backup to other computers at no cost.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="139"><a class="vt-p" href="http://www.dropbox.com/">DropBox</a></td> <td valign="top" width="70">100 GB</td> <td valign="top" width="58">$ 239.88</td> <td valign="top" width="154"></td> <td valign="top" width="373">Complete sync platform (not just backup). Other tiers available. <br />
<br />
I love DropBox but find it a bit expensive to use for my backup.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="139"><a class="vt-p" href="http://www.jungledisk.com/">JungleDisk</a></td> <td valign="top" width="70">100 GB</td> <td valign="top" width="58">$ 207</td> <td valign="top" width="154"></td> <td valign="top" width="373">Priced per GB actually used, i.e. after compression. The price is just an example. <br />
<br />
I use JungleDisk at work and consider it to be of very high quality.</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="139"><a class="vt-p" href="http://www.livedrive.com/Promotion/mozy">LiveDrive</a></td> <td valign="top" width="70">Unlimited</td> <td valign="top" width="58">$ 45.20</td> <td valign="top" width="154"><a class="vt-p" href="http://www.livedrive.com/Promotion/mozy">25% lifetime off for Mozy users</a></td> <td valign="top" width="373"></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="139"><a class="vt-p" href="http://www.safecopybackup.com/pages/landing-compare">SafeCopy</a></td> <td valign="top" width="70">200 GB</td> <td valign="top" width="58">$ 50</td> <td valign="top" width="154"><a class="vt-p" href="http://www.safecopybackup.com/pages/landing-compare">10 % off using coupon: switch</a></td> <td valign="top" width="373">300 GB available for $ 70</td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top" width="139"><a class="vt-p" href="https://www.sugarsync.com/switch/">SugarSync</a></td> <td valign="top" width="70">100 GB</td> <td valign="top" width="58">$ 149.99</td> <td valign="top" width="154"><a class="vt-p" href="https://www.sugarsync.com/switch/">33% off first year</a></td> <td valign="top" width="373">Complete sync platform (not just backup). Other tiers available.</td> </tr>
</tbody></table>I will probably try either Backblaze or CrashPlan+ as soon as I get around to it. <a class="vt-p" href="http://mozy.com/payments_and_refunds/">According to Mozy</a> “Refunds on multi-period plans (i.e. annual and biennial plans) may be granted” so I will probably not wait until my year ends in June to do this migration. I feel like telling Mozy how I feel about their new price plans as soon as possible.<br />
Please use the comments if you have anything to add.<br />
<em><strong>Edit 2011-02-02 13:23</strong>: Added LiveDrive</em><br />
<em><strong>Edit 2011-02-02 16:52</strong>: Added SafeCopy</em>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-21914233760519566492010-12-09T09:06:00.001+01:002010-12-09T09:06:20.134+01:00Blackbird<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5245501003/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5281/5245501003_a5e57f67f0.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/5245501003/">Blackbird</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/magnus_akselvoll/">Magnus A.</a>.</span></div><p></p>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845700813644880385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-11326769932864221332010-08-11T18:12:00.001+02:002010-08-11T18:12:31.509+02:00Flashy me<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/4882724856/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4882724856_34dde248c1.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/4882724856/">Flashy me</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/magnus_akselvoll/">Magnus A.</a>.</span></div><p></p>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-90297537901617831292010-06-28T09:18:00.002+02:002010-06-28T09:22:02.820+02:00Puzzled path<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/4741056713/" title="Puzzled path #1 by Magnus A., on Flickr" class="vt-p"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4741056713_d29430dd44_z.jpg" width="640" height="640" alt="Puzzled path #1" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/4741064001/" title="Puzzled path #2 by Magnus A., on Flickr" class="vt-p"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4741064001_de0954a98c_z.jpg" width="481" height="640" alt="Puzzled path #2" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/4741704774/" title="Puzzled path #3 by Magnus A., on Flickr" class="vt-p"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "></span></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/4741704774/" title="Puzzled path #3 by Magnus A., on Flickr" class="vt-p"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4741704774_870ef384ff_z.jpg" width="481" height="640" alt="Puzzled path #3" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/4741704774/" title="Puzzled path #3 by Magnus A., on Flickr" class="vt-p"><br /></a></div><br /><br />This morning, just by my house on my way to work, I walked by this puzzle, shattered all over a crosswalk.<br /><br />The photos have been taken and edited with the application <a href="http://campl.us/" class="vt-p">Camera+</a> on an iPhone 3GS. Scenes: Auto. Borders: Grit.Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-71149367117507556762010-02-25T23:52:00.005+01:002010-02-26T00:32:12.269+01:00My experience with Fon.comAfter joining late in a <a href="http://english.martinvarsavsky.net/general/fonera-2-0n-quality-survey.html">discussion with Martin Varsavsky</a> about the quality of the router Fonera2.0n from <a href="http://Fon.com">Fon.com</a> I have decided to sum up my experiences with the company here. This is not flaming, I am trying to respond to specific questions from Mr. Varsavsky.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1st gen Fonera</span><br />My experience started when I bought a 1st gen Fonera with an external antenna from the company because I needed a WLAN router at home (the one from my ISP was crap) and there was a big discount on the Fonera at the time. I was mostly disappointed, for three reasons:<br /><div><ol><li>Nobody ever connected to my router, which was kind of demotivating</li><li>I never found any Fon networks in the streets to use</li><li>It had serious incompatibility problems with my Nokia phone, reputedly because it muxed to SSIDs over the same radio (and because Nokia phones while popular are crap)</li></ol><div><b>Fonera 2.0n</b></div><div>When one day my Fonera stopped working (power light blinking), I contacted customer support and described the problem. They said the problem was unknown and kindly agreed to my suggestion to give me a discount on the newly released 2.0n version.</div><div><br /></div><div>At first I was happy with the router, for it's application support, hoping that this was only the beginning of a rapidly evolving eco system. However, when getting an iPhone my experience with WLAN at home was not very good. Network applications would be slow or time out, but I was sure this was a problem with my internet line.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then one day I fired up the laptop (which I don't use often) and noticed that it had seriously worse network performance than my wired computer. I ran some ping tests and discovered that it actually lost quite a large amount of packets.</div><div><br /></div><div>Having recently switched ISP to Jazztel, I activated the WLAN on the router they had given me and got perfect network connectivity both on the iPhone and the laptop.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since that, my Fonera has not been used for WLAN, and there are still no new applications available for it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Why did I not contact customer care?</b></div><div>First of all, after poking around on the net I found that the router had had an RC version of new firmware published and pulled. I reckoned that I should try this FW, and decided to wait. I really wanted it for other reasons as well, such as extended app support and VPN.</div><div><br /></div><div>Later I also saw on the Fon blog that the <a href="http://blog.fonosfera.org/short-update/">iPhone 3GS connection issues were known</a>. More reason to wait for the firmware.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here we are, 3 months later, and there is really no news except <a href="http://blog.fonosfera.org/so-what-is-the-status-now/">a posting on the blog</a> saying nothing but vague statements such as "seing some progress", "plan to get some of you involved" and "stay tuned, we are moving little by little". All this is telling me is that a final version of the software is still far away. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The version of the software that would make the product compatible with some of the worlds most popular WLAN clients...</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The bigger problem</b></div><div>My analysis of all of this is that Fon.com has a fundamental problem. The company is all about making a Wifi community and seem truly committed to getting the word out. The charismatic CEO is a great social communicator and deserves credit for engaging with his customers directly on <a href="http://english.martinvarsavsky.net/">his blog</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/martinvars">twitter</a>, allowing and even participating in, at times, very damaging comments regarding his company.</div><div><br /></div><div>The way I see it, however, is that they have not been able to build a developer community. Word has it that there is only one developer working on the firmware. The Fonera 2.0n promised a lot of apps, but there is nothing new available.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think the company must staff up on their firmware team and try to partner with open source communities, such as the people behind the Tomato firmware or OpenWrt. Furthermore they must work hard on making it easy for third party developers to build and deploy apps for the device. The way it is now, you need to invest a lot of time in learning the fairly complicated development environment and, until there is new firmware, have no way to get it deployed.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>And, if you suspect the product has been abandoned, who would really do that?</i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you read this far, Mr Varsavsky, if you want any further info, feel free to contact me through twitter, mail or comments.</div></div>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-6665136326488694512010-02-22T00:32:00.002+01:002011-06-23T11:34:11.065+02:00Take off the UV filter for long night exposures<p>When you take long exposure shots at night with a UV filter (or other flat filter) on the lens, strong light sources such as the moon may reflect off some flat glass inside your lens or even off the glass on your sensor inside your camera, bounce back to the backside of your UV filter and reflect back in to the sensor and leave a ghost image in your shot.</p><p>This is not one of those faint theories that might affect something no one really sees, this really destroys your shot. Just look at the image below.</p><a title="Moon exposure with UV filter by Magnus A., on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/4376485217/"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Moon exposure with UV filter" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4058/4376485217_dd8e8164b3.jpg" width="500" height="333" /></a> <p>After removing the UV filter the shot came out like this. Still not a great shot, but at least that is not the equipment's fault.</p><a title="Moon and a roof top by Magnus A., on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus_akselvoll/4376479313/"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Moon and a roof top" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4376479313_556d59247f.jpg" width="500" height="333" /></a>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-83351118844994565472010-02-22T00:26:00.001+01:002010-02-22T00:26:00.476+01:00Integrate Spotify into Last.fm in Google Chrome<p>Some time ago I wrote about <a href="/2009/03/how-to-integrate-spotify-into-lastfm.html">how to integrate Spotify into Last.fm in Firefox</a>.</p> <p>In Google Chrome it is a lot easier, at least if you run a version with extensions enabled (4.0).</p> <ol> <li>Click this link: <a title="http://emil.hesslow.se/spotify/spotify__lastfm.user.js" href="http://emil.hesslow.se/spotify/spotify__lastfm.user.js">http://emil.hesslow.se/spotify/spotify__lastfm.user.js</a> </li> </ol> <p>Note the little green notes you now get next to artists, albums etc.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41tolrISSEijuBIOHUiGPgCRFAsfTe5mxYEptQc9uxqsLtXE4M0QNqAsu4OdWOKrQvIJ6uOQ7LQ_AxuA7Z68vWFIhg6r_St8d3bFUqfjTzg_GS-8RXNF9Pvkj5yFDGY1gROoKR0PLOEUu/s1600-h/lastfm.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px; float: left; height: 289px; cursor: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324109883228452818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg41tolrISSEijuBIOHUiGPgCRFAsfTe5mxYEptQc9uxqsLtXE4M0QNqAsu4OdWOKrQvIJ6uOQ7LQ_AxuA7Z68vWFIhg6r_St8d3bFUqfjTzg_GS-8RXNF9Pvkj5yFDGY1gROoKR0PLOEUu/s400/lastfm.png" /></a></p> Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-74295287325079074122010-01-09T17:07:00.002+01:002010-01-09T17:12:10.152+01:00AvajoThe one thing missing from Photoshop is orthografic correction (abajo is written with a b, not v).<br /><br /><a href="http://twitpic.com/xclwf" title="Share photos on twitter with Twitpic"><img src="http://twitpic.com/show/thumb/xclwf.jpg" width="150" height="150" alt="Share photos on twitter with Twitpic"></a>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-71384911164527300842009-09-06T13:02:00.001+02:002009-09-06T13:02:42.319+02:00Install EOS software upgrades without CD (32 bit systems)<p>I recently posted a recipe for <a href="/2009/08/install-eos-software-upgrades-without.html">how to install EOS software upgrades without the CD on 64 bit systems</a>. For completeness sake, I will also post the recipe for 32 bit systems. Please note that I haven’t tested this. I would therefore appreciate if you could use the comment feature and let me know whether this works or not.</p> <p>Paste the following into notepad and save as canon.reg:</p> <blockquote> <p>Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 </p> <p>[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\EOS Utility] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\DPP] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\ZoomBrowser EX] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\ZoomBrowser EX\Settings] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\ZoomBrowser EX\Install] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\PhotoStitch <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\EOS Capture] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\EOSViewerUtility] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\ODSK]</p> </blockquote> <p>Then right click the file and select Merge. You should now be able top install the upgrades on a clean system.</p> Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-763268525835729352009-08-30T14:32:00.004+02:002009-11-12T13:16:45.121+01:00PhotoRescue v3.1: Recommended tool for rescuing Canon RAW files<p>I recently managed to delete a folder of very important photos before they were backed up (to <a href="http://www.mozy.com/">Mozy</a>). Believing that the contents was backed up I formatted the card (high-level, camera format) and put it in my camera bag for use. When I discovered the disaster there was no way of undeleting or rescuing the files off the hard drive. In despair I tried rescuing them off the formatted card (which had luckily not been used).</p> <p>In summary, using <a href="http://www.datarescue.com/photorescue/v3/index.htm">PhotoRescue Wizard 3.1 from DataRescue</a>, I managed to rescue all the files (Canon EOS 450D CR2 RAW format) perfectly. The program lets you test if it can recover before you pay (29 USD) and is highly recommended.</p> <p>I also got to test support since my card transaction was slow and they helped me swiftly. One tip though. DataRescue lets you <a href="http://www.datarescue.com/photorescue/v3/buy.htm">choose between two e-commerce providers</a>. My anecdotal evidence suggests you should use Kagi.</p>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-57693044509026936642009-08-30T14:22:00.002+02:002009-09-06T13:06:04.711+02:00Install EOS software upgrades without CD (64 bit systems)<p><strong>Edit:</strong> For 32 bit systems, <a href="/2009/09/install-eos-software-upgrades-without.html">please go here</a>. If you don’t know what system type you have, please <a href="http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/41531554-d5ef-4f2c-8fb9-149bdc5c8a701033.mspx">refer to this page</a>.</p> <p><strong>Note: </strong>I own an EOS camera and possess the CD. This is only an easier and cleaner way to install the software after an OS reinstall.</p> <p>Paste the following into notepad and save as canon.reg:</p> <blockquote> <p>Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 </p> <p>[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Canon\EOS Utility] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Canon\DPP] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Canon\ZoomBrowser EX] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Canon\ZoomBrowser EX\Settings] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Canon\ZoomBrowser EX\Install] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Canon\PhotoStitch <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Canon\EOS Capture] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Canon\EOSViewerUtility] <br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Canon\ODSK]</p> </blockquote> <p>Then right click the file and select Merge. You should now be able top install the upgrades on a clean system.</p> Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7254566271999361036.post-25412685461826120432009-07-01T08:58:00.001+02:002009-07-01T09:00:47.622+02:00A few more spotify invitesI might never post to my blog, but at least I post all my spotify invites. :-)<br /><br />Grab whatever you need:<br /><ol><li>B2hjaV8ajZhqT7hH</li><li>6Bx4F8ekP6Kbbh3P</li><li>D77bJWMfZdDH6Kc9</li><li>T9aiRVxcNgfxEs4A</li><li>XbZCPcx8t5MBhy7q</li><li>eC46Hz3Gxxg9nsz2</li><li>G6HZP2wfqtMAWUeR</li><li>eY5s9sxHU458Tcmf</li><li>VX9wS7teuPJ2kNhz</li></ol>Magnus Akselvollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02535645079616495864noreply@blogger.com1