Phone cases serve a two functions. they have to protect the electronics from being damage from drops and general clumsiness as well as scratches from  keys, coins and other metal objects from your pocket. I had situations where by I was tucking my phone in mid conversation, and I miss the opening and watched in that dramatic slow motion where my phone would drop to the floor.

Most phone cases in cheap stores don't claim to be drop proof from a height of 1 meter, but the big think ones seem to handle such a task. I think my preference are the leather bound wallet designs because they encase the entire phone screen included which helps.

In cases which the ground is not even or stony floor, I can believe a night mare situation where the screen just looks like it been clawed by wolverine, because of so many scratches.



The second function for some unknown reason is its looks. People are attracted to pretty things, weather its a nice car or a beautiful lady. Take Apple in the beginning when all personnel computers looked like white boxes that was only used for logic, things was dull and boring. Now that Apple started to make things shiny and pretty. Things have gone along way for the computer company in sale figures.
A new way of looking at things have made it nice enough for the designer to come out like insects from a garden stone to sprout out and put novel designs on things.

It reminds me of the stupid tee shirt craze when half amusing slogans or jokes was placed on tee shirts to make the wearer a comedian. I think I drew the line when swear words and phrases with sick sexual undertones began seeping in public places. Instead I would try to print my own and have a nice quadratic equation on my tee-shirt.
Even a simple math proof can look pretty to me or am I alone in this statement?.


Anyway customization seems like the driving force for so many designs these days how we like novel designs because it is different to everyone else's. But like the slogan tee-shirts I have seen some real ugly designs for Iphone cases. Here is my list.


This entire typewrite has a useful function of a old fashion keyboard, shame its bulky and stupid looking when you add a Ipad to it, its mixing old and new in a bad way.

A carbonite steve wosniak indeed having a personalised version of this would just make you more of a star-wars nerd then ever. I am not sure waving this in your ear in places other then a comic con convention would give positive impressions

 OK I can see potentially with the violent and trigger happy police of today, there might be some misunderstanding with this gun shaped phone case. Take this out very slowly with the full knowledge that most people are not gonna have the same sick humour as you.

 A novelty case such as this broken skate board is quite useless unless you are a skater and that you have big pockets to hold the extra plastic that surrounds this unique item.

 Hmmm retro idea same lame joke that your phone might look like a communications device back in the late eighties

 For you alcoholics you can now use your phone as a bottle opener with added potential water damage because the fizzy beer will soak your phone, in the name of showing off...

 Real ugly sick murder horror idea for you who want to celebrate Halloween. And then be inconvenienced for the rest of the year if you choose to carry on with this joke. With a hand popping out your pockets.

 I don't mind this design its just that the face sticks out so far from the phone. And if you was to have this in your pocket you would look ridicules away. Or extremely horny with this unknown erect thing in your pockets.

 I thought it might be a good novel thing but really a reusable drawing pad on the back of your phone. Don't they have a APP for that already.

 Bring a knuckle duster phone case into a knife fight and see where it might take you. I am thinking that you are going to need another phone and some stitches...

Real stupid phone case may act like a phone stand but who want this bulky thing in your pocket. And to pull it out to show off and be the pervert that people think you are.

I think Ill just stick with my leather wallet case though some how I do like those arm band versions for joggers. Only I am no jogger and I thought it might look good as a arm wrist phone. I can this for emails and web page functions, more then as a phone. It kind of looks as if I want to live out my fantasy of having a PIP boy 3000 on my wrist.





But thinking about it , this thing has to be many things a small computer.

A calender, a watch or stopwatch, a news paper or information gatherer. As well as a phone.
Dressing it up like a little dolly is not my thing, if anything else I would like to have a secure device that will protect it from drops and prevent it from being lost. (when I walk away from it in a drunken night out with the boys)
If some one can invent something like that then I'll be interested...

Ingredients for a 3D computer

Lately I posed the question.

Hi do you know if the latest final cut pro can import the new AVCHD 2.0 files or MVC files???Basically If I am thinking about buying a Sony HDR-TD10 which records dual 1920 x1080 side by side picture 3D  format, people are saying it cant be done. But that was last year I am wondering if there are any changes or rumors for changes to accommodate 3D???.



It would seem that it's early days for 3D HD, I posted this question on Apples web forum hoping I might get a answer in a few days. Mean while looking at another forms I noticed someone says that Sony vegas 11 has been able to import the Sony HDR TD10 or the JVC everio GSTD1    3D video files. I just wonder if I can still use final cut or Just move on to vegas
This forum says sony vegas can use the new 3D video formats for editing.
But it puts a question, what will happen to to the Video editors who Don't have the ability to import MVC or AVCHD 2.0 3D files?. I would like to think I can get a update from Apple because I have a all in one package, from camera to the editor and effects to sound and later to DVD. I can't believe the new formats hasn't persuaded the software engineers to make the changes, since the introduction of 3D camcorders at CES in 2011.
Mean while if I don't get an answer to  my question I will have to be forced to buy sony vegas and try to send it to Final cut for titles and effects or DVD. Crazy as that might seem, it's like changing cars mid way on a regular journey to work. With that in mind I'd rather walk....

To 3D or not to 3D

Ok its camcorder upgrade time. Why ??. Well my old one was brought from a place in America quite cheaply as a holiday present and so it is a NTSC version. Its slightly inconvenient when I choose to watch the playback on an old TV(England uses PAL). And it uses the Digital Video tapes which can fail if not clean properly. So I am buy DV cleaning tapes to sort out the picture quality, a extra cost which I really hate doing.
Another thing the noise of the tape machine can be overheard when I am recording in a quite room. Another factor which tips the scale, for me to choose another camera.

So what to choose?, I like to think my old laptop can handle standard definition quite well. My mac book pro dual core with 4 gig ram can just about do cartoon renders on my short you tube clips.
But I am ambitious to try High Definition on it. Granted it might have a hissy fit on the 1020p data but if all else fails My 4 core game computer can come and take over. I got a copy or premiere elements which will edit it in some way.

But why by HD when you can go 3D, I like the Blue ray DVD's and I love the 3d gaming. (played Battle field 2 in 3D). I had a go earlier on with a Aiptek camera and thought its a cool concept. But I realized quickly the hardware isn't good enough as the action in front of the camera was too much for the camera to capture. i.e. it would strobe during quick panning movements.
But times moved on and now since the CES of 2011, there have been a couple of major contenders.



Sony HDR-TD10 3D A nice little two eyed machine that kind of looks and weights almost a  half bag of sugar The footage looks gorgeous, it doesn't strobe and it can be immersive when looking at landscapes. I am not sure if the youtube clips give it justice as I think the clips might have been compressed compared to raw data straight off the camera.

Also if looking at moving camera shoots, I got a little dizzy and thought I'll give my eyes a rest.

Anyway the play pack of the youtube clip is pretty good,  If I was to film weddings or music gigs with this it would be visually great. I have a camera stabilizer and the machine it self has a reasonably good electronic stabilizer too. So if I was to buy it, I can assume the camera movements would be almost professional quality.

JVC Everio GS-TD1BEK 3D Full HD Looks like a case to put your binoculars in. Its black high tech only a mother could love Darth vaders lunch box, could be said to be the same specs as the Sony camera. Weighing the same half bag of sugar the machine footage is ok. I seem to think its slightly dull then the sony and there might be slight strobing on the JVC.



Bear in mind that when I looked at both youtube clips, I watched then on firefox browser with silverlight 3D software add on and Nvidia 3d vision Hardware ( with stupid glasses, as well as my own optical ones), so I can see in full glory of 3D films and youtube 3D clips.

There are cheap alternatives like the sony 3D bloggie and the Veiwsonic VC3D2 3D, a Aiptek 3D ih3 camcorder or even a Panasonic camera (I am a 2d camera but I'll put this attachment on and convert to 3d). A seem nice camera but don't have the good quality of 3d as the Sony or JVC.

I could go the old school route of recording two HD recorders like Go pro and get good quality footage. This is good for action stuff, it would mean I have to get 3d toolbox to put together the two images and have a side by side format. The side by side format would then be compatible to my system a 3D tv or most 3D systems.

I guess I would like one of the two main 3D camcorders, but none of then have any spec of the capture rate or frames per second. Would love to film things in Slow mo like golf shots or cool artistic time manipulation shots. The sony has I believe another version in the form of HDR-TD20 it's just smaller and has a G.P.S.
Sure light weight machines are convenient but the price tag of £1300 is a bit much.

The main question now is, how can I input the camera footage to Final cut pro?. The JVC and Sony outputs to MVC or AVCHD formats. There seems to be difficulty to transfer these formats to Final cut or even my Adobe Premiere elements. I could do a search for MVC to avi converters which seem a slightly cheaper option then to buy Sony vegas pro video editor 10 which is about £450 on ebay(Sony vegas seems to be compatible with MVC or AVCHD format). Its seems with my budget cuts I might have to rethink my options about 3D