As far as expectations versus reality for many people, reading discussions and the few reviews of those who got a hands on there are definitely cheerleaders for the device out there. We ourselves definitely applaud Apple for being first to market with the latest push in the computing market to get consumers hooked on tablet computing. The price is about on par with what you would expect from an Apple product running between $499 for a crippled 16Gb WiFi only version all the way up to $829 for a 64GB WiFi + 3G version. Operating System wise, it’s running the iPhone 3.2 Operating system. Sprinkle in Apples stated battery life of 10 hours, proprietary processor running at 1Ghz and a mid-range 720p HD  touchscreen display and it all sounds kind of cool.

The question now is will this device actually live up to the hype that’s been building on it for the last year? Given some of the feed back on everything from Twitter to Facebook and even just fellow geeks and nerds we’re finding that for now the device has what we’d call a lukewarm welcome. Apple has designed this product around their iPhone OS, this makes the iPad able to run anything you’re going to find on iTunes including all the apps for iPhone. The problem is that means it’s also lacking where the iPhones themselves are lacking and even worse gives the tablet no more use than an iPhone except a bigger screen and lack of actually being able to put the thing to your ear and make a phone call. Now we’re not calling the iPad a failure in that it’s completely useless but since it’s lacking a laundry list of features that were expected and in many ways are becoming kind of standard on computing devices Apple took their next iPod and turned it into what can best be described as an Apple TV.

So why bash the iPad?

There’s a reason for this big let down too, and one we find valid. When you think Apple Computers, you think of a case design everyone loves and innovation. We expect both of these from Apple because their design and innovation is the reason why we buy their products. Without the iPod music would have remained difficult to purchase digitally (via iTunes) and the iPhone created a revolution in cell phones and even caused companies like Motorola to step back (for years) and look at the Apple design in an attempt to create phones that could rival it. Because of the iPhone the cost of touchscreen phones and data plans for cellphones dropped like a rock in a few short years. Sure there’s other market factors for this happening and there’s a chance if Apple didn’t someone else could have but it’s undeniable that when you purchase an Apple product it’s because it’s a hyped device and you expect it to do what it’s hyped to do.

Because it simply lacks innovation, it has a screen that only has 720p HD rather than a full 1080p HD. It has a proprietary processor that if properly “spec’ed” by Apple is for all intents and purposes under powered compared to even $249 PC netbook rivals. Toss in the issue that you cannot multi-task on this “netbook” and you have a real problem, because many people like to listen to music while they compute or check their email while writing a paper. To make matters more complicated Apple still has not partnered with Adobe Flash to bring a Flash player to the iPad, that’s all well and good unless your website is in Flash or you want to watch YouTube, Hulu, or just about 80% of any of the interactive content on the internet. Many people even found the lack of a simple camera for either quick snaps while reading an ebook in the park while the kids play or the ability to web conference just disappointing.

So it’s not innovative and its base price is hovering dangerously close to what most high-end Windows based netbooks cost… so what is the average photographer supposed to do? Well the answer to us is simple, based on Apple’s past history with new devices one of two things will happen with the iPad. This first generation tablet was designed to appeal specifically to the mac addicted die hards that wanted a Mac Netbook without having to create a Hackintosh out of a Windows based netbook. Though possible we think the second most likely scenario is that this is a first generation device and right about at the spot where Apple knows they’ll sell enough to get the market a little saturated. They’ll release the device now and next year they will announce a second generation iPad with a new and improved flavor and people will again jump for joy that a few of their expectations for first generation were finally answered in the second generation. They got away with this tactic when it came to the iPod and iPhone so it wouldn’t be shocking to see it repeat again.

So, to buy or not to buy?… If you’re a die hard fan you’re already camped out in front of the nearest Apple store. If you’re not and you think it’s cool but can wait, definitely wait. There’s PC versions being released in the 3rd and 4th Quarter of this year and you can be sure that it won’t take Apple long to release an updated version of their hardware soon enough.

What Is RAID? (A Quick Lesson) -

RAID is basically a set of two or more hard disk drives that are essentially “synced” together. By syncing the drives in what is called a “RAID Array” the drives then will copy your data to multiple drives. For more on RAID check out this lengthy wikipedia post.

Why Is RAID NOT A Backup Solution?

Many people, not just photographers think that RAID is an instant backup. It’s understandable given that RAID will essentially copy the same file to a second, third, fourth, fifth, twentieth hard drive without you having to do anything. On top of that it speeds up your computer because instead of opening the file from one of those hard drives it will use all of them. By doing this you open gigabytes of files in seconds and “feel” like you have backups of all of them.

RAID has a fatal flaw though if any one of those drives has a problem, writes the file incorrectly, a virus infects them or the hard drive itself stops working the entire RAID system is gone. Aside from all of these flaws we have one last flaw that is present in every computer, cell phone, car, and other consumer electronic on the planet, human error. All of these are reasons why RAID is not a backup solution and why if you are using RAID currently for backup you may want to reconsider.

If It’s Not For Backup What Is RAID For?

RAID is awesome for a few things, the main thing that we in the photography community enjoy it most for is speed! Remember just a minute ago when we said RAID will increase your speed by reading the same file on each of the hard drives? Ok, stick with us because this is what photographers need to use RAID for and why you’ll enjoy it. Lets pretend you have a NAS (Network Attached Storage Device) and it has 4 hard drive inside of it that total 4 Terabytes of drives. Each drive has a maximum speed that it can read and write, we’ll say it’s 100mbps (graphic left).

Because each drive can only read and or write at 100 megabytes per second opening a large file will take a long time. The hard drive has to spin the discs inside of it, the head reader has to scan the disks and find your files and then it all has to be sent to your processor so it can be run and displayed on your screen.

This is where RAID comes in,  it basically adds some rocket fuel to your computer. So lets pretend we just added RAID to this same setup, and because we’re going to keep this simple and not discuss all the different types of raid and use a simple example. like the one to the right.

We’ve enabled the RAID setup on the computer and now our 4 drives disappear and the computer sees all 4 drives as 1 hard drive. It’s also using half of our drives to “mirror” the data, so what this means is instead of having 4 Terabytes of storage we have 2 terabytes of storage and 2 terabytes of mirrors.

So you lose half of your storage but you gain speed, so now one file is copied over to multiple drives and now when you open a file it opens much faster than it would have before because it’s going to open the file using all the drives. This would give us a theoretical speed of 400 megabytes per second when opening a file instead of 100 megabytes per second giving use a 400% speed increase. The other neat thing about RAID is that if you’re using the right types you gain more speed with each additional set of drives you add to the array.

So If We Don’t Use RAID For Backup What do We Use For Backup?

Well, if you think of things like NAS, Drobo’s, and such as external hard drives (just with more risk) than you can work from there to create a backup solution that works for you. Though what we would recommend is that you keep your RAID devices as your “working” drives and use separate drives, online storage, DVD’s and servers for your backups. This will keep your data safe but still with a high speed access while you’re working on it. We’ll be covering more about data backup solutions in the coming days and weeks so stay tuned.

Still confused or have questions? Leave a comment below.

If you’re looking for easy onsite backup for the studio or the ability to know how to remotely access your NAS or possibly don’t even know what a NAS is or why you need to access it with a remote than there’s a few solutions for all those troubles announced and even released today at CES!

First up is an NAS (Network Attached Storage) Drive from Dane-Elec. Sporting an easy to use “USB Key” that allows you to connect to your drive even when you’re on the go such as Imaging or WPPI. What makes this drive special is that it’s perfect if you don’t know what a MAC address hex key is or how to properly configure the drive or your network for remote access. Early word is that this usual promise of simplicity really comes with a lot of headaches but that My Ditto actually does what it says and is perfect for you non-network types that don’t want to take have to take a Cisco class before you remotely connect to your hard drive in your hotel. More impressive features include dual bay drives with support for RAID 0 or 1, dual USB ports in case the internal storage isn’t quite enough to satisfy you, compatibility with iTunes and DNLA. My Ditto will run you a premium price of $249 for the 1tb flavor and comes out in March, hopefully some benchmarks to follow in the near future. http://www.my-ditto.com/

Don’t need remote access but want a simple way to backup and access your files while in the studio or at your computer? Rebit has both announced and released the “SaveMe” backup system. Both in software only and a software/hardware combination. At the heart of the system is  what Rebit’s calls their “exclusive SmartSave™ Personalization Technology” which adjust how the space is used on a hard drive dynamically based on the size of your backup and the amount of “historical data” but always keeps enough space on the drive to ensure a complete backup.

Rebit says the software works out of the box with no complicated setups and that a drive can be used for both backup and personal storage so you can save files directly to the drive (so long as the SmartSave™ isn’t using it all to backup your system we would guess). The SmartSave™ Technology seems to be one that I will agree with Rebit that many other backup solutions have not completely considered, and allows for the drive to be more useful as well as more balanced saving you from having to do many of the little things other systems require.

Single system software for Rebit will run you $49.95 and multiple computers will cost you $79.95 for the software. Bundle the software with a portable or desktop external drive for between $149.95 (160GB) up to $319.95 (1TB multiple systems).  More details and where to buy at their site http://www.rebit.com .

Now having not used either of these products (yet) we would say that if you took the Rebit software and the My Ditto drive you would have a great little backup solution with on the go access to your files. That said these look like two great products we can’t wait to get our hands on!

More from CES to come!

The Consumer Electronics Show 2010 will draw technophiles, geeks, nerds and just about anyone that likes anything “Tech” to Las Vegas. Photographers go to Imaging and learn the latest on the industry but the latest tech for the photography industry will likely be seen at CES first. Kodak, Nikon, Canon and many other photography industry heavy hitters use the show to give us a peek into the future of what they are working on and new things to expect from them this year.

Because it’s impossible to be in Nashville and Las Vegas and we don’t want you to feel left out, visit Photography Connect for the latest photography tech news from CES when the show starts in just a few days.

I hear from photographers ALL the time that have had a computer for 3,4,5 and even 6 years. While it would be great if we could have computers be an investment we only have to make once very decade the reality is that as file sizes increase, Photoshop, Paint Shop and many other programs become more advanced you’re computer is becoming slower. This is all on top of the normal slow down home computers experience from general use.

For most it comes time to upgrade when a 4 or 5 year old hard drive fails, Photoshop no longer runs on the computer specifications and you want to upgrade and for many other reasons. But all this talk doesn’t help, so lets do some simple math, for this I’m borrowing some real world numbers from a forum post on OurPPA. Remember these are a real world numbers but a conservative estimate on the amount of time lost waiting for the computer. On to the numbers:

A photographer running a computer that has slowed down due to age, data and other forces. We’ll be conservative and say the computer is 3 years old and that due to this it take the computer 1/10th of an extra second per action to complete the following.

• Open files in Lightroom
• Render “sync” adjustments
• Export the file to a Jpeg
• Open Photoshop
• Open Files
• Run ONE filter
• Save file

This list is something I think many if not all of us do similarly even if the “filter” were an action. Running that simple workflow this photographer would be looking at the following given the numbers he gave me on the forum.

190 weddings per year, 750 file per wedding – totaling 142,500 files

Assuming one of these steps in the work flow takes an additional 1/10th of a second and you do the math you’ll find that add an extra 3.9 hours of time per year to the time you spend behind or waiting on the computer. Counting the 7 basic steps above totals an extra 27.3 hours (1 day 3 hours and 3 minutes) extra.

Considering we’re talking about 0.1 of a second that’s crazy to think it adds up to that much time. But if we were to use the same number of files and estimate they take an extra 100th of a second to run each file on a computer built today that’s only an additional 23.75 minutes per step per year. Reducing the extra time spent behind the computer from 27.3 hours to a small 2.7 hours and leaving you with a full 24 hours less you’re behind the computer, ore 24 hours less that you have to pay someone else to be behind the computer for you.

Remember that these are conservative and that an older computer may even take longer and this doesn’t even include rendering a slideshow, copying files from different hard drives and many other tasks we do 10′s or even 100′s of times per day on our computers. So next time you’re sitting at your computer and that little load bar is moving slower and you realize it’s been 2, 3, 4 or more years since you upgraded, budget accordingly and give yourself an extra vacation day and go for the upgrade.

You’ll be pleased to hear that this protection comes with a fairly low price tag ranging from $149 for a 500GB drive to $499 for a 2TB drive. You’re definitely not going to be wanting to buy the 500GB drive and attempt to upgrade to a 2TB drive yourself simply because this thing is protected! The drive itself has 3 layers of protection first is the outside aluminium case which also helps protect against theft because it can be bolted (or chained if you wish) to your desk, wall  or other creative places. Under the aluminium case is a specially molded insulator to allow for air exchange that’s been described as something similar to heat tiles inside fireplaces. Below the insulation is your drive protected from damage inside a special waterproof pouch that allows the drive to keep cool and cables to connect but completely seal the drive from moisture. The drive connects via USB 2.0 and is plug and play so you won’t need any special software to run this special drive.

Don’t think that you can start editing on the deck of a swimming pool and just pull the drive out if it falls in the drink only to continue working. After both fire or water gets to the drive the enclosure itself is no longer usable and the enclosure must be dismantled and drive recovered. Not to worry though the drive includes recovery for 3 years and up to a cost of $1000 if the drive does fail (an optional 5 year, $5000 upgrade is available.).

Lastly this beast weighs in at 15 pounds so it’s going to need a sturdy surface to sit on but the cost removes the worry that comes with any drives not protected against water or the many photographers out there that backup to DVD but who do not store their backup discs in a fire safe. Though not the perfect backup solution for every photographer I think many of you may have your wishes granted with this drive.

I did attempt to get one of these drives for an in person review but never heard back from ioSafe so because it was released this week I decided this poor YouTube video will have to suffice for those of you wanting to see the drive survive these real world tests. Enjoy!

As if the 1000 year rating didn’t make you take an interest in this disc how about these stats

• Withstands temperatures of 176°F indefinitely
• Withstands the full spectrum of the sun, including UV rays indefinitely
• No Ink
• No Adhesive
• No Reflective layer
• No Fading

Joe Beaulaurier, Cranberry’s chief marketing officer said, “For the military, there’s no heat, light, magnetic waves, or environmental abuse that will have an impact on these discs.”

Reading the list makes the disc a dream disc for any geek, photographer or anyone that leaves their discs places where it’s too hot. Everyone knows that normal discs shouldn’t be counted on for any longer than 2-5 years. Many of the downsides to current discs (yes, including gold discs) is that they all will fade, the reflective layer will dull, the adhesive will degrade the ink and so much more. This disc technology offers more, because it does “etch” your data into the synthetic stone.

If you’re still wondering if this wonder disc is all it’s cracked up to be, don’t be surprised if the Library of Congress decides to store data on them as they have already begun researching and studying the technology as a possible alternative to their current storage.

Currently Cranberry only offers the DiamondDisc in DVD format. The disc is compatible with “most” players, meaning that they can’t promise it will work in all players. But they do plan to release a Blu-ray version of the disc in the future. For now though if you want to etch your files into this disc you’ll either need to upload your files to Cranberry via their website and they’ll create your disc for $35. On the other hand if you prefer to etch your own discs you’ll need the special Cranberry burner so be prepared to fork over nearly $5,000.

For more information check out Cranberry’s website

Recently Epson updated it’s P-6000 and P-7000 Multimedia Photo Viewers and added the ability to tether directly to your camera without the need for a computer. Currently the ability to tether, shoot, save and review images without the requirement of a computer appears to be an Epson exclusive. Epson says that the new tether feature will streamline your shooting both in and out of studio and reduce the amount of gear you’ll have to pack around by removing the need of a computer to tether.

“The new tethering feature in the Epson P-6000 and P-7000 Photo Viewers can dramatically enhance the workflow of any photographer, and is yet another demonstration of our commitment to developing products that meet the needs of the professional photography marketplace,” said Rick Day, senior product manager, Epson America. “Whether working in their studios or in the most remote of locations, an Epson photo viewer is a must-have tool for backing-up and viewing images without a computer.”

Epson tethers using a simple USB connection between your camera and the Photo Viewer, images are automatically saved to the camera’s memory card while the Photo Viewer saves a backup copy to the Viewer’s internal hard disk drive. The tether feature enables photographers to preview images immediately on the Photo Viewer’s high resolution, 4 inch color-accurate LCD. This allows for much greater accuracy and faster adjustments  to be made on the spot. The new firmware update that activates the tether feature also includes a remote shutter release function for even more ease of capture.

The new feature is already shipping with Photo Viewers since late-October and is also available as a free download on Epson’s website to current P-6000 and P-7000 owners. The one hitch is that the tether only works on select Nikon and Canon DSLR’s. The complete list is said to be on Epson’s website but at the time this was posted I was unable to find any support documentation for this feature on Epson’s website. The firmware update for the P-6000 and P-7000 is available on the Epson website here.

For those wondering the Spec’s for the Photo Viewers:

Epson P-6000 and P-7000 Multimedia Viewers

Epson multimedia photo viewers are ideal companions for the digital SLR. Epson’s exclusive Photo Fine^® LCD technology has advanced to a new benchmark in screen quality with Photo Fine Premia which encompasses 94 percent of Adobe RGB color space for superior color accuracy. With 80GB (P-6000) and 160GB (P-7000) hard drive capacities, thousands of RAW image files can be backed up wherever images are captured for peace of mind and security. Other features include:

• Large 4-inch LCD with exclusive Epson Photo Fine Premia technology displays over 16.7 million colors
• Convenient jog dial to quickly scroll through images
• Wide LCD viewing angle
• Zoom function to confirm image focus and fine detail
• RAW and JPEG file support
• Built-in CompactFlash and Secure Digital memory card slots with many other cards supported via third-party adapter
• Compatible with high-speed UDMA CompactFlash cards
• Rechargeable lithium-ion battery lasts up to three hours for extended shoots
• High-speed USB 2.0 interface for device to device backup
• Audio/video output to present customized slideshows
• Travel Pack with dual battery charger, car adapter and more (P-7000 only)

• Twitterrific
• ShoveBox
• WriteRoom
• TinyGrab
• Hordes Of Orcs

All range in value from $14 to $50 and they’re all available for download for free. They’re even offering two additional pieces of software on top of that. One of which is Mariner Write, which opens up for free downloads when 500,000 or more people have downloaded the current bundle. The second application is Virus Barrier which you can pick up simply by posting a link to them on your facebook account.

It’s not often Mac users get freebies like this and the countdown says you’ve got 3 more days to get these no strings attached completely free applications, so don’t wait too long.

Visit MacHeist and snag your free stuff now: http://www.macheist.com/

Released last month Adobe’s Photoshop.com iPhone app brings some popular features to your iPhone. Obviously you’re not about to go out and photograph a session with your iPhone but many of us capture snap shots of our day to day lives or while out with friends. Photoshop.com’s app aims to make it so you can easily and quickly:

• Crop
• Rotate
• Change Color
• Soft Glow
• Soft Focus
• Vignette

You can even upload your edited images to your Photoshop.com account or view and edit images stored in your account. You’ll have plenty of room since the free account comes with 2GB of space (about 1500 jpg files) or just email the finished edit off using the share feature. The Photoshop.com app is available for download at the iPhone App Store for free.

To get the app or to sign up for an account visit http://mobile.photoshop.com/iphone/