Comments for MarkMcB http://markmcb.com Mark McBride of San Francisco Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:31:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on 3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo by Neil Youngson http://markmcb.com/2011/10/28/3-reasons-aperture-and-picasa-are-a-great-photo-combo/#comment-3065 Neil Youngson Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:31:58 +0000 http://markmcb.com/?p=418#comment-3065 Nice article, but I think maybe the title should have read "3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo, and 1 deal-breaker!" The deal breaker is the lack of support in Picasa web albums for nested albums. I had hoped Picasa would be a suitable replacement for iWeb/MobileMe, but without even a single layer of nesting I'm going to have to find an alternative, which is a shame because otherwise I like Picasa web albums and the desktop Mac app is not bad. Nice article, but I think maybe the title should have read “3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo, and 1 deal-breaker!”

The deal breaker is the lack of support in Picasa web albums for nested albums. I had hoped Picasa would be a suitable replacement for iWeb/MobileMe, but without even a single layer of nesting I’m going to have to find an alternative, which is a shame because otherwise I like Picasa web albums and the desktop Mac app is not bad.

]]> Comment on 3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo by markmcb http://markmcb.com/2011/10/28/3-reasons-aperture-and-picasa-are-a-great-photo-combo/#comment-2406 markmcb Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:10:07 +0000 http://markmcb.com/?p=418#comment-2406 Ultimately it comes down to how fast your connection is to your data. Given that it's all local, I'm assuming it's very fast. I'd just do a rough speed test. Maybe see how long it takes your computer to move 1 GB locally and then do the same to/from your NAS. Unless you notice a really big difference between the two, you should have no problems. (And if you do notice a big lag, you've probably got a network or config issue somewhere.) I don't notice any performance issues when using my local network. Also, I don't really access the older images that I put in the other libraries much either. I think that's a big thing to consider. If you only occasionally need them, any performance issues you have might not be a big deal. The big tradeoff isn't speed so much as it is when you're away and suddenly realize you want that image that's only on your server. I've never really ran into this scenario as I can always wait until I'm home and can plug back in, but it's the main thing I'd consider. Ultimately it comes down to how fast your connection is to your data. Given that it’s all local, I’m assuming it’s very fast. I’d just do a rough speed test. Maybe see how long it takes your computer to move 1 GB locally and then do the same to/from your NAS. Unless you notice a really big difference between the two, you should have no problems. (And if you do notice a big lag, you’ve probably got a network or config issue somewhere.)

I don’t notice any performance issues when using my local network. Also, I don’t really access the older images that I put in the other libraries much either. I think that’s a big thing to consider. If you only occasionally need them, any performance issues you have might not be a big deal.

The big tradeoff isn’t speed so much as it is when you’re away and suddenly realize you want that image that’s only on your server. I’ve never really ran into this scenario as I can always wait until I’m home and can plug back in, but it’s the main thing I’d consider.

]]> Comment on 3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo by Danny http://markmcb.com/2011/10/28/3-reasons-aperture-and-picasa-are-a-great-photo-combo/#comment-2314 Danny Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:27:54 +0000 http://markmcb.com/?p=418#comment-2314 thanks for the quick reply I use iphoto today and my library is close to 140gb on my MB with a 250gb drive. I very seriously considering moving to Aperture/Picasa combo. Read about your NAS setup and its quite neat. I am currently using an HTPC/NAS solution with W7K and it wirelessly connects to my home network. I need to move to Aperture on my MB but a little unsure about storing libraries on the NAS (HFS+ partition on the W7K machine), from speed and reliability/compatibility perspective. What are you thoughts on that? thanks for the quick reply

I use iphoto today and my library is close to 140gb on my MB with a 250gb drive. I very seriously considering moving to Aperture/Picasa combo.

Read about your NAS setup and its quite neat. I am currently using an HTPC/NAS solution with W7K and it wirelessly connects to my home network.

I need to move to Aperture on my MB but a little unsure about storing libraries on the NAS (HFS+ partition on the W7K machine), from speed and reliability/compatibility perspective.

What are you thoughts on that?

]]> Comment on 3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo by markmcb http://markmcb.com/2011/10/28/3-reasons-aperture-and-picasa-are-a-great-photo-combo/#comment-2230 markmcb Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:09:37 +0000 http://markmcb.com/?p=418#comment-2230 I do have Linux box <a href="http://markmcb.com/2011/06/11/5tb-lvm-volume-with-an-lsi-9265-8i-raid-controller/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">on my network</a> that acts as a NAS amongst other things. I just create additional libraries in Aperture and store them on the local network to free up space on my laptop. I generally only keep the most recent year or so of photos on my laptop. I do have Linux box on my network that acts as a NAS amongst other things. I just create additional libraries in Aperture and store them on the local network to free up space on my laptop. I generally only keep the most recent year or so of photos on my laptop.

]]> Comment on 3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo by Danny http://markmcb.com/2011/10/28/3-reasons-aperture-and-picasa-are-a-great-photo-combo/#comment-2222 Danny Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:42:13 +0000 http://markmcb.com/?p=418#comment-2222 Great post, I am curious about local storage of your photos. Do you use a NAS? If yes, could you explain how you have that setup? Thanks in advance Great post, I am curious about local storage of your photos. Do you use a NAS? If yes, could you explain how you have that setup?

Thanks in advance

]]> Comment on 3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo by Tim Jasper http://markmcb.com/2011/10/28/3-reasons-aperture-and-picasa-are-a-great-photo-combo/#comment-1082 Tim Jasper Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:26:12 +0000 http://markmcb.com/?p=418#comment-1082 Great to find someone who mirrors exactly how I handle my workflow. (ie Aperture & Picasa). Of course like yourself I am frustrated by the lack of sync between Aperture & picasaweb. Its unlikely we'll see this any time soon. I too used Flickr (Pro) for a while and whilst it has some 'gloss', it fails in the social/sharing arena. Google + and the circles it introduces walks all over sets, and guest passes etc. Great to find someone who mirrors exactly how I handle my workflow. (ie Aperture & Picasa). Of course like yourself I am frustrated by the lack of sync between Aperture & picasaweb. Its unlikely we’ll see this any time soon. I too used Flickr (Pro) for a while and whilst it has some ‘gloss’, it fails in the social/sharing arena. Google + and the circles it introduces walks all over sets, and guest passes etc.

]]> Comment on 3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo by Jesse Hollington http://markmcb.com/2011/10/28/3-reasons-aperture-and-picasa-are-a-great-photo-combo/#comment-767 Jesse Hollington Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:54:00 +0000 http://markmcb.com/?p=418#comment-767 Thanks for the response. Actually, your'e right that 6 & 7 are key, and I think the watched folder is a great idea -- much simpler than I was contemplating. My workflow is otherwise similar to yours -- although I use ratings instead of colours on the basis that anything with three stars or more is suitable for publication, and anything with four or more is a "best of." Using a label is interesting, however and in some ways I like it better since it's a clearer indication, even if I simply label all the four- and five-starred items :) Pushing the photos *to* Picasa with a watched folder though definitely seems easier than trying to track them down in Picasa and then import them *from* Aperture, and I think the main point I missed was the ability to setup a watched folder that automatically syncs to the web. Nice touch. As for the Aperture integration with Flickr, Facebook and MobileMe, I generally used it primarily as a "push" feature anyway (particularly for the latter two), as I rarely need to manage albums once they're published. I may add or occasionally remove content (or the entire albums), for which the built-in functionality more or less meets my needs. Sadly, I have a feeling it will be an arctic day in Cupertino before Apple adds Google Photo / Picasa integration to either iPhoto or Aperture, so using Picasa as my "sharing" tool is probably the only option (I did something similar with iPhoto back in the days before Aperture directly supported sharing features). Thanks for the response. Actually, your’e right that 6 & 7 are key, and I think the watched folder is a great idea — much simpler than I was contemplating. My workflow is otherwise similar to yours — although I use ratings instead of colours on the basis that anything with three stars or more is suitable for publication, and anything with four or more is a “best of.” Using a label is interesting, however and in some ways I like it better since it’s a clearer indication, even if I simply label all the four- and five-starred items :)

Pushing the photos *to* Picasa with a watched folder though definitely seems easier than trying to track them down in Picasa and then import them *from* Aperture, and I think the main point I missed was the ability to setup a watched folder that automatically syncs to the web. Nice touch.

As for the Aperture integration with Flickr, Facebook and MobileMe, I generally used it primarily as a “push” feature anyway (particularly for the latter two), as I rarely need to manage albums once they’re published. I may add or occasionally remove content (or the entire albums), for which the built-in functionality more or less meets my needs. Sadly, I have a feeling it will be an arctic day in Cupertino before Apple adds Google Photo / Picasa integration to either iPhoto or Aperture, so using Picasa as my “sharing” tool is probably the only option (I did something similar with iPhoto back in the days before Aperture directly supported sharing features).

]]> Comment on 3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo by markmcb http://markmcb.com/2011/10/28/3-reasons-aperture-and-picasa-are-a-great-photo-combo/#comment-766 markmcb Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:44:00 +0000 http://markmcb.com/?p=418#comment-766 @Jesse, my workflow is simply this: 1) plug in my SD card, 2) import photos into a new/existing Aperture library, 3) go through the photos and mark the ones I want to be public as green, 4) create a smart album of the green photo, 5) command-A (select all), command-shift-E (export) to a folder called "For Sharing" with Year/Project as the export path, 6) switch to Picasa, which has already been set up to watch that folder and toggle on "Sync to Web", 7) at any point, make edits I want shared in Picasa Steps 6 & 7 are the big ones for me. At step 5 you could use a publish plugin, but I would definitely disagree with you that they are "nice" or "clean." The Flickr plugin is oh-so-close, but it has some major issues in my opinion (like when you want to disconnect project with Flickr, the plugin wants to delete everything on Flickr). Not all issues are with the plugins. For example, the Flickr API doesn't allow collection management. It makes it hard for any plugin to do much more than simply "push." If sync if needed, I didn't see anything that came close to Picasa. @Jesse, my workflow is simply this: 1) plug in my SD card, 2) import photos into a new/existing Aperture library, 3) go through the photos and mark the ones I want to be public as green, 4) create a smart album of the green photo, 5) command-A (select all), command-shift-E (export) to a folder called “For Sharing” with Year/Project as the export path, 6) switch to Picasa, which has already been set up to watch that folder and toggle on “Sync to Web”, 7) at any point, make edits I want shared in Picasa

Steps 6 & 7 are the big ones for me. At step 5 you could use a publish plugin, but I would definitely disagree with you that they are “nice” or “clean.” The Flickr plugin is oh-so-close, but it has some major issues in my opinion (like when you want to disconnect project with Flickr, the plugin wants to delete everything on Flickr). Not all issues are with the plugins. For example, the Flickr API doesn’t allow collection management. It makes it hard for any plugin to do much more than simply “push.” If sync if needed, I didn’t see anything that came close to Picasa.

]]> Comment on 3 Reasons Aperture and Picasa are a Great Photo Combo by Jesse Hollington http://markmcb.com/2011/10/28/3-reasons-aperture-and-picasa-are-a-great-photo-combo/#comment-765 Jesse Hollington Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:02:00 +0000 http://markmcb.com/?p=418#comment-765 Interesting post, thanks. I'm curious as to what your actual workflow is between Aperture and Picasa, however... I don't see any obvious ways that would allow the two to easily integrate beyond manually importing photos from Aperture into external folders managed by Picasa and then uploading them to PicasaWeb/Google+ from there. However, this seems like a more cumbersome process and lacks the nice clean integration that Aperture has with services like Flickr, Facebook and the (soon-to-be-defunct) MobileMe Gallery. Interesting post, thanks. I’m curious as to what your actual workflow is between Aperture and Picasa, however… I don’t see any obvious ways that would allow the two to easily integrate beyond manually importing photos from Aperture into external folders managed by Picasa and then uploading them to PicasaWeb/Google+ from there.

However, this seems like a more cumbersome process and lacks the nice clean integration that Aperture has with services like Flickr, Facebook and the (soon-to-be-defunct) MobileMe Gallery.

]]> Comment on CrashPlan for Large, Distributed, Cheap, Off-Site Backup by markmcb http://markmcb.com/2011/07/31/crashplan-for-large-distributed-cheap-off-site-backup/#comment-732 markmcb Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:54:51 +0000 http://markmcb.com/?p=357#comment-732 Aside from the RAID, the server is fairly simple custom build: ASUS board, Intel i7 processor, and 6GB of RAM. I'm running Ubuntu 11.04 (I usually prefer Debian, but Ubuntu handled my RAID card better so I made the switch). I've got <a href="http://markmcb.com/2011/06/11/5tb-lvm-volume-with-an-lsi-9265-8i-raid-controller/" rel="nofollow">details about the RAID in a separate blog post</a>. I have the server running netatalk and avahi to have it advertise Time Machine backup services. All of the Crashplan backup services are setup using the client software. I definitely recommend setting up NFS (or whatever protocol suits your needs) and have OS X auto-mount it. That's what I do to quickly pass gigs of raw digital video files, music, etc., across the local network Assuming your network hardware is fairly new, it should feel like you're working locally on your laptop. RAID is especially nice for saving huge files (or huge sets of files) as it allows extremely fast writes. Hope that helps. Aside from the RAID, the server is fairly simple custom build: ASUS board, Intel i7 processor, and 6GB of RAM. I’m running Ubuntu 11.04 (I usually prefer Debian, but Ubuntu handled my RAID card better so I made the switch). I’ve got details about the RAID in a separate blog post.

I have the server running netatalk and avahi to have it advertise Time Machine backup services. All of the Crashplan backup services are setup using the client software.

I definitely recommend setting up NFS (or whatever protocol suits your needs) and have OS X auto-mount it. That’s what I do to quickly pass gigs of raw digital video files, music, etc., across the local network Assuming your network hardware is fairly new, it should feel like you’re working locally on your laptop. RAID is especially nice for saving huge files (or huge sets of files) as it allows extremely fast writes.

Hope that helps.

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