Researchers find fire ants tightly regulate the diameter of their tunnels to insure ideal mobility and traction—but when they slip, antennae take grip. “Our hypothesis is that the ants are creating their environment in just the right way to allow them to move up and down rapidly with a minimal amount of neural control,” says [...]
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Fire ants could teach tunneling robots a few tricks
Holy Kaw!23 May 2013 | 1:54 pm -
Google Brings Intelligent Search to Google+ Photos
Mashable23 May 2013 | 3:31 pmGoogle is now making it easier for users to find their own photos using Google Search. On its Inside Search blog, the company explained that users can now search for and through their photos hosted in Google+ Photos. Searching for the query "my photos" offers up this result, personalized with your own Google+ photographs. But it gets better. The system actually uses machine learning so that you can target your queries to be more specific. Searching for "my photos of food" or "my photos from Orlando" will provide results tailored for those specific instances You can also search these photos… -
Can This Sleek Lighter Challenge The Zippo?
Fast Company23 May 2013 | 2:30 pmAlessi’s new Sushi lighter is at home both in your pocket and your kitchen. Design is a search to perfectly integrate form, function, and meaning. A single design can take years of iterations and refinements and still may never embody that ideal. But if it becomes iconic--think the Coca-Cola bottle or, for our purposes, the Zippo pocket lighter--it ceases to be in flux and moves beyond time and style. But, and sooner or later, change needs to be introduced--either directly injected into the design itself, or at the very least, by admitting alternative forms into the cycle. As every… -
With $1.12 Million From Maveron And Others, Vaunte Aims To Define The Next Era Of Luxury E-Commerce
TechCrunch23 May 2013 | 3:17 pmAs great as the web is, I still haven’t been able to kick my habit for buying fashion and lifestyle magazines off the newsstand. One of the things I love the most about monthly glossies are features like Vanity Fair’s My Stuff and Us Weekly’s What’s In My Bag, in which notable people reveal the exact products that they actually buy and use (celebrity chef David Chang uses Sensodyne toothpaste and wears Levi’s jeans, FYI.) It’s just compelling to find out more about people through their stuff. The folks at New York-based startup Vaunte think so too, and in… -
Thoughts on education and the burgeoning trophy shortage
Seth's Blog23 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.
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Holy Kaw!
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Fire ants could teach tunneling robots a few tricks
23 May 2013 | 1:54 pmResearchers find fire ants tightly regulate the diameter of their tunnels to insure ideal mobility and traction—but when they slip, antennae take grip. “Our hypothesis is that the ants are creating their environment in just the right way to allow them to move up and down rapidly with a minimal amount of neural control,” says [...] -
To be perfect, practice isn’t enough
23 May 2013 | 1:39 pmThere may be more to perfection than a lot of practice, according to a small study of chess players and musicians. A new study shows that even copious amount of practice is not enough to explain why people differ in level of skill in two widely studied activities: chess and music. In other words, it [...] -
Citizen scientists tag bug collections online
23 May 2013 | 1:28 pmThe public can help scientists by deciphering and recording the hand-written field notes that accompany a million insect specimens, many dating back more than 100 years. Along the way, participants in the project, called Calbug, are getting a peek into history and the treasures held in museum collections. Among the many scientifically valuable objects in [...] -
Dreamy art installations you’ll want to live in
23 May 2013 | 1:24 pmGabriel Dawe’s Prismatic Installations Crocheted Playgrounds by Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam The Swedish Furniture Fair Installation Full article with more fantastic art on BuzzFeed Photo credits: archdaily.com, hefoxisblack.com and fc02.deviantart.net -
5 Trends in European Digital Consumption [Infographic]
23 May 2013 | 12:59 pmA McKinsey iConsumer survey spotlights key trends in e-commerce, mobile, multichannel, social media, and big data. From McKinsey via Visual.ly. Tons of excellent infographics in one place.
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Mashable
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Google Brings Intelligent Search to Google+ Photos
23 May 2013 | 3:31 pmGoogle is now making it easier for users to find their own photos using Google Search. On its Inside Search blog, the company explained that users can now search for and through their photos hosted in Google+ Photos. Searching for the query "my photos" offers up this result, personalized with your own Google+ photographs. But it gets better. The system actually uses machine learning so that you can target your queries to be more specific. Searching for "my photos of food" or "my photos from Orlando" will provide results tailored for those specific instances You can also search these photos… -
Ashton Kutcher: 'I Don't Think Anyone Has Mastered Mobile'
23 May 2013 | 3:24 pmActor and prominent startup investor Aston Kutcher took the stage at CTIA Thursday to talk about mobile, and specifically mobile apps. During a fireside chat at the wireless trade show Kutcher talked about how he discovers the apps that he uses and invests in, as well as how he currently sees the wireless industry. “Most of the apps that I discover come from founders of companies I've invested in, or from being at conventions, or personal social networks,” he says. Some of Kutcher’s favorite apps include Spotify, Flipboard, Couple and Path. Kutcher is an investor in the last… -
Watch Solar Plane Take Off on Second Leg of Historic Journey
23 May 2013 | 3:04 pmThe Solar Impulse made the 958-mile trip from Phoenix to Dallas in about 18 hours. It is the second leg of the plane's historic trip across the United States, from California to New York. If all five legs are successful, the trip will be the first cross-continental, solar-powered flight, with travel occurring during both daytime and nighttime. Solar Impulse CEO André Borschberg piloted this leg of the journey. Weather permitting, the plane's next stop will be St. Louis at the end of the month. SEE ALSO: Solar-Powered Plane Completes First Leg of Coast-to-Coast Journey Homepage image… -
Electric Chevy Spark to be Offered for Lease at $199/Month
23 May 2013 | 2:31 pmChevy just attached a price tag and delivery date to the 2014 Spark electric vehicle on Thursday, and it's looking good. General Motors announced lease pricing of the Chevy Spark EV at $199 per month for 36 months. Add to that the $999 upfront fee, and you can drive away with a Spark when the vehicle first rolls out in June (2013) — if you live in California or Oregon. Buying the Spark turns out to be a good deal, too. Th car's retail price starts at $27,495, Chevy says — just keep in mind that you'll probably want to add a few options to that base price. After subtracting the… -
Morgan Freeman Falls Asleep During Live TV Interview
23 May 2013 | 1:50 pmMorgan Freeman and Michael Caine star in a new film called Now You See Me. So they are, as one does, making the press junket interview rounds to hype the release The dynamic duo recently appeared on Tacoma's Fox affiliate Q13 for an interview session, but Freeman had seemingly reached the end of his rope. Watch the beginning of the video below to see him peacefully nod off, then perk up and try to appear interested in whatever dear old Michael Caine is prattling on about Hopefully Freeman's grogginess here doesn't foreshadow audiences' reactions to the film. Either way, though, Now You See Me…
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Fast Company
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Can This Sleek Lighter Challenge The Zippo?
23 May 2013 | 2:30 pmAlessi’s new Sushi lighter is at home both in your pocket and your kitchen. Design is a search to perfectly integrate form, function, and meaning. A single design can take years of iterations and refinements and still may never embody that ideal. But if it becomes iconic--think the Coca-Cola bottle or, for our purposes, the Zippo pocket lighter--it ceases to be in flux and moves beyond time and style. But, and sooner or later, change needs to be introduced--either directly injected into the design itself, or at the very least, by admitting alternative forms into the cycle. As every… -
Summer Heat Is Going To Make New York Deadly
23 May 2013 | 12:00 pmThe amount of people dying from heat-related deaths in the city is going to rise rapidly thanks to climate change. Summer heat waves can transform East Coast cities likes New York and Washington, DC, into humid, odiferous swamps of misery and stagnation. But with climate change conspiring toward increasingly hotter summers, New York and other towns won’t just be more unpleasant; they’ll be deadlier. As The Guardian reported:Read Full Story -
Gorgeously Complex 3-D Printed Sculptures You Can Eat
23 May 2013 | 12:00 pmThe Sugar Lab makes geometric confections, fittingly, from sugar. Much has been made about the game-changing uses and applications for 3-D printing. The technology has made headway in every field you can think of--from prosthetics and bionic organs to design and architecture to, yes, functioning firearms. There have also been plenty of printing experiments with food, an idea not everyone finds so appealing. Printers can be modified to print both cooked and raw foods, whose shape can even be customized. It was just announced that NASA is investing in 3-D printer food prototypes that use… -
The Fifty Shades Factor: Amazon Gives Fanfic Authors A Shot At A Publishing Payday With Kindle Worlds
23 May 2013 | 11:48 amRecognizing that the world of fan fiction has produced a bona fide blockbuster, Amazon is now turning fanfic from a grey market to a sanctioned revenue opportunity with Kindle Worlds. The site FanFiction.net, one of the larger outposts of amateur storytelling based on pop culture franchises, lists 25,000 separate contributions based on The Vampire Diaries alone. All of those works were created out of sheer love for the characters and premises of the books. Since fan fiction is not offered for sale, the copyright holders behind Diaries and many other works have turned a blind eye. But… -
Is “I Wish My Son Had Cancer” Appropriate Ad Copy?
23 May 2013 | 11:29 amAn ad for a rare disease makes an uncomfortable statement.Read Full Story
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TechCrunch
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With $1.12 Million From Maveron And Others, Vaunte Aims To Define The Next Era Of Luxury E-Commerce
23 May 2013 | 3:17 pmAs great as the web is, I still haven’t been able to kick my habit for buying fashion and lifestyle magazines off the newsstand. One of the things I love the most about monthly glossies are features like Vanity Fair’s My Stuff and Us Weekly’s What’s In My Bag, in which notable people reveal the exact products that they actually buy and use (celebrity chef David Chang uses Sensodyne toothpaste and wears Levi’s jeans, FYI.) It’s just compelling to find out more about people through their stuff. The folks at New York-based startup Vaunte think so too, and in… -
Report: Google Could Soon Face New FTC Antitrust Probe Into Its Display Ads Business
23 May 2013 | 2:41 pmBloomberg today reports that Google could face a new U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) antitrust probe into its display advertising business. As Bloomberg’s Brian Womack and Sara Forden note, the FCC is looking into whether Google used its strong position in this market to “illegally curb competition.” The investigators, the report also notes, want to see if Google used its display ads business to “push companies to use more of its other services.” We reached out to Google for a statement about this new investigation but Google did not have a comment on the… -
Laptop Week Review: The Toshiba Kirabook
23 May 2013 | 2:39 pmFeatures: Ships with Windows 8 64-bit 13.3-inch display running at 2560 x 1440 (221ppi) 256GB SSD 2GHz Intel Core i7-3537U Processor 8GB of RAM MSRP: Starts at $1,599, model reviewed costs $1,999 Pros: An incredibly high-res display for a Windows laptop 2 years of free premium support Respectable battery life Cons: No discrete graphics card Man, this thing is expensive Eye Candy Meets Horsepower Toshiba isn’t exactly known for churning out attractive, high-end notebooks, which is why the company’s new Kirabook is such an oddity. It’s a handsome little thing if you’re into very… -
Laptop Week Review: Lenovo Yoga 13
23 May 2013 | 2:01 pmFeatures: Convertible laptop 13-inch touchscreen Up To 128 GB SSD Intel Core i5 Processor MSRP: $999 Pros: Slim form factor works as a tablet and a laptop Nice design 10-finger multi-touch Cons: Mushy keys Accelerator sensing can be frustrating Underpowered for the price point Twist And Shout Convertibles were all the rage back in the 1950s (thanks to tailfins and the Corvette) and in the early 2000s (thanks to Microsoft and Sony). In the 2000s, however, we saw convertibles in the form of laptops that could twist and turn themselves into tablets. The result, usually, was a… -
Salesforce.com Meets First Quarter Earnings Expectations, Revenues Up 29%
23 May 2013 | 1:31 pmSalesforce.com met analyst expectations for its first quarter with non-GAAP earnings per share of 10 cents. Total first quarter revenues were $893 million, an increase of 28 percent on a year-over-year basis. Subscription and support revenues were $842 million, an increase of 29% on a year-over-year basis. Professional services and other revenues were $50 million, an increase of 25%. It had operating cash flow of $283 Million, up 33%. Salesforce also raised its 2014 fiscal year reenues to an estimaged $3.835 to $3.875 billion. Salesforce.com is on a bit of a roll. Gartner nmed it the number…
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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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I.R.S. Official Who Refused to Testify Is Suspended
23 May 2013 | 3:20 pmLois Lerner, the head of the tax division on exempt organizations, was put on administrative leave a day after she declined to testify before a House committee. -
Boy Scouts to Admit Openly Gay Youths as Members
23 May 2013 | 3:16 pmIn a landmark step, the Boy Scouts of America voted to allow openly gay youths as members, while continuing its policy of excluding openly gay adult leaders. -
The Caucus: Mark Mazzetti on Obama's Speech on Drone Policy
23 May 2013 | 2:47 pmOne outstanding question is how transparent the Obama administration will be about drone strikes in the future. -
Hungry City: SakaMai on the Lower East Side
23 May 2013 | 1:20 pmSakaMai, on the Lower East Side, does not commit to one genre of Japanese cuisine or mode of dining. -
Wall Street Recovers After Worldwide Slump
23 May 2013 | 1:14 pmStocks regained ground in New York after global investors were rattled by signs of a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing and a potential easing of central bank support for the economy.
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Wired Top Stories
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Exclusive: Congressman Preps Bill to End Terror War Authority
23 May 2013 | 2:35 pmA prominent legislator thinks it's time for the broad post-9/11 law authorizing the war on terrorism to expire. And he's going to introduce a bill to repeal it. -
There's a Movie in the Works About the Bra Designers Behind the Apollo Spacesuits
23 May 2013 | 2:25 pmWarner Bros. has tapped a new writer to pen a screenplay based on the book Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo, which chronicles the Playtex designers behind the NASA program's spacesuits. -
No Longer Dominating Its Market, TiVo Plots a Software Comeback
23 May 2013 | 1:46 pmTiVo has become the Kleenex of the TV world -- a once dominant brand that's become a generic commodity. Yes, we still call recording a TV show "TiVoing." But as cable and satellite companies started offering their own DVRs and cheap streaming boxes from Roku, Apple and others flooded the market, TiVO has been increasingly marginalized and risks irrelevancy. That's changing, though, as the company moves beyond hardware to the far more lucrative world of software and licensing. -
Solar-Powered Plane Breaks World Record for Distance
23 May 2013 | 1:40 pmSolar Impulse pilot Andr? Borschberg completed a record-setting flight in the wee hours this morning after flying more than 950 miles on solar power alone, even if he was, strictly speaking, going backward for part of the trip. His impressive flight from Phoenix to Dallas completed the second leg of the Solar Impulse team's "Across America" ... -
A Natural History of Fluoride
23 May 2013 | 1:30 pmContrary to what many people believe, fluoride is not some evil scourge of industrial society. Wired Science blogger Deborah Blum debunks some anti-fluoride misinformation, and shares a natural history of the element.
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@ProBlogger
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How to Create a Blog Purpose Statement in 3 Simple Steps
23 May 2013 | 8:54 amYesterday, I shared a series of questions to help those bloggers seeking a little clarity when it comes to what their blog could be about. Today, I wanted to share 3 more questions – these are not so much focused upon YOU as a blogger but upon your readers. Hopefully they’ll also help you achieve a little clarity. Who are your readers? What do they need? How will they change as a result of reading your blog? Answer these 3 questions and you will actually have a pretty good purpose statement for your blog. You could certainly go into some real depth on each question but even doing… -
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).
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Entrepreneur
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Still Waiting for Obama's SBA Chief Nominee
23 May 2013 | 1:06 pmThe White House has yet to select a replacement for Karen Mills, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration. -
4 Lessons From the Nightmarish Amy's Baking Company
23 May 2013 | 11:00 amThink the customer is always wrong? Here are a few lessons in entrepreneurship from the latest Kitchen Nightmares' season finale. -
NHL Playoffs: Lessons in Building a Winning Sales Team
23 May 2013 | 10:00 amLike a successful hockey team, empower your employees and play to their strengths. -
6 Ways to Track Your Competition's Marketing Strategy
23 May 2013 | 9:30 amStaying on top of your competitor's marketing tactics is key if you want to be ahead of the game. But you don't need a big budget to do it. Here are six easy ways to stay in the know. -
Startup Weekend and Startup America Partner to Jumpstart Global Entrepreneurship
23 May 2013 | 8:55 amWith the support of AOL Co-Founder Steve Case, new organization UP Global aims to accelerate startup communities around the world.
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Lifehacker
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Will getting an advanced degree limit your career options?
23 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... -
Deadspin Bicycle Pumps Are The Worst | Lifehacker Nine Things You Should and Shouldn't Do If You Los
23 May 2013 | 2:35 pmDeadspin Bicycle Pumps Are The Worst | Lifehacker Nine Things You Should and Shouldn't Do If You Lose Your Job | io9 12 Underrated or Overlooked TV Shows to Marathon This Weekend | Jalopnik This Is Why People Think Ford Truck Drivers Are Asshats | Valleywag Sean Parker's Wizard Wedding Escapes Government CrackdownRead more... -
Best External Battery Pack/Phone Charger?
23 May 2013 | 2:30 pmIf you've ever watched your phone's battery die before you could charge it again, you know a good, portable battery pack is a lifesaver. However, they're not all made equally—some are definitely more useful (and more functional) than others. This week, we want to know which ones you think make the grade. Read more... -
Nine Things You Should and Shouldn't Do If You Lose Your Job
23 May 2013 | 2:00 pmMost of us wouldn’t think to associate the words "joblessness" and "fun," but unemployment coach Katie DeVito says she wouldn’t have it any other way: "The best thing that ever happened to me was getting laid off."Read more... -
PowerInbox Adds Your Social Network Feeds to Your Email Sidebar
23 May 2013 | 1:30 pmSocial networks have a nasty habit of yanking you out of what you're doing. PowerInbox lets you keep up with what's happening without leaving your email tab.Read more...
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MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors
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Microsoft Inaccurately Depicts Windows Tablet as Larger than iPad in New Comparison Ad
23 May 2013 | 2:32 pmTo go along with two previously released anti-iPad Windows 8 tablet ads, Microsoft has released a side-by-side comparison of the iPad and various Windows 8 tablets, such as the ASUS VivoTab Smart, the same tablet that was used in the aforementioned ad. In the comparison, Microsoft points out the many reasons why the VivoTab is superior, noting its thinner size and lighter weight. Microsoft also includes a diagram of the 9.7-inch iPad next to a 10.1-inch widescreen tablet that looks visibly larger. That image is not to scale, however, as Elliot Temple of Curi.us (via Daring Fireball) details… -
New Colors Rumored for iPhone 5S and Lower-Cost iPhone, Dual LED Flash for iPhone 5S?
23 May 2013 | 1:18 pmMacotakara has released a report with new details on a number of upcoming products, including the rumored low cost iPhone, the iPhone 5S, and the iPad 5. Citing information from several different sources, the site suggests that the low cost iPhone may ship in a number of different colors and that it will begin trial production soon. Color choices for the low cost iPhone remain murky, as the site has heard rumors from two different sources. The first source said that the low cost iPhone will come in colors that include navy, gold orange, white, and gray, while a second source named white,… -
Apple Confirms WWDC Keynote Presentation Will Be Monday June 10th
23 May 2013 | 9:54 amIn an unsurprising announcement, Apple has confirmed that the keynote address for the Worldwide Developers Conference will be at the Moscone Center on June 10, the first day of the conference. The company did not disclose any speakers or agenda, but Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to take the stage with other Apple executives to present new versions of both OS X and the iOS operating systems. Prior WWDC keynotes have started at 10 AM Pacific time. Tickets for the 2013 WWDC sold out in two minutes this year, an all-time record for the event. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Evernote Adds… -
Apple's Tight Control Over Components Keeping iPhone 5 Repair Costs High
23 May 2013 | 7:38 amMarketWatch takes a look at the state of the repair industry for the iPhone 5, noting that costs for display replacements remain very high eight months after the device's launch in the United States. The report points to Apple's tight control over components as being the major contributor to high costs, even as the device's new design makes it simpler to replace the display than on previous models.There is a tight control on iPhone 5 components in the market, [repair firm iCracked founder AJ] Forsythe says. “Market forces determine the price,” he says. “Apple sells about 300,000 iPhones… -
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.
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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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30 Quick Editing Tips Every Content Creator Needs to Know
23 May 2013 | 4:00 amInbox 0: in a bad way. Has your brilliant content still not scored you that dream writing position, lucrative business partnership, or sweet recognition among your peers and target audience? If you think your articles are top-notch, but there’s a lonely tumbleweed blowing through your barren website, it may be because you’re just a writer. You heard me, Gloria. If everybody wants you, why isn’t anybody calling? Once you create a blog or email newsletter, you need to also actively take part in its evolution. While keeping diligent focus on your content production, you must also review… -
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…
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Macworld
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On Android, market share, and watermelons
23 May 2013 | 11:11 amJohn Kirk nicely deconstructs the argument that market share is what matters, showing that Apple is playing a very different game than the one its critics seem to be watching.(techpinions.com) -
The Macalope: Bigger is better just because
23 May 2013 | 11:00 amWriting for the clown show that is Forbes, Darcy Travlos asks the Betteridge’s Law-challenging question “Apple And Google: The New ‘Old’ Reality?” (No link but tip o’ the antlers to the Jony Ive parody account on Twitter yet again.) Uh … no? Huh. IDC’s smartphone operating system rankings released last week showed acceleration in the Google Android platform against the Apple iOS platform in terms of smartphone unit shipments. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here -
Review: Attractive Locus Workstation standing desk an excellent choice
23 May 2013 | 11:00 amFocal Upright’s Locus Workstation is the company’s flagship product. Martin Keen, the man who founded the Keen shoe company, designed this upright desk. After he sold his shoe company, Keen started Focal Upright, and the Locus Workstation began shipping last year. The Locus Workstation is something of a hybrid between an adjustable height desk and a standing desk. The desk is fully adjustable for height and pitch—it can accommodate anyone at a height between 4-feet 1-inch and 6-feet 8-inches—and features a large hand crank that changes the pitch of the desk surface from completely… -
Researchers find more versions of digitally signed Mac OS X spyware
23 May 2013 | 9:47 amSecurity researchers have identified multiple samples of the recently discovered “KitM” spyware for Mac OS X, including one dating back to December 2012 and targeting German-speaking users. KitM (Kumar in the Mac), also known as HackBack, is a backdoor-type program that takes unauthorized screen shots and uploads them to a remote command-and-control (C&C) server. It also opens a reverse shell that allows attackers to execute commands on the infected computers. The malware was initially discovered last week on the Mac laptop of an Angolan activist at the Oslo Freedom Forum, a human… -
Mountain Lion: Which features do you really use?
23 May 2013 | 9:00 amApple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is just over the horizon, and many of us are expecting to hear something about the future of Mac OS X. With that in mind, we cast our minds back to last year’s introduction of Mountain Lion. At the time, many of us were excited about features like integration with iMessages, Notification Center, and AirPlay Mirroring, but a year later, how much have they really impacted our lives? We’d like to hear what you have to say: Do you use these features? Often? Occasionally? Never in a million years? Let us know by filling out the poll below before 11:59…
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ReadWrite
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Nintendo's Epic Fail — Grabbing Copyright From Its YouTube Fans
23 May 2013 | 3:52 pmYou might think that Nintendo, beleaguered by falling revenues, minuscule profit and the almost-but-not-quite-failed launch of the Wii U, already has enough problems to worry about. And you would be wrong, as Nintendo itself set out to demonstrate last week by going out of its way to alienate a bunch of its fans on YouTube. The fans in question make YouTube "playthrough" videos about, well, video games — features that combine elements of commentary, review, tutorial and walk-through. Some of these commentators reach millions of subscribers, and many support themselves in full or in part by… -
Geek Pride Day Is May 25: Here's How To Celebrate
23 May 2013 | 12:54 pmReady to embrace another arbitrary holiday - or just looking for an excuse to slack off and eat cake? Who isn’t? This Saturday, May 25, is internationally known as Geek Pride Day. “But, Pi Day and Star Wars Day already happened,” you might be thinking. Which leads me to retort, “Do you want this holiday or not?” In actuality, Geek Pride Day is the only one of the bunch that works overtime as a general celebration of all types of geekery. 3 Reasons To Geek Out In fact, there is a trifecta of different reasons May 25 is considered the geekiest day in the year. It’s… -
News Flash! Tablets Are Not Smartphones
23 May 2013 | 9:33 amYou probably already knew this, but a new report from Forrester wants to emphasize this seemingly obvious point: Tablets are not simply larger touchscreen smartphones. There are significant difference in where people use them, how they use them and for how long - all of which have big implications for app developers, marketers, tablet makers and a lot of other folks. As the table market continues its white-hot growth - nearly 50 million tablets were sold last quarter alone - these differences will force both innovation and disruption in publishing, advertising, retail, gaming and… -
Shazam's New iPad App Is Designed For Watching TV With A Tablet, Too
23 May 2013 | 8:37 amShazam, an app best known for identifying songs playing around you, is making a big move into identifying all kinds of media playing around you. That promises to move Shazam from our pockets, where its smartphone apps mostly identify songs, to our living rooms—and hence to the tablets we typically keep near our TVs. Those tablets are becoming known as "second screens"—and Shazam wants to have a big presence on them. The most intriguing aspect of Shazam's latest version is its added capability to tag events on live TV in the U.S., a clear sign that Shazam wants to be the gateway app for… -
Google App Engine Cuts Prices By One-Quarter
23 May 2013 | 8:15 amGoogle is reducing Datastore prices by up to 25%, according to an announcement on their Cloud Platform Blog. This price change impacts both App Engines HRD and the new Cloud Datastore introduced last week at I/O. The price decrease is sure to capture the attention of Amazon Web Services, perhaps even to the point of a small cloud price war. (Also read How Amazon's Rising Headwaters Could Threaten Google.)
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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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Photos: She has heckled before
23 May 2013 | 3:32 pm -
Ban maintained on gay adult leaders
23 May 2013 | 3:18 pmDelegates to the annual meeting of the Boy Scouts of America made a monumental statement Thursday, voting to allow openly gay youths to join scouting. -
Obama: Terror threat has shifted
23 May 2013 | 3:05 pmPresident Barack Obama in a major counterterrorism speech defended the American drone program, saying that the strikes are legal and save lives. FULL STORY -
Two boys found dead; brother arrested
23 May 2013 | 2:31 pmA 15-year-old Utah boy was arrested in connection with the slayings of his two younger brothers, ages 4 and 10, who were apparently stabbed to death in their home, authorities said Thursday. -
Drones, Guantanamo
23 May 2013 | 2:28 pmFrom the targeted killing of Americans overseas to the future of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, President Barack Obama will lay out the framework and legal rationale for his administration's counterterrorism policy in a widely anticipated speech Thursday.
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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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The Sony RX100 at Dublin Zoo [USER REVIEW]
23 May 2013 | 1:16 pmby Sarah Hipwell It’s been about four years since my last visit to the zoo. Last week my two girls had a break from school so I decided to take them along with my Mum for a day out to visit the animals at Dublin Zoo. I brought my trusty new Sony RX100 and as a backup I brought my Nikon D300 DSLR. In the end the D300 camera didn’t come out of my bag! I really wanted to test out the RX100 and see how well this compact camera performed in the wild! Actually, I had been interested in purchasing a compact camera for a while now. My husband has taken some great shots with his Retina iPhone. But… -
3 Tips for Taking Portraits that Reflect the Character and Spirit of your Subject
23 May 2013 | 7:57 amA Guest contribution by Hailey Bartholomew from You Can’t Be Serious. 1. Do Something Who are you photographing? If you don’t know them well, find out what they love to do and where they relax the most. Maybe they love to row boats or take picnics at their favourite park every Sunday. Maybe you are photographing your grandmother who loves to be out in her garden. Go and do that with them. Whatever they love to do to relax, tag along with your camera. But don’t sit back on the sidelines hoping to catch a moment from far away – get down and into whatever they are doing. -
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…
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TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog
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Disk Drill file recovery app moves to 2.0 release
23 May 2013 | 4:30 pmWe first looked at Disk Drill from Clever Files back in 2011. Now in its 2.0 release, this app continues to help prevent data loss by enabling you to recover lost files that you've already deleted. The app goes beyond searching your garbage pail. This is meant for users who have already emptied their trash, and need to access that data from the file system. If you haven't used some sort of data shredding app, chances are good that the deleted files are still recoverable. Available in Basic (free), Pro ($89), Expert ($169), and Enterprise ($299), Disk Drill offers a range of products that… -
Turn your photos into a comic book with Halftone 2
23 May 2013 | 4:00 pmWe looked at the original Halftone app for iOS a couple of years ago and were impressed. The app has been completely rewritten and is more touch oriented , supporting vector graphics for smooth insertion of picture elements. Halftone 2, which is iPad-only and was released today, lets you import pictures and create a real comic book look by adding bubbles, banners and other bold graphic elements to your photos. The app also embeds an image editor, so your photos can be filtered to have a more graphic look. There are also tools for fixing blemishes, and the usual contrast, saturation and… -
Amazon's MacBook Air stock dwindles
23 May 2013 | 3:30 pmLast week TUAW reported on the diminishing numbers of MacBook Airs available from third-party retailers like Best Buy. Now the source of that information, AppleInsider, is reporting that Amazon is completely sold out of the 11.6-inch low-end MacBook Air (1.7 GHz Intel Core i5, 64 GB storage) with other models showing that they're "n/a". AppleInsider points out that Amazon's listing for the entry-level 11.6-inch model is "consistent with a discontinued item on Amazon, with no indication that stock will be replenished. In contrast, the online retailer typically portrays a simple stockout with… -
Box acquires Folders, in what sounds like the least exciting acquisition deal ever
23 May 2013 | 3:00 pmFilesharing service Box has acquired the technology behind a French app called Folders, which was never released, but is also centered on browsing and sharing files on the iPhone. Terms of the acquisition weren't revealed, but Box said that Folders would be a big influence on the next few iterations of the filesharing software. The company also noted that its iPhone and iPad apps will be "cleaner, faster and more beautiful throughout 2013." Folders was originally designed as a viewer for Box with an impressive user interface and file viewing features, but now will be "folded" into future… -
Study: Mobile gamers download five titles a month, mostly through word of mouth
23 May 2013 | 2:30 pmA new study released by Applifier says that word of mouth is still the number one way mobile game players find the games they like. That doesn't necessarily mean in-person discussion about mobile games, however, though 36% of users did report that hearing from a friend or family member was a major source of games, and 25% of users said actually seeing a friend or family member play a game was one way they found out about their favorites. 43% of users, however, say reading user reviews was the main way they found what they liked to play. Video is another big game pusher -- 70% of users polled…
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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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Canon still pursuing Foveon-style multi-layer sensor design
23 May 2013 | 11:32 amCanon has patented a color-sensitive multi-layered sensor design, showing the company is still pursuing the technology. Like Sigma's Foveon chips, the multi-layered design allows each of the sensor's pixels to capture color information without the need for colored filters. The patent, discovered by the Japanese Engineering Accomplishment blog, suggests a system to promote resonance within the sensor, in an attempt to make the lower layers of the sensor more sensitive. (from Egami blog) -
Photographer captures concert with DSLR-mounted GoPro
23 May 2013 | 11:20 amIf you've never had the chance to stand in the front row and shoot a live concert, Montreal-based photographer Pierre Bourgault has the next best thing. He attached a GoPro camera to the top of his Canon DSLR and recorded a seven-minute video of his shooting experience at a Dead to Me concert. He then overlaid the actual photos taken at the show, which you can view after the break. -
Leica teases 'Mini M' for 11th June release
23 May 2013 | 9:32 amLeica has placed a teaser on its Facebook page for a new 'Mini M' camera to be launched on June 11th, that apparently will slot into its range between the M rangefinder and the X2 fixed-lens compact. It's given no other details, but we think it could make sense for the company to produce a full-time live view version of the M Typ 240, using the same sensor but with the expensive rangefinder assembly removed. This would result in a 24MP full frame mirrorless camera that would be able to use almost any manual focus SLR or rangefinder lens ever made, without a field-of-view crop. -
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.
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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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Angry Birds Space Named App of the Week, Available for Free
23 May 2013 | 10:03 amRovio's Angry Birds Space has been named Apple's App of the Week, and as a result, both the full iPhone and the iPad version of the game can be downloaded for free for the first time ever. Angry Birds Space features the same bird flinging gameplay found in other Rovio titles, but it incorporates new zero gravity game mechanics and space-themed level design.Angry Birds Space features over 160 interstellar levels on planets and in zero gravity, resulting in spectacular gameplay ranging from slow-motion puzzles to lightspeed destruction. With regular free updates, new in-app purchases, brand new… -
Shazam for iPad Rebuilt as Universal App With Background Auto-Tagging and More
23 May 2013 | 6:35 amShazam was one of the early App Store success stories, offering users the ability to easily identify music by capturing a snippet of the song and matching it against a database to provide title and artist information. The service has since expanded to integrate with the iTunes Store, YouTube, lyrics, and more, with TV shows and ads even adopting Shazam to allow users to easily learn more about the show or product. Shazam has offered separate apps for the iPhone and iPad since 2010, but the company today unveiled a universal version of the iPhone app that includes a completely rebuilt… -
Gmail Management App 'Mailbox' Gains iPad Compatibility
23 May 2013 | 6:07 amPopular email app Mailbox, which launched for iPhone in early February with a reservation system that saw well over one million users sign up before the company eliminated reservations last month, has now gone universal with a native interface for the iPad. ReadWrite has more on the development, including a brief interview with Mailbox founder Gentry Underwood about how designing for the larger tablet screen was actually more difficult than for the iPhone."[Tablets] are these weird hybrid devices that sit in between," said Underwood. "They're part luxury mobile phone, and they're part… -
Microsoft Releases Windows 8 Tablet Ad Highlighting iPad's Flaws, High Price [Updated]
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 points out 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…
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Healthy Beijing: A wellness guide to the city
23 May 2013 | 3:00 pmDespite legendary pollution, Beijing offers access to nature, healthy restaurants and eco-friendly retreatsBeijing has historic attractions, a vibrant culture and, of course, delicious Chinese food. But with its notorious pollution and regular food scandals, it's not a city one equates with health and wellness. But maintaining a healthy lifestyle while visiting Beijing isn't as challenging as you might think. Here's an insider list of nature-friendly spots, wholesome restaurants, organic stores and green escapes in and around Beijing. iReport assignment: What are your favorite spots in… -
Barcelona officials: 'Space hotel' a concept far, far away
23 May 2013 | 7:00 amWe’ll believe it when we see it, but we kind of want to see itGiant ray gun or futuristic hotel? In terms of new architecture, some cities embrace the shiny, the bold, the outrageous. Dubai, for instance, or Shanghai, or even Seoul these days. One city, however, is turning up its nose at one in-your-face building. Plans for a massive man-made island off the coast of Barcelona featuring a 2,000-suite “space hotel,” a covered marina, “zero-gravity” spa and 24-hour mall have been met with something less than enthusiasm from city officials. More on CNN: Insider Guide: What to do in… -
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…
