Alltop

What's hot on Alltop

  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Holy Kaw!

  • Google Buzz's official demo [video]

    9 Feb 2010 | 11:25 am
    Google has just unveiled its latest attempt to become more relevant in the social media space—Google Buzz. The product is integrated within Gmail and will be rolled out gradually to all of the webmail service’s users over the next few days. While this development is still unfolding, you can check out Google Buzz’s two-minute demo of Buzz in action both online and via mobile. What are your initial reactions? Another soon-to-be-forgotten Google product like Wave, or a Facebook/Twitter killer? Full story at Mashable. Total Google coverage. Permalink | Leave a…

  • Darth Vader’s original wimpy voice [video]

    9 Feb 2010 | 11:15 am
    Imagine a galaxy far, far away where Darth Vader sounded like any other British bloke strolling down the corridors of the Death Star. Before James Earl Jones provided the menacing voice of the Dark Lord of the Sith, English actor and bodybuilder David Prowse delivered the lines from inside the Darth costume. While George Lucas never intended for Prowse’s voice to make the flick’s final cut, it’s weird to imagine how different Star Wars would have been with a different Vader voice. Full story at Huffington Post. Tons of Star Wars tidbits. Permalink | Leave a…

  • 7 things you didn’t know about condoms

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:14 am
    Rubbers. Raincoats. Inconvenient. Whatever you call 'em, condoms remain a must-have in the safe sex tool box. Long before the days of Durex and Trojans, men used animal intestines to protect their willies (that sounds lovely, eh ladies?) and still to this day use lambskin condoms for latex allergies and supposed extra sensitivity. Want to learn even more fun facts about condoms that will surely impress your friends and potential lovers? Check out Asylum's seven things you probably didn't know about condoms that includes tantalizing tidbits like: Vaseline + condoms = Disintegrated rubber and…

  • Horror flick mirror scare mash-up [video]

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:25 am
    Horror movies love to rely on cliches to scare the bejeezus out of us, but does it really surprise anyone that the axe murderer is going to pop in the reflection of a mirror? Ok, yes, it still totally sparks a few pee-in-pants moments. Check out this mash-up of mirror scare moments (fair warning: don’t watch alone in a big, dark, scary house): Full story at Four Four. Boo! Tons of scary and not so scary movie news. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

  • 7 things you shouldn't do on Valentine's Day

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:13 am
    Ah, Valentine’s day. February fourteenth marks that special moment in the year when Hallmark cashes in on our emotions and cupid gets busy shooting arrows. Whether you’re indifferent, excited, upset, or madly in love—there are seven things you just shouldn’t do on this lovey-dovey holiday. See a few do-not-do’s below: Go on a first date. First dates are hard enough, why add the extra pressure? Call your ex. Abort mission! On a day like this, it’s normal for your thoughts to drift to the one you used to be with, but you broke up for a reason. So, spare…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Mashable!

  • Google Buzz: The Official Demo [VIDEO]

    Adam Ostrow
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:08 am
    Google has just unveiled its latest attempt to become more relevant in the social media space: Google Buzz. The product is integrated within Gmail and will be rolled out gradually to all of the webmail service’s users over the next few days.We’re still digesting all of the implications of Buzz (and will have more coverage throughout the day), but in the meantime, here’s the two-minute demo of the product in action both on the Web and via mobile that Google showed off during today’s press conference:What are your initial reactions? Another soon-to-be-forgotten Google social product? A…

  • BREAKING: Google Goes Social with Google Buzz

    Ben Parr
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:21 am
    It’s official: Google has just announced Google Buzz, its newest push into the social media foray. This confirms earlier reports of Gmail integrating a social status feature.On stage revealing the new product was Bradley Horowitz, Google’s vice president for product management. While introducing the product, Mr. Horowitz focused on the human penchant for sharing experiences and the social media phenomenon of wanting to share it in real time. These two key themes were core philosophies behind Google Buzz.“It’s becoming harder and harder to find signal in the…

  • Facebook Kills Lexicon, Focuses on Analytics for Page Admins

    Samuel Axon
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:20 am
    Facebook has removed its Lexicon analytics app, blogger Steve Rubel noticed last night.Don’t know what Lexicon was? That’s OK, a lot of people didn’t; it was announced very quietly, but it was a neat tool. You could use Lexicon to see how frequently, and when, certain terms were trending in status updates, just like you can use Google Trends to do the same with search terms.For example, our own Stan Schroeder was a bit perplexed a couple years back when the word “sex” had a massive spike in usage on May 30, 2008. It was the launch day of the Sex and the City…

  • 7 Ways to Promote Your Offline Event Using Social Media

    Susan Payton
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:10 am
    Susan Payton is the President of Egg Marketing & Public Relations, an internet marketing firm. She blogs at The Marketing Eggspert Blog, and teaches marketing courses at Marketing EggSchool. Follow her on Twitter @eggmarketing.We all know about Tweetups and online events, but what about events that you didn’t specifically invite the Twitterati to attend? Conferences, meetings and parties are all events that might not have started online, but which can definitely benefit from online promotion and mention.Leverage your offline event with some smart social media marketing. Here are…

  • WordPress To Posterous Users: Graduate to a Full Blog

    Jennifer Van Grove
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:57 am
    In an effort to remind you that WordPress can be just as flexible and e-mail-friendly as Posterous, the company has released a Posterous importer for users who want to “graduate” from the mini-blogging site to “a full blog with the features, flexibility and reliability of WordPress.com.”The new WordPress.com utility can be found via the Tools section within the Dashboard. All that’s required to run the import is your Posterous host name, user name and password, and it can import all of the following: posts, tags, comments and images.On the flip side, Posterous…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Fast Company

  • Google Unveils Buzz, a Social Media App for Gmail (Facebook Status: Concerned)

    Kit Eaton
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:10 am
    Google, like someone arriving late to a party already drunk and boisterous but with a lot of party favors, is trying to grab some of that Web2.0 social glimmer by polishing up Gmail with Google Buzz. The app, which is integrated into Gmail, includes the best features of Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and other well-known social media offerings in a way that only Google could pull off. Buzz began rolling out to Gmail inboxes just minutes after a presentation at Google's headquarters today.Buzz has its own user interface, and leverages the data about you that's already inside Gmail--for example,…

  • Foursquare Steps Up its Location-Based Content With Zagat, HBO Deals

    Kit Eaton
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:22 am
    Conscious of the advancing, diversifying competition to its location-based gaming/info services, Foursquare is not sitting on its laurels: It's announcing new partnerships with some big-name media companies to add content to its system. First up is a deal with Zagat, which will add some named-quality reviews to Foursquare and act as a promotional vehicle: Foursquare players will be able to earn a special "Foodie" badge if they check into the right eateries--a lot like the special reward badges that the deal with Bravo kicked off in January. Zagat itself will get a boost, as its traditional…

  • Kiribati - A Climate Change Reality

    Craig Zamary
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:35 am
    In preparation to the Copenhagen climate change conference, UNDP produced a film about the reality of climate change in the Pacific island of Kiribati. The film clearly shows how people's lives are being affected right now by rising sea waters. GreenEnergyTV.com is an Online Television Channel that is dedicated to airing "Green" video content for millions of viewers around the world. We welcome companies, individuals, families, inventors, schools, kids, teachers and organizations to Upload videos showing what they are doing to be Green & Watch videos on the site. We are a community and a…

  • The New New Orleans: Best of Times for the Big Easy

    Maccabee Montandon
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:36 am
    What a difference five years makes. Hard to believe but it was that long ago that Katrina devastated New Orleans and made a comeback seem impossibly difficult and daunting. But now the Big Easy is not only home to the Super Bowl champions, but it also just elected as mayor in a landslide Mitch Landrieu, son of former New Orleans mayor, Moon Landrieu. While in most cities the election of a new mayor would not be cause for prolonged celebration, New Orleans of course is not most cities. It has a top-shelf reputation for political scandal and corruption, so these results--Landrieu secured 66% of…

  • Green Music Group Brings the Music Industry Together for the Environment

    Ariel Schwartz
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:04 am
    As a whole, the music industry can be pretty hard on the climate. Live shows spew emissions from special effects, fans travel in their cars and even on planes to get to events, CDs get shipped all over the world--you get the idea. And while climate change-battling concerts like Live Earth do plenty of good, they don't do much to change the music industry itself. Enter the Green Music Group, a coalition of musicians, so-called "industry leaders" and fans that aims to make the music industry green from the inside out. The group, founded by environmental nonprofit Reverb, has some ambitious…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Guy Kawasaki

  • How to Avoid Gullibility

    GuyKawasaki
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:45 pm
    We’ve all been sucked into doing something stupid, right? Fortunately, Steven Greenspan has written a book called Annals of Gullibility. In its conclusion he explains how to avoid gullibility, and I’ve provided a synopsis for you. Read the full story at the American Express Open Forum. More on psychology if you need the advice.

  • How to Be Empathetic

    GuyKawasaki
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:24 pm
    By definition, good marketers are empathetic. That is, they have a capacity to understand and care for the needs of others. Bruna Martinuzzi explains how to be empathetic over at the American Express Open Forum.

  • How to Not Be Annoying on Twitter

    GuyKawasaki
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:19 pm
    Amber MacArthur explains how to not be annoying on Twitter over at the American Express Open Forum. Sage advice for you to develop a great reputation and following on Twitter. More Twitter tips.

  • The Elements of Guyle: British Blogging

    GuyKawasaki
    27 Jan 2010 | 10:06 pm
    Want to make your blog classier? You should blog like a Brit. I explain how to do this in ten easy steps.

  • How to follow the Apple announcement

    GuyKawasaki
    27 Jan 2010 | 7:56 am
    Follow the Apple announcement at Apple.alltop. We aggregate over 200 sources there.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    TechCrunch

  • Screenshots: Google Buzz In Action

    MG Siegler
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:17 am
    Now that the Google event is over, the company has started turning on Buzz for Gmail users. Here are some quick screenshots of it in action. CrunchBase Information Google Buzz Information provided by CrunchBase

  • If Google Wave Is The Future, Google Buzz Is The Present

    MG Siegler
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:40 am
    See our live notes from today’s Google Buzz event here. Google has a problem. Despite having their hands in just about everything online, they’ve never been able to tackle what is a key part of the fabric of the web: social. Yes, they have Orkut and OpenSocial, but no one actually uses them. Okay, some people use them, but not in the meaningful social ways that people use Facebook or even Twitter. Today, Google may have just solved their social problem. Google Buzz is easily the company’s boldest attempt yet to build a social network. Imagine taking elements of Twitter,…

  • Gowalla Rolls Out API

    Leena Rao
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:35 am
    As location-based social networks gain serious traction, its inevitable that that these applications will become full-fledged platforms. Like Twitter, these networks can become ecosystems. Plus, they have a better chance of continuing to survive when Facebook enters the location ring. Foursquare released its API in November. And now Gowalla will has released its API today. In a blog post announcing the API, Gowalla encourages developers to build out features that incolve location and the community, highlighting the recent addition of user-curated trips. Gowalla also suggested several uses of…

  • Google Street View Goes To The Top Of The Mountain

    Erick Schonfeld
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:31 am
    Google’s Street View has gone to many strange places, even off-road. But in preparation for the Winter Olympics it equipped a snowmobile with 360-degree cameras and took it to the top of Whistler, the Canadian ski resort where the Games will take place. The slope-side views can be seen in the map on Google’s new Winter Olympics information page. Google should do this for all major ski mountains. It’s a great way to see if you really want to go up to the top of that double black diamond chair lift. Here is a video showing how they got the images:

  • Morning Buzz: Live From Google’s Major Step Into The Social Spotlight

    MG Siegler
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:57 am
    This morning, Google is hosting an event at its Mountain View, CA headquarters to show off a new social product it has been working on. Google VP of Product Management Bradley Horowitz, VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra, and product manager Todd Jackson are on hand to show it off. Below, follow our live notes (paraphrased): They’ve announced it will start in a few minutes, waiting for people in traffic, etc… Horowitz: Exciting news to share this morning. This is exactly the right audience. Next 45 minutes to hour we’re going to be showing off something. I bet many of you are…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Seth Godin

  • TEDthink

    Seth Godin
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    Can you factor this? If you're like most people, you get a little queasy at the thought. And when you were in tenth grade, you surely wondered why they were bothering you.(the answer is (x-2) times (x-2), in case you were curious.)It turns out that the real reason you needed to do this work was to be able to play with numbers in your head. Abstract numerical thought is an important skill among educated people.Which brings us to TED, a conference held every year in Long Beach. It's going on right now. Watch a few TED videos and try to get ahead of the speaker. They have an idea...it's probably…

  • Frightened, clueless or uninformed?

    Seth Godin
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:57 am
    In the face of significant change and opportunity, people are often one of the three. If you're going to be of assistance, it helps to know which one.Uninformed people need information and insight in order to figure out what to do next. They are approaching the problem with optimism and calm, but they need to be taught. Uninformed is not a pejorative term, it's a temporary state.Clueless people don't know what to do and they don't know that they don't know what to do. They don't know the right questions to ask. Giving them instructions is insufficient. First, they need to be sold on what the…

  • The least I could do

    Seth Godin
    7 Feb 2010 | 3:35 am
    One way to think about running a successful business is to figure out what the least you can do is, and do that. That's actually what they spent most of my time at business school teaching me.No sense putting more on that pizza, sending more staff to that event, answering the phone in fewer rings... what's the point? No sense being kind, looking people in the eye, being open or welcoming or grateful. Doing the least acceptable amount is the way to maximize short term profit.Of course, there's a different strategy, a crazy alternative that seems to work: do the most you can do instead of the…

  • iPad app of my dreams: the digital talking pad

    Seth Godin
    6 Feb 2010 | 8:10 am
    Here's the spec. If you build it and it's great, I'll use it and I'll blog it.A while ago, I posted about the talking pad and a modern version of it.I think there's a killer app version of this for the iPad, and I hope someone will build it. The talking pad is an interactive presentation tool for smart people.OverviewIt's a very simple concept: a collection of pages (slides, images, type, let's call them pages) that are easy to navigate in a non-linear way. Along with the standard zoom features, I'd like to be able to write on any of them in real time using my finger. I can also call up, on…

  • The relentless search for "tell me what to do"

    Seth Godin
    6 Feb 2010 | 2:26 am
    If you've ever hired or managed or taught, you know the feeling.People are just begging to be told what to do. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I think the biggest one is: "If you tell me what to do, the responsibility for the outcome is yours, not mine. I'm safe."When asked, resist.
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Wired Top Stories

  • Shock and Awe: Viral News Is Good News

    David Pierce
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:10 am
    The way I see it, the perfect popular news story has at least one of the following elements: blaming Barack Obama, hating Sarah Palin, or sex. If someone wrote an article called "Obama to blame for sex that made Sarah Palin stupid," it would probably break the internet. But, according to a new study, I might be wrong.

  • Why the Army Doesn't Train on XBoxes

    Michael Peck
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:32 am
    Right now, every military command post and every training center is packed with PCs. In the future, many of those machines might be replaced with game consoles - if the armed forces can ever work out their disagreements with the console-makers.

  • Austrian iPad Will Be Subsidized With Contract

    Charlie Sorrel
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:19 am
    According to iPhone blog TamsIJungle, Hutchison Telecom in Austria will be selling the iPad at a steep discount if you sign up for a two year contract.

  • Stunningly Preserved 165-Million-Year Old Spider Fossil Found

    Tia Ghose
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:50 am
    Paleontologists have uncovered fossils in China from a family of spiders that has never been found there before. And the amazingly detailed specimens are 120 million years older than any others from the family.

  • Apple Store Is Back Online. Little To See Here.

    John C Abell
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:33 am
    The Apple Store was down this morning. And since this is Apple, one of the high-tech universe's favorite parlor games began: What's really going on?! As it turns out, not much, unless you're in the market for some new photo editing and organization software.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    ProBlogger Blog Tips

  • Blog Like a Cartoonist – Six Stunning Secrets to Help You Break Through Bloggers Block

    Darren Rowse
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:24 am
    And now for a guest post with a difference from Cartoonist Mark Anderson from Andertoons.com who created this comic to illustrate the writing techniques he uses to create his cartoons, and how they can help bloggers push through writer’s block. Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger. Blog Like a Cartoonist – Six Stunning Secrets to Help You Break Through Bloggers Block Share This

  • Have a 37 Minute Coffee Break with Me [Audio Interview]

    Darren Rowse
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:43 am
    If you have a spare 37 minutes today to grab a coffee with me (or at least are doing something that will allow you to listen to something for 37 minutes in the background) check out this interview I did with Robb Sutton late last week. Robb’s also transcribed it for those who prefer to read. In the interview Rob asks me about a whole range of stuff including: my background in blogging my philosophy on lots of sites vs focusing upon a single (or just a few) sites the process of going full time (and my wife’s six month ultimatum) my shift in focus to e-books and membership sites a…

  • What Is Your Blogging Goal for February?

    Darren Rowse
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:22 am
    A few days back I asked readers a question: What Have You Been Putting Off and What’s Holding You Back? Some of the responses to the question in comments (and via email and Twitter) revealed a lot of bloggers really wanting to step things up and get what they’ve been putting off done. So – lets set some goals – what do you want to achieve by the end of February? I’m not going to be calling you up to check up to see if you’re meeting your goals – but hopefully in putting them down publicly you’ll find yourself a little more spurred on to reach…

  • 9 Tricks I Used To Triple My AdSense Earnings In 30 Days

    Daniel Scocco
    7 Feb 2010 | 6:34 am
    Guest post by Daniel Scocco from Daily Blog Tips. I have been using Google AdSense to monetize my blogs and websites for as long as I remember. In fact it was the first method I ever tried (I made a whooping $15 on my first month… back in 2005). Over the years I migrated to other methods (e.g., direct sponsors and affiliate marketing), which made AdSense become merely an inventory filler. I was still making around $1,000 monthly from it, but whenever I could I would use other methods over it. Then some months ago I started noticing an upward trend on the CPC of my sites, and I figured that…

  • How I Got Some Paying Sponsors Without Really Meaning To

    Darren Rowse
    6 Feb 2010 | 6:21 am
    A guest post by Josh Hanagarne. World’s Strongest Librarian was about four months old when I got interested in sponsors. I’d read the articles about how to do it, and none of them sounded that plausible for me and my situation. For one, my traffic wasn’t impressive, certainly not to the point where sponsors were approaching me. And, while my blog has become slightly more focused in its first ten months, it wasn’t targeted at any group of readers in particular, so I wasn’t sure how confident niche advertisers would be. It’s a little more focused now, but I can’t really think of a…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Chris Brogan

  • Earn Your GED- Find Success Tomorrow

    chrisbrogan
    9 Feb 2010 | 1:30 am
    No, not your General Equivalent Degree. The GED to which I refer is “guest experience design.” What the heck am I talking about? I’ll tell you. Old words: customer service. New words: guest experience. Disney, where I am this week, has a concept called a Moment of Truth. A moment of truth is “any time a guest comes into contact with any aspect of a business, however remote, is an opportunity to form an impression.” Note that it’s “an impression.” It can be good; it can be bad. Why “guest?” Because guest is much more hospitable than…

  • Pursue the Goal Not the Method

    chrisbrogan
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:30 am
    In the back of a town car hired to take me to the Kansas City International airport, talking to Jeff, a driver with two kids, self-proclaimed ADD, and a history of quitting rote sales jobs every few months, I realized something of importance to the story of what’s brought me to this place: I am a seeker of the goal, not the method. Now, to unpack. The Method Is What We’re Taught to Pursue We learn our times tables. We learn the 50 states (in the US, at least). We are taught all these rules, these patterns, these systems, these methods. Musicians learn their scales. Painters copy…

  • Your Blog From the Prospect’s Point of View

    chrisbrogan
    7 Feb 2010 | 7:34 am
    When you use your blog to complain or report sideways about the industry at large, what message is that sending to your potential new clients? If you’re spending your time analyzing what other people in your space are doing, citing why they’re wrong, and providing your commentary about all the things they’re doing, what does your next potential customer come away thinking? Is your negative commentary helping them make a buying decision? I’ve rarely seen the tactic work in traditional advertising. You can graze them a little bit. For instance, I’m a bit fond of…

  • Just Lucky I Guess – Kitchen Table Talks

    chrisbrogan
    6 Feb 2010 | 1:46 pm
    In this Kitchen Table Talks video, I just want to address all the nice folks who call me lucky, or who think I’m just sitting around being handed my lot in life. Can’t see the video? Click here. Direct link to the video “Lucky” is absolutely what I am. Here’s what I do to earn my luck: Write a blog post or two a day. Write a newsletter every week. Comment and connect with others daily. Answer and send hundreds of emails daily. Read voraciously. Work with the best clients I can find. Reach into new markets weekly. Travel extensively. Seems lucky to me. People…

  • Some Of The Third Tribe Conversations

    chrisbrogan
    6 Feb 2010 | 1:02 pm
    I’m really enjoying participating in the forums at the Third Tribe site. I was just adding my two cents to a handful of forum postings, and thought that I’d show you what some of the topics we’re talking about are, so you’d have a sense of what’s going on. We don’t really share the contents, because the people participating there like having the chance to speak openly/candidly about their marketing challenges, but I don’t see the harm in sharing a few of the topic titles. Here they are: Favorite copywriting and marketing books? Third Tribe Blogroll? 2…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Lifehacker

  • Google Buzz Is Google's Approach to Sharing and the Social Space [Social Networking]

    Adam Pash
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:00 am
    Google today announced a new service called Google Buzz (URL not active just yet), automatically brings social networking to Gmail. Whether or not you're a big on social network sites like Twitter or Facebook, it looks very cool.What's Buzz All About? Buzz integrates with photos, video, links to web site, and other content from all over the web. It's a whole lot like Facebook's newsfeed or FriendFeed, but it lives inside Gmail and integrates automatically with your most frequent Gmail contacts. Apart from working directly inside Gmail, it can pull content from Twitter, from Flickr, and from…

  • Move the Users Directory in Windows 7 [How To]

    Roobs
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am
    Ed. note: If you've tried moving the Windows Users directory to a location other than the default, you know it can be quite an undertaking. Reader Roobs wrote in detailing how he moved his Windows 7 Users directory without nasty registry hacks. (Every day we keep a close eye on our #tips page to see what readers have to offer. Sometimes we get links, other times quick suggestions, and sometimes we get full-fledged how-to guides. Here's one of them.)When scouring the net for hours on a method of relocating the entire Users directory (in Windows 7) on another partition, most of the methods were…

  • Gadget and Gear Deals of the Day [Dealhacker]

    Jason Fitzpatrick
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am
    Whether you're looking for a new HDTV, laptop, camcorder or even a boot dryer, we've got you covered with today's Dealhacker roundup. If you're here for the freebies we didn't neglect you, you'll find free music, games, and more. Computer Gear! 15.6" Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop for $399 + $13 shipping (Regular Price: $509). 15.6" Toshiba Satellite L505D Laptop for $549.99 + free shipping (Regular Price: $645). 15.6" Acer Aspire 5740 Core i3 Laptop for $499.99 + free shipping (Regular Price: $630). 13.3" HP Pavilion dm3 Laptop for $559.95 + free shipping (Regular Price: $600 - use this form). 12"…

  • Add Universal Keyword Control to All of Your Browsers with Quix [Saving Time]

    Kevin Purdy
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am
    Imagine typing the same few keystrokes from any browser to email or clip a page, or start any kind of search. Quix is a universal browser commander, on your desktop or mobile, and it's my favorite new timesaver. Here's how it works.We've previously taken a peek at Quix, but having played with it quite a bit since then, it's turned out to be far more helpful, adaptive, and just plain cool than we'd initially thought. It does everything that a whole fleet of bookmarklets do, but it does them all from a single button—or, if you're of a keyboard shortcut type, one quick command. Quix may…

  • Grill a Perfect Grilled-Cheese Sandwich [Food Hacks]

    Jason Fitzpatrick
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:30 am
    If your grilled-cheese sandwiches never achieve that perfect diner-style golden grill but instead end up a shade too far into burnt-marshmallow territory, a simple tweak or two can make your sandwich perfect.Over at the baby and kid-centric blog OhDeeDoh, they put together a tutorial to help a friend of theirs who has a finicky 3-year old will reject any grilled-cheese sandwich with even a hint of burnt bits on it. The tutorial is focused on grilling a perfect golden-crust, char-free, gooey-cheese, sandwich. Their two critical components of the perfect-sandwich grilling process include a…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Copyblogger

  • Does Writing for People Work for SEO?

    Brian Clark
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:16 am
    Hang around web writing circles for any length of time, and the inevitable “write for search engines or write for people” debate comes up. It’s a bit strange, really. Last time I checked, it’s people who use search engines, not some other life form. So you’re always writing for people. Obviously, the debate stems from the fact that search engines are powered by computer algorithms. But as search engines have gotten smarter, writing that pleases people and satisfies spiders is not that far apart, if at all. Let’s look at four factors that work well for SEO and see how well they…

  • The Art of Shameless Self-Promotion

    Nathan Hangen
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:49 am
    I’ve found it just doesn’t pay to crow too much about what I’ve accomplished. Sure, I celebrate when things go well. But I’ve found that talking too much about my achievements leads not only to criticism, but to disappointment. There’s always going to be someone who’s done more or worked harder. And until they carve my name into the side of the moon, I see no reason in puffing myself up. The minute you get a big head is the same minute that reality smacks you and you realize that you aren’t as cool as you think you are. So self-adulation is something I try to stay…

  • Five Areas to Focus On for Effective SEO Copywriting

    Brian Clark
    5 Feb 2010 | 8:51 am
    When I first started Copyblogger in 2006, I was almost militantly against on-page search optimization. Seems strange, since I’d been a successful student of SEO since 2000. It was because I saw all these people fretting over keywords like it’s 1999, and yet they had no links. Their content was weak. Their sites weren’t trusted. You can’t optimize something that’s dead in the water. So my initial goal was to get people to focus on content that attracted attention and links first. Only then do you have something you can make better (that’s what optimize means, naturally). Fours…

  • Landing Page Makeovers 2007-2009: Where Are They Now?

    Roberta Rosenberg
    4 Feb 2010 | 6:46 am
    This is another addition to our ongoing series of tutorials and case studies on landing pages that work. It occurred to me late last year, as I was readying yet another Landing Page Makeover, that the end of one year and the beginning of the next was a good time to do a “Where are they now?” post. So first things first, I went back and contacted all makeover participants from the very beginning of the series. Of the more than 20 contacted, I learned that one is no longer in business, MagicPumpkinArt.com (Makeover #14) and two are in the midst of developing new products or revising…

  • Does SEO Copywriting Still Matter?

    Brian Clark
    3 Feb 2010 | 8:28 am
    If there’s any one thing that can be said about SEO with certainty, it’s that it manages to cause a lot of confusion. For example, it seems like many people’s idea of SEO was formed 10 years ago, and hasn’t bothered to change with the times. Even an online veteran like Robert Scoble is completely clueless about modern best practices for search engine optimization. So, before we go any further, let me answer the question posed by the headline . . . Yes, SEO copywriting still matters. Here’s why. Search is still the biggest game in town “Pick your survey, search remains one of the…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Macworld

  • Neo Nectaris strategy game arrives on the iPhone

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:51 pm
    Hudson's nifty turn-based strategy game, Military Madness, enjoyed a revival on Xbox Live last year with Nectaris. Now it's spreading the love to iPhones with Military Madness: Neo Nectaris.

  • iHound aims to help you find your missing iPhone

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:31 pm
    At this week's Macworld Expo, iHound Software will hand out stickers aimed at aiding people who find lost iPhones to reunite them with their owners. And for the month of February, iHound has dropped the price on its iPhone app.

  • Report: Google to make Gmail more social

    8 Feb 2010 | 2:22 pm
    Google will add social features to Gmail, according to the Wall Street Journal.

  • Review: McSweeney's for iPhone

    8 Feb 2010 | 2:07 pm
    A $6 app that provides pieces of random fiction may not be for everyone. But McSweeney's delivers great content in a simple, classy interface.

  • Adobe apologizes for 16-month-old Flash bug

    8 Feb 2010 | 1:44 pm
    Adobe apologized over the weekend for letting a 16-month-old bug in Flash Player languish without a patch, even though it updated the popular plug-in four times since the flaw was reported.
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    ReadWriteWeb

  • How Google Buzz is Disruptive: Open Data Standards

    9 Feb 2010 | 11:31 am
    Google rolled out a social stream service today called Buzz. It looks on the surface like Facebook, FriendFeed and other stream reading and writing services. It will compete with Facebook and Twitter. Under the covers, though, this major product was built by a team of people taking a radical new approach to online publishing: Buzz is all about open, standardized user data. Google Buzz data can be syndicated out to other services using the standard data formats called Atom, Activity Streams, MediaRSS and PubSubHubbub. That couldn't be more different from Facebook. Google has taken open data…

  • Mobile Health: Will Network Applications Help Us Get Healthy?

    9 Feb 2010 | 11:30 am
    Last week, we were at the mHealth initiative conference in Washington D.C. The keynotes were all about the impact mobile health applications are having in shaping the future of the health care system. Nothing demonstrates that more than the iPhone. In the 18 months since it was released, it has been perhaps the biggest thing to happen to health care electronic records, which has seen billions of dollars worth of investment in past decades. Mobile and wireless health applications directly impact the individual's health and have the promise of ensuring that when a patient leaves a doctor visit,…

  • Foursquare Partners with Zagat, New York Times

    9 Feb 2010 | 11:17 am
    Foursquare has come out strong in recent weeks with partnership deals that look to put it at the top of the location-based app game. Last week, it announced a partnership with Bravo, the style and fashion-centric television network, and today it has come out with a partnership with Zagat, the restaurant guide, and the New York Times. As we wrote last week, Foursquare is competing in an increasingly crowded space, and these partnerships may help it attract a whole new audience and remain competitive against other services, like Yelp, just joining in the location-based arena. Sponsor According…

  • Live Blogging from Google: Launch of Google Buzz

    9 Feb 2010 | 11:11 am
    This morning, Google is announcing some exciting new features for two of its most popular applications. Team Red, as we affectionately call ourselves, is present at the Googleplex in Mountain View, and we'll be live blogging the event, giving you, dear reader, a fascinating play-by-play. Stay tuned for updates! The event will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Just refresh this post to see new content as events unfold. Additional on-the-fly research and images from RWW journalist Frederic Lardinois. Sponsor 11:11: The event is over! Time to chase people down and ask some more pointed questions.

  • Europe's 17 Golden Rules for Keeping Safe on Social Networks

    9 Feb 2010 | 11:05 am
    Are you using your real name on your social network profiles? According to the European Union's Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), that's a big mistake. A new report, published to coincide with Europe's Safer Internet Day, details the dangers of using social networks and lays out 17 "golden rules" for keeping safe on social networks. The report's authors are especially worried about the proliferation of mobile social networks and, among other things, recommend that users turn off all location-based services whenever they are not absolutely needed. Sponsor The report argues that…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Photoshop Insider Blog By Scott Kelby

  • Come Join Dave Cross, Corey, and me in Tampa this month for the Photoshop Down & Dirty Tour

    Scott
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:02 pm
    OK, it was really just supposed to be just Dave and Corey splitting the day, but they were kind enough to invite me to do one of my favorite parts of the day—the session on Typography and Designing with Type, so now it’s the three of us. The seminar is coming up on Monday, February 22nd at the Tampa Convention Center, and if you haven’t had a chance to catch the tour yet, it is just one of those days that really opens your eyes to the power of Photoshop, and all the cool stuff you can do—stuff that really looks hard, but is actually easy once you know the secrets.

  • Kelby TV is On The Air! (and NAPP news joins the channel).

    Scott
    8 Feb 2010 | 9:52 pm
    About a month ago we launched KelbyTV.com, a new home for all the video shows we produce each week, so folks would have a central location to find all our shows right online. Last week I mentioned that Dave Cross has launched his own new weekly Podcast called “Ask Dave” and now NAPP News (hosted by Larry Becker)  has joined the channel. The full list of weekly shows on KelbyTV.com include: Photoshop User TV D-Town TV Layers TV Lightroom Killer Tips Photoshop Killer Tips Ask Dave NAPP News Of course, you can subscribe to all of these shows using Apple’s iTunes, and watch them right on…

  • NAPP is Hiring!

    Scott
    8 Feb 2010 | 9:44 pm
    Want to come and work with us? NAPP is looking for a kick-butt PHP programmer to come and join the NAPP team down here in sunny Tampa, Florida (where today’s high is a lovely 65°). If you thrive in a really cool work environment, and want to work with some incredibly creative and fun people (our Web team rocks!), who really value what you do, then contact Barbie Taylor, our HR Director for all the details (just leave me a comment here on the blog, and I’ll get you her direct email). Also, if this isn’t you, but you know someone who would fit the bill, will you pass this on…

  • Shooting the SuperBowl in Miami Last Night

    Scott
    7 Feb 2010 | 10:51 pm
    OK, there is a slight distinction in the headline you see above from my normal football game coverage—I didn’t say “shooting from the sidelines.” This time, I actually shot from up in the stands, because I didn’t have sidelines credential. Now, if you’re wondering how I got some “big glass” into the game, here’s the trick. The NFL has a rule that a spectator can’t bring a lens that’s more than 6 inches long (15.25 cm) into the stadium, and they measure the length as you come through the security. So, I measured my beloved Nikon…

  • Ken Got His Guitar (and The Springs of Hope Orphanage got $2,500)

    Scott
    7 Feb 2010 | 9:40 pm
    Ken Toney, regular commenter here on the blog, won the raffle we did for the “Photoshop Guys Signature Guitar” and he sent me the shot above of the guitar, in its display case, hanging on the wall of his office (which is pretty sweet, by the way). Click on the photo for a larger view. The raffle raised nearly $2,500 for the Springs of Hope Orphanage, and then we raised another $1,300+ from the off camera flash t-shirts (which are still available, in four stunning styles by the way), right here. Also, we raised an additional $1,000 through this blog’s affiliate program with…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Smashing Magazine

  • Applying Mathematics To Web Design

    Adit Gupta
    9 Feb 2010 | 4:52 am
      “Mathematics is beautiful.” This may sound absurd to people who wince at numbers and equations. But some of the most beautiful things in nature and our universe exhibit mathematical properties, from the smallest seashell to the biggest whirlpool galaxies. In fact, one of the greatest ancient philosophers, Aristotle, said: “The mathematical sciences particularly exhibit order, symmetry and limitation; and these are the greatest forms of the beautiful.”Because of its beautiful nature, mathematics has been a part of art and architectural design for ages. But it has not been…

  • Color Theory for Designer, Part 3: Creating Your Own Color Palettes

    Cameron Chapman
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:58 am
      In the previous two parts of this series on color theory, we talked mostly about the meanings behind colors and color terminology. While this information is important, I’m sure a lot of people were wondering when we were going to get into the nitty-gritty of actually creating some color schemes.Well, that’s where Part 3 comes in. Here we’ll be talking about methods for creating your own color schemes, from scratch. We’ll cover the traditional color scheme patterns (monochrome, analogous, complementary, etc.) as well as how to create custom schemes that…

  • SimpleFolio: A Free Clean Portfolio WordPress Theme

    Elja Friedman
    7 Feb 2010 | 8:35 am
      Today we are glad to release a beautiful, simple and clean portfolio WordPress theme — SimpleFolio, designed by Omar E. Corrales and released for Smashing Magazine and its readers. SimpleFolio is a portfolio theme that includes a blog and a very extensive option page that allows you to exclude all your portfolio items from the blog page. It also includes a front page slider.It has 2 different widget areas and threaded comments, and also supports paged comments and has 2 different page templates for advanced usage. The control of images is done from the post page.Download the…

  • Beautiful Motion Graphics Created With Programming: Showcase, Tools and Tutorials

    Vailancio Rodrigues
    6 Feb 2010 | 5:50 am
      When you hear the word “creative”, what type of profession comes to mind? Maybe a graphic designer, painter, sculptor, illustrator, or writer? It’s unlikely that you would consider a “programmer” when thinking of creative fields of work. But programmers have the potential to be creative and come up with ideas or concepts that will impact others in positive ways.We often turn to programmers to solve mathematical-related problems, but the concept of mathematics in programming is what powers programmers to innovate. When you think of mathematics you…

  • 50 Free UI and Web Design Wireframing Kits, Resources and Source Files

    Paul Andrew
    5 Feb 2010 | 6:04 am
      Planning and communication are two key elements in the development of any successful website or application. And that is exactly what the wireframing process offers: a quick and simple method to plan the layout and a cost-effective, time-saving tool to easily communicate your ideas to others. A wireframe typically has the basic elements of a Web page: header, footer, sidebar, maybe even some generated content, which gives you, your clients and colleagues a simple visually oriented layout that illustrates what the structure of the website will be by the end of the project and that…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

  • SD card reader for iPhone might help bridge the photo gap

    Aron Trimble
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:35 am
    Filed under: Macworld, Accessories, Hardware, iPhone It's cool that Apple is getting all cozy with SD cards for the iPad; it helps to sell the idea that the iPad is closer to a MacBook than an iPhone. As useful as an SD card reader is for the iPad, there is one minor hiccup: it probably won't work with the iPhone. ZoomMediaPlus aims to fill that gap with the ZoomIt SD card reader/application for the iPhone. The ZoomIt is a dongle that plugs in to the iPhone's dock connector and (with the use of Zoom's app) allows you to view and share content stored on an SD card. According to ZoomMediaPlus,…

  • Answers for the 'rents about the iPad

    Erica Sadun
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:00 am
    Filed under: AppleSo my folks were here this weekend, and as you'd expect my Dad is really curious about the upcoming iPad, or as he likes to put it "his new 3G iPad". I convinced him that he should wait for April so he could get the new postpaid-data-ready iPad, which he could use anywhere, not just with WiFi hotspots. As we were talking, I began to realize that he didn't really have a clear idea of exactly what this gadget is -- and lots of you probably have parents in similar situations. So I put together this Q&A using actual questions my Dad asked throughout the course of the…

  • SDK devsugar: Re-signing applications

    Erica Sadun
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am
    Filed under: AppleTUAW's devsugar series helps introduce developers to tools and tricks that they might not yet be familiar with. Today's tip centers on signing already-compiled and already-signed applications with a new custom signature. A while back, I posted about a way to sign already-compiled applications with your personal credentials in order to better allow developer-to-developer distribution. By re-signing an application, it allows you to install it on any of the devices you have registered to your account at Apple without having to go through the fuss and bother of normal ad-hoc…

  • Apple ships latest version of Aperture for photo professionals

    Mel Martin
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am
    Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Software UpdateIt certainly caused a lot of excitement when the Apple web store went down this morning. No, it wasn't an updated MacBook Pro line but Aperture 3, Apple's high-end photo editing and image management software. The latest version is U.S. $199.00, and upgrades are available for any existing Aperture users for $99.00. Apple says Aperture 3 has "more than 200 new features", including Faces and Places, brought over from iPhoto '09. There is an enhanced tool called Brushes, which allows photographers to paint adjustments and filters directly onto…

  • The Apple Store is back online

    Mike Schramm
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:24 am
    Filed under: Apple Yes, as expected, the Apple Store is down for the morning, presumably to update us with brand new MacBook Pros and whatever else Apple has cooked up for a release. We'll keep an eye on the website along with you readers, and when we see what's been updated, we'll let you know. Do be patient -- as many of us are traveling to Macworld today, we might actually be on the roads and/or in the air when it happens, but we'll update as soon as we can. Stay tuned. Update: It's back up, and it appears the new hotness is... Aperture 3. Thanks to all who sent this in!TUAWThe Apple Store…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Strobist

  • On Assignment: Trip Jennings

    7 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm
    A couple of months ago I got to photograph adventure kayaker Trip Jennings for Canoe & Kayak Magazine. Given we were fresh out of 80-foot waterfalls for him to navigate in Howard County, we instead chose the shore of relatively somnambulistic Centennial Lake at sunset…__________Prologue is PastFWIW, this is the back end of the What, Me Worry? post from a few weeks ago. Since the magazine is out, I can now publish some of the photos here.So we'll skip the pre-production info (since you can read it in exhausting detail on the other post) and just hit the lighting stuff.Soft Boxes Gathering…

  • Behind the Scenes on Sunshine

    3 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm
    American Cinematographer has a wonderful piece online about both the theory and the execution of the lighting in Sunshine. It's a SciFi movie, about the death of the sun and a mission to jumpstart it with a nuclear bomb.There's a lot of technical stuff, which I of course love. But the most interesting thing to me was psychological. They added impact to the eventual sun close-ups by starving the set of any warm colors whatsoever during the earlier sequences.There was a lot of green screen, obviously. As such, they had to create dynamic light proxies for the sun, so the actors could react to…

  • On Assignment: The Glass Menagerie

    1 Feb 2010 | 11:45 am
    Since 1983, when I started stringing assignments for the Leesburg (FL) Commercial, I have always gravitated toward community journalism. I just find it intimate and rewarding to work within a tight geographic area and get to know the people who live all around you.In the 27 years since, I have obviously gotten the chance to shoot in many interesting and exotic places in the years that followed. But I always gravitate back towards shooting locally -- especially where self-directed photographic projects are concerned.Last year, I photographed Michael Stebbins, who is the creative and artistic…

  • Snooty, Yet Warm

    29 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm
    David Honl has just started shipping a gold-interior version of his popular 8" speed snoot, dubbed the Honl Zebra 8. When the light passes through the snoot, it bounces around and picks up the warm color -- similar to using a warming gel on your key light. Which makes it great for for lighting human beings, especially those from Great Britain.It's a store-bought homage to an old trick I first picked up from my friend Chris Usher. He used to scrounge manilla folders when shooting biz portraits in an office. Just roll 'em up and make a warm snoot with a rubber band.The effect is similar, albeit…

  • Put a Li'l Boom in Your Pocket: The Matthews Scissors-Clip

    28 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm
    I had a few people ask about how I mounted the SB-800 in the ceiling for the John McIntyre photo last week. I used a Matthews Scissor-Clip, a sweet little light stand / cable clamp made just for suspended ceilings.Hit the jump for more info and pics.__________Here it is with nothing attached -- and upside down from its normal orientation. The grooved, "X-Wing" style base opens and closes to securely grab the panel-holding framework of a suspended ceiling, and drop down with a 5/8" male stud.It'll hold any small light, obviously including an umbrella clamp and speedlight combo. Best yet, it…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Digital Photography School

  • Sigma DP1s Digital Camera Review

    Guest Contributor
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:33 am
    A guest Review of the Sigma DP1s by Patrick Dean from NeutralDay.com. The idea is simple really. Put a large sensor inside a small compact body and you’ve got a camera that enthusiasts can carry around easily and still secure the same level of quality from their captures as they would from their larger DSLR camera. Recently a number of cameras have been released that fit this bill, but just a short time ago, Sigma was flying solo in this market sector with DP1. Using the unique Foveon X3 sensor, the DP1 offered users a 28mm equivalent lens, excellent image quality, all in a fairly…

  • The Future of HDR and its Use within the Camera

    Darren Rowse
    8 Feb 2010 | 12:22 pm
    A Guest post by Dave Ware from Whalebone Photography. This note is aimed to be a quick discussion on High Dynamic Range and possible future enhancements to improve it. What is High Dynamic Range? High Dynamic Range is a digital processing effect used within photography to combine a number of images of differing exposures to create a consistently exposed picture throughout the entire frame. This increases the luminance (amount of light) visible within an image. Why is it required? The camera’s limitation of amount of colour and luminance it can record is governed by the sensor’s…

  • Canon EOS 550D Announced

    Sime
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:34 am
    The Canon EOS 500D has been replaced with the Canon EOS 550D today, and by the looks of it, replaced with style. ***Update here*** “Both the 500D and 450D will continue said Canon Europe’s Photo Products planning manager Mike Owen.” So we won’t see this camera replace the 500 series, just add to that range. –Sime Canon EOS 550D 18MP 1080p HD Movies ISO 6400 United Kingdom / Republic of Ireland, 8th February 2010 – Canon today announces a groundbreaking new addition to its expanding, world-famous EOS range of Digital SLR cameras – the EOS 550D. The EOS 550D…

  • Diptychs & Triptychs – 5 Prime Examples

    Elizabeth Halford
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:17 am
    Main Entry: dip·tych Pronunciation: \?dip-(?)tik\ Etymology: Late Latin diptycha, plural, from Greek, from neuter plural of diptychos folded in two, from di- + ptych? fold Date: 1622 1 : a 2-leaved hinged tablet folding together to protect writing on its waxed surfaces 2 : a picture or series of pictures (as an altarpiece) painted or carved on two hinged tablets 3 : a work made up of two matching parts Diptychs and triptychs are a brilliant tool for photographic storytelling. They present two or three images which can be from the same session or they can be polar opposites to show…

  • 40% of Our Readers Have PhotoBlogs

    Darren Rowse
    7 Feb 2010 | 12:37 pm
    Last month we asked readers a simple yes or no question in our site poll – do you have a PhotoBlog? Over 12,000 people responded. Here are the results: I was actually a little surprised by the numbers that did have a photoblog – I guess the many in the DPS audience have discovered the joys of sharing their best shots online! Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips. 40% of Our Readers Have PhotoBlogs
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    CNN: Top Stories

  • Source: Murtha's intestines nicked in gallbladder surgery

    8 Feb 2010 | 5:21 pm
    Rep. John Murtha died as a result of recent gallbladder surgery complications that arose from doctors accidentally nicking Murtha's intestines, a source told CNN.

  • Experts: Recall may not fix pedal issue

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:43 pm
    In his hectic, noisy laboratory at the University of Maryland, Michael Pecht is wary when it comes to assessing whether Toyota's suggested repair of sticky gas pedals will have any real impact.

  • Doctor charged in Jackson's death

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:39 pm
    Dr. Conrad Murray, personal physician to Michael Jackson, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the pop star's death last summer.

  • Haitian may have lasted month in rubble

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:19 pm
    A man pulled alive from the rubble of a building in Haiti's capital may have been trapped since the January 12 quake that leveled much of the city, doctors reported Monday.

  • Up to 20 more inches of snow for D.C.

    8 Feb 2010 | 3:41 pm
    A second round of snow is heading toward Washington, D.C., and surrounding cities, where residents are still digging out after a record-setting blizzard.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips

  • 4 Signs That it’s Time to Start From Scratch In Lightroom

    jgilbert@photoshopuser.com (Matt Kloskowski)
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:52 am
    It's inevitable. Every time I teach a seminar or workshop I have some one approach me with a catalog problem. It's usually gotten so bad for them that they've sworn off Lightroom by this point because of it. Unfortunately, my advice isn't something they want to hear but it's really the best advice I can give them - Start from scratch in Lightroom. Sometimes it's just more work to try to go back and fix things. That being said, here's 4 signs that it may be time for you to start from scratch in Lightroom. Before you get mad at me though, I've also included links to videos that I've done over…

  • Tip – Exporting Photos with Last Settings

    jgilbert@photoshopuser.com (Matt Kloskowski)
    5 Feb 2010 | 6:07 am
    Here's a neat little tip I use a lot so I hope you will too. If you want to export some photos and use the same export settings you used the last time, you can bypass the Export dialog and just go to File > Export with Previous. Better yet, memorize the keyboard shortcut Cmd-Option-Shift-E (PC: Ctrl-Alt-Shift-E), and it will automatically export the photos using your last settings. Like I said, its a little tip but it's one I use all the time. Thanks for stopping by this week and enjoy your weekend! Bookmark It

  • Lightroom Q&A

    jgilbert@photoshopuser.com (Matt Kloskowski)
    3 Feb 2010 | 4:57 am
    Its time for another round of Lightroom Q&A's. Keep the questions coming. Q. When I export images sometimes I export to 640 x 480 for web viewing. The problem is that the images that were shot using a vertical orientation are exported as 360 x 480 instead of 480 x 640. Is there a way to export a 'mixed' group of photos to a custom size yet retain the original aspect ratio? A. That's because by setting 640 x 480, you've essentially set a max size for the height of the image at 480 right? So it couldn't do 480x640 because that would be going against what you've set as a max height. So if you…

  • Preset – Wedding Grain Effect

    jgilbert@photoshopuser.com (Matt Kloskowski)
    1 Feb 2010 | 6:23 am
    Holy cow! It's February, and more importantly my birthday month :) It's also preset day and I've got one that's been asked for quite a bit since I started making presets. It has to do with a "grain" effect and it deals with the new Grain setting in Lightroom 3 Beta. BUT WAIT!!! If you're not a LR3 Beta user don't worry. The preset itself still looks cool and still works in Lightroom 2 (it just doesn't apply the grain). Depending on the photo, the settings still bring out a little graininess in the image so its not a total loss. Anyway, take a look at the before and after by clicking below. It…

  • Video – Monitor vs. Printer Calibration

    jgilbert@photoshopuser.com (Matt Kloskowski)
    28 Jan 2010 | 6:21 am
    Please install flash player to view video. Hi all. A while back I created a video on the non-Lightroom (but still very important) topic of calibration using a hardware calibration device. From what I can gather out there, a lot of photographers have heard the message loud and clear - use a hardware calibration device. I don't really care which one, just use one. However, from being out on the road I have seen a bit of confusion surrounding what type of calibration you need. There's monitor calibration to create a color profile for your screen, and there's printer calibration to create a…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Joe McNally's Blog

  • GPP, Again….

    Joe McNally
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:02 am
    Gulf Photo Plus launches in Dubai in a couple of weeks, and I’m stoked to go back to the Middle East. This will be the 4th year for me, and the event just keeps getting better and better. Hats off to Mohamed Somji, Hala Salhi and the whole GPP crew for putting together what has become the premier photo conference and learning center in the Middle East. Got a bunch of reasons to be stoked, principal among them the faculty who heads yearly to that strange and friendly conglomeration of concrete and glass that is Dubai. The talent and teaching that is offered at GPP simply makes me want to…

  • Malaysia Update….

    Joe McNally
    2 Feb 2010 | 10:56 pm
    Louis Pang and his Wedshooter TV gang have fixed up our workshop with wonderfully talented folks to be in front of the lens. Evon has worked with us for a couple days now. Suffice it to say, photographing her is a damn sight different experience than photographing this particular devotee at Thaipusam the other day. The above was shot by Johan Sopiee, a terrific Malaysian shooter based here in KL. It’s been a pretty wild ride since we landed Friday night. Mid-week now. We’ll be cranking right through the weekend. Having fun. Malaysia’s a great place, friendly people, lotsa…

  • Malaysia, First Day….

    Joe McNally
    1 Feb 2010 | 2:01 am
    29 hours, door to door. Check into hotel. Sleep 3 hours. Up at 4am. Go to Thaipusam. Didn’t know about Thaipusam before this trip, and the timing is completely coincidental, but photographically fortuitous. It is one of the wildest explosions of human frenzy, devotion and religious fervor I have ever been to. It is the Hindu celebration of the birthday of Lord Muruga, and thousands gather amidst the heat, sweat and incense to seek his blessings and render homage. Many bear gifts, simple as a pot of milk, up the long walk to the Batu Caves. Others spin themselves into a frenzy, drift…

  • Heading North

    Drew Gurian
    25 Jan 2010 | 3:32 am
    Or, as Einar Erlendssen, the originator and caretaker of the Focus on Nature Workshops says, heading up to join the stark raving mad Vikings. I always wanted to go to Iceland. It seems a land of true intensity, color, and personality. It’ll be a small workshop, and thus very hands on. Our merry band of speed lighters will evidently careen around the countryside (the place ain’t that big) looking, lighting, and shooting. At night we will gather over various Nordic intoxicants and commune with the pixel spirits, and discuss the successes and failures of the day. This will be a…

  • Jakester as Superhero….

    Joe McNally
    19 Jan 2010 | 5:37 am
    So I was with the DLWS gang in the Marin Headlands, looking at the Golden Gate Bridge, which, I can reliably report, does not move. See below. No stranger to photog paranoia and insecurity, which rages in the hearts and minds of shooters everywhere, I continued to prove that salient fact over and over again, as if my right index finger had developed a kind of idiot savant twitch, in that it knew how to do one thing well, that is, push the damn shutter button over and over again. I’ve always been good at simple, repetitive tasks, so I went to town and produced a grid of remarkably…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Planet Photoshop

  • Document Your Happy Accidents

    Web Editor
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am
    Sometimes our best creations happen by pure experimentation and accident. Sitting in front of a Photoshop file, you are 40 History States in, and then it happens…magic! You really want to be able to get back to that moment. To do so, make sure that you turn on the History Log checkbox in the General [...]

  • Sample Color from Anywhere

    Web Editor
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:41 am
    You can use the Eyedropper tool to pick colors from any area of your screen. First, press the letter I to select the Eyedropper tool, then click-and-hold inside your document, and drag outside the document window onto the object you’d like to sample. Release your mouse button and the sampled color appears as your new [...]

  • Animate 2D in 3D

    Corey Barker
    5 Feb 2010 | 12:31 pm
    Corey shows you how to create a 3D animation form 2D elements using Photoshop CS4 Extended.

  • File>Open Recent

    Web Editor
    5 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am
    Under Photoshop>Preferences (PC: Edit>Preferences), you have an option called File Handling. In the Recent File List Contains field, you can specify how many files you would like it to remember.

  • Opening Multiple Images in Photoshop CS3

    Web Editor
    4 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am
    To open multiple images in Photoshop CS3, you can Shift-click a series of images in the Open dialog, and then click Open. You can also select noncontiguous images by Command-clicking.
 
Log in