dirtystylus

Helvetireader

Helvetireader icon by Josef Richter

I made a mental note to check out Helvetireader when it was released, but I’m just getting around to it due to ongoing sync issues with NetNewswire. I’ve installed it and created a Fluid app for it.

One small issue, and a fix: the default Helvetireader css highlights list items in the subscriptions list, but not the article list when collapsed into a list of headlines. Because I tend to browse through articles as a headline list and only open items I’m interested in, I changed the location of the css in the userscript to point to Josef Richter’s version here. Richter’s version of the css highlights the current headline in red.

Converting Canon T1i Video for the PS3

Joseph and Kristen have been experimenting with their Canon T1i’s video lately. The MOV files don’t have native support on the PS3, so Joseph and I went digging for a way to convert them. The default PS3 setting in Handbrake resulted in unreadable files, so we experimented with a variety of things: custom recipes for the Handbrake CLI, ffmpeg (that’s technical quicksand, right there). It turns out the solution was pretty simple. I’ll summarize what this thread revealed. The thread was focused on the 5D mk II, but it appears that both cameras use the same file format.

The primary issue appears to be the dimensions of the files: when loaded into Handbrake the size is interpreted as 1920 x 1088, not 1920 x 1080. It turns out that cropping those 8 pixels makes all the difference.

So, based off the suggestions in that thread I created a new preset in Handbrake, starting with the default PS3 setting. I clicked 2-pass encoding, bumped the bitrate to 17000, and in the Picture Settings did this:

Crop set to 8 on the bottom setting, and in Size set Anamorphic to Strict:

That’s it. 8 pixels. Not sure why the size is reported differently to begin with, but at least there’s a workaround.

When I first created my preset I forgot to save the Picture Settings from the current encode, so I lost the crop info. So remember to set Use Picture Size to Current when making your preset:

Changing Filename Case in SVN

This one has bugged me for a long time. During a project where things get passed from developer to developer or designer to designer things often get renamed to the same name, only with a different case. For example, myFlv_IN.flv becomes myFlv_in.flv. I used to think you had to move the files away, rename them, and then re-add them. Turns out if you simply include the full path to the repository it'll do the rename in place for you.

For example:

More details can be found here, at the Subversion FAQ.

Ghost in the Shell

Every now and then you find funny stuff in the trace() logs from the flash player. Usually it's just frustrated debugging statements, or the occasional one-line "Stop looking at my underwear" statement to fellow developers. But this one takes the cake, an inspired full-on Ghostbusters-themed ASCII invite to apply for a job at blip.tv. Nice.

Das Keyboard III

Das Keyboard, Take Three. If this had been announced a month ago I might have paused before importing the Filco. It appears to use the blue Cherry keyswitches, which are a bit clickier (and consequently louder) than the brown switches on the Filco. It also has a USB hub, which the Filco lacks. It would be nice to try one, if only to feel (and hear) how it behaves.

More importantly, the new Das comes in two flavors, one of which has the characters printed on the keys. I can appreciate that not having the keys marked would make you a better touch typist if you stuck with it, but I like that they're finally giving users another option — especially if they're less concerned with touch-typing elitism and just want a great-feeling keyboard.

As for the Filco, I've settled in after a period of adjustment. It's a bit higher than the Macally Icekey that it replaced, so my hand position had to change slightly. The keys have a very "light" feel — it doesn't require much pressure to type a character, so I find myself bottoming out less unless I'm really typing fast.