Magic Lantern Unified looks promising: High Dynamic Range VIDEO for Canon cameras:

============== UPDATE ================
available for download now!
magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Release_2011Dec22
======================================
Demonstration of the new and free High Dynamic Range VIDEO feature for control over ultra contrast situations.

Discussion, workflow, RAW footage, FAQ:
vimeo.com/groups/74140/forumthread:250295

Magic Lantern is a custom firmware add-on for Canon dSLR cameras. It is not a hack, or a modified firmware, but it runs alongside Canon's own firmware, booting from the card every time you turn the camera on. The only modification to the original firmware is the ability to boot software from the card.

magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Unified

HDR Video: what does it mean? It does not output pre-processed HDR video from the camera, rather it blends the alternative high ISO / low ISO frames together in post (see this discussion thread at Vimeo). There is of course a difference if you use two Canon 5D MKII for generating a HDR movie (as this guy did) compared to this "hack", although the development of Magic Lantern continues to impress!

Keep on rocking! We can't await clean HDMI output for the 5DMKII to use it with the Atomos Ninja (if this hack is possible at all...)

Currently, with the announcement of the Hitachi Deskstar 7K4000 4000GB, SATA 6Gb/s (0F14681) and the 4TB Deskstar 5K4000 as well as the 4TB Seagate Barracuda XT 7200RPM a total of 24TB could be reached when modding the Promise Pegasus just replacing the 2TB drives it comes with.

Tomshardware even reported on 5TB HDDs arriving in January 2012, so a modification to fit 30TB into the Promise Pegasus would be possible theoretically.

While all the drives are not available at the current time of writing of this article, please do consult the Promise Support if you are planning to do modifications or already did! Judging from the current feedback on modifications, updating the Promise Pegasus before an official answer or statement from Promise Technology is NOT RECOMMENDED!

Please send emails to Promise directly and ask them to react on the current limitations. I already did so - still waiting for response.

Apple is selling Mac OSX on a Thumb Drive, but you can save some bucks and roll your own as simple as this:

1. Preparation: USB Stick
Insert an USB Stick that is big enough to fit the whole Mac OSX Lion installer. I can recommend the SanDisk Cruzer Blade 8GB, which you can get for less than $5.

2. Mac OSX Lion 10.7
get Mac OSX Lion from the App Store and download it.

3. Extracting the Install Data
Right click (option-click) on the just downloaded file and select "Show Package Contents". Get the file Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg and copy it to your Desktop.

4. Disk Utility
Open "Disk Utility" and drag InstallESD.dmg from the desktop to the left sidebar. Select the attached USB from left side and click on “Partition” tab. Select "1 Partion" and from choose “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” as partition type. Click on “Option” at the bottom, select “GUID Partition Table” and press OK -> Apply.
After formatting is done, select "Restore" and choose the USB Drive as destination and InstallESD.dmg as source. Click on "Restore" to have your Mac OSX Lion Boot drive created.

What are currently recommended HDMI field recorders?

1. Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle (RAW Video)

* Product information page/ manufacturer: Black Magic Design
* Discussion on the Magic Lantern User Group: hyperdeck shuttle

Pro:

Very Cheap: ($339.99 in the USA, 299€ in Europe

Cons:

SSD drives NOT included, so you might need to calculate in some OCZ Vertex 3 SSDs in your budget

No Video Monitoring on the device itself. You might need to buy an external monitor, such as the Liliput external HDMI monitor (starting at $169 in the USA and 186€ in Europe)



2. Atomos Ninja - Portable HDMI Recorder (ProRes)

Pro:

Conclusion:
Unless you are super-rich and have tons of money to spend for Solid State Drives and a RAID Array, you should get the Atomos Ninja. Besides the actual device, you also get a monitoring solution and have a true portable device, that creates files usable with normal hard drives. Overall cost is much lower and there should not be a really visible difference from ProRes to RAW footage. If you are into Bokeh Porn, you might want to spend your money in the Black Magic Hyperdeck Shuttle.

Keep in mind, there are currently some issues with HDMI out an Magic Lantern: there is a video on the 5D MKII's 1080i out and also some discussions going on in the Magic Lantern Forums, because some processing needs to be done to get actual usable files. Actual resolutionis 12-19% less (depending how you do it) but still the results are awesome - especially in low light situations. Maybe we will get real clean HDMI out with the Canon EOS 5D MKIII.

This is the configuration that makes most sense if you have a small budget. Graphics are Intel GMA 950 and the set is complete with monitor, mouse and keyboard. The drive is a 7200RPM 500GB HD. Here is the URL to the complete list: The cheapest Hackintosh shopping-list.

19.99$	Kingston ValueRAM 2 GB 667MHz PC2-5300 DDR2 DIMM Desktop Memory (KVR667D2N5/2G)
29.99$	GIGABYTE GA-8I945GZME-RH Intel 945GZ Socket 775 micro-ATX Motherboard w/Video, Audio & Gigabit LAN
89.99$	HP L2045w - LCD display - TFT - 20.1" - widescreen - 1680 x 1050 / 60 Hz - 300 cd/m2 - 600:1 - 5 ms - 0.258 mm DVI-D, VGA (Refurbished)
9.99$	SilenX IXM-2014 IXTREMA Pro 200W MicroATX Power Supply
32.99$	Hitachi Deskstar P7K500 HDP725050GLA360 - Hard drive - 500 GB - internal - 3.5" - SATA-300 - 7200 rpm - buffer: 16 MB
16.00$	Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive - Bulk - IHAS124-04 (Black)
4.80$	Masscool 90mm CPU Cooler for Intel Socket LGA775
14.99$	Processor - 1 x Intel Celeron D 330J / 2.66 GHz ( 533 MHz ) - LGA775 Socket - L2 256 KB - OEM
14.50$	ATX Mid Tower Aluminum Desktop Computer Case
1.99$	I Concepts PC Trio Kit

The price for the complete set is 235$ (145$ without monitor!). We don't think you will find a cheaper Hackintosh configuration out there.
Ah, one more thing: a very cheap mobile hackintosh notebook costs 229.99$: the Asus Eee PC 900A WFBB01 Refurbished Netbook.

What are current options and solutions for de-cluttering the desktop from wires?

1. Henge Docks (for Apple MacBook Pro and Macbook owners)

Pro: saves lots of space

Con: you lose an external extra-screen. I am using the extra notebook screen for debug-logs or reading email, so that's a no-go for me with the Henge Dock.

While the Henge Dock saves you lots of space on the office desktop, you also lose "virtual" space since you cannot use the internal notebook screen as extended desktop. The Henge Dock is cheap though, so I can recommend it for people that don't care about the second virtual desktop.

It looks like if you have a SPECK case mounted on your MacBook Pro, you can not use the Henge Dock. Keep that in mind.

2. Bluelounge SpaceStation

Pro: really de-clutters the desktop. Second "virtual" desktop still usable.

Con: does not make much sense if you already own a Griffin iCurve Elevator, mStand, Notebook Riser or other Notebook Stand.

3. Blue Lounge Design CableDrop Cable Management System

I really like the idea of the small cable clips that are mounted on the table to sort different important cables and to make them instantly accessible. I just ordered eight of those clips (in different colors) to de-clutter my "cable salad".

Pro: keeps your cables in order and also helps protecting them (the problem of loose MacBook Power supply cables can be prevented)

Con: not so much de-cluttering as can be possible, since the cables are still visible (to some extent)

4. BlueLounge CableBox

Not really for desktop cable de-cluttering, this can hide your power strip (powerboard) and additionally protect it from accidental soda-spilling.

5. IKEA Signum Cable Management System

This solution from IKEA works for other non-Ikea tables as well. It not only helps you completely hide all the power strips, you can also hide other chargers back there. Works best together with the Blue Lounge Design CableDrop Cable Management System

6. DIY Home Robot Dog Cable Concentrator Box

The DIY Home Robot Dog Cable Concentrator Box is a funny piece of geek-humor in the shape of a wooden dog. It not only de-clutters, but also makes your desktop an eye-catcher.

7. DIY your own charging boxes!

The IKEA charging box is a very simple tutorial from instructables, so you can build a charging box for all your devices that need power (smartphones, iPod, iPad, iPhone, whatever)

unpluggd has more on that topic: Affordable Cord and Cable Guidance Solutions, which also covers DIY Cable Management Systems. Well worth a read!

If you created your own solutions or maybe have other hints on good de-cluttering pieces, let us know in the comments.

Which type are you?

• the collector: two 750GB SATAII Drives
• fast, but not furious: 256GB SSD SATAIII drive + 750GB HDD in the optical drive slot
• the caretaker: 256GB SSD SATAIII drive + 500GB SATAII hybrid drive in the optical drive slot
• speed enthusiast: 256GB SSD SATAIII drive + 256GB SSD SATAII drive in the optical drive slot
• humongous and rich: 512GB SSD SATAIII drive + 512GB SSD SATAII drive in the optical drive slot

The recommended steps are to select your setup, get an OptiBay, choose an external casing for your optical drive and get your hands dirty. Read our recommendations and tell us which type you are!

The new MCE OptiBay was created for users who want as much hard drive capacity as possible inside their MacBook Pro, MacBook, PowerBook G4, iMac, or Mac mini. Period

256GB SSD SATA III 6Gbps Drive

The first SATA port on the current MacbookPro models is a true 6Gbps port. That means you can mount SATA III 6Gbps devices without any much trouble into your soon-to-be-blazingly fast aluminium portable.

Recommendations: either wait for the OCZ 240 GB Vertex 3 SATA III 6.0 Gb/s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive (which sadly is not officially released yet, but already got a great review by Anand from AnandTech) or you can alternatively get a 256 GB Crucial RealSSD C300 which is aleady available and also shows great results

OptiBay: original or replica

The OptiBay is a size adapter, that makes your optical drive slot usable for other "normal" 2 1/2" drives, such as HDD and SDD drives. Unfortunately the SATA port where the optical drive is connected on the new MacBook Pro 2011 Models is only capable of 3Gbps. Still it would be possible to insert SSD drives as well, if you are brave.

You can either get the original MCE OptiBay (which sells for around $100 on the MCE Page), or you can safely get a replica OptiBay, which are starting at $9, sometimes there are even cheaper offers on ebay UK or ebay USA.

750GB Second HDD Drive recommendation: Western Digital WD7500BPKT Scorpio Black 750 GB

If you are careful about your SSD wear (having lots of "traffic" on your disk shortens the lifespan of your SSD) or are downloading torrent like crazy (bittorrent clients are quite a load on the drives), you might consider putting a Hard Disk instead of a SSD in your Optical Drive Slot.

Western Digital WD7500BPKT Scorpio Black 750 GB ~106€ in Europe, $109.99 in the USA

Recommended second SDD for the OptiBay: OCZ Vertex 2 Extended

If you are brave and have the necessary bucks, why not go for a second SDD in your MacBook Pro? We can definitely recommend the OCZ Technology 240 GB Vertex 2 Extended SSD
, since we had two drives already mounted in a 2010 MacBook Pro. Yes, that is a fast setup. If you want to have a mobile power workstation that is suited for high end audio and video production, this is definitely the way to go.

external Optical Drive enclosure

Since you might want to still use your optical drive from time to time, you should consider getting an external casing for it. We can definitely recommend those external enclosures, since they are dead cheap and do exactly what you need them to do: host your Apple internal drive and make it an external one. Recommended: USB2.0 Slim External Enclosure Case

Possible Extra: get an external bluray drive

If you don't care so much about the size of your external drive, you can also get an external BluRay Drive, to also watch your HD Movies. Recommendation: the Plextor 6X Ext USB Bd Combo

1. Get an original Apple Mac Pro Case (Enclosure/ Chassis) or alternatively: an Apple Power Mac G5 Case to tinker with

You can find Apple Mac Pro Cases (case only) via ebay, although they might be quite pricy. Another option is to search for Apple Power Mac G5 Cases instead, which are sometimes selling for a few bucks (most of the people interested are searching for "Mac Pro" and not for "Power Macintosh"). So while there might be some tinkering required, still the Apple Power Macintosh G5 Case is a very fine piece of casing. (see a howto for G5 Casemodding on Youtube)

2. Almost as good as the "original": Lian Li PC-V1000 computer case

You might get lucky and find the Lian Li PC-V1000 computer case on ebay - unfortunately I did not find any other ways of ordering this awesome case somewhere else.

3. DIY your own.

There are some impressive CaseMods out in the wild (e.g. the Hackintosh Jr. Case Mod). While this might be a lot of work, you will earn lots of (digital) street creds for your "almost impossible mod". Enter hardforum.com if you are brave.

"lion is booting with some old xpc version" ~ Netkas

Some people are claiming to boot the recent Mac OSX 10.7 Lion with the XPC Bootloader project. More and more voices are popping up, so I am just pointing in the right direction, since "Any and all information about downloading and installing Lion, as well as any details are under Non-Disclosure Agreement from Apple.". You probably find updates on Netkas' Blog as well.

UPDATE: see a posting/ short guide on a popular board as well: Mac OS X 10.7 Lion [Beta/HowTo]

Owl Project is a collaborative group of Manchester based artists who share interests in human interaction with technology and process led art. Over the last few years they have become known for a distinctive range of wooden musical and sculptural instruments that critique human interaction with computer interfaces and our increasing appetite for new and often disposable technologies.

While the idea of the hardware alone is already nice, I was wondering how that instruments sound. As you can decide by yourself (I inserted the videos from the owl website right to this posting) - there are some people that are fascinated after seeing the creators (Simon Blackmore, Antony Hall and Steve Symons) perform.

"Admittedly I just didnt “get it” at first. From a solely audio perspective, the sounds produced didn’t appeal to me. It seemed like a near random collection of sounds, which although generated in a unique and unusual way didn’t have any meaning.
However, when they performed live infront of us my opinion changed. It turned from being a video on the screen to a entertaining engaging show, in which the performers were totally immersed. Perhaps the process of making the sounds is more important than the sound itself." (pixel-junkie.com)

While this seems to be a new and nice idea at first, lots of people I know doing DIY technology end up creating wooden cases to hold their prototypes. The main difference might be that owlproject uses wood for their finished products. Makes me remember my old synthesizers with wooden panels.

The following information is compiled from the owlproject website just to give you an overview of the instruments they have.

Log1k

Log1k Definition 2001
The Log1k is a sequencer & sampler, which also contains; Signal generators and other noise making devices.It has several, Mic inputs and 8 Audio outputs. It requires around 24 AA batteries. A mains 240v Fluorescent tube provides a screen like glowing panel which also provides electrical interference. The Log1K is defined by being constructed from a fully circle log section. This is divided into two half's and hinged at one side; thus giving it a laptop like appearance.

The Log1K was removed from operation after damaging several sound systems and catching speakers on fire.

m-Log

It's the latest development in Owl Project technology; a powered USB controller interface. Like the iLog, the m-Log fits in the palm of your hand and is made using a semicircular cross-section of a branch. Personalise yours with switches, wooden knobs and an accelerometer. The m-Log has plug and play compatibility with a wide variety of applications, notably MAX MSP and SuperCollider.

Want an m-Log?

Get your saw and soldering iron ready. Either make it yourself with the full kit, or come to the next m-Log workshop! The Owl Project will guide you through building and using your new m-Log. (you can contact them via email or phone. go to the owlproject website for more information)

iLog

ILog Definition 2008
The iLog is a stand alone noise generator. It is powered and outputs an audio signal.
The iLog should fit in the palm of the hand and is normally made using this semicircular cross section of a branch. At its base is the power socket and at its top is the audio out put.

Maybe you’ve got thousands of Logs in your pile. Maybe you have just a few. Maybe you like creating noise on the go. Maybe you just wanna grab a log and run. No matter where or what you want to do, there’s an iLog made for you.

ILog models
Metro - Beat generator (2001)
Signal - Tone generator (2003)
Rustle - Voice sampler (2005)
Photo-synthiser - AM detector (2007)
Modulator - Effects & feedback (2008)

Sound Lathe

Sound Lathe is a new piece of work by the Owl Project that explores of the sonic properties of woodwork.The Sound Lathe produces audio data, saw dust, noise and wood chippings. With this human powered machine, turned spindles are shaped into complex sounds such as tones, glitches and beats..

Unlike many electronic instruments, the Sound Lathe produces a unique wooden object at the end of each performance. This object serves as a memory of the performance, slightly faulty and incomplete as it represents the conclusion rather than an accurate recording of the process.

Checking out the owl project website is highly recommended. Besides the videos and pictures I already embedded here, there is a lot more of information available on their projects - and maybe you want to build your own wooden-electronic instruments?

"Each AudioCube is identical. You connect them with a USB cable to your computer, one after the other, and assign a colour and behaviour. After that, they work wirelessly with each other, and use their four onboard infrared sensors to communicate and measure distances to objects nearby. One cube stays connected, to pass the information from the cubes to the software on your computer. Location, orientation and distance information is passed to the software, while you interact with the cubes. The software can connect via MIDI or OpenSoundControl (OSC) to any software or hardware for music or visuals which you already have, or you can use it within your DAW (digital audio workstation) software as a VST plugin, or as a host for VST instruments to let you create sound immediately."

In the Video below, there is also an example how to trigger loops from Ableton Live. All in all these interfaces look really nice - they seem to be a quite intelligent and intutive interface to create, modify and trigger sounds. (see other AudioCube videos on Vimeo)

2 AudioCubes are priced €399.00, if you get a set of 4, they cost €649.00 (including tax). AudioCubes work with computers running Mac OSX 10.4 or later, or Windows XP SP2 or later. Drivers are not needed. Dimensions are 75mm x 75mm x 75mm.

I definitely have to get those. I will post a full review and some examples when i have them!

three models: two fifty six (16×16), one twenty eight (16×8), and sixty four (8×8). each is a reconfigurable grid of backlit keypads which connects to a computer. interaction between the keys and lights is determined by the application running on the computer. there is no hard-wired functionality.

I am really looking forward to get one od those. If anyone wants to sell his 8x8 version, please drop me a mail. Currently only the DIY-Kits of the 40h version are available again, everything else is sold out. I think i will get myself one, stay tuned for a detailed review when i got it.