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Apple’s new M1 computers max out at 16GB RAM and you can’t use an external GPU

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The desktop on which I’m writing this article is a PC I built myself in 2013. I built it with 16GB RAM. Back then it was considered a “decent” amount of memory. It was plenty to satisfy most needs, but not overkill. Nor was it a particularly expensive quantity of RAM. Here we are seven years later, in 2020, and Apple thinks that’s the amount of ram you need in a computer today.

Apple’s new M1 ARM-based processor computers announced this week are limited to a maximum of only 16GB of RAM. Which is severely disappointing when creatives have been getting very excited about the impending apple announcement over the past few months. What makes it even worse, though, is that it won’t work with an external GPU, either.

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The person in IKEA’s latest ad is a hyper-realistic CGI model

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We are already witnessing the change in the industry with CGI models taking over ads and campaigns. The latest ad from IKEA Japan is one of the examples, and it’s really interesting to watch. Instead of a human, IKEA used a computer-generated model to be a star of its ad, and I believe most of us couldn’t guess that it wasn’t a real person.

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New “virtual” model agency turns to Uncanny Valley as COVID forces model shortage

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The COVID-19 crisis has hit the fashion modeling industry hard. This is why fashion photographer Shavonne Wong had an idea that could keep the industry alive. Just like these crazy times that we’re living in, the idea is kinda crazy too: Shavonne started a modeling agency that hires virtual models for virtual shoots.

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Apple’s new Mac Pro makes for a terrible cheese grater, too

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Apple’s new Mac Pro has been getting a lot of flack for its appearance. I mean, it DOES look like a giant cheese grater. Sure, on-paper, the specs look pretty good, even if it is a little overpriced. But is that “cheese grater” comparison really justified? And how well does it actually work as a cheese grater?

Ok, so this totally isn’t photography related at all. But as we were one of the sites that made that comparison, I think it’s only fair that we follow it up with this amazing and hilarious experiment from YouTuber Winston Moy. He actually remade the design from aluminium using his CNC machine and then tested to see exactly how well it could grate cheese.

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Apple’s new $6K+ 2019 Mac Pro ditches the trash can design for the cheese grater look

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It’s been a while since Apple last released a new Mac Pro. The first generation was released way back in 2006, with the second coming only slightly more recently at the end of 2013. Six years on, and Apple has now announced a new Mac Pro with prices starting at a mere $5,999 (no monitor included) with the highest end spec model estimated to be around $35K.

And just as the second generation ditched the original design to more closely resemble a trash can, Apple has switched things up again, this time going for more of a cheese grater kind of look.[Read More…]

The ASUS ProArt PQ22UC is the world’s first portable 4K OLED 10-Bit HDR dislay

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ASUS hasn’t traditionally been the first name photographers and video editors turn towards when it comes to monitors. While their motherboards, graphics cards and other components have been extremely popular for years, their monitors haven’t always been held in the same regard.

They have definitely improved over the last few years, though, and ASUS has now really stepped up to the plate with their latest ProArt announcements. Two of them were being showcased at NAB 2019; the PQ22UC 21.6″, a USB powered 4K OLED 10-Bit HDR display, and the PA32UCX, a 32″ desktop monitor also offering excellent specs for imaging & video editing. We spoke with ASUS about the new monitors while we were there to find out more.

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Computer generated fashion models will take over the industry – Is it happening already?

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This is a topic that I’ve seen come up every few months in some form or another. Removing photographers from the process of image creation. And every time CG makes some incremental improvement, getting closer to the appearance of reality, I hear doom and gloom from photographers that their future is in jeopardy and “they won’t even need photographers anymore in a couple of years”.

And while that future might already be here for some product photography, it’s not quite happened for human subjects. Yet. But we may not be far off, if Imma’s Instagram account is anything to go by. Because Imma is actually not human. She’s a CG “virtual model”, who has mostly managed to claw her way out of Uncanny Valley.

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How To Add Computer Cabinet Cooling

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Besides your camera, your computer is probably your single most important piece of photography equipment.

Laptops and iMacs are nice, but if you’re relying on a big beefy desktop PC or Mac Pro to take care of the heavy lifting, your computer is probably tucked away in a computer cabinet somewhere under your desk.

Have you ever checked to see how hot your hard working computer is getting in that enclosed space?

If not, I suggest you check – a computer that is always running hot will not perform as well and will have a drastically shorter life span than a computer with adequate ventilation.  There is a big difference between the amount of heat generated by the average office PC running Excel and a creative professional’s PC rendering 4k video.  And although most computer desks come with a computer cabinet that isn’t totally enclosed, the available openings can be clogged with wires or ineffective if pushed up against a wall.

So, in this article I am going to share a few really easy ways to add active computer cabinet cooling with fans.

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