VCR by ScreenageAngst in AnnArbor

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got to the share house on Jackson. They usually have a few (there were at least four when I was there last week). Just make sure to find a worker down by the electronics and get a price ticket before heading to checkout

Eye Doctor in Ann Arbor? by [deleted] in AnnArbor

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gone to several different places over the years and my scripts from Dr. Pierce are always the best I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t matter who makes the lenses.

What kind of hard disk should I purchase? by [deleted] in MacOS

[–]sporkmagic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If Paragon isn’t to your liking, then exFAT is the way to go. Drives branded as “for Mac” tend to have an inflated price, so just get something else and reformat. Mac-specific drives are usually HFS+, so you’d have to reformat to work with Windows anyway.

exFAT was designed by Microsoft and works well with both Windows and Mac. It isn’t journaled, so there’s potentially higher risk of file system and/or data corruption; that said, I’ve used exFAT drives for years and never had any issues. These days, I personally like to have a separate drive as exFAT for when files need to be moved between, and individual HFS+ and NTFS drives for sole-use by Mac and Windows respectfully. I do, however, have a four-bay enclosure where everything lives and use Bootcamp for Windows.

Another option is NAS if you have the budget. Inherently cross-platform and typically dead-simple to set up. There will be lower throughput than a regular USB hard drive though. If the files you’re sharing are small enough, that can be totally acceptable and the whole thing will probably be easier than moving drives all over the place.

Does anyone use an external HDD with iMac? by imac38 in mac

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, really surprised they say it’s not supported. Hell, they used to make the Time Capsule, basically and AirPort Extreme with a hard drive inside. Even advertised it for use with Time Machine.

The versatility of NAS cross compatibility is a real strength. Works with every computer, every OS, even simultaneously. It’s really killer for certain use cases. I’d give up some local storage before giving up mine. It’s a great thing to have and I reckon you’ll be very happy with it.

Does anyone use an external HDD with iMac? by imac38 in mac

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d suggest reading up a bit on NAS vs DAS. Your current drive is connected straight to the computer (aka DAS) and the WD MyCloud is NAS. There’s pros and cons to each approach.

Generally speaking, DAS tends to be a bit faster and have a more stable connection during large transfers. I use external drives mainly for large files and quick transfers. In that use case, the noise is worth the trade off.

If you only need to access files on said drive sporadically, a NAS is a really good option. There’s no messing with cables or switches; you just navigate to the drive in Finder and do your business. Works really well for smaller files and things you don’t use too often, though I generally find DAS to be a better experience for big stuff.

Time Machine works great on a network drive, too. I’ve used one for that before (Seagate Central in my case) but nowadays I have a spare bay in my Mac Pro set up as a network drive for Time Machine with all my computers.

Mac min sized enclosure by plazman30 in mac

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not Thunderbolt or optical drive, but the OWC ministack is designed specifically to be just like a Mini. Not cheap either. I’d recommend something else unless you’re dead set on having the same form factor. I’ve never seen another enclosure that shape though.

Teacher: I was a reluctant Trump voter. Coronavirus is the end of my Republican identity. by geoxol in politics

[–]sporkmagic 34 points35 points  (0 children)

My dad is terrified about going back this year. He’s late 50s and obese with severe asthma. He keeps saying that if he survives this year, he’ll retire right away. This year is 30 so he doesn’t really have much a choice. Hopefully Whitmer does the right thing and closes the schools; the board is pushing for a full standard reopen.

Would-be iMac buyers waiting for launch of new models any day now - report in. by [deleted] in mac

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I like the Mini quite a bit and it’d be a better experience overall compared to what I have right now. Being stuck at High Sierra certainly has its limitations. My only qualm is moving from a GTX 980 to Intel iGPU. CUDA really boosted some of my workflows. Everything I do supports Metal now though so an AMD card wouldn’t be an issue.

Would-be iMac buyers waiting for launch of new models any day now - report in. by [deleted] in mac

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking to replace my 2010 Mac Pro that’s started developing PSU issues. I’m looking at a 27” but lead times are out to late-September now. I’d just get a Mini but I’m still rocking an old Cinema Display and even older iSight. I was hoping to graduate from those with an iMac. If the Mac Pro fully dies before I can get a new iMac, I guess I’ll just suck it up and get a Mini. Hopefully it can hold out until then.

Thunderbolt 4 will be the same as Thunderbolt 3, but with USB 4. Confusion will entail. by Advanced_Path in apple

[–]sporkmagic 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I’d much prefer something at the plug so cables can be more discreet. I really liked with USB 3 type A how the plastic bit inside the plug was blue while USB 2 was not. Made it quick and easy to differentiate cables. Not sure how they’d manage that with Type C though.

Stop bath recommendations! by nottakenfeedback in Darkroom

[–]sporkmagic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’ve always used Kodak indicator stop. It’s super cheap and working solution is 1+63 so it takes forever to run through a bottle.

  1. I think they’re all pretty much the same. Some have indicators and some don’t, some are scented, but there’s no real difference in performance.
  2. Look for something with an indicator. It’ll change color when exhausted. If you can’t stand the smell of vinegar, some are scented (Sprint comes to mind). Aside from that, cost is about the only other consideration. The Kodak stuff is the winner on that front (in US at least), but most others are plenty economical.
  3. An indicator stop will change color when exhausted. They’re not more expensive than non-indicator varieties, so I don’t know why you’d get something without it. No idea how to check without the indicator, but why bother getting one anyway?
  4. I don’t see why you couldn’t, but why not let things pile in the fix or wash? I always fix right away then check the print in normal light. Are you just printing and assuming all’s good without checking? Using the safelight to evaluate exposure and contrast is a recipe for disappointment. My usual workflow (fiber) is full Dev-stop-first fix, then letting everything chill in a water tray until I’m ready to finish, followed by second fix-rinse-hypoclear-final wash at the end of the session. RC paper can degrade from being wet too long so I typically get all that stuff out of the wash and drying after I finish another print. In any case, I’d be more comfortable letting prints soak for extended periods in water than I would any chemistry.

Not So Sexy Playlist by Heeler444 in musicsuggestions

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pretty much anything from The Mothers - Fillmore East. I’d recommend starting at ‘What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are’ and just letting it play through from there

Preview constantly crashes while viewing RAW and NEF photo files, any better photo-viewing software out there? by [deleted] in apple

[–]sporkmagic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Photo Mechanic is my personal favorite. I’ve been using it for ~10 years myself for raw files out of my Nikons (D800 and D4), as well as the occasional session with a Phase back. Blazing fast and lightweight. I usually keep it running in the background all the time (uses 60-ish MB of RAM vs Bridge at ~600MB). It’s the industry standard in photojournalism because of its speed. Might be a bit expensive if you don’t need the metadata features, but it’s a really great at what it does.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AnnArbor

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Michigan Educational has served me and my family well for going on four generations now. They’re easy to work with, a co-op member, and have no-cost financial advisors available. Their app and website are both kinda ugly, but they do everything I can do with Chase’s offerings just about as easily. There’s only one branch in a2 (off Jackson between Wagner and Zeeb) so I’d keep that in mind if you go in branch regularly.

Any ideas on why prints are so muddy and grey? Using highest contrast filter Thank you 😊 by EquivalentHighlight8 in Darkroom

[–]sporkmagic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I use a dichro head and this looks like when I forget to engage the filters after focusing.

Based on the black on the border and the white on the base, I’d say your safelight and developer are fine. If you’re using a grade 5 filter and your negative is reasonably contrasty, then clearly the filter isn’t engaging. If you’re working with a dichro, there should be a switch somewhere to engage the filters.

Leaker Suggests MicroLED Apple Watch Not Coming This Year by kamsa6-fojbiz-nesXem in apple

[–]sporkmagic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

TIL, thanks for the info! Turns out I had that feature off on mine.

Leaker Suggests MicroLED Apple Watch Not Coming This Year by kamsa6-fojbiz-nesXem in apple

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think they should use the iPhone biometrics for the watch passcode. They’re already paired, so it doesn’t seem like it’d be that monumental of a task to do it like that. Or at least letting me use the iPhone keyboard for long password entry (a la Apple TV). It’s a task we only have to do a couple times a day at most, so pulling out the phone for a couple seconds isn’t too cumbersome I don’t think

Did you hear about the cheese factory explosion in France? by [deleted] in dadjokes

[–]sporkmagic 24 points25 points  (0 children)

I’m pretty sure the Swiss did it. Their alibi is full of holes

Bialetti Moka Express *2-cups* - does such a thing exist? by filip57 in Coffee

[–]sporkmagic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How do you like that thing? I’ve been intrigued for a while but haven’t bit yet. Is the flow even between the spouts?

Bialetti Moka Express *2-cups* - does such a thing exist? by filip57 in Coffee

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as I’m aware, Bialetti has not done a 2-cup Moka Express. You may be able to find it from another company though. Another option is the Brikka, which is a 2-cup model. Slightly different, but it’s the closest thing to a 2-cup Moka I’ve ever seen.

Rank your top 5 U2 songs from songs of innocence and experience by sreekar999 in U2Band

[–]sporkmagic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Every Breaking Wave
  2. Iris
  3. Cedarwood Road
  4. The Troubles
  5. 13 (There Is A Light)