A Guest Contribution by Anotherphotograpbynoob.com. What this tutorial will show you In short: how I made the photo on the right become the photo on the left. In this tutorial, we will cover basic tools of the free photo editing software GIMP. Here is a quick rundown of the features covered in this tutorial: Crop a photo in GIMP Increase contrast with the Levels panel Make the colors pop with the Hue & Saturation panel Adjust colors with the Color Balance panel Add a color filter to boost the warm colors in your photo. Sound hard? Don’t worry. I’ll guide you through the whole…
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Make your Photos Sparkle with GIMP
Digital Photography School19 May 2013 | 9:28 am -
Tips for talking to children after a disaster
Holy Kaw!20 May 2013 | 7:26 pmChildren respond to trauma in many different ways. Some may have reactions very soon after the event; others may seem to be doing fine for weeks or months, and then begin to show worrisome behavior. Knowing the signs that are common at different ages can help parents and teachers to recognize problems and respond appropriately. Tips for talking to kids: Provide children with opportunities to [...] -
Stop Quicktime and Preview from Auto-Restoring What You Left Open
Lifehacker20 May 2013 | 4:00 pmOS X: Auto-restore works great when you want to pick back up where you left off working, but how many times do you leave open a photo or video you actually want to see again when you re-open Preview or Quicktime? A couple of terminal commands can disable this annoying—and potentially embarrassing—feature of OSX.Read more... -
Behind-The-Scenes Video of my Audi R8 Shoot Using the New Priolite Strobes
Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider13 May 2013 | 10:08 pmWhen I recently got the chance to shoot the Audi R8, I only had an hour from start to finish, so I figured I’d give the new Priolites a try because of their “run and gun” wireless capabilities for on-location shooting, and they worked amazingly well. Check out the video to see ‘em in action (and to see one amazing car)! -
Teen Creator of 'Clouds' Viral Music Video Dies of Cancer
Mashable21 May 2013 | 12:17 amZach Sobiech, creator of the "Clouds" song that became a viral YouTube hit, died of cancer on Monday. He was 18. "Zach was at home and at peace with those he loved most," the Children's Cancer Research Fund said in a statement announcing Sobiech's death. "Zach's life ended just as he lived, embraced by the love of his family, friends, grace and music." Sobiech had been fighting osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, for the past four years after his diagnosis at age 14. Last May, after treatment options ran out, doctors told the Minnesotan teen that he had up to a year left to live Since his…
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Holy Kaw!
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Tips for talking to children after a disaster
20 May 2013 | 7:26 pmChildren respond to trauma in many different ways. Some may have reactions very soon after the event; others may seem to be doing fine for weeks or months, and then begin to show worrisome behavior. Knowing the signs that are common at different ages can help parents and teachers to recognize problems and respond appropriately. Tips for talking to kids: Provide children with opportunities to [...] -
Check on loved ones in Oklahoma with Red Cross’ Safe & Well site
20 May 2013 | 6:25 pmOur hearts go out to everyone affected by the devastating tornado that tore through the suburbs of Oklahoma City today, and if you’re looking for loved ones or simply need a way of letting everyone know you’re safe, check out the Red Cross’ Safe & Well site. The two-mile wide tornado reached speeds of approximately [...] -
College (Un)bound: 10 College Myths Debunked [Infographic]
20 May 2013 | 3:56 pmThe four-year college experience is as American as apple pie. So is the belief that higher education offers the ticket to a better life. But with student loan debt surpassing $1 trillion and unemployment of college grads a historic highs, people are beginning to question that value. From Jeffrey J .Selingo via Visual.ly. Tons of [...] -
Pictures from my trip to New Zealand
20 May 2013 | 1:58 pmJust returned from a trip to New Zealand. This is definitely an enchanting place to visit, and it should be on everyone’s bucket list. The highlights were a visit to Hobbiton where we went inside Bilbo Baggins’s house and a zip line on Waiheke Island. Thanks to Air New Zealand and Jo Brothers for making [...] -
Digital security quiz: How safe are you?
20 May 2013 | 1:16 pmEarlier today, we published an infographic about cyber crime from Go-Gulf.com and noted that “Knowing is half the battle.” If you’re ready to tackle the other half, take some time to go through SimpliSafe’s online quiz, “How Vulnerable Are You?”, which covers a range of ways you may be digitally vulnerable and links to articles [...]
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Mashable
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Teen Creator of 'Clouds' Viral Music Video Dies of Cancer
21 May 2013 | 12:17 amZach Sobiech, creator of the "Clouds" song that became a viral YouTube hit, died of cancer on Monday. He was 18. "Zach was at home and at peace with those he loved most," the Children's Cancer Research Fund said in a statement announcing Sobiech's death. "Zach's life ended just as he lived, embraced by the love of his family, friends, grace and music." Sobiech had been fighting osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, for the past four years after his diagnosis at age 14. Last May, after treatment options ran out, doctors told the Minnesotan teen that he had up to a year left to live Since his… -
Facebook Group Helps Tornado Victims Get Their Belongings Back
20 May 2013 | 11:42 pmA Facebook group is helping the victims of the massive Oklahoma tornado, which killed 51 people and left many homeless, get their belongings back On its trail of destruction, the tornado has blown debris from houses — including people's personal belongings and important documents — many miles away. The Facebook group asks members to post photos of any items or documents that were blown into their yard, so that they can be returned to the rightful owners SEE ALSO: Terrifying Eyewitness Videos of Oklahoma Tornado Go Viral "I'm just trying to help. I couldn't imagine losing my kids'… -
3D-Printed Sugar Sculptures Too Sweet to Eat
20 May 2013 | 10:56 pmYou’ve heard of 3D-printed clothes and 3D-printed buildings, but 3D-printed food? We are truly entering sci-fi territory. The Sugar Lab takes simple white sugar as its base material to print delicate 3D structures that can be eaten on their own, or used as a decorative topper for cakes and cupcakes The company, founded by married couple Kyle and Liz, started out when they wanted to make their friend a birthday cake but didn’t have an oven. They began to experiment with printing with sugar, until they finally discovered the secret formula to making complex geometric shapes from the… -
Teen Develops Computer Algorthim to Diagnose Leukemia
20 May 2013 | 10:38 pmBrittany Wenger isn't your average high-school senior: She taught the computer how to diagnose leukemia. The 18-year-old student from Sarasota, Fla. built a custom, cloud-based "artificial neural network" to find patterns in genetic expression profiles to diagnose patients with an aggressive form of cancer called mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL). Simply put, this means Wenger taught the computer how to diagnose leukemia by creating a diagnostic tool for doctors to use. Since artificial neural networks are programs that model the brain's neurons and their interconnections, Wenger told Mashable… -
Teach Your Kids Tech Basics With Electronic Building Blocks
20 May 2013 | 10:01 pmFor parents looking for educational toys, a hardware startup developed electronic buildings blocks and a companion augmented reality app that make for an interactive learning experience. Founded by Tarun Pondicherry and Josh Chan, LightUp magnetic building blocks that can teach anyone about how electronics work. The interactive blocks are different electronic components, like a battery, light sensor, LED, variable resistor, button, buzzer, wire blocks and more. When snapping together the various magnetic blocks, kids and teens can build projects like a night light and dimmer switch, to more…
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Fast Company
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Rural Modernism: A Charming Off-Grid Home Planted In A Cornfield
20 May 2013 | 3:45 pmThe House on Limekiln Line offers a modern take on the local agricultural vernacular--plus a bunch of energy-conscious features. Deep in the rural heart of Ontario’s Huron County, an asymmetrical A-frame silhouette can be seen above the surrounding grass and rolling cornfields. The House on Limekiln Line takes its structural cues from the traditional style of its barn-y brethren, but the off-grid abode employs a host of modern features that ensure minimal impact, while taking maximum advantage of the amazing landscape that stretches out on all sides. The design-build commission was a… -
A Book That Celebrates The Tactile Thrills Of Print
20 May 2013 | 2:30 pmFully Booked extols print media’s tactile, artsy strengths: intricate folds, pop-ups, embossing, and bindings. “Let me state this for the record: the Internet is not dead. Digital will not disappear. Print will not kill the web.” These statements are laid out in bold red, right on the white cover of Fully Booked: Ink on Paper, a new hardback from Gestalten, and it’s such a familiar trope that it takes a moment to register the clever turnaround. The rest of the essay, which extends for pages into the interior, further imagines a world in which an emerging print media… -
Next Time You Hear There’s A Scientific Debate About Climate Change, Remember This
20 May 2013 | 2:00 pmA study of studies finds that basically all scientists say it’s happening and that we’re causing it. When a recent Pew Research Center survey asked "do scientists agree [the] earth is getting warmer from climate change because of human activity?" 43% of Americans said "no." In other words, according to the citizenry, there’s still a debate in the scientific community about the causes of global warming.Read Full Story -
Watch: An Interactive Documentary Modeled On Internet Porn
20 May 2013 | 1:15 pm10-second teaser clips? Limited time subscriptions? It’s not pornography; it’s an interactive documentary about pornography. It’s an artful documentary steeped in the traditions of cinéma vérité. But to anyone looking over your shoulder, you’ll just be watching porn. I Love Your Work, by Jonathan Harris, profiles the lives of nine women who produce lesbian pornography. It’s roughly six hours of footage, all broken down into 2,202 separate 10-second clips captured five minutes apart.Read Full Story -
How Adult Tumblrs Could Land Yahoo In A Legal Pinch
20 May 2013 | 12:34 pmMarissa Mayer says she wants to "let Tumblr be Tumblr" after acquiring David Karp's microblogging service for $1.1 billion. But the bigger problem for Yahoo might be porn pages that don't reveal enough. Of all the questions about monetization, advertising, and scale that have surfaced since Yahoo announced its $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr, one giant point is getting buried: what to do with Tumblr's porn? Tracking: Yahoo's Acquisition Spree Marissa Mayer's first visible mission as CEO of Yahoo has been a series of startup acquisitions. Follow them here.Read Full…
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TechCrunch
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MavenSay Enjoying Sudden Popularity In Social Media-Hungry Indonesia
20 May 2013 | 9:39 pmMavenSay, a social recommendation app, just got a surge of unplanned downloads coming from Indonesia, and its founders are moving quickly to include Southeast Asia in its expansion plans, as a result. The company’s Toronto-based co-founder, Jesse Dallal, said the two-month old app got 100,000 downloads over the past fortnight. It has a total of 130,000 downloads so far, and the sudden surge was tracked back to a power user based in Indonesia. They’re not sure which one it is, but the source of traffic points to the country, he said. The way the app works is similar to Pinterest,… -
Real-Time Parking Startup ParkMe Launches An Android App
20 May 2013 | 9:01 pmReal-time parking startup ParkMe wants to help find you parking — in real-time. The company, which originally started out on the Web, has been making a big push behind mobile apps, which is really smart, because most times when you’re looking for parking, you’re not on a PC, but you have a smartphone nearby. There was just one problem — this app to find parking spots in real-time was only available on iOS, so there were a whole bunch of people who couldn’t use it. And their real-time parking finding powers were thus severely impacted. ParkMe is trying to correct… -
Aiming To Dominate Mobile Ad Attribution, HasOffers Raises $9.4M Round Led By Accel
20 May 2013 | 9:00 pmHasOffers, a startup that helps mobile app developers see which ad efforts are actually paying off, is announcing that it has raised a $9.4 million round of funding led by Accel Partners. The company was founded in 2009 — the product that it initially built, and the one that’s still highlighted on the HasOffers website, is a system that helps ad networks and agencies manage their performance-based programs. (Those agencies and ad networks include Bucksense, Tapjoy, and Sponsorpay.) However, CEO Peter Hamilton said the team realized that mobile advertisers were facing a similar… -
Google Checkout Nixed In Favor of Google Wallet
20 May 2013 | 6:36 pmGoogle Checkout is being sunsetted as the company focuses on shaping Google Wallet into a viable PayPal rival. Google Commerce announced today that Google Checkouts will be retired on November 20. Google suggests that merchants who do not have their own payment processing transition to Braintree, Shopify or Freshbooks, which are offering discounted rates for Google Checkout users. U.S. merchants who do have their own payment processing can apply for Google Wallet Instant Buy. Developers selling through Google properties will automatically transition to the Google Wallet Merchant Center in the… -
Founders Fund Backs Its First Food Tech Startup, Hampton Creek Foods, With A $1M Investment
20 May 2013 | 6:11 pmFounders Fund, the firm founded by Peter Thiel and other PayPal executives, famously declared that it wants to back companies with big, ambitious visions (not just dinky web startups). And that description certainly fits Hampton Creek Foods, a startup that wants to move the world from animal-based foods by creating alternatives that are genuinely tastier, healthier, and cheaper. Founder and CEO Josh Tetrick told me that he just closed a $1 million round from the firm. It’s Founders Fund’s first food tech investment, he said — which seems to be true, judging from the portfolio…
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Seth's Blog
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You should buy the book
20 May 2013 | 8:33 amMitch Joel is a generous and perceptive blogger. Well worth the daily read. He has a new book. You should buy it. David Meerman Scott writes an essential blog, daily. His book is a classic. You should buy it. Tom Asacker writes a very thoughtful blog about marketing. Worth the read. He has a new book. You should buy it, too. Every day, Mark Frauenfelder and Corey Doctorow blog tons of goodness at Boingboing. They each have books. You should buy them and share them. Bernadette Jiwa's blog keeps getting better and better and you are probably already reading it. She has a new book on the way. -
No Signal
20 May 2013 | 2:00 amAt a party the other day, I saw a dead TV monitor. On the screen it said something like, "No signal... check power, cable and source selection..." It doesn't matter at all how hard the DVD player was trying to put on a show. It is irrelevant how good the show on cable was. If it's not getting through, no one sees it. All of us own our own media companies now. We each have the ability to speak up, to tell our stories, and if we're good and if we're lucky, to be heard. Too often, though, there's no signal. You may be pumping noise through your social media outlets, but noise isn't signal. It's… -
Learning by analogy
19 May 2013 | 2:36 amThe story of Hansel and Gretel is not actually about Hansel or Gretel. You are surrounded by examples and lessons and case studies that clearly aren't exactly about your project. There's never been a book written precisely about the situation you are facing right now, either. Perhaps one day they will publish, "Marketing Low-Cost Coaching Services to Small Businesses Specializing in .Graphic Design in the Upper Peninsula for Dummies" but don't hold your breath. Marketing, like all forms of art, requires us to learn to see. To see what's working and to transplant it, change it and amplify it. -
It's Thomas Midgley day
18 May 2013 | 2:00 amToday would be his 124th birthday. A fine occasion to think about the effects of industrialization, and what happens when short-term profit-taking meets marketing. Midgley is responsible for millions of deaths. Not directly, of course, but by, "just doing his job," and then pushing hard to market ideas he knew weren't true—so he and his bosses could turn a profit. His first mistake began when he figured out that adding lead to gasoline appeared to make cars perform better. At the time, two things were widely known by chemists: 1. Adding grain alcohol to gasoline dramatically increases… -
Every day is an investment
17 May 2013 | 2:07 amYou're not lucky to have this job, they're lucky to have you. Every day, you invest a little bit of yourself into your work, and one of the biggest choices available to you is where you'll be making that investment. That project that you're working on, or that boss you report to... worth it? Investing in the wrong place for a week or a month won't kill you. But spending ten years contributing to something that you don't care about, or working with someone who doesn't care about you... you can do better.
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NYT > Home Page
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Vast Oklahoma Tornado Kills at Least 91
20 May 2013 | 9:47 pmHomes were flattened, cars flung through the air and at least two schools packed with children destroyed, sending rescuers to dig out those buried in rubble. -
The Lede: Latest Updates, Video and Photos
20 May 2013 | 8:58 pmSome students and staff members may still be trapped in an elementary school; neighborhoods were leveled by the tornado, which was at least a mile wide; 143 people were hurt. -
Guatemala’s Highest Court Overturns Genocide Conviction of Former Dictator
20 May 2013 | 8:39 pmThe decision, which rolled back the proceedings to April 19, when a decision by a pretrial judge sent the trial into disarray, is a dramatic legal victory for General Ríos Montt, 86, and a blow to human rights advocates. -
ArtsBeat: Ray Manzarek, Doors Keyboardist, Dies at 74
20 May 2013 | 8:11 pmMr. Manzarek, who founded the band with Jim Morrison, died on Monday afternoon at a clinic in Rosenheim, Germany. -
Guatemala’s Top Court Overturns Genocide Conviction
20 May 2013 | 8:06 pmGuatemala’s Constitutional Court on Monday ordered that the trial of the former dictator Efrain Rios Montt be restarted.
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Wired Top Stories
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Hackers Who Breached Google in 2010 Accessed Company's Surveillance Database
20 May 2013 | 3:34 pmHackers who breached Google's network in 2010 obtained access to the company's system for tracking surveillance requests from law enforcement, according to a news report. -
Utah Springs Surprise Tax on Massive NSA Data Center
20 May 2013 | 3:10 pmThe NSA will spend around $40 million per year on energy bills for the data center, according to one estimate. But those energy costs may be a bit higher than expected, thanks to a new state law that could levy a 6% energy tax on the facility, the Salt Lake City Tribune reports. -
Yahoo's Past Big Buys Tell a Tale of Mediocrity and Failure
20 May 2013 | 2:31 pmYahoo's narrative arc as a company can be defined by its acquisitions, which taken together also serve as one take on the history of the web itself. In the Yahoo version of that history, founders and backers of overvalued companies enjoy huge exits while the buyer tends to learn too late that its exuberance was irrational. -
Flickr Shows Signs of Life With Slick Web Redesign, Killer Android App
20 May 2013 | 2:26 pmFlickr wants to remind you that it's a photo site. "Everything that we've done in this new redesign has been about putting the photo front and center," says Flickr VP Brett Wayn. For a photo site, Flickr looks like it was designed in 1997. That ends today with a site redesign that removes all that ... -
Tumblr Users Have All the Feels About Yahoo Acquisition
20 May 2013 | 2:20 pmTumblr users are fretting over the Yahoo acquisition on -- where else? -- Tumblr.
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@ProBlogger
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Are You Balancing Emerging Technology with Effective Strategy?
20 May 2013 | 8:21 amLast week I was asked at a conference to reflect upon the future of digital and among other things I made a reflection that seemed to resonate with those gathered. It was: Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. As online publishers we see a steady stream of articles being written about new and future technologies, companies and trends in the online publishing space. It is certainly an exciting time to be doing what we’re doing with such amazing development happening all around us and some amazing projections being made about what is ahead of us – however in the midst… -
How to Blog Like a Pro: Workshop on the Gold Coast Australia – Next Week
19 May 2013 | 7:56 pmNext week (29th May) I’m running a special workshop at the Internet Conference on the Gold Coast here in Australia. The workshop is titled – How to Blog Like a Pro – and you’ll get 4 solid hours of teaching in it – all delivered by me in a workshop limited to 40 people only. The workshop has only previously been available to those signing up to the full 3 day conferences as an add-on but there are a few tickets still available and so I asked the organisers if we could sell them as a stand-alone ticket (i.e. you don’t have to come to the full 3 day event). -
How To Use Auto Responder Emails to Boost Your Blogging Efforts
17 May 2013 | 8:22 amThis is a guest contribution by Asher Elran of Dynamic Search. I thought emails were a waste of time and that they are ignored, but then I learned how to do it right and watched the numbers flip. After you published a great post and pushed it through your social network, the third step is to leverage your email list too. This is where the auto-responders can help you gain new subscribers while you’re busy writing your next blog post. The majority of email marketing services are the same. I prefer Constant Contact or Mobilizemail’s new email feature. Following the steps below… -
How Much Content Should I Have Ready to Go When I Launch a Blog?
16 May 2013 | 8:23 amI recently had the opportunity to sit with a small group of Pre-Bloggers – people about to start their first blogs. One of the questions I was about how much content should be written before launching a new blog. My answer came in two parts: The Ideal Scenario What I actually have done The reality is that what I ‘preach’ isn’t always what I ‘do’ – so let me tell you about both! Note: we give a lot of teaching and some great exercises on this topic in ProBlogger’s Guide to Your First Week of Blogging. The Ideal Scenario OK – here’s… -
Blog This! Sometimes Going Back to Basics Leads to the Best Posts
15 May 2013 | 8:47 amToday, I’m preparing some slides for a keynote I’m doing tomorrow. I included this diagram – something that Chris Garrett came up with years ago as a way to show new bloggers what they should blog about. The idea – obviously – is to find the connecting point between what YOU know (lessons you’ve learned, problems you’ve overcome, experiences that you’ve had etc) and what your readers (or potential readers) want (or need) to know. The intersecting point is GOLD! The problem with this diagram is when I show it to people they sometimes respond…
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Entrepreneur
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Yahoo Redesigns Flickr to Make It 'Awesome Again'
20 May 2013 | 3:39 pmAt a press event, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer calls new design 'heart-stoppingly beautiful.' -
Pinterest Pins Will Promote Product Pricing, Availability and Retail Location
20 May 2013 | 12:56 pmThe 'Pin It' button will also be available over mobile apps, the popular social network says. -
Emerging Players in Tech-Fashion Innovation
20 May 2013 | 10:30 amThink creating the next iPhone is tough? Try making the perfect pocket or purse to hold one. -
Richard Branson on the Business Benefits of Volunteering
20 May 2013 | 10:00 amGetting employees involved in charity sporting events and volunteer work this spring is a great way to give back to the community and strengthen your team. Here's how Virgin's CEO does it. -
7 Things to Consider Before Buying Disability Insurance
20 May 2013 | 9:30 amConsider these essential details when deciding between disability insurance policies.
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Lifehacker
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More Headphone Mods, Tablet Stands, and the Google Now Menu
20 May 2013 | 5:00 pmReaders offer their best tips for putting your laptop to sleep, keeping your gadgets in one place, and making your keyboard's number pad better.Read more... -
Flickr Offers 1TB of Free Space for Your Photos, $50 Yearly for No Ads
20 May 2013 | 4:36 pmYahoo, in an attempt to make its photo-hosting service Flickr relevant again, decided to offer 1TB of free space to all users. The downside? Everyone who doesn't pay $50 per year gets ads.Read more... -
Stop Quicktime and Preview from Auto-Restoring What You Left Open
20 May 2013 | 4:00 pmOS X: Auto-restore works great when you want to pick back up where you left off working, but how many times do you leave open a photo or video you actually want to see again when you re-open Preview or Quicktime? A couple of terminal commands can disable this annoying—and potentially embarrassing—feature of OSX.Read more... -
The Windowside Workspace
20 May 2013 | 3:30 pmYou'll rarely end up with a poor workspace if you include an organized desk, a good chair, only the tools you need for work, and an abundance of natural light. Designers Ryan Meis and Sarah Labieniec created an excellent space on those simple principles.Read more... -
Would you sacrifice salary for happiness?
20 May 2013 | 3:00 pmGreat discussions are par for the course here on Lifehacker. Each day, we highlight a discussion that is particularly helpful or insightful, along with other great discussions and reader questions you may have missed. Check out these discussions and add your own thoughts to make them even more wonderful!Read more...
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MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors
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Yahoo's Flickr Gets Major Design Overhaul, 1TB of Free Photo Storage Space
20 May 2013 | 3:22 pmFollowing this morning's acquisition of Tumblr, Yahoo today hosted an event in New York City to detail changes to its popular photo sharing site Flickr. Flickr on the web has been given a major design overhaul, with a focus on full resolution pictures. In addition to eliminating much of the white space on the site, Flickr is now displaying in-line photo streams that encompass the majority of the screen and detailed photo-centric profile pages. Flickr has also implemented a slideshow mode to allow its users to flip through photos hands-free. With the redesign, Flickr is encouraging its users… -
U.S. Senators Claim Apple Has Avoided Paying Billions in U.S. Income Taxes Ahead of Tim Cook Testimony
20 May 2013 | 2:52 pmA Senate subcommittee has released a 40-page memo accusing Apple of not paying billions of dollars in federal taxes through "extensive tax-avoidance strategies". Apple CEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and Apple's head of tax operations Phillip A. Bullock will appear in front of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation tomorrow. The company issued a statement earlier today in a preliminary defense against the Subcommittee's accusations. The subcommittee, which previously explored tax avoidance by other multinational corporations using offshore subsidiaries, found similar… -
Samsung and Sharp Introduce New Ultra-High-Resolution Notebook Displays
20 May 2013 | 1:29 pmWhile Apple's 15" MacBook Pro was the first consumer notebook to gain a Retina-level display nearly a year ago, it is no longer the only such offering, as Google's Chromebook Pixel with its 12.85" 2560x1700 display and Toshiba's Kirabook with a 2560x1440 220 PPI display have joined the market in recent months. Seeking to raise the ante on Retina displays, Samsung and Sharp have both introduced new high-resolution displays in the past week, targeting notebooks and ultrabooks with the latest technology. The new displays from both companies sport 16:9 ratios, making them unfit for Apple's line… -
AT&T to Expand FaceTime Over Cellular to All Customers by Year End
20 May 2013 | 12:08 pmIn a statement to The Verge on the future of pre-loaded apps, AT&T today revealed that it is planning to offer FaceTime over cellular to all of its customers on any data plan by the end of 2013.For video chat apps that come pre-loaded on devices, we currently give all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share or Tiered plans. Apple, Samsung and BlackBerry have chosen to enable this for their pre-loaded video chat apps. And by mid-June, we’ll have enabled those apps over cellular for our unlimited plan customers who have… -
Apple Releases Statement Ahead of Tim Cook's Senate Appearance on Tax Policy
20 May 2013 | 11:50 amApple today released a statement [PDF] ahead of Apple CEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and head of tax operations Phillip A. Bullock's appearances in front of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation tomorrow. In the seventeen page statement, Apple notes that it has created hundreds of thousands of jobs in the United States -- both directly and through suppliers and contractors. It notes that the company paid nearly $6 billion in federal taxes in fiscal 2012 and the company expects to pay $7 billion in 2013. The company also says Apple "does not use tax gimmicks",…
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chrisbrogan.com
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Be Open to Inspiration
10 May 2013 | 8:41 amI’ve been in a bit of a fog the last week or so. Nothing worth talking about, really. Depression stuff. But then it lifted. What’s interesting to me is how I found my footing and how I got back on track, and so there are two items I want to share with you from this: the actual learning, and more importantly, the realization of what got me there. Be Open to Inspiration Humans have this way they deal with too much information. They discard tons of inputs and keep what they feel is important. This is necessary, by the way. Can you imagine how busy your brain would be if you thought… -
Do Local Businesses Deserve Your Money?
7 May 2013 | 1:38 pmI sat at the counter at my local restaurant the other day and waited for over 7 minutes without anyone bothering to acknowledge that I was there. And then I walked out. And so did my money. For good. In fact, I drove to McDonalds, got some scrambled eggs and an iced coffee, and was in and out of the system within the same 7 minutes. (You can save your comments with disdain for McDonalds. If you’re a parent, you go there, unless you don’t. Either way. It’s not the point.) Now, before you try to defend this other place, no, it wasn’t busy. Yes, at least two employees had seen me, and… -
Why Use These Outlier Social Media Tools?
30 Apr 2013 | 4:21 pmWhy should you bother using tools like Vine and Instagram, and the like? That question was asked to me by Pam Vitaz, and she asked it somewhat in this context (my words not hers): Vine’s interesting, but you basically just shot a funny video. Why do that? Here’s the video she meant: Can’t see the video? Click Here. Can’t hear sound? Hover over it and click the little sound thingy. On the surface, it’s the kind of question you can answer with “why not?” But that’s not good enough. Why Use These Outlier Social Media Tools? First, it’s your… -
Can You Work at Being Fearless?
29 Apr 2013 | 7:03 amFear is at the heart of most of our worst choices. I read this facebook post by James Altucher and it really punched me in the stomach. But that’s just one punch in a series, because every time I question how I ended up somewhere, the real answer (underneath all the bull answers) is fear. It’s why most stupid things happen, why all bad things happen (when humans are involved), and is even worse than you think. I’m afraid of a weird collection of things. I’m afraid of sharks (ever since seeing Jaws at a very young age – because I pestered my parents tirelessly til… -
Sponsored Post – Mobile Productivity and the Future
24 Apr 2013 | 4:53 amCan you be productive while on the road? I say yes. In fact, I’m writing this from a hotel room before heading off to a meeting with a client. The following is sponsored by Cloud Powered Work, which is a project with IDG, LinkedIn, and Microsoft’s Office365. Everything in this post is mine, and my opinions are my own. I just produced an episode of my radio show from my hotel room, because I realized that an episode was due and I hadn’t done the work before I took off for the day. Last night, while I waited for my slightly delayed airplane, I cracked open SkyDrive pulled down…
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Copyblogger
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MyCopyblogger: 14 Free Ebooks and an Updated 20-Part Internet Marketing Course
20 May 2013 | 5:00 amCan’t see the video? Click here. Free Registration About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Copyblogger Media. Get more from Brian on Google+. Related StoriesWhy We Still Need to Write, Even When We’re Scared5 Ways to Bond with Your Blog’s Audience11 Compound Word Errors that Might Make You Look like a Numbskull -
5 Writing and Productivity Links You Can Use
18 May 2013 | 5:00 amThis week on The Lede … How A Copywriter Evaluates A Great Website The Unexpected Antidote to Procrastination The Daily Rituals of the World’s Most Creative People 4 Things That Lead to Success (or Failure) with Email Signup Forms How to Do More By Planning Less: The Power of the Anti-Plan Want to grab even more useful links (beyond those that make The Lede)? Follow @copyblogger on Twitter. // The Unexpected Antidote to Procrastination Procrastination: that merciless thief of our time, creative output, and potential reward. Mr. Bergman delivers a unique — but convincing… -
How to Become a Content Marketing Expert
17 May 2013 | 9:00 amYou hear everyone talking about online content marketing, because with today’s Internet-empowered prospect, content marketing is what works. And yet, you may be struggling with creating content that works for your business or your clients. Or maybe you’re just trying to take your game to the next level. There’s a lot to learn, and even then you’re left asking potentially expensive and time-consuming questions: How do I apply this particular strategy for my business? Is this a solid idea, and how should I execute it? Has anyone taken this approach before, and what were the… -
Why We Still Need to Write, Even When We’re Scared
17 May 2013 | 8:00 amWriting is scary. Sometimes when we publish something, it makes us feel like our insides are hanging out, for all the world to see. We feel vulnerable. We feel naked. We feel … terrified. But here’s the thing — we have to keep writing, in spite of the fear. If we let fear stop us, our content will have no spark, no life. And everything we write will be completely unremarkable. Right now, I’m working on a blog post (on a different topic) that scares the living heck out of me. I am afraid of the strong opinions and passion that are rising from some long-buried place inside me. -
5 Ways to Bond with Your Blog’s Audience
16 May 2013 | 5:00 amYou’re smart. You know you need to be helpful on your blog in order to grow your audience. You share useful tips. You give away free tutorials. But somehow you’re not connecting with your readers. Your blog seems a little quiet. Sure, you’re getting some traffic. But a certain spark is missing. It’s not the enjoyable party you’d imagined it to be. Is it getting you down? Today I’m sharing five tips to engage with your readers, make them feel at home, and to turn your blog into a nice and warm get-together. Sound good? 1. Write conversationally Nobody…
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Macworld
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The Macalope: Loose talk
21 May 2013 | 12:00 amIf you were wondering if ReadWrite had cleaned up its act since Dan Lyons left, fret not: Its Apple coverage is still as vapidly negative as it’s ever been. Derek Brown muses: “The Epic Battle Between Apple & Google Is All But Over—Who Won?” (No link is provided, but tip o’ the antlers again to the Jony Ive parody account on Twitter.) Turns out, it’s not Apple. Surprise! Oh, you Apple zealots may respond with any number of “facts” pointing out that Apple’s doing quite well, thank you very much. But Brown has a retort that will leave you withering in the iron grip of his… -
Remains of the Day: Face the music
20 May 2013 | 4:30 pmSony and Apple are at loggerheads over streaming music, AT&T gets ready to open the floodgates on video chat over its network, and the head of Turkey drops in on Silicon Valley. The remainders for Monday, May 20, 2013 are up a stream without a paddle. One issue holding up Apple iRadio: The economics of skipping songs (CNet) If you were expecting Apple’s rumored music streaming service to roll out at next month’s WWDC, you might be disappointed. CNet reports that Sony Music is at odds with Cupertino over what Apple will pay for songs that users skip or rate poorly. Here’s a tip,… -
Senate report: Apple claims subsidiaries with no taxing jurisdiction
20 May 2013 | 2:54 pmApple has set up three foreign subsidiaries that the company claims are not resident in any nation for taxing purposes, in an effort to avoid paying tens of billions of dollars in taxes to the U.S. and other countries, according to a new report from a U.S. Senate subcommittee. Apple has set up a “complex web” of offshore entities to avoid paying taxes, with some subsidiaries set up in low-tax Ireland, according to a report released Monday by the investigations subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. One of the subsidiaries set up by Apple has paid… -
Apple to tell Senate it pays every cent of its taxes
20 May 2013 | 2:08 pmTim Cook’s taking on the tax man. On Tuesday, the Apple CEO will appear before the U.S. Senate’s permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to discuss that body’s look into multinational companies and how they pay taxes. As a special preview to those who really can’t wait to hang on Cook’s every word, Apple on Monday released its head honcho’s testimony. Those searching for even the merest hint of Apple’s future plans will want to find another tree up which to bark: the 18-page testimony deals almost exclusively the relatively dry subjects of Apple subsidiaries, the company’s… -
Review: PDF Editor Pro 3 a pricey step up from Preview for PDF editing
20 May 2013 | 10:00 amPDF Editor Pro is a PDF editing and annotation tool from Wondershare that aspires to be a replacement for Apple’s built-in Preview app. While the app offers some features that aren’t available in Preview, it also lacks many of the basic features that make Preview so appealing as a PDF editing and annotating tool. Open a PDF in PDF Editor Pro and it looks and feels pretty much the same way Preview does. There are several buttons in the toolbar that give you quick access to the application’s editing and annotation tools, which include tools for rearranging pages within your document,…
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ReadWrite
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Google Admits Defeat In Its 7-Year Battle With Amazon And PayPal
20 May 2013 | 4:35 pmGoogle just announced that is it is shutting down Google Checkout, a Web-based payments system it launched to great expectations seven years ago. It will continue to offer Google Wallet and handle transactions for apps, games, music, and movies on the Google Play store. But Google is largely getting out of the business of processing payments for physical goods and services. Google Checkout may have had great expectations, but it delivered little in the way of results. Amazon and eBay's PayPal continue to dominate e-commerce, with a host of lesser-known players also doing the digital scutwork… -
Congress Whacks Apple With The Tax Avoider Stick
20 May 2013 | 4:21 pmAn 18-month congressional investigation turned up evidence that Apple is a major-league tax avoider, the New York Times reports — one that allegedly sheltered billions of dollars from taxation by moving the money through a web of subsidiaries, some of which had no employees and claimed to be exempt from taxes. Apple CEO Tim Cook will testify before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations tomorrow; Apple has released an advance copy of his testimony. -
Flickr Gets A Makeover — It's Been Supersized And Instagrammed
20 May 2013 | 4:06 pmIt wasn’t that long ago that Yahoo stood accused of letting Flickr decay beyond repair. Today, under the guidance of new CEO Marissa Mayer, the company has given the oft maligned image-sharing community a major facelift. Yahoo’s announcement promises a Flickr that’s “more spectacular, much bigger, and one you can take anywhere.” Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the grid. Here’s what’s new on your Flickr account: Room To Grow As recently as yesterday, free Flickr users could upload and display 200 images at a time. Now every user has one terabyte… -
Who Hates The Yahoo-Tumblr Deal? Tumblrers, That's Who
20 May 2013 | 12:13 pmThe Tumblr acquisition may give Yahoo the young, hip audience it’s always wanted — assuming it can keep them. Because Tumblr users aren’t happy, and they’re letting it all out. “Yahoo is buying Tumblr guys THIS IS NOT OKAY THEY’LL RUIN OUR HOME,” blogged one user in a sentiment repeatedly echoed on the #yahoo, #tumblr, and #yumblr tags on Tumblr, all of which are currently experiencing an overload of activity. Via the 5EXi Tumbr Tumblr users’ greatest fear? Change, of any kind. Many have vowed to leave at the first sign of Yahoo involvement. One Tumblr… -
Chinese Army Cyberunit Apparently Attacking U.S. Targets Again
20 May 2013 | 8:48 amGetting called out by the Obama administration wasn't enough of a deterrent for Unit 61398, the cyberattack unit of the People's Liberation Army of China, because apparently they're at it again, working to pilfer information from private company and public government data stores. The New York Times is reporting that Unit 61398 has resumed operations and is actively engaged in hacking into any U.S. systems that might hold information considered to be of use for the People's Republic of China. Security firm Mandiant told the Times "that the Chinese hackers had stopped their attacks after they…
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Smashing Magazine Feed
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Case Study: Typographic Design Patterns And Current Practices (2013 Edition)
16 May 2013 | 7:25 pmGood typography has always been a defining aspect of effective Web design, and this holds true especially for websites in which the emphasis is on presenting a large amount of content — specifically, articles, news and stories. Whether for a magazine or international newspaper, the designer of any website that distributes a lot of content has always had to consider typographic details as seriously and thoroughly as a print designer would. In 2009, we conducted a survey of then current typographic practices. Since then, responsive design techniques have clearly gained… -
A Beginner's Guide: Migrating A Website To WordPress Is Easier Than You Think
15 May 2013 | 1:33 amNow powering over 17% of the Web, WordPress is increasingly becoming the content management system (CMS) of choice for the average user. But what about websites built with an outdated CMS or without a CMS at all? Does moving to WordPress mean starting over and losing all the time, energy and money put into the current website? Nope! Migrating a website (including the design) over to WordPress is actually easier than you might think. In this guide, we’ll outline the migration process and work through the steps with a sample project. We’ll also cover some of the challenges you… -
A Client- And Server-Side Approach: Providing The Best Mobile User Experience Possible
14 May 2013 | 5:53 amNow and again, I hit the swimming pool. It’s a good way to exercise, but also to relax after a long day in front of my PC. I can do quite a few laps in my front crawl, but only because I don’t use my legs much. I kick steadily to ensure that my legs stay lifted and don’t slow me down. I don’t use my legs much for forward propulsion. An instructor once explained to me that legs can definitely help with propulsion in the front crawl, but only at the cost of much higher energy consumption. He also explained that champions use their legs a lot. Their hearts are powerful, and… -
Fables, Myths And Narratives: Converting Our Stories Into Multi-Screen Experiences
13 May 2013 | 5:24 amStorytelling takes many forms. In the past, stories were told orally, with people telling and retelling myths, fables and even histories. As writing technology became more prevalent, we began to record our stories, and we told them in the pages of books. Now, our society is awash in different devices and technologies, and those traditions of spoken stories and printed stories are blurring. Multi-screen narratives are being told across all kinds of platforms, pages and devices, making for truly immersive experiences. We are watching them, tapping them and learning from them. They… -
Keeping The Big Small: How To Avoid Duplicate Downloads In Responsive Images
10 May 2013 | 6:52 amThe <picture> element is a new addition to HTML5 that’s being championed by the W3C’s Responsive Images Community Group (RICG). It is intended to provide a declarative, markup-based solution to enable responsive images without the need of JavaScript libraries or complicated server-side detection. The <picture> element supports a number of different types of fallback content, but the current implementation of these fallbacks is problematic. In this article, we’ll explore how the fallbacks work, how they fail and what can be done about it. The <picture>…
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CNN.com - Top Stories
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Acid attack victim fights for justice
21 May 2013 | 12:25 amAt 17, Sonali Mukherjee had everything going for her. She was a beautiful, intelligent and ambitious young woman, dedicated to excelling in her studies. -
Official expecting 40 more bodies
21 May 2013 | 12:11 amTwister has killed at least 51 20 children among dead Hospital loses 1 story FULL STORY -
Frantic search; heartbreaking find
20 May 2013 | 11:24 pmStorm survivors come together to try and rescue other victims trapped under the rubble. CNN Affiliate KFOR was there. -
Photos: Dreamliner 2.0
20 May 2013 | 11:15 pm -
Boeing 787 reboot
20 May 2013 | 11:09 pmThe jetliner completes its first domestic commercial flight after being grounded because of fears of onboard battery fires.
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Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider
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The 2nd Edition “Refresh” of my “Digital Photography Book, Part One” is here
19 May 2013 | 9:01 pmOK, if you already have the first edition of the book, DON’T BUY THIS ONE!!!! That’s because it’s a “refresh” and not a “rewrite.”The original book was published back in 2006, so I brought the book up-to-date with a pretty significant refresh using today’s latest cameras, updates and changes in gear; plus I added a short chapter with some advice I’ve learned since then; I went through and updated all the photos (man, it’s excruciating to look back at the images you were taking seven years ago), and techniques where needed… -
Please join me in welcoming our new Photoshop User TV co-host, the awesome Jessica Maldonado (AKA “Photoshop Girl”)
16 May 2013 | 9:01 pmThis week we kicked off the new season of Photoshop User TV (the weekly Photoshop show) and I got the honor of introducing our viewers to our new co-host of Photoshop User TV, and the latest addition to “The Photoshop Guys”, it’s Jessica Maldonado, our own “Photoshop Girl.” (wild cheers ensue!).I know what you’re thinking. About #$&% time! (I totally agree) I also know what some of you are thinking, and just so you know, Jessica chose the nickname “Photoshop Girl” herself (though some suggested “Photoshop Gal” cause they… -
It’s Free Stuff Thursday!
15 May 2013 | 9:01 pmFree 24-Hour Trial for National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP)! Want to know what you’re missing out on by not being a NAPP member? Try it out for FREE for 24 hours right here! Check out the full-length classes and quick tutorials from the top Photoshop instructors in the world for a full 24 hours. Whether you’re a photographer looking for Camera Raw, Lightroom, and Photoshop tips or a designer looking for new techniques and getting in-depth with layers, blend modes, and type, you can find it at NAPP.Straight From My Camera with Zack Arias The newest addition to The… -
It’s Guest Blog Wednesday featuring Donna Dotan!
14 May 2013 | 9:01 pmHow to Create an Architectural Photo: Manhattan StyleI’d first like to thank Scott and Brad for inviting me to be a guest blogger! When I was asked to write a post, I was very excited and immediately began thinking about what to share. I love when photographers show how they created one of their favorite images from start to finish, so that’s what I’m going to do for you.Although architecture is a relatively small niche of photography, there are many architectural photographers out there; each with their own style of shooting and retouching. Some do very minimal retouching, if… -
Behind-The-Scenes Video of my Audi R8 Shoot Using the New Priolite Strobes
13 May 2013 | 10:08 pmWhen I recently got the chance to shoot the Audi R8, I only had an hour from start to finish, so I figured I’d give the new Priolites a try because of their “run and gun” wireless capabilities for on-location shooting, and they worked amazingly well. Check out the video to see ‘em in action (and to see one amazing car)!
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Digital Photography School
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DISCUSS: When you Photograph People in Black and White, you Photograph their Souls
20 May 2013 | 9:06 amCanadian photojournalist – Ted Grant – is quoted as saying: “When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!” This quote often comes to mind when talking about portraiture and I thought it might make an interesting discussion starter. Do Ted’s words resonate with you? Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips. Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips. DISCUSS: When you Photograph People… -
Props Are Evil: How To Use Them For Good
20 May 2013 | 9:04 amA Guest Post by Lynsey Peterson. Nothing freaks me out like props. Every time I see a picture of flower girls holding an empty frame that is outlining a bride and groom kissing in the distance, I die a little inside. Whenever I am subjected to a photo that attempts to bring in a letter jacket and a football and a casual I’m-just-hanging-out-here-in-my-letter-jacket-holding-my-football expression, I try to remember that I am terrible at making coffee and therefore cannot give-up photography immediately and go get an application at Starbucks. We have come to a place where portrait… -
6 Winning Ways to Work Wide
19 May 2013 | 12:01 pmToday Joe Decker shares some tips on wide angle photography. One of the first lens purchases aspiring landscape photographers typically made is a wide or super-wide lens, anything (in full-frame 35mm terms) from 24mm on down, and with good reason, wides offer photographers the ability to capture the sweeping vistas of the natural landscape. But they can also be a challenge to use effectively, it’s all to easy to end up with a wide-angle shot that lacks the power and grandeur we felt when we were shooting. In this article, I’ll explain why that’s so often the case, and… -
Make your Photos Sparkle with GIMP
19 May 2013 | 9:28 amA Guest Contribution by Anotherphotograpbynoob.com. What this tutorial will show you In short: how I made the photo on the right become the photo on the left. In this tutorial, we will cover basic tools of the free photo editing software GIMP. Here is a quick rundown of the features covered in this tutorial: Crop a photo in GIMP Increase contrast with the Levels panel Make the colors pop with the Hue & Saturation panel Adjust colors with the Color Balance panel Add a color filter to boost the warm colors in your photo. Sound hard? Don’t worry. I’ll guide you through the whole… -
How to Create a “Standard Import” Preset in Lightroom 4
18 May 2013 | 12:59 pmIntroduction The following is an excerpt from the SLR Lounge Lightroom Workflow System Workshop on DVD, a system designed to increase your post production speed by 5 to 10 times! Click here to learn more. In this article, we are going to talk about creating a develop preset that you would like to apply to all of your images when they are first imported into Lightroom. Although Adobe’s RAW image processing is extremely powerful, one common complaint is that your images may look flat and colorless at first. Often photographers will lament how beautiful their colors looked on the back…
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TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog
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Free VIEW Magazine is filled with intriguing photography
20 May 2013 | 7:00 pmView Magazine is a nicely put-together coffee table ebook for the iPad or iPhone that contains photos that are interesting and certainly not run-of-the-mill sunsets and flowers. A variety of photographers have combined to submit some of their favorite work, and they offer some commentary about the images. There are shots of urban landscapes, people, and nature images, but none are what I would call the standard 'pretty pictures'. That said, the images are striking, and the thoughts behind the images are often illuminating. You won't like everything you see, but there is plenty to choose from. -
DeNA to publish Godus on iOS
20 May 2013 | 6:00 pmPeter Molyneux's studio 22cans has been working on a Populous followup game called Godus, and the company has just announced a deal for a publisher. DeNA, the Japanese company behind the Mobage social platform, will be publishing Godus on iOS. And the game will also connect up to Mobage in Western companies and in Japan and Korea. DeNA is an interesting choice for Molyneux -- the company is usually known for casual games, and the audience is largely Japanese so far. But DeNA has definitely been looking to expand to the West and seeking well-known developers to do that with, including a game… -
AT&T to enable FaceTime over cellular for all customers by end of 2013
20 May 2013 | 5:00 pmIn a statement provided to The Verge, AT&T has indicated that all iPhone subscribers will be able to use FaceTime via a cellular connection by the end of 2013. For video chat apps that come pre-loaded on devices, we currently give all OS and device makers the ability for those apps to work over cellular for our customers who are on Mobile Share or Tiered plans. Apple, Samsung and BlackBerry have chosen to enable this for their pre-loaded video chat apps. And by mid-June, we'll have enabled those apps over cellular for our unlimited plan customers who have LTE devices from those three… -
Apple rolls out new iPhone incentives in India
20 May 2013 | 4:40 pmApple has been making moves over the last year to expand its market share in India after its net profit for their India devision increased 431 percent year to year. Tripling the amount of franchise stores in the country? Check. Trade-in incentives? Check. Now the incentives are continuing with expansions for college students and American Express customers. The first incentive is designed to draw students into picking up an iPhone. Currently non-student residents who trade-in their smartphones for an iPhone get 7,000 rupees (US$130). Students, however, get 7,777 rupees (around $144) for their… -
Yahoo raises the stakes for free Flickr storage: 1 terabyte
20 May 2013 | 4:20 pmIt's official: Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer has gone completely bonkers, as the Yahoo-owned Flickr has just announced that all users now have a free terabyte of storage. That's a thousand gigabytes, folks. For free. As the Flickr website touts, one terabyte will hold 537,731 photos at an average size of 6.5 megapixels each. No more are you going to need to scale down the size of your images to fit 'em on Flickr -- just upload them at their native resolution. It's worth remembering that Flickr has a free iPhone app available to facilitate uploading, viewing and sharing your images. Yahoo raises the…
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Strobist
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Q&A: Photek Softlighter II or Paul Buff PLM?
17 May 2013 | 3:00 amSydney, Australia-based photo assistant Diego asks: You seem to use the Photek Softlighter a lot. How would this compare to the Paul Buff PML Soft-Silver with the White Diffuser? While they are similar (both sub-$100 Octa killers) they are pretty different under the skin, So which model you'll prefer depends on how you'll use it… Read more » -
Readers Shoot Back: Vivian Chung
13 May 2013 | 8:11 amDontcha hate it when your bride-and-groom portrait gets photo-bombed? Okay, maybe not if it's by a Beluga whale. And for Vancouver wedding photographer (and Strobist reader) Vivian Chung, this well-planned cameo was no accident. Complicating things, she only had a little time—and a key technical restriction—to make this shot. Read more » -
Lighting In Layers on Lynda.com
13 May 2013 | 8:00 amI am happy to announce that Strobist's video series, Lighting in Layers, has by special arrangement been adapted for the video tutorial site Lynda.com. Those of you who are Lynda subscribers can now view the videos there. (This includes Lynda's many corporate subs, so check with your company.) Last week saw the launch of the first segments, which are primarily aimed at beginners. Additional sessions will be released each week. So even if you are not a newb, stick around. It'll get more complex soon enough… -30- -
HCAC: Soprano Rebecca Hargrove
8 May 2013 | 12:00 amIt's May. Which always means two things for me: dealing with heavy allergies and beginning my next batch of portraits for the Howard County Arts Council. The drudgery of allergies is offset by the pure pleasure that is getting to work with a group of insanely talented young people. Doing the portraiture for the Rising Stars program is one of my favorite projects of the year. One of the first this year was soprano Rebecca Hargrove, who we photographed in the venerable Garaj Mahal Studios… Read more » -
What Really Happens When a Fuji X100s "Syncs" at 1/4000th of a Sec
5 May 2013 | 7:35 pmFor leaf-shutter flash geeks only: high-speed Phantom v1610 video of a Fuji X100s shutter not-quite-really syncing at 1/4000th of a sec. Sorry, I know many of you will be bored to tears by this. But the full technical article photographer Kevin Housen developed around this video (and others, at different shutter speeds) will really peel the onion for you if you want to know about the demonstrable quirkiness of this camera and ultra-high speed sync. -30-
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News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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All-new Flickr comes with free terabyte - and ads
20 May 2013 | 4:21 pmFlickr fans may find the lure of a free terabyte attractive, but they might be put off by the accompanying advertisements that support Flickr's new free account model. A major update to the photo sharing service has completely revamped the look of accounts and restructured the way users may pay for Flickr in the future. We take a look at the changes on connect.dpreview.com. -
New York Times details photo editing policy for fashion magazine
20 May 2013 | 3:40 pmA cover image in the latest issue of the New York Times' monthly style magazine, T, has led to an interesting discussion about the newspaper's policy on photo retouching. While editors forbid any image manipulation beyond, 'minor color-toning and brightness' in news stories, retouches and removal of blemishes are allowed in the style magazine's fashion photography. Does a newspaper risk credibility by allowing retouching on editorially-branded content? Click to read more and share your thoughts. -
Google releases more photocentric Google+ app for Android
20 May 2013 | 2:16 pmAt last week's I/O developer conference Google announced a number of upgrades to the photo section of its Google+ social network, including features such as 'Auto-Highlight', 'Auto-Enhance' and 'Auto'-Awesome'. To make the same experience available on its mobile platform the search giant has released an upgraded Google+ app for Android. Click through to Connect to find out more. -
Book Review: Shooting in Sh*tty Light
20 May 2013 | 1:46 pmLindsay Adler and Erik Valind, both working professionals and educators, have written a beginner’s guide to photographic lighting with an unusual conceit at its core. By structuring a book around a list of common challenges - what they call the 'top ten worst situations' - they've created a digestible, useful 'lighting 101' guide. In this short review, Adam Koplan takes a look at their book 'Shooting in Sh**ty Light: The Top Ten Worst Photography Lighting Situations and How to Conquer Them'. -
DxOMark investigates lenses for the Nikon D600
20 May 2013 | 10:40 amOur friends and collaborators over at DxOMark have recently been looking into how lenses score on specific cameras, and the latest model they've examined is the Nikon D600. In a three-part article published at the end of last week, they investigate how 70 lenses from Carl Zeiss, Nikon, Samyang, Sigma, Tamron and Tokina measure up on the D600's 24MP sensor. The article also compares how given lenses score on the D600 compared to the 36MP D800 and 24MP D3X. Click through for links to the three parts of the article.
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Lightroom Killer Tips
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Should You Create Multiple Catalogs In Lightroom?
20 May 2013 | 11:01 pmFor years, catalog questions tend to be the most popular questions I get at my Lightroom seminars. One of those questions is whether or not to create multiple catalogs in Lightroom. See, back in Lightroom 1, it became fairly common knowledge that when your catalog grew to a certain size in photos (say 20,000) that it would slow down and you should create a new catalog so Lightroom would keep running quickly. But that’s not the case anymore. Lightroom doesn’t have a photo limit that anyone has hit. Adobe doesn’t even recommend creating multiple catalogs anymore. So the first… -
Lightroom And WPPI Coming Your Way (Chicago, Atlantic City, Vegas and LA)
15 May 2013 | 9:00 amIf you live in Chicago, Atlantic City, LA or Las Vegas then you’ve got a WPPI “On the Road” stop coming your way. NAPP and WPPI are teaming up to provide you with some killer Photoshop and Lightroom training at each event. RC Concepcion, Pete Collins and I will be teaching along side plenty of other great instructors in each city. Here’s the link to WPPI’s website if you want to find out more and below is the list of cities and dates. Hope to see you there! • Chicago: May 21-22 • Atlantic City: June 3-4 • Los Angeles: July 15-16 • Las Vegas: August… -
A Super Quick Way To Convert Your Photo To Black And White
9 May 2013 | 11:01 pmHey everyone. Here’s a great little tip for you if you want to see quickly see what your photo looks like as a black and white, without going to a different panel and messing with sliders. Ready… just go to the Develop module and press the V key. Yup… that’s it. It does the default black and white conversion, and gives you a good idea of whether you’d want to process the photo any further as a B&W. If you like it, then head down to the B&W panel and make some more adjustments. If not, just press the V key again and it’ll take you back to the color… -
What Photoshop CC (Creative Cloud) Means For Lightroom Users?
6 May 2013 | 11:01 pmThere’s obviously lots of feedback, buzz, interest, and excitement, from Adobe’s announcement yesterday. If you missed it, in a nutshell, Photoshop as we know it is going totally subscription based. So basically, you can’t buy a stand alone boxed or download copy of it anymore. You have to subscribe to the Adobe Creative Cloud to get Photoshop CC (CC means Creative Cloud). However, for now you’ll still be able to buy Lightroom standalone without subscribing (even though it’s also included in the CC). By the way, if you hadn’t noticed Photoshop CS is no… -
Lightroom Tip: Hiding Panels
2 May 2013 | 11:01 pmDid you know that you can hide specific panels in Lightroom? You probably knew that you can collapse a panel just by clicking the tiny arrow next to the name of the panel. But you can also hide them so they simply don’t show up. For example, personally I don’t use the Split Toning panel, so why even have it show up there anymore? To hide it (or any other panel) right click under the Histogram in the dark gray empty area in the Develop module (just to the left of the word Basic in the Basic panel). The panels that are visible will be checked. To hide one or more just click on it.
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MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - iOS Blog
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Vudu Player for iOS Gets Updated With Ability to Download Movies
20 May 2013 | 6:35 pmVUDU, the third most popular internet video-on-demand provider behind Apple's iTunes and Amazon's Instant Video, today updated its app with a feature that allows users to download movies for offline viewing, a redesigned video player, and more. Previously, VUDU users using the VUDU Player app had to stream their content from within the app and could not view their movies and TV shows offline. With the new update, users can download their content at various qualities for use when an internet connection isn't available. Other changes include a redesigned video player that's easier to use,… -
Apple to Open New Adelaide Retail Store in Australia on May 25
20 May 2013 | 5:21 pmFollowing the opening of a new retail location in Melbourne last month, Apple is set to open another Australian Apple Store on May 25, this time in Adelaide. The Adelaide Apple Store will be Apple’s 20th retail location in Australia, and it is located at Rundle Place, a four-story shopping center that houses more than 70 stores. Adelaide is Australia's 5th largest city and the new Apple Store will be the first in the state of South Australia. At store openings, Apple typically hands out commemorative T-shirts to the first 1,000 customers to visit. The store is set to open at 10 a.m. this… -
Burj Al Arab in Dubai Introduces Gold-Plated iPads for Guest Use
20 May 2013 | 3:10 pmThe Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai is perhaps the world's most luxurious hotel, and the latest addition continues that tradition. The seven-star hotel is now giving 24-carat gold-plated iPads from Gold & Co to guests for use during their stay. The iPads will act as a 'virtual concierge', offering information on restaurants in the hotel, as well as spa treatments and butler services. They carry the Burj Al Arab's logo on the back and they are available for purchase in the hotel's boutique. -
Tumblr Acquired by Yahoo, iOS App Gets Redesigned User Interface
20 May 2013 | 11:16 amJust as Yahoo has announced its acquisition of Tumblr, the Tumblr team has released an update for its iOS app bringing a redesigned user interface that offers up a brand new post type chooser, displaying post options that fan out vertically from the app's redesigned compose button to allow for speedier posting. The redesigned menu is similar to the radial posting options used by social networking app Path, which displays buttons unobtrusively in the corner of the app. Previously, hitting Tumblr's compose button opened a new window with square-shaped posting icons, which was more obtrusive… -
Turkish Prime Minister Visits Apple Ahead of Major Tablet Purchase
19 May 2013 | 1:13 pmAnatolia News Agency reports that Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Apple yesterday as part of a tour of Silicon Valley companies ahead of the country's move to purchase 10.6 million tablets for its schoolchildren. Erdoğan also visited Microsoft's Bay Area outpost and Google during his trip. Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (left) visits Apple The meeting at Apple was just the latest of numerous interactions between Apple executives and Turkish government officials as Apple seeks to win the massive tablet contract. A number of Apple executives including vice…
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CNN Travel
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Beijing shopping: The city's top 12 boutiques
20 May 2013 | 3:00 pmThe rise of China's homegrown design talent has spawned some of the coolest little shops in Asia Gone are the days when Beijing shopping meant traditional qipao garb and Louis Vuitton knockoffs. China's capital is now home to some of the most in-demand shops in the world, from European fast-fashion behemoths to Japanese couture houses. But the real draw is the sudden emergence of homegrown talents, whose designs reflect a burgeoning aesthetic unique to China. For the Beijing visitor operating with limited shopping time, here are the city’s must-see boutiques. iReport assignment: What… -
Think your flip-flops have been through hell? Try a pair of Gandys
19 May 2013 | 11:00 pmCreated by orphans of the 2004 Asian tsunami, Gandys flip-flops aim to do more than sit around on the beachIf there’s a single iconic travel fashion accessory, it’s flip-flops. The universal footwear is worn the world over by backpackers, package tourists, beach bums and wealthy vacationers alike. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry. For British brothers Rob and Paul Forkan, flip-flops also represent a memory, a legacy, a way of life and the avenue toward a dream of establishing a successful business, as well as a network of orphanages. In 2012, the entrepreneurial pair launched… -
10 Tumblr sites that make travel more interesting
19 May 2013 | 7:45 pmTumblr isn't as big as Twitter, but some are using it to make some great travel blogsReports this weekend from AllThingsD point to Tumblr being acquired by Yahoo for nearly $1.1 billion. Although popular, Tumblr has yet to become a necessary part of any brand’s content strategy, the way way Pinterest or Twitter have. But that doesn’t mean people aren’t doing interesting things on the platform. We looked at sites that are adding something new to the Web or, if they’re curating something else they found, at least adding their own distinctive twist. It’s often used by bloggers… -
Beijing travel: 72 hours in the Chinese capital
19 May 2013 | 3:00 pmSome travelers can now visit the city visa-free for up to 72 hours. Here's how to cram the best of Beijing into three daysTravelers looking to visit Beijing without the hassle of obtaining a visa are in luck: at the beginning of 2013, the Chinese government lifted visa requirements for tourists laying over in Beijing or Shanghai for up to 72 hours. Are three days enough to take in the best of Beijing? It's a tight squeeze, but here’s how to make the most of a 72-hour trip to one of the world’s most vibrant cities. More on CNN: Visas waived for Beijing transit travelers Day 1 Lama… -
Rising from the revolution: Life in Benghazi
17 May 2013 | 3:00 amThere may be a little too much gunfire to make Benghazi a top 10 holiday destination, but this hopeful Libyan city makes for one fascinating tourCurrently, few visitors to Benghazi arrive on leisure trips. The murder of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three colleagues profoundly shook confidence in “Free Libya.” The United States advises against all travel to the city while hearings continue over the American response to last September's attack. The backlash against Islamist militias, however, has seen their presence and influence much reduced. Although the prevalence of private…
