Tong Family (richtong.org sync)

I’ve been using a VPN for privacy particularly on wifi networks (Starbucks). I’ve been using Tunnelblick for a while, but in the most recent releases on Yosemite it has become pretty unstable. Seems to hang and then OpenVPN underneath breaks and network access stops. So I’ve flipped to privateinternetaccess.com’s own…

OK, if you are really into nerdville, then you know that the DNS queries (what tells the computer where google.com is) is easy to spoof and hack. This let’s people divert traffic from google.com to their own servers. Bad, bad, bad. So there are three solutions: DNSSec. This essentially means…

Now that there are so many cloud providers, it’s actually pretty complicated to figure out which set to use. It is pretty clear that you have to use a set and when you are in the cloud, you also have to think about privacy and who can look at what,…

Well, Adobe keeps getting more powerful and with the latest Lightroom, they added panorama and HDR, still it does seem like staying out of the way of companies with a lock on the market isn’t a bad idea. Here are some alternatives: Photoshop This is a product I don’t use…

Well a bunch of things definitely break when using your Mac in a secure way. I have two problems. First is with Tunnelblick, the open source VPN connection. It keeps hanging Yosemite. I finally uninstalled it and am trying privateinternetaccess.com’s own client. Also. I’ve been having trouble with iCloud and…

Well it certainly is a great time to try new high end cameras. In looking at lensrentals.com, it’s a great way to test them without spending thousands. Here’s my drool list: Blackmagic Design 4K Production Camera. This is 4K with a Canon EF mount system, so a great complement to…

Well I’ve been using Vuescan and suddenly it started doing dark blue scans and ignoring things in the user interface. it would continuously scan four times. The fix seems to be the age old delete all the preferences and start over. Here is how on a Mac Go to Finder…

So given all the photos that are happening, where’s the best to store things. Much has changed and it has gotten incredibly cheap to store photos and see them everywhere. So I’ll sort the list with two criteria, size of storage, privacy and convenience: Photos in the cloud Amazon Cloud.…

Adobe continues the drum beat of including everything. Perhaps this is the right subsittute given Apple Photos issues. The latest Lightroom has a bunch of the separate utilities I’ve been using: HDR Merge. This works with Raw and is like the Photomatic I’ve used or HDR Luminance (open source) Panorama.…

They don’t even make this anymore (heck Minolta became Minolta-Konica and then I think Sony bought them). But it is still a good 35mm film scanner. As I get nostalgic, I’ve reinvigorated the desire to index all those old photos my Dad and I have taken. Here are some operating…