NTSC-PAL Conversion In Mac

I had always struggled with finding a good NTSC-PAL converter on MAC (or even PC!). In fact, its one of the few services that I have paid for in the past.

Today, I discovered that the solution was sitting right in Apple my lap(top) - Toast Titanium 7. The in-built NTSC-PAL conversion feature is one of the best that I have seen (most plugins for Final Cut Pro has failed me miserably).

Just add your uncompressed Quicktime file into the DVD video section, and export it back as Quicktime after setting your preferences correctly!

I am still trying to figure out how to kick myself for not trying this out in the past. Unfortunately, human body has been designed in a way where its extremely painful to kick any part of yourself properly (unless you are a kung-fu master!).

Twitter widgets in Mixercast!

Months ago, when we were developing the platform for Mixercast, it was unanimously decided to keep the architecture as open as possible. We sincerely believed that the Web 2.0 (yeah, yeah... I know that the word really doesn't mean anything anymore) is not just about social networking and user generated content... its really about the seamless integration/mashup of a multitude of services. Today, now that the site is alive and kicking, that decision might well turn out to be one of the best ones we ever made.

The integration of Twitter into Mixercast, literally took us no more than a week, and more such services are "coming soon". If you are a flash developer, you would really understand the beauty of this - flash running inside flash, and all the users need to do, is drag-and-drop! Isn't that how the world is supposed to be?

22@ Barcelona - Why Europe May Become The Hub

Sunny weather, exotic landscape, historical architecture, outstanding tourist attractions, incredible quality of life... we all know about these pluses in the major parts of Europe. However, no one ever looked at that place and said, "This can be the next valley". Well, attempt is made to change that soon.

Check out 22@ Barcelona - El districte de la innovacio

"22@Barcelona Project goal is to transform 22@Barcelona into an international platform of reference in the creation and development of innovative companies that will serve as magnet to young entrepreneurs of all over the world and making of Barcelona an entrepreneur capital.

Due to this reason, 22@Barcelona promotes several initiatives to provide the district with infrastructures and mechanisms of high support to entrepreneurs. Thus, specialized working spaces and services are created, with the participation of the different institutions linked to entrepreneurship, such as the Local Development Agency Barcelona Activa, la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya o El parc d'Innovació de La Salle-URL."

I keep hearing about a variety of efforts to attract entrepreneurs and the creative thinkers. Also, my opinion of Spanish people is very high in general. So, I am thinking of spending few months checking out the innovation scene in Europe this summer. Let's see.

Apple reveals iTV

Why I love Apple:

"The surprise came in the form of a preview of an unfinished product: The iTV, a small, sleek box that will let people wirelessly move digital movies, TV shows, music videos and photos from personal computers to big-screen televisions.

'I hope that gives you a little bit of an idea of where we are going,' Jobs concluded after talking for about an hour.

Jobs called the iTV 'the missing piece,' and marks the clearest signal how Apple plans to leverage the success of content through iTunes (more than 1.5 billion songs have been downloaded and 220 television shows are available) and the broad appeal of the iPod (more than 60 million have been sold) to stake its claim in your living room. Jobs said the iTV will be available in early 2007 for $299....

.....

Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, noted that Apple's new device will let people move videos from their computers to their televisions using only six buttons -- versus the 56 needed for the Windows XP Media Center, which was released almost two years ago with similar ambitions to be a hub for home entertainment."

Is this the beginning of the end of Satellite Television and media monopoly? I think so.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/15503747.htm