Why companies like McDonald's and Pizza Hut prefer red whereas Lowe's opts for blue.
What's hot on Alltop
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Most Topular Stories
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The Psychology of Color and Branding (Infographic)
Entrepreneur22 May 2013 | 9:30 am -
Funky knit cozies for every beverage
Holy Kaw!22 May 2013 | 5:50 pmDoes watching your beverage sweat make you feel that much worse when the temperature rises? Put condensation in its place once and for all…in a funky knit cozy from Freaker! From the Funnies Freaker 2-pack to the Honey Boo Boo Freaker 4-pack, you’ll be the envy of every picnic, barbecue and block party you grace with your [...] -
HTC Launches Dual-Sim Desire 600
Mashable23 May 2013 | 2:51 amHTC has launched the Desire 600, a dual-sim Android smartphone and the company's first mid-range device that offers HTC's Sense 5 UI The HTC Desire 600 sports a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera coupled with a 1.6MP front-facing one and a 4.5-inch display. The device also features dual front-facing speakers (just like its high-end cousin, the HTC One) and Beats Audio integration, making it a nice choice for music lovers Another feature that made its way from more powerful handsets to the Desire range is BlinkFeed, which transforms the device's home screen into a customizable… -
“Nashville” Creator Callie Khouri On The Art Of The Creative Crossover
Fast Company22 May 2013 | 3:01 pmKhouri, No. 80 on Fast Company’s Most Creative People In Business 2013 list, won an Oscar for Thelma & Louise. Now she’s getting a crash course in the TV business. Here, on the eve of the season finale of her first ever small-screen show, are some of the things she has learned. You could say Callie Khouri’s career has come full circle. But you’d only be kind of right. The native Texan waited tables for a time in Nashville in the '70s and '80s. Then she went on to write the Academy Award-winning screenplay Thelma & Louise, plus a host of other successful… -
Blip Blup Is A Minimalist Mobile Puzzle Game That Lets You Play With Pulses Of Light
TechCrunch23 May 2013 | 3:21 amAfter the aesthetic elegance of Dots, prepare for another injection of minimalist puzzle game beauty. Blip Blup is the new game from London-based design house and app studio ustwo — maker of Whale Trail, a mobile game that snagged an e-book deal, plus a raft of other interesting apps including most recently Rando (random photo-sharing) and Honk (visual messaging). Blip Blup has just launched on iOS for iPhone and iPad, either free with ads, or $1.99 ad free. It’s also available free with ads on Android (upgradable to ad-free via in-app purchase). The basic gameplay involves…
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Holy Kaw!
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Funky knit cozies for every beverage
22 May 2013 | 5:50 pmDoes watching your beverage sweat make you feel that much worse when the temperature rises? Put condensation in its place once and for all…in a funky knit cozy from Freaker! From the Funnies Freaker 2-pack to the Honey Boo Boo Freaker 4-pack, you’ll be the envy of every picnic, barbecue and block party you grace with your [...] -
The science behind the brain freeze
22 May 2013 | 5:12 pmHot summer days mean there’s nothing better than enjoying a frosty beverage or treat…until the brain freeze strikes. While studying something as temporary as the sharp pain that makes the rest of an ice cream experience that much more enjoyable in comparison might appear to be a waste of time, according to neuroscientist Dwayne Godwin, Ph.D. [...] -
The sorry state of state birds
22 May 2013 | 4:56 pmWhat is it with cardinals and mockingbirds? It would seem the guys (most likely) doing the choosing were peeking at their neighbor’s paper because there’s a shocking lack of originality with so many better options to choose from. That’s where Slate’s Nicholas Lund comes in, offering up some much needed commentary on this sorry state [...] -
Time lapse view of Earth from space
22 May 2013 | 3:03 pm -
Living in the round: Acrobats take unique living space on the road [video]
22 May 2013 | 1:01 pmCohabitating in a small space takes a certain amount of coordination, but none so much as when the living’s being done by the Acrojou Circus Theater and space is The Wheel House. The amazing hand-built structure is the stage on and in which two acrobats delight audiences with their attempts to lead a “normal” life in [...]
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Mashable
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HTC Launches Dual-Sim Desire 600
23 May 2013 | 2:51 amHTC has launched the Desire 600, a dual-sim Android smartphone and the company's first mid-range device that offers HTC's Sense 5 UI The HTC Desire 600 sports a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera coupled with a 1.6MP front-facing one and a 4.5-inch display. The device also features dual front-facing speakers (just like its high-end cousin, the HTC One) and Beats Audio integration, making it a nice choice for music lovers Another feature that made its way from more powerful handsets to the Desire range is BlinkFeed, which transforms the device's home screen into a customizable… -
Facebook for Android: 10 Tips for Power Users
23 May 2013 | 2:31 amFacebook is a lot like crystal meth — it's highly addictive and will probably cause your teeth to fall out.* Android users are always one tap away from a snarky status update or a friend's vacation pics. SEE ALSO: 20 Things Your Most Annoying Friends Do on Facebook Facebook's Android app has come a long way from its humble beginnings. The most recent iterations are packed with features, from personal settings to page management to power sharing. Here are a few tricks we use to keep up with Facebook pals on the go. *Not clinically proven. 1. Sort your News Feed by "Most Recent" If you… -
Kindle Fire HD and HD 8.9 Now Available for Pre-Order in 170 Countries
23 May 2013 | 2:05 amAmazon has made its Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HD 8.9'' tablets available for pre-order in more than 170 countries So far, these devices were only available in the U.S., the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Japan. Now, they're available (almost) everywhere, with the shipping date being June 13 As for the pricing, the Kindle Fire HD costs $214, while the 8.9-inch version of the Fire HD will set you back $284. Both devices can be ordered here. Customers in Ireland and Gibraltar will be able to order a Kindle Fire HD from Amazon's UK store, while those in Austria and Luxembourg will be… -
Samsung Galaxy S4 Sales Hit 10 Million in 'Record' Time
23 May 2013 | 12:23 amGalaxy S4 sales have topped 10 million in "record" time, Samsung announced Thursday. Less than a month after its global release on April 27, Samsung's flagship smartphone surpassed 10 million units, according to a release. SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy S 4: Everything You Need To Know "The Galaxy S4 sets a new record for Samsung, generating sales quicker than any of its predecessors," the Korean electronics giant said, adding that it estimates the phone is selling at a rate of four units per second In comparison, it took 50 days for the Galaxy S3 to reach 10 million. The S2 and S waited five… -
Foursquare Debuts 'Super-Specific' Search Filters
22 May 2013 | 11:57 pmFoursquare has refined its search capabilities to make it easier for users to look for particular venues. The location-based social network unveiled what it's calling "super-specific searches" for iOS and Android on Wednesday "With today's update ... Foursquare helps you find exactly what you want, whatever that may be," it announced in a blog post Users can filter their searches based on the following criteria: "I've checked in before," "I haven't checked in," "my friends have checked in," "offering specials," "open now" and "I've saved." Users also have the option to choose the amount of…
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Fast Company
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“Nashville” Creator Callie Khouri On The Art Of The Creative Crossover
22 May 2013 | 3:01 pmKhouri, No. 80 on Fast Company’s Most Creative People In Business 2013 list, won an Oscar for Thelma & Louise. Now she’s getting a crash course in the TV business. Here, on the eve of the season finale of her first ever small-screen show, are some of the things she has learned. You could say Callie Khouri’s career has come full circle. But you’d only be kind of right. The native Texan waited tables for a time in Nashville in the '70s and '80s. Then she went on to write the Academy Award-winning screenplay Thelma & Louise, plus a host of other successful… -
A Design Collective Creates Its Own Economy In El Salvador
22 May 2013 | 2:30 pmThe Carrot Concept is bringing Salvadorian design to international markets. The short list of global design destinations includes obvious places, such as Sweden and Italy. Soon, thanks to the efforts of a grassroots movement, the tiny Central American country of El Salvador could make that list as well. The Carrot Concept launched this year, during New York Design Week, but the project actually began in 2007, when El Salvador ran its first furniture and design exhibition. The show, Contempo, went well. It garnered press and attention for local designers, but, problematically, it presented… -
This Robot Will Be Your Perfectly Precise Bartender
22 May 2013 | 2:00 pmThe Makr Shakr can make any drink you want--and even cut a lemon. Put a tie and a vest on it, and you won’t even be able to tell the difference between it and your local mixologist. At the Milan Design Week, furniture usually take center stage. But lucky for booze-loving attendees this year, the fair’s definition of "design" is broad enough to include cocktails, made at, perhaps, the world’s most technologically advanced bar. Called the MakrShakr, the project is a collaboration between MIT Senseable City Lab and Carlo Ratti Associati, an Italian architecture firm. -
15 Artists Celebrate 150 Years Of The London Underground
22 May 2013 | 1:15 pmFour key stations showcase the Tube-inspired posters of contemporary artists. When London’s Metropolitan Railway made its debut way back in 1863, the steam-powered trains offered a novel way of navigating the city. Now, over a billion locals and tourists depend on the Tube to efficiently (as possible) take them between the network’s 250 stations. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the subterranean system, and in an effort to celebrate and make commutes a bit more visually engaging, Art on the Underground has commissioned 15 contemporary creatives to contribute poster-sized… -
Take A Breathtaking Trip Around The World In 15 Minutes
22 May 2013 | 12:30 pmThis NASA video shows a satellite pass over a huge swath of land, from Russia to South Africa, in stunning detail. Cue up some soaring music and sit back and enjoy. NASA’s Landsat satellites have provided incomparable views of Earthen landscapes since the 1970s. In February, the newest satellite to join the family, called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, took flight, and thanks to its new imaging technology, the Operational Land Imager, the images of land-masses are more detailed than ever. A recently released video of a fly-over of a swath of land 185 kilometers wide and 9,000…
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TechCrunch
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Blip Blup Is A Minimalist Mobile Puzzle Game That Lets You Play With Pulses Of Light
23 May 2013 | 3:21 amAfter the aesthetic elegance of Dots, prepare for another injection of minimalist puzzle game beauty. Blip Blup is the new game from London-based design house and app studio ustwo — maker of Whale Trail, a mobile game that snagged an e-book deal, plus a raft of other interesting apps including most recently Rando (random photo-sharing) and Honk (visual messaging). Blip Blup has just launched on iOS for iPhone and iPad, either free with ads, or $1.99 ad free. It’s also available free with ads on Android (upgradable to ad-free via in-app purchase). The basic gameplay involves… -
Jawfish Games Launches Its Real-Time, Multiplayer Platform For iOS, Android
23 May 2013 | 3:00 amJawfish Games, a Seattle-based startup run by a former professional poker player and the engineering team that built the Fult Tilt Poker site, launched a gaming platform that can host more than 100,000 simultaneous players in real-time tournaments across iOS, Android and the web. While asynchronous, turn-based games have done well on mobile platforms and Facebook over the last five years, pure, real-time multiplayer games haven’t caught on as quickly partially because data connections haven’t been fast enough and because a game developer would need a critical mass of players to… -
Amazon Takes Kindle Fire HD Tablets To 170 Countries As It Ramps Up Its Appstore To Nearly 200 Markets
23 May 2013 | 12:37 amNo, we still don’t have any word from Amazon on where it stands with a smartphone, but it’s definitely making its mobile ambitions clear anyway. Today, the e-commerce giant took two more steps in its strategy to scale up its Kindle Fire tablet business. It announced that it will now sell the two higher-end versions of the device, the Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, in 170 countries. And it also said that its Amazon Appstore will now be available in 200 countries. Pre-orders in 170 countries begins today with the first models shipping out June 13, priced at the local… -
Square Starts Mobile Payments In Japan, Its First Country Outside Of North America, In Partnership With Visa's Ally
23 May 2013 | 12:18 amMobile payment platform Square has announced that it is now publicly available in Japan, its first country outside of North America. The iPhone is very popular in Japan, making it a potentially strong crossover market for Square, which first launched on iOS before also becoming available on Android. The move is a bold one for Square, considering that Japan is already a mature market for mobile payments, which were pioneered there by NTT docomo and KDDI. PayPal, Square’s main rival, already has a foothold in Japan, where its partners include mobile operator Softbank. -
OtterBox Acquires Rival Protective Case Maker LifeProof After Settling Patent Lawsuit
22 May 2013 | 10:41 pmOtterBox, which makes the top-selling protective case for smartphones, has announced the acquisition of LifeProof for an undisclosed amount. News of the acquisition comes one day after a lawsuit filed by OtterBox against LifeProof for patent infringement was dismissed. OtterBox told the North Carolina Business Report that the acquisition was not related to the lawsuit or any settlement. Headquartered in San Diego, LifeProof also makes protective cases and accessories for smartphones and tablets. Over the next 30 days, OttberBox will beginning incorporating the LifeProof brand into…
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Seth's Blog
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Thoughts on education and the burgeoning trophy shortage
23 May 2013 | 2:00 amIt's graduation season, so a few relevant links about school, students and our future: Here's the audio of an interview I did with PlayBuffet My TEDx talk about education And a reminder about Stop Stealing Dreams, a free manifesto that asks, "what is school for?" I hope we can ask this question more and more often... Feel free to share with your favorite graduate. Or her parents. Bonus: 20 video minutes at Creative Mornings. -
Let's start with "sorry"
22 May 2013 | 2:43 amBy the time the phone rings, there's already trouble. When that manager is called or this department is reached, it's because someone is disappointed, angry or stuck. Illness, broken promises or a real urgency have led to this new conversation even taking place. So don't start with, "[Name of company] mumble mumble" as if there's a blank slate just waiting to be written on. There's already a lot of writing on that slate. Don't demand to know the record number or begin with doubt and an edge of dismissal. Be on our team. "It sounds like we've got a situation on our hands..." is a fine way to… -
Levels of marketing magic, the placebo effects of desire
21 May 2013 | 2:45 amANTICIPATION: Before the product is released, the true fans are buzzing and speculating and waiting in line. The anticipation is self-reinforcing, a placebo effect of desire. UTILITY: The album is good, the software is useful, the book changes things. It works better than we hoped. Exceeding expectations pays significant dividends. REMARK: It's purple. Remarkable. Worth talking about. The word spreads. Ten people tell ten people and suddenly, it's abuzz. Not because of PR or hype, but because the remarkability is built right into the product or service itself. And more people enjoy things… -
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…
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NYT > Home Page
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DealBook: In a Plus for Electrics, Tesla Repays a Big Federal Loan Early
23 May 2013 | 3:02 amThe company, using money it raised last week in the markets, is repaying the government nine years before its loan was due. -
British Security Chiefs Meet After Killing
23 May 2013 | 2:55 amPrime Minister David Cameron called a session of the COBRA committee after an attack in south London that raised new fears of terrorism. -
China and Japan Show Signs of Economic Stress
23 May 2013 | 1:07 amEconomic data on China highlighted the fragility of its recovery, and a sudden 7.3 percent plunge in the Japanese stock market underlined worries about the government’s efforts to reignite growth. -
Pakistan Blast Kills 13 Officers in Restive Area
23 May 2013 | 12:45 amThe province where the attacks took place, Baluchistan, has been the site of a separatist insurgency and violence by other militants. -
Japan Stocks Dive as Benchmark Bond Yield Spikes
23 May 2013 | 12:15 amJapanese stocks plummeted Thursday after a spike in government bond yields and unexpectedly weak Chinese manufacturing spooked investors sitting atop months of massive gains in share prices. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo nosedived 7.3 percent to close at 14,483.98.
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Wired Top Stories
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Hardcore Console Gamers Don't Want Much, Just the Impossible
23 May 2013 | 3:30 amTo the dedicated gamers that wish Microsoft would stop pushing the all-in-one entertainment angle -- do you really know what you're asking for? -
Turncoats: How the Taliban Undermines and Infiltrates the Afghan Local Police
23 May 2013 | 3:30 amThe U.S. strategy in Afghanistan depends on the loyalty of the Afghan Local Police. But that loyalty is being tested by an apparent Taliban campaign of infiltration. -
Amazon's Urban Biospheres Give New Meaning to 'Tech Bubble'
23 May 2013 | 3:30 amIn case you doubted that the 21st century as envisioned by past generations' pulp futurists had arrived, check out the biospheres Amazon has proposed to anchor its new downtown Seattle headquarters. -
A Practical Guide to the Catchphrases of Arrested Development
23 May 2013 | 3:30 amIf you're one of the dozen or so people who still haven't seen the show, never fear: Wired has prepared a handy guide to communicating with your friends and neighbors via Arrested Development catchphrases. Soon, you'll be yelling "No touching!" with the best of them. -
Watch Live: Hunt for Scar Left by Biggest Moon Explosion Ever Seen
22 May 2013 | 5:50 pmGet up close and personal with the gibbous moon in a search for the impact crater left behind by the biggest explosion from a meteorite impact seen on the lunar surface. This live show starts comes via the Slooh Space Camera and begins tonight at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST.
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@ProBlogger
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7 Questions to Ask Yourself to Bring Clarity to Your Blogging
22 May 2013 | 8:28 amDo you feel like you’ve lost clarity around what it is that you’re trying to do with your blog? I’ve recently bumped into a few bloggers grappling with this idea. Some were new, even ‘Pre’ Bloggers, while a couple had been blogging for a while but had lost some direction. Out of these conversations, I put together a set of questions to help them think it through. The questions revolve around asking: What are YOU About? While I won’t guarantee you instant clarity on answering these questions I hope that putting a little time aside to work through them… -
7 Steps to Proofreading Like a Pro
21 May 2013 | 9:37 amThis is a guest contribution by Charles Cuninghame, website copywriter and owner of Text-Centric. I’m sure we can all agree that proofreading is the least fun part of blogging. But while it may be tedious, it’s well worth the effort. Typos are not only embarrassing, they can also cost you money. In a widely reported study in 2011, British entrepreneur Charles Duncombe found a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half! If you don’t have a product, then you could be missing out a blog subscriber or repeat visitor! Here’s a tried and tested proofreading process that I’ve… -
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…
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Entrepreneur
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The Pros and Cons of Google Glass for Business Travel
23 May 2013 | 3:00 amDespite some drawbacks, Google's futuristic eyewear can be an indispensable travel device. -
After Hacks, Twitter Updates Sign-In Security
22 May 2013 | 1:45 pmThe microblogging service has updated its safeguards to include two passwords when logging in. -
Lessons in Persuasion From Apple CEO Tim Cook
22 May 2013 | 1:00 pmCook's appearance before the U.S. Senate on Tuesday was a master class in the art of negotiation. -
Entrepreneurship in the U.S. Reaches Highest Level in More Than a Decade (Infographic)
22 May 2013 | 11:25 amMore than one in 10 Americans were developing their own business in 2012, according to the U.S. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor released today. Here's a look at the demographics of the community. -
The Psychology of Color and Branding (Infographic)
22 May 2013 | 9:30 amWhy companies like McDonald's and Pizza Hut prefer red whereas Lowe's opts for blue.
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Lifehacker
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Airline Upgrades, PowerAMP Crackling, and Opening Envelopes
22 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... -
Clear, the popular to-do list app for iOS and Mac, received an update today with a top-requested fea
22 May 2013 | 5:00 pmClear, the popular to-do list app for iOS and Mac, received an update today with a top-requested feature from its users. Now you can send lists via email and easily import lists you receive. Grab the update now in the iTunes App Store or Mac App Store, depending on the update you need.Read more... -
Make a DSLR LCD Hood Out of Old Hotel Key Cards
22 May 2013 | 4:00 pmThe DSLR LCD screen once served as little more than a means to viewing photos you'd already taken in the comfort of indoor lighting. Now you can use it as a live monitor and capture photos and video. It still doesn't work too well outside. With some old hotel key cards, however, you can fix that problem on the cheap.Read more... -
Google Voice Users Can Now Answer Phone Calls in Hangouts
22 May 2013 | 3:19 pmGmail users got a taste of Google's new Hangouts feature this week, but it was missing the VOIP calling feature Voice users had come to love. Starting today, it's back...sort of!Read more... -
Are ROMs and emulators illegal? Why?
22 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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Apple's Smart Watch May Not Launch Until Late 2014, Use Biometrics and iPod Nano Technology
22 May 2013 | 3:24 pmKGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has on a number of occasions offered accurate information about Apple's product plans, issued a new research report this week outlining his expectations for Apple's rumored smart watch device, informally dubbed "iWatch". Despite some expectations that the device could launch later this year, Kuo believes that both hardware and software issues will result in the iWatch making its debut in the second half of 2014.Apple may not have adequate resources to develop an iWatch version of iOS because it may require big changes to iPhone and iPad iOS this year. -
Corning Pits Gorilla Glass 3 Against Sapphire, Plans Reflection Reduction and Antimicrobial Technology
22 May 2013 | 1:59 pmFollowing Apple's adoption of sapphire crystal as a strong and durable covering for the rear cameras on the iPhone 5 and fifth-generation iPod touch late last year, rumors of expanded uses for the material have gained some traction. Back in March, we covered a report suggesting that sapphire could see wider adoption as coverings for displays on mobile devices, and just last week a sketchy rumor claimed that Apple is planning to use a sapphire-covered capacitive home button with integrated fingerprint sensor for the iPhone 5S. Amid these discussions of the potential of sapphire, Corning has… -
Apple Details Five Patents Violated by Samsung Galaxy S4 and Google Now
22 May 2013 | 10:29 amLast week Apple told the U.S. District Court in California that it planned to add the Samsung Galaxy S4 to its patent lawsuit already underway against Samsung. As promised, Apple today filed a motion (via Foss Patents) that details five different patents that the S4 allegedly infringes on. The filing includes two Siri-related patents violated by Google Now, Google's robust voice activated search assistant. Patents '604 and '959 cover a "universal interface for retrieval of information in a computer system." The other three patents in the filing cover a "graphical user interface using… -
Apple Updates Look of Online Store With More Feature Images, Fewer Text Links
22 May 2013 | 6:24 amApple today rolled out some updates to its online store, not only posting new features advertising Father's Day gift purchases but also introducing a new, cleaner look for the store. While the main page of the online store had previously consisted of a main center column with product promotions flanked by sidebars with additional links, the new look brings an all-feature design focusing more on product images. Previously, the left sidebar had offered quick access to accessory categories for Apple's various product lines, as well as links to the company's refurbished and clearance stores. -
Excerpts of Apple Executives' Senate Committee Testimony on Tax Policy
21 May 2013 | 12:29 pmThree Apple executives, CEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and head of tax operations Phillip A. Bullock, appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation earlier today, testifying about Apple's tax policies. MacRumors has a rough transcript of the hearing, while the full event is viewable on C-SPAN. The full hearing was quite long, but here are some selected excerpts from our transcript. At the beginning of the hearing, Senators are allowed to make whatever opening statements they wish. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) gave a spirited defense of Apple, saying he was…
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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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How to Nail the Opening of Your Blog Post
22 May 2013 | 5:00 amThe opening four notes to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony are the most popular notes in Western music. Dun dun dun dum … They are stormy. Heroic. Disorienting. Short enough to be remembered. Portentous enough to be memorable. Today you’ll find those notes everywhere. In movies, commercials, and songs when the dramatic and foreboding are needed … And we hardly bat an eye. We recognize them, we know them, and we love those first four notes. Not so for Beethoven’s opening night at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien in 1808. One contemporary composer of Beethoven —… -
5 Things Every Copywriter Needs to Know About Their Prospects
21 May 2013 | 4:00 amWhat do you really know about your prospect? Their age range perhaps? Where they live? What they do for a living? Useful definitely, but not enough to create copy that rouses emotion and compels action. For that we need to take a journey much deeper into the dark recesses of our customers’ minds … Want to join me? Today’s article is inspired by someone who understood that in writing, how well you knew your ‘characters’ made the difference between captivating an audience, or boring them. In 1946 The Art of Dramatic Writing, (now regarded as one of the best works… -
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…
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Macworld
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All about About This Mac
23 May 2013 | 3:30 amIn this week’s tip, I’ll discuss a cool feature that you may be wholly unaware of—even if you're a long-time Mac user. In Lion and Mountain Lion, click the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. Yeah, yeah, you’ve seen this before. But now click More Info. In the old days, you'd be taken to System Profiler, and you’d see a fairly drab list of specs about your Mac—which you can still see in Mountain Lion by choosing Show System Report from the File menu. But now More Info offers a slicker view that puts your Mac’s most important information front and center. For example, if you… -
Doing more with Messages
23 May 2013 | 3:00 amLast week we wandered about Mountain Lion’s Messages application to get a feel for the territory. In today’s lesson we’ll dig into some of Messages’ less obvious features, including screen sharing, initiating remote slideshows and presentations, and viewing past chats. Messages and screen sharing When exploring the Mac’s sharing features I explained how to share the screen of another Mac on your local network. Through Messages it’s possible to do the same thing, but over the Internet. To do this, each participant must use an AIM, Bonjour, Google Talk, or Jabber account. Screen… -
Remains of the Day: Holey wholesale holograms!
22 May 2013 | 4:30 pmA longtime industry watcher moves to Cupertino, Steve Jobs’s email to James Murdoch is marked as read, and Tim Cook dodges an inane “rumor.” The remainders for Wednesday, May 22, 2013 are live, in the flesh. Longtime Tech Industry Analyst Michael Gartenberg Joins Apple (Forbes) Occasional Macworld contributor Michael Gartenberg—who has served as an analyst at Gartner, Jupiter Research, Altimeter Group, and Interpret, in addition to a brief stint at Microsoft—has joined Apple in a role that reports to Apple senior vice president of marketing Phil Schiller. Let the iBagel rumors… -
The Week in iOS Accessories: Cha-ching!
22 May 2013 | 11:45 amThis week's roundup of iOS accessories features not one, but two ways to elegantly convert your iPad into a cash register. But the iPad and iPhone aren't all business, as there's fun to be had, too! -
OmniPresence, the Omni Group's new cloud sync service, hits all the right buttons
22 May 2013 | 9:00 amSyncing is a hot topic these days, with plenty of alternatives and lots of angst over their perceived limitations and shortcomings. If you happen to be a user of the Omni Group’s apps, like OmniGraffle and OmniFocus, you’ll be happy to know that the company is releasing its own sync solution—aptly dubbed OmniPresence—on Wednesday, bringing yet one more option into the fray. Easy and powerful From the user’s point of view, OmniPresence is designed to be simple while still offering a powerful feature set. The core of that is compatibility across both OS X and iOS apps, allowing you to…
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ReadWrite
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LinkedIn's Facelift Continues With New Navigation Bar
22 May 2013 | 3:20 pmAligning itself aesthetically more along the lines of social networks like Facebook and Google+, LinkedIn has introduced a new navigation bar to its website. The aim is in line with the company's simplification efforts, which so far have included redesigns of the homepage and profile pages and as an overhaul of its mobile apps and the discovery news page LinkedIn Today. (Read more: With Pulse, LinkedIn Is Becoming The Newspaper Of The Future) The company released this video that details how users can best use the new navigation addition: -
Don't Look Now, But We Might Be In A Developer Drought
22 May 2013 | 1:53 pmHey, developers! Do you feel like you're in demand? Apparently you should. HubSpot, a Cambridge-based marketing software-as-a-service venture, has started a new initiative to handsomely compensate anyone who can refer a developer friend. “If you do, and we end up hiring them, we’ll thank you with a big, fat check for $30,000,” its Refer A Dev program promises. HubSpot’s solution may seem like an extreme one, but not if you’ve been looking at the numbers. In 2010, there were 913,000 U.S. jobs for software developers, and that number is expected to grow by 30% from… -
Twitter Finally Gets Two-Factor Authentication
22 May 2013 | 12:54 pmIn a pure case of closing the barn doors after the horses have come home (and so many corporate Twitter accounts have been hacked), Twitter has announced today the option to implement two-factor authentication. If users opt-in, any sign-on from a new computer will require a code texted to their phone. The feature hasn't been made universally available yet, so keep checking your settings if you want this added security feature. (See Two-Factor Authorization Is Awesome - Until You Lose the Damn Token.) -
Let's Talk About Why Yahoo Really Bought Tumblr: Native Advertising
22 May 2013 | 10:01 amIf we needed an event to wake people up to the power of native advertising, it's surely Yahoo's $1.1-billion purchase of Tumblr. We'll be talking about this a lot at AdNatively, a one-day conference I'm emceeing in New York on Thursday, May 23. So what is native advertising? A quick, simple definition: It's an ad whose form and delivery is identical to the content environment in which it is served. The opposite, in other words, of interruptive advertising: billboards, takeovers, and big banners that take up space on the page but don't otherwise relate. Tumblr's Real Value So why did Yahoo buy… -
If Google+ Is Good, Why Does Google Force It On Us?
22 May 2013 | 7:02 amGoogle really, really wants us to like Google+. Google is embedding Google+ into each of its products, making it increasingly difficult to use its services without embracing the Google+ borg, whether you want to or not. Judging by Google+'s still stagnant market share, you generally do not want to use the social service, or whatever it is. When prodded by complaints that Google is forcing Google+ into its disparate products, despite not necesssarily fitting very well, Vic Gundotra, Google's senior vice president over Google+, rejected the criticism at Google I/O: I'm not sure that…
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Smashing Magazine Feed
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Building The New Financial Times Web App: A Case Study
23 May 2013 | 2:52 amWhen the mockups for the new Financial Times application hit our desks in mid-2012, we knew we had a real challenge on our hands. Many of us on the team (including me) swore that parts of interface would not be possible in HTML5. Given the product team’s passion for the new UI, we rolled up our sleeves and gave it our best shot. We were tasked with implementing a far more challenging product, without compromising the reliable, performant experience that made the first app so successful. We didn’t just want to build a product that fulfilled its current requirements; we… -
Designing CSS Layouts With Flexbox Is As Easy As Pie
22 May 2013 | 5:31 amFlexible box layout (or flexbox) is a new box model optimized for UI layout. As one of the first CSS modules designed for actual layout (floats were really meant mostly for things such as wrapping text around images), it makes a lot of tasks much easier, or even possible at all. Flexbox’s repertoire includes the simple centering of elements (both horizontally and vertically), the expansion and contraction of elements to fill available space, and source-code independent layout, among others abilities. Flexbox has lived a storied existence. It started as a feature of Mozilla’s… -
Mobile UX Research: Exploring Ten Fundamental Aspects Of M-Commerce Usability
21 May 2013 | 6:30 amEveryone is talking about mobile. Some e-commerce websites are venturing into it. Mobile commerce (also known as “m-commerce”) has immense potential, exhibiting a 86% growth rate and hitting $25 billion in 2012 (set to reach $86 billion by 2016, according to eMarketer). It’s also a whole new platform, with new interaction methods and usage contexts that introduce a host of limitations and pitfalls to watch out for when designing and running an m-commerce website. With few best practices yet established, m-commerce is, to a large degree, unchartered territory when it… -
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…
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CNN.com - Top Stories
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Arias jurors stuck on punishment
23 May 2013 | 3:36 amThe jury in the Jodi Arias trial has one decision left to make: Should she live or die? -
Man, 80, oldest to climb Everest
23 May 2013 | 3:32 amAn 80-year-old Japanese man on Thursday became the oldest man to reach the top of Mt. Everest, officials said. -
PM seeks answers after hacking death
23 May 2013 | 3:31 amPrime Minister David Cameron meets today with Britain's security team in the aftermath of the "shocking and barbaric" hacking death of a British soldier. FULL STORY -
The victims: Names and ages
23 May 2013 | 3:31 amKyle Davis was 100% boy. He loved going with his grandpa to see Monster Trucks, and would hoot and clap whenever one of those giant things would roll over and crush a smaller car. Because he was a good kid and got A's and B's, his family would sometimes reward him with a trip to the lake and let him ride his four-wheeler around. -
MJ was called 'freak' before deal
23 May 2013 | 3:29 amA top AEG executive referred to Michael Jackson as "a freak" and another called him "creepy" just hours before their company signed the pop icon to a huge concert deal.
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Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider
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It’s Free Stuff Thursday!
22 May 2013 | 10:13 pmThe Digital Photography Book Part 1 – Second Edition Okay, Scott already announced the release of the new version of his best-selling book, The Digital Photography Book Part 1 – Second Edition. But since today is Free Stuff Thursday, I figured we would give away FIVE FREE copies to some lucky commenters! Whether you already have the first edition and just want the latest version, or if you want to give a copy to a friend, or if you just don’t have any version of this book and want it, leave a comment for your chance to win! Or, you can head over to KelbyTraining.com, Amazon,… -
It’s Guest Blog Wednesday featuring Vincent Versace!
21 May 2013 | 9:01 pmPhoto by Douglas DublerA Tale of Two PhotosOnce a year, on the anniversary of Guest Blog Wednesday, Scott affords me the opportunity to share some thoughts. All I can say is that it is a good thing that he gives me a year between these guest blog posts. Once again, thank you, Scott, for your gracious generosity.Tale 1Of all of the images I have or will take in my life, I suspect “Paris in Snow” will be by far my most iconic. It is the cover of my book From Oz to Kansas, and Epson uses it as the image on their worldwide packaging of Cold Press Natural paper. So the image has received some… -
Motorcycle Shoot (behind-the-scenes)
21 May 2013 | 4:22 am(Above) Here’s a behind-the-scene shot from Friday’s shoot. This is a three-light shoot: Two 4-foot strip banks above (with Elinchrom strobes), and there’s one additional softbox in front (you can see the light-stand right behind my laptop) that’s putting some extra light on the engine — it was a little dark in there with just the two strobe directly above the bike.I asked my Creative Director Felix Nelson if I could shoot his Harley, but he was doing some serious tinkering with it at home and it wouldn’t be ready for days, so he suggested calling our… -
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…
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Digital Photography School
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Learn How to Use the Sharpening Tools in Lightroom
22 May 2013 | 12:23 pmThere’s no question that Lightroom is a powerful piece of photo processing software, but due to that power sometimes it’s not as easy to wrap our heads around everything it has to offer, that’s in part why I started my Let’s Edit YouTube series a weekly segment in which I share my own editing workflow for viewers to learn from. After starting this series one of the most commonly asked questions was to go into more detail on how the sharpening tools in Lightroom work. Sharpening in Lightroom is broken down into four different sliders – Amount, Radius, Detail and… -
Discover the Secrets to These 11 Special Effects Images: New eBook
22 May 2013 | 9:33 amToday we’re launching a new dPS eBook that I suspect is going to give a lot of our readers hours of fun while playing with their digital cameras. It’s called Photo Magic: Special Effects Photography Made Easy – an eBook by Neil Creek. As an Early Bird special you can grab it today at 25% off (just $15 USD). Over the years we’ve published thousands of tutorials here on dPS – many of which are on topics like Portraiture, Landscapes, Macro and Street Photography. However some of our most popular tutorials over the last few years have been when our authors have… -
Canadian Travelogue – Newfoundland – Cape St. Mary’s
21 May 2013 | 12:57 pmCape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve is about a one hour drive south on Highway 100 from the Marine Atlantic ferry terminus of Argentia. The drive to the reserve itself is fascinating and provides many opportunities for images of the rugged maritime coastline, particularly around Ship Cove and Gooseberry Cove. Should your departure point be the international airport at St. John’s, the drive will take about three hours as you travel inland via Salmonier Line, and south across the Avalon Peninsula to St. Bride’s. Should you want the most scenic drive from St. John’s, take the 350Km… -
How to Create a Reflection in Photoshop in 6 Easy Steps
21 May 2013 | 9:13 amCreating a reflection using Photoshop is one of those things that at first glance looks really hard, but really isn’t, once you break down the steps (just light Light Painting which I covered in another two part series). In this article I’m going to demystify creating a reflection, a technique that works particularly well on images with open pavement, and HDR processed images which tend to make the pavement look wet already. We’re going to learn how to go from this . . . To this! In less than 10 minutes! I recently showed one my HDR classes how to do this, and they all… -
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…
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TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog
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Engadget takes Unikey's iPhone assisted keyless entry for a spin
22 May 2013 | 6:00 pmWe're still a few years away from the self-opening home front door of the Jetsons. But that's okay -- we're making progress. A few weeks ago we told you about Unikey and Kwikset's Kevo, a keyless entry system for your own front door. Now the fine folks at Engadget have had a chance to work with the system hands on, and they seem to be impressed. The system uses the iPhone's Bluetooth LE to connect with the smartlock. Simply walk up to your front door with your phone in your pocket, tap the lock, and turn the knob. Users and security are handled via iPhone and desktop apps that allow you to… -
Zite update is aimed at Google Reader orphans
22 May 2013 | 5:00 pmWith Google Reader fading into the sunset in July, more and more users are looking to replace its functionality. Zite for iOS (free) has some solutions that should please many news hounds. The app was originally born out of a desire to replace Google Reader with something that learned your interests and had a more compelling display. In a new release, available today, Zite is trying to go further to embrace what's good in Google Reader and add some bells and whistles. First, Zite has increased the prominence of sources. Those sources now appear in a topic drawer after you mark an article that… -
OtterBox acquires LifeProof
22 May 2013 | 4:45 pmOtterBox, a pioneer in smartphone case technology based in Ft. Collins, Colo., today got a little bit larger. The company acquired LifeProof, a company that builds a line of waterproof cases that provide superior protection without adding a lot of bulk or weight to devices. OtterBox will begin incorporating the LifeProof line into its own line of cases over the next month, and it appears that both companies will retain existing employees for the time being. OtterBox has about 650 employees worldwide, while LifeProof has about 250 in its San Diego office. It will be interesting to watch this… -
Apple: Google Now violates Siri patents
22 May 2013 | 4:30 pmWe recently asked if Apple's ongoing legal battles with Samsung were worth the effort for the computer giant. As if to answer our question, this week Apple amended their infringement claims with a new motion filed in the second California patent case targeting five patents that the Galaxy S 4 infringes on. But the motion contained a new component; the targeting of Google Now's search app. Foss Patents has a thorough run down of Apple's claims, including the specific five patents Apple says Samsung is in violation of. The main point of contention that the Android Quick Search Box and Google… -
E-books not growing much in Canada, slightly better in the US
22 May 2013 | 3:30 pmA new study from BookNet Canada notes that the e-book market may be in trouble. Paperback books, says BookNet, made up 58 percent of all purchases last year, with hardcover taking 24 percent. But e-books were only 15 percent of total sales last year, a figure that's down overall from 2012's first quarter, where they made up 17.6 percent. In other words, e-books are selling, but they're hardly taking over the market. Now, those numbers reflect sales in Canada. In the US, e-books make up 22 percent of the market, so the numbers are higher here. But still, given how ubiquitous e-books now are,…
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Strobist
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Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters is Now Available on DVD, and Netflix Streaming
22 May 2013 | 9:00 pm©Gregory Crewdson Netflix have acquired the rights to stream Ben Shapiro's excellent 77-minute documentary, Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters. You can also buy it outright on DVD for $24. Sadly, the Netflix access this is US-only (maybe Canada? nope!) and only for Netflix streaming subscribers. But this is still far and away the biggest audience to have had access to the film. There's no telling how long it will be up to stream. Netflix is notorious for having, then not having, the rights to a movie. So just in case, don't wait too long. You can stream it here. (Many thanks to reader Tim… -
On Assignment: Back to the Well
21 May 2013 | 9:00 pmTian Lu (left) and Yuri Shadrin are both accomplished pianists in their own right. But when they play as a duet (on the same piano) they produce an intuitive mix of music and banter that could only come from the married couple that they are. He is Russian, she is Chinese. Which made them the perfect choice to perform in China later this month in commemoration of an upcoming regional trade partnership between China and Russia. So I shot their publicity portraits in one of my favorite little environmental portrait nooks in Howard County—under the fountain downtown at the lakefront. I have… -
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-
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News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Fujifilm updates X-Pro1 and X-E1 to improve AF with 55-200mm lens
22 May 2013 | 10:00 pmFujifilm has updated the firmware for its X-Pro1 and X-E1 mirrorless cameras, to improve the autofocus speed with the recently-launched XF 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS telephoto zoom lens. Versions 1.05 for the X-E1 and 2.04 for the X-Pro1 are available to download from the Fujifilm website. Click through for the links. -
DxOMark Mobile Report: Samsung Galaxy S4
22 May 2013 | 3:19 pmWe just published the DxOMark Mobile Report for Samsung's new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4 on connect.dpreview.com. DxO's imaging experts have analyzed 14 aspects of mobile imaging including detailed image quality assessment, flash performance, autofocus reliability and more to calculate a final score. This report will be integrated into our full review once it is finished but for now click through to find out how the Samsung Galaxy S4's camera performed in the DxOMark lab tests. -
Studio scene comparison pages added to Pentax MX-1 preview
22 May 2013 | 3:14 pmWe've just added three studio comparison pages to our previously-published preview of the Pentax MX-1. The MX-1 is Pentax's flagship compact camera, and something of a departure for the manufacturer, offering a fast F1.8-2.5 zoom lens, full manual control and a high-class, metal body, to compete with more established peers like Panasonic's LX7. Click through to go to the new pages in our preview, and see for yourself how the MX-1 compares to its rivals. -
Flickr: Yahoo CEO sorry for 'no such thing as pro photographers' comment, Pro accounts live on
22 May 2013 | 12:46 pmMuch of the fallout surrounding Flickr's massive updates this Monday continues to center around the legacy 'Pro' accounts and a contentious statement from Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer: 'There’s no such thing as Flickr Pro today because [...] there’s really no such thing as professional photographers anymore.' She apologized today for her 'misstatement', and it appears that existing Flickr Pro account holders will still be able to take advantage of unlimited storage. Read all about it at connect.dpreview.com. -
Gifty concept camera produces instant flipbooks
22 May 2013 | 11:41 amAnimated flipbooks have been around for nearly 145 years. With just a little thumb action, these books allowed you to view a few seconds worth of animation. Now, a new concept camera known as the Gifty allows you to record video and print a flipbook instantly. The only problem: you can't buy one yet.
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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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Microsoft Releases Windows 8 Tablet Ad Highlighting iPad's Flaws, High Price
22 May 2013 | 5:42 pmAs noted by The Verge, Microsoft has released a new Windows 8 tablet ad that uses Siri to highlight a few of the iPad's shortcomings, depicting the ASUS VivoTab Smart tablet as a robust productivity machine while implying that the iPad is more suited to entertainment. In the ad, which is entitled "Less Talking, More Doing," an iPad is depicted next to the aforementioned VivoTab Smart, showing off the system’s multitasking capabilities and its built-in office apps. A Siri voiceover notes that the iPad does not support multiple windows at once and does not offer Microsoft Office apps. "I'm… -
Clear Updated with List Emailing Functionality, iPad Version Coming Soon
22 May 2013 | 3:21 pmRealmac's gesture-based list making iPhone app Clear has been updated to version 1.2.2, adding a feature that allows users to email their lists to other people. When viewing a list, Clear users can shake their phones to bring up the new emailing option. Emails sent from Clear contain the app's lists plus a link that provides the option to open the sent lists within the app. The Clear update also provides additional secret themes and comes with an announcement that an iPad version of the app is currently in the works.One of the biggest feature requests we've had has been the ability email… -
Casemaker OtterBox Acquiring LifeProof
22 May 2013 | 2:24 pmIn an event today at the CTIA conference, case maker OtterBox announced it was acquiring waterproof case maker LifeProof. OtterBox will keep LifeProof's San Diego location and employees will remain in their current locations. OtterBox global headquarters remain in Fort Collins, Colorado. The companies are not disclosing any terms for the transaction. Much like OtterBox, LifeProof is a rapidly growing, multi-million dollar business with a strong global brand, comprehensive product offering, impressive intellectual property and thriving company culture. Over the next 30 days, OtterBox will… -
Voice Search Coming Soon to Chrome for iOS
22 May 2013 | 12:59 pmGoogle has announced plans to roll out an update to the iOS version of Chrome that will enable voice searching. The feature will function similarly to Siri on the iPhone, requiring a tap on the microphone to bring up the interactive search interface. Touch the microphone, say your search query aloud and see your results (in some cases spoken back to you), all without typing a single letter. Try these queries with the update (coming soon to the App Store): - "How many miles from San Antonio to Dallas?" - "What's the weather in Rome?" - "Who stars in The Internship?"Google currently includes… -
FiftyThree Gives Behind-The-Scenes Look at Developing Paper's Zoom Feature
22 May 2013 | 11:01 amFiftyThree, the developer behind the popular sketching app Paper, has posted a lengthy article examining the new Zoom feature that was added to Paper earlier this month. Zoom is one of those UI controls, like the color picker, that has grown so familiar as to become almost invisible. Designers drag and drop it out of a mental library of stock functionality, and the most pressing consideration is whether to use a magnifying glass or a +/- button for the icon. "Pinch to zoom" reinvented zoom for touch devices, and Apple made the gesture ubiquitous by including it in iOS. "Pinch to zoom" is now…
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CNN Travel
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Opinion: Why I hate the beverage cart
22 May 2013 | 7:51 pmResponsible for more crushed knees than MMA, it’s time to protect ourselves from the airline drinks trolley Unless they’ve signed up for a gym membership, people don’t typically pay for experiences that come with a high probability of physical trauma. That’s why it’s odd to me that when you book an aisle seat on an airplane, there’s no disclaimer mentioning there’s about a 30% chance that you’re going to get hit with a moving filing cabinet. Because, basically, that’s an accurate description of an airplane’s beverage cart (galley cart, drinks trolley, mobile foot smasher,… -
Beijing hotels: 9 fantastic new places to crash
22 May 2013 | 3:00 pmFive years after the 2008 Olympics construction boom, new Beijing hotels keep right on comingLeading up to the 2008 Olympics, Beijing went on a hotel building frenzy. Unlike in other Olympic cities, however, long after the medal winners moved on the tourists kept coming. The newest hotels to hit China's capital are seen as ambassadors of the new Beijing. The nine properties listed below have each launched in the last 18 months. Rates are based on a stay in August -- the fifth anniversary of the Olympics' opening ceremony -- and are the lowest offered by the each hotel, based on double… -
The man bringing cheese to Beijing
21 May 2013 | 7:00 pmProving you don't have to be in France for great artisanal cheese, Liu Yang is teaching the Chinese to appreciate dairyMany locals experience a shock the first time they visit Liu Yang’s shop: they’ve never seen something quite like this before. Some just pass by, merely peeking in the windows of his tiny, two room workshop. “I think some people before they come by prepare themselves psychologically,” says Yang. “Maybe they’ll come back, maybe they won’t. We won’t get disappointed because of this. Most Chinese people are not used to cheese culture.” "Most Chinese… -
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…
