Mmmmm, toasty

Amazingly, Toast works to convert MTS to MOV! I'm back at a high point!

Priorities, priorities:
- burn OGG (again) - need CD-Rs ASAP. Trying to do this on the Hackintosh... Wait... Does Toast do this too? INDEED IT DOES!! I think I'm in love <3 It even lets me customize the fades. My head is light with the joy.
- work on vids for upcoming concert
- work on vids for UN1TE
- fix Ethernet problem
- sleep

I am fo sho the coolest person on the planet. I worked on my computer on a Saturday night. But now Dot makes me happy, and that's kind of important after spending $1000 on a computer.

Muchos gracias to my cousin Ken, who made this all possible. Especially by telling me about Toast.

Stuff like this makes me want to cry

... Unexpected Quit with Panasonic AVCHD HDC-SD9

I thought I was dealing with normal AVCHD issues, but I was sadly mistaken. I started following this blog to figure out how to use Final Cut Express with my HDC-SD9 (Job).

This downturn comes after a roller coaster of a day. I've been hard at work finding and installing kexts on my Hackintosh (Dot), and finally found success with the video card (the resolution was way off, DVD Player wouldn't start, and FCE wouldn't install). I was lacking the Quartz Extreme codec. Now I've got a beautiful Mac(ish) to play with.

I've decided to figure out the network card problem another day - apparently I need an Attansic L1 Ethernet kext (of which I have several versions, none that work). I may just buy a different network card. For now, I'm content downloading files onto my iBook (Cornelius) and transfering them onto an external hard drive.

Strangely, USB devices won't mount unless I restart the computer after plugging them in. And the front USB ports don't work at all. Again, something I'll look into later. One reason I'm so loathe to work on this is that the Insanely Mac Forums appear to be down.

I was super excited to get FCE on Dot. But apparently now it will take a WHOLE LOT MORE tinkering for me to get AVCHD support. I've already downloaded the Perian Quicktime plugin, but it wasn't enough.

The news of life

Where to begin?

First, the dance news:
Went to the School of Contemporary Dancers today to audition for the Junior Professional Program. Discovered two things. 1: Not taking ballet for a year has taken its toll on me. 2: The JPP is a little too pricey for me at this time.

The coffee:
Had a cappucino (not decaf - I've been breaking the rules a bit lately) from the Fyxx on Albert. Those things are tiny! But I suppose that their size is more comparable to the traditional cappucino. It's Starbucks that tends to supersize things.
Also, bought a decaf coffee from Tim's. Guh-ross, watery. But it didn't make me ill like the regular stuff does, so hooray!

The tech:
Found a way to burn OGG files (the format all of my audio is in for Dance Manitoba) using Windows XP (my mom's computer). Very relieved - I was afraid that I'd have to re-export from all of my project files, or convert all the files to WAV or something. It's all thanks to my cousin Ken, who deserves to be mentioned in the blog for his assistance in all my computer issues lately (which have been many)
Got my new monitor from FutureShop. It's so pretty - I've got it hooked up to my laptop.

I think I've covered most of the relevant news. Life has slowed down a bit, but it's every bit as full of learning as during the school year. I love it!

Hackintosh verdict

Progress on the Dot Project!

Purchased from NCIX.com:
- Asus P5K motherboard
- EVGA 8600 GTS video card
- Antec Truepower 650W PSU
- LG GH20LS10 optical drive
- Patriot Extreme Performance 2x2GB RAM

(all at sale price, and with shipping, GST, and insurance, it came to about $490)

From my cousin, plus GST and PST:
- Antec NSK-44ADD case - $70
- Logitech mouse/keyboard set - $20

From Computer Avenue:
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 processor - $189

Still need a monitor and hard drive. So far, so good, though!


As for the LaCie hard drive, it's kaputz. Crossing my fingers to find a replacement part and get the data off of there...

Detoxing

I've been trying to kick caffeine for the last few days, and it's been rough. I was motivated to do it when I had a huge hangover - unable to keep coffee down, suffering from a headache anyway, I figured that there was no better time to do it. With all the money I'll save, maybe I'll be able to afford the computer parts I'm looking for.

My cousin, a computer wizard, directed me to the hackint0sh.org forums. I'll read them ASAP, but it "possible" is nigh impossible. It's as if my social inactivity for the past two weeks is being made up for with this week of craziness.

The light at the end of the tunnel is the M.I.A. concert I'm going to on Friday. While I'm pumped for that, I'm counting the dollars that I've been spending on concerts lately... and it's slightly depressing. I'm now going to Nine Inch Nails and Tom Petty (eclectic enough?) and am planning a couple of shows for the Jazz Festival and maybe even FolkFest. Maybe coffee isn't the only thing I'll have to give up.

Need comp ASAP! Video files to be edited...

And I still haven't got the parts.

I'm now looking for a P5E-VM HDMI board rather than a DO... I don't know the diff (monitor connection?) but it seems to have more troubleshooting info already developed, so I won't have to do much myself.

I want a true Apple keyboard and mouse, because I'm used to that design.

And I want a case with lots of fans and noise reducers.

I want it all! Still researching the specs....

Cut Off

I've been meaning to research Hackintosh for a while now, but the lack of wireless Internet access at Festival has been preventing me from doing much. I'm currently sitting in a cafe, using the free wireless of the business across the street. While it's nice in here, I can't sit long - I have to be back in half an hour. Definitely missing my freedom right about now.

I've run into technical difficulties at Festival, too - one of my external hard drives conked out. Operating on just a 40 gB hard drive is HARD. I deleted my Morcheeba and Beirut albums and burned some files onto CD-R. A temporary solution.

Dropped Cornelius the other day. Now there's a crack down its (his?) side. Poor thing! Still works fine, though.

Well I'm going squeeze some research into my remaining minutes. If I open a bunch of related tabs now, I can read them later.

Other than that, I'm enjoying my time at Festival. Watching cute kiddies dance... who wouldn't smile! Of course, there are the disturbing parts. See my previous post.

Dotty

I made a trip to Computer Avenue yesterday. Excellent service there - I recommend it to anyone. The following combination would cost about $1000, including installation.

What I'd be paying for:
- Asus P5E-VM DO motherboard
- Seagate 500GB (7200/32MB) SATA hard drive
- basic DVD reader/writer
- USB2 cardreader
- Antec Sonata 3 ATX Tower 500W
- Logitech keyboard and mouse
- Logitech 5.1 speakers
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 processor
- OCZ 2x2GB PC2-6400 Platinum RAM
- hardware assembly

I plan to remove the keyboard and mouse ($24), find a cheaper hard drive (I like this one) and change the tower case (I have to look into that more). Other than that, the most important specs (mobo, processor, ram) seem okay. I have to check the OSx86 forums to make sure everything will work out.

After that, all that's left is a monitor (for about $200-250) and software (still determining the best way to do this part).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While I'm dealing with this, I also have to deal with mother's day (which is fast approaching), finalizing the music for Manitoba Dance Festival (which is also fast approaching), a couple of new video projects that have fallen into my lap, and (strangely) an exchange that may actually be a scam.

It's not too bad, though. I've been trying to eke the last drops of freedom before I start my two-week 14-hours-per-day job. I've gone through at least three seasons of Penn and Teller's Bullshit! If that's not a worthwhile way to spend my time, I don't know what is.

Mother's Day?

I'm literally feet away from the kiosk that I work at. Isn't that awesome? I love owning a laptop.

However, the half hour I've spent on this laptop has taken down the battery to 61%. And that's ONLY web browsing. Poor Cornelius.

Dot is in the works... I'm currently too busy to finalize the specs. But I'm going with an Asus mobo, Samsung hard drive (if I can find one in Winnipeg), Intel Core 2 Duo processor (currently picking a model)...

I dislike work. It is distracting me from my Dot Project. But it's also funding it.

With all this going on, I'm finding it difficult to plan for Mother's Day.

Dot Project

As if I didn't have enough projects on the go. Enter the Dot Project.

I need a new computer for editing video - specifically, AVCHD. I was looking at a MacBook Pro, but I'm worried that whatever I buy will become obsolete within the next year (and that I'll have more trouble with external hard drives - AVCHD, when converted for editing, takes up a lot of space and I'd be basically living off of external hard drives. Not my idea of a good system).

I've been asking for many people's opinions on the dilemna. The cheapest and most exciting option so far is.... (drumroll please?) the Hackintosh. Unfortunately, that would mean building my own computer. Which, as I said, is exciting. It's also time-consuming, though. I'd have to track down the best parts, then assemble the thing. Then there are licensing issues with the Mac OS.

But wouldn't it be worth it?

Basically, I've given up mobility and convenience for a longer-lasting, more flexible system. Cornelius will be my mobile option - the iBook still has the audio software on there, which is (so far) what I mostly use the computer for (aside from web browsing) .

I'm going to pursue this option for today (tomorrow I may change my mind again).

And I'm going to name the new desktop Dot. So it will be a "Dot Hack-intosh". I'm a geek - so what? Thus, the Dot Project. I wonder if this project will actually work out?

Let's Get Reasonable.

So, Saturday I was acting a little unreasonable. I take back what I said about Advance - they're good guys.

I think I was overreacting. I thought I was in an unsolvable position, but now it seems that I have options.

AVCHD... is cool. If only it worked with my computer. Or ANY computer. I now understand that the intermediate format that it's converted into in the editing suite is 10x the size of the original file. No computer I will ever own will be able to hold that much information, and I would HATE to keep buying hard drives for some of this crappy video that I shoot. Yes, some of it is crappy, I'll admit.

I was misinformed when I bought the camcorder. I thought it could record SD. It can't. I thought I could find a converter for my computer. I can't. I thought that a newer computer would have no trouble editing the video. It wouldn't - it would run out of hard drive space after filling the camcorder's memory card 8 times.

Obviously, I could make it work. But I don't think any computer I can afford can handle AVCHD.


I hate to say it, but Job is gonna get replaced. And Cornelius is probably still going to get a younger brother. I wanted to wait until an exciting Macbook release came out, but it seems that now is the time to get a new computer. I had a blind spot when it came to my iBook - I didn't want to give it up or step outside of my comfort zone, so I kept making excuses. "It's four years old, so it can't handle it." "It has a crappy processor. But it does its job." No... it does not do its job. I need a computer that can edit video, and Cornelius is not going to cut it.

The Format

A friend introduced me to the music of The Format the other day. They're a great band, but I haven't had time to listen to them much. I'm a little preoccupied with another kind of format - AVCHD.

I've got some ideas, but I think each idea will require some form of payment. I may just ask my parents to use their (dare I say it) Windows computer. I haven't ever had to revert to the old PC, but there may be no other option - Windows software for AVCHD is more abundant and less expensive. And I have a feeling there will be at least a couple programs for XP.

It just occurred to me that the conversion software I was looking for might have taken a lot of time to process anyhow.

I've been reading this blog quite a lot in search of an option for my camcorder. I have until the end of the day to change my mind, because tomorrow the store is closed. How does that work?? I had "seven days" to return it, but the store is only open for six... Is it seven business days?

I called Advance and some guy told me that returning it on Monday could be done, but it was an exception made for specific customers. What the fuck?

The guy was so uncaring when I asked him for advice, it really rattled me. First of all, he assumed that I knew nothing about computers, which is good retail smarts but FRUSTRATING when trying to get to the point. I told him that the FCP at school doesn't allow me to import AVCHD files and he said, "Come in and I'll show you that it works." That's all well and good, but if it doesn't work at my school, it doesn't work. And when I told him of conversion software, he said "It is what it is. There's no point converting it, because it will still be the format." What the hell does that mean? I left a voicemail message for some manager, asking him to call me back.

My experiences at Advance were great until just now. The salesperson did not attempt to empathize with me, just talked the technical stuff, and could not help me find any real solution to my problem. If there was no solution, then he should have just told me so. I was trying to work WITH the guy to keep the item I'd purchased from their store. But he merely blocked me at every opening. Did he bother asking if I had access to other computers? No. He just assumed that my Apple iBook was the only computer I could use, even after I told him about the computers at school.

Obviously, a $1000 camcorder is a big thing to a full-time student, and when I can't even playback the footage on ANY computer I have access to, I begin to worry that my money was wasted. I still want a camera. Actually, I NEED a camera. But I don't want a whole new computer system to go with it.

iGeneration

Listening to the song "iGeneration" by MC Lars seems appropriate.

I'm still debating over the future of Job. The To Be Educated Vlog Project is on hold for a while. Right now I have bigger fish to fry.

I'm working on these videos for my dance team, UN1TE Dance Company. I'd been using my personal computer to edit, which was AGONIZINGLY complicated. I hopped a bus this morning and used my school's Media Lab (free of charge) to edit the new Youtube vids. I was amazed by the difference between the speed of Cornelius and the computer there (which I believe was called "Altman" - all the computers there are named after famous directors). I'm converted. I'll be going to school for my editing from now on!

After "iGeneration", iTunes plays "White Kids Ain't Hyphy". Another appropriate track (for a white hip hop dancer).