eirikso.com

Recently I bought some Super Mario keychains to my sons. They loved them, but didn't understand that stupid keychain thing. And removed it so they could play with the figures. Leaving me with all these: To make a long story short: I had a small bag of keys from an old Grass Valley image ...

Sometimes it's nice to be able to post articles by email. And this is a test to see how Posterous handles automatic posting to WordPress. How about support for Norwegian characters: æøå ÆØÅ? That used to be a pain when using the Postie-plugin for WP. And how about the attached and geotagged image from my iPhone 4?

Sometimes it's nice to be able to post articles by email. And this is a test to see how Posterous handles automatic posting to Wordpress. How about support for Norwegian characters: æøå ÆØÅ? That used to be a pain when using the Postie-plugin for WP. And how about the attached and geotagged image ...

I’m using Previously I used DxO Optics pro to adjust and correct some of my images. But because of their stupid licensing system I’ve been forced to use other solutions lately.

And my conclusion is that you probably don’t need DxO.

The licensing

I’m using several professional software packages. Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, iStopMotion Pro. Elgato Turbo HD, Apple Keynote etc. Pretty expensive and professional software.

I’m working on several different computers. But my main workstations are:
1. My MacBook Pro (on the road)
2. My 24″ iMac (at home)
3. My MacMini (for time consuming batch jobs)

I would guess that laptop + desktop machine is pretty usual. But because I’m working on huge amounts of large files I also use my MacMini from time to time. Simply because that’s the computer that is running 24/7.

And all my professional software is installed on all these computers. I use the same license key on all of them because I never use the computers at the same time.

But this won’t work for DxO. When you buy their 299 Euro Elite license you’re only allowed to install the software on two computers.

I’ve run into trouble several times because of this.

Here is one scenario: installed on iMac and MacBook pro. Then my MacBook pro died. I get a new machine and get a message that I’m not allowed to install on an extra computer. My two installs are already used.

The result is that I have to send an email to DxO and wait for an answer and then after explaining the problem I’m granted access to another install.

Currently I’m running DxO on my laptop and my iMac. A couple of days ago I returned from a holliday and wanted to start a huge batch job of DxO processing on my MacMini. When I tried to install it I got the usual message: not allowed.

I email DxO and explain the problem. I’ve paid for the license. I don’t want to run it on several computers at the same time, but I want to be able to run it on the computer in my house that is running 24/7 so it can do the processing while I’m sleeping. Yes, I could set my iMac to run all night, but that wouldn’t be very environmentally friendly, and it is the MacMini that is placed in our home in a way where it can run all night without disturbing us with noise etc.

In total I had to wait for more than a week for this answer from DxO.:

“Hello Eirik,
Thank you. The license agreement limits installation and activation to two systems at the same time. If you do need a third activation, that will require the purchase of an additional license.

regards,
Jeff
DxO Support Team
DxO Labs”

Well, I don’t have to buy several licenses of Lightroom, Photoshop, Keynote, iStopMotion and all the other packages I use just because I want to install them on the three computers I use.

Fortunately the latest version of Lightroom have included lens correction. And my quick tests show that for me, I really don’t need DxO anymore. This is not a scientific test and I really, really hope that the DxO correction is way better than the Lightroom correction. Or, at least 299 Euro worth of pure quality… But for me, the benefits of using Lightroom exceeds the extra hassle and probably slightly better quality of DxO:

- Lightroom doesn’t have that stupid licensing system
- Lightroom is much faster
- Keeping all my work inside of Lightroom gives a much simpler workflow
- For me, the quality is good enough

Here is my quick test. Using a fisheye image shot with my Canon 5D Mark II and my Canon 15mm f2.8 fisheye:

Original image:

Defished with Lightroom:

Defished with DxO:

Comparison from a corner of the image. No defish but all lens corrections (click the image for full size):

I'm using Previously I used DxO Optics pro to adjust and correct some of my images. But because of their stupid licensing system I've been forced to use other solutions lately. And my conclusion is that you probably don't need DxO. The licensing I'm using several professional software packages. Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, iStopMotion Pro. ...

I’ll be speaking at the Open Video Conference (OVC).
Save the dates: October 1-2, 2010.

Image: Xeni Jardin at OVC 2009

Last year’s OVC was fantastic. Great speakers and a great audience. This is the place for new business models, open content and huge amounts of talented creatives, programmers, editors and producers.

I’m honored to speak at a conference together with people like “the explainer” Michael Wesch, OK Go’s Damian Kulash and loads of other smart people!

I'll be speaking at the Open Video Conference (OVC). Save the dates: October 1-2, 2010. Image: Xeni Jardin at OVC 2009 Last year's OVC was fantastic. Great speakers and a great audience. This is the place for new business models, open content and huge amounts of talented creatives, programmers, editors and producers. I'm honored to speak at a ...

I needed some flashlights for use in water this summer and gave dealextreme a chance.

After some reading I ended up with an UltraFire W200 and a Diving Cree SSC-P7. My conclusion so far is like most people that have done some flashlight research. The way the vendors measure Lumen must be completely different from each other. The 175 Lumen UltraFire is extremely bright and much brighter than my existing 100 Lumen LED Lenser T5. And the Diving Cree SSC-P7 that is supposed to be 900 Lumen is by far the brightest, but not at all 900 Lumen if they measure the way UltraFire ends up with 175 Lumen for the W200.

But anyway: both the Diving Cree SSC-P7 and the UltraFire seems very sturdy. They’re very bright and I look forward to some real life testing in water. The Diving Cree SSC-P7 has a very nice power switch based on magnets. Making the device completely sealed when in use.

I made a quick video and an image for you to compare the two new flashlights with some of my old ones.

I needed some flashlights for use in water this summer and gave dealextreme a chance. After some reading I ended up with an UltraFire W200 and a Diving Cree SSC-P7. My conclusion so far is like most people that have done some flashlight research. The way the vendors measure Lumen must be completely different from ...