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State of the social media agency [infographic]
Holy Kaw!14 Feb 2012 | 10:58 pm -
Is This the Funniest YouTube Video?
Mashable!15 Feb 2012 | 4:34 amCan humor be quantified? Google thinks it’s possible, having recently developed an algorithm which ranks the funniest videos on YouTube. It takes into account certain elements of the video, user comments and votes on the recently launched YouTube Comedy Slam section of the site. Google engineer Sanketh Shetty explained the methodology for finding the funniest YouTube video in a blog post. “We focused on videos uploaded in the comedy category. We captured the uploader’s belief in the funniness of their video via features based on title, description and tags. Viewers’ reactions,… -
Former Sun CEO Launches A Site To Manage Your Loved One's Health Care
Fast Company14 Feb 2012 | 11:54 pmManaging the care of an aging parent or child with a chronic illness is getting increasingly complicated. CareZone makes it simple.Innovation doesn't always have to be about flashy features or giant leaps. Sometimes it's just about tackling a basic, but pervasive, problem simply and elegantly. Take CareZone for example. If you have aging parents, or a child with a chronic illness, you know about the challenges involved in trying to coordinate their care with several other caregivers—your spouse, your siblings, or an in-house nurse, for example. Information about their medications is… -
Raising Money: What Not to Say and What Not to Believe #OfficeandGuyK
How to Change the World20 Jan 2012 | 12:46 pmOver the past two weeks via my partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve provided templates of models for you to create enchanting PowerPoint pitches, Word business plans, and Excel financial models. They are all available for you to download from my SkyDrive account. I hope these documents and blog posts help you save a boatload of time and increase the quality of your efforts.I leave you with two sets of top ten lies: one of entrepreneurs and one of investors so that you know what not to say and what not to believe. Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs “Our projections are… -
Gartner: Apple’s iPhone Stole The Smartphone Show In Q4, 2011
TechCrunch15 Feb 2012 | 2:55 amWe’ve seen handset makers like HTC, LG and Nokia all warning of declines in smartphone sales. But if there is a slowdown affecting some, it’s not because people are not buying smartphones; it’s because they’re all buying iPhones. Figures out from Gartner today say that smartphone sales totalled 149 million units in Q4 2011 — 47.3 percent higher than the same quarter a year ago, led by none other than Apple’s iPhone, which its analysts noted “saved” the smartphone market after two quarters of declining sales. The mobile device market is also getting ever closer to a tipping…
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Holy Kaw!
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State of the social media agency [infographic]
14 Feb 2012 | 10:58 pmVia Social Fresh. Improve your social media strategy. Permalink | Leave a comment » -
Types of clients [comic]
14 Feb 2012 | 9:30 pmFull story at Rosscott, Inc. via I Love Charts. The life and times of a designer. Permalink | Leave a comment » -
Nothing says love like chocolate bacon hearts
14 Feb 2012 | 9:24 pmDoes magnificence such as this even need commentary? While most Valentine’s gifts seemed geared toward the feminine, the chocolate bacon heart is one gift that will be loved by all (and we’re particularly loving Nick at DudeFoods.com for creating such a wondrous concoction). To form the heart shapes I decided to try forming slices of bacon around some heart shaped metal cookie cutters and then wrapping them in tinfoil before baking them in the oven. Since bacon shrinks so much when cooked I had no idea how well the bacon hearts would hold their shape, but after 20 minutes at… -
An ode to girls who read [video]
14 Feb 2012 | 9:14 pmWhat’s more romantic that reading a girl poetry? Writing it in honor of girls who read. Mark Grist, the man who’ll never have to look far for a date again. Full story at YouTube via Buzzfeed. Now that’s love poetry. Photo credit: Fotolia Permalink | Leave a comment » -
This is what happens to you if you moon the Queen
14 Feb 2012 | 8:29 pmIf you’re considering mooning a member of the royal family any time soon, you might want to think twice unless you have a decent supply of disposable income at your fingertips. A Sydney man was just fined $750 Australian dollars (which is about $800 U.S. dollars) for mooning the Queen and her husband during a royal visit to Australia. Not only did he moon the couple, but he did so with an Australian flag clenched between his buttocks. The stunt was deemed as a public nuisance and he was slapped with the charge. Full story at CBC. All the top odd news. Photo credit: Fotolia Permalink |…
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Mashable!
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Is This the Funniest YouTube Video?
15 Feb 2012 | 4:34 amCan humor be quantified? Google thinks it’s possible, having recently developed an algorithm which ranks the funniest videos on YouTube. It takes into account certain elements of the video, user comments and votes on the recently launched YouTube Comedy Slam section of the site. Google engineer Sanketh Shetty explained the methodology for finding the funniest YouTube video in a blog post. “We focused on videos uploaded in the comedy category. We captured the uploader’s belief in the funniness of their video via features based on title, description and tags. Viewers’ reactions,… -
Does Sony Want to Make You Pay to Charge Your Gadgets? [VIDEO]
14 Feb 2012 | 10:28 pmSony is developing power outlet technology that will track energy consumption. The next logical step? Charging users by how much energy they consume while charging their smartphones, laptops and other devices. The technology uses IC chips to authenticate users of power outlets, according to a press release, determining the identity of people who plug in and whether or not they should be allowed to do so. While that advance in hardware capability could lead to better energy conservation, it could also be used to gouge digital-minded travelers and people who work out of cafes and other public… -
Google Street View Takes You Inside Ancient Japanese Caves [VIDEO]
14 Feb 2012 | 9:14 pmStalactites and stalagmites galore! Google wants to take you spelunking without your even having to step away from the laptop. The company set loose photography crews to gather 360-degree documentation of a couple underground Japanese wonders. Click here to check out the old Okubo-mabu mine, a series of dank-looking tunnels and passageways surrounded by lush greenery outside. Then click here to check out the Akiyoshi-do limestone cavern, a beautiful underground seascape. Taking Google Street View off the street is a great idea. It offers people averse to the outdoors — or Westerners who… -
High School Football Coach Resigns After Nude Facebook Photo
14 Feb 2012 | 8:37 pmA high school football coach in Maine lost his job after accidentally posting a nude photo of himself to Facebook. Paul Withee said he intended to send the photo privately to a friend but it ended up appearing on his Facebook page for his entire social network to see. Withee was the varsity football coach at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School and a middle school science and math teacher. He resigned from all three positions on Monday, a week after the photo went up, according to the Associated Press. Withee said the photo was posted for less than half an hour before he realized his… -
Why Zoosk Wants to Make Online Dating More Like LinkedIn
14 Feb 2012 | 8:04 pmThe Internet dating routine is relatively straightforward, if tough to progress from step to step: Make a profile, find some dates, pick a mate, get offline. But the dating site Zoosk wants to change that by incentivizing its members to stay online after they’ve found romance. The company is beginning to unveil a host of new features and services designed to make its service more sticky. “I use the example of LinkedIn versus Monster,” co-founder Alex Mehr said in a Valentine’s Day interview. “Monster just focuses on the job-seeking phase of your professional…
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Fast Company
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Former Sun CEO Launches A Site To Manage Your Loved One's Health Care
14 Feb 2012 | 11:54 pmManaging the care of an aging parent or child with a chronic illness is getting increasingly complicated. CareZone makes it simple.Innovation doesn't always have to be about flashy features or giant leaps. Sometimes it's just about tackling a basic, but pervasive, problem simply and elegantly. Take CareZone for example. If you have aging parents, or a child with a chronic illness, you know about the challenges involved in trying to coordinate their care with several other caregivers—your spouse, your siblings, or an in-house nurse, for example. Information about their medications is… -
Apple's Tim Cook On Foxconn: Data Transparency, Work Hours Cap On The Way
14 Feb 2012 | 5:11 pmApple is in full-court press mode in response to flack the company has taken about poor working conditions at its supplier factories. On Monday, Apple issued a press release saying it will allow the Fair Labor Association to begin inspections at Foxconn, letting the FLA conduct audits of its its workplace environments and interview thousands of its employees on topics including safety, compensation, and labor hours. Today, at Goldman Sachs' technology and internet conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook stressed the company's commitment to safe workplaces and fair employee treatment. He spent the… -
Apple CEO Tim Cook On Cheap iPad Knockoffs: "You Hate It"
14 Feb 2012 | 5:10 pmApple CEO Tim Cook made a rare appearance today at Goldman Sachs' technology and Internet conference. During the presentation, Cook spoke on everything from supplier working conditions to the demise of the PC industry. While most of Cook's comments were characteristically measured--much like Apple's earnings calls, Cook began the chat with a warning about forward-looking statements--the Apple head saved his choicest words for iPad competitors such as the Kindle Fire, which is said to be one of the best-selling tablets (far) behind the iPad. When asked whether less expensive devices might cut… -
The USB Memory Stick Is Facing Extinction
14 Feb 2012 | 5:05 pmThose tiny plastic USB memory sticks you've got on your desk or skulking in your laptop bag's pocket are soon to be relegated to the past. Innovation, and the mobile tech revolution, is to blame. Don't be sad--read why.One of the odd questions I keep being asked about the iPad is "Where do you plug in USB stuff?" It's a sister phrase to the weird criticism oft thrust at Apple's device, "Ah, it's too limiting for me: I can't plug in USB sticks." This is weird because other makers, notably Apple's biggest competitor, Samsung, follow the same proprietary connector path and because I've never… -
Fab Blasts Through The Commerce-Media Divide With Five New Verticals
14 Feb 2012 | 1:24 pmCommerce used to be separate from content. Now sites like Fab are combining the two--and creating addictive new experiences.Since June of last year, Fab has been the go-to flash-sale site for ogling beautiful, design-y pieces. Today, the New York-based company is announcing that it is launching five independent verticals--or "shops"--for items related to fashion, food, children, pets, and vintage.The launch comes just weeks after the company hit the 2 million users mark--and it hit that milestone long before its first birthday. The company added 450,000 users in January alone and has doubled…
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How to Change the World
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Raising Money: What Not to Say and What Not to Believe #OfficeandGuyK
20 Jan 2012 | 12:46 pmOver the past two weeks via my partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve provided templates of models for you to create enchanting PowerPoint pitches, Word business plans, and Excel financial models. They are all available for you to download from my SkyDrive account. I hope these documents and blog posts help you save a boatload of time and increase the quality of your efforts.I leave you with two sets of top ten lies: one of entrepreneurs and one of investors so that you know what not to say and what not to believe. Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs “Our projections are… -
Design a Sam Adams beer
20 Jan 2012 | 10:24 amNow this is a fun project. I’m helping Sam Adams “tap” the knowledge of beer drinkers and crowd source its next brew. Join the party by getting the app and designing your beer: The final brew will be released in Austin in the first week of March. #sponsored -
How to Create an Enchanting Financial Forecast #OfficeandGuyK
17 Jan 2012 | 3:52 pmThis is the third post in my Microsoft partnership, and it’s all about numbers. The topic is crafting your financial forecast to include in your pitch. Bill Reichert, my partner at Garage Technology Ventures, created an Excel model and wrote this blog post. There’s a lesson in this too: Get the best person for the job. His grasp of financial models and how to present them exceeds mine by two orders of magnitude. The Purpose of Financial Projections When it comes to financial projections, there are two types of entrepreneurs: first, the “visionary entrepreneur” who… -
How to Create an Enchanting Business Plan #OfficeandGuyK
12 Jan 2012 | 10:16 amHere is the second post in my series about planning, pitching, and launching a new business venture. In partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve created a Word document that outlines a good business plan. It’s saved to my SkyDrive folder here. Feel free to download it and use it as inspiration. And if you’re working with a partner, you can use the free Word Web App to stay in sync. I provided the PowerPoint document before the Word document because a good business plan is an elaboration of a good pitch as opposed to a good pitch being a distillation of good business plan. -
How to Create an Enchanting Pitch #OfficeandGuyK
9 Jan 2012 | 10:01 amWelcome to the first in a series of blog posts I’ll be doing as part of a partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps. Over the next two weeks, I’ll cover everything a budding entrepreneur needs to turn an idea into an enchanting investment opportunity—from the perfect pitch to a killer business plan to financial forecasts. I’m going to start with a little dissertation on creating effective PowerPoint pitches for your company. I embedded the sample deck for you to click through by using the PowerPoint Web App. When you’re ready to get started, you can download the…
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TechCrunch
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Gartner: Apple’s iPhone Stole The Smartphone Show In Q4, 2011
15 Feb 2012 | 2:55 amWe’ve seen handset makers like HTC, LG and Nokia all warning of declines in smartphone sales. But if there is a slowdown affecting some, it’s not because people are not buying smartphones; it’s because they’re all buying iPhones. Figures out from Gartner today say that smartphone sales totalled 149 million units in Q4 2011 — 47.3 percent higher than the same quarter a year ago, led by none other than Apple’s iPhone, which its analysts noted “saved” the smartphone market after two quarters of declining sales. The mobile device market is also getting ever closer to a tipping… -
After Raising $100 Million, Russia’s Amazon (OZON) Acquires Russia’s Zappos (Sapato)
15 Feb 2012 | 2:49 amOZON, often dubbed the ‘Amazon of Russia’, has acquired 100% of Sapato.ru, often dubbed the ‘Zappos of Russia’. I hope I don’t really need to remind you that Amazon acquired Zappos back in 2009. The acquisition of the online shoe and accessories retailer, which had been whispered about for the past few days after e-commerce giant OZON was given the go-ahead for the deal by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of the Russian Federation, was confirmed by early Sapato.ru investor Fast Lane Ventures in a press release issued earlier this morning. Sadly, financial… -
Goodbye Robin (And Greg)
15 Feb 2012 | 1:51 amHere’s why I love TechCrunch; because I’m going to just post this a little before midnight, and I dare someone to take it down while I sleep. I. triple. dog. dare. you. Anyways today we hired a bunch of people (Hi Colleen! Hi Ingrid!) and made some existing people Super Ninja Princesses or something, but in the meantime we lost two crucial members of our team to competitors, Mobile Editor Greg Kumparak and Europe Writer Robin Wauters. It’s a huge loss. I wholeheartedly agree with this guy – We can’t just pretend these kinds of things away. We should be honest… -
Jonathan Schwartz Launches CareZone, A Simple Caregiving Site With Big Plans
14 Feb 2012 | 11:00 pmThe problem that former Sun Microsystems chief executive Jonathan Schwartz is trying to fix with his new startup is clear enough. More and more people are having to care for older relatives as the US population ages, and many of these people have kids to take care of, too. But, the current online methods for sharing sensitive health information aren’t always appropriate. Emailing caregiver information can lead to tastelessly targeted ads on Gmail or Facebook. Online project management software may be too bloated or insecure for sharing medical histories between just a few people. -
Clear: Why This Simple To Do List App Has Everyone Talking
14 Feb 2012 | 9:58 pmClear, the heavily-anticipated touch-based to-do list app, is launching in the iTunes App Store tonight. And by heavily anticipated, I mean this app was getting tech blog coverage based on demos, previews and teaser videos. Why the big draw for what’s typically been a rather ho-hum app category, the lowly to-do list? Clear is pure eye candy, for starters. But it’s also representative of a major leap forward in smartphone app design, as it’s been built from the ground up for the touch interface. The app is based solely on the use of now-common gestures: swipes, pulls and…
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Seth's Blog
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Time doesn't scale
15 Feb 2012 | 4:25 amBut bravery does. The challenge of work-life balance is a relatively new one, and it is an artifact of a world where you get paid for showing up, paid for hours spent, paid for working. In that world, it's clearly an advantage to have a team that spends more time than the competition. One way to get ahead as a freelancer or a factory worker of any kind (even a consultant at Deloitte) was simply to put in more hours. After all, that made you more productive, if we define productivity as output per dollar spent. But people have discovered that after hour 24, there are no more hours left. -
Meeting vs. making
14 Feb 2012 | 4:48 amAs I was scurrying to meet someone coming in on the 11 am train, I realized that there's a huge difference between meeting a train and making one. If you're rushing to make a train, you have to be there before the last moment. Five seconds too late is too late. The cost of error is absolute. If you're hurrying to meet a train, though, there's a soft deadline. Five seconds is no big deal. Thirty seconds might be annoying, particularly for someone returning from a long journey. And five minutes is really rude. Too often, we treat our obligations as meet, not make. We impose a sliding scale, a… -
Spout and scout
13 Feb 2012 | 4:43 amSocial media has amplified two basic human needs so much that they have been transformed into entirely new behaviors. Sites have encouraged and rewarded us to spout, to talk about what we're up to and what we care about. And they've mirrored that by making it easy to scout, to see what others are spouting about. Please understand that just a decade ago, both were private, non-commercial activities. Now, they represent the future of media, and thus the future of what we do all day. You're probably doing one, the other or both. Are you making it easy for your peers and customers to do it about… -
The sad irony of selfishness
12 Feb 2012 | 4:30 amMore often than not, the selfish person is insecure, fearful and filled with doubt. The selfishness springs from his belief that this is his only good idea, his last dollar, his one and only chance to avoid failure. "I need this, not you," he says, because he truly believes he's got nothing else going on, no other chance, no hope. The irony, of course, is that selflessness (not selfishness, its opposite) is precisely the posture that leads to more success. The person with the confidence to support others and to share is repaid by getting more in return than his selfish counterpart. The… -
People who know what they're talking about...
11 Feb 2012 | 4:39 amAlmost always talk like they know what they're talking about. That's why it pays to invest more time than you might imagine on the vocabulary, history and concepts of your industry. Insider language, terms of art, the ability to use technical concepts... it matters. On the other hand, sounding like you're smart doesn't mean you are. Necessary but not sufficient.
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NYT > Home Page
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With Cities Under Fire, Assad Sets Date for Syrian Referendum
15 Feb 2012 | 4:32 amPresident Bashar al-Assad set Feb. 26 for a vote on a new constitution as residents of some Syrian cities said life is ever more unbearable. -
Israeli Envoy Links Bangkok Bombs to India and Georgia Attacks
15 Feb 2012 | 4:29 amBombs discovered in Bangkok were similar to devices used this week against Israeli diplomats in India and Georgia, Israel’s ambassador to Thailand said on Wednesday. -
China’s Vice President, Xi Jinping, Opens U.S. Tour
15 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amChina’s vice president, Xi Jinping, was met with blunt criticism from Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who declared that the United States and China could cooperate “only if the game is fair.” -
Economy Lifts Obama in New York Times/CBS News Poll
15 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amPresident Obama’s approval rating reached the 50 percent mark, while Republican voters expressed a desire for more alternatives in their race, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. -
Police Evict Occupy Newark Protesters
15 Feb 2012 | 2:30 amAfter midnight on Wednesday at Military Park, about two dozen police officers and fire fighters disassembled what was left of the movement’s encampment.
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Wired Top Stories
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A Google-a-Day Puzzle for Feb. 15
14 Feb 2012 | 11:01 pmGoogle's daily brainteaser helps hone your search skills. -
World's Tiniest Chameleons Found in Madagascar
14 Feb 2012 | 7:14 pmResearchers have recently discovered four new chameleon species, which rank among the world's tiniest reptiles. Adults of the smallest species are just over an inch from snout to tail. -
5 Most Telling Takeaways From Tim Cook's Goldman Sachs Keynote
14 Feb 2012 | 6:07 pmTuesday afternoon, Apple CEO Tim Cook presented a keynote speech for Goldman Sachs. Cook's presentation ranged from discussion of worker abuse in China to how the iPad is cannibalizing computer sales. We listened in, and have rounded up the five juiciest reveals of Apple's roadmap and culture. -
After Cuts, HP Labs Vows Return to Glory Days
14 Feb 2012 | 5:41 pmAfter all the turmoil of the past decade, can HP return to its glory days as an R&D company? You bet it can, says Prith Banerjee, the head of HP labs. He thinks that HP's project Moonshot, announced late last year, could give birth to a big hit for the company: computer systems that are ideal for processing the 35 zetabytes (that's 35 billion gigabytes) of data that research firm IDC expects to be created in 2020. -
First Look: RAVN, the Pandora of Event Discovery Apps
14 Feb 2012 | 4:46 pmEven 24-hour party people can become creatures of habit. They hit the same clubs, they haunt the same bars, they attend the same art openings. Enter RAVN, an event discovery app that alerts users to the coolest local happenings. And it's even sober enough for regular people too!
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@ProBlogger
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Cash In by Paying for Guest Posts
14 Feb 2012 | 8:06 amThis guest post is by Carol Tice of Make a Living Writing. If you’re looking for a way to grab attention for your blog and grow your income, I’ve had great success with this one: I pay writers. Since May 2011, I’ve been paying $50 for guest posts on my blog. I started paying because my mission is to help writers earn more, and I needed to walk my talk. I usually buy two or three posts a month. I thought it would just be a cost I’d have to cover every month. But paying for guest posts has turned out to be one of the most powerful strategies I’ve found for building… -
Why My Blog’s Doing Okay: 3 Unexpected Answers
13 Feb 2012 | 2:07 pmYesterday we were talking about how benchmarking your blog and your performance against those of others only goes so far to give ou an idea of “how your blog’s going.” As I said then, looking at others—other people, other blogs—even subconsciously for an indication of where you and your blog sit isn’t usually very helpful. I said then that today I’d give you some examples of areas where I think my blogging’s doing okay—things that have less to do with stats and revenues than they do with how blogging fits into my life. Here are a few of those things. -
How to Systematically Build a Mountain of Links
13 Feb 2012 | 8:00 amThis guest post is by Neil Patel of Quick Sprout. We’ve all been taught to create high-quality content to attract links. This argument is usually stated in the context of a blog that basically becomes an authority where you start to build a following around consistent, fresh content—think big sites like Problogger or Boing Boing. This is not the technique I’m talking about. Today, I’m talking about a link-building technique that’s bigger, better and quite possibly able to put you on the map faster than you would ever imagine. I’m talking about building a linkable… -
Is Your Blog Doing Okay?
12 Feb 2012 | 2:03 pmLast week, I told the story of how I achieved my best month ever on DPS. While I used that post as a case study to present some ideas that I hoped you may be able to use on your own blogs, there’s a hidden hitch with that kind of post: it can give you the impression that you should be aiming to triple your revenue each time you hone a promotion on your site. We could take that a step or two further—a post like that could give you the expectation that you should be selling products, or even that you should be monetizing your blog. Neither of those ideas is necessarily appropriate for… -
How to Set Up an Email Account that Uses Your Domain Name
12 Feb 2012 | 8:09 amThis guest post is written by Kashish Jain of digiupdates Most of the people who are new to web design and blogging don’t understand the capabilities that come free with their domain, so they don’t take advantage of them. How many times have you visited a site for www.something.com and on the Contact Us page, you find that the sales or customer service personnel have email addresses like username@gmail.com? It certainly is not the main measure of business quality, but the average person usually thinks, “Geez, what is that, their personal email address?” I, too, began…
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Entrepreneur Update
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Do You Know What's In Your Business Credit File?
14 Feb 2012 | 3:31 pmWhy managing your business credit score is more important than you may think. -
The Payroll-Tax Cut Deal Gives Obama's Budget Hope
14 Feb 2012 | 2:02 pmThey called the President's budget 'dead on arrival' but new efforts to compromise in Congress may bode well for certain small-business-focused provisions. -
How Young Entrepreneurs Can Make Time for Love
14 Feb 2012 | 12:46 pmOn Valentine's Day, a young entrepreneur's thoughts may turn to love. Here are seven tips for making room in your busy schedule. -
Pop the Question. It Will Help Your Business (Opinion)
14 Feb 2012 | 12:20 pmGetting married is a good idea if you're an entrepreneur or want to run your own business. The below-market labor and advice are just some of the reasons why. Our columnist explains. -
Chris Brogan on Using Video to Market Your Business (Video)
14 Feb 2012 | 9:00 amThe popular blogger shares tips on how to get started on YouTube and other video platforms for business.
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Lifehacker
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The Ghosts in the Sky Home Screen [Featured Home Screen]
14 Feb 2012 | 7:00 pmMore » -
Remains of the Day: Smartphones to Outnumber Humans? [For What It's Worth]
14 Feb 2012 | 6:00 pm -
Power Up Your Buddy List with These Awesome Pidgin Plugins [Pidgin]
14 Feb 2012 | 5:30 pmMore » -
2SendTab Easily Moves Your Browser Tabs To and From Your Android Device [Android Downloads]
14 Feb 2012 | 5:00 pmMore » -
Daily App Deals: Get Air Media Center for iOS for Free in Today’s App Deals [Deals]
14 Feb 2012 | 4:30 pm
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MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors
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Chinese Customs Tells Proview That Ban of iPad Exports Would be Difficult
15 Feb 2012 | 4:10 amReuters reports that Proview Technology will apparently have a hard time blocking Apple iPad exports from China. On Tuesday, we reported that Proview was seeking a block on both Chinese imports and exports of the iPad over a trademark dispute with Apple. Given that Apple's iPad manufacturing is centered in China, such a move would be "catastrophic" for Apple. However, China's customs authorities told Proview that it would be difficult to execute such a ban due to the popularity of Apple's products:"The customs have told us that it will be difficult to implement a ban because many Chinese… -
Siri Admits To Speaking Japanese
14 Feb 2012 | 8:43 pmFollowing up on an earlier rumor that Siri would soon support Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Japanese languages, 9to5Mac noticed that if Siri is actually asked what languages it supports, Japanese is listed as one of the options. At launch, Siri could converse in the American, UK and Australian dialects of English, German and French. Contrary to what Siri claims, Japanese is not available as a choice in the Siri preferences pane. It's possible that Siri's additional languages will be launched with the iPad 3 launch next month. That launch is rumored to be set for March 7. Recent Mac and iOS… -
Apple Slashes iAd Minimum Buy-In Fee Yet Again
14 Feb 2012 | 5:23 pmApple has cut its minimum iAd buy-in fee to $100,000 according to a report from Advertising Age. The new lower price, one-tenth the $1 million originally required when iAd launched in July of 2010, dropped to $500k and then $300k per package. Even the $300k level has apparently not been enough to keep existing advertisers on board and bring on new ones to meet the ever-growing number of ad slots available. In addition to the reduced minimum spend, Apple is increasing the cut that developers receive from iAds running within their apps from 60% to 70%. The extra money is… -
Tim Cook at Goldman Sachs: Worker Safety, iPhone and iPad Growth, and Financial Strategy
14 Feb 2012 | 3:54 pmApple CEO Tim Cook has just completed a Q&A session with analyst Bill Shope at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference. While we liveblogged the event with a rough transcript of Cook's comments, here are a few of the highlights: - Worker safety: Addressing ongoing publicity about working conditions at Apple's suppliers' facilities, Cook reiterated his position that no company is doing more or being more transparent about the issue than Apple. Cook specifically addressed Apple's efforts to address underage labor, safety, and excessive overtime. Apple has also partnered with the… -
Apple CEO Tim Cook Speaks at Goldman Sachs Technology Conference
14 Feb 2012 | 2:10 pmApple CEO Tim Cook will speak at the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference today at 3:30PM Eastern / 12:30PM Pacific. Cook's presentation will be broadcast via Quicktime on Apple's website and MacRumors will be liveblogging the event on this page. Cook has spoken at the annual conference a number of times (2007, 2008, 2010), but this will be his first time at the event in the role of Apple CEO. While he has not made any major announcements at the venue in the past, he has at times offered an interesting perspective into Apple's business. Tim Cook is on-stage. Opens with "safe harbor" statement…
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chrisbrogan.com
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Access Is An Asset
15 Feb 2012 | 2:26 amI was fortunate to have dinner last night with some brilliant leaders and professionals. I won’t name names, but some were friends from great companies, and others were new friends with amazing ideas. I’ll also divulge that I got to ask a question that interested me to Marc Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications, that gave me some new perspective. This comes coupled with a line I blathered out in a speech yesterday that suddenly stuck to me like glue. The experience of enjoying dinner conversations about business and pursuits with smart people, plus talking about some of my past… -
Happy Birthday to Love
14 Feb 2012 | 2:00 pmTen years ago today, Tim Sanders launched his book, Love is the Killer App. It is a book I love written by a person I love. I’m not just saying this. Tim is lovable. He’s smart. He’s ultra passionate, and he’s been preaching a secret that people just refuse to accept is as important as it is. With love, I tell you to check out Tim’s post about his groundbreaking work turning 10. Happy Birthday to love! -
Three Minutes On Social Media
12 Feb 2012 | 10:30 amI had the pleasure of talking to deputy editor Teri Evans at Entrepreneur Magazine after keynoting their Growth Conference in Long Beach. This ends up being a few tips about small business and social media. Hopefully there’s something useful in here. (Oh, and for a behind-the-scenes detail, check out what I shared with people on Google+ about the day we shot this.) Can’t see the video? CLICK HERE To see more from the series, click here. -
The Connection Will Carry You – or What Skrillex Taught Me About Platform
11 Feb 2012 | 7:09 amI’m currently a little too obsessed with the musician/DJ Skrillex, as he’s known (real name Sonny Moore). He’s become the “from out of nowhere” face of a movement. Interestingly, he’s not the face of dubstep itself, exactly, but instead, I’d offer that he’s the face of “the mainstream’s introduction to dubstep.” The distinction is huge. ( If you want even more on dubstep, Spin produced this primer.) It also means that Sonny Moore has a lot in common with Tony Robbins, Run DMC, Banksy, and Sir Richard Branson. And, quite… -
Throw Away the Maps
6 Feb 2012 | 3:30 amPeople judge us by the path they’ve seen us walk before. They can’t anticipate our future steps. We, ourselves, look to how things have been, what seems to be the lay of the land, without realizing that the maps are not the territory. Want to succeed at work? Then don’t try to do your job. Instead, work towards something larger, more meaningful, and something that blends your convictions internally with your best ability to help others externally. Want to create something new? Then throw away the old, or maybe join two disparate old things together into something new. The…
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Copyblogger
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56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest
14 Feb 2012 | 5:00 amIn case you’ve been living in a mountain cave in Bhutan for the past couple of months, Pinterest is a relatively new social networking site that allows users to create online image collages, then quickly and easily share those collages — called “pinboards” — with other Pinterest users. It’s fun, easy, and catching on like wildfire right now. Part of Pinterest’s appeal is that it’s beautiful. Enter the lovely world of Pinterest, and all the troubles of your day-to-day life just seem to slip away in a stream of perfect little black dresses, baby… -
7 Essential Tips for WordPress Beginners
13 Feb 2012 | 5:00 amRaise your hand if this sounds familiar … You meet someone and they say all the right things. They’re full of compliments and accolades. Except, something bugs you about them. Their words don’t quite match their actions. They can be forgetful, and even mean. Eventually, the glow wears off, and you see them for who they really are. It’s not what people say, it’s what they do that makes a relationship work. And that’s how it is with your WordPress website, especially if you’re just getting started. That’s because you can’t just talk about how great WordPress is and… -
7 Worthwhile Content Marketing Links
11 Feb 2012 | 5:00 amThis week on The Lede … How George Lucas Would Write a Blog Post Mark Zuckerberg’s 6 Ingredients of Success How to Make Your Content Go Viral The Difference Between Good and Great Content Marketing If you want more links you can use than the seven we highlight here every week, follow @copyblogger on Twitter. // The Difference Between Good Content Marketing and Great Content Marketing Mr. Pulizzi offers a compelling short history of content marketing, as well as a digestible list of six characteristics that will determine whether your content is great, or merely good. And… -
Why Not Sell Physical Stuff With Digital Media?
10 Feb 2012 | 11:00 amWe know that online marketing works when selling digital products. When’s the last time you thought about selling physical products online? Of course, the business of physical widgets is booming, even though Internet types tend to shy away from it. Online marketing doesn’t necessarily mean an exclusively online business. Ben Settle jumped on the line with me this week to talk about his old school physical information product business. Give it a listen to find how he gets it done, and how he gets his stuff into the hands of buyers … In this episode, Ben Settle and I discuss:… -
How to Recover From a Social Media Hangover
9 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am“Hello. My name is Cori and I’m a social media addict. “Today is day 1 of my commitment to give myself a regular break from technology and the foggy, uncreative haze it can unwittingly lead to.” I was reading a post the other day by blogger Michael Brenner at B2B Marketing Insider, talking about getting your social media game on. Of course, being the skimmer that I am, the first thing that caught my attention and made me go back and read the whole thing was his mention of having a Social Media Hangover. His hangover was induced by sometimes (as we all do) forgetting to…
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Macworld
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Remains of the Day: Love is everywhere
14 Feb 2012 | 6:30 pmYes, love is in the air: A Brooklyn-based architectural magazine is dedicating all its love to Apple this month, Siri is learning how to say love in a new language, and the Mac Pro might finally see some love from Apple real soon. The remainders for Tuesday, February 14, 2012 would like to wish you all a lovely day. -
This is Tim: Apple CEO talks at investment conference
14 Feb 2012 | 5:55 pmOn Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook was interviewed on stage at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference. Macworld transcribed Cook's comments on a number of topics. -
Cook: Apple will lead the way in improving working conditions
14 Feb 2012 | 5:55 pmSpeaking at a Goldman Sachs conference Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook provided the company's most extensive comments to date on reports of conditions at its suppliers' factories. -
Wireless voting still has a long way to go
14 Feb 2012 | 5:16 pmWith the growth of smartphones and their use in U.S. presidential campaigns, could there come a day when Americans might vote wirelessly? -
HDTVs get more interesting
14 Feb 2012 | 2:52 pmThis year, 3D is taking a backseat. Upcoming developments in television are more varied, and offer a lot more mainstream appeal.
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ReadWriteWeb
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Daily Wrap: The Domination of the Mobile Hardware Landscape and more
14 Feb 2012 | 8:04 pmDan Rowinski investigates the dangers of the dominance of Samsung and Apple. This and more in today's Daily Wrap. Sometimes it's difficult to catch everything that hits tech media in a day, so we wrap up some of the most talked about stories. We give you a daily recap of what you missed in the ReadWriteWeb Community, including a link to some of the most popular discussions in our offsite communities on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ as well. Sponsor The Dangers of Apple and Samsung Dominance Apple and Samsung dominate the mobile hardware market. Dan Rowinski sees great dangers in the… -
Amazon Prime Needs More Digital Benefits
14 Feb 2012 | 6:29 pmBloomberg has "three people familiar with the matter" reporting that Amazon has fewer than half as many Amazon Prime subscribers as analysts thought. Prime is a $79-per-year program that offers two-day shipping on all orders, as well as streaming digital video. Analysts thought it had 10 million or more subscribers, but Bloomberg's sources say it's more like 3 to 5 million. Sponsor That's a bummer for Amazon analysts and investors, who were already let down by its quarterly earnings miss last month. But Amazon Prime is right in the midst of changing drastically as a product, so it's too early… -
How Developers Are Shaping the Future of Music
14 Feb 2012 | 6:15 pmThat the music industry has radically changed in the last decade is a serious understatement. Technology has altered everything from the creation and distribution of recorded music, upending retailers, studios and business models across the industry. But it's not all bad news. Music isn't dying so much as evolving, and the landscape is already beginning to look quite different. Not long ago, the professional music industry involved a complex but fixed set of players: artists, labels, managers, promoters and the like. Many of these roles have changed, but none have disappeared. They're joined… -
Zynga's Success Depends On Play
14 Feb 2012 | 6:10 pmToday Zynga announced its fourth quarter earnings and 2011 financial results. Zynga now makes the top five games played on Facebook. Its non-GAAP earnings per share were five cents, or $37.1 million for the quarter. But even though it had a 59% gain in sales, it posted a loss for the period. If Zynga is going to succeed, FarmVille has to lose its super uncool factor. And "play" must become a completely mainstream behavior that's as acceptable as buying $30 t-shirts at Urban Outfitters. "We see [play as] a popular large-scale behavior, but we'd like to see play reach a level of search, shop… -
It's PingFederate 6.6 Versus "Identity as a Service"
14 Feb 2012 | 6:00 pmIt's a demonstrated fact that as cloud application users find themselves logging on more and more often, they tend to oversimplify their passwords in an effort to avoid writing them all down someplace. It doesn't help that many IT shops' first course of action is to standardize identity around social networks such as Facebook, making these public repositories into the lynchpins of private networks' security strategies. This morning's rollout by Ping Identity of a new point release for its PingFederate identity management system is an effort to reorient businesses that have already begun using…
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Smashing Magazine Feed
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Designer Myopia: How To Stop Designing For Ourselves
14 Feb 2012 | 7:09 amHave you ever looked at a bizarre building design and wondered, “What were the architects thinking?” Or have you simply felt frustrated by a building that made you uncomfortable, or felt anger when a beautiful old building was razed and replaced with a contemporary eyesore? You might be forgiven for thinking “these architects must be blind!” New research shows that in a real sense, you might actually be right. That’s Michael Mehaffy and Nikos A. Salingaros describing a phenomenon we’re all familiar with, in their article “Architectural Myopia: Designing for… -
Progressive And Responsive Navigation
13 Feb 2012 | 5:53 amDeveloping for the Web can be a difficult yet rewarding job. Given the number of browsers across the number of platforms, it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. But if we start coding with a little forethought and apply the principles of progressive enhancement from the beginning and apply some responsive practices at the end, we can easily accommodate for less-capable browsers and reward those with modern browsers in both desktop and mobile environments. A Common Structure Below is the HTML structure of a navigation menu created by WordPress. This unordered list is pretty… -
Upcoming Web Design And Development Conferences For 2012
10 Feb 2012 | 10:58 amWe’re well into 2012, and many designers and developers around the world are planning their travels for the year, which may include attending one of the many Web design and development conferences that will be held in the upcoming months. To help you out with your plans, we’ve once again put together a list of conferences and events that you might want to consider. As always, this post covers events taking place in about a seven month timeframe that ends in early September. In August, we’ll post another article like this that will cover events for the six or… -
A Beginner’s Guide To jQuery-Based JSON API Clients
10 Feb 2012 | 4:37 amAre you fascinated by dynamic data? Do you go green with envy when you see tweets pulled magically into websites? Trust me, I’ve been there. The goal of today’s tutorial is to create a simple Web app for grabbing movie posters from TMDb. We’ll use jQuery and the user’s input to query a JSON-based API and deal with the returned data appropriately. I hope to convince you that APIs aren’t scary and that most of the time they can be a developer’s best friend. APIs Are The Future But, More Importantly, The Present JSON-based APIs are a hot property on the Web right now. I… -
Smashing Special: WordPress Theme Trends For 2012
9 Feb 2012 | 7:25 amThis special is the first in our series of Smashing Specials — extended articles and studies dedicated to a specific topic. The special features current WordPress theme trends for 2012, covering past trends, new developments in theme design and trends in the theme development. 2011 was a great year for WordPress, with some excellent new updates that saw the introduction of a drag-and-drop uploader, distraction-free writing, the HTML5 Twenty Eleven theme, and movement towards a fully responsive dashboard. As well as changes to WordPress core, theme development continued to…
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CNN.com
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NATO: 'Deep regret' over Afghan deaths
15 Feb 2012 | 4:24 amNATO expressed "deep regret" Wednesday following a coalition airstrike that killed eight Afghan youths last week. -
Gospel singer Winans to deliver eulogy
15 Feb 2012 | 4:04 amClose friends and family will mourn Whitney Houston at a private funeral, led by a pastor who has known her for decades, at a church where she honed her vocal skills as a child. -
2 charged in Thailand bombings
15 Feb 2012 | 3:13 amThai authorities on Wednesday charged two Iranians in relation to a string of blasts that hit Bangkok the day before as Tehran denied accusations by Israel that it was behind the explosions. -
Opposition: Syrian planes blow up oil pipeline in Homs
15 Feb 2012 | 3:05 amA massive plume of thick, black smoke billowed from the city of Homs on Wednesday, punctuating the chaos that has plagued the opposition stronghold for months. -
China's heir apparent to visit Congress
15 Feb 2012 | 1:21 amChina's presumptive leader, Xi Jinping, is expected to meet with U.S. congressional leaders Wednesday on the third day of a visit that could influence relations between the two world powers for years to come.
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Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider
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It’s Guest Blog Wednesday featuring Peter Hurley!
14 Feb 2012 | 11:01 pmHow important is it to accentuate your subject’s jawline in a portrait? For me it’s major, and more often than not the first direction that comes out of my mouth toward anyone in front of my camera. I believe it’s our job to pull the best out of our clients, so we need to be feeding them constant direction in order to do that.As photographers, we all use direct direction in order to get a client into a position that makes them physically look better. So since this one area means so much to me, I thought I’d share some tips on it in this little video. In it you’ll see how… -
HP Releases the Z1 Workstation
14 Feb 2012 | 2:02 pmHey gang, Brad Moore here with a quick announcement.HP just announced their brand new Z1 Workstation, a 27″ all-in-one workstation that opens to allow for hardware upgrades! This system features the quad-core Intel Xeon processor, an NVIDIA Quadro graphics card, and options for USB 3.0, Blu-Ray Writer, SSD hard drive, and more for top performance.Check out all the details over at HP.com! -
Happy Valentine’s Day
14 Feb 2012 | 9:34 amHowdy folks. Sorry for the late post, but I took today off to spend with my sweetie (we actually snuck away last night and headed to our favorite getaway place, and now we’re spending the day shopping and just hanging out, which I understand may include a stop at a guitar store). :) By the way: the photo above, taken at Vegas Photoshop World, is by my buddy Mike “Hollywood” Kubeisy”Today we’re celebrating our 25th Valentine’s Day together (and this year we’ll be married 23 years!). As all my friends are quick to remind me — I am the luckiest… -
I went with Nikon D800 with the Anti-Aliasing Filter
12 Feb 2012 | 11:02 pmI’ve had a lot of people asking which model I ordered; the regular D800 or the 800e where Nikon has removed the anti-aliasing filter (it’s supposed to create a little sharper images but without the filter you run the risk of certain photos having a moire pattern).Well, I went with the model WITH the filter (the regular Nikon D800). I talked with a few friends that have shot the camera, and they suggested for the range of photos I take (from people, to sports, to fashion to travel), that I just stick with the regular D800 (which saved me a few hundred bucks to boot).I’ve had… -
It’s FREE Photoshop World Ticket Monday
12 Feb 2012 | 11:01 pmI’m going to be giving away a FREE full-conference pass to next month’s Photoshop World Conference & Expo in Washington DC to some lucky commenter here today, but before you rush down and enter (just leave a comment here of any sort, and you’re entered), watch this short video (only 1 min: 31 seconds), to get psyched up for it. It pretty much shows you why you gotta be there (and why you should enter today to see if you win the free ticket!).We’re going to have an all-time record-breaking attendance for our East Coast show, and you’re invited to be there when…
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Digital Photography School
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5 things to Love [and 5 things to Hate] about Canon G1 X
14 Feb 2012 | 12:29 pmThis week, I got my greedy little hands on a Canon G1 X and I have to say, I was {and still am} absolutely giddy over this camera. Bear in mind, it’s been about 6 years since I even owned a point + shoot so getting this camera was like going from VHS to blue ray. There were 5 things that struck me as amazing about this little camera as well as 5 things that made me say “what on earth?”. 5 things to love The sensor is gigantic for a compact digital camera. It’s only 20% smaller than the sensor in Canon’s 7D! Response time is phenomenal. From the time I press… -
Return To The Scene Of The Crime: Shooting Mundane Scenes In Different Light To Improve Your Photography
14 Feb 2012 | 7:33 amWe all have parts of our life that are mundane. Even the most seasoned traveler has mundane tasks or habits that seem anything less than glamorous. While there is certainly something to be touted and enjoyed from the exotic images we all love, there is also some thing to be appreciated in the mundane. First, the mundane is often not always that. While a scene may be commonplace, unless the light never changes, ever, there is always something different about it day to day. My challenge to you is to find beauty, not so much in the objects you see every day, but in the light hitting them. By way… -
3 Minutes with Photographer Steven Bumgardner
13 Feb 2012 | 12:29 pmPhotography has always been a powerful medium to share images, but it has consistently been most powerful when used to share stories. As digital SLRs increasingly include video functionality new opportunities are emerging for photographers to enhance their storytelling with video and videographers to return to their roots with still photography. Steven Bumgardner (AKA YosemiteSteve on Twitter) has a gift for storytelling as it relates to our natural world and might just have the ultimate dream job getting to work in Yosemite valley. Steven was kind enough to share a little bit about his video… -
15 Tips for Great Candlelight Photography
13 Feb 2012 | 8:07 amImage by Sea Eye Happy Valentines Day! In celebration we thought we’d publish this post on the romantic topic of Candlelight Photography! Have you ever tried to photograph a candle lit scene with your digital camera? The results can be stunning with the warm glow of flickering flames reflecting off your subjects face (can you feel the romance?) but the shooting in such a low light environment make it can make it a challenging situation. Here are a few tips on how to get that perfect candle light portrait! 1. Turn off Your Flash Lets start with the obvious ones and work our way back. -
Photo Inspiration: Travel Photography From Around The World Project
12 Feb 2012 | 12:28 pmToday I am starting a new (semi-)regular series on DPS. On this site we have great content with step by step instructions, gear reviews and information on all forms of post processing. I want to add to that content a form of inspiration that mixes practical tips for every day shooting and an appreciation for the wider world around us. It will be a form of travel voyeurism and exploration, one country at a time. While I will be starting with countries I have visited and have familiarity with, that list will only last so long. I want this to be more of a community project and I will be…
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TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog
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Daily iPhone App: Cherish Kids saves your children's memories for a lifetime
14 Feb 2012 | 10:30 pmDid you ever look at one your own baby photos and wonder how old you were when that photo was taken? Or perhaps, it's a grade school picture and you can't remember when you parents took you to Plimouth Plantation. If you're a parent there's no excuse for your kids to have these same questions when they are grown up. You have apps like Cherish which will let you take and tag a picture of your tot. Picture taking is quite easy. You launch the app, click on the camera icon and you're ready to go. The app lets you toggle between the front and rear camera as well as control the flash. You can also… -
Daily Mac App: DropZone circles your life with shortcuts
14 Feb 2012 | 10:05 pmWe first looked at Dropzone a few years ago when it launched for OS X and the little utility app is growing up. Now at version 2.0, Dropzone has a fresh, new circular look that's inspired by Path. It also includes a bunch of small improvements that'll help you manage your apps and files. For those that have never used Dropzone, its a shortcut utility that lets you setup destinations to open up recent docs, send files to an Amazon S3 servers, launch applications, shorten URLs, compress files and more. It includes a variety of built-in destinations that are available from the menu bar. The… -
AppCartel offers new crowdfunding opportunity for developers
14 Feb 2012 | 8:30 pmThere's a lot more to building a business with your app idea than simply building the app. Having seen great apps wither on the vine due to bad marketing or poor planning, it's nice to see fresh efforts among developers who aim to enable great apps to find their market. AppCartel is a crowdfunding effort to pool resources for developers, allowing them access to a promotional team and other resources, plus money to build and launch their apps. In fact, if you've got a team ready to make a great app, AppCartel wants to hear from you. If you've simply got an idea, or you don't know how to… -
Dear Aunt TUAW: Should I clean up my drive?
14 Feb 2012 | 8:00 pmDear Aunt TUAW, I was looking at some apps that claim to help remove stored caches and temporary files. Are these apps a good way to clean up my Mac and remove temporary files? Your loving nephew, Chris Dear Chris, Auntie is super-paranoid about these third-party tools. When it comes to clearing data, Auntie generally sticks with Apple's built-in functionality and reasonably-regular reboots. Auntie knows how easy it is to mess up system files and how hard it is to restore to a pre-mess state. They say Time Machine heals all wounds, but despite the name it doesn't actually get your time back. -
Happy Owl Studio's beautiful Apple accessories
14 Feb 2012 | 7:00 pmIn early January, TUAW ran a story about Apple accessory manufacturer Happy Owl Studio. The company, now based in Golden, Colorado, makes some of the finest Apple accessories I have had the pleasure to review. I had a nice meeting with Happy Owl CEO Devon Read (right, above) and Chief Design Officer Ryan Jordan (left) the other day to get an idea of their design philosophy and future product plans. In the process, I was able to get a hands-on look at some of their iPad and iPhone products, as well as gaze longingly at samples of their upcoming MacBook Air briefcase. Let's take a look at some…
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Strobist
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B2B: One Big Top Light
13 Feb 2012 | 8:00 amWe're back to basics today -- looking at working with a single, large source and how to tweak it. Five years ago, I mostly thought of large sources in a "45-degrees-up-and-over" kind of way. Safe? Yes. But now, that kind of stuff all looks the same to me. So I almost never use them that way. Read more » -
How the Other Half Lives: George Holz' Beyoncé for Spin
8 Feb 2012 | 11:00 pmPhoto © George HolzYou know how people on the Strobist Flickr group like to talk about how it is technically possible to shoot blow-away white with just one flash?Yeah, this is not exactly that.Hit the jump for a walk-thru vid for the (ahem, eight-light) shoot, including a key light combo that you're prolly gonna want to rent rather than buy next time you are assigned to shoot Beyoncé. Read more » -
Lighting Inside the Box
6 Feb 2012 | 8:30 amAfter 15 years of long-term planning (and saving) Susan and I finally took the plunge with a full kitchen remodel. We were really pleased with the results, and at some point I had promised the contractor a nice photo of the final product.In a room like this you are basically illuminating the inside of a box by using hidden lights, which turned out to be an interesting exercise. And it's something I would recommend for just about any photographer. Read more » -
Core Knowledge: Working With Remotes
2 Feb 2012 | 8:00 amThere are two things you should always remember about radio remotes:One, radio can be fickle. This is true whether you are using your time-honored PocketWizards or a brand new Chinese offering.Two, radio waves -- and success with your remotes -- are all about the physics. So a little knowledge can go a long way toward ensuring good range and reliability. Some basics that every lighting photographer should know, inside. Read more » -
Tyler Stableford: Dispatches From the Underground
30 Jan 2012 | 8:00 amAspen, Colorado-based photographer Tyler Stableford generally shoots action and adventure, most of it aboveground. But this shoot for Timberland PRO would send him a half-mile deep into the earth. That far down, before adding light it is absolutely pitch black. As in, you cannot see your hand in front of your face. And the lights the miners use while extracting coal there aren't much friendlier -- low-level, and a mix of tungsten and fluorescents. So Stableford shot the entire campaign working on the edge of the quality envelope, and lighting with only a few speedlights. Read more »
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News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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CIPA starts to report growing mirrorless sales
14 Feb 2012 | 6:06 pmCIPA has started publishing sales and shipment figures for mirrorless cameras, giving a clear picture for their take-up around the world. The Japanese trade body will issue separate figures for 'Non-reflex' cameras and Single Lens Reflex cameras, rather than a combined 'interchangeable lens camera' category. The first batch of figures show mirrorless cameras are becoming increasingly popular in all major markets. -
Scalado's Remove technology takes distractions out of photos
14 Feb 2012 | 4:57 pmMobile imaging company Scalado has created a multi-shot technology that identifies differences to allow unwanted objects to be removed. The 'Remove' technology, currently being shown-off in the form of an Android app, is the first object removal software on a mobile device, it says. The technology allows passers-by to be selected or automatically removed, or cars to be simply edited out of the scene you're trying to capture, without the need for Photoshop. -
Just Posted: Lensbaby Edge 80 Quick Review
14 Feb 2012 | 8:08 amLensbaby's products have always rather swum against the tide, but the company's latest optic offers something a little different from its existing range. The Edge 80, as its name might suggest, is an 80mm optic that behaves almost - but not quite - like a conventional tilt lens. It's designed for selective focus applications, and its short telephoto focal length makes it ideally suited for subjects such as portraits and abstracts. In our quick review we have look at how the lens works, and what it can bring to your photography. -
Lensbaby introduces Edge 80 telephoto optic
14 Feb 2012 | 8:00 amLensbaby has announced an addition to its unique range of selective-focus lenses, in the shape of the Edge 80. It's an 80mm F2.8 short telephoto that, unlike the company's existing products, is conventionally optically-corrected, and designed to be used as a tilt lens to produce 'slices' of sharp focus across the frame. It has a 12-blade circular aperture diaphragm for attractive out-of-focus blur, and a built-in extension tube for close focusing down to about 19". It's available to order now from the company's website for $300. -
Just posted: Our Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 in-depth review
13 Feb 2012 | 7:43 pmJust posted: Our in-depth review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1. As the long-awaited spiritual successor to the highly-regarded Lumix GF1, this enthusiast-oriented offering from Panasonic combines its 16MP sensor and latest touchscreen interface with a rangefinder-inspired design. The wealth of external dials and buttons speaks to the photographer who prefers to take control over camera operation and exposure settings. Is this the camera GF1 owners have been waiting for? Read our in-depth review to find out.
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Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips
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Nikon School – My First HD SLR Workshop
13 Feb 2012 | 8:41 amI’m on my way back to Tampa this morning after a really cool weekend with the guys from the Nikon School HD-SLR Video Workshop. I had planned on attending one at the end of last year but I couldn’t make it. While talking to a friend at Nikon a few weeks ago, I realized they had one in Santa Monica and it just happened to coincide with a trip I had out west so I jumped at the chance to go. I’ve got to say, these guys put on a fantastic weekend for everyone. The workshop was actually taught by 3 guys from NPS (Nikon Professional Services): Scott Diussa, Mark Suban, and Mark… -
Lightroom Before/After Video – Eiffel Tower and Plug-ins
9 Feb 2012 | 10:05 amI haven’t done one of those Before/After videos in a while so I thought it was time for another. The photo I’m using here was a photo I took in Paris last year. It was a rainy day which I actually find can help sometimes. I’d always seen a lot of the same photos of the Eiffel Tower, so I went looking for a different view. I remember seeing the movie, Inception, and noticed this really cool bridge (You know, the one that twisted on top of itself in the movie). It was the Pont de Bir-Hakeim, a bridge that crosses the Seine River in Paris. So I kinda set my sites on that being… -
Why I Don’t Backup My Photos Using Lightroom
7 Feb 2012 | 7:39 amIf you’ve used the Import dialog in Lightroom, you’ve probably noticed an area under File Handing called “Make a Second Copy To:”. This is Lightroom’s way of letting you make a backup of your photos as you import them. That way you can get your import and your backup all done at once. A while back, some one pointed out that when you use this feature, you don’t have much control over how the backup drive stores the photos. Basically, it just stores them in a folder named “Imported on….”. For me this is a big problem because it’s not… -
Lightroom Worth-a-click
3 Feb 2012 | 8:26 amHappy Friday! Here’s a few Lightroom/Photography related things that are worth a quick click if you’re surfing around. • A friend of mine from Paris (who I shot with while I visited last year and was a HUGE help!), Serge Ramelli has a Lightroom app on the iTunes store. Here’s the link if you want to check it out. • It’s not exactly brand new news but I had a new class go up on Kelby Training last month that’s all about Lightroom presets and how I create them. If you’re looking for a peak inside the mind of the preset creator (and some cool ideas for… -
Lightroom Video – Dynamic Watermarks (well… not really, but kinda)
1 Feb 2012 | 10:08 amI always like to do videos that answer questions I get, rather than just doing a video that I “think” everyone wants to know about. Well, this weeks video comes from a question that I’ve gotten in several forms over the last couple years. Recently, some one asked if they could add a watermark to their photos with the current year on them. So basically, Lightroom would have to figure out the year from the metadata (probably not hard) and dynamically add it to the photos when you export them into JPEGS (not so easy). So, there’s really no way to do this, but there is an…
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MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - iOS Blog
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'Clear' To Do App Launches on the App Store
14 Feb 2012 | 10:00 pmRealmac Software and Impending have just released Clear to the App Store. Clear is a simplified list making application that was announced at Macworld. The App's claim to fame is the extremely minimal interface that uses natural touch gestures for all functions. Some of these include: - Pull down on a list to add an item - Swipe an item right to complete it - Swipe an item or list left to delete it - Pinch apart two items to insert a new one between them - Pinch vertically together to close the current list and show all the lists The app is meant to be quick to launch and use. Lists are color… -
Apple Reportedly Planning Orders for 65-70 Million iPad 3 Displays in 2012
14 Feb 2012 | 9:46 amElectronista reports on a new article [Google translation] from Taiwan's Commercial Times claiming that Apple is planning for production of 65-70 million iPad 3 displays in 2012, paving the way for a significant boost to Apple's tablet sales.Shipments for the new LCD panel, believed designed by Sharp but being manufactured by LG Display and Samsung, were said by the Commercial Times to be already booked to the order of 65 million to 75 [70] million units for the year. Versus production of about 40.5 million in 2011, it would represent 60 to 73 percent higher shipments than last year.That… -
iCade Creators Announce Nintendo-Like Wireless Controller for iOS
13 Feb 2012 | 12:03 pmThinkGeek, the creators of the iCade iPad gaming cabinet have upped the ante with a new Bluetooth enabled controller called the iCade 8-Bitty. The controller is roughly the size and layout of a classic NES controller, with an extra pair of A/B buttons on the right side and two shoulder buttons. The 8-Bitty offers the same compatibility as the larger iCade cabinet, supporting all iCade-compatible titles and the iCade open development platform. It runs on two AAA batteries. At the moment, this just an announcement of the 8-Bitty. Interested parties can join a mailing list to be notified when… -
iOS Surpasses OS X in Share of U.S. Web Traffic
10 Feb 2012 | 10:36 amAnalytics firm Chitika today released a report showing that by its metrics iOS has now surpassed OS X in overall web traffic share in the United States. Chitika's methodology involves an analysis of browser user agents for hundreds of millions of ad impressions across its expansive network.To quantify this study, Chitika Insights analyzed several data sets composed of a series of US traffic taken from August 2011 to February 2012 out of the Chitika Ad Network (covering hundreds of millions of ad impressions). The user agents of individual impressions were then aggregated to determine relative… -
LifeProof iPhone Case Offers Protection Against Water and Shock Damage
9 Feb 2012 | 2:02 pmOne of the most frequent reasons for an iPhone to go on a trip to the Apple Store's Genius Bar is because of water damage. Typically, a water damaged iPhone can be replaced for a flat $199 fee, though with the recently launched AppleCare+, that price can be reduced to $49. Most ultra-durable iPhone cases, like Otterbox's Defender or Case Mate's TANK, are merely water-resistant -- not actually water proof. They might protect an iPhone during a rainstorm, but they can't handle a dunk in the pool or -- perhaps more likely -- a drop in the toilet. LifeProof's iPhone case, however,…
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World's best airports announced -- Asia dominates
15 Feb 2012 | 12:36 amby CNNGo staff Korea’s Incheon International Airport has maintained its streak with a seventh consecutive win in the annual Airport Service Quality Awards from Airports Council International (ACI). Incheon Airport took the title of “Best Airport Worldwide” of 2011 by ACI on Tuesday, February 14, 2012, for the seventh year in a row. Singapore's Changi Airport came in second and Beijing Capital International Airport took third in a top five that was filled entirely by Asian airports. Full results are below. “For Incheon International Airport to dominate in this category for seven… -
iReport: After dark at the Sapporo Snow Festival
14 Feb 2012 | 11:35 pmby Allan CookIn a CNNGo iReport assignment at the end of January, we asked readers to share their images of their favorite Asian nighttime travel destinations, as well as the reasons they picked them. Alan Cook, living in Funabashi, near Tokyo, sent us his photos along with a word or two on what made him pull out his camera at one of Japan’s most popular after-dark festivals last week. There's no escaping the mouse, even in Japan's frozen north. iReporter Cook has lived in Japan for 10 years and he finally made it to the annual Snow Festival in Sapporo, Hokkaido, this year on the 63rd… -
Bangkok travel warnings follow Valentine's Day blasts
14 Feb 2012 | 8:34 pmby CNNGo staffDue to a series of bombings in Bangkok on Tuesday, the United States and United Kingdom are among several countries urging citizens to be cautious when visiting the Thai capital. In a statement posted on its website, the U.S. Embassy said: "This message alerts U.S. citizens in Thailand that a series of explosions occurred in the vicinity of Sukhumvit Soi 71 in Bangkok on the afternoon of February 14. "As a reminder we encourage U.S. citizens to maintain a heightened awareness when in public. Be alert for unattended packages/bags in public and report any… -
Movie theaters: 10 of the world's best
14 Feb 2012 | 4:00 pmby Hoishan ChanThe best movie theaters always make the movie better. You could be watching the third re-run of your own birth, but if you're snuggled into a soft seat with buttery popcorn in your lap and a sound system that feels like its channeled directly into your temporal lobe, somehow you'll come out feeling like you had a good time. For the global jet-setting movie junkie, these are some movie theaters that take a good experience and make it great. Also on CNNGo: 15 city hotel rooms with amazing views 1. Cine Thisio, Athens, Greece Movie magic as close to Mount Olympus as… -
Braving Shanghai's snake hot pot restaurant
14 Feb 2012 | 3:57 pmby John Coughlan, Sean HanrattyFrom nose to tail, Chinese cuisine has long featured dishes that use all parts of all types of creatures. The southern province of Guangdong is especially known for its peculiar food culture. Extreme cases are monkey brains and a recent report of braised koala. In Shanghai, a visit to hot pot restaurant Jin Long She (金龙蛇) confirms that China’s most sophisticated city is no slouch when it comes to adventurous eating. Snake hot pot in Shanghai Jin Long She’s draw is snake hot pot. In some parts of China, consumption of the slithering reptile is…
