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Apple Now Accepting iPad Apps, Planning “Grand Opening” of iPad App Store

Apple is now accepting iPad apps for a “grand opening” of the iPad App Store, according to an email just sent to registered developers.
“iPad will begin shipping soon and your opportunity to be part of the grand opening of the iPad App Store starts today,” the email says.
There’s no details about when the store’s grand [...]

Security Expert: “Mac OS X Is Safer, But Less Secure”

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Tech site H-Online has an interesting story today, quoting security expert Charlie Miller about his forthcoming talk at the CanSecWest conference next week.
He says OS X is full of security holes. There are lots more than in Windows, he claims.
And yet: OS X is a safer system to use. Why? Because, in the words [...]

Apple Devotes Entire Home Page To Jerome York Obituary

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If ever you needed a sign that Apple was a different kind of technology company, this is it.
What other computer manufacturer would remove its top-selling, hype-inducing, industry-altering new product from the prime spot on its website home page, and replace it with an obituary to an investor?
This is one of those “Here’s to the [...]

Coming Soon: Steve Jobs, the Sitcom

Fake Steve creator Dan Lyons just signed a deal to bring Steve Jobs to another small screen near you.
The half-hour series called “iCon” is billed by the presser as “a savage satire centering on a fictional Silicon Valley CEO whose ego is a study in power and greed.”
Making sure the barbs prick will be the [...]

Cameras

Full category list for displayed posts: Cameras, Interviews, iPhone 3G S, video

Director Eschews Film, Shoots Music Video Entirely With iPhones

It’s not like director Tom De Nolf doesn’t have 35mm film cameras and a bunch of other video-making tech at his disposal; no, De Nolf was so surprised by the video capability of his recently purchased 3GS that he chose to shoot the above music video using just three iPhones.

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Canon Answers Nikon With Its Own Instant Rebate Sale

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thanks for the photo flickr friend Gareth Courage!

It’s Hanukkah come early! Well, not really, but Canon’s fresh new instant rebate sale may have you itching to light up that menorah!

Most likely a response to Nikon’s recently announced instant rebate sale, Canon’s sale is actually pretty impressive. They’ve definitely got Nikon beat in the sheer variety of lenses that qualify for the instant rebate, and they are even including two flashes in the lineup.

So if you’ve been itching for some new Canon gear, now has just become an excellent time to start scratching. You have until April 3rd to cash in on any of the rebate options below.

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Nikon Brings Back Its Instant Rebate Savings Program

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Is it time to upgrade your SLR? thanks for the pic John Kratz on Flickr!

If you’ve been coveting a shiny new Nikon DSLR and have daydreams of upgrading, now is a great time to tickle your fancy—Nikon’s instant rebate savings sale has begun.

Until March 27th, you can save a bunch of money any one of Nikon’s four most popular lenses when you buy it along with any Nikon DSLR body. The amount of the rebate will depend on which lense you buy:

  • Buy the 70-200mm with any SLR and get a $400.00 instant rebate
  • Buy the 24-70mm with any SLR and get a $300 instant rebate
  • Buy the 24-120mm with any SLR and get a $200.00 instant rebate
  • Buy the 18-200mm VRII with any SLR and get a $250.00 instant rebate

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Nik Software’s Sharpener 3 Pro Is Essential For Photographers [Review]

I’m always on the lookout for photography tools that are easy-to-use and help me turn good photos into great ones.

Nik Software’s Sharpener Pro 3 ($199.95), a plug-in for Aperture, Lightroom and Photoshop, does just that, which is probably why I find myself utilizing it pretty much any time I do a photo shoot.

With two sharpening modes, RAW and Output, NSP3 is built to handle all your photo sharpening needs. If you’d like to handle all your image sharpening from start to finish with NSP3, you can turn off your camera’s sharpening features and use NSP3’s RAW mode. Or, if you’re like me and your camera generally does a good job at handling sharpening tasks, NSP3’s Output mode works wonderfully to enhance photos that have already been pre-sharpened by a camera.

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Why Camera Genius Is The Go-To Camera App For iPhone [Review]

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With limited space on the home screen of my iPhone, only the best apps get any real estate. Well, Apple’s Camera app has had its spot officially usurped by Camera Genius ($1.99). And for good reason.

Published by CodeGoo, Camera Genius is full of extra camera features that leave you wondering, why didn’t Apple think of these? Notable favorites include digital zoom, six different line guides, a timed shutter, and most useful, a feature dubbed “Big Button” that turns your entire screen into a shutter button―super useful when you’re trying to take a self portrait with your friends or significant other. Other cool features include a burst mode, sound activated shutter, and anti-shake.

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Sony Churns Out Seven New Point-n-Shoots, Two New Standouts And One Big Change

The Cyber-shot DSC-HX5, one of seven new point-n-shoots from Sony

LAS VEGAS — Out of the seven (!!) new Cyber-shot models on display at the sprawling Sony “booth,” the two at the very top end grabbed my attention and shook it vigorously. The 14mp, $400 DSC-TX7 and the 10mp, $350 DSC-HX5 are quite different from each other, but share four really cool features.

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CES: Tiffen Releases Steadicam Smoothee For iPhone 3GS

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LAS VEGAS — OK, you got your iPhone 3GS. You record your video. It shakes and wobbles and wibbles all over the place, but no-one minds because that’s what they expect from hand-held video recording.

Not any more, though.

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CES: Hands-On With Samsung’s Nifty NX10 Compact DSLR



LAS VEGAS — Camera snobs are up in arms about Samsung’s brand new NX10 compact DSLR, which is built on a proprietary lens format, making it incompatible with thousands of lenses out there.

But the NX10 isn’t aimed at lens junkies. It’s meant for soccer moms looking to step up from point-and-shoots, who could give two-hoots that the NX10 is incompatible with other cameras’ lenses.

A quick hands-on at CES gives the impression that Samsung hit the sweet spot. Wifey and I have 30,000 digital pictures of the kids, most of them terrible because they were taken with point-and-shoots. The NX10 is the kind of camera we might like: easy to use, easy to carry around and capable of taking damn fine pictures.

Playing around with it, I can say the NX10 is a well-built, fast and responsive camera that promises the quality pictures of a DSLR without the bulk or complexity.

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CES: Eye-Fi Pro X2 Self-Cleaning Memory Card

If you take a lot of photos, you know it’s all about storage and organization.

Enter Eye-Fi’s Pro X2 8GB Wi-Fi memory card with Endless Memory Mode.

The software recognizes the pics and videos that have already been uploaded and wipes them from the card faster than you forgot which co-worker you slurred sweet nothings to at the company Christmas party. (The self-cleaning card may also help curb bad habits, if, like me, you tend to leave stuff on the camera out of  laziness or fear and loathing of iPhoto).

What else has it got? Class 6 read and write speeds for a minimum transfer speed of 6 MBs and Wi-Fi with built-in 802.11n,  plus a bunch of features for sharing your pics: geotagging, free HotSpot access for a year, uploading to Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, MobileMe and YouTube (and it’ll also alert you via text message when your photos are uploading).

Price: $150.

I grabbed the Eye-Fi 4GB for my mom after realizing her new point-and-shoot came sans memory card — for $80, it’s been a great buy.

Via Wired

CES: TV Reporter Is Shooting Tech Show With iPhone And Owle Video Rig


LAS VEGAS — Ed Curran is a reporter for WBBM-TV in Chicago, and he’s shooting CES using an iPhone.

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Top 10 Camera Tips For Becoming a Better Photographer

Dogs at dusk.  Wonderful colors.  Image courtesy of mayhem on Flickr.

Dogs at dusk. Wonderful colors. Image courtesy of mayhem on Flickr.

‘Tis the season to get and give presents, and with prices through the floor, many will have gotten new digital cameras this year. If you’re one of the lucky ones who received a nice shiny new SLR camera, here are 10 tips that will help you become the next Ansel Adams.

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Review: Pocketable Pentax Optio WS80 Waterproof Camera Dampens Enthusiasm With Marginal Performance

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In a sea of bulky, boxy waterproof cameras that do little to encourage stashing them in a pocket and bringing along for the ride, the Pentax Optio WS80 is a refreshing change — it’s tiny, and practically begs to be stuck in a pocket and brought on the next romp. But that scaled-down size is at least in part responsible for scaled-down performance.

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The Phone-O-Matic: An iPhone, an SLR lens and some duct tape

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Through a glass viewed darkly, if not even muculently: the iPhone camera stinks.

To be fair, that’s not entirely Apple’s fault. While there are certainly better camera sensors out there than the one Apple chose to install as the retina in their little iBall, there’s a clear correlation between sensor size and image quality when it comes to digital cameras, and you can only make a cell phone’s sensor so big.

Nothing to be done about the sensor then. But like a fly hovering over hamburger, gadget tinkerer Bhautik Joshi had a seemingly stupid question buzzing around in his brain meats: can you improve the quality of the images the iPhone takes by attaching an old Canon SLR lens?

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Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 Camera Is One Ruggedized Point-and-Shoot

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Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-TS1 shockproof camera is designed for outdoor activities like mountain climbing and scuba diving, but for this accident-prone mom, it’s tough enough for birthday parties, school trips and Saturday soccer matches.

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ReelDirector Brings iMovie To The iPhone 3GS

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ReelDirector is a mobile movie-making app that brings iMovie-like video editing to the iPhone.

With ReelDirector, you can trim clips, add text and transitions, and even edit different clips together. Currently, the iPhone’s built-in video editing capabilities are limited to just trimming clips. With this app, you can forget those limits.

ReelDirector is pretty easy to use. It has a huge feature list, which makes it possible to do most of the stuff that you do on iMovie, natively on the iPhone.

  • ‘Stitch together’ different pieces of clip using the ‘drag and drop timeline’ interface similar to Apple’s built-in clip editing UI.
  • Make simple edits and preview these edits easily.
  • Choose from a variety of transitions to add or change for each separate clip.
  • Add Text watermarks with different styles and several different positions.

Briefly, it’s a great utility to create short family clips or beautify some worthy moments. ReelDirector is currently available for $7.99 on the AppStore and is currently at the 60th position amongst the Top Grossing Applications.

ReelDirector is developed by a group of developers at nexvio, which specializes in producing such innovative Video and Image editing solutions for the iPhone platform.

Photoshop Elements 8 Due In October, Adds Slew of Smart Fixes

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Version 8 of Adobe’s popular Photoshop Elements photo-editing software is coming to the Mac in October, adding several new intelligent photo fixes, such as Photomerge Exposure, previewing a range of adjustments and one-click fixes for skin, skies and teeth.

Photoshop Elements 8 adds about a dozen new photo editing features or enhancements, including the ability to share photos via iPhone.

Known as “Photoshop Lite,” Elements brings a lot of the power of Adobe’s flagship editing suite to non-professionals, thanks to its stripped-down interface and well-implemented help options.

“We’ve simplified the editing process, without taking away any of the power, and incorporated smart tools with built-in intelligence to bring once difficult tasks, within reach of everyone,” said Adobe executive Doug Mack in a statement.

Guided Edit for example, new in version 8, walks the user through both basic editing operations like removing scratches and blemishes, and artistic effects like line drawing.

Another new smart fix, Photomerge Exposure, combines two shots — one with flash, the other with flash off — into a single, well-lit photo. See above.

Photoshop Elements was first released for the Mac in 2006 and has gained a slew of new features and enhancements in meantime. Here’s what’s new in version 8, and the list of comparison features between versions.

The $99 software (or $79 pre-order after a $20 rebate) is compatible with Snow Leopard. It requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or better.

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