Back in April I wrote:

It should become a standard practice when you register your domain name that you go ahead and register that name as a user on Twitter. Currently it cost nothing to register for a Twitter account which means there is no acceptable excuses for not protecting an interest in name.
Name Dropping – Gizmotastic April 22, 2009

Today I stumbled across an article Adam Ostrow wrote at Mashable.com that Godaddy has now added Twitter registration to their domain process and the Domain Manager.

To use the feature, just login to your GoDaddy account and click on any of your domain names to access the manager (where you also go to do things like update name servers). There’s now a Twitter option under “Domain Enhancements” from which you can check your username availability.
GoDaddy Wants You to Go Twitter Mashable July 3, 2009.

I’m not going to say that GoDaddy got the idea from the post from three months ago, the company is full of smart people. I will say that it is a good move. Too often people do not realize that all domain names has a future as brand name. If a domain is every going to gain value the investor/register should treat it as one right out of the gate. Godaddy is doing the right thing by helping the customers understand they need to protect their brand and identity. Like Godaddy or hate them, the company has control of the largest customer base, so it pays to watch which direction they are going. If they the idea here, perhaps they will send a T-shirt, tickets to a race in the area or a nice promo codes.

What do you think about the Twitter addition to the Godaddy experience?

BTW – If anyone is looking for a domain name that is golf related I’ve got one that is a short .COM, has good traffic and a page rank of 3. Just shot me an e-mail or a DM on Twitter.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Check Out the Twitters on That GoDaddy Girl – Name Dropping Revisited

Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr on the moon with the Apollo 11 mission. Neil Armstrong took the photograph with a Hasselblad. It is Armstrong reflection in the visor.

July 20, 1969. It’s almost been 40 years since Apollo 11 touched down on the moon. The photograph of Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon is one of the most recognizable of the Space Race era and the twentieth century. The excitement of that landing seems almost unmatched by any other landmark the space program reach simply because up until that point it seemed impossible until then.

All the nostalgia about the moon landing had me looking at the Hasselblad website and I found they marking the event in grand fashion. Hasselblad is offering a chance for photographers or space fans to have once in a lifetime experience at Kennedy Space Center with Buzz Aldrin to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing when they pick-up an out of this world camera. The Hasselblad company is giving an all expenses paid trip to Kennedy Space Center with the purchase of their H3DII-50 or H3DII-60 cameras.

Hasselblad customers who purchase an H3Dll-50 or H3Dll-60 camera between July 1^st and August 21^st 2009 will be eligible for an all expenses paid* trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA between September 24th and 26th 2009.

*Certain restrictions apply to airfare.
Hasselblad website

The Hasselblad cameras have been in the U.S. space program from almost as long as there has been a space program. It started when astronaut Walter M. Schirra went to a camera shop¹ in Houston, Texas and purchased a off the shelf Hasselblad 500 C. NASA then modified the camera for Schirra to take on his Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7) mission in 1962. From that point NASA and the little camera company from Sweden started a cooperation that lead to some of the most memorable photographs of 20^th century. There is a lot of information about the Hasselblad space cameras here. If you are into GEO tagging photographs then you will want to pay attention to the Hasselblad 203S used on shuttle missions.

Here are some of the other nuggets of information buried in the small print of the Hasselblad website:

At the event, guests will be able to mingle with fellow professional photographers, industry insiders, and journalists, attend a gala dinner featuring a special lunar photography presentation by Buzz Aldrin, receive a “Condensed” Hasselblad University training course, participate in professional training sessions, and to take part in instructional lectures and other activities designed to help photographers get the most from their Hasselblad gear.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear about lunar photography from one of the men who was actually there, capturing some of the most famous images of our time. It is also a unique opportunity to meet Hasselblad CEO Christian Poulsen and the designers behind the Hasselblad H System cameras and lenses to discuss both the past and future of camera design.

It In addition, a special guided photo tour of the Kennedy Space Center will give participants an unforgettable, behind the scenes look at the world’s most advanced spaceport. Photographs taken during the tour will also be entered in a contest with valuable Hasselblad prizes presented to the winners on the second day of the event.

If this has got you all excited about ordering the Hasselblad H3Dll-50 or H3Dll-60, I’ve checked at Adorama, B&H Photo and Amazon are all showing the SKUs for the H3DII’s right now.

Sadly I’m not going to ordering one without selling my truck, taking second mortgage on the dog and the house then talking the kids into forgetting college. When I got my first Hasselblad 500 CM in 1982 (or 1983), Hasselblad gave away a copy of the Hasselblad Manual signed by Ernst Wildi and Hasselblad logo airline bag. The Manual is one the best text on the technical aspects of photography and Hasselblad System as any book I have ever read.

1 – I could not find the name of the camera shop in Houston, Texas that Schirra bought the Hasselblad 500 C at, if anyone knows I would love to know just for history’s sake.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Hassleblad Is Offering a Chance to Meet Up With Space History

It looks like some of the folks that went to pay their respects to Michael Jackson at the Staples Center went with the intention of casingh in. Today there are as many reports of the programs on Ebay as there are programs from Michael Jackson’s funeral.

Now that Jackson is dead just about everything about him is going to be capitalized on. The custody battle for his children will also have role in the business affairs of Jackson’s music. By the time the children are fully grown this could be billions of dollars of royalties and someone is going to be paid to be the guardian of those assets.

What do you think. Is selling the memorial program going too far? Are you tired of the coverage of Michael Jackson’s death?

Official Michael Jackson Memorial Program *MINT* Gold

US $252.00 (16 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jul-09-2009 23:51:53 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

V.I.P Michael Jackson Memorial Program with Ticket

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MICHAEL JACKSON FUNERAL MEMORIAL PROGRAM BROCHURE

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Michael Jackson Memorial Program - GOLD

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MICHAEL JACKSON MEMORIAL PROGRAM

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Michael Jackson Memorial Program Package - Rare Set

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Michael Jackson Memorial Program & Obituary, 3 pc set

US $152.50 (11 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 2:26:34 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Michael Jackson Memorial 3pc Program, Obituary & Letter

US $152.50 (16 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 2:44:09 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Michael Jackson Original Memorial Program Book

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Michael Jackson GOLD Memorial Program/VIP Ticket/P.Tix

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Michael Jackson Memorial program,ticket and wristband

US $351.00 (26 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 7:22:06 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Michael Jackson Staples Center Memorial service Program

US $280.00 (36 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 7:27:00 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Michael Jackson Memorial Program, Ticket, and Wristband

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MICHAEL JACKSON MEMORIAL PROGRAM Gold Free Shipping

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Michael Jackson Funeral Memorial Program Plus 2hr Video

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Michael Jackson Memorial Program, Ticket, Wristband

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OFFICIAL MICHAEL JACKSON MEMORIAL PROGRAM GOLD

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Michael Jackson Memorial Program and Ticket

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Michael Jackson Memorial Program GOLD

US $158.49 (12 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 9:32:39 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Michael Jackson Memorial Gold Program & Ticket

US $226.49 (11 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 9:47:10 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Michael Jackson Memorial Program Book STAPLES CENTER

US $152.50 (20 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 9:53:18 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

(2) Uncirculated GOLD Michael Jackson Memorial Programs

US $299.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 9:55:41 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

MICHAEL JACKSON MEMORIAL PROGRAM GOLD KING OF POP!!

US $101.00 (14 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 10:24:46 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

MICHAEL JACKSON MEMORIAL PROGRAM -GOLD KING OF POP!!

US $102.50 (21 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 10:27:12 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Cashing In For Paying Respect

I didn’t watch the Michael Jackson memorial today, I had a strong feeling that it would be replayed throughout 2009. The whole memorial had a weird vibe to it starting with the lottery style drawing to get a seat to the memorial to the gold plated casket manufactured by Batesville. I haven’t had a chance to ask my Dad if had a gold plated casket at the funeral home. I think the closest he has came to burying a celebrity was Paul Simon’s father-in-law’s funeral.

There was one thing that I read that stuck out when I read it. Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jr was one of many scheduled guest to eulogize Jackson. Magic shared a story of eating with Jackson and how he found out that Michael Jackson was a fan of Kentucky Fried Chicken. YUM brands had to love that. Wallstreet was unaffected by the news the stock price of YUM stayed the same losing only 34¢ for the day. I wasn’t surprised that he liked some type of fast food, I’m sure in his early days the Jackson family had eat out at a few fast food restaurants. There was something about reading the KFC reference Johnson made that had me thinking of fast food to finish off the day.

At first I thought I might grab some KFC while I was out. The drive home was full of quick in and out restaurants, it’s about the same in every town. You’ll find McDonald, Wendys, KFC, Pizza Hut (or Hut), Subway, Quiznos, Long John Silvers and then there is the one that has me signaling a right turn every time – Krystal. Then it hit me, had the King of Pop never tried a Krystal? I’m pretty sure if he had a few those square hamburgers on the steamed bun he would have been serving to Magic Johnson whenever the two of them got together.

How could anyone pick chicken over the perfect combination of ground beef, pickle, fried onion and mustard on fresh steamed bun? There is no comparison between a Krystal and a piece of fried chicken. Maybe Michael Jackson had lived sheltered life if he never got to enjoy one of these culinary treats.

We know Elvis loved the Krystal hamburgers. There were numerous Elvis sightings at different Krystal locations before and after his death. Surely if the Krystal burger was good enough for The King it would be equally as good the King of Pop.

A little research showed me that the reason Michael might not have gone for a sack full of Krystals was probably more geography than taste. The burger chain which began down down the road in Chattanooga, TN. is only in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia with 387 restaurants. I’m sure if he had just one Krystal Neverland Ranch would have been constructed closer to Graceland. There are some advantages of living in the south.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Maybe Michael Jackson Never Tasted of a Krystal

Today Techcrunch has a post that a source in the Apple supply chain has told them Apple has increased it’s ordering  of $10 video camera assemblies. The source for the article say this can only mean that the cameras will be installed in Apple’s iPod Touch based on the number ordered and the sales rate of iPhones currently.

If this rumor turns into fact it would be a game changer in a lot of leagues.  The existing features of iPod Touch with the added video camera makes the iPod Touch a direct threat to The Flip which is only a video camera.

Considering the owner base of iPods and their replacement cycle of the portable media device this means that more video equipment would roaming the earth. The byproduct of that would be more active content sharing users to video sharing websites like YouTube.

For journalist the video camera addition possibly mean that breaking news along with video can be shared as soon as they are on the scene. There is already a small army of reporters already using the iPhone in their news gathering workflow.  The Missouri University School of Journalism is now requiring students entering the program to purchase an Apple iPod Touch or iPhone. The reason is so students can fact check and write stories while still in the field. Not a bad idea, I use my iPod Touch to blog from once or twice a week. The schools logic for this requirement is that if the device was made a requirement then federal student would cover the cost of the player/Internet appliance. When I went off J school The Associated Press Stylebook was the only required item, a typewriter was suggested.

My son will be starting college in about a month and is considering journalism (I think it’s now called communication/electronic media/or some other buzzword) and I’m considering sending him off the iPhone or iPod Touch. Even though it’s not required I think he should start out with the understanding that he is entering a field that will always be evolving.

Revisiting Judge Richard Posner

On the 29^th of June I had story about Richard Posner’s blog where he wrote that a stricter copyright law can keep the newspaper industry afloat. Under the Posner plan a news aggregator would have to ask for and receive permission to link to an article or they would be in violation of the copyright law. Posner is the Chief Judge for the Seventh Circuit in the federal court system and a blogger.

Simon Owens at Bloggams also found the Posner plan flawed. He cited that a link on the Huffington Post will bring more traffic than search engines, social bookmarks and backlink traffic. His blog received 37739 visitors from a link on The HoPo. That was 3.5 times more traffic than the next nearest traffic source, which was from the search engine Google.

This debunks Posner’s belief that aggrerators are robbing (news) websites of traffic. If the consent to link scheme were in effect at the time Simon may not have been linked to or seen that burst of traffic.

Not all traffic is gold. Raw traffic it is more akin to hard rock gold mining. Once you the traffic arrives at the site there is going to some that pop-in/pop-out viewers that will never to return and there will some visitors that will not interact with the advertising on the site. Once all the rock traffic shakes loose from the vein of ore, the gold comes out when it returns often to the site and clicks the advertising.

The burning question is how well does the Huffington (or other aggregated) traffic monetize?

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Touchy News Stories

For better or worse Twitter has become an indicator of breaking news like the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. The other edge of that sword Twitter has become a way to get fictional items to spread as fast, like Jeff Goldblum’s death.  Just this evening a group was able to trend the topic of Miley Cyrus being pregnant.

I’ve wondered when someone RT (retweets) a report of some tragic news if they ask themselves how creditable is the source before the hit send. The delay that TV, newspapers and radio has in reporting these news events has more to do with fact checking than just being slow out of the gate. When a news agency runs with a story without checking the facts and it’s caught that reporter and maybe even the editor or producer let it slide without checking the facts faces a strong chance off being released from that position.

We don’t hold people on Twitter to that same standard. It’s forgotten who actually started the rumor. What if we decided to ‘unfollow’ the ones that started the false tweets or the ones relaying them? What if the complaint about the user was brought to Twitter’s attention, would they cancel that account? It’s worth considering.

Twitter is a useful tool for communicating and broadcasting a quick note or where to turn for a breaking news report. With a Tweet only capable of carrying a payload of 140 characters of less at a time it’s still not ready for prime time until everyone using it for good. To get Twitter to the point of a trusted source folks are going to have to exercise due diligence and start fact checking.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Take Every Tweet With a Grain of Salt

Steve McNair as a Baltimore Raven in 2007 | Photo-Keith Allison Creative Commons

The man who almost lead the Tennessee Titans to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV has been found shot to death in Nashville, TN. today.

Steve McNair was found shot to death with an unnamed female at a condo on Lea Avenue in Music City. Two days earlier (July) a 2007 Cadillac Escalade that was registered to McNair and Sahel Kazemi was stopped by Nashville Metro Police Department and the driver Kazemi was arrested for driving under the influence and violation the implied consent law (refusing to take a breathalyzer test). Police had towed a black Cadillac Escalade from the condominium complex where McNair and the unidentified woman were found today.

The Nashville Post reports that sources have told them that around 2 a.m. on the of the morning that McNair was found dead he was confronted by a 20 year old woman at the Blue Moon Lagoon. The story has that the woman was accusing McNair of slipping the date rape drug Rohypnol in her drink a year ago and said “that her boyfriend was going to kill him.”

Update

Police are confirming that Sahel Kazemi was the woman found with McNair. Other details were that McNair was shot multiple times and Kazemi was shot once to the head. Regarding Kazemi’s arrest, her former boyfriend, Keith Norfleet, told The Tennessean that Steve McNair was in the Cadillac at the time it was stop, but it was not on any papers about the arrest.

With all the unflattering news coming to light, I thought that some the highlights of his career should get equal time. Steve McNair leaves behind his wife, Mechelle and four sons, Junior, Steven, Tyler, and Trenton. Steve McNair and The Steve McNair Foundation have supported charities that included the Boy and Girls Clubs, Katrina Relief and had sent more than 5,000 young players to football camp in the past 10 years.

He was quarterback at Alcorn State University. In 1994 he won the Walter Payton award top I-AA player and was third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. McNair was the third pick in the first round of the NFL draft pick taken by the Houston Oilers. As a quarterback for the young Tennessee Oilers he helped take the team to Super Bowl XXXIV where they faced and lost to the St. Louis Rams 23-16. He was selected for the Pro Bowl in 2000, 2003 and 2005. In 2003 Associated Press National Football League Most Valuable Player (AP NFL MVP) Award selection he was tapped as Co-MVP along Peyton Manning.

I had a chance to interview him in 2001. At the time he seemed like a man that appreciated the support he had received from Tennessee. He was excited about his charitable foundation he recently stated and was hoping to give back the city that made feel like he was home. Some athletes are not fond of giving interviews and their tone tells it. Steve McNair seemed to have no problem taking a few a minutes to talk about the past season and the plan for the next. When I heard of his death today the first thing that came to my mind was how I wished more pro athletes had his great attitude when they had deal with the media.

Steve McNair’s Career Stats

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Former Titan’s QB Steve McNair Found Murdered in Music City

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announces that she will step down as the office and will not seek reelection. Photo by State Of Alaska Gov. Press Office

Alaska Governor and political lighting rod Sarah Palin is stepping down as the Governor and will not seek reelection for that office. In her normal fashion she took no questions.

The timing of this announcement is too early to make a run for President in 2012. This follows the release of several e-mails between her and the McCain campaign about her husband’s, Todd Palin, involvement in an Anti-American group that wanted Alaska to separate from the United States.

The text from Palin’s speech as released by her press relations department:

Governor Palin Announces No 2nd Term

No Lame Duck Session Either

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-167

GOVERNOR PALIN ANNOUNCES NO SECOND TERM NO LAME DUCK SESSION EITHER July 3, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin announced today that she will not seek a second term as Governor of the State of Alaska and will relegate the power of governor to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell in order to serve Alaska’s best interests. Lieutenant General Craig Campbell will move into Parnell’s current role.

“People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing’s more important to me than our beloved Alaska,” said Governor Palin. “Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine.”

Standing outside her home in Wasilla, Alaska, Governor Palin reflected upon some of the administration’s accomplishments for Alaska as she approaches her final year in office.

“I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is not the easiest path,” said Governor Palin after the announcement. “Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional ‘Lame Duck’ status in this particular climate would just be another dose of ‘politics as usual,’ something I campaigned against and will always oppose. It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success. I look forward to helping others – to fight for our state and our country, and campaign for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops, and energy independence.” The transfer of power will occur following the Governor’s picnic in Fairbanks on July 26. At that point in time, Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell will be sworn in and Lieutenant General Craig Campbell will assume his role as Lieutenant Governor. Governor Palin will spend July 4th in Juneau. ### Selected Accomplishments of the Palin Administration

General

* Transferred more control of public issues to the local level Natural Resources
* Created the Petroleum Systems Integrity Office to oversee responsible development
* Held the line for Alaskans on Point Thomson that encouraged drilling
* Restructured the state’s oil taxes to create a clear and equitable valuation formula for our oil and gas
* Initiated and implemented the largest energy project in the world through the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act
* Removed government from the dairy business and put it back into private-sector hands

Ethics

* Ushered in ethics reform
* Cleaned up previously accepted unethical actions affecting development

Fiscal Notes

* Slowed the rate of government growth
* Worked with the Legislature to place billions of dollars in savings
* Vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars in capital budget line items
* Reduced Alaska’s dependence on federal earmarks by nearly 85%
* Eliminated state-funded personal luxuries like the jet, the chef, and junkets
* Refused a pay raise, along with the Lieutenant Governor

Education

* Provided unprecedented support for education initiatives Public Safety
* Filled long-vacant public safety positions over the last year Corrections
* Broke ground on the new state prison

Fish and Game

* Maintained biologically-sound wildlife management for abundance Environment
* Established first sub-Cabinet on climate change

Legal

* State’s rights protected in two recent victories handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court

###

What do you think about Palin’s exit from the Governor’s Office? If you would rather leave a voicemail than a written post here’s your chance. Simply click the Call Me button and enter your phone number and the system will call you to record you message. Please leave your e-mail so I can verify that the message left is a legitimate comment. I’ll will post some, if not all the messages, left unless you don’t wish to have it shared. Just keep the response on topic, refrain from personal attacks and no foul language. This is a free service and I’m beta testing this as an addition to the commenting that is already in place.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Palin is Stepping Down…

Following all the e-mails, here it is the step by step on how you too can add your Twitter flock to your Wordpress powered blog. You can get this running in under five minutes thanks to the new improved Wordpress admin panel. One thing to remember is that the images are being called in from Amazon’s S3 storage and it may take an hour for the images to first show up on your page. Be patient, changing the settings then publishing again and again could lead to more frustration as it will only delay your first feed.

1 – From the plugins panel select Add New.

2 – Search for Twitter Friends.

3 – Select Install

4 – Activate the Twitter Friends Widget

5 – Go to Settings for Twitter Friends. This should be at the far left bottom when you first activate the plugin.

6 – In the Twitter Friends options sets add your Twitter user name and password then save. Select if you want to show your friends or followers.

>

7 – Create a new page, not post, then switch to HTML mode on the edit area and add the following code:

[twitter-friends title="My Twitter Friends" limit="300" type="friends" size="normal"]

The variables you can change here are title where you can give your flock any title you want, limit where you set the maxium number of Twitters you want to show, if you have million followers you may not want choke the server down there Ashton. The type is either “friends” or “followers” which you want to show, I selected followers as a “thanks for the follow” gesture. Finally the size is the size you want your Twitter’s profile photo to be, you have three choices “mini”, “normal” or “bigger”.

After you can entered all your choices you can hit publish or you add some copy to explain the page to people who may not be up to speed on Twitter. Once you have done these simple steps you should have a page that looks like the Flock of Twitters page. Additionally the plugin has a sidebar widget you can add to your sidebar.

Here is a small example of how it will look:

The Flock

I hope you found this a quick and easy article and you were able to get your flock proudly displayed on your blog. When you do leave a comment with the URL where you have yours up at.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Publishing Your Flock of Followers

Blue Jay.egg on Aviary.

My all time favorite working lens is the Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 manual focus which I keep on a FM2 or F3 depending on how much weight I wanted to carry around. Keep mind that I’m talking about the film days. On another camera body I had a Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 for wide shots. I kept a Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 and a Nikkor 180 f/2.8 in the camera bag I carried for when the need arised for either. Also in the bag is three Vivitar 283 strobes, but that’s an entirely different story.

The reasons the 105 is my go to lens are because it’s super sharp, small, rather fast at f/2.5 and has a shallow depth of field to separate the subject from the rest of the scene. The short telephoto as allowed me to make and capture eye contact with a subject without moving into their comfort zone. When Nikon quite production on the 105mm f/2.5 I picked up another one just in case…

Since the move to digital I had to adjust to several changes that weren’t in my usual photographic routine, one of the biggest changes was autofocus (AF) lenses. I had avoided AF altogether while shooting film. I worked for a camera store when the first AF lenses where coming out and I wasn’t impressed – they were slower than I operated and just felt child’s toy when you held them. I was forced to add some newer glass in the wide angle department because the DX format multiplies the focal length and all I could get was AF. Fortunately the engineers at Nikon have improved the speed and optical bench on the latest generation of lenses.

When I decided to buy a small dSLT to use for personal photos when I’m out walking around I went for the “kit” that had the Nikkor18-55mm and 55-200 VR lenses, the price was right and the overall weight wasn’t like my working bag. What I found was that I was keeping the 55-200 lens on the camera all the time. Granted it is not the fastest ship in the Nikon Armada and it is not perfect through the whole range of focal length and aperture settings as Nikon’s higher price lenses. Where is lens shines is in it’s size, focal range and vibration reduction (VR).

The photograph above isn’t the greatest, but when you consider how I shot it you can see how this lens shows it’s strength. The lens was at 200mm (or 300mm in 35mm format) at f/5.6 with a 1/60 second exposure at 800 I.S.O. and taken at 7:30pm under a canopy of trees, all while being hand held. The photo on the screen can’t match the colors and sharpness I got when I printed the photo out on an Epson Stylus Photo R2880 printer. If I had taken the photo without a VR lens there wouldn’t be much to see. For a lens targeted for the casual user the 55-200mm VR Nikkor is ultimate sleeper that packs a lot of bang for the money. It has earned a place in my around neighborhood and recreational photography equipment line-up.

In Case You Haven’t Noticed…
I’m in the middle of a layout change and adding some extra features since moving to a new server. I’ve had a lot of e-mails about the Flock of Twitters page and wanting to know how it is down. Sorry if I haven’t answered all you yet, but I will post a how-to with screen shots later today if you are wanting to add something similar.

Nikkor 55-200mm VR Lens on Ebay

52mm FILTER Kit 52 mm for NIKON D40 D60 18-55 55-200 VR

US $16.49 End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 11:48:23 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $16.49 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon Nikkor 55~200 VR DX Zoom lens

US $175.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 13:18:57 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

NIKON 55-200mm VR AFS DX ZOOM NIKKOR LENS 55-200 mm

US $209.95 End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 19:00:49 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $209.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

52mm FILTER Kit 52 mm for NIKON D40 D60 18-55 55-200 VR

US $16.49 End Date: Saturday Jul-11-2009 11:40:41 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $16.49 Buy it now | Add to watch list

52mm FILTER Kit 52 mm for NIKON D40 D60 18-55 55-200 VR

US $16.49 End Date: Saturday Jul-11-2009 19:38:42 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $16.49 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon 55-200mm VR LENS KIT F D40X D80 D200 D300 55-200

US $229.99 End Date: Saturday Jul-11-2009 19:45:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $229.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon 55-200mm VR LENS KIT F D40X D80 D200 D300 55-200

US $249.99 End Date: Saturday Jul-11-2009 20:43:53 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $249.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

52mm FILTER Kit 52 mm for NIKON D40 D60 18-55 55-200 VR

US $16.49 End Date: Sunday Jul-12-2009 8:02:21 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $16.49 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon 55-200mm VR LENS KIT F D40X D80 D200 D300 55-200

US $229.99 End Date: Sunday Jul-12-2009 11:05:03 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $229.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

52mm FILTER Kit 52 mm for NIKON D40 D60 18-55 55-200 VR

US $16.49 End Date: Sunday Jul-12-2009 20:18:22 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $16.49 Buy it now | Add to watch list

NIKON 55-200mm VR AFS DX ZOOM NIKKOR LENS 55-200 mm

US $149.95 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Jul-12-2009 21:00:00 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

AF-S DX VR Nikon 55-200 f/4.5-5.6 IF-ED NIB

US $153.51 (7 Bids) End Date: Sunday Jul-12-2009 22:47:40 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Nikon 55-200mm VR LENS KIT F D40X D80 D200 D300 55-200

US $249.99 End Date: Monday Jul-13-2009 18:49:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $249.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon 55-200mm VR LENS KIT F D40X D80 D200 D300 55-200

US $239.99 End Date: Monday Jul-13-2009 18:52:19 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $239.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon D90 W/ NIKON 18-55mm & 55-200 VR 20 PC KIT

US $1,469.99 End Date: Tuesday Jul-14-2009 13:45:06 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $1,469.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon 55-200mm VR Vibration Reduction LENS KIT 55-200

US $237.11 End Date: Tuesday Jul-14-2009 14:01:43 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $237.11 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon 55-200mm VR LENS KIT F D40X D80 D200 D300 55-200

US $244.99 End Date: Wednesday Jul-15-2009 7:31:56 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $244.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon AF-S AFS 55-200 200MM ED IF DX VR Zoom Lens NEW *

US $237.97 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jul-16-2009 9:28:43 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $239.97 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon 55-200mm VR LENS f D40X D80 D200 D70S D90 55-200

US $249.00 End Date: Saturday Jul-18-2009 7:54:40 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $249.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon 55-200mm VR LENS KIT F D40X D80 D200 D300 55-200

US $234.99 End Date: Wednesday Jul-22-2009 19:28:46 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $234.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW NIKON 55-200mm VR AFS DX ZOOM NIKKOR LENS 55-200 mm

US $224.95 End Date: Friday Jul-24-2009 23:51:23 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $224.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

NIKON 55-200mm VR AFS DX ZOOM NIKKOR LENS 55-200 mm

US $209.95 End Date: Saturday Jul-25-2009 14:07:14 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $209.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon D60 SLR Camera +18-55 VR +55-200 +8GB Kit USA

US $754.00 End Date: Sunday Jul-26-2009 13:27:46 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $754.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Nikon AF-S VR NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G 55 200 Lens +UV

US $169.95 End Date: Friday Jul-31-2009 15:03:29 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $169.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

The Walking Around Lens

Today starts a new era in the Volunteer State. Starting today Tennesseans can order wine from out of state wineries and have it sent to their homes. Sounds like it’s a good time to celebrate with Winemessenger.com. Get your corkscrews ready for the Merlot, put Sideways in the Blu Ray and kick back.

Now members of the Tennessee legislature need to get to work and pass the Red, White and Food law for the state.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Tennessee Sideways

Screen shot of the Tweetboard on Aviary.com

Comments are the hardest thing to keep under control and have stay on topic.  There are hundreds of scripts that will post comments and links to other websites or Spamming. At one point I was not moderating the comments left and I found that it made the readers’ experience difficult as they try to avoid clicking on a rouge link in the comments.

When I started holding the comments for moderation, checking each against know spam and reading myself before it was allowed to be seen with the story I noticed there were less comments getting posted. The plus side is the comments that do make the cut have helped to build a stronger post and give me stronger insight on what people really want read.

Now in 2009 I began seeing the conversation about the stories was moving off site and on to Twitter. When you look at the big picture, that wasn’t a bad thing at all.  I started seeing more traffic when one article would catch someones attention they would Tweet what was on their mind in regards to the post and attach a link to the site or story. This past April was prime example of how one person reading and sharing could spread like wild fire. That month alone ate up my yearly hosting budget on excess bandwidth charges. I began to looking for options that would pull the Tweets along side the comments of each story and keep the dialog alive and have all sides represented with the original post. Not that I wanted to pay for extra bandwidth. I wanted to see that some thoughts would be able grow into actions. Now one start-up project may make this possible and pull all the Twitter comments into the story’s page.

Tweetboard by 140ware is a widget that resides on top the website that allows posting comments regarding the post Twitter. When someone is reading an article they can click on the little green tab and log-on to Twitter and share their thoughts. From that point all Tweets referencing the post will be nested below in and in order. The concept is solid and implementing the Tweetboard on a site is simple. It works exactually the way they say. The only suggestion I would have so far is that there was an option to pick the color of the tab on left side.

I’m going to run the Tweetboard for a while and see how it shakes out. If there is a lot spammy comments or other off topic uses, it will come off. So give it a whirl and share your opinion on this layer of communicating.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Tweetboard Brings Evolution to the Comments

From now until the July 7^th or until inventory is gone Geeks has Asus Eee PC 900A Atom N270 1.6GHz 1GB 4GB SSD 8.9″ Netbook Linux (Pearl White) for $149.99 with Secret Savings Code:

This is the lowest price I’ve seen on this netbook or any other brand netbook with these features and Intel Atom processor. This lightweight and compact netbook is the ideal companion for vacations this summer. It was designed to surf the Internet, check e-mail, connect with friends on Facebook and Twitter, upload your digital photographs and video, watch videos, listen to MP3s and more. If you are wanting a computer to work on projects from the office, then this netbook was built to work with Cloud applications like the free office suite Google Docs.

A quick look at the Asus Eee 900A features:

• Pearl white color
• Asus customized Linux operating system
• Intel Atom N270 1.60 GHz processor – Best in Class mobile processor
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• 4 GB SSD (Solid-State Disk) internal storage capacity
• No optical drive
• No floppy drive
• Intel UMA integrated video
• Integrated high definition audio with built-in speakers
• Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
• 802.11b/g Wireless LAN
• Keyboard with touchpad
• Built-in memory card reader
• 8.9-inch Wide LCD display with 1024 x 600 resolution (WSVGA)
• Factory Direct Warranty

I/O Ports:

• Three (3) USB 2.0
• One (1) 15-pin VGA
• One (1) RJ-45 Ethernet jack
• One (1) Microphone jack
• One (1) Headphone jack
• MultiMedia Card (MMC)
• Secure Digital (SD)

In addition to the picking up a wireless netbook for $149.99 you will also get a free 2 GB MP3 player. Just enter the Secret Saving Code at the checkout.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Bargain Found – Asus Netbook $149.99 + Free MP3 Player

U.S. Federal Judge and blogger Richard Posner writes that he believes that stronger a copyright would help keep newspapers from disappearing. His plan would change the law so that linking to news story or any website could not be done without the web site owners permission.

This would probably work if it were easy to enforce violators. I’m pretty sure this idea was brought up in the early 1990s, I just couldn’t find where I first heard it.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Stronger Copyright Laws to Protect Newspaper Industry?

One the biggest advertising expenses for business in local markets is the Yellow Pages. The pulp product has been around as long as people have been using the telephone. The problem today is that if you’re spending money on Yellow Page ads to reach the 40 somethings and below you’re wasting about every penny you put into it. This group of buyers are using local searches on the Internet or using social network sites to locate business in their area.

AT&T doesn’t want to lose any advertisers to social networks. In the first quarter of the year they brought in $1.3 billion in sales. In an effort to have a product that will reach an audience of younger buyers AT&T is rolling out a sister website the Yellow Pages website.

In an article on Forbes tells that AT&T will be rolling out a new website that marries the Yellow Pages with a social network. The mix may be a hard to compete against online heavy weights like Facebook and Google Adwords, but AT&T has something the new media companies doesn’t. A five thousand person sales force on the ground in every market.

The timing to compete against Facebook may have gotten easier for AT&T. Over the pass few weeks Facebook has been dealing with the issue of click fraud on advertising running on their network and working to fix the problem. Facebok did not make the problem known publicly or take any action until enough advertisers complained on message boards and blogs.

Click fraud is nothing new to the Internet. It is a common practice that a website does not get paid any money to run an ad and only gets paid when someone clicks an ad. Some website operators sign-up for an advertising program and just begin clicking the ads hoping to cash in undetected. It’s not been said if the fraud was done by someone working at the direction of Facebook or if the clicks were coming from someone wanting to run up a competitor’s ad spending.

While AT&T is working to deploy their newer Yellow Page venture it the perfect opportunity for newspapers to reboot their local online directory as well. Most newspapers already have some type directory incorporated in their news website. But few have added web 2.0 features to their directories took keep viewers on the site longer and have them coming back. For years newspapers have had to compete against the Yellow Pages trying to prove that money spent on a local newspaper ad campaign has a better ROI than the Yellow Pages. Now is the opportunity to over take the Yellows Pages as people are abandoning them.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Yellow Pages 2.0

If you are in the Knoxville (TN) area and you are looking for something kick-off summer here’s a great idea. Keith Ford, an old friend of mine from grammar and high school, is playing at the Louisville (TN) Landing Marina today starting at 7:00 pm.

Keith is am all around great guy and musician. Back where I come a good musicians were the ones that the venue didn’t have to erect a chicken wire barrier between the audience and the stage. Keith hasn’t looked out into the crowd and see chicken wire. I hate that I’m not going to be able to make it to the show. I don’t want to promise too much, but if you show up and mention you saw it here he might be able to hook you up with plenty of napkins for the night. Even without the napkins it is going to a great night to catch some good music on Fort Loudon Lake.

Facebook users can find the event here and I’ve added a map to the Marina below for driving directions.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Great Music Event in Knoxville Area Tonight

The cover for the June 29th, 2009 Time Magazine has this credit:

PHOTOGRAPH FROM SIPA PRESS. DIGITALLY ALTERED. INSETS, FROM LEFT: PHOTOGRAPH BY RAOUL BENAVIDES FOR TIME; PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION BY C.J. BURTON FOR TIME

Whatever was altered it is hard for me tell what is organic and has been synthesized. I first suspected that the tower has been brightened, maybe it’s perspective adjusted. Secondly some of the faces behind that woman in the forefront lack even illumination and sharpness as the rest of the background. I’m still a little puzzled by the SARS mask on the fellow in the back, there are bullets flying all around Iran and he’s more worried about Swine flu. Whoever did the post work on the photo should get a medal.

Time did the proper thing by attaching the disclaimer to the photograph. The back-story behind the edit is one I would like to see told sometime in the future. There have been photographs that get published and then later are exposed as being altered and it discredits the photographer and publication.

After the previous photograph from Iran that was outed as an altered work without a disclosure I begin to think about when altering would be acceptable. Television blurs faces to protect the innocent or to cover offensive material. When I have had photograph sensitive subjects I try to adjust the composition and lighting angles show the subject, but just not make them identifiable, without resorting to removing the person later with Photoshop.

One time I had an editor ask me to move elements in a photograph that a reporter had taken to add more ‘drama’. When I brought up the time and ethical considerations, he went Nike and told me “just do it or” then he gestured to the door. Not having having immediate employment lined up, I did it. I found a good exit point a couple months later. In that case there was no disclaimer to accompany the photo.

Photoshop is one of the best tools a photographer and photo editor could ever ask for. It can save poorly exposed photos, correct color cast and sharpen the blurry spots. Revolutions have taught us regular tools can be used to create some serious damage. As magazines and newspaper are facing the shrinking of subscriber and advertiser base, they need to make sure they have a strong editorial policy about how editing software is used and when a disclaimer should be made about the photograph’s editing. The damage done by these powerful tools could collapse the foundation of trust the publications were built on. There aren’t many Mulligans being handed out to the print media these days.

Time did the right thing to shine a light the handling of the photograph. Covering a story in an area where the storytellers risk their own lives there probably is a compelling reason for the editing. If the editing was done to protect the safety of someone the photo or the photographer, then it seems justified to me. What do you think?

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

This Just in from Iran, More Photoshopped Photos

There is a lot of buzz that Michael Jackson has died on Twitter and other social media websites. Trusted news sources have not gone so far as to report his death. Most are saying he is in a coma.

Just watching the Raw data about the Jackson story is a prime example of process journalism.

UPDATE: LA Times is reporting he “has left the building”.

It might be a good time to grab the Thriller album on iTunes.

Here are few links that I found worth reading:

New York Times – Michael Jackson, 50, Is Dead

Early reports indicated cardiac arrest, but a hospital spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment. Mr. Jackson, 50, has been renting a mansion in the Bel Air neighborhood, a short distance from the hospital, and rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out shows in London.

Rolling Stone – Michael Jackson dead at 50

As a testament to Jackson’s appeal despite years out of the musical spotlight, all 50 shows of the London run quickly sold out. Jackson is survived by his three children and an immeasurable musical legacy.

London Times – Michael Jackson, King of Pop, dies in hospital aged 50

On May 20 he delayed the opening four nights of his record-breaking UK comeback tour of 50 concerts at the O2 Arena because he said he needed more time for dress rehearsals.

However, rumours had swirled around the delayed tour, including suggestions that Jackson was ill-prepared for such an exhausting schedule and that he was contracted to appear for only a matter of minutes each night. The tickets for the entire tour had sold out within hours.

Tech Crunch – The Web Collapses Under The Weight Of Michael Jackson’s Death

It was probably to be expected that Twitter would struggle as reportedly hundreds of thousands of tweets came in about Jackson in a very short amount of time.

Tony Sachs – Huffington Post What Was Your Michael Jackson Moment?

What flashed through your mind in the moment when you first heard about Michael Jackson’s death? Before the psychologists, professional and amateur, drew the comparisons between him and Elvis, another musical king with a Christ complex who built an enclosed world for himself to avoid dealing with reality?

Chicago Tirbune – Fans gather where Michael Jackson’s career born

A makeshift shrine to Jackson took shape outside the museum, originally the studio commanded by Motown founder Berry Gordy from 1959 to 1972.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Michael Jackson Has Left The Building

Farrah Fawcett lost her fight to cancer this morning. At times you had to believe her battles with the tabloids and rumor TV were worse than the disease that took her life.

I had found an old clip from Farrah’s appearance on the Dating Game and noticed a local tie. One of the men competing for her attention was from Johnson City, Tennessee. A few weeks ago I tried to locate him. I know it was a stretch to make a local tie with a celebrity death storyline. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get direct contact with him, but I think I found a story I will be sharing later that may be more fascinating than a date with Farrah.

The passing of Farrah has left plenty of people from my age group with a lot to talk about. We grew up with photos of her plastered on our walls, t-shirts, lunch boxes and periodicals. The sale of the poster of her in the red swimsuit has never been matched over the last three decades and it made her one of the most durable pop icons.

While I was out this morning I overheard her life discussed at the gas station, dry cleaners, the optometrist office, Dunkin Donuts and driving range. To have only appeared on Charlie’s Angels for one season and then went to star in movies Logan’s Run, Staturn 3, Slow Burn and a biography of photographer Margaret Bourke-White she made a lasting impression. There wasn’t 24 hour news channels, blogs or tabloid when her career was at it’s highest, but she managed to leave mark on pop culture that may never be repeated.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Farrah’s Exit

There is something about photography that will never hear the words ‘cheap’ or ‘free’ used with photography, photo gear or photo related services. It seems everything related to photography has sticker shock attached. Even those simple clamps that a Everythings a Buck store sells for a dollar will be $12.00 at the camera store. It’s no wonder photographers are always inventing their own gadgets, like Jim Domke did with his legendary line of camera bags while he was working at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

One accessory in that I keep in my Domke is an iPod touch, the personal entertainment center with computer like functionality. The iPod touch is perfect for playing a video, surfing the Internet or to some music. But it doesn’t stop there. The touch will also run practically every application for the iPhone and there are several free apps on the iTunes store and a few are geared towards photography. You read it right free and photography. What were they thinking? The camera shops are going to be on their ears on this one.

It takes some digging through the iTunes Store to find the free apps that are photography related, so I’ve collected the links to the top ten (10) free photography apps for the iPhone OS. You can pick and download the apps you want from the links here:

1 – Puri! Lite – Think Bulbs Ltd.

Puri! Lite is a stripped down version of Puri! – a photo sticker booth that you can bring with you everywhere. With the latest update, you can show off your great photos to your friends on Facebook with a click of a button!

With a high quality collection of photobooth frames and icons, Puri! gives your photos the extra touch you need to make things fun and memorable. You don’t need to be a professional photographer to use Puri! – it’s so intuitive even a first grader can use it and get fantastic results.

Features:
- Export to Facebook Photos
- Export to the iPhone photo album for emailing and sharing
- Captures photos from your camera or from your photo albums
- 45 high quality and freely scalable icons
- 25 high quality picture frames
- Antialiased freehand drawing
- Moveable and scalable text messages
- Undo/redo system so you can revert your editing mistakes
- Save and load edited photos

2 – Crop for Free – Free the Apps!

Three words: Crop for FREE

What is better than having a great cropping utility on your iPhone/iPod?
Yes, you guessed it…having one for FREE.

Key Features:
- Crop your photos
- Rotate your photos
- Ability to crop multiple times before saving
- Press the crop button to crop, press it again to crop the cropped image

Crop for Free was made by users like you who are tired of paying for simple, but useful utilities for your iPhone/iPod

3 – Photobucket – Photobucket.com

Take Photobucket with you on your iPhone. You can upload all your photos to Photobucket to share online. Once you upload to Photobucket, you can share your photos with your friends over email, MySpace, Facebook, and most other leading social networking and blogging sites. You can upload photos from your existing camera roll or take new pictures and upload automatically. You can also browse your existing photos on Photobucket. It’s now possible to visit Photobucket directly for searching for photos, viewing comments and ratings, and sharing your favorite photos with your friends.

4 – Pixel Perfect

To celebrate the debut of our 2nd application we are giving Pixel Perfect away for FREE for a limited time. Get it now before the next update and be sure to check out our other application, Quick Shot.

Find out what over 30,000 happy Pixel Perfect users already know, Pixel Perfect rocks!

IMPROVE YOUR PHOTOS
Is your picture too dark? Turn up the brightness! Have fun and give it that old fashioned look with the sepia filter. Combine effects for even more effects!

MAKE GREAT WALLPAPERS
Use Pixel Perfect’s effects to turn your favorite photos into interesting wallpapers for your iPhone!

NOT JUST AN EFFECTS PROGRAM
What good are photos if nobody sees them?
Share your photos easily by uploading them to Facebook.

Complete Feature List
—
* New, fun and easy effects interface
* Black and White, Sepia, Brightness, Saturation, Hue, Invert effects
* Upload photos to Facebook
* Select any Facebook album
* Create new Facebook albums
* Scale images to full or half size for quicker uploads
* Add descriptions to photos before uploading

5 – MyPaint Free

MyPaint allows you to finger-paint with the greatest of ease.
Starting with a blank canvas, or an existing photo, you can explore your inner artist.
MyPaint will also help you to add that sparkle to your photos, articulate conversations and paint away the boredom in long meetings. There is no limit to your imagination!

6 – iSwap Faces LITE

The paid version of iSwap Faces supports saving images and does not have the logo overlay that this free version has. If you like iSwap Faces LITE, please support us and buy the full version! And don’t forget to leave us feedback!

Ever wanted to swap two faces in a photo for the enjoyment of all? Now you can! It used to take a Photoshop master to transplant one face onto another, but iSwap Faces makes it so easy that anyone can do it in under a minute. Morph one person into another for everyone’s entertainment!

Take a picture with your iPhone or load a photo from your library, place the masks over two faces, and iSwap Faces does the rest! Swap faces in your friend’s Facebook and MySpace photos

7 -Polarize

Want to add a funky retro look to your photos? Polarize will do the job for you! Polarize is the only iPhone application that will do a series of pixel-by-pixel modifications to your photos, getting that true look. No cheezy overlays are done here.

Polarize gives you:
-A great unique look to your photos
-The ability to write at the bottom of your photos with a custom hand written font
-Any size photo is accepted!
-High resolution output

8 – Collage Wallpaper Creator Lite

Make incredible collages for your iPhone or iPod Touch wallpaper! Use a ‘Minority Report’-like multitouch interface to stretch, move, and rotate photos from your photo roll.

Get creative! Use the built-in black-and-white or sepia converter. Add a border. Adjust the transparency to combine two photos into one. This version is limited to 4 photos at a time and does not have the unique crop feature that the full version does (for only 99 cents!).

Features:
- Easy to use multitouch interface
- Fun creative options
- Portrait or landscape mode
- Export in high resolution (960 x 640)

9 – PhotoSharpFree

Sharpening is a process that must be done to every image produced by a digital camera. PhotoSharp is an App for sharpening and improving the focus of soft or blurry digital photos produced by the iPhone camera and other digital cameras.

PhotoSharp enhances the edges of an image by using a regular sharpening filter, or by using a technique called the Unsharp Mask. Once sharpening is appropriately applied, the photo is much crisper and sharper. PhotoSharp free contains only the regular sharpening filter. Upgrade to PhotoForge or PhotoSharp full for the unsharp mask filter.

It offers advanced sharpening capabilities without intensifying undesirable side effects, such as halos, grain, and noise, etc.

PhotoSharp gives you precise control over exactly how much sharpening is applied to an image. This makes it easy to eliminate blur and camera shake in your images without deteriorating other aspects of the image. PhotoSharpen makes your images sharper and crisper, thus improving the quality of every digital photo you take.

FEATURES(For even more features checkout PhotoForge or PhotoSharp Full):

• Sharpen filter.
• Hue Saturation & Lightness sliders.
• Unlimited undo and redo option allows you to revert your editing mistakes.
• Save to 4 different output sizes; 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1600×1200 (Change through settings menu)
• Pinch and swipe screen at any time to zoom and pan.
• Resume previous sessions if interrupted.
• Load photos from your camera and your photo albums
• Edit in portrait or landscape mode
• Hide the toolbars in full screen mode

10 – HP iPrint Photo – Hewlett Packard

HP iPrint Photo is a fun and free application which enables easy and fast wireless photo printing to HP Inkjet printers connected to a local wireless (WiFi) network.

Key features and benefits
• Quickly and easily print compelling, borderless 4×6 / 10×15 cm photos anywhere/anytime from an iPhone or iPod Touch to an HP Inkjet printer connected to a local WiFi* network.
• Easily and effortlessly wirelessly print photos through a print interface developed and optimized by HP
• Get improved print quality from image de-noise filtering technology
• Enjoy full compatibility with Apple’s Bonjour technology, which automatically identifies HP wireless printers or other supported HP printers available on the network.
• HP iPrint Photo is compatible with industry-standard Wi-Fi environments, including Apple Airport, Linksys, D-Link and Netgear.

*HP iPrint Photo defaults to print borderless 4″ x 6″ (American standard) and 10 x 15 cm (European standard) photos. If your printer has a separate photo tray, it will be automatically selected. Otherwise the default will be the printer’s main paper tray.

You can see that this collection of apps has a long way to go before they will become a challenger to Adobe’s Photoshop, but the price is right.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Top Ten Free Photography Apps for iPhone

The end of an American legend was announced today by Eastman Kodak. The company has stopped production of Kodachrome film. Kodachrome is more than a song by Paul Simon, Kodachrome is the best color film ever produced.

Over the last 74 years Kodachrome has captured so many memorable magazine covers, family vacations, historical events and human triumphs. Even a person who has never clicked a shutter in their life has made a personal connection with a photograph taken on Kodachrome film. Kodachrome is a large part of America’s pictorial history.

I can remember the first time I shot a roll of Kodachrome 25 as preteen in the 1970s, I was hooked. Nothing has came close in sharpness or color faithfulness. It drove my mother crazy as she was forced to look at the small two inch by two inch cardboard squares that held the transparencies to see the photographs. After she realized I wasn’t going to change anytime soon, she redeemed some of  her treasured S&H Green Stamps for a Kodak projector.

The choice for using Kodachrome had more to do with wanting to work as an photojournalist or editorial photographer than any other considerations. All magazines had the “Kodachrome” standard that their color production was built around. Some magazines would accept Ektachrome or even Fujichrome, but the magazines that I wanted to be published in had their photographic reputation with laid on a Kodachrome foundation. My first published color work was when I was seventeen for a small  magazine. The editor that gave me the assignment followed up with a letter that specified the work was to be done with KODACHROME in all capital letters. Working at daily newspapers didn’t allow for the turn around time that was needed for Kodachrome and I went with Ektachrome and later color negative films. I did use Kodachrome for special projects that had a long editorial calendar to work with.

Through the last 32 years I have used Kodachrome on photographs that I knew I wanted to last longer than I would. My grandmothers, Mom, Dad, my children, vacations, road trips, landmarks and events that would become time capsules one click at time. The photos of my oldest, who would have been 26 tomorrow, are some of my most treasured. The last time I looked at those slides were still crisp with no signs of fading. The prints made from negatives taken in that same period are showing their age, even behind UV glass.

I did move to digital to remain a marketable property. Saying that does not mean I quit shooting film or Kodachrome. Since camera stores have been trending towards becoming consumer electronic stores I’ve had to order Kodachrome in bulk, twenty roll at a time. I’m not sure how much Kodachrome 64 I can afford to purchase right now or even if Eastman Kodak will still produce Kodachrome up until a doomsday mark. According to the statement by Kodak that photographers like me are only a fraction of one percent of their market and that killing Kodachrome was business decision, but it does leave a lump in my throat.

Based on current purchasing trends Kodak expects the film to be out of supply by the fall. Dwayne’s Photo is the only lab that stil develops Kodachrome and it will continue to offer processing for the film through 2010. If you are wanting to stock up for beginning of the end you can find Kodachrome here, here and here.

I would have liked to have seen Eastman Kodak follow Ilford’s model of producing some films on a limited production scale. Ilford support of the traditional film photographers shows that some companies do care about all parts the market. At forty-something, I don’t consider myself an antique and I really don’t want to think that a large part of professional life is either.

Paul Simon – Kodachrome

Update: 23 June 2009:
I had this e-mailed to me a few hours after I had posted. One the few times I wasn’t watching the Nightly News…

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Kodak Don’t Take My Kodachrome Away

Swine (H1N1) Flu was been swept off the front page of the news lately. This story from the Chicago Tribune just shows that a pandemic can’t get in the way of some plans:

…”The doctor said: ‘It’s not going to be the wedding you wanted. You tested positive for swine flu. Give me a call if you have any questions,’ ” Jeremy Fierstien said with a chuckle Thursday, recalling the moment last week when his wedding plans encountered a slight hitch…

Swine flu wedding: Flu can’t stop lovesick couple

You know when a wedding that starts out that sour a note it’s a sign that things can only get better or that the  heavens don’t agree with your choice. For the Fierstiens, let’s hope it’s the worst thing they ever will face.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Were Pigs In a Blanket Served at the Reception?

Today is the day we honor our fathers in some form. Someone on Madison Avenue decided to market a neck tie as the perfect Father’s Day gift and the day has always been associated with a tie. Great work on whomever’s part.

A neck tie for my Dad would have been a useful gift. He’s a funeral director that has been through fifty plus years worth of ties in his career. Mom would encourage us to find something different than a tie because it would be a reminder of work. She would point us in the right direction and in most cases she had something already picked out. He had few hobbies when we were young, so there weren’t any obvious hints he could drop. He didn’t take up golf until I was grown and I pulled him out on the green a few times. Now days he spends his time “piddling with those old cars”. Shopping for him become easier has he has aged.

The bad thing about being a funeral director is that the job doesn’t take a holiday. Growing up we would see Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, even Father’s Day could be postponed for a funeral, a death call or so he could attend to the needs of a family who may have lost their father. Dad had other employees that could have taken care of matters and he take the day off, but he didn’t. He has always had strong sense duty to his profession and the families that came to him over the last half century. That was probably the one lesson that he taught my brother and me growing up – take care of the job that provides for your family.

Dad is planning on spending Father’s Dad with a cookout up in the mountains back home. The weather certainly looks agreeable to burn some hamburgers, tell of a few stories and swatting the insects. I’m not going to be able to make to Newport for the Father’s Day cookout. I think he understands the reason, it was something he taught me.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Happy Tie Day

The Wall Street Journal has a report that Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs will return to work at the end of June. The story cites “unnamed source” that says he had a liver transplant at a Tennessee hospital two months ago.

I had heard that he was in a hospital from a couple friends in middle Tennessee, but nothing solid. Based on hospital reputations it would lead me to believe he would have had the surgery preformed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

I hope that he makes a full recovery is back to full speed at Apple. Also I am just a little curious if his new liver came from a Tennessee Volunteer fan, if he has Rocky Top to his playlist we will know for sure.

Update:

Techcrunch has a post about Jobs, his new liver, returning to Apple and rumors.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Steve Job to Return to Apple With New Liver and Possibly a Little Rocky Top

When Photoshop hit the world, it wasn’t long before wasn’t long before the ethics of the press were called on the carpet for Photoshopping editorial photographs. Guidelines were established on the proper and ethical uses of photo editing software could be and most news outlets in the free world obey this standards.

An article on the Daily Kos about a photograph published by newspaper in Iran that is easy to spot that the crowd was Photoshopped in to look larger at a rally to support President Ahmadinejad. Iran is in the free world, so they probably didn’t get the memo about the use of Photoshop “not to alter news photos to maintain an accurate portrayal of a news event”.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Newspaper Fail: Iranian Style

A while back I wrote about Abobe Photoshop Express, an online version of the company’s market leading photo editor.  At the time the Express filled a niche for folks that just wanted to do simple cropping, make minor color corrections, add text, maybe apply a few filter for effects and share with others.

There were a few things that the Photoshop Express lacked for serious photographer. Local selection, layers, several fonts choices, lasso and the palettes everyone is acustomed to with photo editors.

Hewlett, New York’s Aviary recently entered the online photo editing software as service game also. Not only have they launched the online version of Photoshop that Adobe should have released, they have created an online suite of applications to handle other image creating and editing task. The collection has a tool for about any need a graphic artist should need and more are on the way.

Packed into this Beta offering is:
Image Editor Phoenix
Color Editor Toucan
Effects Editor Peacock
Vector Editor Raven
Image Markup Falcon
Firefox Screen Shot Grabber Talon

I have only used the Phoenix so far and I’m impressed. The learning curve is just about a straight line for anyone that has used Photoshop or GIMP. The palattes and tool bar are intuitive and their layout is perfect. The tools function in almost the same manner that other photo editors do. For a photographer that doesn’t have or doesn’t want to spend the nearly $800 for full version of Photoshop Aviary’s Phoenix will fit into the workflow very easily and affordable.

Acer Aspire One and other Netbook user will like the Aviary suite. Because the service is in a cloud, all the heavy computing is done from the servers, not the local computer. Even on lower powered computer you can do some heavy duty image editing without chocking it out.

Newspapers looking to lower operating expenses may want to study this bird cage of powerful applications. While Aviary lacks the CMYK workspace, the program could assigned to photographers and reporters just to retouch, crop, do color corrections and save their photographs. Then the image can be sent to a graphic artist or supervisory photographer to preform the CMYK conversion and do quality control on the images.

There are two levels of service for Aviary, free and $24.95 per year. The feature set included with the  paid version are well worth the money just for the unlimited image storage alone.

The service is labeled as a Beta, but I haven’t have any problems or crashes with Aviary so far. If I could add a wish list to the features added in the future importing RAW photograph files, ICC profiles and a CMYK conversion would be the three biggies. The suite overall is an excellent alternative to Adobe’s products, especially when consider the prices of Photoshop verses the Aviary.

8X10s for $1.19

After you get through with your photographs on Aviary you will probably wanting to order some prints of your work. For a limited time AdoramaPix has a special on 8X10 enlargements for $1.19. this price is good for all Kodak Endura and Royal papers finishes they carry, even the metallic Kodak. If you want Silk Endura those enlargements are 99¢while suppy last.

Here one money saving tip I have learned about AdoramaPix specials, you can prepay for the prints now and order them later. So you can extend the savings past the promotion’s end date by prepaying for the enlargements during the run dates. Wedding, event and promotion photographers could save a small fortune by prepaying for their expected average lab cost ahead of time.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Aviary Uncages a Flock of Imaging Birds

When the lead of the story is:

Cancer sufferer Tim Browne pours a rather bizarre ingredient over his breakfast cornflakes – his daughter’s breast milk. – The Daily Mirror June 13, 2009

You can expect the meat to the rest of the story is going to be juicy.

Before you take this measure as a cure consider the story comes from a source that you can “Sell Your Story“. It may not be the best place to go to for medical information. I would feel safer trusting the American Cancer Society (ACS) than Checkbook Journalism.

Remember that part of the proceeds from this weekend’s Moonshine Rod Run will to support the ACS.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Insert You Own Punchline…

One of the coolest gizmos has to be The Flip video cameras. The little camcorder can fit in your pocket and is ready to start filming instantly. The Filp Share software is simple way for anyone to upload their latest documentary by e-mail or to YouTube™ and MySpace™ in a few clicks.

Today The Flip announced that the users will also be able to upload and share videos shot on the video camera line to Flip Channels™, a video sharing platform they have launched. There has been several companies try to knock YouTube™ off as the top video sharing website, but I don’t believe that Flip Channels™ is going for that market. The Channel has the video behind a password protected pages making this idea for some that doesn’t want to live out loud on the social internet. I would not suggest shooting and uploading an illeage act to Channels. It is great considering that there are few privated video sharing websites. There are a lot situations that you want to present a video of an upcoming project and you don’t want your business competitors seeing or family videos that you want to share only with family.

The Flip’s is a product of Pure Digital Technologies which was recently purchased by networking giant Cisco and will be operated under Cisco’s consumer products division. Considering the ease of use to capture great video with The Flip and Cisco’s market reach The Flip should be around for a long time.

The Flip, especially the Mino HD, would make a great Father’s Day present for the tech centric or hard to please Dads out there.

The Latest From Olympus

If you haven’t had a chance to see the latest camera announced from Olympus today, it is one stylish little digicam. Packing a 12.3MP Live MOS sensor that handles dSLR lenses in the Micro Four Thirds format. I’m all about the Nikons, but this camera looks nice with a body that gives a nod to the old 35 mm rangefinders like the Leicas.

Highlights of the Olympus E-P1

The latest digital camera from Olympus is stylish mix of dSLR and point and shoot.

12.3 megapixel
Live View Autofocus
Multiple Exposure
Micro Four Thirds Mount
Art Filters
TruePic V Image Processor
In-body Image Stabilization
Mechanical Image Stabilization
Electronic Image Stabilization
MF Assist
Perfect Shot Preview
Digital Leveler
Dust Reduction System
19 automatic scene modes
ePortrait
Face Detection
Shadow Adjustment Technology

As of this post Adorama the only online retailer that has the E-P1 listed, but that should be changing pretty fast.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

The Flip Launches Online Video Sharing

It’s been two years since Marvel Comics killed off one of their oldest super heros, Captain America. At the time when Marvel took Captain America off the mortal coil, Americans were frustrated with the way the country was run and it’s leaders. I always felt that killing Captain America was more of a statement about the Middle East wars and the Bush Era foreign policy which were killing the principles that America stood for and was built on. Then again I could have just read too much in the story line.

Personally I felt that Marvel Comics would return Captain America at some point in time. With a Captain America movie coming on July 22, 2011, Marvel’s decision to back Captain America back to life on July 1st seems like the right time. The back story on how Steve Rogers and his alter ego will rise up from the dead should be an interesting read.

What do you think about Marvel bringing the Captain back?

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

American Lazarus – Marvel Returns With Captain America

If this coming weekend is free on your calendar and you’re looking for a free event in the Smoky Mountain area to attend this one might interest you.

The Hard Time Street Rod Club in Newport, TN. is holding it’s 26th Annual Moonshine Rod Run at the City Park in Newport on the June 19th and 20th. The classic car show and swap meet starts at 12 Noon on Friday (June 19) with registration, the activities will begin at 4:00 p.m.. A Cruise-In starts at 7:00 p.m., with the Sagebrush award presented at the end of the ride. Street rods that are registered will receive two free dinners.

Things will start back up Saturday morning at 8:00am. with activities that will include cash drawings, door prizes, Dash Plaques for the Street Rods, games, Poker Walk, Swap Meet, N.S.R.A. Safety Inspections, music from the 1950’s and concessions will available from local church and civic clubs. An award presentation will be held at 3:00 p.m. and the event later in the evening.

This show has been a regional favorite for Street Rodders and car buffs who enjoy acres of brightly painted classics and tons of chrome. The Late moonshine legend Popcorn Sutton was a regular fixture at this show over the last few years.

The Street Rods shown will be from 1958 and older and cars can register to show both days at the registration area for $20.00. If you are planning to show your ride off at the Moonshine Rod Run, you can download this flyer to fill out and bring to the show. The Hard Time Street Rod Club will use proceeds for the Moonshine Rod Run to fund their continued projects that include several local charities, some of which include American Cancer Society, The Newport Rescue Squad and Juvenile Dietetics Association.

For those out of the area wanting to make a weekend outing of the show you can find hotels in Newport here. Below is a Google Mapplet that I marked Newport’s City Park to make getting to the Moonshine Rod Run easier. If you are reading this an news of blog aggregator and can not see the map you can click this link to bring up the original post. One disclaimer, despite the name of the Rod Run no alcoholic beverages are allowed.

Map to Moonshine Rod Run at the City Park in Newport, TN.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Moonshine Rod Run This Weekend

I’m a classic rubber band photographer. I tried twenty something years worth of flash attachments, but I prefer the results of my patented “flash bounced off of a white card” that’s held on with a rubber band.  My children had caught on this trick, whenever I went for the strobe they would dig in my bag to get my rubber band ready. I noticed that my son has added this to his flash photography routine also. He just hasn’t found out that different situation needs an appropriately sized card. I may be buying less rubber bands in the future.

Attaching the Strobie Beauty Dish to the front of your strobe will soften the harsh lighting into a flattering pattern.

Having every new gadget that comes along isn’t going to make all your photos keepers. Then there are some gadgets that offer a lot of potential. The Strobies line of flash accessories from Interfit falls into that category.

The way the Strobies attach to the strobe or flash using their Flex Mount system. The Flex system doesn’t require Velcro, duct tape, glue or rubber bands so changing attachments will be quick and easy and won’t ruin the strobe’s body. Good thing, the kids have out grown wanting to be helpful and stopped digging the Domke a while back.

The Portrait Kit has attachments that rival those you would find in a  studio that includes a snoot, a grid, soft box, barn doors, a globe diffuser (to simulate a bare bulb) and beauty dish. The kit runs the full gambit to cover about any situation you could come across. If you add a second or third Flex Mount, depending on the number of strobes you carry around, you can easily duplicate most studio lighting set-ups in the field.

I’m going to say that the Strobies are going to become popular fast. Two of the light modifiers in the Interfit stable caught my attention.

The Beauty Dish has always been the go to light in the studio to give women a flattering look that are trademark shots in magazines and publicity headshots. The Beauty Dish is smaller than the one used in the studio and there will be a little difference where the lighting will fall off, but the difference will be subtle.

The sleeper in the kit will be the globe diffuser, which will work well illuminating large and small areas. Just thinking of all the hotels promotion photographs I have taken and how difficult it was light some rooms. To make some rooms look bright and inviting can be a challenge and an even all over light source that is small and compact, like the globe, will pay for themselves first time it is used.

The Interfit Strobies Flex Mounts fit the following strobes:

Nikon – SB900, SB600,SB800 SB26, SB27 SB28
Sony – F32X, F56AM
Canon – 580EXMKII, 580EX, 550EX, 430EX
Vivitar – 285 HV

Adorama is the only merchant online that has the Strobies list so far.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Rubber Band Free Flash Tricks

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have recently had some funny segments about newspapers (unless you’re working at a newspaper that’s suffering from Swine Flu-like symptoms of the economy). Whether or not it was intended, one segment on the June 10th broadcast of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart had a flash of truth about why there is an absolute need for newspapers in today’s world.

Fake News reporter Jason Jones asked several questions, in the interest of comedy, of New York Times Assistant Managing Editor Rick Berke and Executive Editor Bill Keller like “find something in the paper that happened today?” or “what’s black and white and red all over? Your balance sheets”.

Through all of Comedy Central’s efforts to push the humor about the state of the American newspaper Keller was able to bring out the Oprah Moment why papers are still relevant and needed saying “the last time I was in Baghdad, I didn’t a Huffing Post bureau, a Google bureau or Drudge Report bureau there”. He cited that is too expensive,  too dangerous and much easier for the newcomers to the news arena to simply re-report than actually go there report first hand.

I had it both ways, covering news in person and “revisiting” the news for in the form of blog and there is one truth that stands out. While there is a time delay for some stories to get ink with a newspaper, the red meat of any news story doesn’t comes out until a vetted news gathering organization has published (or broadcasted). Reporting on a story based solely on what has already been reported is simply a genetic mutation of an over active web surfer and a Monday morning quarterback.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Newspaper’s Oprah Moment for The Daily Show Crowd

VuPoint FS-C1-VP USB 2.0 Negative Film & Slide Digital Converter

Here is a great buy for a negative and slide converter or scanner as some call it. It’s the One Day Deal at Geeks for $34.99. Last time I ran a post about this scanner on sale it was a sell out, so if you one or you’re looking for a Father’s Day gift order now.

If you’ve got a photos from the “old days” you want to share on Facebook, but all you have is the negatives.  So you don’t want to spend $3 a piece to get them scanned at the department store here’s the answer. For the cost of a dozen scans you can bring old 35 mm film slides and negative into the digital age easier than ever with this USB 2.0 powered Negative Film & Slide Digital Converter year round. The FS-C1-VP features a 5 Mega pixels CMOS sensor and a 10 bits per color channel data conversion.

If you haven’t updated from 35mm to digital this is the way to stretch out a few more years on that camera.

This VuPoint FS-C1-VP USB 2.0 Negative Film & Slide Digital Converter plugs into an available USB port and is so easy to use even Grandma can do it!

Features/Specifications:

* VuPoint FS-C1-VP USB 2.0 Negative Film & Slide Digital Converter

* General Features:
* Image Sensor: 5 mega pixels CMOS sensor
* Frame Rate: 5 Mega pixels (2592 x 1944) 2 fps, SXGA (1280 x 960) 15 fps
* Lens: Fno=2.0, Half-field angle = 15°, 4 glass elements
* Focus Range: Fixed Focus
* Automatic Exposure Control
* Automatic Color Balance
* Scan High Resolution: 5 Mega pixels equals to 1829 dpi enhanced 3600 dpi
* USB 2.0 interface
* Data Conversion: 10 bits per color channel
* Scan Method: Single pass
* Light Source: Back Light (3 White LEDs)

* Dimensions:
* 3.5 x 6.5 x 3.5-inches (L x H x W, approximate)

* Regulatory Approvals:
* FCC
* CE

Package Includes:

* VuPoint FS-C1-VP USB 2.0 Negative Film & Slide Digital Converter
* Positive Slide Holder
* Negative Film Holder
* User’s Manual
* Drivers CD

Additional Information:

* Notes:
* Model: FS-C1-VP

* Requirements:
* Windows XP
* 512 MB RAM or higher
* 256 MB hard drive space or higher
* Pentium III 600 MHz processor or higher
* Avaiable USB 2.0 port
* CD-ROM drive

Ebay Listing for the VuPoint FS-C1-VP

VuPoint FS-C1-VP Negative Film /Slide Digital Converter

US $67.99 End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 9:22:29 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $67.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

VuPoint USB Film Slide Scanner Converter to PC FS-C1-VP

US $58.99 End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 17:12:27 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $58.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

VuPoint Film Slide Digital Converter Scanner FS-C1-VP

US $59.95 End Date: Friday Jul-10-2009 20:42:06 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $59.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

VuPoint Negative Film Slide Converter Scanner FS-C1-VP

US $1.29 (2 Bids) End Date: Sunday Jul-12-2009 19:52:54 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

VuPoint 35mm Slide & Negative Converter NIB #FS-C1-VP

US $59.95 End Date: Thursday Jul-16-2009 17:06:54 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $59.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

VuPoint Solutions FS-C1-VP Film Scanner

US $102.50 End Date: Tuesday Jul-21-2009 17:28:28 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $102.50 Buy it now | Add to watch list

VuPoint Solutions FS-C1-VP Slide &Negative Film Scanner

US $75.00 End Date: Sunday Jul-26-2009 19:59:27 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $75.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

VuPoint FS-C1-VP USB Negative Film & Slide Digital Conv

US $49.50 End Date: Wednesday Jul-29-2009 21:35:36 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $49.50 Buy it now | Add to watch list

VuPoint FS-C1-VP Film and Silde Digital Converter

US $27.49 End Date: Sunday Aug-02-2009 11:50:12 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $27.49 Buy it now | Add to watch list

VuPoint FS-C1-VP USB 2.0 Negative Film & Slide Digital

US $61.99 End Date: Monday Aug-03-2009 14:18:28 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $61.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

VuPoint FS-C1-VP-BX2 USB 2.0 Negative Film & Slide Digi

US $61.99 End Date: Monday Aug-03-2009 14:18:33 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $61.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

VuPoint FS-C1-VP USB 2.0 Negative Film & Slide Digital

US $62.99 End Date: Monday Aug-03-2009 14:18:35 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $62.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

35mm Negative and Slide Scanner is Back On Sale for $34.99

The Eye-Fi cards are one of the neatest gizmos to have in your camera camera bag. The little company from Mountain View, CA.  raised the game in their cards today with the release of the Eye-Fi Pro.

The latest offering allows photographers one distinct advantage over their previous WiFi cards, an ad hoc WiFi connection between your camera and computer. That’s right no more having to carry your own router around to use the Eye-Fi card in the field. That is one less headache to go through. The next big improvement is that the Eye-Fi Pro will transfer photographs in the RAW format, so you don’t have to accept lower a lesser quality photo files to use the Eye-Fi card.

The Eye-Fi Pro works in concert with your computer to upload your photos to photo sharing websites like Facebook, SmugMug Standard Account and Pro Account, Flickr, AdoramaPix, Photobucket, Gallery and nineteen others. If you are hosting the open source Gallery program yourself then you will be able post to Wordpress faster than you can think. For live blogging or marketing with social media this card will be a must have before leaving the house.

Photographers that are familiar with the previous Eye-Fi cards are going to appreciate the selective upload feature. Now photographs will only be uploaded once you have reviewed and protected or locked the photo. This feature will save lots of time going through photos you had already decided shouldn’t make the cut.

Some of the other great features on the Eye-Fi Pro is the generious 4GB of storage, lifetime Geo-Tagging – so you won’t forget where you took the photo, public WiFi Hotspot access for one year, video uploading and JPEG photo uploading (if you want to shoot in JPEG). The card SDHC card has been test to be compatible with hundreds of cameras. All the features this card packs in it’s small SD frame justify the asking price that is just under $150 as it reaches dealer inventories.

If I were to choose between updating an iPhone or adding this card, the Eye-Fi Pro would be a better investment. Just wait until your hardware upgrade period arrives for the iPhone. You will spending less money and getting better photo and video quality in the end.

Eye-Fi Pro

Features: WiFi SDHC 4GB, JPEG Photo Upload, Video Upload, RAW Photo Upload,  Geo-Tagging, WiFi Hot Spot Access, Online Sharing, and Ad Hoc Transfers

Currently available at:

Adorama
B&H Photo Video
Amazon

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Eye-Fi Adds Ad Hoc With New Pro Card

Now that AT&T has said what it would cost to upgrade iPhone or iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3G S, we know now what the “S” is for.

Apple's web browser Safari 4, which Apple bills as the "The World’s Fastest & Most Innovative Browser".

Current iPhone owners that want an upgrade to the iPhone 3G S will shelling out $199-$499 depending where they are on their service contract with AT&T. Don’t you hate it when a the price is subsidized? It was nice to see that AT&T published a price to buy the iPhone G S without a contract or commitment, the 16GB iPhone 3G S is $599 and the 32GB iPhone 3G S is $699. I am one of those commitmentphobes that see a long term contract as an unwritten agreement that you are willing to give up good service and customer service.

When the new iPhone OS on the 3 G S will finally have the missing “Cut, Copy & Paste”. Not having CC&P is like driving to the beach and realizing you didn’t pack the luggage.

The zoom and 3 megapixel upgrade to the camera and the video function are refinements that the iPhone needed, although they could have bumped it to 6 megapixel. Other additions include OpenGL ES 2.0 graphic engine, longer battery life and Digital Compass for the GPS lovers. If you are using the iPhone for work related tasks, than the speed alone might make you consider the upgrade to the S model. In the end the ones that will go for the  iUpgrade not matter the cost are probably the ones that live by the motto “he who dies with the most toys wins”.

Apple also unleased the Snow Leopard in the OS X and OS X server with lots of small improvements and speed increases, yet was able to take up less real estate on the user’s hard drive. The upgrade path up to OS X Snow Leopard should have fewer hiccups than most upgrade take on.

Speed appeared to be the theme for Apple at the Apple WWDC. Safari 4 was released and Apple claims this release is “The Fastest & Most Innovative Browser”.  I have loaded Safari 4 on my MacBook Pro and Vista laptop and have found the claim may correct. The Vista version did take a little longer the first time I fired it up. The redendering on some websites appear to be dead on, even on sloppy CSS coded websites. The Safari 4 is a free download, so give it a try and see what kind of  mileage you get.

Android Adoption Drive in Q3

On the other side of the globe in Taipei there was Comptex trade show where Acer showed off a new netbook that runs on Google’s Android OS. There will not be a huge price drop in this unit because Acer is shipping the unit as a dual boat with Microsoft Windows XP. Acer says this model will hit the streets in the third quarter of 2009.  While shoppers have the option of giving up Windows for Linux and saving anywhere from $50 to $100 per computer, most still go for the Microsoft option. Perhaps Google’s name recognition will be all it takes to move more users into the open source camp.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Oh S!

In a few hours the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off. The name sounds like a dry event, but when Apple starts unveiling new software, products and hardware there will a steady buzz about the one or two items that will change computing and lifestyle consumer electronics. The Apple II, Macintosh, iBook, Macbook, iPhone and iPhone are a few of the hardware items that came out of Apple into everyday life. As an Apple fan this conference and Mac World are like Christmas morning waiting for the presents to be unwrapped.

This year the will the the iPhone OS 3.0, OS X Snow Leopard and possibly a new generation of iPhone will be brought out into the daylight. The iPhone OS and it’s Software Development Kit (SDK) will give us hints if the iPhone type tablet computer is on the way.

One thing I hope to see is Steve Jobs make an appearence and be there in good health. Apple is more than one person, but when Jobs does the presentation he can knocked it out of the ballpark.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Christmas In June

I read about an incident that happened today about product reviews. There was a video the incident shows one reviewer getting hot when he was asked if he had to buy a Palm Pre or if he got a pre-release unit from Palm for free. The gentleman canceled the broadcast after he finished cussing and complaining about the inquiry. I hated to see the blow-up for all parties involved.

The question was a valid one and should be disclosed for ethics reasons so the reader can weigh that information with their decision to purchase. Looking at the big picture of the incident made me review my own practices of reviews.

At all the newspapers and one television network that I have worked for had editorial guidelines that prohibits receiving any items or services of value. That I’ve tried to adopt the same practices with my blog. I am not fond of “Pay for Play” journalism. I know of a few radio stations that do allow the practice and I wished that the on air talent would disclose the fact they received the product or service for free. The one exception that I have seen splitting most news gathering organizations is meals. Some would pay for the reporter and photographer to attend meeting where meals others accepted the invitation of being comp for the meal.

Everything that is written or shown on here is reported with full transparency. Several places throughout Gizmotastic that I do mention that I receive items for review. When I’m contacted by a manufacturer or distributor about the possibility of a review on here I always make certain they understand if it’s a bad product, I’m not going to say it is spectacular. I also ask if they are sending return postage with the item. Asking this lets them know that I am not expecting to keep the item for the review. There is about fifty percent of the companies that do want the item returned, I would rather have more want their products back. The one exception is reviews about photography labs and film. The photos I get printed I do want to keep because of copyright issues and some the photo I might send may be personal.

I never contact any of the companies on my own. Their marketing departments will e-mail or call about looking at their products. There is one camera maker that sends cameras before they are release for a review and beta test for problems before the launch. They have only left one camera and no lenses with me. I have been a beta tester for them for over ten years and I am required to sign and “Non Disclosure Agreement” about the equipment. I do ask that they let me know when I can write about the camera or lens on here and for a photography magazine. I am paid by the camera manufacturer to beta test their equipment and give suggestions on improvements, but I am not paid by the manufacturer to write a review of the equipment.

While I’m restating my disclosures I will talk about advertisers. I do have advertisements on this blog as can see. Some are paid for placement or I get paid to display the ad for period of time. There is also some ads that are pay per click, meaning I don’t get paid unless someone clicks the ad and visits the site. The other type of advertisements are paid for performance, which means they do not pay unless someone clicks the advertisement and makes a purchase. I won’t distinguish which ads are which. Some of the links in the stories point to products or services that I earn a commission from any sales that are made.

The reason I have the ads is simple, to keep the blog running. It cost money to run a website and advertising pays the bills.  I’ve been lucky that there is a lot traffic and a lot loyal readers that have came here over the years. Plenty of you have clicked the ads and bought products that have been advertised here and I thank you for it. I have got one child going to college this fall and one going next fall, so every little bit helps.

At times I do write about politics. I do receive any payment from any political party or candidate. The opinions are mine that I make based on the facts as I see them. If you think I’m wrong, that’s your right. You are welcome to send any evidence to change my mind as long as it is not racist, manufactured or vulgar. I always try to remain open minded, so throw it back at me.

In a nutshell here are my disclosures:

I do receive items for possible story ideas. I always inquire if I am to send them back.

I will not ask for or accept payola for a favorable review.

I do have advertisements to pay for the cost of operation.

I do at times add links to commissionable items in stories.

I will state if an item or service was provided to m.

If any items are given to me, it will not sway my opinion to make a favorable article for bad product.

Should you think I am wrong, send me proof to support it.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

In the Interest of Transparency

When you think of an Indianapolis 500 winning race team, a Saturn isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. After today you may start putting the two together.

Today Penske Automotive Group (PAG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the cash strapped General Motors (GM) to take over GM’s Saturn brand. If the terms of the memo are finalized, Penske will take over Saturn in the third quarter of 2009. Both Penske Automotive Group and GM saw a slight in their stock price on the news of a new owner.

Penske Automotive Group and Penske Racing both have the same leader at the helm, Roger Penske . Penske Racing has teams in the IndyCar Racing League, Grand-Am / Sports Car, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Helio Castroneves  won the 2009 Indianapolis 500 driving for Penske Racing .

This is great news for the town of Spring Hill, TN., where the Saturn in manufactured, if the deal goes through. Saturn is the town’s largest employer and the plant was slated to be mothballed later this year as a result of the economy. GM recently filed bankruptcy and has been cutting product lines as part of it’s restructuring. This is also a great deal for the rest of Tennessee when you consider the down stream economics of a plant closing.

Personally, I felt like Tennessee’s Senators did a poor job looking out for the interest of Saturn’s employees, Spring Hill and the State of Tennessee for not looking at the big picture when GM first came out looking for assistance to stay afloat. One went so far as to blame the financial problems of the automotive industry on the employees. Either he was not aware of everything in his district or he really didn’t want to be a Senator much longer.

One thing I would like to see Penske try with Saturn is to build an open wheel vehicle similar to the Ariel Atom or Chrysler’s Prowler. An open wheel car from a company that has success in the open wheel racing could capitalize on a untapped market.

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This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

NASCAR and IRL Ties Coming to Spring Hill, TN.

One rule change and one announcement came from NASCAR this week that shows the folks in Daytona Beach are changing with the times.

The new rule change will have double-file restarts in the shootout fashion starting this weekend for the Pocono 500 at the Pocono Raceway. Up until now the restarts had one line of cars that were on the lead lap and the other line had cars that had been lapped by the field. This type of restart was a hassle for drivers that were competing for the lead or for position that had to move past the cars that were not running at the same level and sometimes caused crashes that another yellow flag. Fans and drivers both have been wanting the double-file restarts for a long time. NASCAR has had the double-file in nonpoints events, like the All-Star Race.

NASCAR also announced this week that they will recognize citizen journalist (bloggers, podcasters & etc.) at the races. In Tuesday’s announcement NASCAR stated they will begin to invite some of the top independent NASCAR-related Web sites to join the newly formered  “NASCAR Citizen Journalists Media Corps.”  The Corps will be allowed to have the same access as tradition al media to cover the sport. The list of sites and bloggers will be made after NASCAR finishes the vetting process. The selection will be made on the level of reporting, professionalism, commentary and use of social networks.

Some of the stories from the new media covering NASCAR will also be featured on NASCAR.COM, a site operated by Turner Sports. During the NASCAR season the website receives 7.2 million unique viewers a month.

NASCAR cited that they have realized that media coverage of sports has changed recently. The racing franchise made the choice to include new media as they saw that traditional media, former member of traditional media and fans were publishing more coverage on the Internet.

“NASCAR has the hardest working media in all of sports. We will continue to rely on the traditional media to cover the sport on a day-to-day basis, but as the media world changes so must NASCAR,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said in the official release.

“It’s fair to say that NASCAR fans are vocal about the sport and have something to say. We want to embrace that spirit and ensure they have the best access to better have their voices heard,” France said.

What do you think of NASCAR’s new media initiative? Will this become a trend in all major sports or will the sports franchises just create their own in-house outlets?

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

NASCAR Rethink Restarts, Then Starts The Corps Engines

Some times you come across so much stuff that your brain turns to mush. I hit that stage three hours and two Diet Cokes ago. In lieu of a detailed post on each, why don’t I just throw out some blurbs and link?

The Recliner Computer

The pad computer is coming, like or not. The TechCrunch released photos of the launch prototype of the CrunchPad. Very nice and it runs on Linux. If the price can come in at $200-$300 they will have a winner.

This may take a little wind out of the Amazon Kindle’s sails. It will not be able to compete with the Kindle’s “electronic-ink” readability in bright daylight.

The CrunchPad will more likely be on the market long before the rumored of Apple tablet computer.

The Recliner Photographer

OnOne Software has released an application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows photographers to control their dSLR remotely with the help of a WiFi network. Right now Canon is the only manufacture supported, but OnOne has received some Nikons directly from the factory and plan on rolling out support for the line. Now I can sit in the Berkline recliner while having a Nikon set-up on the deck to capture the birds as they come in to roost. That is once Nikon gets the OnOne hook-up. The Professional Edition displays a live view from the camera before the shutter is tripped.

OnOne DSLR Remote Professional Edition $9.99

OnOne DSLR Remote Lite $1.99

Disclaimer: If you buy off these links I will make about 50¢ or 9¢ respectfully on the sale. I’m looking at my options for the next item.

The Reclining Revenue

The newspaper industry released a report of  last quarter’s sales number showing a drop of $2.6 billion in advertising sales. That’s the biggest single quarter drop to date. The biggest drop was in the classified advertising by $1.5 Billion lost over the same quarter last year.

The blame may lay with the economy.  The decline might be Craiglist (maybe more bad press is needed for the Craigslist Killer). One thing that I think won’t help matters is the proposed doctrines of paid content that some newpapers discussed at a May meeting that almost borders antitrust. Television is also seeing declines in advertising, not as steep as newspapers, and it hasn’t sent the networks out to install a coin slot on your television set.

The problem with online newspaper is not that they are “giving away the news” as much as it is the advertising is being given away. In a lot of markets online advertising is being sold below value. The doctrines newspapers should be meeting on is the value of advertising in a local market. Google as recently as this week opened up more hooks to grab advertisers away from local markets. If  Google didn’t see gold they wouldn’t be digging the mine shaft.

This post is from: Gizmotastic.com

Department of Blurbs