blackfeathers's Profile

the title is a bit misleading since it's about lining a tray and not making the tray.

i've done something similar with cutting a lining for a baking/cookie sheet to serve as a makeshift meal tray. and, a cookie sheet tray also doubles as a notebook/netbook cooler -dissipating heat. simple. not much diy effort to it.

- the hardware is still tied exclusive to at&t

- at&t's tethering plan requires you to pay $20 but no extra data allotment. why is this bad? it encourages you to not go over your existing data allotment otherwise pay more, making it a moot point for many. rogers gives you 6gb extra for data at $30.

- facetime is wifi only, whereas the android evo streams video chat via wifi, 3g, and 4g (whatever is available)

- there is no 64gb model. the max is 32gb -is that enough storage for hi-def video & editing? not in my opinion.

-facetime is supposed to work only from iphone 4 to iphone 4, but it's a wait-and-see because they also said that it would be set as an open standard.

-the antenna is the edge of the iphone. i ponder the loss of signal strength if some jackets and external battery cases cover this up.

-holding off until i see the display for myself. but i hear it's awesome.

- the iphone needs a rotate on/off switch like the ipad. it has been very annoying when an app persistently shows a sideways display to you.

-the flash for the camera was a great addition

-consciously choosing to not shrink the camera sensors make for less grainy images in lower light levels and enhances overall improvement in picture quality -megapixels notwithstanding.

-the trend thus far has been to add a new sensor to the iphone in almost every generation -from the accelerometer, the compass, and now the gyroscope. i'm loving the potential for more capabilities with the gyroscope.

the android still has compelling benefits but so does apple's iphone 4 and ios4. it's great to see competition keeping notable advancements happening. i would be happy with either os.

i've switched to using led lights for both indirect bounce lighting and an led reading light by koncept tech. since they are neither halogen nor incandescent bulbs, they run cooler and cheaper.

however, you might tend to use more of these since they're not as bright as traditional lights, but in combination with 1 main traditional bulb... the amount of light you get per savings is great.

i use a box fan to circulate hot areas and plan to supplement them with a desk / table fan like a soleusair softblade 8" fan.

lastly, i use belkin's conserve surge protectors. they come with a simple on/off remote to cut off the sneaky devices that sap electricity when they're supposed to be off -like a sony ps3 or lcd tv- when not needed. one remote controls multiple outlets -so i rig one power strip to the indirect led lights as well. it's practical and simple.

this idea has been shared at uncluttered.com a few years back. the site is no longer but can be pulled up from archive.org. it's still a great idea to free up any workspace with necessary clutter. depending on the desk the pegboard can also be placed behind the desk for more options.

i've never really counted or even organised in my head all of my macgyver moments. but, they happen out of necessity, when i need to call for a creative solution to a problem.

for instance, my ac broke so i bought a cheap unit on sale & cannibalised it. it ended up being far cheaper than having someone repair my old one, or buying another one with the same features:
http://flickr.com/photos/blackfeathers/sets/72157607016610731/

i've taken apart remotes and placed foil on the worn out button contacts to restore functionality. i've also pulled out a resistor to a tilt sensor to increase battery life (from weeks to months) on a universal remote:
http://flickr.com/photos/blackfeathers/sets/72157607734827820/

i've put together multi-booting oses on appliances turned computers in 2000 -but everybody does that. i've used conduit piping & pipe fittings to make modern curtain rods after. i've done a few ikea hacks that's been done before. this one for example: http://flickr.com/photos/blackfeathers/sets/72157607014052490/

sometimes browsing stores (like ikea, hardware, electronics, office, online, even toy stores, or whatever) gives you ideas that were unrelated but that you never thought of before.

looks like a better way to minimise the black bars at the top & bottom. still seeing black bars on a 16:9 on a live broadcast is distracting. i wonder how much of this 21:9 will fit with a 2.39.1 aspect ratio w/o distortion to fill the screen.